Turn Those Cell Phones Off!

I am shocked and appalled by the lack of audience member consideration in theater. During recent performances, I have watched people text message. I have also heard cell phones ring. Are there any places that are cell phone free zones? It is crazy how the very device that unites at the same time isolates. A cell phone represents a device that whenever it is present causes you to be potentially absent. Isn't theater a time where you can simply sit, relax, and enjoy the moments? There was a beautiful line in Sarah Ruhl's, "Dead Man's Cell Phone" that summarizes this all. In the background we hear a hymn by Rogers and Hammerstein, "You'll Never Walk Alone." A character from the play says, "That's right. Because you'll always have the machine in your pocket that might ring." Is this machine in our pocket a good or bad thing while sitting in a theater? Certainly a question worth examining.

There are devices to block cel phone signals - I think its time to put them in theatres - the audience will continue to recieve calls and text until they are stopped from doing so.

I really think a lot of people don't understand why the text messaing is a nuisance. When you tell them that the light from it is distracting and like a flashlight in the face of the person behind them, people always say "Well I dont mind when other people have their phones out." Its so frustrating.

I actually just had a falling out with a close friend over this. A few weeks ago we sat front and center at Phantom, and at the end of the intermission, he was doing something on his phone, and the usher came by and asked him to put it away. He said "I'm turnging it off now" And when she walked away, he said "If you weren't here I would have really said something nasty to her" He said since I was a "theater person" he would restrain himself from starting with the usher.
I asked him if he thought it would be better for the usher to wait til act II started and then come tell him to turn his phone off, and he said yes, because then it should be off, it could still be on at intermission. I reminded him that he's in the front row, so there are rows and rows of people who would have been distracted by his phone.
And then sure enough, a few minutes after Act II started, the usher came back and told someone in the 2nd row to put away a cellphone. I whispered to him "oh yeah that's MUCH better now when its disrupting the show for all of us" He got so mad at me he wouldn't even say goodbye, and I haven't spoken to him since then!

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Cell phones can also mess with the sound systems. Yet another reason to turn them off.

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Back in June I was at Legally Blonde. A man two rows in front of me was texting while his kids played portable games - Nintendo DS I think. You spent all that money for you, your wife, and three kids to see the show and they played all through Act I.

The person in front of me said something during intermission and he argued that his kids couldn't sit still for that long. If he knew that ahead of time why bring them to the theatre?

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They've started getting amusingly/depressingly strict with cellphone announcements in the West End. When I saw 'Zorro', they made a point of explaining to people that the screens of Blackberries were terrifically bright and distracting so OFF meant OFF. And when I saw 'The Woman in Black' last time, they did an additional announcement at the top of act two reminding people to switch off their phones if they'd turned them on during the interval. They also did the pre-show announcement in Japanese as well as English, but it was Japanese Week, so it made sense at least. XD

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One good thing about always taking my students on trips to shows is that I get to say nice and loud before the show "Ok everyone turn off your phones! Let me see that they are off!" And sure enough, one of my students will whisper to me about some person near us who is still texting/calling, and I'll say in a loud voice "Oh I'm sure they'll turn off their phones too, Don't worry his phone will not bother you because I'm sure he will turn if off well before the show starts!"
I always hope that people are embarrassed to be bad role models to the kids so they turn their phone off out of guilt : )

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Britney Spears kept looking at her Blackberry during In the Heights. It was distracting. Almost as distracting as Britney Spears sitting a few rows ahead of me.

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I was at Salome at Lincoln Center last week and they have apparently installed a cell blocker there. When my friend and I went to turn ours off, neither of us (different networks) had signals, and we checked again at the end and got no signal until we were outside. I was thrilled.

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I was surprised to read in my South Pacific program back in August, that cell phones need to be OFF and not just on silent. I can understand why though, especially if it's going to mess with the sound system. As Pocketsquared Fanadu said about Lincoln Center, maybe they installed one at South Pacific since then.

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At Cyrano, the man next to me answered his phone during the final scene.

I guess I don't characterize inability to use a cell phone as "suffering." Amazingly, until fifteen years ago, the human race managed quite well with no cell phone reception at all, anywhere.

I think they should make a point of mentioning texting and reading your lit-up phone/blackberry, in the pre-show announcement. Most people know they're SUPPOSED to turn off their phone or not talk on it during a show, but there are obviously legions of people who have no idea there's any objection to texting. And get very pissed off if you say so! At a minimum they could say "and please- no texting" so it wouldn't have to take up time- with what they are charging for tix and paying their employees, maybe they could have thought of this a year ago.

somewhat o/t: and please don't file your nails with an emory board; it makes NOISE; I don't think this has happened at a play but it has at 2 movies so far. A lot of people have no awareness whatever that things they do produce noise: constantly rubbing your trouser leg (noisy to the person in front of you in stadium-type seating like off-bway), fidgeting with your program, opening it at the York at the beginning of every song (folded Xerox paper is noisier than a Playbill), jangling bracelets, etc.