self entitlement/rude behaviour

[spike3]

Posted: 5/17/11 at 6:31pm

I do not go to the theatre to eat, drink, be seen, or cause problems. I go in the hopes that I will be entertained by some very talented people. Therefore I am amazed, or rather appalled by some things I have witnessed. First, let me say courtesy is a two way street, and although there at times may be an excuse for a short temper, there is never an excuse for boorish behaviour. Seen and or overheard. Ushers being screamed at because they were not at the top of the aisle to seat someone when they arrived. Said usher was seating other people. Bartenders being cursed at, and I do mean cursed, because the bar was closed and they could no longer serve. People, this self entitlement, this rude behaviour has got to stop. There is no reason for it. Now as I said, courtesy is a two way street, but please remember, these people are doing their jobs, they do not deny you things or keep you waiting for the sheer fun of it. Well not all of them. Also please remember the ushers work for the theatre, the bar and merchandise people do not

[denali.fire]

Posted: 5/17/11 at 6:51pm

Wait until you start hearing them sing along with the folks on stage! And cell phone talking during a performance! That's when I turn around and quietly ask them to be considerate of others who have paid top $!

Selling candy and allowing drinks to go inside the theater are really not appropriate but it's for the $...
sad

[bk]

Posted: 5/17/11 at 8:16pm

Well, you'll have to take a Time Machine to a different era, because we live in a world of entitlement thanks to bad parenting for over a decade now. Give everyone everything they want, let them do whatever they want, coddle those children, never let them scrape their knees, never tell them they're bad, never punish them, and this is what you get. And yes, it's very sad. A friend was at a concert recently and some teenage girl was texting the entire time, her bright Blackberry causing great distraction. He politely asked her to shut it off and stop and she non-politely ignored him. He asked again at intermission and she told him to shut up. Her parents then chimed in - not chastising the little twerp girl for saying shut up, but telling my friend "she can do anything she wants." And there you have it. That's parenting all right. And this girl's BROTHER was in the orchestra. What a little jerk she is, but I blame her jerk parents equally.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 5/17/11 at 8:34pm

When I was at the Lady Gaga Monster Ball Tour, the man behind me asked me and some others to sit down because his friend was short and couldn't see. Keep in mind this is a crazy concert where EVERYONE is standing and dancing. I sat down for like 30 seconds then stood back up, and the man again asked me to sit down, and I finally told him the EVERYONE else in front of me was standing, as were all the other people in the arena. The man then told me to tell the people in front of me to sit down, upon which I refused to do that, so the man yelled and asked them to sit down. Pretty much everyone in our section ended up sitting after that anyways. It really sucked. It amazes me how some people think they are so entitled.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 5/17/11 at 8:35pm

spike3, which show do you usher at?

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 5/17/11 at 8:50pm

I thought this was another thread about the Pone.

[spike3]

Posted: 5/17/11 at 9:01pm

capn I am not an usher, nor have I ever been. I do not think I have the proper temper for that kind of job. Lets put it this way, the age of entitlement would fade fast if I worked that job. And for that matter so would my job

[Pammylicious]

Posted: 5/17/11 at 9:10pm

When I was at a matinee last Saturday, all of a sudden out of nowhere a guy in the orchestra yells loudly in the middle of a song "stop moving around" to the person in front of him. This was wrong in so many ways:

1) He was more disturbing than any one.
2) The people in front of him could have Tourette's, Parkinson's, etc.....who was he to judge.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/17/11 at 9:11pm

I blame GLEE.

[rjm516]

Posted: 5/17/11 at 9:17pm

I saw the Mofo with the Hat last Saturday, the matinee. I was in the back row of the mezzanine, and oh my god. They sat people for the first 30 minutes - without pause. Seriously, it was continuous throughout scenes, throughout important moments. It's one thing to be so late, but whatever happened to 'if late, you will be seated at previously set points in the show'?? This was just a constant stream. And, during the entire second half, at least 6 people were just milling about in the aisles and in the back space behind me. Just walking, watching, going down a few rows in the aisle (blocking me), walking somewhere else. I told the ushers I found downstairs afterwards about it. I asked 'Isn't there an usher who stays upstairs? This completely ruined the show for me.' And they said it depends.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/17/11 at 9:33pm

Whatever happened to class?

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 5/17/11 at 10:34pm

bwayphreak234's post is the very reson I stopped going to concerts.

I don't feel like standing through the whole thing and people standing up and blocking me.

"It amazes me how some people think they are so entitled."

Why? Because we want to watch the show from the seat we paid for?

Besides, I can't hear anything with you all screaming.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 5/18/11 at 3:43am

What difference does it make whether the person works for the theater or for merchandising/food services? Is is ok to be rude towards one but not the other?

This is the 2nd thread that (I believe) you started that points this out. (And if it wasn't you, it's pretty odd for that same "point" was brought up by two different people.)

Updated On: 5/18/11 at 03:43 AM

[newintown]

Posted: 5/18/11 at 9:38am

I have never understood the unstated requirement to stand at rock/pop concerts. What's that all about?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 5/18/11 at 9:59am

At concerts, it's a domino effect. The people in front stand up from excitement and want to dance. The people behind them can't see and they stand up. And so on. Within seconds, everyone is standing up because it's the only way to see anything. That being said, my 65 year-old mother practically jumped out of her seat the moment Mika hit the stage. It was a completely visceral response (she's obsessed with Mika). She was up and dancing the entire show.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 5/18/11 at 10:23am

At concerts I just try to go with the flow. If people stand, I stand, when people sit, I sit. I just don't think it's fair to expect people to sit at a concert when everyone in the entire arena is standing.

[best12bars]

Posted: 5/18/11 at 10:55am

I don't know why this is considered a new behavior (or behaviour).

It's been going on since the beginning of theatrical performances.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/18/11 at 10:57am

Exactly, just ask Dollypop. He used to heckle the actors on stage at the Old Globe.

[Sleeper2]

Posted: 5/18/11 at 10:58am

WTF is up with the people who can't sit for 2 hours without eating? No wonder thirty percent of this country is obese.

[kdogg36]

Posted: 5/18/11 at 11:15am

I agree with rjm516 - the thing that bothers me most, by far, is people arriving late. Management should not seat late-comers during the show if it even slightly disturbs guests who arrived on time. I know things can happen and there's sometimes no way to avoid being late, but if (when, I guess) I arrive late some day, I will decline to be seated while the show is going on.

But I also don't understand why people can't refrain from eating or using their phone for 2 1/2 hours. :) But I've never found that quite as annoying.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 5/18/11 at 11:19am

Honestly, if you're going to a concert such as Lady Gaga the standing has to be expected. People like to get up to dance. And while that is not acceptable in the theatre it is at a rock concert. I don't go to many myself but when I do I'm not going to grouse about people standing. It's what happens at concerts.

I was at a concert in December where through the whole 2+ hour concert the crowd stood through maybe three songs tops. The rest of the time everyone was seated. The guy behind me was jabbing me in the back because I was standing and he couldn't see. But since the people in front of me were also standing it wouldn't have helped him because they would have been blocking him.

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 5/18/11 at 11:42am

so i saw a production of August: Osage County last night here in San Diego... and about two minutes into the play the woman behind me starts talking and responding to the characters... starts having a conversation with her husband about how she is hungry... then about 20 minutes into the act she says "i don't understand what's going on" then basically they leave the show!!!! i just thought it was weird... i've never seen someone leave a show after only 20 minutes...

[Eris0303]

Posted: 5/18/11 at 11:49am

It sounds like they were never actually "there".

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 5/18/11 at 12:11pm

I' not 'grousing' about anything. I also don't poke people in the back of the head. I just moved to an area where people weren't standing in front of me.

I think what got me was the way it was worded: “The man then told me to tell the people in front of me to sit down, upon which I refused to do that, so the man yelled and asked them to sit down. Pretty much everyone in our section ended up sitting after that anyways. It really sucked. It amazes me how some people think they are so entitled.”

I pay for a seat, not for standing room.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 5/18/11 at 12:20pm

I' not 'grousing' about anything. I also don't poke people in the back of the head. I just moved to an area where people weren't standing in front of me.

Oh, I wasn't saying that in reference to you. I'm sorry if you felt I was. It was more about the people like the man who felt the need to jab me.

Like I said in my first post I don't go to many concerts because the atmosphere is that of standing, yelling, singing, drinking, etc. It's the nature of the beast really.