standing ovations

[beingalive123]

Posted: 11/7/09 at 2:08am

hey a quick question about standing ovations. I performed in my high schools production today and our director mentioned that it is polite, if half the audience is standing during a curtain call to stand. ive never heard that before, and i was wondering if there was truth to that?

[binau]

Posted: 11/7/09 at 2:14am

Are you talking about being on the stage or as an audience member?

Updated On: 11/7/09 at 02:14 AM

[beingalive123]

Posted: 11/7/09 at 2:34am

as an audience member

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 11/7/09 at 2:42am

Definitely polite.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 11/7/09 at 2:46am

But don't feel you have to, just because everyone else is standing. This thing where an actor just has to turn up to get a Standing O is getting out of hand.

[binau]

Posted: 11/7/09 at 2:50am

At a high school it is probably the polite thing to do. But on Broadway it shouldn't be considered impolite to sit down while everyone else is standing, since it is something that should be 'earned'.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 11/7/09 at 3:20am

I've never heard such a thing. I wouldn't want a "polite" standing 'o' any way. If the audience doesn't feel a production is worthy, they shouldn't feel they HAVE to stand at all.

[snarkywannabedreamer]

Posted: 11/7/09 at 7:43am

if everyone else starts standing I do. why not!?

A) I feel no desire to "send a message to the actors" by being the only one sitting,

B) I don't attach weight to the act of standing, like I am betraying the theatre Gods if I stand along with a bunch of smiling kids when Shrek comes out.

C) I don't judge my theatre experience intellectually. It's a shared visceral experience between all the people in the audience and the actors. That's what is awesome about the live experience. And if at the end, if everyone is moved to stand up?.... screw it, I'll join the party. why not?

D) most pragmatic, I've been sitting for two hours. Standing will feel really freaking good right now. I can also grab my coat, gather my crap... I welcome a standing O so I can get the hell out of the theater quicker.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 11/7/09 at 8:37am

Yes.....if you are MOVED to stand in appreciation of any kind, that's why you should stand...not just because 1/2 the audience choses to.

A standing ovation unto itself IS a message.

[snarkywannabedreamer]

Posted: 11/7/09 at 8:53am

i have stood because other's are standing many times. Who cares, is my real point. if people are standing, great. I'll join in. I can stretch my legs, grab my crap. I see no reason to sit defiantly while the rest of the people around me stand. Seems like a silly gesture to me.

[trombonist]

Posted: 11/7/09 at 10:17am

Sitting doesn't have to be "defiant". It can simply mean that the show didn't move you that much. I remained seated last night in the front row of a show that I felt didn't deserve a standing ovation. I wasn't being "defiant"; I was exercising my right to my own opinion.

I think "grabbing crap" during a standing ovation sends much more of a message than applauding while sitting.

[snarkywannabedreamer]

Posted: 11/7/09 at 11:40am

if everybody stands and you remain seated, guess what... you are defiant. It's cool. It's your right. But make no mistake you are making a defiant statement to the opinion of the masses around you.

As far as the rudeness of my "grabbing crap"... I applaud, I smile, and I also stretch my legs and grab my coat and things. I never sit in the front row of a show so I don't think my actions offend anyone. I don't presume to think the actors on stage care about my thoughts and actions specifically. I am a sea of applause. That is all.

[trombonist]

Posted: 11/7/09 at 11:44am

To be defiant requires intent. I do not sit there and say "I am going to defy the masses". I DO st there and determine if the show has moved me enough to stand. If it has, I will. If it has not, I am not going to be a lemming.

Call me defiant if you wish, but at least I have integrity.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 11/7/09 at 12:14pm

It is definitely NOT being DEFIANT. There is no expectation of a standing ovation. There is no requirement of a standing ovation. It's not like refusing to stand during the pledge of allegiance or the national anthem. You are specifically "asked" to do those things.

I'm with trombonist. I will not stand unless I feel it is warranted.

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 11/7/09 at 1:17pm

I generally do stand along with an audience, but I sat in the front row of Memphis and when nearly everyone around me was standing, I did not because I didn't feel moved to do so. I was not being defiant, I simply didn't feel the show deserved a standing ovation and so I did not give it one.

I'm with dramamama and trombonist on this one. I don't feel obligated in any way, especially when it was a show I did not enjoy in the least (like Memphis).

[snarkywannabedreamer]

Posted: 11/7/09 at 8:07pm

i appreciate that you guys take your role as audience member very seriously. I just simply stand because it's the end of the show anyway, everybody is up and now blocking my view, and well... why the hell not? I'll be getting up in five seconds anyway!

This has nothing to do with integrity. I demonstrate my personal integrity in much more meaningful ways than sitting or standing.

And as for the definitions of defiance, I think we are in the land of semantics. One could make an argument that if a group of people are doing one thing and you choose to NOT do that thing then by definition you are defying that movement or trend. It doesn't have to be loaded with any deep significance like patriotism (re: the flag). It's just not following others in action. I think you are adding a negative connotation to the word "DEFIANT" that I did not intend.

[dshnookie]

Posted: 11/7/09 at 9:16pm

I stood up at In The Heights about a month ago, front row front mezz dead center...and no one else did. I felt a little silly.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 11/7/09 at 11:33pm

You can't decide the meaning of a word. Defiant has a very specific meaning:

de?fi?ance??–noun 1. a daring or bold resistance to authority or to any opposing force.
2. open disregard; contempt (often fol. by of): defiance of danger; His refusal amounted to defiance.
3. a challenge to meet in combat or in a contest

Mind you, I don't think any of us are trying to start a fight in any way, just have a discussion

[snarkywannabedreamer]

Posted: 11/8/09 at 12:37am

"open disregard". "a daring or bold resistance to authority or to ANY OPPOSING FORCE."

I think doing the opposite of what everyone else feels compelled to do could qualify inside that definition. ESPECIALLY if you look around, see that the crowd is standing, and make a bold decision NOT to join their movement (or force).

Now listen, I am with you... not looking to start a message board war because again I think we are talking semantics. I chose the word "defiant." I guess it was a loaded word because you guys pulled it out of what I wrote and seemed to take issue with the word specifically. I don't think of defiance as a bad thing. I also think it can be an innocuous act. I just think your decision not to stand (in the face of others standing) to be conscious- aware that you are doing something in opposition to the feeling of the crowd around you. THAT is defiance. Defiance of the crowd.

Now I am not saying that blindly following the crowd is a good thing. Quite the contrary. I dig people who go against the grain just as much as the next guy. I just think you could end this debate if you just admitted that you are in fact ARE going against that grain and defying the force of the crowd around you. Not a bad thing! In fact, in some ways I admire it.

As for my decision to stand in that situation, it just happens to be one place where I personally feel no need to go against the mob mentality. It doesn't matter that much to me whether I am true to my heart regarding my like or dislike of a show in this instance. I demonstrate a lack of conformity elsewhere in my life.

[mikem]

Posted: 11/8/09 at 4:02pm

IMO the connotations of a word are definitely debatable and "in the eye of the beholder."

I also think "defiant" is a loaded word and it is not exactly shocking that people are uncomfortable with being labeled as such.

Back on topic: was the original poster talking about a high school production? For a non-professional production where everyone was trying really hard, I probably would politely join in a standing ovation.

[WestVillage]

Posted: 11/8/09 at 4:19pm

We've all been to shows where just the opposite happens ... the majority of people remain seated and maybe 10 audience members give a standing ovation. Are they being defiant for not following the masses?

I'm with the others on this one ... I only stand when I personally am moved. I don't follow the masses, in anything. Never have, never will. I follow my instincts and emotions, and going to the theatre is always a personal experience for me on many levels .. its not like watching a tv show. So I stand when compelled and remain seated, even if I'm the only one in the entire theatre, if I haven't seen something special.

[Marinacat]

Posted: 11/8/09 at 4:21pm

I can't remember the last time I went to a show and there *wasn't* a standing ovation. The standing O is yet another celebration of mediocrity in our society.

[bway boy]

Posted: 11/8/09 at 5:52pm

at oleanna no one got up! which the show deserved because it sucked

[legally_popular]

Posted: 11/8/09 at 6:12pm

The night I saw Bye Bye Birdie no one stood up (rightfully so) except for a group of loud obnoxious women in the back who knew someone in the cast.