tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post3152724294134891162..comments2024-02-18T19:36:43.844+11:00Comments on theatre notes: Ms A's Guide To Theatre EtiquetteAlison Croggonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-23324810929910788552011-12-28T11:01:59.645+11:002011-12-28T11:01:59.645+11:00As an interesting addition to this blog, Peter Bro...As an interesting addition to this blog, Peter Brook once stated, in a "deadly theatre" an audience can be subjected to a play that is a "bearer of a message" in too "conventional" a way. Even in today's theatres, many shows opt for conventional methods of delivery, adapting thematic issues to please a mass audience. It is when theatre is too conventional, that Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-71715815438057800882011-12-08T22:33:53.097+11:002011-12-08T22:33:53.097+11:00I heard a story about what happened when The Royal...I heard a story about what happened when The Royal Court brought a production of Our Country's Good to Australia in the early nineties. In the opening scene a couple of actors entered talking quickly in thick accents. After a couple of minutes someone in the audience yelled out something like :"Slow down! We can't understand a bloody word!" The two actors looked at each other, Troubadornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-15665256279139256212011-12-08T17:44:54.950+11:002011-12-08T17:44:54.950+11:00My biggest peeve with people in the theatre is eat...My biggest peeve with people in the theatre is eating. I don't necessarily blame the audience members for this, but more the theatre itself for selling food before the show or at interval. It's very annoying for those sitting around the person who is rustling a wrapper or crunching a chip during that moment of silence. Sadly this is just the theatre's way to make more money. I have Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-86498127966011656592011-12-08T14:39:24.327+11:002011-12-08T14:39:24.327+11:00It isn't that all audience actions are 'va...It isn't that all audience actions are 'valid'. More that people are, well, pretty crap really and in large numbers that's amplified. Most crowds contain idiots behaving in a way that makes my trigger-finger itch. Why should theatre be any different? We can have a big old whinge about it, glare disdainfully at the guy whose phone goes off in the middle of Hamlet's death scene,Cameron Woodheadhttp://cameronwoodhead.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-35718725560047447412011-12-08T10:44:08.534+11:002011-12-08T10:44:08.534+11:00No doubt it's end of year raggedness. But seri...No doubt it's end of year raggedness. But seriously: if all audience actions are valid, what does that really mean? And if you're not interested in what is happening around you, why bother with theatre the first place? Is there any point in cultivating an audience which doesn't give a toss what is happening around them? (Genuine questions, in case they are taken as rhetorical.)Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-22050984831078371212011-12-07T22:28:36.041+11:002011-12-07T22:28:36.041+11:00An Sr-98?! Ms. TN seems to have upped in the ante ...An Sr-98?! Ms. TN seems to have upped in the ante in the last few months... What happened to your tranquilliser gun? (Forgive me: I've just seen The Economist.)Cameron Woodheadhttp://cameronwoodhead.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-77971514852912915272011-12-07T21:17:54.649+11:002011-12-07T21:17:54.649+11:00"Diplomatic lies!" Was I suggesting such..."Diplomatic lies!" Was I suggesting such a thing? I don't think so, indeed. I've argued hotly that what I'm talking about isn't about depressing responsiveness, but rather permitting it to happen.<br /><br />If anything goes is indeed the rule, I reserve the right to bring my SR-98 rifle and snipe any audience member who offends me. I will use a silencer, of course.Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-58283190129838700542011-12-07T18:52:10.952+11:002011-12-07T18:52:10.952+11:00Someone's mobile phone rang at the opening nig...Someone's mobile phone rang at the opening night of Kevin Spacey's Richard III, right after interval, with the actors in tableau. Spacey stoppped, smirked nastily, and barked "Tell them we're busy" before continuing. Classy stuff. <br /><br />I say etiquette be damned, in the theatre or anywhere else. Sure, manners have their place, but the biggest cultural problem in Oz is Cameron Woodheadhttp://cameronwoodhead.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-88398510768986978732011-12-07T17:01:11.632+11:002011-12-07T17:01:11.632+11:00"It's borne out of ignorance; they don..."It's borne out of ignorance; they don't think anybody else will notice."<br /><br />I think that's what we're encouraging here at its simplest: awareness. My biggest concern as a performer and theatre-goer is that trips to the theatre are such a rare occasion for many people that they simply don't know how to judge what sort of behaviour is appropriate. Different Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-67660979906864747082011-12-05T11:48:07.982+11:002011-12-05T11:48:07.982+11:00Thanks Casey. Ditto ditto ditto. Wish I'd thou...Thanks Casey. Ditto ditto ditto. Wish I'd thought of the analogy of the fart in the elevator...Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-10698657066402442492011-12-05T11:41:19.387+11:002011-12-05T11:41:19.387+11:00There are several types of audience behaviour bein...There are several types of audience behaviour being conflated here and I'm not sure they should be. There's the standard audible/visible response to the piece - boos, cheers, applause ("appropriate"/"inappropriate"), exasperated sighs etc - to me these things all speak to an attempt to engage with the piece, successfully or unsuccessfully, so for me they add to the Casey Bennettohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00069992763893159912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-67990344963326279502011-12-04T09:20:23.264+11:002011-12-04T09:20:23.264+11:00I've been surprised by how much interesting di...I've been surprised by how much interesting discussion my mildly satirical Ms Manners post has sparked. But horror? Why?<br /><br />Your first point requires a long answer. The short answer is that there is a very great difference between pandering to an audience and caring for an audience. Pandering to an audience - ensuring, for example, that every creative decision is shaped so that no oneAlison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-23867415091824712072011-12-04T05:20:47.368+11:002011-12-04T05:20:47.368+11:00Yesterday I attended a Q &A with Thomas Osterm...Yesterday I attended a Q &A with Thomas Ostermeier in London- when asked about the audience and his consideration towards them- he responded that he does not regard them when creating art/programming and nor should he. Possibly the big Australian companies are too precious about their subscription base and should occasionally make decisions that don't habitually pander to the blue rinse Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-2300311815742877442011-11-26T17:41:33.218+11:002011-11-26T17:41:33.218+11:00That's a bugbear of mine, too. I find the appl...That's a bugbear of mine, too. I find the applause that greets the appearance of a celebrity in a play, before they've done a single thing besides walk onto the stage, pretty grating. And it's so weird, that rush to applaud at the finish: I've never understood it. It's great when everything is just swept away by the power of a show. The silence I remember particularly was Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-78235855617077236122011-11-26T17:03:28.524+11:002011-11-26T17:03:28.524+11:00Oh yes, I sometimes think the rapturous applause t...Oh yes, I sometimes think the rapturous applause that erupts immediately after certain larger productions sound a bit "that was good but I'd rather be off home now thank you". As opposed to those productions where everyone sits in silence and darkness absorbing what they've witnessed. There was one piece last year (Acts of Deceit at La Mama) where the post-show pause stretched Born Dancin'https://www.blogger.com/profile/14526760383290674186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-24549197390085231712011-11-26T16:41:28.175+11:002011-11-26T16:41:28.175+11:00After watching Gross und Klein at STC last night, ...After watching Gross und Klein at STC last night, I am reminded of another pet hate, and one that is sure to draw contradictory responses: untimely clapping.<br /><br />As the daughter of two classical musicians (and therefore dragged to Sydney Symph concerns before I could walk, probably to the chagrin of our fellow concertgoers but no doubt to the advantage of my performance etiquette in the notintheseshoeshttp://www.twitter.com/notintheseshoesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-15165691494374566022011-11-26T08:18:45.386+11:002011-11-26T08:18:45.386+11:00Thinking about this more after last night's fr...Thinking about this more after last night's frivolous Twitter exchange about going to the theatre without pants -I'm thinking how modernist theatre/literature sought some dialectical leap to find its audience, ie part of what it sought to "make new" was the audience itself. (More Yeats: "in scorn of this audience" he writes for "A man who does not exist, A man whoplumpes Denkenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01219097269512050408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-42223815717773265502011-11-25T23:36:12.080+11:002011-11-25T23:36:12.080+11:00Since 2004 I have, in every performance undertakin...Since 2004 I have, in every performance undertaking, asked that both performers and audiences leave their mobile phones on, and that they should feel free to answer if they so wish.<br /><br />When one rings we wait, it is only polite, until the call is completed.<br /><br />This policy simply does two things:<br /><br />1) Allows the (outside) world to exist..<br /><br />2) Stops everyone Zane Trowhttp://zanetrow.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-79932122119861132302011-11-25T15:13:07.169+11:002011-11-25T15:13:07.169+11:00... and thanks for the reminder of one of my favou...... and thanks for the reminder of one of my favourite poems, PD. It prompted me to go back and reread it. I have a vivid memory of Patrick Alexander reciting it in a pub somewhere, one of the most riveting recitations I've seen.Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-41213745915377556512011-11-25T15:11:08.971+11:002011-11-25T15:11:08.971+11:00I sympathise, Eugyeene. I've had those moments...I sympathise, Eugyeene. I've had those moments too, and they are agonising. Tolerance and forebearance towards human frailities should also be aspirations of the Ideal Audient. This is why the misbehaviour of young children taxed beyond their capacities doesn't count. Entitlement can run all ways. (I realise I am in acute danger of sounding like one of Jane Austen's heroines, or Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-67625053873891551472011-11-25T12:10:57.086+11:002011-11-25T12:10:57.086+11:00I was guilty of possibly contributing to a 'ch...I was guilty of possibly contributing to a 'chorus of coughs' when I went to see the sensorially charged Pindrop, yes, but in my defense, I had already missed the first season and couldn't miss it again due to great reviews (one of which from TN.) And I came wielding a melange of cough-supressing helpers like tissues, handkerchiefs, pre-unwrapped (important!) and lined up on my lap Eugyeenehttp://www.promptside.net/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-36167465360107435122011-11-25T11:07:05.656+11:002011-11-25T11:07:05.656+11:00Yes of course - I'd very much want to recognis...Yes of course - I'd very much want to recognise the link between theatre and rebellion. My comments just a riff on Born Dancin's comment. I guess the bourgeois audience were moralistic and narrow but because politically marginalised were also rebellious. The link between theatre and rebellion also there in the way Abbey Theatre actors moved between plays about Irish nationalism to plumpes Denkenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01219097269512050408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-13079387362838513972011-11-25T09:43:59.672+11:002011-11-25T09:43:59.672+11:00Hi PD: My point was a glib one: Marx had servants...Hi PD: My point was a glib one: Marx had servants. You're right that many of the riots were sparked by an outraged bourgeoisie - think of the responses to Genet's plays. Though there was an obscure opera about rebellious fishermen, as I learned on Spicks and Specks the other night, that ignited the 1830 revolution in Brussells, and there's Vaclav Havel and the Velvet Revolution. And Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-75063654701051598542011-11-25T00:33:27.842+11:002011-11-25T00:33:27.842+11:00As an actor I hate the idea of people talking/text...As an actor I hate the idea of people talking/texting/eating/doing-anything-but-concentrating while i am in the middle of working. People think they can do anything they like these days, but the fact for me remains, that I like my work to be seen, heard & appreciated. I take my work seriously & try to breathe life into what I do to serve the life of the moment & of the event. <br /><Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-23157529497610511782011-11-24T22:10:27.648+11:002011-11-24T22:10:27.648+11:00On the matter of theatre etiquette, texting was a ...<i>On the matter of theatre etiquette, texting was a point of some tension between students, teachers and theatre staff. It was, however, not restricted to young people. Students texting during performance could be simply put down to a lapse in theatre etiquette, but there was some indication that a proportion of the texting was conversation directly concerned with the play as a whole and Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com