Etiquette for Magicians and Other Stage Performers
Preface: I wanted for sometime to do a study and compose a list of accepted “rules of theater.” I’ve been around the stage long enough now, both in and out of magic, to know there are just some things that people do or hold sacred. They were things that I’ve learned as I went. No one ever handed me a book of things to do or not to do, so to speak. I just observed, and followed suit behind what everyone else was doing. So I think it is a novel idea to compose these thoughts and observations into a little mini-guide book for proper theater etiquette. I’ll focus on etiquette for attending theater (or movies), for being a cast member performing in a production, some etiquette for directors or producers, and even some etiquette notes for the magicians themselves. This is a work in progress, and I hope that you enjoy it. By all means feel free to contribute your thoughts, and personal observations as well. I’ll probably amend this post a few times before I save the final draft in a PDF format. With out further adue: I give you The Rules of Good Theater: Etiquette for Magicians, and Other Stage Performers.
Everything has rules. Society, clubs, schools, businesses, even tree houses with their “No Girls Allowed” signs. Theater is no different. What is sad though is that now-days a lot of the respect for live theater seems to be waning, new technologies, different culture trends, and younger audiences are making it easier to be more or less un-aware of what good theater attending etiquette should be. Back “in the day” where live theater was your only option for entertainment (prior to the invent of TV) Theater was a very public thing. So since it was very public, often upper class, certain rules and dos and don’ts were associated with it. Once radio and later television came along, theater became more and more informal. However, as an entertainer or as someone who wishes to be entertained it is a good idea to have a solid understanding of just what these kinds of rules are. More importantly: It’s a good idea to follow them!
This essay is written from the point of view of the performance artist, and is in general intended for the performance artist. While there are some wonderful rules in the first chapter for a layperson to follow while attending a live performance, the bulk of the material presented here is intended for the actor to help them to better understand how to behave while on and off the stage. I am of the strong belief that in order to be a better performer, we must first be a better audience. These are not a complete listing of all the rules, etiquette, and good idea’s but they are most certainly a good start. I hope you enjoy.
Chapter 1: Etiquette for Attending a Theater or Live Performance
These are some good ideas to observe and follow if you ever attend a live performance or go to a movie theater.
1) Do not talk during a performance! PLEASE! Don’t even whisper to your friend. You may have seen this act/show/play/ what ever before, but there are others in the house that haven’t, and you should be respectful of their experience. You can make jokes all you want during intermission or after the show.
2) Turn OFF your cell phones. Actually, I’m going to devote a chapter to Cell Phones later, so stay tuned.
3) Don’t bring food to a live performance. Eating chips or other loud things not only is distracting it’s actually un-classy. Save the food and snack runs for intermission, consume and then return to your seats. For movie theaters, food is okay. Usually the noise of the movie is enough to drown out your eating. Just don’t import snacks in from outside the theater. Most theaters don’t like that.
4) If you are sick, and are coughing or sneezing a lot, bring a handkerchief with you to smother your mouth with. You’d be amazed at how loud a cough is in a good theater built for good acoustics.
5) Always apologize if someone is forced to move from their seat, or stand to let you through to yours. If you are late for a performance, don’t verbally speak. Just mouth the words “I’m sorry” and give a quick sorrowful nod in appreciation.
6) You should NEVER be late for a performance.
7) If you are lucky enough to attend a performance as a guest of one of the performers don’t carry on about your relations to others in the audience. It’s rude, and it takes away from the performers show. This isn’t about you anyways, your not the star. Politely back out of any conversations that do occur, or lower your voice as to not attract others to the conversation, and end it as quickly as possible.
8) While dressing up for a live production in button down shirts, and jackets with tails is a bit out of fashion, it is still a good idea to dress up for a live show. Business Casual to Business Professional is fine. It is also a growing fad to dress up in a style similar to the theme of a newly released movie that you are a fan of. For example: Harry Potter fans dressing in appropriate wizard attire for a new movie release.
9) Make sure children are old enough to understand the importance of being unobtrusive and quiet during a live show, and be responsible enough to levy heavy punishment on them if they insist on crying, talking, or running around. It is very distractive to those in the audience with you, and doubly so for the actors on the stage. If you have young children, and can afford live theater tickets, then you can also afford a babysitter. The same applies to movie theaters as well.
10) If you must wear a tall hat, or a large hairdo then sit as far to the back as possible. When walking to and from your seats, try to maintain as low of a profile as possible so to not intrude on others enjoyment of the show.
11) If you are offended by someone in the audience try your best to keep it to yourself. Don’t cause a scene, don’t pick a fight, and don’t disturb the rest of the audience, or production cast. If the matter is that severe, then take it up with the person after the show is over, and preferably in the parking lot.
12) If you are meeting an actor after a performance, wait for them at the front of the stage (usually stage left) and someone will come to get you. Do not just walk back stage.
13) If the production has a musical number in it, don’t sing along! Don’t even hum the tune. It’s distracting, and your not the vocalist people want to hear.
14) Asking a friend who is performing in a production that you want to see for comp tickets to their show is acceptable, but you should never ask or expect more than two comp tickets without expressing extreme concern for abusing the situation.
Chapter 2: Cell Phones
We all have them. We all use them, and now days blue tooth headsets are also becoming quite popular. Lets take a quick minute to review some proper etiquette for good cell phone use.
1) Turn the cell phone off! You don’t want to be that person who gets a call during the middle of a production, or movie.
2) Don’t use a silent mode in a live theater production. It will still vibrate, and those vibrations can be disturbing to those around you. Especially if it is rattling against the metal or plastic seat that you may be sitting in.
3) Don’t just turn off all the sounds of your phone. Even if it doesn’t make a sound, it will still light up when it receives a message or a call. That is really distracting in a dark theater.
4) Take off your Blue Tooth! You may not notice the soft blinking blue light produced by your blue tooth headset every two seconds, but the guy behind you will. Be courteous.
5) Don’t Text, Tweet, Update any social networking sites during a performance. Who ever it is that you want to talk to, be it your friend or your web blog, they will still be there when the show’s over. Most shows are only a couple of hours long anyways.
(To Be Continued...)
Preface: I wanted for sometime to do a study and compose a list of accepted “rules of theater.” I’ve been around the stage long enough now, both in and out of magic, to know there are just some things that people do or hold sacred. They were things that I’ve learned as I went. No one ever handed me a book of things to do or not to do, so to speak. I just observed, and followed suit behind what everyone else was doing. So I think it is a novel idea to compose these thoughts and observations into a little mini-guide book for proper theater etiquette. I’ll focus on etiquette for attending theater (or movies), for being a cast member performing in a production, some etiquette for directors or producers, and even some etiquette notes for the magicians themselves. This is a work in progress, and I hope that you enjoy it. By all means feel free to contribute your thoughts, and personal observations as well. I’ll probably amend this post a few times before I save the final draft in a PDF format. With out further adue: I give you The Rules of Good Theater: Etiquette for Magicians, and Other Stage Performers.
Everything has rules. Society, clubs, schools, businesses, even tree houses with their “No Girls Allowed” signs. Theater is no different. What is sad though is that now-days a lot of the respect for live theater seems to be waning, new technologies, different culture trends, and younger audiences are making it easier to be more or less un-aware of what good theater attending etiquette should be. Back “in the day” where live theater was your only option for entertainment (prior to the invent of TV) Theater was a very public thing. So since it was very public, often upper class, certain rules and dos and don’ts were associated with it. Once radio and later television came along, theater became more and more informal. However, as an entertainer or as someone who wishes to be entertained it is a good idea to have a solid understanding of just what these kinds of rules are. More importantly: It’s a good idea to follow them!
This essay is written from the point of view of the performance artist, and is in general intended for the performance artist. While there are some wonderful rules in the first chapter for a layperson to follow while attending a live performance, the bulk of the material presented here is intended for the actor to help them to better understand how to behave while on and off the stage. I am of the strong belief that in order to be a better performer, we must first be a better audience. These are not a complete listing of all the rules, etiquette, and good idea’s but they are most certainly a good start. I hope you enjoy.
Chapter 1: Etiquette for Attending a Theater or Live Performance
These are some good ideas to observe and follow if you ever attend a live performance or go to a movie theater.
1) Do not talk during a performance! PLEASE! Don’t even whisper to your friend. You may have seen this act/show/play/ what ever before, but there are others in the house that haven’t, and you should be respectful of their experience. You can make jokes all you want during intermission or after the show.
2) Turn OFF your cell phones. Actually, I’m going to devote a chapter to Cell Phones later, so stay tuned.
3) Don’t bring food to a live performance. Eating chips or other loud things not only is distracting it’s actually un-classy. Save the food and snack runs for intermission, consume and then return to your seats. For movie theaters, food is okay. Usually the noise of the movie is enough to drown out your eating. Just don’t import snacks in from outside the theater. Most theaters don’t like that.
4) If you are sick, and are coughing or sneezing a lot, bring a handkerchief with you to smother your mouth with. You’d be amazed at how loud a cough is in a good theater built for good acoustics.
5) Always apologize if someone is forced to move from their seat, or stand to let you through to yours. If you are late for a performance, don’t verbally speak. Just mouth the words “I’m sorry” and give a quick sorrowful nod in appreciation.
6) You should NEVER be late for a performance.
7) If you are lucky enough to attend a performance as a guest of one of the performers don’t carry on about your relations to others in the audience. It’s rude, and it takes away from the performers show. This isn’t about you anyways, your not the star. Politely back out of any conversations that do occur, or lower your voice as to not attract others to the conversation, and end it as quickly as possible.
8) While dressing up for a live production in button down shirts, and jackets with tails is a bit out of fashion, it is still a good idea to dress up for a live show. Business Casual to Business Professional is fine. It is also a growing fad to dress up in a style similar to the theme of a newly released movie that you are a fan of. For example: Harry Potter fans dressing in appropriate wizard attire for a new movie release.
9) Make sure children are old enough to understand the importance of being unobtrusive and quiet during a live show, and be responsible enough to levy heavy punishment on them if they insist on crying, talking, or running around. It is very distractive to those in the audience with you, and doubly so for the actors on the stage. If you have young children, and can afford live theater tickets, then you can also afford a babysitter. The same applies to movie theaters as well.
10) If you must wear a tall hat, or a large hairdo then sit as far to the back as possible. When walking to and from your seats, try to maintain as low of a profile as possible so to not intrude on others enjoyment of the show.
11) If you are offended by someone in the audience try your best to keep it to yourself. Don’t cause a scene, don’t pick a fight, and don’t disturb the rest of the audience, or production cast. If the matter is that severe, then take it up with the person after the show is over, and preferably in the parking lot.
12) If you are meeting an actor after a performance, wait for them at the front of the stage (usually stage left) and someone will come to get you. Do not just walk back stage.
13) If the production has a musical number in it, don’t sing along! Don’t even hum the tune. It’s distracting, and your not the vocalist people want to hear.
14) Asking a friend who is performing in a production that you want to see for comp tickets to their show is acceptable, but you should never ask or expect more than two comp tickets without expressing extreme concern for abusing the situation.
Chapter 2: Cell Phones
We all have them. We all use them, and now days blue tooth headsets are also becoming quite popular. Lets take a quick minute to review some proper etiquette for good cell phone use.
1) Turn the cell phone off! You don’t want to be that person who gets a call during the middle of a production, or movie.
2) Don’t use a silent mode in a live theater production. It will still vibrate, and those vibrations can be disturbing to those around you. Especially if it is rattling against the metal or plastic seat that you may be sitting in.
3) Don’t just turn off all the sounds of your phone. Even if it doesn’t make a sound, it will still light up when it receives a message or a call. That is really distracting in a dark theater.
4) Take off your Blue Tooth! You may not notice the soft blinking blue light produced by your blue tooth headset every two seconds, but the guy behind you will. Be courteous.
5) Don’t Text, Tweet, Update any social networking sites during a performance. Who ever it is that you want to talk to, be it your friend or your web blog, they will still be there when the show’s over. Most shows are only a couple of hours long anyways.
(To Be Continued...)