Cell Phones banished from LCT and The Vineyard... what's next?
Has anyone else experienced this new "no cell phones allowed in the theater - at all - ever" policy?
A few weeks ago I was at The Vineyard seeing Mary Rose. The lights came up for intermission, and thinking I had a good 10-15 minutes of time to waste, I took out my phone to check my voicemail. An usher literally stormed over, leaned across several patrons, and shouted, "Ma'am, you have to put it away, there are no cell phones in the theater. You have to take it outside!"
Then a week later it happened at Dying City. I settled into my seat at about 7:50, and thinking I had a good 10 minutes, I took out my phone to check my voicemail. Again, an usher *ran* down the aisle to scold me. "No cell phones in the theater, you'll have to put it away!"
What gives?? I wasn't texting during the performance. I wasn't chatting as the lights went down. I guess I don't really NEED to use my phone in situations like that, but I certainly don't want to be yelled at by an usher in front of a bunch of strangers. We already have to listen to cutesy or stern announcements about turning them off, complete with ill-considered jokes about the vibrate feature. Must we now keep them shamefully hidden away like moonshine in the prohibition era? What's next, turning them in at a checkpoint, like middle schoolers in the NYC public school system?
On the flip side, it is obviously very annoying to have phones ringing during a show, or to watch people texting away furiously. I've even seen (and heard) people checking their voicemail in the middle of a performance, while half the audience can hear the message playing. I don't want to deal with that crap, but I also don't want to be harassed by rude ushers, or listen to those irritating pre-show announcements that treat audiences like kindergarteners.
The bigger issue here is that it's still up to audience members to use (or not use) cell phones responsibly during performances. Thus, you get human error (ringing phones during shows) resulting in varied sets of "rules", like I experienced at the Vineyard and LCT. The whole thing really needs to be taken out of the hands of the individual patrons, by installing those super-cool cell phone jammer thingies that the Russians are using. Then we can all go back to just getting pissed about candy wrappers and hearing aid feedback like the good old days.
P.S. there's a great article on the whole debaucle here.
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7 comments:
At BAM they instruct you to turn your phones ALL THE WAY OFF, saying they interfere with the headsets or something. I find this more plausible than phones interfering with airplanes' navigation systems.
I'm used to a no-phones-at-intermission rule. I thought it was standard - maybe even NYS law, no phones in the theatre at all? Seems like you're just running into some enthusiastic enforcement.
According to playbill, the law says, "No person shall use a mobile telephone in a place of public performance while a theatrical, musical, dance, motion picture, lecture or other similar performance is taking place." So we can't use cell phones while the performance is taking place - which, to me, doesn't include pre-show or intermission.
It's actually okay with me to not be able to use them, I just want to be informed about the policy quietly and politely. Of course, power-tripping ushers are nothing new, and unlikely to change. Really I'd like to just stop worrying about the whole cell phone thing in total, which is why I like the signal-scrambling devices idea.
Unfortunately, the irritating cell phone off reminders are necessary: some audience members need to be treated like kindergartners. And even then, many of them still don't get it.
I honestly can't remember the last time I sat through an entire performance where a cell phone didn't go off.
That's the theatregoing world we live in today. I've worked extensively at a children's theatre, where mothers have to be told not to change their children's diapers in the aisles during the show. People are so stupid nowadays. Can we install some kind of litmus test for attending the theatre? :)
Mox,
As I consider you to be a professional theater goer, I am a bit shocked that you would choose to even handle your phone inside of a theater. I agree that the use of cell phone for any reason should not be permitted inside of a theater. Period. If you want to check your voicemail, do it outside of the theater. Just like cigarettes....no problem carrying them....just use them on the sidewalk. Sorry you got accosted by ushers. But it is our obligation to set examples for people... those who can't take a breath without checking with their phones/blackberries first....to use the experience of attending a performance as an opportunity to escape and to completely "check out" for a while.
-Joe
Moxie - I understand you were embarassed to be addressed harshly by an usher. But knowing you to be so ardent about theater, I suspect that even you deep down are glad that at least some theaters are fighting back against cell phones. My experience is that when people use the phone 5 minutes before curtain or at intermission, they are more likely to receive a call during the show. Let's say that 95% of the time they turn off their phone, but if only 5% of the time they make a mistake and leave the phone on, it still adds up to many phones ringing during intensely dramatic moments at Journey's End or Grey Gardens.
Hope you have recovered from the blow to your freedom.
StagestruckNYC
www.stagestrucknyc.com
Look people, I'm not saying we should all have free reign to use our cells in the theater! I didn't say that, and I don't believe that. Like I said in the original post and in my comment above, I really just want the whole cell phone thing to stop being such a fiasco and point of contention, and it seems like the only way that will happen is if our cells are rendered useless in a theater by those cool-sounding blocking devices. The angry ushers, the stupid announcements, the rings going off at dramatic moments, I just want it ALL to go away. Period.
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