How To Be An Audience Member

Obviously a big part of being an actor is acting, but another big part is a love of theatre. This love is usually satisfied by being an audience member at other people’s shows. We’ve all seen millions of shows, whether they are professional theatre, community theatre, or school theatre. Because of this, we know that there are three rules on how to be the perfect audience member:

1. Laugh at the funny parts.
2. Clap at the parts when it’s appropriate.
3. Stay seated and quiet for all the other parts.

I know you know this, because you are a tried and true theatre patron, and as an actor you know how you would want an audience to act. So the real question is: Why does it seem like audience members have been having an especially difficult time with these rules recently? Over the past few months, the theatre world has been in a frenzy over audience members who can’t behave. First, the guy who went onstage during a performance of Hand To God, so that he could use a (fake) outlet to charge his phone (read about it). Then, Patti LuPone took an audience member’s phone as she was exiting stage, because he was using it while she was performing (Patti is the queen). And most recently, an audience member stormed the stage during a performance of The Fix at the Signature Theatre looking for a bathroom (ok seriously?). This has apparently become a really big issue.

Personally, I think that being able to experience live theatre is one of the most amazing things in the world, and I think part of being an audience member is having the utmost respect for the performers. Every person on the stage in front of you has put in so much work to be there and to do their best, and that’s the case for any type of show you go to see. They’re there for us just as much as we’re there for them, and we all have to respect each other in the theatre.

Having said that, I want to know if you have any bad audience member stories! Let me know in the comments or on twitter, I would love to hear them.

-Alex Bosworth

Twitter: @alex_bozzie

Instagram: alex_boz

Why Theatre Friends are the Best Friends

Let’s be real here, hanging around with your theatre friends is a blast. Whether it’s jamming out to show tunes, crying while watching the Tonys with a bag of popcorn or just hanging out at rehearsal, your theatre friends understand why you’re crazy, because they are too (in a good way, of course!).

Here are some of their best traits:

They understand when you can’t hangout.
Unlike some of your other friends, your theatre friends understand that you can’t hangout because you have rehearsal and that no, you can’t “Just skip it”. They get that theatre comes first for you. Because odds are, theatre comes first for them too.

They’ll (willingly) go see shows with you.
You won’t need to drag your theatre friends to The Book of Mormon tour with you, because they’ll be just as excited as you are! While other friends would probably fall asleep ten minutes into the show, your theatre friends will be having a blast right there beside you!

They’ll run lines with you anytime, anywhere.
Whether it’s in line at Starbucks, during finals week or in the middle of rehearsal, your theatre friends are there to help you memorize that scene that you just can’t get to stick in your head, and don’t mind hearing it over and over again until it’s perfectly memorized.

They make rehearsals 1000x better.
It’s not surprising that most theatre friendships are made at rehearsal- you’re constantly around each other! Whether it’s passing time during breaks or helping you survive that crazy fast quick change, they help keep you going at rehearsal- especially during tech week.

They understand your love for Broadway.
Unlike your regular friends, your theatre friends understand how emotionally exhausting being a Broadway fangirl/fanguy can be. They were your shoulder to cry on when Newsies closed, they celebrated with you when Kelli O’Hara won her Tony, and they’ll be right by your side at the stage door when you meet your Broadway idol (Hello, Queen Lesli!).

Show tunes. All. The. Time.
Your theatre friends won’t tell you to stop singing while you’re in the middle of performing Defying Gravity in your bedroom, because they’ll be the one singing Glinda’s part for you. Whether it’s in the car on the way to rehearsal, preshow jam parties or just hanging out in your room, it’s all show tunes, all day, everyday.

And if you’re really close, they might share some bobby pins with you. Maybe.

Why are your theatre friends your favourite? Let me know in the comments!

Sarah
Instagram: sarahvandale
Twitter: sarahvandale