Someone in the Crowd
Audience members... We can't put on a show without them. Quiet, observant, appreciative (you hope), they're the reason we run our production night after night. Except, sometimes they aren't exactly quiet... or peaceful... or even awake to enjoy the show. Sometimes you get audience members who are more of a show themselves than whatever's happening on stage. Here's a list of all the kinds of interesting audience members you'll get in a performance, illustrated by examples I have personally encountered:
(1) The Reactor
She (well, usually she) responds to everything that's happening onstage. I have seen her in her most extreme manifestation in the form of the Oh-My Lady. The Oh-My Lady is a sort of legend at a theatre company I performed in this past summer. She attends the Sunday matinee, and every time she is shocked by something on stage she says... wait for it... "Oh my." While she didn't really bother anyone who was performing onstage (we thought she was hysterical), I have seen other vocal audience members who I was less than thrilled to listen to whilst I was onstage, like...
(2) The Regular
She's been coming to this theater for longer than you've been alive. She may have even directed a few shows at said theater, and this gives her every right to direct you while you are onstage. I ran into one of these a couple weeks ago at a "lap theater" where the stage is a foot off the ground, and this woman was in the first damn row. She must have had her hearing aides turned off, because she kept shouting at me to be louder. Mind you, she was sitting right in front of the speakers. I went offstage after my death scene, and tried to find an usher. No one would deal with her, because she was The Regular. *sigh*
(3) The Snoozer
The name days it all. Half way through Act 1, they slip off to Dreamland, and wake up sometime during intermission. What's even worse is when this is family, and you spend time at the bar post show trying to explain the plot (true story!).
(4) The Muncher
"Oh Romeo" *crinkle crinkle* "wherefore art thou" *crunch* "Romeo" *that awful chewing sound*
That's a mood killer right there. Ladies and gents, this is not a movie theater into which you smuggle your snacks. There's food for sale at the concessions. Support live theatre. That is all. In fair Verona, there were no such things as cheetos anyway, and why the hell would you want to interrupt an intimate scene depicting young love with the sound of your swallowing???
(5) Your Family That Sits in the Front Row
Every time I open a show, my family intentionally books their seats in the front row. They know I hate it. And then they make faces and stare at me for a whole two hours. There's nothing like kissing a friend (and fellow artist) passionately while your grandparents stare you down, and your father looks ready to snap your scene partner's neck.
Did I forget anybody? Sound off in the comments and share your own stories!!!
(1) The Reactor
She (well, usually she) responds to everything that's happening onstage. I have seen her in her most extreme manifestation in the form of the Oh-My Lady. The Oh-My Lady is a sort of legend at a theatre company I performed in this past summer. She attends the Sunday matinee, and every time she is shocked by something on stage she says... wait for it... "Oh my." While she didn't really bother anyone who was performing onstage (we thought she was hysterical), I have seen other vocal audience members who I was less than thrilled to listen to whilst I was onstage, like...
(2) The Regular
She's been coming to this theater for longer than you've been alive. She may have even directed a few shows at said theater, and this gives her every right to direct you while you are onstage. I ran into one of these a couple weeks ago at a "lap theater" where the stage is a foot off the ground, and this woman was in the first damn row. She must have had her hearing aides turned off, because she kept shouting at me to be louder. Mind you, she was sitting right in front of the speakers. I went offstage after my death scene, and tried to find an usher. No one would deal with her, because she was The Regular. *sigh*
(3) The Snoozer
The name days it all. Half way through Act 1, they slip off to Dreamland, and wake up sometime during intermission. What's even worse is when this is family, and you spend time at the bar post show trying to explain the plot (true story!).
(4) The Muncher
"Oh Romeo" *crinkle crinkle* "wherefore art thou" *crunch* "Romeo" *that awful chewing sound*
That's a mood killer right there. Ladies and gents, this is not a movie theater into which you smuggle your snacks. There's food for sale at the concessions. Support live theatre. That is all. In fair Verona, there were no such things as cheetos anyway, and why the hell would you want to interrupt an intimate scene depicting young love with the sound of your swallowing???
(5) Your Family That Sits in the Front Row
Every time I open a show, my family intentionally books their seats in the front row. They know I hate it. And then they make faces and stare at me for a whole two hours. There's nothing like kissing a friend (and fellow artist) passionately while your grandparents stare you down, and your father looks ready to snap your scene partner's neck.
Did I forget anybody? Sound off in the comments and share your own stories!!!
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