Audience Etiquette | Artsville | PBS LearningMedia (2024)

FAQs

What are the 7 rules in theatre audience etiquette? ›

Don't take flash photos or shoot video during live performances. The point is to do nothing that will distract the performers or disturb others in the audience. Dispose of trash, including chewed gum, in waste containers. Tell an attendant if anything was spilled, as a courtesy to the next person who has your seat.

10. THOU SHALT NOT LEAVE EARLY: Be sure to stay at the performance until after the actors have taken their curtain call.

Ability to critically listen, while being able to interpret the message from more angles than just yours. Willingness to become outspoken during both the question and feedback periods. Keep mind open to all topics so as to see the internal structure of the message i.e. Exigence, action, audience relations.

Stay quiet throughout the show.

Aside from a ringing cell phone, talking during a performance is the most distracting offense of theatre etiquette. Don't turn to your neighbor and ask what's going on. Hold out until intermission. The more you talk, the more the people around can't hear the people onstage.

For example, it is rude and distracting in either type of theater to talk during the show or have your phone out. In fact, you should turn your phone off and put it in your pocket or purse as soon as you enter a theater. It is also rude to stand up and block the view of the people behind you.

One of the most basic elements of being a great audience member and one of the most important skills anyone can learn is listening. Remember, everything you do and say has an affect on the presenter(s). When you are watching a live presentation, the presenter(s) can hear and see you.

What is an example of bad audience behavior? ›

I participate, when required, even though it brings me pain, and I clap, when appropriate. Recently, stories of bad audiences have gone viral – people on their phones during Oppenheimer, people pouring their drinks over said people on their phones, violent fights at Barbie, captured on bystanders' phones.

Punctuality is one of the most important qualities we can have and the one that defines us the most. Responsibility and punctuality go hand in hand, they are intrinsically related elements. When you are late you make others wait which makes them waste time. It is considered a lack of courtesy and manners.

Engaging attendees is the foundation of learning and remembering. Studies show that an engaged audience learns and retains information better. In life science events, getting information back from your audience is just as important as sharing information with them.

-Show respect and gratitude for the musicians by being on time, sitting quietly, and clapping at the end of the performance! -TURN OFF all phones and pagers! -DO NOT enter or leave DURING a piece! -NEVER talk during a performance!

Please do not eat anything in the theater. If necessary, unwrap throat lozenges, mints or gum before the performance begins. Do not talk with fellow audience members during the play. There is no use of cell phones or noisemaking devices during the performance.

Never touch or approach sterile personnel or equipment unless you are scrubbed and gowned. room whilst the patient is being anaesthetised, unless you have sought permission from the patient and anaesthetist beforehand. Be silent or talk quietly whilst in theatre.

Limit your socializing to appropriate times - prior to and after rehearsals and during rehearsal breaks. Talking and horseplay during can be disruptive, distracting, and, at times, dangerous. Practical jokes have no place in performance - ever. An actor never gives another actor an unsolicited note on performances.

"Please" and "thank you," holding doors, chewing with our mouths closed, dressing appropriately, shaking hands—these are all manners. They are important because they give us confidence, allow our focus to be on the substance of our interactions, and they tell us what to do and what to expect others to do in return.