Author Topic: COMMUNICATION: Preshow (turn off your cellphone) announcements  (Read 117951 times)

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rocco

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Re: Preshow (turn off your cellphone) announcements
« Reply #30 on: Dec 18, 2007, 11:00 am »
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I heard a rumor that it was becoming illegal to have cellphones on in theatres and movie theatres in some states.  Totally a rumor that I heard though.....can anyone back that up or point to more evidence of that? If it's true, that would definitely be a win for our team!
I know at one point I was working on a performance in a public library, and it was in fact a city law that cell phones could not be on inside the building. I certainly hope it catches on...

scotroll

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Re: Preshow (turn off your cellphone) announcements
« Reply #31 on: Dec 18, 2007, 07:07 pm »
I'll jump in on this...

The last announcement I used ended like this, "...remember that our actors are easily distracted by shiny objects, blinking lights and ringing noises. Please take a moment to silence all mobile devices, or during the show you will end up with a drooly, giggling cast member on your lap begging you to "make-it-do-it-again...".

It seemed to get a laugh and some applause...

-S

KMC

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Re: Preshow (turn off your cellphone) announcements
« Reply #32 on: Dec 18, 2007, 07:08 pm »
I'll jump in on this...

The last announcement I used ended like this, "...remember that our actors are easily distracted by shiny objects, blinking lights and ringing noises. Please take a moment to silence all mobile devices, or during the show you will end up with a drooly, giggling cast member on your lap begging you to "make-it-do-it-again...".

It seemed to get a laugh and some applause...

-S

Seems a bit demeaning to me, I don't think I'd appreciate it if I was in that cast.
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J

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Re: Preshow (turn off your cellphone) announcements
« Reply #33 on: Dec 18, 2007, 07:24 pm »
I agree. The cast I am currently working with isn't fond of the announcement that plays, and it's not even so directly 'demeaning'

"The actors kindly ask you to turn off or silence your cellphones to avoid disruptions during the performance" (or something to that effect)

They find it to be frustrating that the reason for the announcement is put on them, and that "they" are asking for cells to be off, instead of the company and the producers.

I can see their point.

scotroll

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Re: Preshow (turn off your cellphone) announcements
« Reply #34 on: Dec 18, 2007, 07:29 pm »
I'll jump in on this...

The last announcement I used ended like this, "...remember that our actors are easily distracted by shiny objects, blinking lights and ringing noises. Please take a moment to silence all mobile devices, or during the show you will end up with a drooly, giggling cast member on your lap begging you to "make-it-do-it-again...".

It seemed to get a laugh and some applause...

-S

Seems a bit demeaning to me, I don't think I'd appreciate it if I was in that cast.

I suppose you could look at it like that... That's the nice thing about good natured casts (they do exist); they thought it was pretty funny... I figure I can choose to either go with a droll announcement, which just isn't our company, or I can go with something that has a semblance of humor. If I decide to make fun of someone, I can chose my cast, or I can chose my audience; who happens to pay my bills...
-S

Debo123

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Re: Preshow (turn off your cellphone) announcements
« Reply #35 on: Dec 26, 2007, 07:17 pm »
So this is kind of off topic, but maybe it fits here just enough to stay as a brief lark:

Last year there was an actor in a show who had this super distinctive phone ring; I believe it was a clucking sound. He's onstage in front of a packed house in the middle of a quiet scene, and he hears his phone, clucking. It doesn't stop.

The clucking is coming from the front row of the audience, where it fell out of his pocket during fight call.

hehehe.

MatthewShiner

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Re: Preshow (turn off your cellphone) announcements
« Reply #36 on: Dec 26, 2007, 08:56 pm »
well, I have a cell phones ring in an actor's pocket while he was onstage.  which is difficult in classical, period theatre.
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Anything posted here as in my own personal opinion, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of my employer - whomever they be at a given moment in time.

erin

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Re: Preshow (turn off your cellphone) announcements
« Reply #37 on: Dec 27, 2007, 01:54 am »
...or when the ME drops his phone underneath a raked stage during an afternoon work call without realizing it, a fact which is only discovered when the Muppets theme song starts playing in the middle of an otherwise silent scene....

J

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Re: Preshow (turn off your cellphone) announcements
« Reply #38 on: Dec 27, 2007, 12:31 pm »
I'm always afraid that when collecting valuables, the actors will forget to turn off their phones, or will think that they're off when they're not, and halfway through the performance, right below my feet in the valuables cabinet, suddenly a phone will start ringing. I've recently called shows where I'm either backstage or close to the audience (without windows), so if a phone did ring it will be just like a patrons phone ringing. I try to remind them to turn them off, but that only goes so far.

Darn this technology!!

BalletPSM

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Re: Preshow (turn off your cellphone) announcements
« Reply #39 on: Dec 29, 2007, 12:19 am »
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I'm always afraid that when collecting valuables, the actors will forget to turn off their phones, or will think that they're off when they're not, and halfway through the performance, right below my feet in the valuables cabinet, suddenly a phone will start ringing.

This has happened to me.  Thankfully we were at the hall, so it is large enough and the symphony is loud enough that it didn't matter -- except to me!  Then whoever called left a voicemail, so every 30 seconds there was this beep announcing the voicemail.  I had to wait about 15 minute until I had a long enough break to reach down, unlock the cabinet, find the envelope with the phone, turn it off, lock it back it up, and then resume calling the show.  Now I usually check before they give the envelope to me.  "Is your phone off or on vibrate?"

I've also had dancers who are listening to their iPods backstage, set them down still playing and then go on stage -- leaving me to wonder "where is that music coming from?"

Stage managing is getting to do everything your mom told you not to do - read in the dark, sit too close to the TV, and play with the light switches!

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Re: Preshow (turn off your cellphone) announcements
« Reply #40 on: Dec 29, 2007, 04:27 pm »
I've also had dancers who are listening to their iPods backstage, set them down still playing and then go on stage -- leaving me to wonder "where is that music coming from?"
If you can hear their earbuds it's set a hazardous level.
There going to be real sorry in 10 years.
Philip LaDue
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jspeaker

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Re: Preshow (turn off your cellphone) announcements
« Reply #41 on: Dec 29, 2007, 08:01 pm »
I heard a story once of an Artistic Director whos phone went off on opening night of his show... and the ringtone was a very suggestive song as it was his boyfriend calling.
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Fisheje198rm

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Re: Preshow (turn off your cellphone) announcements
« Reply #42 on: Jan 11, 2008, 04:09 pm »
for a visual-gestural production we had our preshow announcement in Gesture, two person.  one person will be signing oddly-offlandish langauge. and the other person is the "interpreter" repeating in universal langauge (gesutre)

works really well.  gets both cell/pager (deaf, Sidekicks/blackberries) off or on silent. also includes remaining calm during fire, no talking/signing/guesturing during the show as it is distracting for the Deaf actors.

give you a example of our production... click on it and it will take you to the video.


Dustincoc

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Re: Preshow (turn off your cellphone) announcements
« Reply #43 on: Jan 21, 2008, 12:38 am »
The one we used for our last 24 hour project was kind of funny. We told the audience that they could use their phone at their own risk but that 2 seniors armed with hammers were in charge of security and didn't like people using phones during the show. Then the guy doing the announcments phone went off and the phone was smashed with the hammers. It was all preplanned and the phone wasn't any good anyway. The theme of the 24-hour project was Risk.

lilmonki in black

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Re: Preshow (turn off your cellphone) announcements
« Reply #44 on: Jan 21, 2008, 01:45 am »
My favorite preshow announcement has to be the Ka - Cirque version.  For those of you who don't know, when you walk in, the stage is basically a big pit, with occasional bursts of flame coming out of it.  A couple of cast members came out, walking on the ledge along the front of the stage, and they 'spotted' an audience member with a camera around his neck.  So they pulled they guy out of his seat and grunted at him.  Took the camera and threw it into the pit.  And then there was a large burst of flame.  They searched him, found a cell phone and just set it on the ledge.  And then they addressed one more thing... I don't remember what it was, but they threw it over the ledge, too...  They were sending the guy to sit down, and he grabbed his phone off the ledge.  And a second later, it rang.  So he was pulled out of his seat, and they threw HIM over.  Large burst of flame.

I've done announcements before where I'll have a plant in the audience, and their phone will ring just as I'm announcing that phones should be off... So I take it from them, answer it, and tell the 'caller' that so and so is in a show right now and would return the call when the show was over.
We have done so much for so long with so little, we are now qualified to do anything with nothing.

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