HOUSE MANAGEMENT: Do you spill the beans about your famous audience members?

[PSMKay]

I was just having a discussion with an actor friend about the first amateur production of "Phantom" in Ohio.  The whole anecdote might be hearsay, but one issue came to the forefront for me.

According to the story, the SM came backstage pre-show to announce that Mr. Webber himself was in the house that night.  Why this had not been announced sooner was not mentioned, nor why it fell to the SM to make this ominous sort of announcement to their cast at that particular time.  My friend said, off the cuff, that the SM had been in the wrong to relay the information to the cast before curtain.  I'm of two minds on the matter, but given the shows I've done and the sorts of folks likely to attend them, I've become sort of blase about the whole "famous people in the house" type of events.

If, at 30 minutes to curtain, you were informed of a famous (and likely career-making) guest in attendance, what would you do? Would you tell your cast? Would you keep it to yourself? On a related note, who would you want to know about if they were in the house?  Who do you think would freak you out the most?

[AdamJ]

Perosnally, I try to treat every performance the same and do the same exact show every night no matter who is in the audience. However, Actors (in my experiences) tend to have pretty fragile psyches and something like that can seriously throw off their balance. As an SM i think it is a job to preserve the show and teling the cast something like this I think is something that is likely to throw off their performance, and I would not do it. I would tell them after the show though. Something along the lines of "Great show tonight, I'm sure Mr. Webber, who was in the audience btw.. Enjoyed it very much"

And as far as people who would freak me out the most? A lot of people don't notice the SM and a lot of what we do is invisible, unless you were in on the pre-production phase of that particular show. I would tend to get freaked out if the director was in the audience after a long absense. I would be scared that I hadn't held up his vision and would get asked what the hell happened to his show..

[missliz]

If actors want to know, I tell them after the show. Especially true with industry folk so they can send a follow-up letter or note if they want.

If they ask before the show, I tell them it doesn't matter because it should be a good show every night. I doubt it's going to make for a better show anyway.

[MatthewShiner]

Here's the issue

If one person in the cast doesn't want to know of VIPS/REVIEWERS/ETC in the house at any given time, then I can't tell any of the cast - so I tend to keep it to myself, and let people know post-show.

[NomieRae]

I usually prefer not to know until after the show when I can forward the cast/creatives the information in case they'd like to get in touch for their own networking.

Although one night I was told Lawrence Stern was in the audience and I definitely wished I hadn't been told.

[planetmike]

It seems with the prevalence of text messaging and other social media combined with cast and crew appearing to live on their cell phones when they're not on stage, the likelihood of a big name's presence remaining a secret is slim. Reviewers on the other hand will probably remain safely anonymous.

[On_Headset]

I'm of two minds.

On one hand, every performance should be run under similar conditions. The cast shouldn't be unduly stressed out, nor should we encourage a system where they put in good performances when there are "important people" in the audience but are allowed to relax and take it easy when it's "only" a "normal" audience. To this end, I'm in the habit of not revealing any VIPs until post-show.

However, if it's someone's spouse or parent or significant other or whatever, not only am I going to tell them about it, if they're the sort of person who will roll with it, I'm totally teasing them about it in my pre-show calls.    (And, of course, if they're the sort of person who wouldn't want the attention drawn to them, I won't.)

[missliz]

However, if it's someone's spouse or parent or significant other or whatever, not only am I going to tell them about it, if they're the sort of person who will roll with it, I'm totally teasing them about it in my pre-show calls.    (And, of course, if they're the sort of person who wouldn't want the attention drawn to them, I won't.)

But I think family/sig. o./etc is a different case. Most actors know when they're coming, for example, and they (typically) have very little effect on the career (which is where I think the jumpiness concerning famous audience members comes from). The only time I've had both of those converge is when one of the actors was childhood friends with Edward Albee, who showed up one night. The actor knew because they had discussed it, and I knew because I knew his seating, but we kept it a secret from the rest of the cast.

[Rebbe]

I would generally not tell the cast.  Some actors get really nervous when VIPs, or eve their own friends or family, are in the house, and I wouldn’t want that to effect the performance negatively.  Although with their friends and family, it’s the true the actor in most cases already knows they are there, so those nerves can’t be prevented. 

The exception to this is that, working in Washington DC, a couple times I’ve gotten word that a VIP is coming and the secret service needs to do a sweep of the building.  In these cases we usually know a day or two before hand, so if the sweep includes backstage I do tell the cast in case anything is disturbed.   The most notable VIP I remember was a  supreme court justice; a fun bit of trivia, but I don’t think she inspired too much nervousness. 

[kiwitechgirl]

Sometimes I tell the cast, sometimes not - I've just come off a show where we had the house lights up (in a 123-seat house) and so they could very clearly see if anyone they knew was in - so I told them beforehand so they wouldn't get any surprises.  But if there's anyone in the cast who doesn't like to know, I'll keep it quiet unless another cast member specifically asks me - in which case I tell them and ask them to keep it to themselves.

[RuthNY]

I don't ever discuss who is in the audience, not before, during, or after the performance.  Yes, there are actors who don't want to know, but it's mostly because I don't care.  I am not the least bit celebrity-struck, am unfamiliar with most pop-culture icons, and know that theatre people, even prominent ones, are just people like me.  All of these folk should be able to come to the theatre, enjoy it like any other audience member, and go home without being disturbed, if that's what they desire. (Plus, I don't recognize anyone, pretty much no matter how famous, unless someone else point them out to me.)

[nmno]

I don't say anything to the cast unless they ask (is it true Oprah is at the show?) or unless it's a creative coming in and they specifically ask me to tell the cast.

[maximillionx]

I don't feel it necessary to inform the cast about any possible "famous" audience members. I'll relay a message from a family member or friend, but that's usually it.

I don't ever discuss who is in the audience, not before, during, or after the performance.  Yes, there are actors who don't want to know, but it's mostly because I don't care.  I am not the least bit celebrity-struck, am unfamiliar with most pop-culture icons, and know that theatre people, even prominent ones, are just people like me.  All of these folk should be able to come to the theatre, enjoy it like any other audience member, and go home without being disturbed, if that's what they desire. (Plus, I don't recognize anyone, pretty much no matter how famous, unless someone else point them out to me.)

Agreed.  I tend to answer most "famous person" references with "Hm?"

[Amie]

I prefer not to know and to not tell the cast unless they want to know.  In the academic setting I'm in now. it's a big deal if the acting/directing faculty are in the audience, just as it is for me if the stage management faculty is there.  I psychs out the company members (sometimes, but in the academic setting, it certainly does!)

So, if I learn of a particular person in the audience, pre show, I keep it to myself unless asked.  Every performance and audience should get the same show and consideration, of course. But also,  each person has his or her own way to process potentially important people viewing their work...etc.

Those are my two cents...

On a related note: I get a little nervous when the director or other SMs are in the audience. 

[sgoldsbo]

I worked on a show where one of the actresses knew and invited several big names. She took the liberty of informing the cast herself when there was a VIP in the audience.

Personally, I would agree with the general consensus that it really shouldn't matter who is in the audience or how many seats are filled, everyone paid the same price for their tickets and every audience member deserves a great show. I usually don't share information about VIPs or house size with the cast before the show.