There’s something that’s been bothering me, behavior I noticed at Tribal Fest and at the Scarborough Renaissance Faire which I visited this weekend. And that behavior is people talking through shows.
Now, I don’t mean a quick comment about the show itself, said to the person next to you, or a quick hello to a friend or even stranger who just took the adjacent seat. I mean carrying on a prolonged conversation while things are happening on stage.
I shouldn’t have to explain how and why this is rude, but I will anyway: When you talk during a show, you distract the people around you. They might miss some notes in the music because of your sudden laughter, or they might not be able to focus on something slow and beautiful while you’re talking about what you had for dinner last night. Furthermore, if it’s a small audience or you’re near the front, how do you think it makes a performer feel to look out into the crowd and see that you’d rather talk to your neighbor than pay attention to what’s happening on stage? I’ve even seen videos ruined by a chatty audience member who was seated by the camera and whose voice overwhelmed the music.
Most people are at the show to enjoy the show, and even if we’re not super into whoever is on the stage at the moment, we have the decency to either be quiet or get up and go for a walk to talk outside. Events like Tribal Fest, Ren Faires, the Las Vegas Belly Dance Intensive and anything else with a festival atmosphere make it really easy to come and go as you please. On the other hand, if it’s a more formal event in an actual theater (like the evening pro shows at LVBDI or the opera if you’re really fancy), you should just save your conversation for the end, because hello, you just paid good money for this show, how about immersing yourself in it?
And by the way, I feel like this is especially important for dancers watching other dancers. We have no room to complain about the general public audience not taking us seriously and not respecting us if we can’t even respect each other. So the next time you’re at a festival and you feel the desire to strike up a conversation, ask your friend to step outside for a breath of fresh air, or say “Hey, remind me to tell you something the next time there’s a break.” Stop ruining things for the rest of us, please and thank you.