Hello Beautiful People,
In the weeks past, a person has jumped onto the Hand to God stage, and tried to charge his cellphone.
In the weeks past, Patti LuPone had to take a phone of an audience member who continued to text throughout a performance of Shows for Days.
I wish I could be horrified by these blatant displays of disrespect that happened to members of the theatre community. A show and a woman who I greatly admire. I wish I could say that I’m horrified.
Surprised, even.
But…I’m not.
I’m not surprised at all.
(Horrified, well of course.)
But surprised? No.
You see, in addition to writing, directing, producing, and running this fine website, I also teach. And teaching in 2015 – well, it’ll open your eyes to a whole different sorta problems. One of them being, cell phones.
Yes, I said cell phones.
Cell phones are an issue. Cell phones are a problem. Cell phones can often make us forget how to be people.
Hey, I’m not innocent. I’m a producer. A director. The CEO and Editor in Chief of a growing website. It takes an active effort not to look at my cell phone at times. To turn it off, even.
But here’s the thing between me and the cretin’s who disrupted Hand to God and Shows for Days – I turn my cell phone off when it’s going to disrupt the days and events of others. I am not so self-absorbed to think that my time is more important than anyone else’s.
Here’s the thing between my students and I – if someone asks me to put my cell phone away, I put it in my pocket, in a bag, in a jacket – I just don’t leave it there to be a beacon of light and a source of sound.
So…
What’s the point of this post, exactly?
Here, I’ll outline it for you in three simple steps.
1) Stop being an a**hole in public situations. Your time is no more important than anyone else’s.
2) Stop being an a**hole in public situations. If you don’t want to pay attention to what’s happening on a screen, a stage, or a lecture – don’t. GO.
3) Stop being an a**hole with your cellular device. Look up every once and a while. Pay attention to the world around you. Engage, eyeball to eyeball. I promise a world of wonder sans emojis is waiting for you.
Live, Love, Learn,