Over my years at Southeastern, I have had the privilege of seeing productions in Pottle Auditorium as well as the Vonnie Borden Theatre. Some such amazing shows have been “The Pirates of Penzance,” “Choose Your Own Oz,” “No Exit,” “Fat Pig” and the list goes on and on. 

The actors, crew and everyone involved in putting on these shows for the university put their heart and soul into the productions, and one thing I have noticed is that at every show, some of the audience members are extremely rude and have no theatre etiquette. 

I know that some students who go to the show are only there because it is a requirement for a class, a necessary evil. But, this does not mean that throughout the entire production you should disrupt the audience members who want to see the show. One of my biggest issues are those who pull out their cellphones. As one who is easily distracted, seeing a sudden light appear in a seat near me is super distracting. Thank you to all those students who pulled out their cellphones at a pivotal dialogue moment, I really didn’t need to know the minor details… Also, to that person who sat right by the stage during “No Exit” and thought he was smart at not distracting audience members by trying to hide his phone under the stage, those actors are putting on a performance. They practiced for God knows how long to memorize their dialogue and hone in their acting skills. I may have not noticed the phone on that day, but I bet those actors were distracted and your actions were downright obnoxious. And for those that use the excuse, “I was just checking the time,” you should instead wear a watch. 

Outside of putting away your cellphones, don’t eat in the theatre. Food isn’t even allowed in the Vonnie Borden and I do not want to watch you eat, I wanna watch the show. Also, to all those who dip, yuck, and do you really think the people behind you want to watch you spit into a bottle? Would you want to spend an hour or more of your free time watching me spit? Also, show time is not a time to catch up on gossip or other social issues. Talk before the show, talk after the show, talk over the phone, just please don’t talk during the show. If you wish to talk to someone during a movie, go home and watch Netflix together.

The list of other inconsiderate actions that I have noticed during theatrical productions can go on and on. One other main point that I would like to mention is to stay in your seat and please don’t leave until the end or during intermission. Seeing you get up, walk through the aisle and out the door is distracting and I missed entire parts of a play because of it. 

In essence, just be a considerate, decent human being. 

Next Tuesday, “High and Mighty” will begin in the Vonnie Borden and last through Saturday. It will be the first musical production in the Vonnie since 1986. Please be kind to your fellow audience members and follow proper theatre etiquette. If you aren’t sure what proper etiquette is, just do a quick Google search. I know Google will give more examples of how to be polite than I could possibly write inside the entire newspaper of The Lion’s Roar.