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Theater and the Standing Ovation Pt. 4





Welcome back to the most controversial issue on social media--

Standing Ovations

If you haven't read Parts One, Two, and Three, go to

http://thiscantbebroccoli.blogspot.com/2020/11/theater-and-standing-ovation.html

http://thiscantbebroccoli.blogspot.com/2020/11/theater-and-standing-ovation-pt-2.html

https://thiscantbebroccoli.blogspot.com/2020/11/theater-and-standing-ovation-pt-3.html

Today, I'm talking with someone else in the community where this took place, but this person has a different perspective on the matter.

Here's the interview:

ME:  I didn't think I was going to need more than three perspectives on this, and then you reached out to me, and I thought--Okay, I have to talk to [Them].

THEM:  I'm only talking about this--to you--because of the anonymity.

ME:  You wouldn't confess to this otherwise?

THEM:  No.

ME:  So what's your position on standing ovations?

THEM:  I give them when I go to local shows.

ME:  Not when you see theater elsewhere?

THEM:  No.

ME:  How much theater do you see outside of your community?

THEM:  A good amount. I go to New York a lot and I go to Boston and I go to London with my husband once a year.

ME:  So you don't even stand when you see things in New York and London?

THEM:  No, but it's not as common there.

ME:  Right. Is there a reason you only stand locally? Do you think the work is better?

THEM:  No--Um, sometimes it is? But that's not why. I stand because I'm nervous about what will happen if I don't.

ME:  We talked about this in the first interview. How the person I spoke to sort of--sort of got in trouble for not standing?

THEM:  Yes.

ME:  So you think that would happen to you as well?

THEM:  Yes.

ME:  Have you ever wanted to genuinely stand for something you saw locally?

THEM:  Once or twice.

ME:  But that's it?

THEM:  Yes.

ME:  How long have you been seeing local theater?

THEM:  Twenty or so years.

ME:  And only once or twice have you wanted to stand?

THEM:  I've enjoyed things, but I haven't wanted to stand that much.

ME:  So you also have a high bar when it comes to standing?

THEM:  I do.

ME:  But not when you're seeing something local?

THEM:  Yes.

ME:  And you're a director in the community?

THEM:  Yes.

ME:  Do you resent having to stand for productions you don't think deserve them?

THEM:  I accept it as a professional thing. I stand because if I didn't, it would be bad for me professionally. It's like networking. I don't like doing that either, but I get that I have to.

ME:  Do you really think it would hurt your career if you didn't?

THEM:  I do.

ME:  Do you get any kind of thrill out of going somewhere else--like New York--and not standing?

THEM:  You know, I do, actually.

ME:  It's fun to stay seated?

THEM:  Yes. To respond--honestly. That feels good.

ME:  Have you heard other artists talking about how standing ovations don't feel like they mean anything anymore because of how common they've become?

THEM:  I've heard that, but I've also heard actors backstage after a show talking about a standing ovation and you can tell--you can tell they think they really earned it.

ME:  And maybe they did.

THEM:  I think they want to live the dream of--We're these stars going out there and killing it.

ME:  It's part of the experience they want to have as actors.

THEM:  It's an experience we want to have as an audience as well. We want to say we saw something perfect and special.

ME:  But how is it special if it's happening every time you see something?

THEM:  I agree with you.

ME:  Do you think this is something that might change after the pandemic?

THEM:  I think it'll get worse.

ME:  Really?

THEM:  Because we'll be so happy to be there. I would think everything that had to do with faking enthusiasm before is only going to get worse.

ME:  Which is fine, because I'll be happy to be back as well, but a standing ovation isn't about how happy you are to be there.

THEM:  We should stand at the beginning of shows.

ME:  Stand before the show even starts to give the 'We're so happy to be here' applause, and then the end can just be about whether or not the show is good.

THEM:  It might make the actors feel good to start the show that way.

ME:  I think that's a great idea.

THEM:  Can we make this happen before we all come back?

ME:  I'll add it to the list.

Them is a director and an avid theater-watcher.

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