Audrey+L’s+OpEd+Article



=** "One, Two, Three" ** By Audrey L = I am a performer- piano, cello, orchestra, and dance. For those that perform, we know that our conduct is important for a good show but also that the audience has their own responsibilities. I, and every other performer spend countless hours preparing for a performance that only lasts a few minutes. Now, I'm not usually one that seeks to be the center of attention but for those few minutes, I want the audience to hear and see what I have put my time into. Would it kill people to give a little respect? I’m not saying everyone does this but it happens much to often. Whenever I perform or watch a performance, there have been cell phones that go off, people who go in and out of the auditorium and murmuring among the crowd. In February, I attended the Best in the West performance in Oxnard. There was an assortment of performers: hip hop dancers, rappers, DJs, and musicians. I understand that during a high-energy hip hop performance the dancers feed off the excitement of the crowd and thus audience interaction is encouraged, and that we forget to turn off our phones, or if it’s really an emergency, people need to leave the room. However, usually when people leave the room, is not to address an emergency.

At Best in the West, while David Sides was playing the piano, people began to talk. As the murmurs continued to grow, I could only sit in disbelief. It’s common courtesy and it’s really not that hard to stay quiet. Let me help.

Step 1: Silence = Stop talking/Turn off the cellular device Step 2: Sit and turn toward the performer Step 3: Watch and listen

Three easy steps! That's all it takes! We all learned "one, two, three all eyes on me" in elementary school. These performers only get a few minutes to display the result of months of hard work and then it’s over. With visual art, there is a tangible end product but performing arts do not have that. Sure there's video and tape recordings but it's never the same as a live performance. For that short period of time, an audience should do their part. The type of spectator that always leaves their phone on, talks while someone is on stage or constantly enters and leaves the room should learn their one, two, three's or not attend a performance at all.media type="file" key="audreyl-muckraker-0910.mp3" width="240" height="20"