Fireflies are not for theatre

 As an artist on the stage I witnessed the beginning of a trend that, despite the warnings before curtain up, is still booming. Now as an audience member, and as someone who is responsible for artistic productions, I live and suffer directly because of this trend. 

"Please turn off your cell phones, the show is about to begin”. To start with, this phrase is quite simple, direct and easy to execute, but it has several layers- Do not get distracted. Do not distract the rest of the spectators or artists. Immerse yourself in the production that is being performed. Mingle among the characters, the musical notes, the movements. You are here as part of something that, no matter how much  you may wish to the contrary, you will never be able to rewind. Those who are on the stage need you, and your attention, to transform the energy so that they can give it back to you in an art form- surely if there had been a theatre Jiminy Cricket his advice would have been along these lines.

Nowadays, technology (I refrain from adding the "new" because they have been with us for a long time) dictates the rhythm. Answer, comment, post, be up to date, like, retweet, follow, unfollow, take photos as evidence of where you’ve been, what you’ve done, what you’ve eaten... and so much more. But, what happens when all of this consumes us in such a way that we forget about what is important? Or simply, what we have bought a ticket for? I think I am one of the few people that when I go to the movies, and of course, to the theatre, I put my phone straight on to airplane mode, and when I hear the message begging for this gesture I immediately turn it off, to avoid any interruptions of alarms or ringing in the middle of the performance. When my phone is turned off it doesn't cross my mind to check the time on it and then to ‘accidentally’ see the notifications. You'd be surprised at just how visible this gesture is from the stage, no matter how much we try to lower the brightness of our screen. The artist deserves all of our attention just for getting on stage, not to mention the time that they’ve invested prior to this act. 

Isn't it wonderful to feel the world come to a standstill for about two hours? Those who practice it confirm it, but not everyone achieves it, this is visible by the number of static fireflies that you can see during a performance. Concentration, immersion and enjoyment of a production is an exercise that can be trained. It doesn't matter if the production is good or bad, there will always be something that you can take away from it to reflect upon. What is clear, is that by being there, only partly present, you have lost an opportunity to heal, to nurture your mind and to be part of something that is created and dies at exactly the same moment, because no other work will ever be the same, no matter how many times it is repeated, it is dependant on the energy, among other variables, of the people who participate in the group experience that create the Performing Arts. Static fireflies are not the only ones who aren’t welcome in the theatre, the cough chorus, we shall leave for another occasion.