I am about to embark on another theatre-filled weekend in Stratford with my partner and family, an annual tradition which now has spanned two decades. It’s got me thinking about the blatant disregard for the Festival Theatre playing space which we witnessed the last time we were there in July (as well as many times before that). Dear reader, when you can clearly see where the stage is, and where the audience is, and you’re not explicitly invited to cross that threshold, please please PLEASE don’t.

Twice before a performance of Rent, patrons tried to use the voms (the tunnels where the actors enter/exit) as pathways between aisles. The one gentleman actually had to be stopped by an usher from going on stage to take pictures. Meanwhile, there was a day when the Stratford Festival wouldn’t even allow you to take pictures of the set at all! Now they’ll freely let you take pictures and post them on social media; it is great advertising! However, this certainly doens’t entitle anyone to be on the playing space before or after the performance.

I understand that there are times when it is inevitable, and you must cross into the playing space; for both Uncle Vanya and Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo at Crow’s Theatre, the theatre-in-the-round set up they used required the audience to walk along the edges of the space to get to their seats. At times, like with Canadian Stage’s New or Fairview, the set was on the same level as the first row of seats, and therefore someone might have unwittingly stepped onto the set. However, these times are usually in error and corrected immediately by the ushers.

A little respect goes a long way, and when you can decidedly tell that you’re separated from the stage, please respect that fact. Paying for a seat does not come with a close-up look at everything on stage; you are paying to be swept away into another world with the talented actors ON that stage. If and when you do need to cross a playing space to get to your seat, please be respectful of that space as well; it’s not an invitation to explore, but a necessary pathway to your seat.

This is only referencing indoor spaces as well. With our outdoor summer productions coming to a close, I’ve witnessed some pretty interesting things at performances in public spaces. Having people who haven’t paid just rock up and take a seat mid-performance is, I’m sure, inevitable. However, at Living with Shakespeare, there was someone who interrupted the performance by loudly speaking to, and brandishing a stick at, the front of house staff. There were also drunken wedding guests booing the cast of The Drowning Girls in Guild Park. Or people biking/walking through the performance space of Shakespeare by Any Other Name. Again, these kinds of interruptions are an unfortunate side effect to open-air theatre in public spaces, which is why I don’t really talk about it in my reviews. It’s the blatant lack of respect for the performers and companies and what they’re trying to accomplish that really blows my mind; where did our sense of common courtesy go?

Honestly, I realize that if you’re reading this you’re not likely one of the people who are committing these offences…at least I hope not! And if you are, or have in the past, I don’t mean to offend. I like to think about it this way: would you want someone to just come poking around your office while you’re in the middle of a big presentation to your boss or corporate? By being in the playing space you’re walking into where those actors, designers, and techs are working and creating, FOR YOU! So watch where you step, and enjoy the show!

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