penfield | Sit down and be counted (Reply)

"Applause is the spur of noble minds, the end and aim of weak ones."
- variously attributed to Edmund Burke and Charles Caleb Colton

As part of a weekend-long birthday celebration, J. took me to a musical at Arena Stage on Sunday night. Next to Normal is an slightly avant-garde rock musical about a family matriarch's chronic pathological psychosis. Just the kind of light entertainment fare you want before spending Thanksgiving with the family.

It was, as you might expect, a real downer, making "Hamlet" look like Disney on Ice. But it was well-staged and ably performed, overall a solid production. At the appropriate intervals, I rewarded the cast and crew with sincere applause.

But something happened at the end of the musical that troubled me, something that I've noticed is far too common these days. The crowd (of, I'd guess, 800 people) gave a standing ovation.

It's not like I'm a big theater buff or anything, but I know a little bit about stagecraft, and this was not a "Standing-O" situation. Standing ovations should be reserved for truly sublime, compelling or transcendent performances. Standing ovations are the equivalent of "Wow!" Wows are rare.

But it seems like every time I go to see a live work of drama, no matter what the scale or quality, standing ovations have become the norm. Consequently, standing ovations have become cheap. It's getting to be like standing ovations are the next sitting ovations; for audiences to show their appreciation, they're going to have to start jumping up and down.

I can think of a number of reasons why standing ovations have become so commonplace, none of them good reasons:

Feelings of Inferiority. Public speaking is one of humanity's most common phobias. Additional millions of people are convinced that they cannot carry a tune. Individuals with an extremely acute fear of heights may have difficulty standing on an elevated stage. So it makes sense that these hapless wannabes would have their minds blown when they see others doing with ease what they cannot do themselves. I imagine these people also applaud sunsets, airplane landings and knitting.
Peer Pressure. Standing ovations can be contageous, but not because we want to be like that first standing guy -- it's because we don't want to look like the asshole. Or maybe because we're standing behind the first standing guy, and we don't want to miss any action, in case one of the actors accidentally falls into the orchestra pit or something.
Boredom. Let's face it, sitting through a play or musical, even a good or great one, can be a little tiresome. We're talking about an entirely passive and confining experience that often lasts at least two hours. I'll bet that some of these clowns are just so excited to be able to do something, to somehow participate, that they leap to their feat at the earliest opportunity.
Self-aggrandizement. Other people, perhaps driven by a codependent need to please-and-be-pleased, are so eager to be in a "good crowd" that they try to make it happen. The end result is a real lovefest between the actors and the audience. "You're great!" "No, you're great." "No, you." "No, you!" I'm guessing that most of these folks are failed actors themselves.
Age and infirmity. Most theater patrons are old. After a two-hour musical, they are likely just making sure they can still walk, or are perhaps trying to get a head start to the restroom.

I beg my theater-going peers to toughen their standards and withhold their standing ovations for only the most deserving of performances. A fair and consistent applause standard is the only way to both ensure continued dramatic quality control and maintain the value of our accolades.

Do you see the people stand? Will you be strong and sit with me?
All of the actors on the stage will surely understand, you'll see --
If it's really, really good, you can applaud with all your heart
Otherwise keep it in your seat when the clapping starts!