| Sightlines | |
| Posted by: aleck 09:48 am EDT 06/14/24 | |
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| I've become sensitized to the problem of directors and set designers ignoring some basic principles of sightlines in Broadway shows. This sensitivity started a week ago when I was forced to move out of the seat I had during the first act of Appropriate (because of a disgusting person sitting next to me) to a seat that was closer to the stage but to the side. I was not at the most extreme seat to the side; there were others who were seated in other rows that were much further over. I was at audience right (stage left). From that perspective, half of the set was impossible to see. None of the balcony was visible, although there was apparently important action that took place on that balcony. In addition, there were piles of set pieces at the far edges of the stage on far edges that must have completely blocked the view of things from rows closer to the stage than I was. Did the director and set designer not bother to view things from those side seats? Do they sell these seats as "partial view?' Shouldn't everyone in the theatre be able to see the same production, no matter the seat? Especially if paying the same as those elsewhere in the theatre? Then, things got worse. At the rear of the set is a doorway opening at the exact center of the set. Curiously, I noticed that actors were hovering in that doorway. I was puzzled. Why are these characters kind of hiding in the shadows, but clearly seen by people sitting in seats at the side? I realized that they weren't characters eavesdropping on the on-stage conversations. They were actors hanging out waiting to make an entrance. Huh? Someone (maybe the director) should tell those actors that if they can see any portion of the audience, the audience can see them. On top of these issues, the actors had their backs to the side for most of the performance. They also had the unfair performance habit of speaking in a normal tone of voice -- except when yelling (of which there is plenty). The men were the worst. Hello, people, that's a big theatre. We're not at the Atlantic where such things could be tolerated. I wasn't the only one unable to hear -- or understand -- much of what was happening (except, again, for the yelling parts). No accommodation was made to be presented with the actors' backs while they whispered. Shouldn't we expect the director to tell these actors to speak up? There was a stampede to the listening device stations at intermission. Paulson's big first act speech was delivered with her back to half the audience. I guess folks like Jesse Green and maybe Tony voters who are given center section seats would not have noticed. But those at the sides -- and not even the extreme sides -- were cut off from the experience. And, again, partial view? Lower priced ticket for those compromised seats? And this is what gets Tony nominations for Best Director and Best Set? These folks would have flunked Directing 100 and Set Design 101 because of their contempt for large sections of the audience. I've started looking for other sightline issues at shows. Illinoise had its own problems. Not only is a lot of the action not possible to be seen by those on the extreme sides, there was a huge speaker hanging halfway up the proscenium on stage left that jutted out into the stage opening, covering up a view of the music performers on the platform directly behind that speaker. Why? I was in seat K14, which is not that far over, and I couldn't see those performers. I think it could have made difference. I could see the performer on stage right and he was a "performer" who added to the experience. I have no idea what the people on the platform on stage left had added to the production. But when I saw them at the curtain call, I thought that perhaps they could have had a contributing impact. I'll never know. |
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| Next: | re: Sightlines - lanky 01:33 pm EDT 06/14/24 |
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