Are you bringing your child to The Rose for the first time? Here are some tips to make your experience more enjoyable!
Seeing a live play is different from watching a movie or TV. The actors in a live play are real, and they have spent hundreds of hours getting ready to tell you the story on stage. If you yell or talk out loud during the show, the actors can hear you and it will disturb the people around you. So try to stay quiet when watching the show — UNLESS the actors ask you to be loud!
Here are some more theater etiquette rules to remember:
Arrive early. If you are late to the show, you may be asked to wait to enter the auditorium until an appropriate time for you to get to your assigned seat, and that means you will miss more of the show. People who arrive late disturb the performers on stage and audience members. It is best to arrive about 30 minutes early so that you have time to find your seat and read the program before the show starts. The outer doors of the theater open 45 minutes prior to curtain, and the auditorium doors open 30 minutes before the show begins.
- Take care of personal needs (drinks of water or using the restroom) because you should try not to leave your seat until the intermission or until the performance ends. If you must leave the performance during the middle of the show, please use only the side aisles. The center doors should not be opened during a performance.
No food, drink or chewing gum is allowed in the auditorium. These things can damage the theater, and we want to be sure The Rose is around for kids like you for another hundred years!
- If you must have a cough drop, or something of that nature, do not make noise with the wrapper. (If you have a cough, it might be best to unwrap a few cough drops before the show begins.)
- Please don’t use your phone to talk OR text OR take pictures during the performance. The sound and light from phones make it hard for other audience members to enjoy the show, and can actually be dangerous for the actors and distracting to the crew members.
- Please silence or turn off all electronic devices, including cell phones, beepers and watch alarms. You’ll be embarrassed if it goes off in the middle of the show and it will break the mood for everyone. We encourage you to share your experience at The Rose via social media, but please refrain from doing so or texting during performances; as we explained above, the glow from your device is distracting.
It is easier for you (and the rest of the audience) to see and hear the performance if you stay in your seat and listen very carefully. Remember to turn off your voice and listen to the actors as they perform. That way, you will hear all the awesome things they have to say! But, sometimes, the actors ask you to make noise, so if they do, cheer really loud! After the performance you will have an opportunity to ask questions about the show during the live Q&A from the stage.
- Don’t stand at the railing of the balcony or run in the theater. You can hurt yourself, and that’s not good at all.
- Do not put your feet up on the seats or balcony and do not kick the seat in front of you.
- Don’t put or throw anything on the stage.
- Only actors, crew and Rose staff are allowed on stage, on the steps leading up to the stage and on the backstage ramp.
- There is a “restless room” just off the lobby in case someone in your group gets cranky or needs to wiggle during the show. Don’t worry! You can still see the show through a super cool TV monitor.
- The audience is a very important part of the performance. The actors love it when you show that you liked a performance. You can also laugh if you think something is funny.
- Pictures (even without a flash) and sound and/or video recordings are not allowed during the performance.
If you really loved the show, you can give the actors a standing ovation at the end of the show. A standing ovation is when the audience stands and applauds because they thought the show was great.
- We know it is tricky to get to the parking lot and out of the theater after a show, but leaving while the show is in progress or before the actors have taken their final bows is discourteous. Wait until it is over and then exit with the rest of the audience.