By Gilbert Riley Santa Monica
I’ve been a Santa Monica resident for the last 16 years. In a good year, I’ll see five or more shows of the Twilight Dance Series, and in a bad year, I’ll see maybe one. Usually, I will arrive and wander.
Last week, during the Mavis Staples show, I met some friends in the front of the crowd. They had brought chairs and I brought a blanket. That night, I was appalled to see what the front of the audience has become. I have traveled the world for music festivals and never have I had this experience. Throughout the night, people in the seats in the front of the audience would yell at anyone that stood up and, dare I say, “danced.” Throughout the evening, my musical enjoyment was interrupted by the audience yelling “sit down and shut up.” At one point an angry man walked forward 20 feet, tapped a guy on the shoulder and yelled at him to... well, you guessed it... “sit down and shut up.”
I’ve heard performers comment about the lack of movement and/or exuberance from the front of the house and now I know of what they speak from the stage. I can’t imagine it’s any consolation to have the performer constantly hear the audience yelling at the people who are showing outward signs of pleasure at their performance up on stage. Oh, and they can hear you on stage, especially when the there is a buffer of silence for 75 feet.
I’d like to make a suggestion that the Twilight Dance Series promoters: Tape off or paint a designated dance area in the front of the house, maybe a 25-foot radius semi circle in front of the stage. People that want to bring chairs can set up behind that. That way some of the dancers can be close, the performers can perform to a “live” audience, and the seated people can “sit down and shut up” a little further back. Or maybe those people can purchase a box in the front of the Hollywood Bowl, where a nice attendant will kindly ask the person in front of them to “please refrain from standing or making too much noise for the enjoyment of the other guests.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 27, 2006. Read the original PDF.