What to do if your smart phone rings in the theatre

It's something that's unlikely to divide opinion amongst the theatre community: do not use your smartphone during a performance. Seems simple enough, but how you stop your mobile friend from lighting up is open to interpretation: flick it onto silent, leave on vibrate, place into airplane mode, or turn it off, remove the battery and leave it in a locked box a minimum of 5 miles away from the theatre?  

If you're a conscious human being, you'll take action to ensure you won't disturb, disrupt or distract when you're in the theatre. But look, it happens. Like leaving the stove on or forgetting to lock the car, sometimes our brains fail us, and a momentary lapse could leave you red-faced.

Of course, some people out there decide a dark theatre is a perfect time to send a text: there have been two separate instances of 'altercations' during performances where one theatregoer has asked a fellow patron to stop using their phone (musical legend Patti LuPone has even confiscated phones from audience members mid-performance). Those who insist, probably can't be saved, but here are a few tips on how to make sure you aren't unwittingly caught out.

• Take precautions

When you take your seat, make sure you take two seconds to check your devices. It takes no time at all and could save you from an evening of embarrassment. Ideally, power down. You're not going to use your device during the show, so there's no need really to have it switched on. You can fire up at the interval and send that important late-night work email if you have to, but complete shutdown is your safest bet.

• Fight, or flight?

Whether the phone is off or in Airplane Mode, just make sure it's on silent. One flick of a switch (on most devices) and you're sorted.

• To buzz, or not to buzz?

If you've decided to keep your phone on, think about whether you want your phone to vibrate. For some phones, the vibrate mode can still be just as loud as a ringtone- especially during quieter moments inside a theatre - and just as distracting. If you're going to keep your phone on vibrate, consider the level of vibration in your phone's settings.

• Killswitch

Most devices have an easy-to-access kill-switch if you are receiving a call, meaning if you're caught short during a performance, you can reach into your pocket and switch off both a phone's ringtone and vibrations instantly. This will save you having pull out your phone, blinding your neighbours with a bright screen (and now deafening them with an even louder phone), and switching it off.

• Wearable tech

With the rise of wearable tech, light-up accessories can be a nuisance for audience members. If you wear a smartwatch with a screen, it might not be an issue for you, but remember the screen will often face outwards from your body, and into the eye-line of your neighbour which could be incredibly frustrating. A good practice would be to tuck it into a sleeve or utilise a 'theatre mode' many of these devices have, which will stop the watch from lighting up if you raise your hands to applaud, for instance.

_{Photo credit: Capital Ideas Edmonton (flickr) used under Creative Commons BY NC 2.0, Leo Prieto (flickr) used under Creative Commons BY NC ND 2.0}