TNT: The ballet wants you to take your phone out. No, really.
The Rat King from the Pennsylvania Ballet
Among the pantheon of social faux-paus in our society, having a cell phone make even a peep during a live theater performance is high on the list. However, for one show next week, the Philadelphia Cultural Alliance is encouraging patrons to bring their cell phones.
“And that’s the irony of the whole thing,” says Philadelphia Cultural Alliance spokesman John McInerney.
Thanks to a $50,000 grant from PNC Bank, the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, an independent non-profit organization funded through grants and member dues, is launching its “Turn Your Cell Phone On!” campaign, a new effort to increase the interactivity of Philadelphia cultural events using mobile technology. The latest implementation of it is due this week with the Pennsylvania Ballet’s performance of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker. Audience members will be able to vote on their favorite characters and scenes using their cell phone.
“A lot of the times you go to a performance and right afterward you leave … but this is actually encouraging people to talk amongst themselves,” McInerney says. Though patrons will still be asked to keep their phone off during the performance, at intermission there will be flat screen TVs and staffers available to display the results and answer any questions, respectively.
The Alliance hopes that the slow implementation of more technology attracts a younger crowd to shows.
“We saw some great interaction where a grandchild was showing her grandmother how to text,” says McInerney.
