I hope it’s okay to confess this here
I have the SFTH Patreon and I really want to watch the BM livestream—the new one that came out. but the truth is I don’t want to since I know that the audience interaction there was pretty bad…
Like I’m itching to know what happened and like the comedy of it because i like any content SFTh puts out but the second hand embarrassment and the general annoyance for these people as someone studying forms of theatre is genuinely preventing me from enjoying it
I’ve already had my opinions on hecklers in SFTH’s shows and I’m glad SFTH had a way of dealing with them but I see how the audience interaction takes it too far sometimes
And if it’s gotten to a point SFTH needs to be very vocal about it it’s gotten to a point where I can’t enjoy certain shows because I realise the absolute discomfort they might have been in because of certain audience actions
And as a theatre kid who’s seen disruptions in people’s performances and has performed, disruptions really don’t feel good, especially when you really don’t want to mess up or really want to give your all to something.
The thing about Improv is that it’s not just comedy, it’s a type of theatre — and heckling shouldn’t even be a thing in comedy shows at all, either.
Audience interaction is when a comedian or an actor willingly interacts with you — SFTH has tons of it, mind you, asking for suggestions, sometimes even inserting themselves into their audience — and we should be grateful for it. It’s their show and their art that they enjoy — and we don’t have the right to take that joy away from them. Interact when you’re being asked and when it is appropriate.
I don’t want to sound like a hater or something but I think it’s basic respect that we know that they’re not our friends. I think it’s already great that they can be so open with their fans, and that they even allow gift giving and stuff like that. I like their genuine and honest interactions, and I feel so uncomfortable when I see a fandom that I only recently joined get suddenly so parasocial.
I know it’s been reiterated by the fandom but from a performer’s perspective it leaves a bad feeling for me. I’ve already been worried for the state of theatre, especially since I’ve heard of stuff like people yelling at that woman acting in the Pitt who was doing her solo on broadway that she had to call it out. In movie theatres too, when people want to watch movies peacefully, there are people that just don’t want to shut up.
I’m not saying reacting in the moment isn’t allowed. An accidental “Oh my god” or a loud yelp at something that shocked you is understandable — I’ve had that during my monologue that I did for an exam and I’ve done it myself — and performers revel in reactions like that. Performers understand that, and so does SFTH. Accidental disruptions happen. What they shouldn’t be used to is purposeful disruption. No theatre, no musical, no comedian, no improv actor should be used to heckling.
Improv isn’t a conversation. It’s a performing art. Like any other art, the stimulus is provided and we just have to enjoy what is given to us. We give the stimulus, and SFTH acts it out in a way they know will entertain us. And like everyone else, sit back and enjoy. No painter enjoys having their work painted over without their consent. No musician wants to hear a melody clashing with theirs at their concert. No actor wants to have their moment stolen. Once the suggestion leaves the audience, it no longer becomes ours.
When witnessing art, it’s not ours to dictate how it comes out, just ours to interpret on our own. Furthermore, the experience isn’t only YOURS. There are people around you who don’t want the show to be dictated by you. There are people who came to enjoy the show and have a good laugh too. No one wants to be blindfolded while watching someone paint. No one wants to be listening to the other melody clash with the music they wanted to hear. No audience member with proper etiquette enjoys watching someone else take the spotlight.
I’m glad SFTH can have these open discussions now, and I don’t wish for these discussions to close. These need to remain open for the fandom because SFTH does not deserve to be exposed to toxic “celebrity culture”. They are not YouTubers. They are actors first and foremost. They are people of their craft and not people who want any type of internet fame.
I can’t speak for everyone, but as a performer of theatre I feel very strongly about it. I would hate for every effort to be overshadowed by something else.
I understand wanting to be included, and being genuinely invested and so into it, and there is always a yearning for the audience to be fully immersed — and SFTH’s interactions leave an open window for that. Yet, we shouldn’t abuse it. Laugh and enjoy, because it is comedy, but if it’s something you want to say and communicate when the window for interaction has closed, you shouldn’t do anything, because it isn’t your show.
I apologise if people don’t agree with my take, and maybe validly so — especially since Improv is a different type of theatre, but I still believe audience and actor/comedian interactions need to have a set of rules and boundaries — because Improv is an important form of theatre, in the end, and SFTH are four human men who have feelings and boundaries that require respect.
