No one should be talking about their sexuality on a graduation day stage. NO ONE. It is not appropriate.

What about her sexuality was important to her and her class graduating? I'm not understanding why it was so important to announce.

Did it get her better grades? Did it cause a blanket of higher brain cells for the class? Really. How does being gay make any difference at all?

Flan. Can you answer any of those questions?

lilyofcourse wrote:

---

What about her sexuality was important to her and her class graduating? I'm not understanding why it was so important to announce.

Did it get her better grades? Did it cause a blanket of higher brain cells for the class? Really. How does being gay make any difference at all?

Flan. Can you answer any of those questions?

---

 flan probably won't but I can.  It didn't have anything to do with it.

I am now going to beat my head against a brick wall...

flan

flan327 wrote:

---

I am now going to beat my head against a brick wall...

flan

---

 You have no answers. Because you know that she wasn't doing anything but furthering her own agenda.

WYSIWYG wrote:

---

I was thinking about this thread today. I still think she was wrong to make it all about her, but, I wouldn't have had any problem if her speech had been about the class in general like:

"We, the graduating class of 2015 are all amazing people. Some of us are black and some of us are white, some of us are boys and some of us are girls, some of us are straight and some of us are gay, some of us come from rich families and some of us come from poor families. But we all come together to form this great melting pot that is the essence and the best of America."

Mentioning "being gay" in that way would have been fine in my opinion. Using the speech as a coming out for herself was where she went wrong.

---

 It pains me to admit this but I wouldn't have objected to this.  The bolded is where she walked over the line.

Because I never agree with you.

That was just the first example that came to the top of my head. One that wasn't politically correct would have been fine too, as long as it was general in nature.

That is what I was saying. If her inclusion of being gay was general and related to the class itself, then it would have been fine. "Me, me, me, me" is not fine.

WYSIWYG wrote:

---

Because I never agree with you.
- Nobody Just Nobody

_____________________

It's okay. We can pretend it never happened. ;)

---

 Thank you.  I appreciate you saving my dignity! 

It's like doing the toast at a wedding and instead of talking about the bride and groom, announcing your own engagement.

Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:

---

Lawyerlady wrote:

---

It's like doing the toast at a wedding and instead of talking about the bride and groom, announcing your own engagement.

---

Exactly!  Well put. 

---

Totally different scenario.

flan 

She had 12 years to put her Gaydar out there for fodder.

Lawyerlady wrote:

---

---

 No, it's really not.  This was not just HER graduation.  It wasn't a party about HER.  It involved lots of other people who were also celebrating the day and instead of SHARING that day with them, she stole it all for herself.

---

Apparently, the people in the audience didn't mind. 

If they'd wanted to hear a motivational speech, they would have gotten one from the Principal. This girl gave them some reality.

And they gave her a standing ovation.

 

Nope. Really don't.

flan327 wrote:

---

Lawyerlady wrote:

---

Nope. Really don't.

---

Because the thought that her friends, family and neighbors applauded doesn't fit your agenda.

flan 

---

 Because the fact that there were doubtless people that didn't care for her speech who were then pressured to stand up and cheer because they would have looked like asses had they not.  That's how standing ovations work quite often. 

And AGENDA?  I'm not the one that commandeered a ceremony to celebrate hundreds of kids to talk all about ME!

ed11563 wrote:

---

Lawyerlady wrote:

---

---

 No, it's really not.  This was not just HER graduation.  It wasn't a party about HER.  It involved lots of other people who were also celebrating the day and instead of SHARING that day with them, she stole it all for herself.

---

Apparently, the people in the audience didn't mind. 

If they'd wanted to hear a motivational speech, they would have gotten one from the Principal. This girl gave them some reality.

And they gave her a standing ovation.

 

---

How do you know people didn't mind?  When people begin standing up to applaud, most everyone else does too out of simple courtesy.  But, so what?  That doesn't make it right for her to hijack graduation for her personal BS. 

Why do people give Standing Ovations? We did a SURVEY to find out.

If you’ve seen a show lately, then I’d bet money that you’ve seen a Standing Ovation as well.

They seem to be everywhere these days, don’t they? I remember seeing them at every high school show I saw when I was a teen, and that trend took over Broadway as well.

To be honest, I don’t really care if every show has a Standing ‘O’, as I wrote about a couple of years ago after John Simon e-screamed that the perfunctory elevated ovation should stop (you can read that original post here).

But does every Broadway show really have a standing ovation? And why are people standing up? Do they really think the show deserves it?

We can hypothesize all we want, but there really is only one way to find out . . . Ask The People!

So that’s what we did. I sent my peeps into the street and we asked a hundred theater going folks the following questions:

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the last Broadway show you saw?
Did that show get a standing ovation?
Did YOU stand up?

Here is what we found out:

The average show was given a rating of 8.52.
99% of the shows received a standing ovation.
Of the 99% of shows that did receive a standing ovation, only 5% of those surveyed did not stand with the rest of the audience.

So it looks like standing ovations really are everywhere. And just about everyone is participating when they see one.

But wait . . . there’s more to learn from this. Let’s dig a little deeper. The shows received an average rating of 8.52. I wonder what the Standing “O” numbers were like for people who rated their show less than an 8 . . . which would equate to a “so-so” theatrical experience, right?

Let’s see . . .

28% of the people we surveyed rated their show less than an 8!
Despite this mediocre (or less) rating, 79% of them stood anyway!

So let’s get this straight . . . people see a show, they think it’s “eh” but they get on their feet anyway. Why? Peer pressure? Get halfway to the door? Stretch their legs?

We asked the folks who stood up, even though they didn’t love the show, why, and here’s what they said:

41% said, “I liked the actors, just not the show.”
36% said, “Everyone else was standing, so I did too.”
9% said, “I was just trying to get a better view of curtain call.”
5% said, “I’m just nice, and I felt bad not standing.”
5% said, “I stood out of enthusiasm, it was a climactic moment.”
4% said, “I just love theatre in general, so I stood.”

Pretty interesting stuff, isn’t it? Lots of takeaways about how actors influence audience response, and how Social Proof can get people to do something they aren’t inclined to do on their own.
But my big takeaway, and one that all Producers should remember when they are standing in the back of their house, watching an audience give their show a standing “O” . . .
It’s easy to get people to stand up these days. It’s not as easy to sell tickets.

(Got a comment? I love ‘em, so comment below! Email Subscribers, click here then scroll down to say what’s on your mind!)
– – – –

Standing ovations should be reserved for people who actually deserve it

Standard

I know I use this phrase a lot, but there is nothing worse in the world than when you are at some type of meeting, function, or banquet, and somebody you’ve never heard of in your life is being introduced, and you are forced to give them a standing ovation just because every other person around you is doing it.

I hate this so much. Why in god’s name am I giving a standing ovation to somebody who I didn’t even know existed five minutes ago?

Whenever this happens, there’s always a slow process that leads to this awful, awful situation.

First the person is introduced. Maybe they are being honored for something specific, or maybe they are just being acknowledged for their hard work and service, or maybe they actually won something. When their name is called, you always see one or two people stand up and clap. This is usually somebody who is close to the person who is being honored.

When I see this, from afar, I think, “Haha, sucker. Look at that idiot standing up when nobody else is.”

But then, the rest of that guy’s table stands up and claps. This is when I think, “Uh-oh… I don’t like where this is going.”

And without fail, a slow scattering of people start getting up and following suit, and I think, “Is this really happening?”

Finally, when more than half of the room is standing and applauding, you know you have to do it too. Everyone else does it, and finally you get up, and you’ll probably comment to the person next to you,”Did this really deserve a standing ovation?”

The answer? No. No it did not.

For my job, I go to my fair share of meetings and ceremonies, and am often subjected to this slow form of torture. A standing ovation is undoubtedly a huge honor. If you ever receive one in your lifetime, it means that you probably accomplished something and actually did some good in this world.

But standing ovations are starting to lose their mystique, because they are given way too often. I have nothing against standing ovations in general, but they should be reserved for those who truly and fully deserve it.

If I am at a sporting event, and the jumbotron acknowledges a member of our armed forces who was invited to the game as a ‘thank you’ for his or her service, then by god, I will drop whatever I am holding, stand up and clap with authority. I will stand there proudly and clap.

If I hear about somebody who had a lifelong struggle with some near-fatal physical or internal ailment, and managed to overcome it and return to full strength, and I happen to be somewhere where they are being honored, then you bet your bottom dollar I will give them a standing ovation; for what they’ve been through — they deserve it.

These people are truly heroic. They’ve stared death in the eye and managed to still persevere. These people know the true meaning of sacrifice and commitment, and I’d stand and clap for them any day.

But the other day I was at a school board meeting. And yes, they are as dull and boring and they sound. Probably even worse.

During the first half-hour of the meeting, the board of education honored all of the teachers who are retiring at the end of the year. There were a lot of people in attendance — probably about 200 — because there were other student-awards being given that same night. Needless to say, it was a terrible night.

Anyway, so about 10 teachers were retiring, and every single time one of them was announced, all 200 people stood up and gave a standing ovation.

Seriously?

I understand that teaching is not only a very honorable profession, but an important one. They are responsible for the molding of our youth, and making them become what they are. Every single person who has become successful in this world probably was heavily influenced by a teacher in their lifetime. I get that. I know that teachers go through a lot of **** on a day-to-day basis. Truet me, I am aware of all of that. I am.

But a standing ovation? For retiring?

They are receiving a standing ovation for simply being adequate and not getting fired from their job for a long period of time. They are receiving a standing ovation for doing what every single member of our society is expected to do — work hard and work long.

These people deserve credit for their lengthy careers, no doubt, but the fact that each and every one of them received a standing ovation is comical. First of all, to give ten standing ovations in one night is overdoing it because it doesn’t differentiate between any of them. If you want to give a “standing O,” then do it for the teacher who deserves it most. And not ALL OF THEM.

I’m not trying to pick on teachers, but this is just a recent example I can think of. Tonight I was at a press club awards ceremony, and the guy who received an individualized award received a standing ovation. I pretty much sat in the far corner of the room just so I can avoid association and attention, and I still had to stand for this idiot. Sorry, but nobody deserves a standing ovation for typing stuff on a computer for 30 years. I do it for a living, and I’ll be the first to say it.

There are people who are out their sacrificing their lives for us. Do they really deserve the same level of recognition as someone who worked at a desk job all of their lives?

So people, next time you want to give an ovation to somebody, think twice about what you’re going to do, and you should probably come to the realization that you are better suited to stay seated.

It’s less trouble for everyone.

Well, I think retiring from a job you have put in decades of service too IS worthy of that type of applause. ANd, nowadays it is becoming rarer and rarer. And, I think someone steadfast and working year after year after year is a very worthy thing to celebrate. I dont' have a problem with that.

Lawyerlady wrote:

---

Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:

---

Well, I think retiring from a job you have put in decades of service too IS worthy of that type of applause. ANd, nowadays it is becoming rarer and rarer. And, I think someone steadfast and working year after year after year is a very worthy thing to celebrate. I dont' have a problem with that.

---

 But, obviously not everyone feels the same.  The point is that they would still feel compelled to stand up.

---

I understand what you are saying.  And, if you don't want to stand, then don't stand.  But I personally would find that a very WORTHY accomplishment. 

Lawyerlady wrote:

---

Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:

---

Lawyerlady wrote:

---

Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:

---

Well, I think retiring from a job you have put in decades of service too IS worthy of that type of applause. ANd, nowadays it is becoming rarer and rarer. And, I think someone steadfast and working year after year after year is a very worthy thing to celebrate. I dont' have a problem with that.

---

 But, obviously not everyone feels the same.  The point is that they would still feel compelled to stand up.

---

I understand what you are saying.  And, if you don't want to stand, then don't stand.  But I personally would find that a very WORTHY accomplishment. 

---

 So, when looking at these different articles, there was one where a lady chose not to stand for a standing ovation at a performance she considered to be just ok.  And the performer on the stage saw her not standing and berated her and called her rude in front of everyone.

---

Well, then he was an idiot.  But, you are right.  Is it worth being perceived as ungenerous or rude to sit?  It is easier to stand even if you think it sucked!  lol 

I don't care how many articles you post. I am telling you MY experience.

Not everyone blindly follows along.

flan

Nobody Just Nobody wrote:

---

I hate standing ovations. When other people stand to applaud I feel compelled to also. Even if I don't want to. If you don't you look like the rude person in the group.

---

 I don't.

flan

I don't do the up and down thing a lot.

Never really have. If I don't think or feel something deserves a standing ovation, I don't stand.

I probably would have had something really snarky to say to a performer trying to make me feel bad for not standing.