Performer wages war against cellphone use during live performances

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- An increasing number of artists say cellphones disrupt their shows and people who take out their phone during performance are at risk of getting their phones taken away by certain performers.

The one place where a cellphone is absolutely unwanted is at the theater where sometimes people forget their cellphone etiquette.

One legendary performer took matters into her own hands. Broadway star Patti LuPone is being applauded in more ways than one. This week at New York's Lincoln Center, she had had enough when she saw someone texting during her performance and she snatched the phone away.

"She was sitting in the second seat. She was oblivious to everybody except for herself and her phone," LuPone said.

It's not her first run in with an obnoxious cellphone user. She once stopped her show a few years back when an audience member kept taking pictures.

"So when it's dark in the theatre and your cellphone light goes on, then you're pretty much distracted by the cellphone light and not watching the performance in the theater," Mark Nelson of San Jose said.

Randall King, co-founder of the San Jose Stage Company, says cellphones have made it more distracting for his performers who work hard to put on a good show.

"You're at the theater, let it die. Turn it off," King said. "You are there to focus on a piece of literature and purpose of that literature has to be conveyed. If you have one ear, one eye into something else, you're missing the message."

King is not entirely disenchanted with cellphone dependency because he knows some things cannot be replaced, even by a phone.

"Where do we go to get a visceral experience? It's going to be live theater," he said.

Cast members say ultimately it comes down to respect.

"For me, it's less about losing their manners when coming to live theater and it's just about thinking about other people in general," said Brian Herndon, a performer.

That means even if it's just for a few hours, focus on what's in front of you and not what's in your hands.