Theaters Add Tweeting Sections

The bad news is, apparently some of us absolutely cannot sit through a play or opera or ballet performance without tweeting. The good news is, in some theaters, those tweeters will have their own section. As more theatergoers live-tweet performances, so-called "tweet seats" are becoming "a national trend," the director of a Shakespeare festival tells USA Today. To wit, art-minded tweeters will find a place at the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Raleigh's Carolina Ballet, and Ohio's Dayton Opera. In at least one theater, the seats are in the back row so that other audience members are not disturbed.

One audience member who tweeted about a CSO performance says she appreciated being able to "communicate openly about my reactions to the music, musicians, and conductor—without speaking a word." Of course, not everyone is hopping on the bandwagon—particularly, not big venues like New York City's Carnegie Hall or Washington's Kennedy Center. And not all audience members are on board, either. Says one who sat near tweeters during a CSO performance last month, "They didn't even look up to applaud at the end of each selection. The fact that they were watching their hand-held devices, they missed out on what was happening on the stage." (More tweet stories.)