Theater etiquette rules aimed at preventing body-posture disruption of sightlines

Evidence

I. Gentlemen will be particular in not disturbing the audience by loud· talking in the Bar-Room, nor by personal altercations in any part of the … II. Gentlemen in the boxes and in the pit are expected not to wear their hats nor to stand nor sit on the railing during the performance; as they will thereby prevent the company behind, and in the lobby, from seeing the stage. Those in the side boxes will endeavor to avoid leaning forward as, from the construction of the house, the projection of one person’s head must interrupt the view of several others on the same line of seats. … III. The practice of cracking nuts, now abandoned in all well regulated theatres, should be entirely avoided during the time the curtain is up; as it must . necessarily interfere with the pleasure of those who feel disposed to attend to the performance. — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 668

Categorization

• CANDY: 1830 Cincinnati theater forbidding nut-cracking during the show is a charming, low-context fact.