You read the story. The theater-goer epidemic, that was apparently started by the ever-trendsetting Madonna, continued with the doofus that tried to plug his phone in to a stage set outlet. The Long Island lacrosse-playing college student came forward to do a press conference. Nick Silvestri, 19, read a statement before a group of reporters admitting,
A publicist for Hand to God, the play that transferred from off-Broadway and earned several Tony nominations, had initially said the press conference would start at 2 p.m., but Silvestri, who attends Nassau Community College, didn’t surface until 2:30. He then read this statement;
“The past few days have been really crazy, and I wanted to have the opportunity to try to explain what happened and also offer an apology.
Ultimately, before coming to see Hand to God I downed a few drinks and I think that clearly impaired my judgement. Before the show started, I noticed that my phone’s battery was low, and the only power outlet I saw was on stage. I think you all know what happened next, and I don’t have a very good answer for the question that many of you are probably wondering: What was I thinking? I guess I wasn’t really thinking.
I don’t go to plays very much, and I didn’t realize that the stage is considered off limits. I’ve learned a lot about the theater in the past few days – theater people are really passionate and have been very willing to educate me. I can assure you that I won’t be setting foot on a stage ever again, unless I decide to become an actor.
I would like to sincerely apologize to the Broadway community, all the other people in the audience that night, and most importantly the cast and crew of Hand to God. I am on my college lacrosse team, and I know just how bad it feels when you are out there working your ass off, and it feels like the crowd isn’t on your side or isn’t paying attention. I feel terrible if any of the amazing actors in this show felt at all disrespected by my actions.
Going to see a Broadway show is one of the most special things you can do in New York City, and if I want to give one message to folks out there it’s that you should give your complete attention to the actors on stage. You can make phone calls and send text messages all day long, so when you’re in the theater for a couple hours, just put the phones away and enjoy the show. Once again, I’m sorry for my actions, and I hope that I can become an example of a great theatergoer in the future. Thank you so much for listening.”
Somehow did this happen to to draw attention to the play which has been struggling to sell tickets? Silvestri insisted that he wasn’t part of a viral marketing stunt, saying;
“Take it as it is. It’s fun. It’s a joke.”
He said in his statement that he had been drinking. Reporters pointed out that he’s underage and he became vague about the drinking and a publicist kept Silvestri from answering “probing” questions, like
“Do you have the phone?”
Maybe a drunk Silvestri WAS just dared to go charge his phone onstage by a friend who then filmed him and posted it to YouTube. That’s how it’s done in 2015. Voila, there’s your 15 minutes. No matter that the world thinks you’re an idiot.
(via Gothamist)
The post #HandToGod: The Guy Who Charged His Phone Onstage Holds a Press Conference, “It’s Fun. It’s a Joke.” appeared first on World of Wonder.
