Hi everyone! We're currently in a bit of a dilemma as to whether to include sensory warnings (some loud sounds) for our percussion concerts. We'd like to be more transparent about what our audiences can expect in our concerts, but a few of my colleagues are worried that this may 'scare' away potential audience members – the argument here is that there are more quiet moments than loud ones. For context, these concerts are in a fairly small, intimate space. We will be providing earplugs and plan on communicating this.
I'd love to hear about everyone's thoughts on this, as well as your practice around trigger warnings and how you'd word/present the information so that it's representative of the experience? Thank you!
Hola Anne,
I want to lift up Shenette's advice of using "Sensory Advisory/Warning" as opposed to "Trigger Warning." I think that's brilliant.
My own thoughts on this are that it is better to have a warning than not. We should not let fear guide us, because it seems that you are being caring and thoughtful about the audience members that do come. I mean providing earplugs and communicating that is already awesome, and in my mind, that sense of care for your public could and should be a reason why your audiences come back to engage with your organization.
Also, I think it would be much better to provide the warning than not doing it and getting complaints about it being too loud, too surprising, or accidentally waking up someone who may have fallen asleep and wasn't expecting the loud sound.
HA!! Love the respect for the sleeping guests!! Gotta include them!