The Audience in Practice
Since so few Americans go to the theatre on a regular basis
if at all, it is not surprising that many don't know how to go
about it. Some are reluctant to even try going to the theatre
because it seems so intimidating to them. They fear that they
may not fit in. At this time we shall explore the actual experience
of theatre attendance, and get some guidance on how to actually
go about it.
Active and Passive Participation
When going to a movie you never need worry about what to do if one of the actors speaks to you. But because actors on stage can do that you might have considered it. Most people are uncomfortable about being singled out and addressed directly in a performance. I believe that the tension created in the audience by this possibility, especially when actors turn to address the audience directly, gives live theatre some of its edginess-the risk factor introduced in the last chapter. In fact there are styles of theatre and plays that require the direct participation of the audience. During the height of the exploratory nineteen-sixties, there was much fiddling around with the actor-audience relationship. Some believed that for theatre to maximize its impact, and more completely differentiate itself from film and television, that the audience had to be more active than passive. Groups such as The Living Theatre invited audience members up on stage to become part of the action. Even more recent plays such as The Mystery of Edwin Drood call upon the audience to vote to determine the ending of the story, and environmental productions such as Tony N' Tina's Wedding include the audience as extras. Improvisational theatre groups such as the Groundlings in Los Angeles solicit ideas and dialogue as well as the occasional presence of volunteers in their skits. But for the most part it has been determined that the audience prefers the relative anonymity of more passive participation, signaling its responses to actors in the more conventional ways discussed in the last chapter. When you go to the theatre today you needn't worry too much about the embarrassment of being singled out or dragged from your seat. If even the possibility of such an event terrifies you, you might want to read a play's reviews first to avoid them, or sit away from the aisle.
The Role of the Audience
What else should you be prepared for as a member of an audience?
Do you, like the performers, have a role to play, and if so what
is it? Your role is to be there in the participatory sense
of the word. Imagine your grandparents at a dance club or a rave.
Are they really there in this sense? More likely they
are distanced from what is happening around them due to their
unfamiliarity with the music and the scene, as well as distanced
by their prejudices and attitudes about it. You cannot go to
the theatre this way. You must be open to and accepting of the
experience. Be prepared to observe carefully and make an honest
effort to understand what it happening. You must listen actively
and participate emotionally for the magic to happen. You must
bring your imagination with you because the stage will require
much more of it than the screen. You must leave your skepticism
and prejudices behind. This is the role of the audience.
"I went to the play like you said, Dr. Huber, and it was
okay, but I didn't get it." One of the most difficult barriers
for theatre newbies to overcome is the notion of getting
it. It is only natural, I suppose, to think of the play as some
sort of puzzle that has a solution hidden inside by the author,
and that if you're smart enough you'll solve it. Some of this
no doubt comes from some classes in English literature where
more emphasis is laid on analysis than enjoyment. But it is also
true because plays are more intellectually challenging than films
and TV. Well, I'm here to disabuse you of this notion. It is
particularly important for those just beginning their exploration
of the theatre to take the experience for what it is, not what
it should be. The meaning that you get from the theatre experience
is created at the place where you and the art coincide. The
model in Figure 1 illustrates this concept.
The circle labeled "you" represents the totality
of your self including all the life experiences, attitudes, personality,
and feelings that you have. The circle representing the play
includes all the elements that make it up, the ideas that are
contained within it, and the different interpretations it can
be given. The two arrows represent the dynamic interaction between
you and the play including what you know and feel about it before
seeing it. The area where the two circles overlap represents
that particular period of time when you attend a performance.
The two circles are drawn only partly overlapped because the
performance is different every night and you are there only once,
so you do not experience the totality of it; also because you
do not live your entire life at the performance, just part of
it. Meaning, therefore, is created where the two circles overlap.
This model of meaning is intended to reassure you that what you've
experienced is the meaning--that you did "get it."
You may be confused or unsure how to interpret what you experienced,
but that is another matter. The point is, whether you liked the
play or not, the meaning it had for you is valid.
This model is admittedly subjective which may make some literary
critics object, but it has a sound basis. One of the foundations
of communication theory are the communications postulates, one
of which is that communication is dynamic. According to Walter
Coutu's An Operational Definition of Meaning "Since
meaning is not an entity, it has no locus; it is something that
occurs rather than exists. Despite our Aristotelian thought forms,
nothing in the universe 'has' meaning, but anything may become
a stimulus to evoke meaning by way of inducing the percipient
to give self instructions on how to behave in relation to it."
Pretty dense stuff, huh? But its implication that the audience
creates meaning has influenced my thinking greatly. I am not
the only one who believes this. British playwright Caryl Churchill
said: "I'm not inclined with any of my plays to say, 'This
is about that'... Plays are about the whole event that
they are." In other words, make of them what you will.
Aesthetic Distance: Physical & Psychological
A piece of advice that I often give is that it is better to go
to the theatre fewer times and sit close than more frequently
and sit in the back. Because of the cost of theatre tickets,
this is a choice that often has to be made. There is something
very important in a live theatre situation about being close
enough to assure good two-way communication. This also has much
to do with scale. In movies the images of people that you see
are many times life size so it matters less where you sit. Television,
even in extreme close-up, is often less than life size so you
must sit closer to a set than a stage or movie screen. In any
case, there is both a maximum and a minimum ideal distance between
the audience and the performance. The term aesthetic distance
is used to describe this separation between viewer and art, and
it can refer to both physical and psychological distance.
Imagine standing in a museum gallery looking at one of those
huge eighteenth century paintings that nearly cover an entire
wall. If you stand with your nose a few inches from it you can
see only brush strokes, paint texture, and a few colors. In order
to comprehend the painting in its totality you must move back
to near the center of the room or further. This would be the
correct aesthetic distance from which this painting was intended
to be viewed. In another room in the gallery is the small canvas
of a late nineteenth century impressionist. From the far side
of the room it appears like nothing more than a darkish smudge,
but as you approach to within a few feet, the detail and its
subject matter become clear. In these cases the effect of physical
aesthetic distance, both too close and too far, is demonstrated.
In the case of theatre, there are pieces that demand greater
distance, such as a grandly scaled opera, the dance patterns
of big-production musical theatre, and some classical drama such
as Greek tragedy or Shakespeare. There are also plays that work
best when the audience is close, such as most small cast realistic
modern dramas and comedies.
There is also a psychological dimension to aesthetic distance.
Many years ago when The Diary of Anne Frank was a new
play, some Jewish members of the audience who had survived the
Holocaust were so overcome that they had to leave the theatre.
In their case, the story and subject were too personal to them,
the psychological distance for them was too close. They could
not maintain sufficient objectivity to see the story as only
art. On the other hand you might imagine that a play which is
centered exclusively on people or a subject about which you have
no experience or understanding, or perhaps even loathing, might
create a psychological distance so great that you could not bridge
it.
Finally, there is the aesthetic distance of time. Recently the
playwright Anna Deavere Smith nearly abandoned development of
the script for House Arrest (1999) about President Clinton
and the press. Things kept changing about the subject so quickly
in the real world that the play was always out of date before
she could get it on stage. Sometimes we need to step back and
get enough distance from a current event long enough for the
dust to settle before trying to make art out of it. Clearly,
the phenomenon of aesthetic distance applies not only to audiences,
but to artists as well.
Degrees of Affinity
Implicit in the "meaning model" above is that each audience member brings different baggage to a play. Each of us has our own unique life experiences and backgrounds through which we view and interpret our world. Who you are is as important as what the play is in determining how much you will enjoy it. There are a number of general areas that can be identified in dramatic material which provide points of contact between you and the play or film. The number of areas and degree to which you have an affinity for them can even predict your response to it. By affinity I mean a direct connection, personal attraction, or specific interest. One such area is the age specificity of the subject and characters. The play and film Driving Miss Daisy is centered on older characters and deals with the subject of aging. While it is skillfully written to appeal to a broad audience, it is of particular interest to the aged. A film such as Scream will certainly have more appeal to teenagers than the elderly. The sex of the main characters and any gender-specific issues they confront is another area of affinity. Waiting To Exhale had great appeal to women for this reason. Another area is the time and place of the action. Dramas set in south central Los Angeles such as the film Boyz in the 'Hood will be of particular interest to those who live in that or similar areas. A specific dramatic situation such as kidnapping, rape, or robbery will have more of an impact on those who have been victims of such crimes than those who have not. Stories centered on particular occupations such as the films Car Wash and Clerks will have particular appeal to those who have worked in car washes and video stores. Experiences and events such as the Vietnam war as depicted in plays like Streamers and films like Platoon, or life in the sixties and seventies in films like Fast Times at Ridgemont High, or drug abuse in Trainspotting will have special meaning for those who have experienced them. In short, the more areas of affinity you have with the play or film, the more likely you are to become intellectually and emotionally involved with it. Greater involvement of this sort with a play or film often translates into liking it.
The Theatre Event
One of the properties of the arts is that you experience them
both directly and indirectly. For example, we are more likely
to experience music directly through the emotions--you feel it
before thinking about it. You don't need to know anything intellectually
about the artist or the time from which it came to have an emotional
reaction to music. Dramatic arts have this property as well,
but less overtly. At the theatre we tend to analyze what we are
seeing before engaging emotionally. Corollary to the intellectual
response to art is that the more background information about
it you have, the more you have to think about. What you know
about this particular play, playwright, theatre company and cast
beforehand are important factors in your appreciation of it.
While it is not necessary for you to do research on a play before
seeing it, having some technical or inside information can't
help but enhance your enjoyment of it. Generally, the older a
play is, the more you will profit from having some knowledge
of its history, including the society for which it was written,
the playwright, and his other plays. Language and customs change
with time, and the farther back a play's origin, the greater
the change. One of the most effective ways to prepare to see
an historic play such as one by Shakespeare, is to read a copy
of the script. This is an indirect experience of the play that
is very worthwhile.
Imagine two people at a baseball game, one from Malaysia has
never seen baseball and the other is a baseball nut from Los
Angeles. Who will enjoy the game more, the one with no pre-knowledge
or the one who has each player's batting average committed to
memory? The Malaysian might enjoy the color, tastes and smells,
crowd reaction, and pageantry of the event, but after several
innings will be getting very little from the play of the game
itself. On the other hand, the veteran baseball fan will appreciate
the drama of each moment, knowing that if the player being held
on second manages to steal third that it will be a league record
for a rookie. He has access to the drama of every moment and
can appreciate and be involved with each nuance of the game.
The same is true of all the dramatic arts--the more you know
about them, the more levels on which you can appreciate and enjoy
them. Fans of certain film directors like Quentin Tarantino enjoy
his films not only at face value, but because they can make comparisons
to his other work. People will watch a television show because
they follow the career of the starring actress and know a great
deal about her. Because the stage gets very little media attention,
most people are unfamiliar with its directors, stars, and writers.
So getting background information for a theatre experience requires
greater effort.
Another important aspect of indirect experience of the theatre
are the events surrounding it. The stage experience does not
begin with the rise of the curtain, it begins with the decision
to go. Everything that happens leading up to the start of the
play will contribute to your experience of the event. The effort
and expense of getting tickets, the inconvenience of finding
the theatre, how you are treated by the house staff, and the
relative luxury or simplicity of the building are all part of
the totality of the event. They will effect your state of mind
and mood, which will in turn effect your response to the performance.
Going to the Theatre
Since so few Americans go to the theatre regularly, it is not surprising that many students have questions about how to go about it. One of the most common questions is "What do I wear?" We live in an age of informality--wear what you want, when you want. If it's outrageous or inappropriate enough, it might even be regarded as a fashion statement rather than mere ignorance or bad taste. But seriously, there are no rules, only guidelines. In general, Easterners are more formal than Westerners, and Southern Californians are casual by definition. You could probably get away with flip-flops and shorts if you wanted to, although "no shoes-no shirt-no service" probably applies to theatres as well as restaurants. Therefore, when going to the theatre in Southern California, you can get away with nearly anything, but if you want to avoid standing out, consider the following.
Plays at Larger Theatres: Coat and tie for men and a nice dress for women are always nice, but dressy casual is just as acceptable.
Plays at Smaller Theatres: Dressy casual for "normal" plays and theatres, hip and trendy for more off-beat experimental venues and plays.
Outdoor Theatres: Dress casually and for the weather. Men and women will want a jacket or sweater at night and women may wear pants. For daytime hats and sunglasses are advisable.
Opera, Ballet: Dressy suit and cocktail dress, if you want to.
Special Nights: For premières, galas, or private parties at larger theatres, the ballet, or opera formal wear (tux or evening dress) is appropriate. Most of us don't go to these--I haven't!
There are even occasions where some aficionados of certain
plays (Phantom of the Opera, Rocky Horror Show
) wear clothing themed to the costumes in the play!
If you are going to the theatre for a class assignment, dressy
casual is usually the best choice. Stage auditoriums are usually
warmer than movie theaters because of the strong lighting, but
bring something to keep you warm just in case. If you dress in
layers you can adjust as required for comfort.
"How long does it last?" is another common question.
The answer is usually anywhere from two to three hours-modern
plays tend to be shorter, classics and musicals longer. If it
really matters you can call the box office for a more exact time.
Bring along some extra cash for parking and refreshments, and
binoculars if it's a very large theatre and your seats are in
the balcony.
No one has ever asked me how to behave, but it became obvious
one night that not everyone knows. I happened to be attending
a play on the same night as two of my students. They were seated
in the front row and chatting audibly during the performance.
Eventually an usher came down and asked them to be quiet. They
told me later that they had never been to live theatre before
and were quite surprised because they didn't realize that their
behavior was inappropriate. What may be acceptable behavior at
the movies is not always acceptable at plays. Stage auditoriums
are much quieter than movie theaters, and people are often listening
very carefully. Stage plays don't use continuous sound tracks
and highly amplified audio, so voice levels that are acceptable
in movie theatres are annoying to others in a theatre auditorium.
It is considered extremely rude to carry on a conversation at
a stage play. Whisper very quietly into the ear if you must say
anything at all, but save your commentary for the intermission.
Even gum-chewing can be disturbing. Of course pushing the seat
in front of you with your feet is rude even in a movie theatre.
Avoid getting up in the middle of the play unless you must, and
never bring food or drink into the auditorium. Be sure
to turn off your cell phone or pager; most theatres today will
make an announcement to remind you.
As you approach the theatre resolve to enjoy the experience.
Try to relax and put yourself in an adventurous and observant
state of mind. Before the show begins explore the lobby and people-watch.
When you get to your seat read the program. At intermission discuss
the show with others over refreshments. Some people even find
it fun to overdress a little and wear sunglasses--pretending
to be "somebody."
There is something else you should be prepared for: disappointment.
When you don't like a program on TV you just change the channel.
You usually know a lot about a movie before you see it, so you
avoid ones you have reason to believe you won't like. We are
conditioned, therefore, to expect satisfaction nearly every time.
But plays are riskier than movies or TV, scripts get written
and produced that would never even be considered for the mass
mediums. "I went to a play once, and didn't like it very
much" is a common comment. Going to plays is like what some
women say about dating: you have to kiss a lot of frogs before
you find Prince Charming. Even through there is some truth to
this, most people don't stop dating because of a disappointment
or two. In a way, it makes the discovery of a really good play
more pleasurable to have sat through lesser experiences first.
For many, theatre is an acquired taste--some would say an adult
pleasure. Typically children don't like the taste of coffee,
and even many adults can't tell the difference between cheap
red table wine and a fine vintage. Many things that life has
to offer, like theatre, are savored and enjoyed by those who
have taken the time to develop an appreciation of them.
When going to the theatre on your own, I strongly recommend you
get the best seats that you can. In small theatres it doesn't
matter much, but in the larger commercial houses, a night in
the back of the second balcony can diminish even the best play.
For my money I'd rather go less often, and pay a bit more to
sit closer. Don't limit yourself to "blockbuster" hits.
You know about them because they spend so much on TV, radio,
and print ads. There are many plays being performed right now
that will please you just as much as Rent or The Lion
King--maybe more, and they cost less! Check the critics'
recommendations of your local newspaper (such as the "Critic's
Choice" column in the Sunday Calendar magazine section of
the Los Angeles Times) for suggestions. Also, many larger
cities have giveaway papers (such as The L.A. Reader,
and L.A. Weekly ) that cover the cultural scene that make
similar recommendations. Be adventurous!
Reading Assignment
You should be reading Chapter 3 in your textbook to get more information about the role of the audience and its imagination. Before reading the chapter go to the online quiz at:
I suggest you print out the quiz and mark the answers on the hard copy as you read the chapter. When you are ready to submit your answers, go back online, fill in the "Name" box with your last name, comma, first name--like this: Smith, Jamie. Then fill in the "Email" box with the address you want your your score sent to. Put your 7-digit Cerritos College Student ID number in the third box. Then click the buttons for your answers. Make sure you have filled in your complete email address, not mine. Click on the Submit button at the bottom of the quiz. You will immediately see a confirmation that your quiz has been sent. Right after the due date I will forward your score and a copy of your corrected quiz to you.
Lecture Exercise
Describe how one of the three dimensions of aesthetic distance affected your experience of dramatic art on stage, film, or tv.
Remember, be brief. Two or three sentences should suffice.
The purpose of these exercises is to show me you "attended" this specific lecture by employing the relevant points from the lecture in your answer to the question. Review the lecture and be sure you are answering in terms of what's there, not just your opinion.
Note that when submitting the answer start the subject line with:
TH101DE -- YourFirst&LastName -- L-5
Next lecture: Critics and Criticism