Saturday, November 17, 2007
Rethinking the audience chamber
The Artful Manager: "It's always a kick to hang out with Elizabeth Streb, which I got to do last weekend during a special course at Carnegie Mellon's arts administration program. Course instructor Matt Dooley had invited me, Elizabeth, and theater scholar Lynne Conner to express and explore how the audience/art relationship might be changing (or not changing fast enough)."
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8 comments:
This sounds like a really cool idea on a small scale, but eminently impractical for a larger house. A Broadway level theater could hardly allow people to wander in and out or talk on their cell phones. I think it's all related to the price of the ticket.
i think, with anything that the art being represented or the subject being presented. it all goes with hat kind of story is trying to be portrayed and i think oftentimes we have these ideals of creative ways to have the audience and performers interact and it fails because the material being presented isnt conducive to such treatment. it works better as a less interactive more visual performance. i do however agree with the notion that we must break down traditional barriers and attempt to broaden the range of shows being viewed.
After reading this article and reading the first comment left on it, I was struck with the thought tha maybe the Broadway Style is an anomoly in theater and arts in general. Obviously, as can be seen with the stage hands strike as well as rising ticket prices, the cost of broadway shows only continues to grow into an absurdly large expense. That as well as catering to a more and more exclusive audience (those expensive ticket prices aren't available to everyone), it seems like a self-destructive business model that will, most likely, soon require reform.
I'm totaly for things like this. Hang the audience from the seiling, it's at least switching things up. If it doesn't work then we know we shouldn't do it again, but that's part of learning
This is a wonderful idea, but I want to know more about what kinds of performances they do. Do they only work on new works like I assume, or do they try to reinvent how people view a classic show like Hamlet? The only problem is an experimental space like this is that it can't work with larger audiences because current theatres are the nones designed for optimal seating. Smaller audiences tend to be more malleable and allow for more interaction/experimentation.
I have to say I agree with the article's last paragraph most; "It's not to say that all arts spaces should be like Streb's. Just that perhaps more could reconsider the rules they live by, and wonder if they all serve their stated goal." While the audience/ performance relationship should be challenged and played with I don't know if I'd appreciate people having conversations or answering their phones while I'm watching a show...popcorn is a nice touch though.
the last paragraph of this article is the most important for all artists to consider. theatre, like all the arts, is changing and will continue to evolve into various art forms. it is only in the "mainstream theatre" where this change is reluctant to follow. Places like Broadway, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas have turned into entertainment producers rather theatre producers. meaning that it seems they're performing for a crowd who wants to be entertained and not "bothered" by participation or abnormal trends in theatre. but this is already starting to change in many places, the bounderies are beginning to break down and the art, and messages, are starting to pour through.
After reading the first comment I almost had to laugh. I was absolutely appalled that at the last Broadway show I saw there were tons of people who had snuck candy and food into the theater. To my astonishment they even did one of the sins of an audience member in my opinion, which is to start opening the candy wrapper, chips bag, etc while the show was on. My question for Streb's theater...if I'm watching a show and you pick up your phone and start talking, do I then have the right to yell at you and call you a rude obnoxious narcissist who is ruining my experience, or would that be crossing the line? Yes, I'm slightly passive-agressive against cell phones in theaters.
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