NYTimes.com: Theatergoers generally expect actors to abide by certain longstanding conventions, and if actors fail to oblige, it usually isn’t intentional. We assume, for starters, that people portraying other people are going to speak so we don’t have to strain to understand them. Emotions, even mixed emotions, should be rendered with comparable accessibility and with a flow that passes for a smoother, larger version of the real thing.
2 comments:
I'm really fascinated by unconventional theatre because it pushes intellectual boundaries and is generally thought provoking. So many people get into a "theatre rut" of sorts where they like their musicals with soundtracks they can sing along to, and they like their 20th century dead white guy plays. But, the sort of theatre that makes you uncomfortable, that's the good kind. Do I like being uncomfortable? Well, not really, but I do enjoy the intellectual discussions after seeing those sorts of plays with people. The problem with this sort of theatre is that it can really only be done in large cities like New York because there isn't a large scale interest in it. I'd say that I'd like this sort of theatre to become more famous, but that would ruin part of the appeal of this theatre. The general public taste will never pay to see acting that isn't conventional unless what we see as unconventional now becomes conventional. (And one can only imagine what will be considered unconventional then.)
Everything that happens during a show, is done to get a reaction from the audience. It's true, when people "like" a show, they tell their friends and their friends buy tickets and the show does well. But I don't think that's the point of the art of storytelling. The whole point of theater is to make the audience react, and if all they do at the end of the show is stand up, clap, and shout "oh that was wonderful!" all they do afterwards is forget about the performance. Anger, discomfort, or annoyance are more powerful emotions than contentment, and a person who feels one or all of those things during a performance will most definitely think about it afterward. The point of telling a story is, yes to entertain, but also to make people think. Even if the thought is, "That show made me so mad!" that's a good thing because then that can lead into a conversation about why. I agree with Kelly, shows like this unfortunately can only really pull off these performances in large cities because unfortunately people like to sell tickets and they enjoy "fun" shows. But these shows, the uncomfortable ones, are the important shows because they push the boundaries for what's to come.
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