Bitter Gertrude: There’s been a lot of talk in the past few years about “audience engagement.” It’s partially been driven by a few big grantors requiring some form of it, and partially driven by the psychology of trends. Because every new entertainment technology sends people right to the THIS IS THE END OF THEATRE box, frightened by the popularity of the internet and its DIY culture, some grantors and theatremakers have been scrambling to create theatre that borrows some of that mojo in order to glean a portion of that success. The problem is: It doesn’t work.
2 comments:
With being in theater all my life I have noticed the weakening of the audience. Whenever I go to a show I look around and see how many seats are filled. The problem with today society is that everyone doesn’t want to interact with one another and wants to be left alone. I am not saying all theater is bad because I love seeing shows that the audience can’t stop laughing or crying. I am saying some shows are put up that I think everyone know are going to fail, but there are those shows every once in a while that hot that hit the stop of that one person and lives forever. I don’t think that anyone should be force into anything they don’t want to see or hear. I feel that newer shows aren’t like they use to be I love classic old shows because they were written well and have meaning. I think that is important to theater to show them audience that they aren’t alone because every show that has been made at least one person can relate to it.
Lyla Bartman
Personally I think it’s those involved in a production to enthrall an audience, not other audience members. You want them to be engaged so that they are engrossed in the plot line, hanging on the actor’s words, not so that they are capable of providing their own part of the story. As someone who’s been in the audience when an actor is about to pick someone I find it pulls you out of the story, even if its volunteer based. It stops the show, and everyone is trying desperately to or not to get picked. I just don’t understand why you would stop a performance like that. It seems…counterproductive to try to increase the inclusion of an art form that allows viewers to place themselves in a story. This author makes a valid point though; your audience must be considered. Children's Theatres always try to bring the children on to the stage in a volunteer method simply because it would make the child’s day, but even then, once you turn to the audience and ask for a volunteer you have pulled every audience member out of audience mentality.
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