HowlRound: Taylor Mac hates when the cast of a show tries to get the audience to participate on stage: “They always say it’ll be fun. F*** you, I don’t want to have fun.” But that is how he feels when he is a member of the audience. “It’s different when I ask you to participate,” he said to his audience from the stage of New York Live Arts in Chelsea. “I want you to feel uncomfortable.” Mac was saying this during his show, A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, that turned out to be the most extreme recent example of the practice of audience participation—which, if you happen to be sitting in the audience terrified you’ll be picked, is an alarming trend.
4 comments:
Audience participation has always felt like an incredibly loaded gun. In some instances it's fun, but all too often it results in a kind of stunted experience of the performance, as I clamp to my seat and try to avoid looking at the performance in case my interest is misconstrued for willingness to participate, while still trying to follow the performance. For most people, there's a reason they are not performers - they don't want to perform. Especially not spontaneously, in front of an audience. Being singled out is inherently awkward.
I think this principle is what makes Taylor Mac's performance so uncomfortable, while Mrs. Mayfield's Reunion appeared to put audience members more at ease. With the entire locale as a stage, there was no singling out of an audience member to come up onto the stage. Everyone was on stage together, and no audience member was more singled out than another. This method allows for participation without particularly feeling the heat of a spotlight.
To be honest, I don’t enjoy participating in shows in this way. Unless it allows me to exhaust my curiosity by looking around the set, I would rather watch others participate than participate myself. I agree with the author in that some shows would be just as successful with their narrative without engaging the audience. Breaking the fourth wall in that way can be a rude reminder that I am an audience member, and snaps me out of my imaginative investment in the narrative. What he described in the “party” style show seems to be a more effective use of audience participation: firstly, because it is scripted yet still maintains an immersive quality, and secondly because audience members can opt out of participating and remain a passive observer. Personally, I prefer a more immersive, less aggressive approach to audience participation where it is a choice and not a requirement. Still, to each their own. I would be interested to see what other people think about this and hear about their own experiences with participating.
Audience participation is something that I have a love hate relationship with. When it is used to help move the plot of the story forward, and are entertaining I approve of their usage in a piece of theatre. However, more often than not their usage is just because someone thought it would create a funny moment that has no redeeming value other than being funny and hopefully keeping the audience awake. Never the less, there are plenty of times that audience participation is very smartly used. For example Spelling Bee would probably be a not so great show without all of the interaction that the production contains. What really bothers me and kills me is when a director will block for a character to enter though the house and subtly interact with audience members on the aisles as they walk on stage. That just really annoys me for some reason. Don’t ask why.
Ah, the cyclical debate of audience participation resurfaces yet again. I believe there are many arguments to make regarding this topic, but when it comes down to it, the audience member really deserves the right to choose. Audience participation can be innovative and a ton of fun if done correctly, but if someone unwilling to participate (a feeling many people have) sits down in an audience unknowing of his or her forced participation, things go downhill quickly. Personally, if I knew exactly what I was getting into and made the active decision to participate, as in Mrs. Mayfield's Reunion, I would be completely on board. Mayfield brought a very interesting avenue of storytelling, and gave the audience an immersive experience to hold onto for some time. I think that is so, so cool. What would cross the line is a forcing of participation on someone who has not given full consent--like in Taylor Mac's performance. The majority of audiences attend to solely pursue observation. We need to let them.
Post a Comment