Download Chapter 2: Performance, Audience, and Critic Key Concepts

Chapter 2: Performance, Audience, and Critic
• The Audience completes the creative process
• Key concepts:
– Perception
– Interpretation
– Intention
Key Concepts
Perception: the audience’s experience of the
performance
Interpretation: how the audience derives
meaning from the performance
Intention: what the artists (director, playwright,
etc.) try to communicate to the audience
through the performance
Relationship Between
Intention & Interpretation
Intention = Interpretation
Intention = Interpretation
The audience’s interpretation may or may not
match the artists’ intentions.
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Watching a Performance
Theatrical Performance versus Film
Theatre and Film differ in numerous ways, including how
the audience experiences these two types of performance.
Activity:
Take the following Quiz to test your knowledge of the
movie-going experience.
Then, we’ll compare the experience of attending a film to
the experience of attending a theatrical performance.
Watching a Performance
Movie Quiz
1) Going to the movies is which type of occasion?
A) Formal / Special
B) Informal / Regular
2) When do you usually purchase movie tickets?
A) Just before the movie starts
B) Several days in advance
3) How is seating determined in the movie theatre?
A) Your ticket shows your seat number
B) You can sit wherever you want
Watching a Performance
Movie Quiz
4) When does the audience receive information about
all of the artists who worked on the movie?
A) Before the show, in a printed program
B) While some of the artists are listed at the start of the movie,
only after the show, when the final credits roll, are all the
names listed
5) The scenery or environment of the film is viewable
to the audience while waiting for the film to start.
A) True
B) False
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Watching a Performance
Movie Quiz
6) The scenery or environment of a film is typically
abstract and unrealistic.
A) True
B) False
7) How many intermissions do most movies have?
A) None
B) One or more
Watching a Performance
Movie Quiz
8) How would you describe the audience’s focus
during a movie?
A) Determined by the filmmaker’s shots and editing; the camera
dictates what the audience sees
B) Determined by the audience member, who can choose where
to look
Watching a Performance
Movie Quiz
1) Going to the movies is which type of occasion?
A) Formal / Special
B) Informal / Regular
2) When do you usually purchase movie tickets?
A) Just before the movie starts
B) Several days in advance
3) How is seating determined in the movie theatre?
A) Your ticket shows your seat number
B) You can sit wherever you want
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Watching a Performance
Movie Quiz
4) When does the audience receive information about
all of the artists who worked on the movie?
A) Before the show, in a printed program
B) While some of the artists are listed at the start of the
movie, only after the show, when the final credits roll,
are all the names listed
5) The scenery or environment of the film is viewable
to the audience while waiting for the film to start.
A) True
B) False
Watching a Performance
Movie Quiz
6) The scenery or environment of a film is typically
abstract and unrealistic.
A) True
B) False
7) How many intermissions do most movies have?
A) None
B) One or more
Watching a Performance
Movie Quiz
8) How would you describe the audience’s focus
during a movie?
A) Determined by the filmmaker’s shots and editing; the
camera dictates what the audience sees
B) Determined by the audience member, who can choose where
to look
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Watching a Performance
Movie Quiz Results
1) B
5) B
2) A
6) B
3) B
7) A
4) B
8) A
Watching a Performance
Theatrical Performance
Occasion
Generally, Theatre is considered more of a formal or special
occasion than film.
Tickets
Generally, reservations must be made well in advance.
Seating
Seating is often reserved, with your assigned seat number
appearing on your ticket.
Watching a Performance
Theatrical Performance
Credits
Credits and other information about the production are available
on a printed program, which is given to the audience as they enter
the theatre.
Setting/Scenery
Depending upon the type of performance space and the particular
production, the setting or scenery is often fully viewable before the
start of the performance.
Additionally, scenery may or may not be realistic, and the use of
minimal scenery that suggests location is a common convention of
theatrical performance.
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Watching a Performance
Theatrical Performance
Intermissions
Theatrical performances frequently include one or more
intermissions, during which scenery or costumes may be changed.
At intermission, the audience is free to leave the theatre space
briefly.
Focus
Unlike film, where the audience’s focus is directed by the camera,
theatrical performance enables each audience member to choose
where to look and for how long. Theatrical artists do employ
techniques to guide the audience’s focus, but ultimately, each
audience member chooses what and how to watch.
Watching a Performance
Theatrical Performance versus Film
Quality
Occasion
Theatre
Film
Special / Formal
Regular / Informal
Tickets
Reserve in Advance
Purchase Just Before
Seating
Reserved / Specified
Open Seating
Credits
In Program, Before
Credits Roll, After
Setting
Often Viewable Prior
Hidden Prior
Scenery
May not be Realistic
Usually Realistic
Yes
No
Intermissions
Audience Focus Viewer’s choice
Determined by Camera
Who is the Audience?
Audiences vary significantly in several ways:
• Aesthetic Tastes
• Education
• Economic Status
• Race
• Age
• Culture
• Community
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Influence of Audiences on Theatrical
Production
•
The choice of what is performed
•
The style in which the production is performed
•
The way in which the production is marketed
•
The duration of the run; how many performances
are given
What do YOU think?
1. What are some reasons why Producers and Theatres
should consider the intended Audience when selecting
and offering Theatrical Performances?
2. What might happen if such consideration is NOT
given?
3. Suppose a particular Theatre’s main audience is
composed of White, well-to-do middle class patrons.
What are some of the issues that might arise if this
Theatre tries to attract new audiences, such as
Hispanics or Gays and Lesbians?
Influence of Audiences on Theatrical
Production
Ongoing Questions for Theatres:
•
How many audiences do we wish to attract/serve?
•
How can we meet the differing interests of these
multiple audiences?
Theatre cannot exist without audiences.
Sensitivity to varying audience tastes and interests is
essential to achieving a diversified theatre.
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The Audience and Critical Perspective
Performance & Judgment
3-Step Process for Evaluating the Theatrical Experience:
1. One experiences the performance
2. One analyzes the performance
3. One communicates a response to the performance
This process reveals information about our personal
tastes or aesthetics, by illuminating our thoughts and
feelings.
The Critic
Criticism = the act of making judgments
What is the role or function of the Critic?
The Basic Problems of Criticism
The 3 Basic Concerns of the Critic:
1. Understanding: What were the artists trying to do?
2. Effectiveness: How well did they do it?
3. Ultimate Worth: How valuable was the experience?
How is the audience considered when writing a review?
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Key Qualities of the Critic
1. To be sensitive to feelings, images and ideas
2. To become as well acquainted as possible with the
theatre of all periods and of all types
3. To be willing to explore plays and production
processes
4. To be tolerant of innovation
5. To be aware of his/her own prejudices and values
6. To be articulate and clear in expressing judgments
and their bases
7. To be courteous
Reviews
How do you structure a written review?
Theatre Reviews from the New York Times Arts Section
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