Theatre has always relied on the audience and the relationship between performance and the audience. A show, a play, any type of performance requires attention from the observers, that is one of the reasons what makes it special and valuable. Actors thrive on the reaction that they receive, just as they perform worse if the audience is not responsive. It is just a nature of theater or, probably, any kind of performative art. 
            During the production of Oil I realized that sometimes the audience doesn’t know what they sign up for until the play starts. Their expectations are specific, not all of the audience members are open-minded, some are conservative, some are racist, etc. Therefore, only when scene 1 starts they get full understanding of what they actually came to see. Oil has lots of moments where actors perform sexual attraction and this is where audience can find themselves misunderstanding the play. Based on the description of the plot, absence of notes that usually movies have about from which age this play is appropriate, appears misunderstanding between the performance and audience. People, who are not ready for that kind of performance and who are in real life very conservative tend to leave the show as soon as possible or wait until the 1stact is over and then leave in the worst mood, with really disappointed and, sometimes, angry aftertaste. Or even worse, some may start commenting out load their unsatisfied or shocked reaction towards the stage. In this particular case, the show becomes a one-sided affair. Unfortunately, the performers will sense this attitude and this may affect an overall energy. 
            In another case, for instance, when children will come to see any kind of Shakespeare or period piece, they will just be bored and there will be a one-way-road of communication, meaning from the performers. However, this will not affect the performers as much as with previous case, if actors are aware who is their audience. When actors receive not judgement, but just absence of involvement, this doesn’t meddle with their attitude. At least not in the amount as from those, who intentionally project their hatred. 
Overall, attentional feedback from the audience is valid, but at the same time there is always a question of “to what degree?”

Comments

  1. John FletcherFebruary 29, 2020 at 8:57 AM

    Hm. It makes me wonder what Nigel would have done had the scientists made his statue-lover's movements animatronic, i.e., if the statue had "reacted" in some way to Nigel. Is any reaction better than no reaction?

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