This is a quick little spit of a rant:
I think one of the deadliest things to say to oneself is "will The Audience understand/like/connect to/laugh at/emote with this idea"?
The Audience. What the hell does that mean? WHO is The Audience? Most of us don't really have a clue who our audience is (outside of our friends and colleagues - but even then we cannot begin to guess what each of our nearest and dearest are going to get out of a certain moment). So how can we guess what The Audience will think or understand about a piece?
I keep coming back to Quincy's citation of Foreman's philosophy of making theatre only for three specific people. I think that all theatre artists (especially directors, playwrights and designers) should strive to focus on communicating to his or her own private, specific audience - even if that audience is, say, one's 8-year-old self, one's inner angry young man and one's dead grandmother.
Specificity of intention is what communicates, not generality. I am firmly against telling yourself NO to an idea, a moment or a story-telling method because of the anticipated reaction of The Audience. Of course, not all ideas are good, and not all ideas communicate. But you can't guess what comes across the footlights until you have a real live breathing audience of individuals in the room with you. Once you're in previews, if your Actual Audience (as opposed to your theoretical audience) does not understand/like/connect to/laugh at/emote with this moment, then you can adjust accordingly.
1 comment:
I think there are a couple of threads at work here--
1. Who do you want to invite into your work? (Grannies? High School Students? Turkish Immigrants? Other theatre folk? Card Carrying Communists (please!) A generation? A faith? A community? )
and
2. Whose opinion of your work matters to you?
In the case of the former, I believe we think about this when we select the material and conceptualize the approach. For instance, my Henry V on a half-pipe set to Kanye West music has an oblique (maybe?) attempt to get a generation younger than myself into the show. If I choose to do a straight production of The Gin Game (see TJ's note on The Kitchen Sink), then I understand a different audience will put their butts in the seats.
In the case of the latter, I agree with TJ completely. Any time we ask for our audience's approval while we embark on a journey of creation, we're in danger of pandering and compromising to gain an audience. I think of theatre like I think of throwing a great dinner party. I work to select the menu, create the guest list and cook the food. I collaborate on the various elements going into the event with a very specific person. I think about the guests I'm inviting as I plan the meal (are they vegetarian? alcoholics?), but the collaboration that puts the event together is only one other person. The "audience" -- my guests-- are invited to something special. My expectation is they will show up. My hope is they will enjoy. My wish is that they don't criticize-- but if they do, there are only one or two that I'll take criticism from.
HOWEVER-- I think it is equally dangerous to focus only on a "private audience". I think it can breed self-indulgent artmaking of the worst kind. I think we have to be specific, yes. But we also have a responsibility in that theatre is an inherently public art form. So, whatever art you are making should have a component that reaches out, away from yourself, that enables your ideas to be communicated. Not held in for your own edification.
It is a balancing act that we do. It is out of specificity that we can find universality. (How often is it that the interest-story of the one child orphaned by war moves us to tears and action, but that the daily stories of refugee camps as a whole bring forth a lot of apathy?) So, who are we trying to communicate that universality to?
Q
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