Reading The Audience

THE PLAYWRITING SEMINARS > BUSINESS > PRODUCTION > LITERARY MANAGERS > DEVELOPMENT > AUDIENCE

'We hear a lot about the arrogance of the artist but nothing about the arrogance of the audience. The audience, who have not done the work, who have not taken any risks, whose life and livelihood are not bound up at every moment with what they are making, who have given no thought to the medium or the method . . ..'

-- Jeanette Winterson

• During the Performance

  The operating phrase here is "Silence is Golden" -- unless you've written a comedy. And even then, the only thing that breaks the silence should be laughter. When audiences are captured by your script, you can hear a pin rattle down the aisle. Whenever you start to lose them, they'll let you know by the rapid increase in the noises of boredom . . .

  • Coughing, nose-blowing, sniffles, throat-clearings, and yawns
    Trust what this is telling you. It's never the flu season.

  • Seat-shiftings, leg-crossings, head-lollings, knuckle-crackings
    Nobody's figured out how to build a really comfortable theatre seat and it's usually a safe bet that the seats in the small theatres used for readings and workshops are the least comfortable of all. If your play lets go of the audience, their bodies will take advantage of the chance to wiggle away some of that discomfort.

  • Silence following your jokes
    There's nothing deadlier than a bad joke. A bad joke is anything your audience doesn't laugh at. Yes, audiences vary and what's funny in Peoria may not get a ripple in Los Angeles. But if more than a few zingers get the deep silence of the sort that might follow grandma announcing the death of the dog, there's nothing golden about this silence no matter where you are.

  • And sit in the back
    You'll be able to sense what's happening with your audience far better if you plant yourself in one of the last 3 rows. From this perch, you can see what's happening as well as hearing and feeling it.

• During the Audience Discussion after the Performance

  This can be pretty gruesome without someone who knows what they're doing leading the discussion. Most Literary Managers know how to control this sort of thing. Some of the keys for your part in this ritual . . .

  • Take notes
    This gives you someplace to look -- and someplace to take out your aggressions -- if you have the bad luck to get one of those types who's determined to turn your play into his play before he'll let you go home.

  • Never argue with the audience
    Remember the Stoics and that thing about the kid with the fox chewing on his gut. It may feel the same way to you, but you're not here to argue. You're here to listen. If the audience doesn't get it, arguing with them won't solve the problem. Remember, deep in your soul, that this is your play. And it's always possible that this is not your audience.

  • Don't pay much attention to the specifics
    In fact, when you hear all this criticism, the more specific the suggestions get -- "You've got to have the dog sing Amazing Grace here." -- the more it's essential to look instead for the Subtext of the criticism by asking yourself this simple question . . .