The audience is the most revered member of the theatre. Without an audience, there is no theatre. Every technique learned by the actor, every curtain and flat on the stage, every careful analysis by the director, every coordinated scene, is for the enjoyment of the audience. They are our guests, fellow players, and the last spoke in the wheel which can then begin to roll. They make the performance meaningful. – Viola Spolin
Deep down you sense, there is a kind of joy that is to be experienced in acting, and you are drawn to that joy.
When you step into acting, you discover there are so many facets to it. You never realized all the possibilities of opening. It’s thrilling.
But the thrill should not be confused for the joy.
The thrill comes from the breaking through of personal barriers. That’s a necessary and important part of growth. But it’s the understanding, and the opening up to the shared experience with the audience, that brings the joy. And, joy is different from thrill.
It’s like taking up sailing. The boat is thrilling, and the ocean is scary. Fearing the ocean, you can find ways to ignore it. You put up a kind of fourth wall. You don’t have to face it. Instead, you spend your time studying the many amazing things on the boat: the warm deck, the innovative rigs, the folding beds.
But, eventually, you get bored with the boat. You quit sailing.
Which is too bad.
All that time spent out on the water and you missed the ocean.
This month in Foundations, we’re investigating the relationship with the audience. Whether the audience is 1000 people, 10 people or a camera, there is a shared experience.
The Audience is our theme for all Foundations lessons in May.
Foundations runs 3 times a week on Mondays, Thursdays, and Sundays on Zoom.
Read more about Foundations: HERE