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Panellists: Aidan Lang, NBR New Zealand Opera – Carla Theunnisen, Q Theatre – James
McCarthy, Te Tuhi Arts Centre – John Smythe, Theatreview
With a question as long as that, this discussion was bound to throw up conflicting ideas. The
following is a summary of panellists’ and audience thoughts:
• What level of passivity are we talking about? Some art forms don’t readily lend
themselves to moving beyond the proscenium arch in performance – but does that
mean audiences are passive? They have taken a very active step in purchasing
tickets. Some forms of theatre are very [overtly] interactive – e.g. pantomime,
comedy.
• Even in theatres where actors/musicians are on stage, the audience have always
contributed – theatres are not darkened temples. Being present with actors and
musicians creating a performance is not a passive experience – it has an
extraordinary effect on people, far removed from hearing the same work on a CD.
• Theatres will not be as relevant in the future as they are now. Technology is causing
massive shifts in the way people partake in art. Making art is now more interactive
and one-to-one. Companies will have a digital producer as well as a live one.
• Often the people having the most fun in a theatre are the performers. New styles of
performance can be emotive and powerful and put the audience in the performer’s
seat. It’s difficult to be bored if you are interactively engaged.
• It’s only in the 20 th century that we’ve put the “fourth wall” in performance venues and
audiences have become passive absorbers of the performing arts.
• “I don’t believe that sitting in a dark auditorium is passive if you are empathising,
having thoughts, engaging with concepts of moral dilemma.” (John Smythe)
• There is still room for the playwright-initiated work creatively developed by other
people – that’s where the deep thinking happens. Tricky novelties will not engage
audiences.
• A youth audience needs stimulus in another way. This is a valid audience and should
be provided for.
• The shared theatrical experience generates a magical bond between audience and
performers. And the tone of the performance can be completely changed according
to the reaction of the audience.
• Audience engagement doesn’t have to mean interactivity or co-creation. Immersion
in an art experience can be still (as in a gallery) but not passive because your head is
filled with ideas and meanings – one is taken to another time and place.
• Social media is one aspect of using the internet to communicate about art. The
internet is also used to engage people in making art. The challenge for arts
organisations to think about is: Does engaging people interactively become an end in
itself? How does it connect with your core business? Or are you seriously thinking of
changing your practice?
• Changing technologies have completely changed people’s expectations of how
interpretation should be provided in galleries. They want to experience exhibitions.
There is an assumption that all the “stuff” to read is online – they expect to go online
before and after every visit.
• Challenge: Are audience expectations (of digital engagement) going to race ahead of
our staff structures?