Audience Interaction = Amazing Theater

     Consider this somewhat of an open letter to all the writers, directors, and producers of theater out there. Getting the audience involved is something I would like to encourage more of you to do.  It creates such a rewarding theater experience. 

      I recently had the privilege of sitting on stage for two performances of Spring Awakening, and the experience made my love and appreciation for the show grow immeasurably.  The rush of having “Martha” and “Georg” sit right next to me simply cannot be adequately described.  For more on that experience, see my post Spring Awakening in Greenville.

         In December [2009], my mom and I saw Hair on Broadway.  Months later, I still can’t get over how cool it was to be so close to the performers (especially Gavin Creel!) as they sang and danced throughout the house.  I had an orchestra seat on the aisle, and the actors were so close that one spit on me a little!  I have my flyer for the Be-In (handed to me during the show) hanging in a frame on my wall.  In a recent interview, Gavin Creel said that “the biggest character in the play is the audience.”  I think that’s so cool, and when I saw the show, I definitely felt that the cast respected the audience as essential to the show.  The creative team behind Hair has done such a phenomenal thing for the world of theater by acknowledging the audience and truly incorporating them fully into their own theater experience.

         I never got to see it live, but I would be remiss if I didn’t include The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee in this discussion.  A major part of the comedic genius of the show is audience participation, which goes above and beyond what goes on in Spring Awakening and Hair.  In Spelling Bee, audience members actually get to be in the show, spelling words with the actors.  I can’t fathom a more exhilarating experience than that, especially since I have no other chance of getting on a Broadway stage.  I’d love to hear from someone who got to be a contestant in the spelling bee – what was it like?  Although, I must say that in Spelling Bee and even Spring Awakening, only a few audience members really get to be part of the action, but in Hair, the whole audience is a vital part of the show experience.  I think really that’s the best possible scenario.

         Certainly I recognize that not all theater lends itself to such radical forms of audience participation as these three shows, but I do think that all theater can strive to acknowledge the audience as an essential part of the show.  Because, really, what would the theater be without us?