In my last post, I discussed the problems I have had with what I call the “typical” theater experience for audience members. A possible way to improve upon the audience's experience, I suggested, was to establish opportunities for audience members who want to be more involved with the artistic process. I discussed the possibility of multiple levels of active engagement and spent some time on Microsoft Paint making an illustration. It was very long. It had many links.
Part two will not.
In all honesty, the audience experience is not one I am privy to very often, so I tried my best to fill my inexperience with a lot of research. Where I hope to shine in clarity and brevity now is with an explanation of the typical theater experience as it applies to a group with which I am far more familiar: the actors. This one comes more from the heart.
First a refresher from the last post:
If we are discussing most theater as we know it today, you will be sitting in a dark room and required to be mostly passive and silent. Perhaps the show will be entertaining and you will feel a sense of camaraderie with others in the audience who are laughing along with you during the performance, but when the lights go up, then what? Maybe you’ll be able to applaud and talk to a few actors who will politely nod before moving on to their friends and family, but you will likely leave the building with a head full of thoughts and opinions and no where to put them.
The end of a show can be equally alienating for actors. After five or more* weeks of rehearsals and a few weeks of performances, what is usually a very intimate and emotional experience for a cast comes to an abrupt end. I’ve called the resulting sensation “an artist’s postpartum depression” because the amount of emotional and physical dedication required for the creation of a show can be jokingly compared to having a baby. The sense of disorientation and loss at one’s shifting identity after a show has ended is a real thing---I’ve experienced it to some degree with every show in which I’ve acted and directed.
If my advice for a more involved audience is implemented and they get the opportunities to invest their time and creativity into a production, it is quite likely that they’ll also experience this sense of loss when the run of a show comes to an end. How they would cope with this sense of loss is a bit of an unknown to me, but I can speak from experience and observation about the way actors deal.
The actor’s answer to their artistic postpartum depression is to bury him or herself in a new show as quickly as possible. I find this coping device analogous with rebound dating: sure you’ve got a new show on which to enjoy working, but it will not be able to achieve the depth of your connection to the previous show. What’s worse, the residual feelings you harbor for that previous show could be impairing your ability to fully commit to your new role. Soon you’ll find yourself drunkenly texting the former show about how much you miss it… well perhaps not, but you get my point.
To avoid “rebounding” with the next show, I believe theaters must figure out a way for their actors (and all show participants at risk of the artistic postpartum blues) to obtain a sense of closure at the conclusion of the run. Note: a Bacchus-themed cast party does not accomplish this goal for more than 24 hours.
So what is the solution? Where are my links telling you about theaters x and y with their hip techniques for helping their actors cope with the end of the run?
Thus far I haven’t found any. Somewhat abashedly, I admit that prior to writing this I just accepted my artistic postpartum depression as a normal course of events in the pattern of making theater. But now, in this blog, I wish to ask “what if.”
What if a theater could incorporate, into the period of a season, a special post-show performance for the participants? Perhaps this could be a “highlights” show, where actors could be given the chance to share their favorite memories and express the impact that being in that show had on them?
What if, after two to three weeks of vacation/reflection following closing night, actors could reconvene for a week to create and rehearse this follow-up performance. Plus, if the theater had an active website on which all participants (including audiences) could share their experiences and opinions about the show, this follow-up performance could also serve to address any critiques or to further discuss with the community the issues presented in the play.
I’ve never heard of this being tried before, but I’d certainly love the opportunity.
Thoughts? Opinions? Please Share!
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