Audiences: Friends or strangers

It seems to me these days that the majority of theatre audiences are either fellow actors, friends or Pensioners (or a combination of them). Does this mean that Stage performances are a dying phase? Before television, computers, game machines and movie cinemas the theatre was the place to be. Now it is only for a minority of society. Any thoughts?

Adapt or die! You're right, live theatre in its purest form is well and truly dead as a mainstream form of public entertainment. But that doesn't mean we have to pack up and go home. The answer is to either aim our wares at a niche market and be happy with that, or redesign the live-theatre concept to suit the mainstream audience. The former would involve presenting theatre as a nostalgic, stylised "revisit" to a past fad, and the latter would involve adopting a commercialised and user-friendly attitude, making the audience a part of the performance.

What we've known in the past as theatre is dead, but that just makes room for the next evolution of this artform.

Yes, theatre is a dying breed. The west end has recently seen the closer of many great productions. An inspector calls, the mouse trap, women in black have been running for years. Production companies are in fear of changing the shows in case they fail. So, they keep running the productions. Equity brought in a legislation some years ago, the cast must be rotated on a regular basis, which is great news for us. An it allows the public to see another actor's interpretation You are quite right. Movies & T.V have taken over the market. But, you can not beat a good piece of theatre.

Regards

If theatre is a dying breed then whose fault is it?

Yes many a show plays to friends and those we would deem theatre literate and yes theatre is not like it use to be but thank god for that.

Theatre tradition and dwelling on the past is strangling theatre and threatening to head it down the path of nostalgia. All traditions started out as radical innovations.

This 'problem' links very much to the arguement about classic theatre that has been discussed on this page and I won't repeat what i said there.

but...

we need to look forward, with a tip of the hat and full respect to the past, and develop theatre for audiences today and develop the audiences for theatre today. And Im NOT saying ignore the past and only do new plays. (lets get that cleared up)

Three interesting examples. which by no means Im saying are the soloution but worth thinking about...

1) Terry Pratchett plays. personally don't like them but i've seen a few and i would dare say for many, many audience members that that is their sole theatre experience for the year,if not ever. I would also say that about 50% of Vagabonds theatres production of Dirks audience hadsn't been at the theatre before.

2) Clockwork Orange sold out two seasons with another very high percentage of non theatre goers. More so when it was at the Globe nightclub.

3) Wired at the blueroom sold out last year with again about half coming from the Scoop magazine mailing list and many had never been in a theatre before.

Pulling stats out of my arse you say! I'm Front of house at Rechabites (Dirk) I directed Wired and I have a policy of front of hosue information gathering to know who is exactly coming through the doors and,okay, im taking a stab in the dark about Pratchett plays.

Im not saying lets all do book translations but there is value in making the media we are going against work for us. Another example Take it Hard at Ambar, about reality programming in a nightclub and it played to excellent housing. Traditional theatre spaces are a block to non traditional theatre audiences (and the reverse is also true). People are initimadated by the dressing up and the formality of the whole process. Shakeseare inthe park sells like hot cakes (which i hear sell quite well) and a lot of that is to do with the outdoor informality of it and again i would suggets a large part of that audience dosen't go to much else.

And the cost of tickets compared to other entertainment is an issue. (An issue that community theatre can largely avoid).

Am i drawing conclusions? well call me on any day and i'll rant for hours. i don't direct theatre to play to friends and I don't direct to provide a carbon copy of how it use to be.

So, we can all drink a toast to the passing of theatre as we knew it or we can start drinking for theatre as we know it now and tomorrow.

Cheers

David Ryding

David, I agree completely with your views and I drink to the future of theatre throughout the world. We must keep it going.

Regards

OAF

The Gambler gamely garnered:
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*It seems to me these days that the majority of theatre audiences are either fellow actors, friends or Pensioners (or a combination of them). Does this mean that Stage performances are a dying phase?

Mmm- maybe not. Community Theatre (can't speak for the pro area- never done it) is a self sufficient environment in teh sense that it tends to feed itself. It may not be thriving or endemic but it is still here, and the fact we are here on this site discussing the matter should surely give us a skerrick of hope.

Shouldn't it?

ELiot

'lo old friend

:-)

i too agree with much of what Dave has to say.

> "All traditions started out as radical innovations"

well, except for the occasional hyperbole. but who am i to talk?

;-)

> Traditional theatre spaces are a block to non traditional theatre > audiences (and the reverse is also true).

or put another way - know your market.

I think Dave's examples are skewed by his personal experience, but that doesn't negate the fact that they demonstrate new audiences for new work can be found.

I tend to think that a more significant factor that causes difficulty in attracting and retaining new audiences is the fractured performing arts market and a lack of any coherent, co-operative marketing strategy.

If you go to a show at any of our major theatre companies, do you find any details in their programmes of what other companies are doing? Try visiting their websites. Most of them don't even include links to each other.

What image or impression are they conveying to audiences? Like our dear friend Banks @ the West, they convey a notion that theatre is something you pop along to once in a blue moon because it's such an infrequent event.

This site encourages every one to work together to promote each other's work. It gives an impression of a very busy, thriving network of committed and passionate individuals presenting an extraordinary breadth of performance styles - traditional, non- tradtitional, classic, new and every conceivable shade in between. Hopefully something for all potential markets.

Perhaps this is an apprpriate moment to suggest that companies using the site consider including a small credit somewhere in their posters, flyers or programmes

www.theatre.asn.au

By sending people back to this site for more information you generate audiences for each other that will hopefully return to your own company when next you perform - and they'll know what you're doing next because they're checking here.

Cheers
Grant

Ahhh Mr Malcolm... you have created a brilliant site here. And I am spreading the ITA throughout Europe. Between you and me in 18 years I have only walked out of one production. But, caught later in the run. I tend to try and see pretty much every thing that is on.

Bottoms up

AOF

Ahhh Mr Malcolm... you have created a brilliant site here. And I am spreading the ITA throughout Europe. Between you and me in 18 years I have only walked out of one production. But, caught it later in the run. I tend to try and see pretty much every thing that is on.

Bottoms up

AOF