A Round of Applause
When you go to the theater you may never see your name in lights but your role as an audience member is just as important as the star of the show. A play never really exists until it is performed in front of an audience. That makes an audience what the art of playwriting is all about, it's the magic of the theater and the excitement of imagination. Plays must be written so that the audience member changes deep inside, and seeing the writer change as well. Theater is a social event and to feel its full effect it must be experienced as a group. Most people come to be entertained, to have their emotions stirred, or to laugh. Theater uses bright lights, movement and dance to keep your attention. Even though you are there as individuals, an audience quickly becomes a group. A social psychologist by the name of Emory Bogardus said that through willing suspension of disbelief, individual differences melt away; you become a crowd, and the nature of your response changes. In his discussion of crowd behavior he also points out that, "A heightened state of suggestibility is characteristic of a crowd. The preponderance of feelings over reason heightens suggestibility. The excitement that frequently prevails in a crowd throws perso
Keeping the right levels of sound in a play is also important. If something is too loud it affects the way an audience member interprets it. It's just like if your mother came in the house, screamed your name and you were sitting right around the corner, you might take that to mean that she's mad at you when all she was trying to do is make sure you heard her. Same is true in a play, if someone is telling someone to do something and they yell it so the audience can hear them, it sounds like more of a demand to the people in the front row. I've found that college has not only given me the opportunity to be a part of an audience, but it has also given me the chance to paint, build, run lights, take tickets or even act in the imaginary world that others will see. This experience will leave a mark on me because theater captures your mind as well as your heart and holds on to your emotions and once she's warmed you heart, she hard to ignore. Anyone who has ever spoken or preformed in front of a crowd can tell you that the audience will vary. People going to a play on Friday and Saturday night are more likely to laugh louder and harder than a crowd on Tuesday afternoon. Audiences also differ from place to place. People in New York would respond differently to plays than people in Georgia. The type of audience depends on the types of plays being performed. Each type attracts a different crowd. If you compare an audience at an opera house with one at a musical comedy you will see more enthusiastic people where as
Some common words found in the essay are:
People York, Emory Bogardus, , crowd believe, relationship actor audience, relationship actor, actor audience, response looking,
Approximate Word count = 1033
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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