What is Spectatorship - Essay Example

What is Spectatorship? What is an Audience? The theater has, and should always be the product of the fusion of the audience and the players, such that they all become one thing. What differentiates a spectator from an audience? The fusion and connection of the actors to the crowd creates an audience. The spectator is merely a passive observer. This simply means that the theater should be the stage where the players share the essence of the society with the audience, in form of their hopes, anxiety and faith.

This way, the theater eventually becomes the breeding ground where the audience celebrates the common identity brought out by the players. Nevertheless, with the globalization and the development of a pluralistic society, the audience is no longer homogenous or from a single community. The audience has now changed, and the theater has become neglectful of the differences among cultures and their ways of life. In this respect, the theater should act as the unifying rite, because the actors, the directors, and the dramatists come from the community they represent, and thus forms part of the audience.

Thus, what is the role of theater in creating an audience? The theater is supposed to change the spectators into audiences, transforming them from passive beings, into the subjects, actors and transformers of the action. That is what makes an audience. What is Design? The actor carries the action using the body. Therefore, the arrangement in a theater should be such that it brings the actor into contact with reality of the scenic space. The spatial arrangement, the stage setting and the lights should be placed in the service of the actor to bring out the harmony.

Additionally, the paintings on the backcloth of the theater should also be reflective of the actors object. The lighting should be moving in sync with the actors’ movement, characterized by flexibility of flashings and shade movements. Thus, what is design? Design is that aspect in the theater that transforms the outer eye that observes, into the e inner eye that sees through. Therefore, the role of design is to create a noble environment, where all emotions are possible and their expression touches the audience as much.

Every play or performance on the stage has its own characteristics. What is the essence of design? Design is the means through which the characteristic of every single performance is brought out. Therefore, design is the aspect that does not bring surprise to the audience, but delivers delight and acceptance of the play/performance (71). What is Directing? Directing is fundamentally a component o f casting. If the director does casting correctly, then the play or performance is eighty percent complete.

Then, what does failing in casting mean? Having the wrong person in a given position of a pay means spending more time trying to make the person fit in, which does not happen. Therefore, what does directing essentially entail? Directing entails the choice of the right person for any given position. It is the choice of the skilled profession, over the perfect actor. Directing starts in the auditioning of the actors where the right selection must be made at this point. If the selection is wrong from the first stages, the play is bound to have problems until the end.

Simply put therefore, directing is all about ensuring there is the right person in every single role of the play. Having achieved the eighty percent right in casting, the development and encouragement of the actor is fundamental to directing. It brings out what the director seeks in the actor.