BWW Blog: Tara Folio - All Eyes On You

After doing six shows a week, you begin to settle into a production; the scenes seem to run smoothly, most actor's seem to be making similar choices in each performance, everyone can recite their lines at the drop of a hat, there's nothing to worry about, right? Wrong. There is one variable of live performance that changes each night without fail: the audience. Every night the theater seats are occupied by a completely new collection of observers who are armed with their own set of fresh perspectives and opinions. Each audience brings a unique energy into the space, an energy that could dictate the drive and success of the show if the actors aren't careful. It is astounding just how much audience participation can affect an actor's performance. A high energy crowd that is more than willing to shower the cast with laughter and applause is obviously ideal because it is easy for the actors to internalize that positivity and feed it into their performance (because like Tinkerbell, we need applause to survive).The trickiest audiences are the quiet ones. There is nothing that can kill an actor's spirit faster than a silent audience; if the crowd is comatose it makes the performers feel like their show must not be up to snuff, and therefore some actors will stop trying to give the best possible performance. So what is an actor to do when the audience seems like would rather be anywhere else than in the theater? A good actor can block the negative energy. It shouldn't matter what kind of audience an actor is playing to because the energy of performance should come from within (I know, could I sound anymore like Rafiki?). A skilled performer is able to bring the same amount of energy to each performance no matter what kind of audience he or she is up against. The pride and excitement you feel during a performance needs to come from you, not the audience. So take that, guy in the third row who is checking Facebook during my love ballad; I don't need your energy, I found my own!