Theater of the People: Spectators and Society in Ancient Athens

Chapter 1.The Idea of the Audience and Its Role in the Theater

19 The performance arises from the world of the spectators, it continues because of agreements made between spectators and performers, and when the play is over, the performance subsides back into the world of the spectators. riChard sCheChner, ENVIRONMENTAL THEATER Audiences can be quite powerful. According to Aristotle, the audience expelled from the stage an actor in a play by the tragic poet Carcinus because of a staging mistake made during the performance.That was the end of the production . A complex communicative act, theater requires a high degree of collaboration between performers and the audience. In this light, the spectators are productively viewed as co-creators of the performance.1 This busy twoway street between performers and spectators during a performance forms part of an ongoing relationship: as actors develop a sense of the audience’s expectations, the audience in turn acquires greater familiarity with dramatic performance and its own role in shaping theater production. So important is the spectators’ role that it is incorporated into the plays themselves and can even become a central focus. Relations between performance and audience are thus important. While performers attempt to capture the audience’s attention, spectators must ultimately decide to remain collaborators in the production. In this sense, the asymmetrical relationship can be viewed as rather “autocratic.” At the same time, the effect of this collective gathered in the theater and expected to pronounce its judgment (as the ancient audience typically did do) can be a thoroughly democratic—even radically so—experience.2 It is thus noteworthy that most of the descriptions of the ancient audience’s contribution to the performance revolve around its role as an arbiter of the competition. The degree to which the audience is called upon to undertake this role, however, chapter 1 The iDea of the auDience and iTS role in the TheaTer TheaTer of the PeoPle 20 varies greatly. Historical context, the institutional framework, and genre are key factors influencing the perceived role of the audience and its enactment of an authoritative role.3 The nature of performances at the dramatic festivals in Athens as part of a competition watched by a collective in full view of itself likely contributed to the audience’s awareness of its participatory role. Past experiences in the theater and reminders embedded in the plays reinforced these sentiments. The dangers of failing to negotiate successfully the audience’s interests are made abundantly clear in comedy, which was more self-conscious of its performative context. Unlike tragedy and satyr drama, which draw less attention to the conditions of performance, Old Comedy contains explicit commentary on the composition and role of the audience, with spectators often assimilated to arbiters if not the actual judges of the dramatic competition . Some of these traditions continue in Hellenistic comedy but in a more circumscribed manner. But there are additional, often unexpected, sources for our understanding of theater audiences. The concept and function of audiences in Athens are illustrated in various anecdotes stretching from the Classical well into the Roman period. While the historical accuracy of some anecdotes may at times be in doubt, the overall picture provided by all the sources suggests that subsequent stories often elaborate the attitudes if not the historical conditions of the audience in ancient Athens. The underlying assumptions and ideas in these anecdotes are thus important. Explicit references to the performative context, direct and indirect addresses to the spectators (for either flattery or abuse), and the practice of preempting the anticipatory (often victory) celebration provided some ways to harness the spectators’ collective goodwill. Scholars have well documented, however, that Attic drama profoundly questioned and explored its society: the contestation, subversion, and consolidation of social norms and values were key components of the festival experience. These social and political issues provided a means to engage more divisive sentiments among spectators , but the “hailing” of those gathered in the theater as communal members of an audience was a way to transcend these divisions.4 The scripting of imagined responses from the audience into the performance (e.g., Wasps 74–82) demonstrates the extent to which comedy could make spectators literally part of the show: the “hailing” of spectators qua co-performers is presented as completely successful.5 The construction of individuals or groups gathered in the theater as an audience was a priority for those involved in theater production. In this chapter I explore the representation of the audience, drama’s various strategies to solicit its support and interest, and the forms...