“You’ve been a great Audience!”

“To have great poets, there must be great audiences.”
—Walt Whitman
American Poet
(1819-1892)
Have we lost a step? Have our communication disciplines eroded as “modern life” has set in?

A series of lifetime memories:

• Going to Babes in Toy Land with mother. White anklets and a special dress for a Humongous Big Deal! Great Old Theater, with columns, gold leaf and ushers with flashlights. Awesome experience — eyes like saucers — and that was before the ice cream with raspberry sauce after. The audience stood to applaud.
• The Repertory Theater in the seventies: Long Dress, Cape. It too was a big deal — treated with dignity and a high regard for the cultural experience. And a Standing O for the premier of Equus! Poor back then, we rode the bus home.
• The Symphony also had a special place in our estimation — all those live musicians assembled in their dark regalia with their prized instruments, awaiting the downbeat to Wow us with their classical brilliance or atonal experimentation. The Musicians and the Audience acknowledged and paid each other homage by dressing their parts.

These were “Events!” And, they deserved a corresponding level of sobriety, reserve and commitment to dress and act the part of a great audience. It was “Our Job” and a reasonable gesture of exchange in honor of the performers sweating out their part under the lights. They were actors yes, but we were actors too!

Today, it’s usually a comic, on the way off the stage, shouting a departing salvo, “Hey Thanks. You’ve been a Great Audience…” Whether or not we’ve been great, we get the compliment. It’s the default end to every show. Were we great — really? Or just mediocre? Not merely arrived at some point and kept the noise down to a dull roar while consulting our screens and putting a particle of attention on the act? Well, at least we bought drinks.

There was that time, so recently, when the interaction between an audience and the artist was an intimate and respectful union — they touched us, and we were prepared to respond in kind — with love, affection, and high regard for the level of commitment required to bring live entertainment with such a level of professionalism.

It’s still there on Broadway, at the Mark Taper, at Intiman or ACT, Drury Lane and Royal George. But you can sense that tenuous connection being threatened — fading — as announcers now introduce the show by reminding people to turn off their devices lest they interfere with the performance. Now, it’s families and couples who enjoin each other before dinner; or making love…

Are we sliding inexorably down the slippery slope, finally failing to distinguish between the comedy routine we are consuming online while sitting table-side at the Pops? Will there be no need — or desire — to clean up to salute the players? Will we simply be in the habit of seeing anything and everything from the couch in our sports jerseys and shorts?

We suggest that being a great audience is a serious business — requiring our full attention and commitment. Perhaps a level of commitment we are quickly disregarding. How would you define greatness in an audience? Arriving on time? Appropriately attired? Paying full attention? Sober? An expectant calm? Electronics silenced? With some awareness of what’s about to transpire? Committed to and demanding of a performance of similar magnitude?

When I last witnessed Denzel on stage in New York, the audience cared mightily about the performance. The actor represented the highest aspirations of his community; and you could hear a pin drop. Forget the play, forget the historical commentary; the audience was fully invested, and their dedication was repaid with a worthy performance. Leaving the theater, our hearts were engaged, our minds were full, we wanted to talk about it, to share favorite moments, to remain a bit longer in the community of those who had shared a powerful event. His was a great performance. We were a great audience.

The question then: Do great audiences call forth great performances? Or do performers force the audience to engage? We think both sides of the debate have significant weight. But here’s our take: You can better play your part if body, mind and spirit arrive as one.

Been missing great poetry, presentations, performances? You get what you give! Re-start the process by being a great audience!

Applications

1. Personal
Remember “Fan Letters?” When was the last time you engaged and sent someone a note thanking them for their life altering performance? E-Mails count. Authors, Speakers, Performers and Artists are also people — and the power of a personal note is beyond description. Buoyed on the wings of your admiration, your favorite is empowered to reach the last row of the theater. Be a Fan! And you’ll be surprised at how “following” an actor’s career can enhance your appreciation of their extended portfolio. There’s time. Take it.

2. At Home
What the parents model, the children tend to emulate… I know, it’s so easy to just get out to the store in your athletic gear and a headband, then continue to the movies. What works at the football game tends to become the default uniform for life. But if you dress it up a little at work, why not do the same as a sign of respect for the people who perform for you? At the restaurant, try turning on the respect for the servers. They are at the forefront of their careers, why not give them a customer experience to remember? And a tip as well?

3. At Work
Few things are as un-remarked and under-appreciated as a great presentation or a great meeting. Both the presenter(s) and the organizers lose a lot of sleep and devote considerable time and effort to making things go well. When they do, unfortunately they are often met with an audience of bovine disinterest — which files in, still enmeshed in their on-going electronic conversations. The program itself is often seen as an interruption to a more important series of remote conversations. This is an unforgivable burden to place on even the most experienced speaker. Next time you attend a major meeting, or a successful presentation, don’t hesitate to congratulate the speaker and their production team for a job well done. And when in the meeting: Turn Off the Devices!

Whitman may not have gone far enough. To have Great Presentations, there must be Great Audiences!

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