Or
"What did you think?"
These questions, I hate.
They ask too much of me as audience.
They put the emphasis on my experience rather than on the merit of the art.
I can respond and reflect on what I have witnessed through the lens of my experience.
Here is how I prefer to do it:
Step 1:
Respond with statements of meaning.
(Unhelpful Grandma): I liked it when she woke up!
Versus:
e.g. I found the moment where she was woken with a kiss very meaningful because...
This puts emphasis on what I have seen and how powerfully it moved me.
The more powerful the moments, the more meaningful the show.
Note: this does not presuppose good/bad only meaning and meaningfulness.
A show completely devoid of meaning can still have meaningful moments. But, then we would need to have a conversation about it.
Step 2:
Respond with questions for the artists.
(Unhelpful Grandma:) I didn't like/believe it when everyone fell asleep for a hundred years!
e.g. Why didn't everyone age while they slept under the enchantment for a hundred years?
This puts the emphasis on the artist and what they were trying to accomplish/achieve with their work.
Then, the audience can reflect on this information and how well it was accomplished.
Note: this does not presuppose good/bad only whether or not the artist achieved their intent.
Step 3:
Respond with questions for the audience.
(Unhelpful Artist): What do you think about the moral?
e.g. What do you think of the struggle between humans and fairies?
This puts the emphasis on the audience's participation with the artistry.
Note: This does not presuppose good/bad only whether the audience appreciated what the artist was trying to accomplish. i.e. what "read"
Step 4:
Weighted opinions.
This is the opportunity for saying whether someone liked a thing or not.
But, not even that.
At this point (Unhelpful Grandma:) stands up and says: I didn't like the fact you weren't in togas.
But, that is not the point, not even close, of weighted opinion sharing.
Versus.
e.g. I thought the story could have been better told if you tried to emulate period dress.
A bit wordier and more thorny, but it doesn't have the same slap in the face effect.
It allows the artist room for response.
Because really that is what I think everyone is looking for.
Let me say it again.
Room for response.
We all want it.
So how do we get it?
Following the steps listed above has been the most rewarding for me.
I would love to hear what others have found to work.
I use it during every talk back, moderating when needed.
Because "I liked it" is just as dangerous as "I didn't like it"
It isn't helpful, it isn't supportive of the artist and the art.
It doesn't unpack the conversation that boils underneath those loaded statements.
And that is almost always a conversation worth having.
So try it, see what you get in response.
It will often surprise you.
Two productions I have done this year: 4:48 Psychosis and Faust(us)
Two of the most heavily collaborative/devised works I have done in my career.
We had several moments where the audience was asked to cooperate.
In 4:48 we had the audience sit in a circle and read fragments of poetry written by our suicidal protagonist.
The image we were working with was the poems came out of a particularly dark episode.
The actress playing the lead fed one person several pieces in a row ending with the final page that was wholly redacted.
It looked like a black sheet.
One night the audience member scanned the whole page and looked flabbergasted.
The actress said the line: Breakdown. And the audience nodded.
In Faust(us) we had a demon parade.
Everyone was a participant, some more participants than others.
We had a series of demons, all portrayed by one actor.
One demon was a flower girl that force smelled flowers at the audience.
The actor would "sleep" between demons and sometimes would be on audience members.
One of the demons was a foot smelling demon. As in he tore off people's shoes and smelled the deepest whiff I have ever seen from a human.
In both instances I was terrified as an artist.
I saw distaste and scorn and contempt on all the audience's faces.
As if they were speaking with one voice: How dare you do this to us!
But, I insisted we make it through a preview and a talkback before I would change anything drastically.
And time and time again, when it came for my turn to ask, I always asked about the audience participation:
- Did you appreciate it?
- Was it too much?
- Is there something you would have done differently?
Unanimously the audiences said no. No, they would not change it. No, they did not feel uncomfortable. No, they did not feel unsafe. No, they did not feel it went "too far".
Consistently my fears have been assuaged by audience love and support in the form of these discussions.
I don't know if I could have had that level of support or assurance if the conversation had stopped at:
I liked it.
I didn't like it.
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