May I Have This Dance...Understanding the Relationship between Performer and Audience

May I Have This Dance?
Understanding the Relationship between Performer and Audience

By Kelly Swanson
June 2, 2007


Like most anything in life, timing is everything
It is true in love and business and any career involving you and an audience. No matter what brings you to the stage, timing can make you or break you. Unfortunately, timing can not be learned, as it falls into that mysterious realm beyond your control – either you have it or you don’t. I do believe, however, that timing can be improved – not just through a process or a series of steps, but through a state of mind. Aside from learning some basic tricks (like slowing down, counting, not stepping on your laughs, etc.) you can also learn to see your performance in new ways. Today, we are going to view it as a dance – a dance between you, the performer, and your partner, the audience.

You’re the lead
As a performer, you have spent years crafting your art – learning the steps to your dance. You are the lead. If your performance art is one like dancing or acting, your audience is on the outside looking in and there is no partnership. In this case I am referring to other art forms - like comedy, storytelling, improv, magic, and music, to name a few – where you are cultivating a relationship with your audience. You lead the dance, but you are taking the audience along on the journey. So how does an audience compare to a dancing partner?

No two dance partners are the same
Every audience you have will be different no matter what the variables. Even the same group of people will have a different mood at the end of the show as they did before it started. An audience is a unique being composed of different people with different assumptions and experiences and backgrounds combined with their shared experiences and setting. There is a definite mood to each audience. Quite often performers will warn each other of the temperament of the audience. I’ve heard performers warn me: “They’re in a bad mood today. They’ve been touring all day, the boats were late getting back, some missed dinner, and they want to go to bed.” Other times I will hear: “This is a good crowd. Little tipsy. Ready to laugh.” Or, “The last three performers were horrible they’re irritated and most of them want to leave.” Your dance partners change. Each one has its own rhythm, moods, likes and dislikes. An audience can collectively change moods based on what happens in the performance. Comedy clubs are a good example, especially in how the comedian handles a heckler. The audience will be on the side of the comedian until the comedian delivers a blow they consider unfair in which case the audience as a whole will turn on the comedian. It’s not something planned, it just happens.

You must be tuned in to your partner
If every audience is different, then you must be flexible enough to adapt to your audience. Sometimes you get information about your audience in advance. But most of what you will learn will happen while you are on the stage. As a performer you not only have the responsibility of engaging your audience, you must also read them – their expressions, their laughter, their body language, and even those subtle nuances that you just feel as a seasoned performer. There is no way that you can read your audience if you are too busy worrying about getting your lines right or forcing material on a group that obviously isn’t enjoying the journey. You must stay in the moment. You must be able to pick up on the attitude of the audience. If they are laughing, then your jokes are working. If they are looking at you with expressions of confusion, you aren’t hitting the mark. If they are sleeping or throwing tomatoes, you’d better resort to your backup plan. Be flexible enough to change depending on your partner. Remember that you’re not up there on stage to deliver every word of your show if it kills them. You’re up there to entertain the audience – to give them an enjoyable experience. That is your obligation, not theirs. You’re not dancing for them, you are dancing with them.

Sometimes your partner gets distracted and you have to bring them back in
It happens. A waiter drops a tray. A door slams. A cell phone goes off. You can’t eliminate distractions in your show. Don’t be afraid of them and don’t ignore them. Embrace the distractions. Address them. Let your partner know that you have it under control and everything is going to be okay. And then utilize whatever tricks you have to demand their attention again. For example, if you are coming up on a critical part of your story when a distraction occurs, then delay it until you have control again.

If you don’t learn the steps your partner will know it
You owe it to your audience to perfect your performance. The stage is not the place to work out the kinks. It is not the place to wing it. You owe each audience your best whether they’re paying you the big bucks or giving you chicken and iced tea. The best advice I have for marketing yourself as an artist is to be darned good at what you do. There is no room for mediocrity.

Sometimes it’s just the wrong partner – find another one - you’re not a good fit
You will never find an audience where one hundred percent of the people like what you do. Accept it. Aim for 80 percent. Understand that not every audience is right for you, and it takes time to figure out where you belong. Sometimes the process can be pretty painful. But there is room for everybody. So keep working and keep looking. Don’t force yourself where you don’t belong. And don’t assume that anybody in their right mind should be totally captivated by you.

Enjoy the dance
Remember why you do what you – because you love the dance. Yes, your heart may be racing. You may have just run from the worst performance of your life. Maybe the entire front row was asleep. So you were fighting a cold and a case of athlete’s foot. We all have days like that – when our passion feels more like work than fun. That’s part of it. That’s normal. The important thing is to find the balance. To stay in touch with the reason that you are doing this. To hang on to the part of you that is passionate. Don’t get so swept up in what you think you’re supposed to do that you forget what you want to do, or you’ll find that somewhere along the way you stopped enjoying the dance.