Author: Conrad, Jack

Publication Year: 1968

Media Type: Report

Summary:

The thesis of the study described here is that failure to know the audience is a basic reason for theatre failure. Stated conversely, I believe that, when the theatre meets the needs of its audience, it will have their support. In pursuing this idea, a variety of information was gathered and subsequently arranged into five divisions. The first part sets the stage for the study by surveying a wide range of drama and audiences in other times and places.

Abstract:

The thesis of the study described here is that failure to know the audience is a basic reason for theatre failure. Stated conversely, I believe that, when the theatre meets the needs of its audience, it will have their support. In pursuing this idea, a variety of information was gathered and subsequently arranged into five divisions. The first part sets the stage for the study by surveying a wide range of drama and audiences in other times and places.

There follows a close examination of a specific theatre - Front Street Theatre, Memphis - from its birth to its death. The third and fourth parts are the heart of the study and show (1) some of the psychological qualities of the Front Street audience and (2) some of the social and cultural dimensions of this group. Finally, an overall playgoer profile is presented together with a number of ideas concerning audience development and the future of live theatre.

As far as can be determined this is the first effort of its kind to be made. It is distinctly a pilot study, and the reader will discover if he persists that it raises as many questions as it answers. Even so, the results indicate with a very high degree of confidence that playgoers are a special type of people, not simply differentiated by socio-economic position, but by measurable personality traits as well. If the findings about Memphis audiences are characteristic of most American audiences (and certainly the study should be duplicated elsewhere for validation), then at least some of the confusion surrounding promotion of live theater in America should end. For it now appears highly likely that, while education can open the door to play appreciation and money can buy the ticket, only special personalities are going to so respond to theatre that they become a habitual and a right audience.

In the part of the study that follows next, a broad spectrum of historical and cross-cultural dramatic events will be discussed. The aim of this material is to demonstrate the basic ways in which several types of drama operate in human society. If we can learn the uses of drama to a variety of peoples and cultures, we will have made a start toward learning its role at Front Street Theatre in Memphis, Tennessee.

CONTENTS
Introduction.

Part 1. A world view of theatre audiences.
Part 2. Front Street Theatre, Memphis, Tennessee.
Part 3. The Front Street Theatre Audience (I).
Part 4. The Front Street Theatre audience (II).
Part 5. Profile and prospects.

Notes.

Arts & Intersections:

Categories: Participation