Engaging the Public - Reflexions about cultural mediation with Laurie McGauley and two graduating students
	Measuring and Marketing: Getting “bums-in-seats” - Conversations with Joshua Semchuk and Kamal Al-Solaylee
	The Theatre-Going Public: A Constant Revolution - A look at the situation with Jasmine Dubé, Richard Gagnon, Rosaire Garon, Kelly Hill and Rachel Hilton
	Thinking Outside the Black Box - Observations by Kathleen Irwin
	A People's Playwright - Observations by Sean Dixon

WE, THE AUDIENCE

They train for two, three, or four years in a theatre school, practically isolated from the rest of the world, to learn how to perfect their art, know themselves as individuals, and reach deep inside to capture the flame that will ignite their talent. They then invest so many hours for each theatre production they take part in. Here too, often cut off from current reality, they must use their introspection to reveal the truth of characters created by playwrights who have meticulously observed their contemporaries in order to communicate their destinies through their lines and stage directions. All theatre creators know that they must journey deep into their intimate soul to enrich us, as a society, by communing with we, the audience.
 
We, who have chosen a play over a film or an exhibition; who have chosen flesh, breath, and the ephemeral, are keen to hear these stories, which our contemporary artists and artisans were so eager to tell us. We have diligently jotted down a show’s date and time in our agendas, without knowing exactly what they intended to serve us or even what they had in mind – did they even know themselves? While glancing at a random ad or an interview in a cultural weekly, or even when having a discussion with colleagues, something caught our attention. Exactly what, remains a mystery. Is it the name of the star, title, venue, promotional shot, subject matter...or, most likely, all of these combined?
 
Whatever it was that brought us to this moment, here we are. Plunged into darkness, surrounded by our fellow spectators, we wait for the show to begin. Candies are quickly unwrapped and the last few notes of a familiar jingle fade out as a cell phone is turned off. Some people giggle, others cough, but silence soon descends upon the room. The show is about to begin. From this moment on, anything can happen. A new world unfolds before our eyes, costumed actors come forth, original music fills the space. In short, all of these scenic elements can make or break the evening. There again, it’s a mystery. Although we may be totally bowled over, outraged, touched, or stunned by what is presented before us, our neighbour might be completely unmoved. Art is not unanimous.
 
At once curious, humble, armed with the facts, and nourished by the reflections of several experts and practitioners, the team at nts magazine has sought to raise the curtain on the mystery of audiences and non-audiences. We believe that for the theatrical experience to be a success – as much for those in the audience as for those on stage and in the wings – each play must “seek out” its audience. This is the responsibility of artistic decision-makers, naturally, but also of communicators and the all-too-rare cultural mediators, the media that relay information, and inevitably, the audience itself. At a time when technological advances force us to reinvent our relationships with the consumption and presentation of all artistic forms, theatre can maintain the power it has always had to bring people together by developing at the same pace as its era.
 
The nts magazine team

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