In Unit 4 AOS 2, the actor–audience relationship is one of the central craft elements of solo performance. Without an ensemble to create spatial relationships and dramatic tension, the solo performer’s relationship with the audience becomes the primary live dynamic of the performance.
The actor–audience relationship begins before the first word is spoken. In solo performance:
- Entering the space: how the performer enters (quietly, explosively, already in character, as themselves and then transforming) establishes the initial relationship.
- Initial focus and address: does the performer look at the audience? Look away? Begin in action? The first seconds establish the audience’s position.
- Physical and spatial configuration: the performer’s initial spatial relationship to the audience (close, distant, level, elevated) sets the power dynamic.
| Relationship | Description | Technique |
|---|---|---|
| Witness | Audience observes events they were not meant to see | Performer ignores audience; fourth wall intact |
| Confidant | Performer shares private thoughts or secrets | Direct, intimate address; soft volume; eye contact |
| Subject | Performer places audience in the position of judging, assessing | Performer addresses audience as if speaking to a court, a crowd, or a panel |
| Co-creator | Performer invites audience into the imaginative world | Open, inclusive address; shared reference to the performance space |
| Provocateur | Performer challenges or implicates the audience | Confrontational direct address; accusatory tone; breaking comfort |
Once established, the actor–audience relationship must be actively maintained:
- Consistency of address mode: if direct address has been established, breaking it without reason confuses the audience.
- Energy and presence: the performer’s sustained attention and energy keeps the audience engaged.
- Spatial awareness: the performer must remain aware of the audience’s presence even when not in direct address mode — the body must remain communicative and readable.
- Pace management: a performance that moves too fast gives the audience no time to respond; too slow loses them. Pacing must be calibrated to allow the audience to absorb and respond.
The most sophisticated solo performances use the actor–audience relationship dynamically — shifting it at key moments for theatrical effect:
- Moving from fourth wall to direct address: the moment of breaking the fourth wall is one of the most powerful devices available. Timed at a key dramatic moment, it implicates the audience in what has just been revealed.
- From complicity to implication: the audience has been sharing the character’s perspective; a shift reveals that perspective as morally compromised, and the audience’s complicity becomes uncomfortable.
- From distance to proximity: moving physically closer to the audience during a moment of high intimacy or intensity collapses the theatrical distance.
- Selective direct address: addressing one member of the audience while others watch creates a particular tension and intimacy.
The VCAA solo examination requires a written statement of intentions. This should:
- State clearly what actor–audience relationship the performance aims to establish.
- Identify the specific techniques used to establish, maintain and/or manipulate the relationship.
- Explain how the relationship serves the performance’s intended meaning.
- Note any intended shifts in the relationship during the performance.
APPLICATION: The actor–audience relationship in solo performance is the closest the theatre comes to a one-to-one human encounter. Its power lies in the fact that the audience cannot be passive — they are always, to some degree, in relationship with the performer. The question is what kind of relationship it is, and what that relationship produces in the audience by the end of the performance.
The actor–audience relationship does not begin at the first moment of the performance — it begins in how the student prepares for and inhabits the performance space before the performance starts:
- Spatial familiarity: performing in an unfamiliar space can undermine the specificity of spatial choices. Students should rehearse in the performance space whenever possible.
- Pre-show state: the performer’s physical and psychological state in the moments before the performance begins affects how they enter the space and establish the relationship. Develop a pre-show ritual that brings you to the right state of readiness and presence.
- Relationship with the given audience: the audience for the examination is different from the audience for a school showing. The exam audience includes the examiner, who is reading your performance analytically. This does not mean performing for the examiner — it means bringing the same intentionality and specificity you would bring to any high-stakes performance.
In the analytical task, evaluate the effectiveness of the actor–audience relationship you established:
- Was the intended relationship established? By what evidence?
- Were there moments where the relationship shifted unexpectedly or unintentionally?
- How did the audience actually respond? (This may be different from the intended response.)
- What would you change in a re-run?
APPLICATION: The actor–audience relationship in the solo examination is a live, real encounter between a student performer and a room containing at least one examiner and possibly peers. The relationship you establish in that room, on that day, is the actual performance. All the preparation is in service of that live encounter. Invest in it with genuine presence and intention.
