One key part of "No Shame" that is less obvious is the audience.  Though it is expected to study performers, their performance would not be without an audience.  As Turner stated in his book Anthropology of Performance,  "A drama is never really complete, until it is performed, that is, acted on some kind of stage before an audience." (27).  Audiences define a performance in many ways.  A performance is not comedic if the audience does not laugh, it is not successful if the audience does not applaud, and so on.
Examples of this phenomenon are abundant in "No Shame Theater." The audience reacts differently to each performer.  It was apparent that certain performers had a greater audience reaction than others.  As is expected in our culture, the polite thing to do following a display of anothers work is to clap.  This rule is followed at "No Shame."  However, if a performance is exceptional, the audience will applaud generously, yell, whistle, and sometimes stand.  This lets the actor know that the audience has received their work positively and that it was appreciated.  The audience also provides clues to the performer as to the nature of their performance.  For instance, when the audience squirms in their seats and looks at their watches, this signals to an observant actor that their performance is either dragging on or is not interesting to the audience.  Another cue is when the audience members whisper to their neighbors during the performance.  One interpretation of this could be that the performer is putting forth a genre that the audience can relate to in their own lives.
In his book "Art Worlds" Becker even goes so far as to say that a performance is characterized by what an audience perceives.  Parts of a play or skit are only really there if the audience notices them and responds.  This is particularly true of "No Shame Theater."  Actors in this genre use it as a tool to build their skills and measure their success.  This is done almost completely through audience reaction.  If the audience does not respond in a manner that the performer expected or desired the performer will change his or her manner or language to achieve the desired reaction.  Other measures such as the amount and enthusiasm of applause help the performer to feel validation and success in his or her work.  This also builds confidence and develops the actorís ability even more.
This audience appraisal is apparent in the style of many performers.  One in particular that we interviewed was Sarah Greer.  She stated that one of her main reasons for performing was to judge how well her pieces would work with an audience.  She uses a very direct style of addressing the audience that encourages a response.  Throughout her performances (which are mainly comedic), she makes barely noticeable pauses when she expects a reaction.  In the performances that we observed she almost always got that reaction.  One aspect of this that we considered was whether or not the audience always found her lines genuinely funny or if they were taking cues from her behavior as to when a response was appropriate.  In his book "Comic Theaters" Gruber made an argument about this question.  Throughout this book he provides evidence for the claim that "spectators roles are sometimes 'scripted' as carefully as the roles of the characters"(8).  Indeed I feel this is often true.  As was witnessed in Sarah Greer's case many actors visibly relax and feel contentment when the audience reacts as hoped.  If by some chance there is no reaction the entire script is changed and a new light shed on the meaning.
This line of thought suggests that the audience looks to the performer for cues to their "script." What we observed in "No Shame", however, is that there are other sources for cues.  Besides cultural norms of all performance settings, they also look to other audience members to know the appropriate response.  Another aspect of the audience interaction is unique to the setting of "No Shame."  Audience members are often performers themselves.  In this respect, they share a common bond and may be more sympathetic to the performers than others outside their "culture."  This must be taken into account because most of the actors/actresses are regular performers.  They have a culture of their own, complete with inside jokes and unwritten rules.  An example of this was a piece in which one silly line caused the audience to laugh:
This line was not what one would find particularly funny outside of this context and this culture.  Therefore, many audience reactions are due to closeness between performers, not simply the work itself.
Despite these differences, "No Shame Theater" gives an insightful look at the role of audiences in theater and performance in general.  Though the audience purpose for attending may simply be entertainment, their importance extends much further.  In all studies of performance and communication require a look at the receiver of the message and consideration of their influence.
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