WAYS PEOPLE RESPOND TO DRAMA!!!

Immediate Response
Also known as a spontaneous response, this refers to the general
impression of the audience, created by the performance. This means that
after the performance has ended, the audience will comment on it. It is
the simplest way for people to respond to drama performances. Some
questions that could help or guide the audience to do an immediate
response are:

Did you enjoy the performance?
Did you understand the story of this performance? What was it about?
Did this performance made you laugh, cry or think?

Examples:
During the performance, there might be scenes that are funny or sad.
The audience could be moved by the mood of the scene. This means that
they might laugh or sob in the middle of the performance.
At the end of the performance, audiences normally applaud.
Occasionally, if the performance was that good, then they would give a
standing ovation.
After the performance ends, the audiences might talk to each other
about how they think the performance was.
In online medias such as YouTube, audiences are allowed to post
comments. There are lots of people who post their comments about a
movie or short film they watched in the form of a written opinion. As
there are no guiding questions or points, the audiences are free to post
any comments. However, many of the comments are inappropriate.

Intellectual Response
This response needs deeper thinking than an immediate response. The
elements of drama can be used to analyze a performance and its positive
or negative points. Some questions that could help guide the audience to
make an intellectual response are:

How were the elements of drama, such as focus, tension, space, mood,
contrast, role, etc., shown in this performance?
How did the other forms of art, such as literary arts, visual arts, and
other types of performing arts, support this performance?
Was this an effective way to deliver a message through a drama?

Written responses, such as filling short questionnaires or feedbacks are a
good way to help the audiences respond intellectually towards a
theatrical production or performance.

Example:
After the performance ends the producers of the performance might
distribute short questionnaires. These should include some questions to
help the audiences respond intellectually to a drama performance.

Artistic Response
A drama performance can be a source of inspiration to an audience. The
audiences will be able to get the meaning of the production if the
performance is clear. This proves that drama performances can deliver a
meaningful message to the audience. Some people prefer written work,
and others respond more to drama performances. This means that after
they watch a certain drama performance, they might be inspired. Then,
instead of only responding intellectually, they might be motivated to
create another work of art talking about the same issue or topic. They
might produce visual works, like paintings or photographs, literary
works, like poetry and prose, or other types of performing arts such as
dance and song.

Example:
Some people could modify a drama performance after watching it by
focusing only to one or two main scenes. This means that they will
develop the drama and re- perform it only with few scenes that they
think emphasizes the message of the drama.
They might change the media of the drama, but keep the main idea
the same. For example they could turn a stage drama into a TV or radio
drama and vice versa.
Some people like to modify a drama performance to base it on their
own culture. They take some parts of the story and modify it to include
elements of their cultures customs, beliefs and ethics. The famous play
Romeo and Juliet was changed into an Indonesian drama: Romi dan
Juli.






4 Approaches in Responding to Drama Performances:
Formal Criticism Approach: Critics view the world through a lens
and have a perspective. Criticizing doesnt only involve analyzing
strengths and weaknesses. It also points out what is meaningful or
valuable in a performance so that others may think about these issues
and ideas. There are 6 ways to critique a performance:
First impressions
Description
Analysis
Interpretation
Background information
Informed judgment

Contextual Approach: This involves analyzing the setting of a play in
terms of the major events that are happening at the time, the cultural
and historical context, the environmental and social influences and the
creators life at that time.
Creative Approach: Like the artistic response, this approach involves
the creation of another artwork from the recital performed.
Multi- Connection Approach: This is means that the performance is
seen from different viewpoints. Sometimes, the producers might ask
different age and gender groups, as well as people with different
educational backgrounds, professions, and communities to answer their
questionnaires. They do this so they can find out how people with
different backgrounds respond to the same drama performance. A multi-
connection approach can also mean that the respondents connect the
story of the performance with their personal life experiences. The
questionnaire might ask if something in the performance ever happen in
the respondents life.
Resources:

Dewey, Jane. Responding to Drama: a Teacher and Student Guide.
[Online] Available.
http://www.ket.org/artstoolkit/pdf/dramateachstudguide.pdf, 5
th
February
2014.

Javiers Private Teacher

Responding to Arts Expressions. [Online] Available.
http://www.srsd119.ca/departments/teacherinformation/ILD/Supporting
%20Documents/RespondingtoArtsExpression.pdf, 6
th
February 2014.