Chicago Audiences Rock!
Posted by Devon de Mayo on 6/10/2010
(Devon was the co-author and co-director of The Twins Would Like To Say, part of the Visiting Company Initiative Garage Rep)
Today is June 10, 2010. The first ever Garage Rep closed on April 25, 2010. So, I’ve had some time to reflect, take stock and evaluate. One of the things I’m really left to think about is the audience experience - both of the rep as a whole and for our show The Twins Would Like to Say.
First things first: Chicago audiences rock. They are hungry for new work in a way that I find truly inspiring. Garage Rep was an opportunity to see this passion for new work over the course of an almost 3-month run. These were three risky shows - bold subject matter, heightened theatricality and non-traditional protagonists. Yet, I remember when we were in tech, we saw the first box office report showing us that quite a few people had already bought the three show package, and it was so humbling. People had purchased tickets to see all three shows before reviews, blog postings and word-of-mouth had even come out! I think that’s pretty cool.
I believe that Chicago audiences are willing to take the risk on new work because its a big part of what makes this an incredibly vibrant theatre city. And the audiences’ willingness to take the risk on us allows us as artists to risk as well. We know that Chicago audiences see the value in trying something new, so it makes us less afraid to be bold and innovative. It really is an incredible dialogue.
The Twins Would Like to Say showed this in a profound way because, not only were we asking our audience to take a risk on new material, we were also asking them to engage with the play in an unconventional way - walking in the space and choosing what scenes they wanted to watch. To witness audiences embrace this type of staging with such grace… well, it’s nice. It excites me for what we (artists and audiences) might endeavor together in the future.