Theatre Listening Analysis

To begin devising any piece of theatre the first ingredient added must be listening. When a group of individuals come together to make a piece of theatre, the piece they produce maybe one cohesive collaborative production. However, the contributions made to the piece came from each individual actors training, background, own personal experience, likes, dislikes etcetera. A different group of people would have made and entirely different piece of theatre. Now how did this group of individuals come together and combine their differences to make a cohesive piece and not a fractured disorganized mess? They listened. Each actor came to the piece with their own ideas of what they wanted to incorporate into the piece, what they would like the piece

Listening is a cognitive function that involves the actors to take into consideration , react and respond to what the other members of the ensemble have to contribute. Hearing on the other hand is merely an autonomic sensory response to sounds. In a conversation it simply informs one that another is talking, while listening allows one to understand what the other is saying. Listening allows for the creative process to flourish with the continual expression and utilization of ideas. If listening is added correctly the ensemble will work stronger as a unit because everyone felt that they were able to contribute even if not all of their ideas were used in the piece. However, as stated previously a lot of different ideas could lead to a jumbled mess of a production. This tends to happen more with hearing because everyone is so resolute on their own ideas, and their ideas only, they jam them altogether whether they fit together or not. Nevertheless, improper use of the listening ingredient can also create a

This can most likely be attributed to that fact that it is often subconsciously instinctual. Therefore since not much cerebral thought is put into its necessity it is often left out the ingredients list of recipes for theatre making but is still added by the actors. It is time to mix in a positive attitude. Without a positive attitude the other components of the recipe will not become one indiscernible substance. Without a positive attitude the production will not bake at all. This poor bake makes it quite apparent why a positive attitude is vital to theatre making. A negative attitude makes it difficult for productive and collaborative listening to occur. A negative attitude makes play nearly impossible because there is no interest in the games and spontaneity, the only interest of a negative attitude is itself and in a group effort that is very counterproductive. Focus cannot co-exist with a negative attitude. If one actor is an ensemble has a negative attitude that immediately becomes the focus of the entire ensemble and precious rehearsal time trying to rid the group of the negative attitude and energy. If the negative attitude is destroying the focus of the ensemble then one can be rest assured that is also interfering with commitment. It is nearly impossible to commit to a piece when a negative attitude is present because it forces to actor to commit