PART THREE in a three-part series...Perspectives of the Arts.
Imagine if you will, four people locked in a room circa anytime, location anywhere. They are watching the stage drama "Death of a Salesman." They can hear and see the production but cannot be heard.
Our characters in this reverse scenario:
Elsie Denominator, a teen queen who loves her entertainments predictable and blatant--ala America's "Funniest" Videos.
Chick Literati, a dowager who loves love stories and hot guys; who seeks safe emotional stories; who is a devotee of "Ellen", NCIS, and the Hallmark Channel.
Paul Idico, a thirty-something gentleman who enjoys debates and diatribes for their entertainment value, not to gain a new perspective; a man with a superiority complex; a man who DVRs MSNBC, Fox Sunday Morning, and "Pawn Stars."
John Doe, a non-descript person of non-descript age or gender who is curious about every topic but not naive; who challenges him/herself to watch, absorb, and seek the next best program about ____.
Let's listen in to their reactions to the Arthur Miller piece:
ELSA (laughing at the sons' names Biff & Hap): The only thing that would make this better is the mother-in-law...The annoying mother-in-law who can't stand Willy?
CHICK: Shh! Don't you know someone's going to die? It's in the title, for goodness sake. I hope it's not Biff. He's very handsome..
PAUL: This guy sucks at sales! He's not online, not schmoozing, and dresses like he owns a consignment store. If anybody's going down, it's him.
JOHN (ignoring the chatter around him): This could be my grandfather's story. How did he die again? I'll have to ask Mom later. God, Willy's sons are so ambivalent. Nice performances. I'm going to write an online review, more people should know about this production.
Imagine if you will, these four people are merely symbols. Each of these characters is a part of your audience-personality, populating your brain. One of them becomes larger and more domineering on any given night, thanks to peer pressure, individual choice, or no alternative forms of entertainment (see "channel surfing"). One of them may become so large through flexing its muscles, that the others cannot speak; the others cannot flex their muscles through lack of exercise; yet one of them will always make an appearance when you least expect it--a pleasant surprise.
Every artist fears and respects the audience. An artist cannot predict which of the four audience-characters will populate the physical theatre on a given night--will it be a room of Elsies, a room of John Does, or a diverse group that unites in response only at critical moments?
That's why Nielsens and Gallups and reviews fail to carry weight with the artist community. They only report what has happened once--the artist makes it happen every day.
*For your consideration, this concludes the three-part series. Tune in next time for something completely different.
