ABSTRACT
Everyone is, at some time or another, a member of an audience the most important people in any theatrical situation, those who listen. The actor thrives on the audience's response, whether it is visible, audible, or spellbindingly silent. Originally, in Shakespeare's day audiences went to the theatre to hear the play, hence the word audience; later, when scenery became more elaborate, the audience expected to see something special as well, but it was still referred to as an audience. Spectators watched sporting events and spectacular shows and so forth, so the primary function of an actor was, and still is, to tell a story and speak the text, whether good or bad. Audiences can be children, foreigners, or people nodding off after a day's work. They all show a different response to the performance onstage. The audience members can be all smiling like mad, but the actors will never hear them.
