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Right This Way: A History of the Audience
When you sit down at a play, movie, or concert, or even in front of the TV or scrolling on your phone, you are taking part in one of the oldest and most mysterious forms of human behavior. Being part of an audience is an age-old experience that we all crave, one that has evolved from amphitheaters to screens. Right This Way is a pop history of audiences through the ages. Playbill editor Robert Viagas unfolds the unique aspects of what he calls audiencing with stories from the age of the Greeks to the world of Zoom. He walks through the different types of audiences and the history of their responses, what science has to say about how our brains respond to what they see and the reactions of the people around them, and why, during COVID-19, people risked a deadly virus to be part of a crowd. Right This Way explores what the audience experience brings us and how it may evolve in the 21st century.
- GenresHistory
Audio CD
Published September 15, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 15, 2023
Viagas’ history of audiences was certainly wide-ranging (ancient Greek theater to solitary streaming to religious services) but the book was a mixed bag for me. There were many sections of interesting facts and ideas. A couple of examples: The darkening of theater lights or the quick blackness on a screen before the movie begins represent audience members closing our eyes - like going to sleep and entering a type of dream world where we suspend disbelief and are ready to receive the story. Cool! And there is a fascinating section on what Trump actually said on the last Inauguration Day, and what his audience said they heard him say.
But, the book sometimes drifts into telling us the obvious. (A list of things we can now do with our cells phones, for example.)
So I did enjoy the book overall and I am recommending it if you are a NF History fan like me, but be aware some sections drag a bit.
But, the book sometimes drifts into telling us the obvious. (A list of things we can now do with our cells phones, for example.)
So I did enjoy the book overall and I am recommending it if you are a NF History fan like me, but be aware some sections drag a bit.
July 21, 2023
My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Globe Pequot, Applause for an advanced copy of this book that looks at what enjoy and get from watching and experiencing media, the technology that makes an audience want more, and what the new world of streaming and growing apartness of people means for everybody.
Before the pandemic a friend of mine began running house shows, concerts in his living room. People would email reservations, sometimes cash, and would enjoy entertainment, from up-and-coming artists, and artists who were popular, but made more working a living room than a small club, as drinks, food and a bed were provided. Plus all their merch sales went to them. I remember thinking it was odd, going and than thinking it was amazing. One might not know the singer, the song, or like the genre, but it was honest, fun and a shared experience, that were some of my favorite concert going experiences. There is nothing like hearing a song, enjoying it, than offering the singer some of the fine dip and chips you have been hoarding the whole time. Since the early days of sitting around a fire listening to stories, to 4.2 million people on Copacabana Beach listening to Rod Steward, people love to be audiences to art, and in many ways humans need this experience of being together, sharing something that can't be repeated, even if people are recording with their cell phones. Robert Viagas, writer, scholar and teacher in his book Right This Way: A History of the Audience discusses the feeling of being an audience, why we need live events, and even solo gaming experiences for ourselves and others, and what technology might be adding or in many places taking away.
The book begins with a look at how groups began to get together, firstly for protection around the fire, sharing stories, to make people feel better about the dark, and how this tradition expanded. Greek plays are looked at next, with their long tradition, and long shows, seeming very much like going to the cinema in the 1930's. Going to a drams meant an all day affair, some short plays, a funny play, maybe a ribald play, and finally the longer work. The book looks at the catharsis that plays share, and also the fact that people can see the feeling they feel on the stage, and know that they are not alone. What I enjoyed was the behind the scene information the language of stage I was familiar with, but that the author breaks down and explains in more detail. And of course how the technology has changed, from natural light, to candles, to spotlights, and scenery changes. The author also looks at films and even video games, explaining how people watch and interact, and what is gained from it.
A very different book about media and its importance. I say media as thought there is a lot about plays and drama, as the author is a true expert on this, there is a lot about movies, television, and what might be coming. Viagas is a very good writer, with a nice clear voice that is easy to follow, interesting and when something technical might come up, is very good at explaining. One learns quite a lot about being in the moment watching something play out, on stage, on screen, or even playing video games. Viagas has done a lot of research, and tells a very complete history, that is filled with a lot of intriguing facts.
The next few years should be interesting for media, and I mean interesting in the blessing/cursed kind of way. Streaming is keeping people out of movie theaters ,but studios are losing money on streaming. Striking writers and artists, might force changes through, as will the next pandemic, as nobody has learned anything there will be more. So the future or audiences and live entertainment could be in flux. Robert Viagas book is a very good argument for going out, and having a good time.
Before the pandemic a friend of mine began running house shows, concerts in his living room. People would email reservations, sometimes cash, and would enjoy entertainment, from up-and-coming artists, and artists who were popular, but made more working a living room than a small club, as drinks, food and a bed were provided. Plus all their merch sales went to them. I remember thinking it was odd, going and than thinking it was amazing. One might not know the singer, the song, or like the genre, but it was honest, fun and a shared experience, that were some of my favorite concert going experiences. There is nothing like hearing a song, enjoying it, than offering the singer some of the fine dip and chips you have been hoarding the whole time. Since the early days of sitting around a fire listening to stories, to 4.2 million people on Copacabana Beach listening to Rod Steward, people love to be audiences to art, and in many ways humans need this experience of being together, sharing something that can't be repeated, even if people are recording with their cell phones. Robert Viagas, writer, scholar and teacher in his book Right This Way: A History of the Audience discusses the feeling of being an audience, why we need live events, and even solo gaming experiences for ourselves and others, and what technology might be adding or in many places taking away.
The book begins with a look at how groups began to get together, firstly for protection around the fire, sharing stories, to make people feel better about the dark, and how this tradition expanded. Greek plays are looked at next, with their long tradition, and long shows, seeming very much like going to the cinema in the 1930's. Going to a drams meant an all day affair, some short plays, a funny play, maybe a ribald play, and finally the longer work. The book looks at the catharsis that plays share, and also the fact that people can see the feeling they feel on the stage, and know that they are not alone. What I enjoyed was the behind the scene information the language of stage I was familiar with, but that the author breaks down and explains in more detail. And of course how the technology has changed, from natural light, to candles, to spotlights, and scenery changes. The author also looks at films and even video games, explaining how people watch and interact, and what is gained from it.
A very different book about media and its importance. I say media as thought there is a lot about plays and drama, as the author is a true expert on this, there is a lot about movies, television, and what might be coming. Viagas is a very good writer, with a nice clear voice that is easy to follow, interesting and when something technical might come up, is very good at explaining. One learns quite a lot about being in the moment watching something play out, on stage, on screen, or even playing video games. Viagas has done a lot of research, and tells a very complete history, that is filled with a lot of intriguing facts.
The next few years should be interesting for media, and I mean interesting in the blessing/cursed kind of way. Streaming is keeping people out of movie theaters ,but studios are losing money on streaming. Striking writers and artists, might force changes through, as will the next pandemic, as nobody has learned anything there will be more. So the future or audiences and live entertainment could be in flux. Robert Viagas book is a very good argument for going out, and having a good time.
November 20, 2023
It has become a bigger part of life than we might have ever imagined, yet it is something in which we participate without giving it much thought. How are we part of the audience? What has that experience been like?
Robert Viagas explores such things in Right This Way: A History of the Audience, from before the days of ancient Greek theatre to our modern audience experiences.
The author explores not just the straightforward history of how audiences formed and the kinds of things they watched; he also considers how the desires of the audience shaped various forms of art and entertainment, how the audience’s understanding of religion and morality affected art and entertainment (and vice versa), the development and use of various forms of technology in captivating audiences, and the relationship between the audience and the space of performance. The behavior of the audience and the prospect of violence is also considered, as well as how matters of race, ethnicity, and gender shaped and were shaped by audiences and entertainment. The author also gave space to how various entertainers have given space for the audience to be involved in the expression of the art.
Since so much of our time is spent as an audience, it is good to consider what an audience is about and how we can well appreciate art as an audience.
Robert Viagas explores such things in Right This Way: A History of the Audience, from before the days of ancient Greek theatre to our modern audience experiences.
The author explores not just the straightforward history of how audiences formed and the kinds of things they watched; he also considers how the desires of the audience shaped various forms of art and entertainment, how the audience’s understanding of religion and morality affected art and entertainment (and vice versa), the development and use of various forms of technology in captivating audiences, and the relationship between the audience and the space of performance. The behavior of the audience and the prospect of violence is also considered, as well as how matters of race, ethnicity, and gender shaped and were shaped by audiences and entertainment. The author also gave space to how various entertainers have given space for the audience to be involved in the expression of the art.
Since so much of our time is spent as an audience, it is good to consider what an audience is about and how we can well appreciate art as an audience.
January 8, 2024
3.5 Wide ranging at thoughtful look at what is an audience, how it has changed over the time, and the many ways we participate being in an audience. The organization was such that it felt like a series of essays (and perhaps is presented as such in the final - I had an ARC) so there is a lot of jumping back. Also there are some audiences not really brought in like Twitch streaming, esports, and TikTok
October 13, 2023
This was a bit sprawling and the author defined audience so broadly as to lose focus at times. It made some very interesting points at times.
April 2, 2025
my dad wrote this
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews