By Daniela Smith-Fernandez
We’ve all been there: a friend or a loved one has invited you to a show that they are obsessed with and you… don’t get it. Maybe the humour is off. It’s incredibly repetitive. The characters don’t speak to you. Yet somehow everyone in the audience but you is losing their minds over it. When someone asks you how the play was, do you go by your feelings or how happy it made the audience? How do you evaluate a play when you are not the intended audience?
Now imagine that the play is designed specifically for kids. Say, it’s a play at Manitoba Theatre for Young People. All of that weird humour and repetition that drove you crazy… is actually what they really love. If you ask your small friend they will tell you: The plot holes? Not a problem! The characters? Loveable! It was the best thing they’ve ever seen!
If at this point you step in with your grown up critical analysis and tell that child that the piece they loved is no better than mediocre, you are a terrible person. You are also committing a crime against theatre by dismissing its active magic spell on someone just discovering it. Also, and most importantly? You’re just plain wrong.
The thing is, that play was not for you. You as an adult are not the intended audience. You are a tourist, a visitor in an imaginative space that belongs to children. Putting your opinion above theirs in this situation is no better than going to a play in an unknown language and saying it was terrible because you didn’t understand it.
You’re missing the point. Calm. Down. Decenter yourself. Your opinion is not the one that matters here. Take a deep breath, turn around, and look at the small person you took to the theatre. They can help. Actually, they’d probably love to help you understand.
This is why on Curtains Up I have enlisted a Child Theatre Consultant. My main person is Eli, but I will shamelessly enlist any friends or siblings we can bring. Her job is to come with me and see the shows, because she is the audience that these shows are meant for. It has become a ritual. We meet at the theatre where her mom drops her off. We go in and chat about school and her friends, and sometimes what she thinks the play will be like. Then we watch the show. Afterwards, we go for hot chocolate and I ask her questions about the play and record her answers. Later, I learn that she tells the kids at school that she has a job as a theatre critic.
Now that I’m off reviewing, Eli and other child consultants will be doing the heavy lifting of the reviews for MTYP. It’s not what I usually do for reviews, but that’s the point. This is my attempt to find a way to get the perspective of the Intended Audience. That may mean it isn’t written in the same articulate sentences that might be used for adult reviews, but on the other hand this allows me to appreciate strengths that would otherwise go unnoticed.
Objectivity is a tricky thing. Personally, I’m not sure it’s the point where reviews are concerned. You have to be in the broad category of intended audience for the play to land. It also has to be possible for a critic to identify when they are not the intended audience, but hopefully communicate about the show in a way that is able to reach the people that are. Like conversations, not all words are meant for your ears. Just because you don’t understand what is being said doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value.
So this is why Eli gets paid in hot chocolate for her perspectives, and why I don’t feel qualified to review children’s theatre on my own. It’s also why I try to find a Metis friend for shows with Metis content, and am working to have French theatre reviewed by people who are francophone instead of basing their experience on subtitles. It all comes down to this issue of trying to respect who the words are for, being ok with not understanding everything about theatre, and allowing yourself to be informed by someone with that specific perspective. It’s about respecting that conversations go on without you all the time, but understanding that in art if you are patient and willing to listen… you might learn something
In the meantime, Eli and I are really excited about catching Jordan at MTYP this Friday. If a small person in your life would like to share their opinion, I have attached my survey to fill out using voice memo or paper. You are welcome to submit your small person’s perspective with the blog. Just let me know if you want a pseudonym and if it’s ok to share it online.
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