Discussion Question #5

[Amy]

How does the following statement apply to both Le Cirque des Reves and the competition? Which audience is more valuable: one that is complicit or one that is unknowing?
"Chandresh relishes reactions. Genuine reactions, not mere polite applause. He often values the reactions over the show itself. A show without an audience is nothing, after all. In the response of the audience, that is where the power of performance lives."

[Amy]

YES, absolutely. I love this statement. I think it is true for the circus for sure . . .as it is for movies, theatre, etc. As someone who studied theatre and performed in many plays, I love the idea of someone just watching the audience's reactions, because it is true--they are the only thing that really matters. Without them, there is no point. The complicit audience doesn't matter so much--it is the "true" audience, those who are there simply to become a part of the experience and see what the performance has to offer.

[Amy]

The statement is so true and I think it translates into other situations as well. Your "audience" whether it be a stadium full of people or one person, whether it is a business presentation or reading a book to a child, fuels your "performance".
The statement applies to the circus because it is the "wonder" of the circus that keeps people coming. In the competition I felt like it was more of a power play. If Celia and Marco were kept in the dark they had less control of what happened. It was when they pieced things together that the "game" started to fall apart.