The Audience & the Playwright: How to Get the Most Out of Live Theatre - Hardcover

by Mayo Simon (Author)

Have you ever noticed how clever you feel in the theatre? You get the joke when no one on the stage is laughing. You see the threat that no one on the stage seems to notice. You weep when leading characters do not shed a tear. Sometimes you feel an almost God-like understanding of people and events.

Who put you in this privileged position? The Audience & The Playwright analyzes the tactics used by all playwrights, from Sophocles to David Mamet, to give the audience extraordinary powers and a unique role that it will play perfectly and without rehearsal.

Structured as an evening in the theatre, the book is analytical but straightforward, serious but entertaining. A working playwright's view of what really happens between the stage and the audience, from the beginning of the play until the end, it is a book for the serious theatregoer, as well as a book for the college classroom.

"Mayo Simon would be a wonderful opening night date. He knows the theatre like the palm of his hand, loves it, and articulates it. Short of Mayo as a date, this book is your best companion."

- Jon Jory

Professor of Acting & Directing, University of Washington School of Drama

Author Biography

Mayo Simon has been watching audiences watching his plays for the last 30 years at Lincoln Center, the Mark Taper Forum, the Actors Theatre of Louisville, the Philadelphia Theatre Company, the Magic Theatre of San Francisco and theatres in England, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Sweden. His plays include The Old Lady's Guide to Survival, The Old Lady in Love, These Men, A Rich Full Life, Elaine's Daughter, Greek Holiday and Walking to Waldheim: A Comedy Almost to the End. He lives in New York City.