The Aside Podcasts are a free resource supported by Drama Victoria - Australia’s oldest Drama Association

In this episode of The Aside, we discuss Audience Culture. What the VCAA says it is, and we provide some examples of how you might think about it and apply in in the work you make and analyse.

For the VCE implementation videos click below

https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/professional-learning-programs/vce/vce-theatre-studies

Below is from the VCE Study Design 2025-2029

Audience and audience culture

Theatre as an art form is constructed and created for an audience of one or more spectators. In this study, students are both artists and audiences. As artists, they learn about the importance of audience, audience and performance spaces, audience and intended meaning, and the effect of their work on an audience. As audiences, they attend professional theatre for the purposes of analysis and evaluation.

Audience culture refers to the attitudes, beliefs, values and behaviours of a particular group of people who engage with theatre performances. In this study, audience culture pertains to an intended audience and may be directly related to or informed by the historical, political, social and cultural contexts in which a script was written. Audience culture is also related to theatre styles, conventions and movements. Historical plays written for audiences of their time can offer new insights or meanings when performed to contemporary audiences. Contemporary theatre practices offer new insights into the role of an audience, for example a contemporary performance of a Shakespearean play or an immersive performance.

Please feel free to email [email protected] to ask a question. We will try and answer on a future podcast