Standing Ovations and Art
While I can argue both the commercial merit, as well as the word “manufactured” in this standing-ovation discussion, let’s talk about how I feel that attempting to get a standing ovation from an audience is no less artful than any other choice one can make.
It might be because I have a very broad definition of what art is, but, to me, trying to provoke not just emotions and reactions, but actions, from an audience can be artistic. How is the “manufactured standing ovation” any different than the work of mid-century artists like Yoko Ono or George Brecht who would write simple instructions (e.g., “Breathe” or “Smile”) that forced the audience to perform the art themselves?
All magic is designed to get people to react and to feel something. Here we are just giving them another way to express their feelings for what they just saw. In my case, I introduce the idea of a standing ovation in an offhanded way early in my show. Then I write, block, and light the show in such a way that when the time comes and they have emotions they want to express, they stand because it feels natural. I’m not playing the national anthem or talking about my dead father, but my skills as an artist and the quality of the show they saw make them so moved that they want to express themselves.
Intent is important of course, but the artistic merit of making people “do things,” and in this case getting them to stand for your magic, in my mind, lies in shifting art from passive observation to active participation. I want to foster deeper engagement by transforming the viewer into an essential collaborator within the piece. The art here is making them stand with me, not for me.
—Jon Armstrong
The second is whether the ovation exists within the frame of the performance or outside it. In the examples of instruction theater that Jon raises, the command that is followed is clearly within the frame of the performance itself, in much the same way asking someone to perform an action like picking a card is within the frame of the performance in a magic show. The possible ovation, however, could be thought of as existing outside that frame. I remember Bobby Bernard (whose false cut is used elsewhere in this issue) talking to me about the end of a performance. He suggested that the first part of the performer’s job is to deliver the best show they can, and the second is to stand onstage at the end and allow the audience to freely express their feelings about the work that was shared. Of course we all hope that they will applaud (or more), but, Bobby argued, it is just as much their right to express dissatisfaction by not applauding or booing, and it is the performer’s job to create a space for the audience to respond to the work in whatever way they choose. Is the ovation at the end of a show inside or outside the frame of the performance itself? That is a question that everyone who stands onstage has to decide for themselves.
Ahead of the Curve
Chloe Olewitz must be feeling a bit prophetic herself since spotlighting the phenomenon of the manufactured standing ovation in the May issue, several months before mentalist Oz Pearlman illustrated the point in his nationally televised performance, at the White House Correspondents Dinner (which can be found on YouTube).
Granted, it was an extremely tough crowd, and Oz got his desired result, but was it really necessary to grovel for the audience’s approval throughout the show, and especially at the end? I wonder whether he would have gotten the same reaction legitimately, without the additional cajoling?
—Alan Kratish
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