The theater public is not a passive subject. This was one of the main ideas with which the Australian professor Katya Johanson, an expert in audiences, opened on Monday the three days of the I International Congress of Theater Spectators, organized by Àfora Focus and curated by Pepe Zapata. And the conclusions, embodied in the Barcelona Manifesto on theater spectators, have corroborated this.
During these three days of conferences, debates and workshops, the spectators who have attended, from the five continents, have reflected on the role of the public before a play. A role that has been shown to be much more active than might be thought at first. In the manifesto there are conclusions, but also some questions, open questions that will have to be answered in future calls.
The document, divided into three parts, was read yesterday by representatives of the group. The first is reasonable questions, such as: “What brings viewers together? Who is the perfect spectator? Am I an authentic spectator if the spectacle I see does not move me? Who represents us on stage? Who do we represent? What does the artist expect from us after seeing the work? Should a play provoke debate or maybe just entertainment?...”
In the second part, the beliefs appear, which answer some of the questions: “I think that everyone is a spectator. I think every viewer has expectations. I think artists have a responsibility to meet those expectations. We are viewers and creators at the same time. I, as a spectator, believe that the theater always makes me feel different from when I enter to when I leave. Being public is being part of a community, not just paying to see something...”
And thirdly, the desires regarding the figure of the public and their participation in stage productions, such as: “Spectators have to be able to influence the art they see; it would have to go beyond the commercial market.”
The conference ended with a visit to the Gran Teatre del Liceu and attendance at the Romea premiere of Paraíso Perdido, Helena Tornero's adaptation of John Milton's poem, starring Pere Arquillué and Cristina Plazas, directed by Andrés Lima. In fact, the entire congress has been held with the mound of the set for this production at the back of the stage of the theater on Hospital Street.
At the closing of the conference, the president of the Focus group, Daniel Martínez de Obregón, announced the second edition of the International Congress of Theater Spectators for the fall of 2024, so that a biennial character is established.
