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The Theory of Laughativity
15th May 2008
By Mark Woods
“An
audience can only laugh as loud as the loudest person laughing”
 OK,
so for starters, the title of this piece is just a take on Albert
Einstein’s “Theory of Relativity”.
Laughativity is most probably not even a real word.
So what am I on about you may ask. . .
Have you ever been performing in a comedy or a show where we have
been given the role of comic relief, when somewhere, between the
cackling laughter and rapturous applause of the Friday night crowd
and the start of Act 1 the next day, you have seemingly lost your
comic mojo? What made people laugh out loud, some rolling on the
floor, one night, is met with a stifled almost apologetic giggle and
smirk the next. What gained a standing ovation from one crowd is met
with a seemingly lacklustre genial clapping from the next.
Why is it so?
Surely the audience one night can’t just “get it” and the next night
not. As performers we are always told by our directors at interval
that “the audience are enjoying it, but they are just reserved in
their showing of it”, or words to similar affect. Now if I hadn’t
been on the other side of the stage in the director’s chair (and
muttered those very same words) I may not have believed it to be
true. But they are right and it is, the audience are enjoying what
you’re doing, but just not with the same gusto that is sometimes the
case.
Why is this?
Audiences attending musical theatre come from a wide range of
sources. Those seeing the show because a friend or relative is in
it, those who attend because they just love musicals, those who are
looking at the show for their next production, those who have seen a
flyer and are interested, those who are dragged along kicking and
screaming etc. It must be true that the most attentive audience that
provides the greatest level of appreciation is the one full of avid
theatre people. Take the Guild and Lyrebird Award crowds as
examples. Perform at one of these nights and do a great job and the
audience will let you know about it, with some of the most jovial
and encouraging applause you will hear with some sound effects
thrown in for good measure.
At the other end of the scale matinee crowds are notoriously quiet,
as may be expected as they are generally smaller and older crowds,
or those coming because they have better things to do with their
nights (partying hard while we get our makeup on). Friday night
crowds tend to be freer with their applause and laughter than a
Saturday night crowd, but don’t necessarily have higher numbers, and
Wednesday night crowds are eclectic to say the least.
So is it the make up of the crowd that affects the ability for the
audience to enjoy themselves and be open about letting the cast on
stage know? Or is it something else?
I
have a theory. . .
Laughativity.
Now while laughter is not the only way an audience can show
appreciation as I have made clear in the above paragraphs, it is the
basis of my theory, so hear me out, and feel free to interchange
laughter with applause.
J
An old saying goes. . . You are only as strong as your weakest
player.
I
propose, an audience can only laugh as loud as the loudest person
laughing.
It is a split second occurrence, which happens at the first sign of
humour in the show, when the members of the audience, whether
consciously or not, gauge the level to which they can laugh
throughout the show. If someone laughs out load with gusto, the rest
of the audience will follow, but just be below the original cackler.
If the laugh is more of an appreciative “ha. . . I got that. . . ha”
then the rest of the audience will follow suit.
 Friday
night audiences are widely renowned for being more forthcoming with
their laughter, and Saturday audiences are sometimes disappointing
to a performer, as they expect greater responses from a usually
larger crowd.
Friday night guests are usually happy that the week is over and they
are planning to have a great night, and tend to be jovial. Saturday
night crowds sometimes surprise but are often tired from the long
week they just had, and expect more from the show given this is
their “weekend they are using/wasting for this show”. These are
generalisations but as is often the case they tend to be true in
most circumstances.
So what can you do as a performer to ensure that you keep your mojo
throughout a run? Well other than putting on a great show, and short
of putting a plant (paid to laugh audience member) there is not much
to do. I guess getting audiences into the swing of things somehow
could work but often pre show entertainments are time consuming and
can backfire if not related to the show.
Well I guess like all good theories, it is at least useful to know
that there is a reason for why things happen and you can use it to
deflect the blame away from yourself
J
Keep on trying to make people roll on the floor laughing and they
will eventually do so.
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