Artist Intention and Audience Reception in Theatre for Young Audiences

Abstract

This article discusses the relationship between the intentions of adult artists who create works of theatre for young audiences and the responses of young people who view those performances. It reviews the results of a mixed-methods case study conducted with middle school students who viewed a production of Y. York's Getting Near to Baby. The young spectators sometimes responded to themes in the play the way that the artists envisioned they would; at other times, they did not; and in some instances, they responded to themes the artists did not envision at all. The data suggest little correlation between artists' investment in conveying particular ideas and young audience members' responses to those ideas. Rather, the nature of the ideas and the ways in which they are presented seem more likely to influence audience response.