Accessibility of Theater

A large part of a person's view of theater is based on their access to it. This applies both to their physical capability to attend performances, as well as how open-minded they are and how emotionally connected they allow themselves to be when attending theater.  It is for these reasons that I think theater can be a personal experience or it can be a mass experience.

When going into a performance, of any kind really, there's some factors that I like to consider. Not all of these are controllable, especially on a trip like ours, but for me at least this will not be the last of my theater experience. One of the first things to consider is the type of performance you're going to. You should have a sense of what will happen. For example, if you go to an American musical its traditional to clap at the end of a song but not necessarily the end of a solo. If you're going to a ballet, they take bows during and after every act, then again at the end of the whole show.

If you're going to a performance that is somewhere culturally different than where you're from, try to understand what the local people will get out of a show or what they will expect. Knowing a little about their history helps, especially if you're seeing something that might be political. Keeping culture in mind will allow you to better understand, or if not accept, performances or audience reactions that you disagree with.

You should also know why you're going to a production, and who you're going with. Are you going to relax and escape? Are you going to have your thoughts provoked? Perhaps you just want to see something funny, or something beautiful, or even something sad. I think any reason to see theater is a valid reason, even if it's boredom. Having a reason though can help you select a show that will make your evening enjoyable. If you don't want your emotions ripped right from your chest, don't go see Butusov. Go see Talents and Corpses instead. Your theater-going companions should optimally have a similar reason for going as you do.

Along with your reason, you should keep in mind the rest of your day. In the case of our trip, all the shows we've seen have been somewhat under duress. Traveling is always stressful, especially when you're navigating a language barrier. If you're having a bad day, I find it best to leave as much of it as you can at the coat check. No sense in spending money to sit tensely in a seat for 3 hours and not pay attention when you can easily do that at home. If you allow your day to close your mind to the performance, you very well could miss a chance to drastically improve your day. And should it occur that the wrong day and the wrong performance align to make one truly horrid day (as it very well has and could), well then there's always tomorrow. In Moscow and St. Petersburg that means there's always a hundred more shows to watch.