Audience Engagement in the Performing Arts: A Critical Analysis

254 Pages·2019·3.186 MB·English

by  Ben Walmsley

NEW DIRECTIONS IN CULTURAL POLICY RESEARCH
Audience Engagement
in the Performing Arts
A Critical Analysis
Ben Walmsley
New Directions in Cultural Policy Research
Series Editor
Eleonora Belfiore
Department of Social Sciences
Loughborough University
Loughborough, UK
New Directions in Cultural Policy Research encourages theoretical and
empirical contributions which enrich and develop the field of cultural
policy studies. Since its emergence in the 1990s in Australia and the
United Kingdom and its eventual diffusion in Europe, the academic field
of cultural policy studies has expanded globally as the arts and popular
culture have been re-positioned by city, regional, and national govern-
ments, and international bodies, from the margins to the centre of social
and economic development in both rhetoric and practice. The series
invites contributions in all of the following: arts policies, the politics of
culture, cultural industries policies (the ‘traditional’ arts such as per-
forming and visual arts, crafts), creative industries policies (digital, social
media, broadcasting and film, and advertising), urban regeneration and
urban cultural policies, regional cultural policies, the politics of cultural
and creative labour, the production and consumption of popular cul-
ture, arts education policies, cultural heritage and tourism policies, and
the history and politics of media and communications policies. The series
will reflect current and emerging concerns of the field such as, for exam-
ple, cultural value, community cultural development, cultural diversity,
cultural sustainability, lifestyle culture and eco-culture, planning for the
intercultural city, cultural planning, and cultural citizenship.
More information about this series at
http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14748
Ben Walmsley
Audience Engagement
in the Performing Arts
A Critical Analysis
Ben Walmsley
School Performance Cultural
Industries
University of Leeds
Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK
New Directions in Cultural Policy Research
ISBN 978-3-030-26652-3 ISBN 978-3-030-26653-0 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26653-0
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2019
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights
of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction
on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and
retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology
now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and
information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication.
Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied,
with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have
been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published
maps and institutional affiliations.
Cover image: Miemo Penttinen - miemo.net/Getty images
Cover design by eStudioCalamar
This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
A
cknowledgements
I would like to dedicate this book to audiences. Audiences are the life-
blood of the performing arts and this book highlights the ways in which
they have been marginalised for centuries. Audiences are extraordi-
nary; they perform myriad roles in sustaining the arts, acting as critics,
fans, champions, donors, and sense-makers. Since the first time I went
to the theatre I have been fascinated by what happens to audiences in
the course of a live performance. We can call this catharsis, or we can
call it transformation, or even just entertainment; but something hap-
pens when audiences engage and are engaged with live performance
that is special. So this book constitutes an extended plea for audiences
to be taken more seriously and represents a tribute to their passion and
commitment.
This book has been fuelled by, and is partly based on, a significant body
of empirical research that I conducted with audiences between 2010 and
2015. I am constantly moved and humbled by the generosity and depth
of insight provided by audience research participants, and without their
openness of spirit this book would never have come to fruition. So a huge
thanks must be extended to all those who participated in my audience
research projects. Research of this type is also dependent on the generosity
of arts organisations, so I also want to acknowledge the moral and logistical
support of colleagues from Melbourne Theatre Company (especially Ann
Tonks), Leeds Playhouse (then West Yorkshire Playhouse), Slung Low (par-
ticularly Alan Lane), Unlimited Theatre (Jon Spooner), Transform (Amy
Letman), Yorkshire Dance (Wieke Eringa and Antony Dunn), and Love
v
vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Arts Leeds. Thanks are also due to Brooklyn Museum, National Theatre of
Scotland and Watershed for permission to reproduce their images and cap-
ture their inspiring audience engagement activities via case studies.
Prolonged periods of research cannot take place without funding, so I’d
like to acknowledge the support of Leeds Metropolitan University (now
Leeds Beckett University), which offered me a research fellowship back in
2010 that enabled me to undertake research in Melbourne and kick-started
my ensuing career as an audience researcher. I’d also like to thank the Arts
and Humanities Research Council, Arts Council England and Nesta, who
have funded several of my research projects over the past ten years and who
continue to champion empirical audience research. In these times of appar-
ent austerity and considering the increasing pressure to support STEM-
based research, it feels more vital than ever to support arts and humanities
research, and these organisations have consistently supported research into
the arts. Publishers also play a key role in commissioning and disseminating
research, of course, and so I would also like to thank the dedicated team at
Palgrave Macmillan for their belief, support, and encouragement.
The School of Performance and Cultural Industries at the University
of Leeds offers the perfect environment to undertake audience research
and the School has generously funded two research sabbaticals over the
past five years that have enabled me to develop this monograph. So I’d
like to acknowledge my wonderful colleagues at the University the Leeds
and my inspiring audience research peers, who have shaped and supported
this publication in all sorts of ways. Some have read and fed back on early
drafts—especially members of the School’s Audience Experience and
Engagement Group. Particular thanks are due to Anna Upchurch, Maria
Barrett, Matthew Reason, Joslin McKinney, Kirsty Sedgman, and Ruth
Rentschler, who have acted as formal or informal reviewers and as con-
stant inspirations of how to conduct audience research with care, humour,
humanity, and rigour. Tragically, Anna Upchurch left us far too soon, but
as a founder editor of this book series (alongside Ele Belfiore) and the most
generous of colleagues one could ever hope for, Anna persuaded me to
write this book in the first place, so I will be forever in her debt and I hope
that this book represents some small part of her wonderful academic legacy.
Finally, I’d like to formally thank my partner, Fabien, and my family
and friends, who have patiently supported the development of this mon-
ograph and seen me through the inevitably challenging moments that
arise in writing a sole-authored book.
c
ontents
1 Introduction 1
2 Understanding Audiences: A Critical Review
of Audience Research 25
3 Deconstructing Audiences’ Experiences 63
4 Capturing, Interpreting, and Evaluating Cultural Value 91
5 Researching (with) Audiences 111
6 From Consumption to Enrichment: The Long Slow
Death of Arts Marketing 141
7 Co-creating Art, Meaning, and Value 165
8 Engaging Audiences Through Digital Technologies 199
9 Conclusions and Implications 225
Index 243
vii
l f
ist of igures
Fig. 6.1 B eyond marketing (Adapted from Levy and Kotler
[1969, p. 68]) 153
Fig. 6.2 D evelopment of key abstract terms from 1987–2016
(Walmsley 2019) 155
Fig. 6.3 The Consumer Exchange Model 156
Fig. 7.1 A udience typologies with respect to engagement styles
(Source Brown and Ratzkin [2011, p. 23]) 178
Fig. 8.1 F ive Minute Theatre 2012 (Image courtesy of National
Theatre of Scotland) 207
Fig. 8.2 S ocial production at Bristol’s Watershed in 2010
(Image by Toby Farrow, courtesy of Watershed) 210
Fig. 8.3 A n interactive comment kiosk at Brooklyn Museum
(© 2004–2019 the Brooklyn Museum. Image courtesy
of Brooklyn Museum, under Creative Commons License 3.0) 211
Fig. 8.4 A screen-grab of the Respond platform (Image courtesy
of Breakfast Creatives) 213
Fig. 9.1 The Audience Enrichment Model 232
ix
l t
ist of Ables
Table 6.1 Key abstract terms (1987–2016) 154
Table 6.2 Economic distinctions 156
xi