The Role of the Audience for Playwrights and Production Companies

In drama, the audience behaves as one of the most important aspects for playwrights and production companies. Most playwrights try to incorporate the audience into their by representing them on stage by certain characters or aspects. Audiences witness this in the two plays, Medea written by Euripides, and in Don Juan written by Moliére. In these plays, the playwrights incorporate the audience in their play, and talk to them directly, by placing a character in the play to represent the audience's ideas or predicted train of thought. In Medea, Euripides uses the Chorus to represent the audience, by asking characters questions the audience might be thinking mid-play, while passing judgments similar to the audience's thoughts. In Don Juan, Moliére accomplishes the same task, by having a character represent the audience's ideas, while also posing their questions. These playwrights incorporate the audience into their plays, and this is crucial to the plays' success because it clarifies points and gives greater insight towards the playwrights' intentions.

The Chorus in Medea represents the audience in many ways, by asking questions, and presenting their thoughts. The Chorus is composed of several Corinthian women, who are characters on the stage, and who express their ideas in verse. Throughout the play, the Chorus behaves as the "mind state" of the audience. They talk to Medea throughout the play, sympathizing with her heartbreak, and offering their condolences. Early on in the play, they ask the Nurse to tell the story of Medea, by saying "I heard her voice, I heard that unhappy woman...Old Nurse, tell us about her" (30-34). This is crucial to the play because without them, Euripides would have had to find a less direct method of expressing the prior events, and it would have been less effective. This shows how the audience needs the Chorus to keep themselves involved in the play, and to provide clarification for deeper character analysis.

The Chorus in Medea also behaves as a sympathizer for Medea, as opposed to simply being there for clarification. Many times throughout the play, the Chorus will mention how they feel sorry for Medea, and how it is horrible that Jason has wronged her. They say, "Medea, poor Medea! Your grief touches our hearts" (357-358), which shows the Chorus's sympathy for Medea. This feeling is similar to the feeling an audience would have at this point of the play, since they would be sympathetic for Medea's situation, and they would feel her pain.

However after this, the Chorus departs from behaving as the audiences' thoughts, and becomes more involved in the play. This is seen in the way they ask questions to the other characters, and participate in the action of the play. This type of behavior is unique for the Greek tragedy of Medea, because usually the Chorus behaved solely as commentary and narration, but in this play they behave as another character in the play, with thoughts and responses to the characters actions. The most unique line comes towards the end of the play, when Medea is murdering her children. Here the children say, "Help, help, for the gods' sake! She is killing us!" (1277-1278), and it is strange to hear them addressing the Chorus. In most Greek tragedies, the Chorus does not interact with the characters on stage, but here Euripides has them being addressed by other characters and recognized on stage. This anomaly is presented by Euripides to show the audience how important the role of the Chorus is, and how it is not simply there for narration but to add content to the play.

It is here that the audience's thoughts would not be the same as the Chorus, and the distinction is something Euripides most have posed in order to guide the audience properly. At this point in the play, most audiences would be thinking about how crazy and deranged Medea is, and how someone should stop her. When they hear the children plea to the Chorus to do something, the audience is expecting the Chorus to interfere in some way, as they usually represent the audience's feelings. However this is not the case, and it is here that Euripides is able to show that the Chorus is aligned with Medea, and not with the audience. He does this so the audience can now formulate their own judgments towards Medea and the other characters, opposed to following the guidance of the Chorus as they have throughout the play.

In the comedic play Don Juan, Moliére was also able to have the audience interact with the play, by the words of the assistant character Sganarelle. In the play, he continuously makes comments directed towards the audience, and he asks questions people in the audience would have. For example, throughout the play he discusses with the protagonist, Don Juan, about his life and how he thinks. He says, "Well I want to know a little more about how you really think" (page 32), which shows that he questions Don Juan's character, just as the audience does all throughout the play. He provides the audience with the insight towards the other characters, and clarifies Don Juan's personality for the audience to give more insight towards his character.

Throughout the play, Sganarelle also provides ironic comments that give the audience clarification about what has occurred so far in the play. At one point in the play, he says, "Oh you poor girls, I am sorry for you. I pity your impressionable hearts..." (page 28) which is important to the audience because it shows the true nature of Don Juan and what Sganarelle thinks of his behavior. He behaves as the semi-narrator to the play, by giving the audience clarification, and by his aside comments that can be seen as directed towards the audience. He continuously repeats, "Long live the King!" which makes the audience think about the royal implications this play gives, and how Moliére is satirizing the royal family. This comment forces the audience to think about the crown and brings them up in a negative light. He also makes many comments that act as punch lines towards the audience, such as when he says, "If remorse might just touch his heart..." (page 13), which shows that although his comments may not be directed towards the audience, they are written there for the audience to grasp what is occurring and to pass judgment in the way Sganarelle poses it. He behaves as the mindset Moliére wants the audience to be in, as he is the only character given to the audience that give us its' personal insights and thoughts. The audience has the deepest connection with Sganarelle, and his thoughts are what shape the audience's impression of Don Juan and the theme of the play.

In the two plays, the audience is given impressions by characters in the play, but they each provide different modes of transferring their impressions. The Chorus in Medea uses its words to echo the thoughts of the audience at that moment in the play, by saying the things that are on the audience's mind, and by questioning the characters just as the audience would. However, in Don Juan, Sganarelle uses jokes and smart remarks whispered under his breath to connect with the audience. His remarks are more directed towards the audience, while the Chorus uses its comments to show the audiences thoughts. Moliére uses Sganarelle to ask Don Juan the questions that the audience would ask, while passing judgment like the Chorus does.

Throughout the plays, the authors use these two characters to guide the audience in the way they want them to perceive the play. The Chorus in Medea has equal feelings with most audiences throughout the play. They feel for Medea at the beginning and agree that she has been wronged by Jason. They agree with her in her decision to get revenge on Jason, but then they disagree with her when she decides to murder her children, just as any audience would. It is at this point however, where the Chorus deviates from the audience's thoughts, and they seem to be completely loyal to Medea. They eventually go along with her decision to murder her children, which is seen by their inaction when she is performing the murders. Their loyalty to Medea is something that the audience has towards the beginning of the play, but then loses it by the end.

In Don Juan, Sganarelle guides the audience's thoughts by always talking down about his master, and by showing his disgust for his master's actions, just as the audience would be repulsed by his doings as well. The feelings from Sganarelle and the audience seem to go hand in hand, as they both judge Don Juan as he does everything. In this aspect, Sganarelle is different from the Chorus, because his thoughts coincide with the audiences', and he acts as more of a guide to the audience, as opposed to a reflection of the audience. He does not dictate directly to the audience and he does not represent the audience's emotions, but their thoughts on the characters. Also, he does not deviate from the audiences expectations, such as the Chorus does in Medea, and he simply goes with the audience. At only one point, towards the end of the play, does he do something different from the audience expectations. He says, "My wages, my wages" (page 64), which is not reflective of the audience's thoughts at this time of the play, but simply a reflection of Sganarelle's character in the play.

In the classic plays, Medea by Euripides, and Don Juan by Moliére, the authors use characters in their play to reflect the audience and to help them follow the play emotionally and mentally. In Medea, Euripides uses the Chorus to represent the audience's emotions throughout the play. They help to guide the audience in the way they should think about the, and they have the same emotional standpoint as the audience would. In the play Don Juan, Moliére uses Sganarelle to give information to the audience, rather than to express the audience's feelings. Moliére uses Sganarelle to give the audience all of the appropriate information to pass their own judgments on the protagonist, but they are not said aloud in the text of the play unlike in Medea. Moliére also uses Sganarelle to guide the audience, as he only provides the audience with Sganarelle's viewpoint and only gives the audience the information he wants known. Both playwrights used these characters to help explain the text of their play, and to help guide the emotions of viewers to the correct point. These characters ensure correct interpretation and that the correct message was passed, and without them, the play would have a less defined meaning.