Although Brecht, Boal and Taylor are separated by decades of technological and social changes, all of them devote a great part of their work to the phenomenon of spectators. Brecht as a true Marxist was fascinated by scientific era that can educate intellectual proletarian and blames theatre for functioning as an entertainment place raises a “cowed, credulous, hypnotized mass”. In his opinion, theatre should “not only release the feelings, insights and impulses” “but employ and encourage those thoughts and feelings which help transform the field” and society. Brecht suggests changing it to “epic theatre” by “alienation effect” when audience is aware that they are viewing a spectacle by actors with whom they do not empathizes. So he considers the transformation of a spectator as fully dependent on the practice of actors, directors and their practices rather than work with spectators.
Boal claims Brecht’s theatre as following:
“Brecht proposes a poetics in which the spectator delegates power to the character who thus acts in his place but the spectator reserves the right to think for himself, often in opposition to the character”.
Although Boal agrees with Brecht’s critique of Aristotelian “Poetics” and idea of catharsis when “the spectator delegates power to the dramatic character so that the latter may act and think for him” , his theater of oppressed suggests more empowerment of audience when spectators participate in a performance becoming actors themselves. There comes a term spect-actors and a plan of transformation through diverse exercises for audience.
Taylor’s consideration of spect-actors is not limited to theatre, it includes diverse performance forms where spectators get to act on provocative performance even if acting means being silent. In her words, “each performance anticipates its ideal response”. Not performer, actor or director, but a form of performance itself influences the audience and makes it act. Compared to Brecht and Boal, Taylor does not suggest that transformation of spectators should be done through practice with actors or audience but through developing connection between performance and spectator. I guess it works better in the world where stage and reality are not separated anymore. Where a common action can be effectively evoked through an Instagram filter rather than ideological spectacle.