Kai An Chee

Performance Studies
May 2, 2017
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The Performances of the Playbill - Draft #1
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The playbilla universal pamphlet of sorts, a symbol of commercial theatrical

performance adorning many a young, aspiring actors bedroom walls. The trademark yellow and

black, immediately recognizable, acts as an all-purpose frame for successes and flops alike. A

sort of great equalizer, the playbill seems to scream this is a professional production! It heralds

great performances to come and remembers great performances in the past. While playbills are,

no doubt, a signature of western theatre, what is their actual purpose? While this question may

seem foolishly simple to answer, the playbills thin pages contain far more than simply headshots

and 150-word bios. A playbill not only acts as an introduction to the show being attended, but, as

an intersection between character and actor personas via a public platform, is a performance in

and of itself. In addition, the performance of a playbill is multifoldwhile it certainly manifests

a purpose during the show itself, it performs even after the play has ended. The status of a

playbill as an audience members guide into both the formal performance and backstage levels of

the show being watched intersects with the performative and backstage performances of the

audience members themselves. The playbill is a juxtaposition of reality and theatricalityits

direct purpose is to aid in the audiences depth of understanding of the performance; however, it

does so by shedding light on the real aspects of the production. As Gillian Russell, in her

article Announcing Each Day the Performances: Playbills, Ephemerality, and Romantic Media/

Theater History, writes: The playbill enunciated the play to be performed, the actors, the

existence of the playhouse, and implicitly, a potential audience, while at the same time signifying
dimensions of theater and theatricality beyond the specific performance event. (Russell 242).

By delving into the history of the playbill as well as its place in performance, the personal scope,

and theatrical society, I will seek to explore the contrast of ultimate specificity and the sense of

theatricality beyond that Russell speaks to.

Playbills date back to as early as 1587, and, since their conception, have been integral

parts of the theatergoing experience. Playbills served as means of advertisement and combined

theatricality with practicality. As Russell writes, The importance of the playbill in theatrical and

urban culture dates from the early modern period, the records of the Stationers Company

showing that a succession of printers were authorized to produce playbills from 1587

onwards. (Russell 242). These early playbills, slightly different from those that we see today,

were more or less alike in content. They told audiences when and where performances took

place, the program and sequence of entertainment, the performers names, and the prices of

different sections of the house. Playbills came in various different sizes, from handheld to poster-

size. Russell writes that, even in these early years, the status of the playbill as an icon of the

theatre was already established. The reach of the playbill was undeniable: it was not uncommon

to see playbills littering the streets surrounding the theatre, and performers would bang on drums

and hand out the pamphlets to advertise performances.

In the context of a performance, a playbill serves the purpose of giving the audience a

gateway into the world of the show. It may clarify plot and include other important information

that the audience needs to know in order to reach a level of understanding about the show in a

way that the creators of the piece intend. In order to explore this concept, I will use the playbill

of the Broadway musical Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, written and directed by
David Malloy. Self-defined as an Russian electropop opera, Great Comet is based on Leo

Tolstoys opus War and Peace. The ensemble, in the opening number, sings the lyrics: Theres a

war going on out there somewhere and Andrey isnt here / And this is all in your program / you

are at the opera / Gonna have to study up a little bit if you wanna keep with the plot / cuz' its a

complicated Russian novel everyones got nine different names / so look it up in your program /

wed appreciate it, thanks a lot. In the program, then, are pictured the family trees of Natasha

and Pierre. In this case, the playbill serves as both a clarifying help to the audience, but also a

direct tether to the performance. By breaking the fourth wall and directly referring to the

audiences programs, the musical therefore utilizes those programs as a piece of the performance

itself. The audience is drawn into the world of the play both on the level of plot understanding

but also into the actual show itself as an audience. In addition, the playbill serves as a tool to

enhance the quirky nature of the performance. As a whole, the show certainly asserts itself as

unconventional and wildactors play instruments and dance dressed in costumes that could be

described as 17th century Russian meets punk chic. Certain scenes that take place in a Russian

drinking salon are instead presented as modern-day raves complete with pounding electronic

dance music and strobe lights. Despite being a wonder of lighting and production values, part of

the charm of the show is that it is incredibly detail oriented. From the period side tables placed

strategically throughout the theatreeven in the mezzanineto the various different paintings

that cover the entirety of the theatres walls, there is no detail missed in this production. The

playbill, in this case, becomes yet another detail that punctuates the mood of the performance as

quirky and effervescent. By directly referencing the program in the lyrics of the song, the actors

poke fun at the audience and the confusion that they predict will ensue due to the large amount of
characters with complex Russian names. The ensemble poses themselves as our savior and

guide: when they sing, it is almost as if they personally have written the helpful guide included in

the program. While this is not true and the program has been put together by others not in the

show, the sense of community and personal understanding created by the playbills link to the

performers onstage creates then, in the audience, a sense of communitaswe are all confused

and we are now all looking at our programs after hearing that we should. Furthermore, the

tangibility of the playbill serves as a mobile and lasting reminder of the show that allows the

performance to be immortalized. The juxtaposition of the ephemeral nature of live stage

performance and the concrete nature of a playbill is almost ironic. How a symbolic piece of

paper could, in many years, become more real than a live performance put on by actors is aptly

described by theatrical scholar Jane Moody: these thin, fragile bills on cream or pale blue paper

did indeed memorialise and embody a vanishing theatrical past (Moody 2). Playbills serve the

performance both upfront and many years later in a practical waythey make sure it lasts.

In addition to being a window into the world of the play, the playbill gives insight into the

backstage world of the playthe actors, the creative team, and other important people whose

efforts have been integral to the inception of the show. While in the last example I gave, the

lyrics in Great Comet utilized the playbill as a device to break the fourth wall, the playbill, in

itself, serves this purposes as well. It identifies actors as more than just their characters and gives

a small look into who they are behind the scenes. The playbill takes on a Brechtian quality in

that it is a constant reminder that the people onstage are, in fact, not who they proclaim

themselves to be. It allows the audience to maintain a level of distance from believing that the

action unfolding onstage is reality. To better explore this concept, I will break down the actor bio
based on specifics as well as what I have noticed are general commonalities in bios that I have

seen throughout the years. Taking into consideration the bio of actress Manna Nichols in the

2016 broadway production of Allegiance, she writes Broadway debut!!! Regional: Miss Saigon,

Les Miserables, My Fair Lady, Guys and Dolls, The King and I. Love to God, Family, Will,

GGJFZ, BRS/Gage. www.MannaNichols.com As with Nichols bio and many others that I have

seen, there are several key components to what sheand otherschooses to present to the

audience. She writes about previous rolesmany actors also add general achievementsand

makes a note that this is her broadway debut. She gives thanks to her family, loved ones, and

agents, and also adds a spiritual aspectmany actors include mention of their faith system and

occasionally will add reference to a bible verse in their bio. Taking into consideration all of these

points, I argue that the playbill is a platform for actor promotion of self and promotion of values

all going to serve the purpose of creating as much of an identity as can be created in a few

sentences.

The playbill is also a representation of the larger theatrical community and acts as a

magazine of sorts, advertising upcoming theatrical events and showcasing articles with stars of

various shows that are currently playing. Quizzes and other interactive elements intensify the

theatrical experience, heightening it to encompass not only the specific show to which the

playbill belongs, but the theatrical community at large. As the playbill is made by a team within

the Playbill company, it is a piece of work made by a corporate entity responsible for creating

playbills for every Broadway and off-Broadway show. As such, from its conception the playbill

is part of a larger network of theatre. For example, included in the playbill of the 2016 revival of

Spring Awakening were an advertisement for Grease Live!, an article about BroadwayCon, a
feature on actor Brian dArcy James, and an advertisement for The Cherry Orchard at BAM. The

playbill takes advantage of the captive audience seated in the theatre and the time before

performance and during intermission where they might idly browse. It assumes that, as the

audience has been able to find their way to the theatre, that they are of a certain financial

standing and are interested in a specific genre of entertainment. While, as in the example above,

each playbill advertises of a vast range of theatrical experiences, all of them are similar in the

fact that they are all commercial and all quite expensive. In this way, the playbill performs as an

emblem of the commercial theatre more ??

In addition to what the playbill does for the production and performers, it also becomes a

prop that allows that audience to assume the roles of theatergoers and good audience

members. The ritual of going to the theatre is further punctuated by the existence of the playbill;

many associate attending a theatrical performance with a sense of heightened formality, and by

having a sanctioned activity as a prelude to the next two and a half hours of viewing, the

audience enters a warm up of sorts. Given that attending a Broadway show nowadays is

incredibly expensive, many audience members treat seeing a show as a special occasionthey

may go out to dinner beforehand at a restaurant in the theatre district and may even dress up

more formally than they usually would. The anticipation that accompanies attending an event

with expectancy not only to be entertained or emotionally moved is coupled with the fact that

many have spent hundreds of dollars for this experience; thus, what happens in the first moments

of the theatre is of critical importance to the attitude that the audience will wear for the rest of the

performance. The playbill, in this instance, acts as a bridge between the outside world and the

world of the theatreit is small and unassuming enough to not jar the attentions of audience
members, but manages to present the show in a professional and easily palatable package. When

audience members enter the theatre to partake in a shared experience, they undergo a

transformation of sorts. Rather than being two hundred different people with completely separate

lives, they effectively take on the communal role of the audience. While a sense of community

is already created by the shared experience of going to the theatre as well as the physical four

walls that enclose a group of people who, very possibly, have never all been in the same room

together, the playbill furthers a sense of intentional communitas. If two hundred theatergoers

were to simply enter the theatre and whilst, waiting for the show, act in whatever manner they

wanted to, they would arguably be at incredibly varied emotional, mental, and physical states

when the performance began. The device of the playbill, however, creates a centralized and

socially appropriate action that binds the group together and could potentially create more of a

level emotional and mental playing field for the actors to then begin the show with. While, of

course, this is not to say that the playbill immediately wipes the brains of all single-minded

audience members and causes them to think, feel, and act the same way, I do think that it can be

argued that the shared physical and mental actions of holding, reading, and flipping through a

playbill do create a sense of stasis within communitas that is beneficial to how audiences view

the performance. As Russell writes, The playbill was also capable of facilitating and

documenting varieties of parasociability surrounding the main sociability of the performance

event itself and its relationship to other similar experienceswhat might be called

intersociability. (Russell 244); having read the playbill, audience members may confer with

friends about actors who they like, perhaps ones who they think are good looking or even who

have attended their own alma maters. If chatty or outgoing, they might even confer with
strangers. In this way, the playbill is also a social device that could stir up conversation and

rumination; as a purpose of theatergoing could be the creation of an art piece of communicate to

a community of people, it could also be argued that an audience who is a communicative

community in themselves could be considered a good audience. Russells quote and the

relationship of the playbill to other sociabilities is further echoed in the social media performance

of an audience member: taking mandatory selfies with artfully posed playbills against the

backdrop of the stage to be posted to Facebook or Instagram. Even in a larger sphere, the playbill

performs as a tool to aid the audience member perform a certain persona that can be

simultaneously viewed within the theatre as well as outside of it.

Furthermore, even after the performance is done, the playbill is elevated in status to being

a keystone representation of a memory, an artistic or decorative piece, a status-marker for others

who might visit the audience members home, and even a financial investment. The audience

member often takes the playbill home and displays it on a wall, shelf, or perhaps in a collection.

Similar to how seeing the playbill at the beginning of the performance paved the mindset of the

audience member to be prepared to view the show immediately at hand, seeing the playbill later

on takes the audience back to their viewing experience. As a kind of portal, playbills seem to

transcend their own textuality, summoning back the forms of subjectivity and kinds of inside

knowledge at the heart of the theatrical event. (Moody 3). Even more than simply the theatrical

event, the playbill may stir up memories of the whole trip taken to New York or even just the

dinner beforehand. In addition, playbills and playbill collections can become collectors items

especially for shows that close quickly or have a big star in them. They not only become status-

makers in terms of elevating the stance of the audience member to that of a theatrically cultured
person, but are also symbols of economic wealth. Commercial theatre has become a luxury

experience; to possess a playbill of a show is indicative of being able to afford that experience.

Moreover, the playbills themselves can gain monetary value, and can be resold on sites such as

eBay.com for far more than it cost to produce them. While not necessarily practical or

consistently lucrative, playbills can possibly perform as investments similar to art pieces or

antiques.

While small and unassuming, the playbill certainly packs a punch with its amalgam

performance. While I have detailed several functions of the playbill, I have no doubt that there

are countless others and that there will continue to be more performative aspects as playbill.com

and its multiple platforms continue growing in this digital age. From the 14th Century to today,

there is no doubt that the playbill has ever been anything other than an integral piece of theatre to

everyone involved in the productionthe creative team, the actors, the audience, and even the

wider theatrical community. The beauty of theatrical performance, many say, is that it is fleeting.

While a show may run for years upon years, every nights performance will be different. While,

of course, the playbill does not manifest the entirety of theatricality that is created with live

performance, it is oftentimes the only publicly accessible immortalizing factor of a performance.

When the curtain is closed and the set has been taken down, theatergoers might still be able to

flip through a playbill wherever they are in the world and remember not only the performance

itself, but the feelings that they feltplaybills seem to transcend their own textuality,

summoning back the forms of subjectivity and kinds of inside knowledge at the heart of the

theatrical event (Moody 3). The irony of all the life, energy, heart and sweat of live theatre

distilled into a simple pamphlet is perhaps a metaphor of what theatre is as a wholethat no

matter how authentic a performance may be, how natural the makeup or costumes or dialects, it

will never be real life. Perhaps, then, the playbill takes on another role not only as bridge into the

universe of theatricality, but in itself is a theatrical universe made small.

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 Bibliography
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Bratton, Jacqueline Susan. New Readings in Theatre History. Cambridge (GB): Cambridge UP,
2003. 38-39. Print.

Russell, Gillian. "'Announcing Each Day the Performances': Playbills, Ephemerality, and
Romantic Period Media/Theater History." Studies in Romanticism, vol. 54, no. 2, 2015, pp.
241-268. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.library.nyu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/
login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsmzh&AN=2015582764&site=eds-live.

Moody, J., (2009). Response: Jane Moody. 19: Interdisciplinary Studies in the Long Nineteenth
Century. (8). DOI: http://doi.org/10.16995/ntn.503

Ross, Blake, Pam Karr, and Scott Hale, eds. Spring Awakening. New York City: Bruce Hallett,
2016. Print.

Ross, Blake, Pam Karr, and Scott Hale, eds. Allegiance. New York City: Bruce Hallett, 2016.
Print.

Peikert, Mark, Scott Hale, and Jenna Perrino, eds. Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812.
New York City: Glenn Shaevitz, 2017. Print.

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