Audience

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An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature, theatre, music or academics in any medium. Audience members participate in different ways in different kinds of art; some events invite overt audience participation and others allowing only modest clapping and criticism and reception.

Media audiences are studied by academics in media audience studies. Audience theory also offers scholarly insight into audiences in general. These insights shape our knowledge of just how audiences affect and are affected by different forms of art.

Some more advanced audience participation is most commonly found in performances which break the fourth wall. Examples include the traditional British Pantomimes, Stand Up Comedy and creative stage shows such as Blue Man Group

One of the most well-known examples of popular audience participation is the motion picture The Rocky Horror Picture Show and its earlier stage incarnation The Rocky Horror Show. The audience participation elements are often seen as the most important part of the picture, to the extent that the audio options on the DVD version include the option.

Another murder mystery is "The Mystery of Edwin Drood", a Broadway musical. In it, the audience must vote for who they think the murderer is, as well as the real identity of the detective and the couple who end up together.

The British panel game QI often allows the audience to try and answer questions. Currently, the audience have won one show, and have come last in another.

Magic shows often rely on some audience participation. Psychological illusionist Derren Brown relies heavily on audience participation in his live shows.