The Live Studio Audience

I Love Lucy: Live on Stage was pretty bad, but it got me thinking about the role of 

THE LIVE STUDIO AUDIENCE: 

From its earliest days, television has attempted to create the illusion of community. 

Most of the early broadcasts grew out of the New York theater world, 

and what stage veterans knew was putting on a show in front of an audience. 

These shows went out live, and even the dramas were treated like filmed versions of plays, 

with the audience right there, a part of the action. 

No one was quite sure if television could survive without those crowd noises. 

It was a medium meant for consumption by large audiences, 

but it was also one beamed directly into their homes, an uneasy combination of films & stage plays 

(which required one to leave the house) 

and sitting down with a nice long book that unfolded over many sections (which didn’t). 

With the noise of the crowd’s laughter or shock or approval, viewers didn’t have to feel so alone.

~Todd VanDerWerff, A.V. Club

Incidentally, Desi Arnaz was the pioneer who took this idea to the next level. He joined forces with cinemetographer Karl Freund, a seasoned veteran who's career found its' roots in German expressionism, & his wife Lucille Ball, an actress whose style thrived in front of a live audience. In shooting I Love Lucy, Arnaz utilized multiple cameras & created an innovative & energetic style of filming that has created some of our most iconic TV shows. The use of multi-camera angles & a live studio audience in filming shows is quickly dissipating; sure, we have game shows & talk shows that still incorporate the old-school ideals, but what, but what about the sitcoms & story-based shows? Here are my personal & uneducated opinions on what happened to live studio audience:

• Shows that have figured out organic/clever ways to force the characters to directly address the camera: Two of our best, brightest, & most well-received contemporary sitcoms [The Office & Modern Family] have steadily incorporated this method of writing into their series. Sex & the City initially incorporated this idea in its' 1998 premiere, but was apparently working the idea before its' time seeing as the technique was dropped after the first season. 

• TiVo/Hulu/etc.: I'm the first one to say it: Hulu rules & you should totally get Hulu. It is an amazing & awesome treat to stream shows whenever I feel like it to my computer, television, or phone. It is just great. Having said that, it also used to be fun to anticipate your favorite show on a particular night & talk about it the next day to whoever was watching on their respective couch. Convenience versus community: the great, real-life artistic battle.  

• The Wonderful World of Reality TV: The reason why these shows hold a universal, community-based appeal is because we are not watching actors interpreting a script. We are watching our figurative neighbors, co-workers, & high-school enemies live out the most extreme situations. Not only can we picture ourselves in their place (like in a fictitious show), but we can literally envision ourselves in their winning or losing shoes. It's easier to root for/invest in the waitress winning on America's Next Top Model to win the prize than the fictitious waitress on whatever generic sitcom to win the guy. It's also more exciting to know the action has not been written but is being written before our eyes. There is a sense of active interaction in these shows (especially in those like Dancing With The Stars & American Idol, where your opinion actually does make a difference).  

For those of you looking to experience an authentic taste of the antiqued live studio audience, 

Chicago offers some excellent options: 

Tonight It's Live with Tom Bambara

Hosted by local actor/comedian Tom Bambara with his co-host Andi Woody & house band Manny Being Manny. 

Also simultaneously streamed on the internet & made available for viewing later online. 

Open Run ~ Saturdays @ 11 p.m. 
Oracle Theatre ~ 3809 N. Broadway [FREE!]

Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!

The Oddly Informative News Quiz Show
Hosted by Peter Sagal, Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! is NPR's weekly hour-long quiz program. Each week, 
you can test your knowledge on the radio against some of the best & brightest in the news & entertainment world 
while figuring out what's real news and what's made up. On the Web, you can play along too.
Open Run ~ Thursdays @ 7:30 p.m.
Chase Auditorium ~ 10 S. Dearborn [$24.75]

The Whiskey Radio Hour
1 performances left! ~ Valentine's Day!
Rhinofest 13 @ Prop Thtr ~ 3502 N. Elston [$12]

Featuring snacks for the audience, a Foley artist, and musical accompaniment on guitar and banjo, Whiskey Rebellion's nod to old-fashioned radio dramas is warm, quaint, & charming. But nostalgia isn't the main attraction here. That would be the performances by Isaac Samuelson, Frederick Ford Beckley, &Ellenor Riley-Condit in the evening's 3 untitled tales. Written by Jessica Wright Buha, they chronicle a western bandit's pursuit of a belle, a woman coming to terms with loss, & a couple slowly moving toward love. The one about the couple shows the most promise: take away the radio gimmick, and it'd still hold up.

-Dan Jakes, The Reader.