On Wednesday, I experienced my first Shakespeare play as a groundling. I began the play seated, but eventually decided it would be necessary to stand due to the highly interactive nature of the performance. Titus Andronicus is a play known for its bloody brutality, but this particular version has continued to make headlines for the amount of people who faint during each show. Before this play, I thought that people would only choose to be a groundling for one of two reasons. Obviously these tickets are cheaper, which is one reasonable excuse to be a groundling. Another reason to stand would be to experience some sort of solidarity with Shakespeare’s audiences, many of whom would have stood also because of the far cheaper ticket prices.
Contrary to my assumptions, I failed to enjoy my position as a groundling either because they were cheaper seats or because I knew it is how many of the common people would have viewed Shakespeare plays. I enjoyed being a groundling because I felt completely immersed within the play. Actors walked all around me, and I could feel their voices and music reverberate through my body. This play in particular becomes highly augmented from the perspective of a groundling because the actors fully utilize the space.
Throughout the play, actors paraded through the groundlings and utilized their energy to augment whatever emotions were happening in the play. For example, they pushed around metal platforms during the appointment of the new emperor, and it seemed as if the audience members were the roman people who were deciding their new king. During the play, the director decided to kill the clown onstage and had the actors chant and sing during this spectacle, and it seemed as if the audience also supported the murder and felt the amusement of death. I thoroughly enjoyed standing during the second half of Titus Andronicus because it helped me to understand the emotions of the characters throughout the play and feel as if I was an active member in the story.