I think I've mentioned to all of you on multiple occasions that it is important for you to be a good audience. Our Remembrance Day observation will take place on Monday (and some of you will take part in the official Remembrance Day ceremony at the cenotaph on Tuesday, November 11 at 11 a.m.). Obviously, there are different expectations of you as a member of the audience for a solemn ceremony like Remembrance Day and for a comic performance by your classmates or for a performance of a play like "Macbeth" or "Fawlty Towers", but the basic philosophy of the audience is the same. The word "audience" comes from the Latin word "audire", to hear, so obviously listening plays a big part of being a good member of the audience. It isn't time for you to talk or goof around or look at your ipod or get up and go to the washroom. It is time for you to pay attention to what is happening on stage.
Paying attention requires more of you than just listening, of course. You have to actively listen, which means you keep your eyes on the performance. You have to be completely present and be willing to respond to the intentions of the people on stage. In class, if we're doing scenes from comedia del'arte, you should be ready and willing to laugh. Don't be satisfied with a snicker either. If you have ever performed in a comedy, you know how gratifying it is to hear people laughing when you're performing. If you laugh out loud, it can inspire the performers on stage to heights of comic creativity! In contrast, if you are attending the Remembrance Day ceremony, you need to focus your attention on the solemnity of the event. It is a time to think about the past, about the young people who have risked everything to protect our way of life. It is a time to reflect on the nature of human beings, how brave we can be, how selfless we can be, how some of us are willing to risk our lives for others. We all understand that the people who are involved in the ceremony have the best intentions and we know it is serious and we must approach the ceremony with the intention of being serious and listening and responding in the way the presenters expect. Other people in the audience expect you to be on your very best behavior. We will have guests from outside the school at the assembly and they want to know that young people appreciate the sacrifices our veterans have made. As I told you, my father served in the Canadian army during World War II. I always think of him on Remembrance Day. He was a young, innocent prairie boy when he fought in France and my uncle told us that when my dad came home from the war, he was a changed man. He hardly spoke and would wake up screaming in the night. He was able to come through those terrible days, but I always wonder what it was like for him. When I am thinking about him and his companions, I don't want to see any of you giggling or plugged into your smart phones or chatting to your neighbour.
The journal this week is the same for all of you. I want you to think about your own behavior as an audience member. How would you rate yourself? (Look at the rubric on the bulletin board if you want a detailed description of the scale.) Describe yourself as an audience member. Think of your best audience behavior. What about your worst? As you know, I evaluate your audience behavior. This is a chance for you to advocate for yourself.
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