Filed by Bil at 1:17 pm under Fightin' Words, The Arts

I have a sneaking suspicion that, just as a person can’t choose who to fall in love with (you just do), neither can a company predict who its audience will be (they just will).

But must a company make concessions from time to time to please its audience as their relationship progresses? I would grant that no company should make concessions ALL the time, but is it ever a good idea? In the interest of maintaining a healthy relationship, people must make the occasional sacrifice; should a performing arts company do the same? For example - hypothetically - if an audience base asks for a remount of a popular show and the company has the resources for only one show, do they acquiesce and remount the show the audience asked for, or do they challenge the audience with a new work and hope for the best response?

I guess the question boils down to: does the artist trust his/her audience more than his/her own instincts?

Now that I ask it, it seems like a stupid question. The obvious answer is that artists must trust their own instincts. It’s those very instincts and sensibilities, presumably, that built the audience to begin with. And no artist or arts company should ever be lazy and take its audience for granted. But where is the line that once you cross the mantra becomes “fuck you, audience, I know best, I’m awesome, I don’t need you?”