Imitation, empathie, communication – les composantes de l’expérience du spectateur

Abstract

What theatre pedagogues discovered empirically in the last one hundred years is objective reality nowadays, due to on-going scientific
experiments and research. Today, we may refer to theatre as a playground for the development of empathy; thus, an interdisciplinary approach may rise new questions regarding how communication between actors and their audiences take place. In the future, such an approach may lead to a better understanding not only of the spectator’s experience, but also of the art of acting. Since the discovery of the mirror-neurons mechanism in monkeys, concepts like empathy, imitation and embodied simulation have become major points of interest in cognitive science and art research. A good example of how these concepts affect our view of theatre is Bruce McConachie’s study of audience engagement. This article proposes a look into the science of empathy and automatic imitation of other human beings, in order to apply their principles in the theatre, to a live audience.