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"Breaking the Fourth Wall" is an intentional dramatic device adopted by the author; it is not the audience's place to decide how much of it is "too much", as this would subvert the essentially passive paradigm of performer(s) - audience information flow. |
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For example, "Keeping Tom Nice" and "Bouncers" both puctuate the action with monologues delivered directly to the audience from front of stage, to useful narrative effect. The same is true of movies and TV. You're just the victim; your role is merely to observe, thus collapsing the wave function. If you want plot forks, get involved in some collaborative fanfic. |
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Or in other words, "sit down and shut up". |
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Audience participation though. |
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We put a sheet of plasterboard to cover the TV for those times. |
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What's needed, to explore the full drama-space effectively, is a fifth wall. |
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This fifth wall separates the actors from an imaginary audience. Thus, an actor can break the fifth wall by addressing the imaginary audience directly, whilst maintaining the fourth wall. |
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This has advantages too numerous to think of, but one of them is that expositions can be made to the imaginary audience without giving the real audience that uncomfortable "oh no, I'm a part of this play" feeling. Another advantage is that the actors can respond to imaginary heckles or questions from the imaginary audience, which then becomes another set of characters in the minds of the real audience. |
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No doubt somebody will mention Greek choruses at this point. |
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Now, have you got an antistrophe to put on that? |
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Aren't those the little yellow and purple flowers that bloom around March, after snowdrops but before daffodils ? |
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You're thinking of Greek choristers. |
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The sixth wall could have a cashpoint in it. |
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It could have a vending machine too, for cans of very mildly alcoholic beer-based beverages with a Wagnerian theme, such as Tristram Shandy ... |
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