Enjoying theater: The role of visitor’s response to the performance.

Abstract

In the literature, there is broad agreement on the relevance of visitor’s cognitive and emotional reaction to a theatrical performance. However, research on the relative importance of visitor’s response for their overall subjective evaluation of a visit to the theater is rare. Addressing this research gap, this article investigates the relative impact of visitor’s cognitive, emotional, and conative response to a performance for their overall subjective evaluation of a visit to the theater. A study of 2,795 visitors viewing 44 performances in 12 German-speaking theaters reveals visitor’s emotional (i.e., involvement and empathy), cognitive (i.e., complexity), and conative (i.e., thought-provoking impulses, animation for communication) responses to a performance as significant determinants of their overall evaluation of a visit to the theater.