Though sharing emotions at theatre is assumed to be a very common experience, there is to date little scientific evidence supporting this assumption. By pooling together expertise from social cognitivists and philosophers, the present project will conduct the first systematic investigation of the emergence of collective emotional dynamics during theatre performances. Our research hypotheses are that (H1) the specific nature of the theatrical emotional experience relies on synchronized patterns of autonomic activity and converging subjective emotional experiences within the audience and between the audience and actors, and that (H2) these shared emotions within the audience and between the audience and actors play a role in our appreciation of the theatrical performance. 

We propose two Work Packages, respectively tackling the interpersonal emotional dynamics in theatre audiences (WP1) and the reciprocal actors-audience relations (WP2). In both WPs, we will conduct experimental studies in naturalistic settings, recruiting large groups of participants to attend short plays performed by professional actors, while manipulating the type of theatrical performance and the composition of the audience. Importantly, we will replicate our findings to performances programmed in two national theatres (Le Quai d’Angers, Nanterre-Amandiers).