And I agree with you about the thrill/nervousness, just as there is probably a joy in even directed participation. That joy of singing along, call-and-response–even when the response has been dictated by custom or by those one stage. Even this modest bit of participation is enjoyable.

The moment at which the characters prove they can break the fourth wall is also a bit nervous-making, like when the troll started commenting on all the parents, calling one group of moms “The Desperate Housewives” and likening me to a famous film director. (I’ll let the home audience guess which one).

I use the Peter Pan moment (getting the audience to clap to save Tinkerbell) as a great example of motivating, instructing and rewarding audiences. I wonder though, after reading your piece Mark, if the joy isn’t about agency at all…but about the thrill/nervousness of proclaiming publically that you believe in faeries…or proclaiming publically that you are willing to look like a ninny in the name of art?