Physiological signals reveal audience emotions during live theatre shows
Understanding emotional and behavioural responses through physiological signal analysis recorded during theatrical performance
Human-Computer Interaction
Summary
Understanding how people feel during live theatre can help connect emotional experiences to wellbeing. The authors studied heart rate and skin conductance from audience members watching a play to track their emotional reactions without interrupting the show. They found strong physiological changes during surprising or intense scenes, while calm or empathetic moments caused steadier signals. This shows heart rate and skin conductance can gauge audience engagement in real-time theatrical settings.
What this means in practice
- •For theatre producers: Measure audience emotional engagement during live performances to improve show pacing and impact.
- •For mental health professionals: Use real-time physiological monitoring during cultural events to study therapeutic effects on emotional wellbeing.
Authors
Aditi Site, Annariina Lohiranta, Tarmo Lipping
Abstract
Among various cultural interventions, theatre offers a powerful medium for emotional expression, reflection, and social connection. Live performances can positively influence mental well-being. Therefore, studying audience responses during theatrical performances can provide valuable insights into the relationship between theatre, emotional experiences, and well-being. Physiological responses have emerged as an important modality for identifying patterns associated with different emotional states. However, in naturalistic environments such as live performances, analysing these signals is challenging due to the absence of explicit labels. In this study, we focus on understanding emotional and behavioural responses using physiological data collected during a live theatrical performance. Data were recorded from participants using multiple sensing modalities. In addition, a comprehensive analytical framework was employed, which included demographic analysis, visual exploration of physiological signals, participant-level observations, scene-wise physiological analysis, and intensity-based analysis using z-score normalization to summarize the findings. The findings revealed that dramatic, surprising, and intense scenes produced the strongest activation, often with concurrent increases in HR and SCL, whereas empathy-driven scenes showed lower and more stable responses. Humorous scenes elicited moderate-to-high activation, particularly in the presence of sudden reactions or loud sounds. Analyses also identified shared physiological response patterns across participants, with activation concentrated around key emotional events. These results indicate that combined HR and SCL measures can effectively capture variations in audience engagement during live theatrical performances.