History Main / AllPartOfTheShow

* In ''Series/TheIncredibleHulk1977'' episode "[[Series/MyFavoriteMartian My Favorite Magician]]," David Banner assists an [[YouLookFamiliar elderly]] [[Creator/RayWalston magician]]. In one performance, he is handcuffed in a glass box full of water, placed behind a screen. The handcuff key is supposed to be in the box's false bottom, but the magician forgot to place it there. Not finding the key and unable to hold his breath for much longer, David [[HulkingOut transforms into the Hulk]], breaking out of the box and bringing the screen down. The audience is baffled for a moment, then applauds. Moments later, a middle-aged couple finds him outside the theater... and ''[[RunningGag compliment his performance]]''. When he reacts awkwardly to the camera's flash (yes, they wanted pictures of him), they simply [[OverlyLongGag regards it as "show folk" being eccentric]].

* ''Series/{{CSINY}}'': In the opening of "Grounds for Deception," an audience is watching a production of a Greek tragedy in Central Park. During a pivotal scene, the shadows of two people appear behind the curtain at the back. As one stabs the other, the audience is enthralled...until a large pool of blood appears beneath the curtain.

* Invoked in ''Manga/SpyXFamily'' during the Cruise Ship arc. When Yor is forced to fight off an assassin in public, people start getting alarmed until Anya (who secretly knows what's going on due to her mind-reading abilities) begins to clap and cheer for the "circus performers." The other passengers immediately calm down as they assume that the fight is merely staged for entertainment.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'': A similar example happens in the second season episode "W is for Witch". Since it's Halloween W.I.T.C.H. and their magical allies are [[ForHalloweenIAmGoingAsMyself able to walk around in their transformed states]] and their battle with the BigBad is thought to be a skit put on for their school's carnival. One of their classmates praises the "special effects" that let the girls fly around and attack the other "actors" with elemental powers. The audience is still cheering at the end when [[spoiler:Phobos takes the Seal of Nerissa from her and announces his intention to conquer the universe.]] Encore!

* In the fourteenth book in the ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' series by K.A. Applegate, the Animorphs uncover a plot by the Yeerks to infiltrate a military organization (Zone 91, a clear parody of Area51) and attempt to stop them while at an amusement park. The Animorphs are battling several Hork-Bajir, as well as Visser Three, in the middle of one of the rides. Cassie is somewhat startled to discover that the ride is still running, and several of the patrons think that the battle is All Part of the Show.
** To go into more detail, the military personnel at Zone 91 had scheduled a night at The Gardens, renting out the park. The Yeerks wanted to find out what was being hidden at Zone 91, so their plan was to infest the Captain while he was on a ride, the horror house. The Hork-Bajir-controllers, Visser Three, and the Animorphs first pose as statues, then begin fighting, and the fight breaks out of the horror house and into a "cast of characters" parage with a marching band and Loony Tunes characters in costumes. Park guests (including friends and family of Zone 91 employees) think that the wild animals, Hork-Bajir, Andalite(s), and Bug Fighters escaping are all planned by park employees.
* {{Double Subver|sion}}ted in ''Literature/ArtemisFowl.'' A demon teleports on stage during an opera; most of the audience doesn't notice, because the antagonists destroy a stage light to distract them, then quickly abduct the demon. The actors and orcehestra scatter, and the audience is acting the way you normally would when there's an accident on set...until Artemis, wanting to get the bad guys' attention, [[WorthyAdversary starts applauding their flawlessly executed scheme]]. This spreads to the rest of the audience, and when Artemis returns to the lobby he hears various patrons "interpreting" what the fallen stagelight represents.

* In ''Literature/DeepSecret'' by Creator/DianaWynneJones, the protagonists are very disappointed that the attendees of a fantasy convention mistake the villains (and various other otherworldly people) showing up as just part of the convention.

** In ''Literature/MovingPictures'' an EldritchAbomination takes the form of the lead actress in the "clicks" and climbs out of the screen. Everyone just stands by and applauds the special effects, although they're pretty much mind-controlled by this point.

* In ''The Flying Stars'', a ''Literature/FatherBrown'' story by Creator/GKChesterton, an accomplice warns Flambeau that [[spoiler:he's been discovered and a policeman is coming to arrest him]]. Flambeau's reaction is to stage a harlequinade with himself as Harlequin, and tells everyone [[spoiler:the supposed policeman]] is his theatrical friend coming to take part in the show. Therefore, he beats him, knocks him unconscious, and drugs him in front of a whole room of very respectable people who are said to still remember it as the most brilliant acting ever, especially on [[spoiler:the policeman]]'s part.
* In the story "Afraid of Clowns" from the ''Haunting Hour'' short story collection by R.L. Stine, a boy ends up visiting a circus and is unfortunately picked by the clowns to be part of their act. The clowns torment him on stage, while the audience laugh and cheer all the while, of course thinking it is merely an act, though this boy is in obvious pain.
* In Creator/AnneRice's novel ''Literature/InterviewWithTheVampire'' (and its [[Film/InterviewWithTheVampire film adaptation]]), the French Théâtre des Vampires troupe of vampires kill humans on stage, but the audience always believes the deaths to be part of the show.
* The final battle against [[WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty Maleficent]] in the first ''Literature/KingdomKeepers'' book is dismissed as [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Disney World]]'s best light show ever.
* ''Literature/LightThickens'' by Creator/NgaioMarsh is centred around a production of ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}''. A gruesome murder takes place at the end of one of the performances and has to be covered up this way. It is mentioned later that those of the audience who noticed just thought that [[spoiler:the head was an "awfully good dummy".]]

* At the end of ''[[Literature/TheMoomins Moominsummer Madness]]'', Little My is reunited with the family during Moominpapa's play. Not only do the audience mistake this for part of the show, they're delighted that they ''finally'' understand what the play's ''about''.
* Mocked in ''Magazine/TheOnion'' when a dance club burns down. The fire chief yells "The roof! The roof! The roof is on fire!" to which the dancers respond "We don't need no water, let that motherfucker burn!"

* In Thomas Pynchon's novel ''Literature/{{V}}'', an unconventional ballet concludes with a virgin sacrifice (echoing ''Theatre/TheRiteOfSpring''), but the ballerina fails to wear key protective gear and ends up killed for real. While she dies onstage, the audience applauds what they think is her very realistic performance.
* In Bernard Cornwell's ''Literature/TheWarlordChronicles'', a serious version of Myth/ArthurianLegend, the Saxons know that the Celts have a series of beacons ready to light as soon as Saxon invaders are sighted. So they wait for the Beltane festival, when every Celtic community has a bonfire anyway.

[[folder:Web Original]]

* In the ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'' episode "ComicBook/ScarletWitch VS. ComicBook/{{Zatanna}}", the latter convinces her audience that the fight with Wanda is part of her act, even though these two are fighting to the death. [[spoiler: She even keeps up this facade after [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe literally]] [[SawAWomanInHalf sawing Wanda in half]].]]
* In Creator/SamAndMickey's "Spooktacular," [[spoiler:Barbie's long-lost sister, Tutti,]] interrupts the haunted prison scene to try and kill her. None of the visitors, or Yasmin, believe Barbie's frightened confessions that the intruder planned this all by herself.

* An interesting variation happens in ''VideoGame/{{A3}}'', where Banri is paired up with Juza as a result of a game of rock-paper-scissors. The two have to spread flyers, but when they make up a street-act, they just get negative banter. The two then proceed to bicker LikeAnOldMarriedCouple (as they do that about 90% of the time). The people think that it's amazing acting as it fits their intimidating appearance, and the flyers are gone in matter of minutes. Afterwards, Banri says it wasn't even acting (as it is how they are around eachother naturally) [[SpringtimeForHitler but he's content anyway now the flyers are gone]].

* In [[http://72.36.141.234/daily.php?date=030126 this]] ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' strip, a [[TheMafiya Russian mobster]] shoots someone in the middle of a nightclub, then goes, "Zat shot was part of ze song you vere dancing to! Look how your violent American music has made a man your parents' age faint!" Cue resounding cheers from the club patrons.

* In ''Webcomic/TheEnd'', when an improperly [[InvisibilityCloak cloaked]] alien spaceship parks in the middle of a city, it's taken for a sideshow at the Sci Fi/Fantasy convention it just happened to have landed next to.

* The ''Webcomic/BatmanWayneFamilyAdventures'' episode "S'tel ees a cigam wohs!" has Bruce go to see Zatanna's magic show, only for it to be attacked by Copperhead, who steals one of Zatanna's {{Magic Wand}}s and turns Nightwing into a bunny (something that [[KillerRabbit fails to hinder his fighting ability]]). Wanting to avoid causing a panic, Zatanna continues the show as if this is all a part of the act, leading her to "volunteer" Bruce from the audience so that he can help in the fight, while using magic to dress him up as Superman so that the audience don't make a connection between him and Batman.

* In ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'', ''[[Recap/RegularShowS02Ep19GraveSights Grave Sights]]'' has a movie night which Mordecai and Rigby borrow a special 3D projector for due to the format of the movie they chose only working with it. On the night of the show, however, Rigby puts the tape upside-down and causes the projector to short-circuit, causing the corpses buried in the graveyard they held the movie night in to come to life. When the zombies show up, Mordecai and Rigby are impressed by how the projector's 3D effects are, [[OhCrap until they realize that they forgot to put on their 3D glasses]] and have a real zombie invasion on their hands, which the crowd thinks is part of the movie and goes wild which neither can't stop due to a paid day-off being offered for this. They end up using Muscle Man's sports equipment to fight off the zombies and incidentally recreate the movie.

* In ''Film/{{Sharktopus}}'', the beachgoers wonder aloud if one of the titular creature's attack is part of a show.
* Series/MrBean in ''Film/MrBeansHoliday'' ruins Carson Clay's ridiculously artsy film by switching his camcorder's footage with the film reel during the premier, as well as causing himself to be chased by security. The audience give a loud round of applause, believing it to all a performance as part of the movie experience.
* In ''[[Film/CabinByTheLake Return to Cabin by the Lake]]'', Stanley is able to get away with his crimes more easily because he commits them during the shoot of a horror movie chronicling his own life. When he tries to carry a corpse to his car, one of the assistants stops to help him and notes that he shouldn't be carrying a fake prop body himself. The same assistant later thinks that a live electrocution which Stanley films was an intended part of the shoot. Allison later can't convince two oblivious actors that the "Assistant Director" is actually a murderous psychopath while he stages another on-set death.
* In the Russian movie ''Deja Vu'', an assassin shoots his mark while he's playing a victim of a firing squad in a rendition of ''Film/{{Toska}}''. While the audience applauds his "brilliant acting", the assassin quietly leaves.
* The theatre audience in ''Film/BirdmanOrTheUnexpectedVirtueOfIgnorance'' doesn't realize that Riggan actually shot himself for real at the end of the play. Once they learn the truth, however, they like it even more, praising the "Ultra-Realism" of the production.
* {{Invoked|Trope}} in ''Film/TheArtOfWar'' (2000): When Creator/WesleySnipes is chased through a Millennium celebration crowd by security forces, his MissionControl puts live-action video of it up on a large screen, making everyone cheer along. It helps that Wes is CherryTapping his opponents and does a HighDiveEscape by parachuting off the building.
* In ''Film/TheCircus'', the Tramp gets chased by the cops through the circus for real, to the delight of the crowd who think this is an act.
* In ''Film/Ghostbusters2016'', a demonic ghost rises through the floor during a heavy metal concert, which both the audience and the band mistake for a special effect. Once the Ghostbusters arrive and start fighting it, they start to figure out that it's real, but the audience still thinks that it's awesome.
* ''Film/TalonFalls'': The employees are able to get away with abducting and torturing park attendees by putting it in the haunted houses, making everyone think it's all pretend.

* ''Film/AfterTheFox'': In order to unload stolen gold from a ship, the anti-hero (Peter Sellers) pretends to be shooting a movie at a small town on the Italian coast. He allows the entire population to "act" in his movie by helping him unload the gold. Later a film critic finds that the film a work of art.
* ''Film/WineCountry'': The group gets into a fight at Jade's art show, but they are able to pass it off as all part of the exhibit.

* In the story "Afraid of Clowns" from the ''Haunting Hour'' short story collection by R.L. Stine, a boy ends up visiting a circus and is unfortunately picked by the clowns to be part of their act. The clowns torment him on stage, while the audience laugh and cheer all the while, of course thinking it is merely an act, though this boy is in obvious pain.

* {{Invoked|Trope}} in ''Series/UFO1970'', in which the alien-hunting organisation SHADO has put their ElaborateUndergroundBase under a film studio, where all the odd goings-on can be passed off as something to do with a movie. It saves money on sets as well.

* Dragon Blooded TabletopGame/{{Exalted}} possess Charms that allow them to force people to interpret local violence as just a form of elaborate performance.
* In the ''TabletopGame/{{Ironclaw}}'' adventure "The Wages of Envy" it's stated that any fighting the PC's do in an opera house will be taken by the wealthy, somewhat sheltered nobles in the audience as part of the show. Even the villain firing an [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ribauldequin organ gun]] on stage will be seen as mere "opera grotesque."

* Vaclav Havel's ''Temptation'', an adaptation of the Myth/{{Faust}} story set in Communist Czechoslovakia, subverts this trope. It ends with one of the actors catching fire following what appears to be a special effects accident, at which point firefighters run up onto the stage and put it out.

* In the first scene of ''Theatre/ShowBoat'', when a jealous Steve assaults Pete in full view of the town's finest, Captain Andy tells them it's just another preview of the melodrama he's presenting (having already introduced Steve as the leading man).

* Amusingly subverted in ''Theatre/BeMoreChill'', where Michael realizes that the entire cast of the school play getting brainwashed is ''not'' part of the show because, in his words, "This is ''way'' too good for a school play."

* There are also various stories based on this sort of thing happening during an opera - one of Agatha Christie's involves ''Theatre/{{Tosca}}'', with the actor playing Scarpia getting KilledOffForReal (and it turning out the soprano was so good at Tosca because her life had parallels to it).

* ''Ride/Terminator23DBattleAcrossTime'': Sarah Connor warns the audience multiple times to leave before the building is destroyed. Take a guess how many audience members actually leave.

* At the beginning of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', the Tantalus theatre troupe stages a production of "I Want to Be Your Canary", as part of a plan to kidnap Princess Garnet. Four of the game's eight player characters accidentally end up on-stage (which is actually the deck of an airship) in the middle of the performance. Although the characters play along at first, the performance eventually falls apart, with Steiner attempting to thwart the "kidnapping", Tantalus attempting to fly the ship away, and Queen Brahne ordering weapons fired at the ship. Then it's revisited [[spoiler:in the ending, to reveal that Zidane lived, and to reunite him with Garnet]].

* The second mission in ''VideoGame/The3rdBirthday'' has a massive Twisted (a weird monster from beyond time and space) warping into existence above a rock concert, right from the stage. It grabs a few audience members and nobody reacts until they realize the blood spurting from the portal is real.
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', the heroes and their eidolons make a dramatic entrance in the middle of a parade. It's initially viewed by the crowd as a stunt, like the re-enactment battle seen earlier in the game...until they see Snow's Pulse l'Cie brand and start panicking.
--> '''Snow''': "[[NiceJobBreakingItHero ...Oops]], [[LampshadeHanging probably should've covered that.]]"
* The InMediasRes concert opening of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' has Rikku and Paine crash the performance and provoke [=LeBlanc=] -- [[{{Glamour}} using Yuna's Songstress Dressphere to take on her appearance]] -- to battle them. The audience's continued cheering and waving indicates that they think it's all a part of the act.
* In the bonus chapter of ''VideoGame/MysteryTrackers 7: Blackrow's Secret'' Emily Lockwood kills her fiance Jeffrey Dean with a pistol which is ''supposed'' to have been a prop. The audience applauds enthusiastically after her MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment.

* ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}'': The fight against Sally Stageplay takes place on a theatre, with the audience obviously thinking it's all part of the play. Between each phase of the fight, a curtain falls and the audience cheers before the battle resumes. The third phase even has you fighting a giant cardboard prop of Sally who uses cardboard props as "magic". And the final phase has Sally tied from a rope, taking in the applause from the public, while you're trying to dodge her ParasolOfPain and the roses the audience is throwing on the stage.
* In ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'', it is revealed that [[VideoGame/Splatoon1 the first game]]'s FinalBoss was interpreted by the Octarian public as the underground concert experience of a lifetime. Taking advantage of this, this game's final battle is [[spoiler:set in a massive concert stadium, with DJ Octavio and (a mind-controlled) Callie headlining and thousands of Octarians in attendance]].

* In ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'', Lina, Gourry, and Amelia, while hiding from bounty hunters, end up getting hired by a theater company that is doing a play... ''about'' Lina as an entry in a theater contest. Then, when the hunters finally catch up to them, they're able to seamlessly integrate the whole fight into the play and clear Lina's name (in the play, at least). And they also win the contest, too!
* An episode of ''Anime/YesPrettyCure5'' has the eponymous heroines appearing on-stage during IdolSinger (and fellow teammate) Urara's debut to defeat a MonsterOfTheWeek, and the crowd goes wild.
** [[Anime/FutariWaPrettyCure Two seasons before that]], during a school production of Romeo and Juliet, Juna decides to attack our heroines, forcing them to transform and fight him off. The audience doesn't seem to mind, however, and think it's part of the show.

* In ''Literature/DirtyPair'' OVA episode 2, a rogue combat robot begins launching missiles during a Halloween fireworks display in Elenore City Park, and the audience mistakes the missile explosions for fireworks (as do the pyrotechnicians themselves: "Whoa, when did we send up that really big one?") Kei and Yuri borrow some of the rockets and use them to ''kill'' the robot -- earning even more applause from the crowd in the park below.
* In one episode of ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo'', Mugen and Jin end up on stage during a Kabuki drama battling the police because they were sheltering a Westerner (and because Mugen skipped out on his restaurant bills). The fight and subsequent break-up by Dutch and Japanese officials is seen as a terrific performance by the audience.
* In ''Anime/GeneratorGawl'', Gawl ends up performing superheroic feats on stage while fighting another Generator, all to the amusement of the Franchise/PowerRangers-esque actors and the audience.

* In ''[[Manga/NuraRiseOfTheYokaiClan Nurarihyon no Mago]]'', there was supposed to be a staged Oni attack, after which a class president candidate would take credit, via pre-recorded video, for vanquishing the monster. When an Oni ''actually'' shows up, the protagonist fights it off, and the delivered video was timed so well that nobody caught on. [[ContrivedCoincidence Naturally.]]
* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': Ranma, who is locked in female form, decides to protect his secret by fighting Mousse "disguised" as a girl. Akane is initially skeptical, only to be amazed when it actually ''works''.
-->'''Akane:''' "They're actually buying it. Way to sell 'em, Ranma!"
** In another chapter, Romeo and Juliet is being played as part of a drama contest. Several characters are fighting on stage over who gets to play the lead roles. The resulting play is barely recognizable, but this seems to be taken as some sort of deliberate twist; they win the contest anyway.
* In episode 5 of ''Anime/SoltyRei'', a priceless emerald ends up in the middle of a water circus, causing everyone to fight over it, resulting in Solty [[spoiler:almost being electrocuted. Rose saves her at the last second]]. The crowd bursts into applause, and the circus' announcer can be heard in the background congratulating them, as if it were all part of the show.
* The final episode of ''Manga/CatsEye'' revolves around a play about a female thief, with a famous actress portraying the victim. The sisters use the play as an opportunity to drug the actress and replace her valuable diamond with a fake, which goes completely unnoticed because of the show's subject matter. The cops only realize a robbery has occurred after the play is over and the girls have made off with the diamond.
* In ''Manga/CaseClosed'', the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Murderer of the Week]] kills an actress by discreetly poisoning a glass of water that she had to drink while rehearsing a scene for a play. The victim drops dead at the perfect time during her character's death scene, and everyone else just praises her acting. Only when the other on-stage actor decides to check on her well-being do they notice what happened.
* ''Anime/SailorMoon'':
** Sailor Moon and her Sailor Warriors fight a clown Cardian who appears during a performance of ''Snow White''. The audience is at first a little confused, but when the Sailor Warriors go all the way with their introductory speeches, everyone decides it must be a ''Sailor Moon'' pantomime, and enjoys it anyway -- especially Shingo, who is a big Sailor Moon fan as it turns out.
** Another incident involved the Sailor Guardians fighting a Rainbow Crystal monster inhabiting a tokatusa performer during his show.
* ''Manga/MyBrideIsAMermaid'':
** Lunar practices for a ventriloquist act by having Maki hide inside the dummy. Naturally, when she brings it to school, Lunar and Maki start arguing, and everyone else thinks it's the most awesome ventriloquist act ever.
** When everybody prepares to storm the place that kidnapped Sun and her family, they recruit [[{{Muggles}} Chimp]] for the mission by telling him they are filming scenes for a video game using motion capture technology. Chimp never catches on, even when they shoot the place up and Nagasumi has an epic FinalBattle with Yoshiuo.
* The 11th episode of ''Anime/BurstAngel'' has Jo acting as guard for a show featuring a ''Franchise/KamenRider'' CaptainErsatz. The villain turns into an actual monster and bursts out of his suit, and Jo fights him, while kids complain that the monster's transformation was different from that in the preview and wonder if Jo is part of a new plot.
* ''Manga/MermaidMelodyPichiPichiPitch'' has two of the four of the QuirkyMinibossSquad crash a ''Literature/TheLittleMermaid'' play the heroines were taking part in. They manage to make it part of the show and repel them off, but the rest of the play had to be ad-libbed because of this.
* In the second season of ''Anime/{{Digimon|Adventure 02}}'', when rogue Digimon attack a rock concert, the stage crew initially assume it's part of the show.
* Invoked in ''Manga/SpyXFamily'' during the Cruise Ship arc. When Yor is forced to fight off an assassin in public, people start getting alarmed until Anya (who secretly knows what's going on due to her mind-reading abilities) begins to clap and cheer for the "circus performers." The other passengers immediately calm down as they assume that the fight is merely staged for entertainment.
* In ''Manga/CodeBreaker'', after nearly 100 chapters trying to hide the {{Masquerade}} of people with special powers to the students at the school as well as they could, there is a fight between people with powers right at the school, which is explained away as being for a movie they're shooting. The students even go "Is that CGI?" (which kinda makes you wonder if the average Japanese knows that CGI stands for "''computer''-generated imagery"). At least the masquerade is uncovered before FridgeLogic sets in in-universe.
* Happens more than once in ''Manga/{{Beelzebub}}''. After all, [[RefugeInAudacity who would believe that there are actual demons running around]]?
* In the Battle of Fairy Tail arc in ''Manga/FairyTail'', Laxus and his minions hold several girls hostage to force the Fairy Tail team to chase them through the town and fight amongst themselves. The townspeople assume that it's just part of the festival that's going on.
* ''Manga/ACertainScientificRailgun'':
** In the ''Arts and Sciences City'' side story, Mikoto helps defend Liberal Arts City from attacking magicians, but the people assume that a movie is being filmed. Beverly Seethrough, an actual director, quickly realizes this is real and [[BadassBystander helps out]].
** During the Ichihanaran Festival arc in ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'', most bystanders simply assume that the giant robotic-looking beetles and the various oddly-dressed magicians running around are part of it, [[CityOfAdventure which is generally a safe assumption]]. People catch on very rapidly whenever someone is visibly in danger.
* In ''Literature/AmagiBrilliantPark'' episode 7, the park employees are putting on a pirate skit when a real pirate ship appears through a portal. The pirates attack and damage the park with their cannonballs. Throughout the ordeal, the guests think this is part of the performance, and when the pirates take everyone prisoner and put them in shackles, declaring they will keep some as slaves and sell the rest, the guests happily go along with it, thinking it is AudienceParticipation. When the pirates are defeated, the guests say that was so fun and they should do it again soon.
* In ''Manga/DeadmanWonderland'', it's revealed that civilians think that all the "games" are just sports with fancy special effects instead of live-action executions. [[CrapsackWorld But they don't really care even if people are dying.]]
* In ''Manga/MyMonsterSecret'', the second SchoolFestival stars off fairly crazy thanks to [[SenseiChan Akari]] going demonic due to her increasing loneliness and desperation, resulting in her dominating the festival single-handedly. However, when [[TheBigGuy Sakurada]] (who [[HotForTeacher has feelings for Akari]]) starts actually matching pace with her, Akane (who ''wants'' Akari to be lonely ForTheLulz) uses her demonic powers to create a flying castle for the final event. An unseen voice starts repeatedly declaring "Do not be alarmed, this is just a demonstration", but nobody really buys it, and later in the story a few characters remark that this was the point where they really realized there was some weird stuff going on in their supposedly ordinary high school.

* Played with in ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid'' when they put on a performance of ''Literature/TheLittleMatchGirl'' as a Christmas play that goes OffTheRails and involves MagicalGirl battles. Everything ''is'' part of the show, but the audience thinks that the blatant displays of dragon magic is just accomplished by fancy special effects.
* ''Manga/{{Beastars}}'': after having a heated argument behind the scenes, Legoshi outright attacks Bill during the second-night performance by the drama club, rather than the staged fight they were supposed to have, and it devolves into a brutal brawl with both of them getting bloodied and bruised, to the shock of the audience. Louis intervenes to help Legoshi almost at the last minute and plays it off as being a bit of improv afterwards so that everyone can save face, quietly advising Legoshi to keep facing the audience so that they won't see the deep, bleeding scratches that Bill made on his back.
* When an [[MonsterOfTheWeek Antinoid]] attacks a {{toku}}satsu theater show in ''Manga/SuperwomenInLove'' that a civilian [[TheHero Hayate]] is hosting, various patrons question if it's a part of the show. Hayate confirms that it isn't, at which point she [[ByThePowerOfGrayskull trances up]] into [[HenshinHero Rapid Rabbit]] to fight them.

* An old ComicBook/{{Superboy}} story features criminals invoking this trope. They bring movie cameras and pretend to film themselves robbing banks so that people passing by will simply assume it is all a movie and ignore the screaming bank employees. Luckily, Superboy notices they didn't bring any sound equipment, so he guesses they are criminals. Luckily, he had apparently never heard of [[LoopingLines looping]].

* An issue of ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvelTeamUp'' has ComicBook/SpiderMan meeting the ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' "Not-Ready-for-Primetime Players", complete with Silver Samurai breaking into an ''SNL'' performance.

* ''ComicStrip/DickTracy'' fights Putty Puss on a stage. Vitamin Flintheart tries to convince the audience it's for real, but he's [[LargeHam such a ham]] that he only makes things worse.
* In ''ComicBook/BatmanHush'', Batman and Catwoman wind up fighting Harley Quinn in the middle of a crowded opera house. The opera-goers seem to think this is part of the show, even applauding after Batman manages to catch Catwoman in mid-air.
* The final fight of the first ''Franchise/{{Batman}}[=/=]ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' crossover takes place at a HeavyMetal concert, on stage. The audience is not shown having any particular reaction to Batman appearing on stage, or a cop from another dimension, or for that matter a zombie cop from a third dimension who had killed half the band (although since Judge Death ''was'' singing while he killed them, there was some justification for assuming that it was staged).

* Played with in ''Astérix and the Cauldron''. ComicBook/{{Asterix}} and Obélix get hired by a Roman theater company whose avant-garde director proclaims TrueArt is "spontaneity", improvisation, and offending the public. (Ironically, as is shown during the play rehearsal, basically everything is in fact minutely staged.) When the actual play is performed in public, the Roman city prefect does enjoy the controversial show, until the point where Obelix improvises the play's final line: "These Romans are crazy!" Now that pushes the prefect's BerserkButton: he is not amused and sends the troops on stage to arrest the actors. The military intervention is not part of the show, but the public does believe so:
-->'''Spectator #1:''' Very well staged, that show!\\
'''Spectator #2:''' Yes, it's getting exciting!\\
'''Spectator #3:''' Now they're pushing it. It lacks realism.\\
'''Spectator #4:''' It's a new aesthetics. I, for one, dig it.
* In the ''Franchise/AdventureTime'' spin-off comic ''ComicBook/AdventureTimeMarcelineAndTheScreamQueens'', Marceline has a nervous breakdown during the last gig of the band's tour, shapeshifts into an enormous dragon, and nearly incinerates the audience before Bubblegum manages to talk her down. Naturally, the audience think it was all part of the show.

* ''ComicBook/Batman66'': When Shame and his gang rob an old-fashioned train and its passengers, the victims assume it's part of the show.
* ''WesternAnimation/StuntDawgs'': Fungus' plan to sabotage a stunt show in the comics fails because the audience thought it was part of the show.
* ''ComicBook/TheBatmanAdventures'': After saving Boston Brandt's life in Issue #15 of ''The Batman and Robin Adventures'', Dick Grayson tells him to bow to the audience so they won't know of the danger.

* Happens on occasion in ''ComicBook/DanceClass'', usually during ballerina numbers when a mishap happens, with the audience thinking it was a new spin on the stories they were doing.
* ''ComicBook/BatmanBlackAndWhite'': In "Petty Crimes", the Civic Virtue serial killer goes after people who [[AllCrimesAreEqual commit small offenses like talking loudly in movie theaters]]. When Batman is examining the scene of that particular crime, the owner of the cinema explains that the bodies weren't discovered until the lights come up at the end; everyone else in the audience who heard the murders just thought it was part of the sound effects for the movie.
* In ''ComicBook/GrooTheWanderer'', Groo comes across a theater troupe staging a play about a corrupt king being assassinated. Groo assumes the play is real and causes spectacular destruction trying to protect the king. To pay for the damages, Groo is forced to join the troupe himself. Having a hard time grasping the concept of fiction, Groo disrupts the play in several performances, either trying to foil the assassins or avenge the king. Worse for the director, Groo's antics are mistaken for brilliant comedy by the audience and he becomes a star, precluding any hope of firing him. Finally he manages to twig in that it's all fake, though he still can't understand the appeal. However, the troupe ends up playing for a real corrupt king - and the actors playing the assassins are inside men on a plot to depose him. When they pull out real knives and run to slay the king, the monarch desperately asks Groo to protect him. Groo thinks the king is an actor padding his part and laughs uproariously as the king offers Groo a third of his kingdom and the hand of the princess before being stabbed to death. Groo finally realizes that the offer was real and that he could have received a fortune if he had protected the king. He chases the fleeing actors into the night, vowing that he will never again use his swords for pretend.
* ''ComicBook/SonicTheComic'': When Dr Robotnik deploys Badniks from a wooden model of himself to attack civillians celebrating Bonfire Night by burning effigies of the hated dictator, Sonic has to clarify that this isn't part of the show and tells the amazed onlookers to clear out while he and Tails deal with the attack.
* In the ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' story "Hot Time In the Old Town", [[EvilSorcerer Dr. Aegyptus]] sets up a ritual to open a dimensional rift for the [[EldritchAbomination Oubor]] under the pretext that it's an Egyptian-themed magic show.

* In ''Fanfic/ArcadiaOrBust'', when the conventioneer dressed as [[Manga/DeathNote Ryuk]] assaults Jim and tries to rip his horns off, Jim loses his temper and throws him into the crowd, complete with an animalistic roar, only for the crowd to cheer harder in response.
* Happens in a chapter of ''Fanfic/EigaSentaiScanranger'' where the heroes impersonated a boy band; the story's villains storming the stage to attack them was assumed to just be part of the concert they were putting on. Even the HumongousMecha vs {{Kaiju}} part, apparently!
* ''Fanfic/ManehattansLoneGuardian'' has explosions rocking the city when the story's antagonist makes his first move. To keep her audience from panicking, the horror aficionado Drama Heart plays off the noises by weaving them into the fabric of her performance. Her decision causes her story to go off the rails, but she accomplishes her objective.

* ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademiaTheEnchantedParade'': A combination of factors releases a magical rock giant during [[AttackOfTheTownFestival the town festival]]. [[CoolTeacher Professor Ursula]] plays it off like a show that the WizardingSchool is putting on, and has them cheer encouragement as [[AscendedFangirl Akko]], [[{{Meganekko}} Lotte]] and [[CreepyGood Sucy]] defeat it. (Funnily enough, Akko ''did'' want to put on a show like this earlier, but it fell through.)

* In 1987, comedian [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Shawn#Death Dick Shawn]] was playing a politician reciting cliches. One of them was "If elected, I will not lie down on the job." He then fell down and didn't get up. The audience thought it was part of his act. When he didn't get up, there were actually catcalls from people who thought [[OverlyLongGag he was dragging it out too long]]. Finally someone went on stage, examined him and said "IsThereADoctorInTheHouse". Another audience member performed CPR on him, but it was to no avail. [[DramaticallyMissingThePoint The audience didn't know if the people coming on stage to examine him were part of the act or not]]. They weren't: he died of a massive heart attack on stage. There is sad irony in the fact that he had played Lorenzo St. [=DuBois=] (the actor playing Hitler) in the scene in ''The Producers'' described above.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': Played with in "[[Recap/GravityFallsS2E4SockOpera Sock Opera]]". The supernatural events of the episode spill over into Mabel's puppet show, culminating in her fighting her [[DemonicPossession demonically possessed]] brother on-stage while fireworks go off. When the fight is over, Mabel brings up this trope and assumes the audience is about to start clapping. [[ZigZaggedTrope While she's apparently right about the audience thinking it was part of the show]], [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome she's dead wrong about them liking a non-sequitur ending that involves them nearly getting burned by exploding fireworks]].

* ''Film/GalaxyQuest'': The ''Protector'' (or rather its bridge) is forced to crash-land on Earth, and so it lands in an empty space -- the parking lot of the ongoing ''Galaxy Quest'' convention. Well, it was empty save for peoples' cars.[[note]]They probably had to land there because it was the only place [[FanBoy Brandon]] knew how to guide them to.[[/note]] The ship crashes straight onto the stage, and as the crew staggers out of it one by one, the befuddled emcee just introduces them, to great acclaim from the audience. Then [[BigBad Sarris]] comes off the ship after them, and the crowd thinks he's part of the show, too (one guy even shoots a Nerf gun at him); fortunately, [[spoiler:Jason blows him up]], right on stage. The audience is probably so jazzed by the show (and the [[UnCanceled return]] of ''Galaxy Quest'' that was presumably announced there) that [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome they're probably not too worried about their cars]].

Can be great for keeping the people hilariously [[{{Masquerade}} ignorant]] toward the supernatural happenings and beings that exist around them, but naturally, it can also be ''very'' disadvantageous to [[YouHaveToBelieveMe the characters trying]] to [[CassandraTruth convince them otherwise]]. It can also sometimes suggest the ViewersAreMorons. Often forms part of a ConcertClimax.

->'''Mabel:''' Don't worry, I've seen enough movies to know this is the part where the audience thinks it was all part of the show, and loves it. Cue applause!\\
'''Audience:''' ''BOO!''\\
'''Man in Audience:''' WE ALMOST DIED!
-->-- ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'', "[[Recap/GravityFallsS2E4SockOpera Sock Opera]]"

* Series/MrBean in ''Film/MrBeansHoliday'' ruins Carson Clay's [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible ridiculously artsy film]] by switching his camcorder's footage with the film reel during the premier, as well as causing himself to be chased by security. The audience give a loud round of applause, believing it to all a performance as part of the movie experience.

* In the second episode of ''Anime/ZombieLandSaga'', Sakura ''tries'' to invoke this after Tae's [[LosingYourHead head pops off]]. Unfortunately for her, bandmate Saki is fascinated by this turn of events, repeatedly taking the girl's head off, and Sakura eventually calls her out for not trying to hide the fact that they're all zombies. DoubleSubverted when the call-out becomes an impromptu [[BattleRapping rap battle]] that the audience loves.

* {{Double Subverted}} in ''Literature/ArtemisFowl.'' A demon teleports on stage during an opera; most of the audience doesn't notice, because the antagonists destroy a stage light to distract them, then quickly abduct the demon. The actors and orcehestra scatter, and the audience is acting the way you normally would when there's an accident on set...until Artemis, wanting to get the bad guys' attention, [[WorthyAdversary starts applauding their flawlessly executed scheme]]. This spreads to the rest of the audience, and when Artemis returns to the lobby he hears various patrons "interpreting" what the fallen stagelight represents.

* In the ''{{Series/Community}}'' episode [[Recap/CommunityS3E12ContemporaryImpressionists Contemporary Impressionists]] the crowd thinks that Jeff's angry onstage outburst (complete with him ripping his shirt) is him doing an impression of The Hulk.
* ''Double-subverted'' in ''Series/CSIMiami''. It's the start of a fashion show. The lights suddenly cut, somebody asks "Is this part of the show" and two women dressed in your typical robbery gear enter with machine-pistols, spraying off a clip. One says "Now do I have your attention?". Then the two remove their outer clothes, the music starts and it does turn out to be the fashion show. Then one of the models gets electrocuted- which is definitely not part of the show and no-one thinks it is.

* A scene in ''Dance Me to My Song'', an Australian film about a woman with severe cerebral palsy, called for its writer/star Heather Rose (who had the same condition) to flail around in panic to the extent that she was able to do so after being pushed out of her wheelchair. After some time of witnessing disturbingly realistic behavior from Rose, the crew decided something must really be wrong and helped her back into her wheelchair. The first thing she said through her voicebox afterwards was "I was just acting".