The troupe of jugglers shocked _____ audience when an ill-flung knife impaled our friend Jarod's foot.

? its
? their

1 answer

The correct answer is "its." The sentence would read: "The troupe of jugglers shocked its audience when an ill-flung knife impaled our friend Jarod's foot."

"its" is appropriate here as it refers to the audience as a collective group belonging to the troupe. "their" could also be used in informal contexts, but "its" is more grammatically correct in this case.