The Creators Project: Fog floats, wind blows, rain falls, and the sweet sounds of nature fill your ears, but you're not standing outside on a grass field—you're actually in The Weather Machine, an installation that recreates the elemental conditions occuring outside of its housing's four walls. "The audience is situated at the heart of an unfolding landscape, following a disjointed, poetic text as the atmosphere around them takes shape," explains David Shearing, who created the work in collaboration with composer James Bulley and writer Kamal Kaan.
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After reading this, the designer in me absolutely lost it. As many of our professors have repeated to us over the semester, "whenever possible, use the real thing." Rain, mist, clouds, hail and other types of precipitation range from difficult to impossible to render believably on the stage. The only real solution to that issue until now is outdoor theatre, but outdoor weather is so unpredictable that the odds of the perfect brooding storm appearing at a scene cue is unlikely to say the least, not to mention a precarious situation for those running light and sound board. This idea of indoor weather solves all of these problems. Real weather in a controlled environment could have spectacular resonance on a performance. Imagine King Lear with a real rain storm, Macbeth meeting ghosts with a real dewy mist. Weather is such a ubiquitous part of human life that these small touches could be monumental in connecting an audience to the reality of the performance.
This is so amazing! It is a brilliant combination of science and performance. Plus, nothing makes or breaks a show like crappy weather effects, but this show is completely comprised of legitimate and awesome weather detail and effects. I would love to know more about the make up of the show, is there a story? Characters? Poetry? Anything would really be an awesome addition to these insane effects. I guess the next step would be integrating these so close to realism effects into regular shows and performances so the fog doesn’t smell like haze and the rain is real and not unevenly dispersed on stage. Imagine, whole theaters being equipped to handle and produce real weather in their shows. All the changes costumes and props and scenic would have to make. Not to mention the bounds lighting, sound, and media would have to take to manage and protect their equipment. This seems like a reach, but this style becoming widely used could be a complete theatre revolution.
I couldn't help ooh-ing and ahh-ing through this article. Honestly, I want more from this article. I want to know how the heck they're doing this! I initially got into theater to 'figure out all the cool stuff' so having this article without any explanation left me hanging. However, this doesn't limit how freaking cool this is. I have so many questions. First, how do they keep the grass in good condition? What's their care and maintenance process? Besides that, I'm curious in how they get the fog to get where it needs to go. Installation pieces seem to be the new cool thing in theater nowadays, seen especially here. As far as the elements affecting lighting and sound equipment, well, people do shows outside all the time. There's no need to reinvent the wheel there. When I visited the website, I learned that the interactive experience is only up for 3 days. It does perform 12 times, though. And tickets are relatively cheap (only 25 dollars). Although, the plan ticket to Leeds at this point, would not be as cheap.
As much as atmospherics are used in theater, and as much technology there is for more or less precisely controlling atmospheric effects, I have never seen an atmosphere designer. Usually the lighting department controls the effects used during a show, and maybe sometimes the scenic designer has some input into what is going on. I like the premise of this installation that weather is really a force that effects our life. I appreciate the saying “There is no such thing as bad weather, only improper clothing and method of transportation”. Bad weather shouldn’t effect our ability to work and be productive, but whatever it is, it does effect our emotions. A real thunder storm, or hurricane, of the scale of as in Lear or the Tempest, has an impact that is not often replicated onstage. However if it were to be able to re-create actual weather atmosphere, that would be impressive, I think this installation is a step in that direction.
First off, this is such a cool installation! I love all kinds of weather and it would be fascinating to experience them in while indoors. The installations kind of reminds me of a Japanese garden, but it is just grass and what looks like pallets laid on top. I especially like the old-school speakers that they have scattered around. For some reason it makes it feel more… realistic? because it is not the latest technology which would make it fell futuristic rather than natural.
Secondly, I agree with everyone else- this would be absolutely amazing to achieve on stage! Think of all the added emotions it would give to have dour rain falling on a grief-filled scene or fog that actually looks like fog and not haze or a thunderstorm raging around boat and many more. The only drawback might be getting the audience soaked, but then again who cares? Its immersive theatre. But then you have to worry about your actual theatre space getting damaged. There is a lot that would have to go into figuring out how to get this to work, but it would be absolutely amazing to do.
I absolutely love this. As advances in effects technology become more and more realistic, we can create something so incredible! I especially connect with what the article said about how environments and weather have such a powerful effect on us and what we perceive. In creating a theatrical experience, weather can be a powerful tool to enhance a setting or a mood. As an installation and immersive piece, it reminds me of an article from a while ago about the art exhibit where people could walk through a continuous rain without getting wet, thanks to computer programming and sensor technology. That installation also drew similar connections between the weather and human emotion, and I think there is a great deal of truth in that. Though of course there are several problems and practical concerns to think about and to be aware of, it is a very cool idea and a very interesting way to create an environment and influence a space.
I want this to be everywhere! No more acting like you're dripping with rain, the actors actually could be. While this certainly opens the door for a lot of complications (protecting equipment, maintaining hair and makeup, not distracting the audience) it would be so very worth it. I was lucky enough to see Henry 4 part 1 at Utah Shakespeare Festival last summer in their outdoor space and during the Welsh song it started to really pour. The effect was unreal. After the scene they moved us into the backup theater but I would have definitely braved the weather just for the experience of it. Weather is always an element in theatre that can take the audience out of the world of the play because they are so aware of the fact that it's not really happening. I typically find myself starting to focus on the acting instead of experiencing a show when there is weather on stage because all I can think is 'look now they have to act like they are soaking wet' or 'now they're squinting their eyes to make it look like they can't see through this invisible haze' but this could really transport audiences and actors. These small moments bring the play so much closer to the audience and add another layer of truth to the art.
hello, nice to see that the world is being talked about in the other side of the country. I'm Kamal, the writer. Here are a list of reviews about the show and also the website for the show. Hope this helps! :-) Love from England
PS it was also REAL grass!
www.theweathermachine.co.uk
http://theculturevulture.co.uk/blog/reviews/theatre/david-shearing-co-the-weather-machine/
http://www.backseatmafia.com/2015/02/07/review-weather-machine-stageleeds/
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/katie-beswick/the-weather-machine_b_6623384.html
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