HowlRound: When Liz Fisher and Robert Matney of Whirligig Productions approached me about designing lights for their new and innovative version of the House of Atreus story, I jumped at the chance, knowing that I was taking on a rather large project and having no idea how I was going to tackle its challenges. Deus Ex Machina is an interactive retelling of the Oresteia—interactive in that, at key points in the play, characters go to an oracle to seek guidance, and the audience gets to select the prophecy that pushes the characters into their next course of action.
2 comments:
I love this unexpected journey idea in theatre. It's a great way the get the audience that is being spoken to, more of an advantage in the piece they are watching. Especially if they did this with shows that are well known! Like what would happen if Cinderella never left the ball or if Ariel decided she was lesbian, or if Tarzan met Simba. I understand that these example are moving towards improvisational theatre, but this idea would create great to material for those producer and writers that are stuck in adaptive vibe because nothing seems to be original anymore, but this is obviously a great way to start a new kind of theatre that may not exist. Even though this experimental theatre has been used before, what if there was a way to do it without breaking the fourth wall. Like a "vote" through technology or mind reader so there is a detachment from the stage and the audience, but every moment in the show is different from the last time it was preformed. The possibilities!
I want to watch every version of this show. I adore the idea of using different design elements in one "path." I did a production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood this past summer, which has a similar structure, but far less in depth. Every show more or less had the same formula, no matter who the audience picked to be the murderer. No one would know this of course if in they only saw the show once, but after seeing every production in a run, the inventive show ran into tedium. Part of the joy in interactive theatre is wanting to see it over and over again. Sleep No More, for example, is a show you could see a dozen times and never see the same show twice. That kind of spontaneity and inventiveness is what gives a show a following. Deus has a taste of that curiosity inspiring newness. Every show seems like an entirely new experience, not just the same show with a few pieces cut and pasted. I wish they had film of all 12 versions. I would happily watch them all.
Post a Comment