NYTimes.com: Last Sunday evening in Chelsea, a man robed like an Arab sheik crossed 10th Avenue while gently swinging a blue suitcase. On the opposite corner stood another man who appeared to be a Hasidic Jew, ringlets dangling under his black hat. Just as they were inches apart, the suitcase popped open — and out poured packets of condoms by the dozen. The two scrambled to scoop them up, with the help of passers-by who were plainly stifling laughter.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
‘SeeWatchLook’ - Street Scenes at the High Line
NYTimes.com: Last Sunday evening in Chelsea, a man robed like an Arab sheik crossed 10th Avenue while gently swinging a blue suitcase. On the opposite corner stood another man who appeared to be a Hasidic Jew, ringlets dangling under his black hat. Just as they were inches apart, the suitcase popped open — and out poured packets of condoms by the dozen. The two scrambled to scoop them up, with the help of passers-by who were plainly stifling laughter.
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4 comments:
This sounds like a fantastically wonderful idea. I would certainly love to add more site specific theatre into my audience diet. I think perhaps what separates this type of work from groups and projects like Quantum is the public nature of the staging. I haven't seen much street theatre, but the idea certainly catches my fancy. I would imagine that with this specific production you might not exactly know when the actors are coming. You might see every passerby and wonder what they are doing... Are they part of the experience? Or are you just projecting into it?
I'm really curious as the the responses of passers by in the street, especially since the event is publicized. You hear a lot about this type of invisible street theatre happening once, but the notion that they are repeating it means there are many others in on the gag. Especially in the bustling upper class neighborhood of Chelsea, I'm sure many locals walk by without taking much note. With increased venue costs and more small independent theatre groups being displaced, I expect we will start seeing more of these site-specific and location based performances in the near future...maybe after the snow is gone.
This is the kind of theatre that gets me excited. Public performance like this that has a political point and interrogates preconceived notions is pretty cool. It is also interesting in terms of public visibility and accessibility. Rather than a show that needs tickets and plans and as such is only accessible to a limited audience, the audience includes anyone on the street. I hope they have further success and continue to work on these projects.
This is such an exciting project, not so much because of the audience that knows they are watching a show, but for the random people on the street who don't realize that these situations are actually staged. I'm always more interesting in seeing people's responses when they have no idea that they are participating in a piece of theatre. Part of the reason I think that this can be so successful in New York is because when you are in the city, you see weird or off things all the time and kind of become programmed to not notice or think anything of it. Yes, maybe it's a funny or awkward situation, like the large amount of condoms falling out of the bag, but not necessarily something that you would think would never happen.
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