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Butts In the Seats: As the summer comes to a close, I wanted to share something that caught my eye back in May. I bookmarked it and looked back at it periodically throughout the summer because I liked the idea so much.
This sounds like a really cool concept. I've heard about things like this before, where the audience travels around to the different aspects of the performance rather than the performance changing while the audience stay stationary. I think this would be a really cool thing to do just about anywhere. It wouldn't need to be on a waterway. It would be in a forest, along a hiking trail, along a beach, or even in a city. The possibilities are endless. It would probably attract audiences if the performance was area specific, having something to do with the performance locations: folklore, ghost stories, etc. Imagine seeing a show about the battle of Gettysburg, and actually being able to walk through the town and see where the battle took place while watching a story unfold before you. Something like that would be a great experience, and also a big crowd-pleaser.
While the concept is not altogether novel, and the execution perhaps a bit shy of amazing, this certainly was an intriguing piece to read about. There are many other places and stories that could be told in a similar fashion, much more effectively than they could in a traditional theatre. As Jess said, pieces that are location specific would be all the more interesting. It reminds me of some historical sites that have performers dressed up in period costumes doing activities from the period, while telling facts to visitors. Imagine if that was taken to the next level, where people actually acted out their daily lives, potentially around a historic event. It would be fantastically interesting.
I love the unconventional setting of the riveer, but one of the most interesting things about this concept, to me, is the idea of travelling between scenes. There were a couple of articles recently about audience participation- It seems like this could lead to a new form of audience participation. The audience in this scenario would have time between scenes to talk about what was happening with those around them, or if the actors were travelling with them they could talk to the actual characters. While the breaks could be disruptive, with the right kind of play they could add to the story. This could be an interesting concept to explore furthur.
3 comments:
This sounds like a really cool concept. I've heard about things like this before, where the audience travels around to the different aspects of the performance rather than the performance changing while the audience stay stationary. I think this would be a really cool thing to do just about anywhere. It wouldn't need to be on a waterway. It would be in a forest, along a hiking trail, along a beach, or even in a city. The possibilities are endless. It would probably attract audiences if the performance was area specific, having something to do with the performance locations: folklore, ghost stories, etc. Imagine seeing a show about the battle of Gettysburg, and actually being able to walk through the town and see where the battle took place while watching a story unfold before you. Something like that would be a great experience, and also a big crowd-pleaser.
While the concept is not altogether novel, and the execution perhaps a bit shy of amazing, this certainly was an intriguing piece to read about. There are many other places and stories that could be told in a similar fashion, much more effectively than they could in a traditional theatre. As Jess said, pieces that are location specific would be all the more interesting. It reminds me of some historical sites that have performers dressed up in period costumes doing activities from the period, while telling facts to visitors. Imagine if that was taken to the next level, where people actually acted out their daily lives, potentially around a historic event. It would be fantastically interesting.
I love the unconventional setting of the riveer, but one of the most interesting things about this concept, to me, is the idea of travelling between scenes. There were a couple of articles recently about audience participation- It seems like this could lead to a new form of audience participation. The audience in this scenario would have time between scenes to talk about what was happening with those around them, or if the actors were travelling with them they could talk to the actual characters. While the breaks could be disruptive, with the right kind of play they could add to the story. This could be an interesting concept to explore furthur.
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