ELEMENTS OF OZ Teaser from Peak Performances on Vimeo.
Baristanet: A unique and plugged in performance by The Builders Association titled Elements of Oz will offer a lighthearted 21st century mash-up of the classic The Wizard of Oz, featuring YouTube fanatics, heavy metal, and a heartfelt recreation of the iconic film at Peak Performances at MSU this weekend.This is one show in which you are asked to turn your cell phone ON — the stage action will be enhanced by interactivity with viewers’ smart phones, delivering the Technicolor Land of Oz of our imaginations.
5 comments:
This is a very interesting and controversial topic. Theatre is a live art form, and though there are some live elements to this production of "The Wizard of Oz" there seems to be a disconnect between what is going on on-stage versus in the audience. When audience members use their phones as part of a theatrical experience they can easily become distracted by other apps on their phone. We all know how tempting Facebook can be, and the endless emails that seem to pile up. Theatre as an interactive technological experience seems like a brilliant idea, in theory, that connects the 21st century to an ancient art form. However, this production is not thinking full picture, and about how they will keep the audience within the world of the play.
In a world dominated by electronics such as the notorious smartphone, it is certainly a unique approach for a theatre to celebrate their use instead of disparaging it. It is always interesting to see how certain traditional customs will approach new technology and theater certainly falls into that category. Other older organizations such as museums fall into this category, and now curators and designers are looking for ways to integrate new devices into their pieces/displays. The "Wizard of OZ is the perfect show to grapple with the cellphones dilemma, and their solution goes beyond what is expected, as they use these devices to reveal main themes of this timeless classic, including the facade of OZ and the hazy dreams which often feel like reality. This juxtaposition between real and imaginary ties in well with the cell phones depicted the scenes from OZ, for it adds another dimension to what is perceived as digitized and what is physically present.
Conceptually, this is really cool. The amount of integration between design elements and storytelling is exciting, and the rough aesthetics of the piece seems to support the intended stature of the production. That said, I saw a similar iphone immersive piece at the Prague Quadrennial, and I'm not sure if there is anyway for these apps to work the way they plan to. The production I saw was a walk with binaural headphones meant to simulate being followed and caught up in a world of alternate reality. While the concept was good, I did not lose myself or find myself confusing and blending the worlds. If the point of the piece was supposed to be about the lens of screens in our lives, I also didn't find myself having any profound realizations on that end. I think in order to use a new technology the piece needs to comment on "why that technology?" If the technology is just a means to an end, the immersive quality is eroded. For something to this end to work, we would need to interact with the app in the same way we do our real ones. Otherwise, it only feels like people are trying the hip new thing with little or no substance behind it.
The smartphones interactivity is a really fascinating concept, and it could work out really well. I’m wondering if the smartphone part with have its own sound that will play alongside of the performance, and how that is done so it’s not distracting to other audience members. Are there headphones instead? Headphones could be both good and bad because the sound would go straight to your ears and be much more precise, but I have always felt like I am very separate from everyone else when I wear headphones. In this way would the smartphone addition make the audience feel like they are the only ones in the theatre or like they have merged into one audience group? I have to agree with Jake too about getting distracted by other apps. I have my settings set up that I receive a banner message for texts and emails and Facebook and all my other apps and I know if I saw those pop up during a show I would be tempted to check them.
By God can we please stop doing The Wizard of Oz and all variations already? Where are the playwrights? Can we get some new works please? I’m bored of all of these classics being done over and over and over to and people squeezing out anything that they consider new and original.
Even though I am really tired of the Wizard of Oz, this is an interesting and innovative piece. I wish I was back in New York so that it wouldn’t be so far to see this. I’m sure it’s going to flop, but it seems like something fun to see on a Friday night. I’m interested to see if people watch their phones or the stage more. I think that they will be non-stop staring at their phones, and short people will be annoyed by their terrible view of what’s going on. Also, I have an iPhone 4s, so the camera is terrible… I would rather not use my phone when going to a show because the quality is so bad.
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