The Theatre Times: Theatre as a concept is related to the idea of “play.” After all, scripts are plays and actors play roles. However, it is not often that these words are dissected to reach the idea of “game.” This is why, when arriving at the charming Town Hall Hotel for the site-specific, immersive, interactive production of The Grift, it was surprising to hear the hotel staff commend the play as a “very fun game.” Soon enough, the 50 audience members were given color bracelets that would divide them into different “teams.” This game-like audience division is not unheard of in immersive shows (for instance, in Alice’s Adventures Underground, audiences were sorted according to different card suits). Once the play started, each team was given a set of boxes and a sheet with instructions. It was unavoidable to think of an Escape the Room experience.
6 comments:
Although this article makes an interesting point of what is the distinction between theatre and escape rooms, it seems to lack the question of why does it matter? I've been thinking a lot about this idea, and I would feel naive to say it doesn't matter. Intrinsically, I'm not sure why we feel a need to label art: "devised pieces", "dance shows" and of course the catch all of "performance art". Perhaps it is for marketing purposes, but often I feel that restrictions come alongside labels. I know I definitely have certain attributes associated with dance shows vs. devised plays, etc. I'm sure these expectations are implicitly imbedded in the creation process of a show. So what if The Grift is a play? Would that make us view it in a more critical, structured way? If The Grift was an escape room, would people be disappointed when there was not high-level action taking place. By placing a label, we are able to market it to audiences easier, but at the end of the day the experience should not be hindered why implicit expectations.
Wow, this seems like an awfully familiar concept. That's probably because the playground piece I worked on, Watchword Theory, played with the same concept! It was really interesting to explore the balance between performance and puzzle play. However, we often struggled with helping audiences understand that the performance existed in something of a gray area between genres. The Grift also struggles with this issue, which the authors sums up by writing, "So what was The Grift? Game or play? As you stroll down hotel corridors, up and down stairs, you are indeed immersed in a particular world and taken by the child-like bliss of exploring a hotel trying to uncover its secrets. The story does give a context to your actions, but in the end, you follow instructions hoping to discover more about the hotel, the art of conning and the characters you will encounter. Solving the games becomes a fun challenge to overcome as a team, but not really the reason why you keep engaging. However, without that component, the story would not be enough source of tension. The Grift announced as 'part theatre and part game,' it is honest about its hybrid nature. And maybe through this gender-bending experience, theatre smartly takes advantages of the hunger Escape the Room games have evoked in young audiences." Like the Grift, Watchword Theory's plot was driven by discovering key components to the story, like developing an antidote or finding the decryption key. Yet, at the same time, if audiences didn't pay attention to the story, they would become confused and some puzzles were incredibly difficult to complete. It was certainly a fascinating experience to work on Watchword, and I'd love to continue working on multi-genre pieces like that in the future!
Amazing! Ok, I’m such a sucker for murder mysteries, that to have the chance to be a part of one that’s also combined with an escape room with riddles and puzzles seems like a dream come true. The Grift’s premise is described as:” The show begins with a presentation by an actor that, aided by a keynote projection, tells the story of Ben, a man who lived in the hotel all his life and mastered the art of cons. After his death, he has planned a large con against an evil man (although not much information is given about why this man deserves to be punished) and he has recruited the audience members to help him. During the experience, each team explores the hotel, meeting the descendants of the members of staff that brought Ben up. Each character poses a puzzle to the team that has to be solved in a timely manner and then teaches them a small con technique. All these little actions culminate in a grand finale scene where all the teams convene for the large con” I really hope something like this comes to the U.S. ASAP
Aida Rocci has made very clear distinctions between escape rooms and theater in her mind, but does it matter which one is which? Theater is evolving so what we can do in terms of immersive theater and escape rooms is also growing. Chances are, in a few years we may have new terms for all of these experiences. Rocci identifies the difference between theater and an escape room as theoretical difference that affects the subconscious. If we were to change the mindset of the audience by re-framing the experience, would that change the experience even though the events are still the same. Does calling “The Grift” a hybrid experience change anything about the experience? Since I have not seen the production, I can't really say if the framing is important, but this article leaves me wondering if it's important, or just semantics? If it's a fun or enjoyable experience who is to say it matters?
I love the fact that the meaning and definition of what “theatre” is continues to expand and change and evolve with the times and technology. I think most people have a very specific definition of theatre in their minds: red curtains, actors and actresses playing dramatic characters, Shakespeare, similar to how people have set definitions of what an artist is: paint, palette, beret. However, everything else about these words can bend and break and stretch to fit other shapes and sizes imagined by creators around the world, including at CMU. Playground is a perfect example of this; I’m thinking specifically of a piece shown this year titled “Bubblegum Bacchae.” It was my favorite show of the weekend, a psychotic, pinwheeling, whimsical, electric, immersive show that transported you to a club in the world of the play through dancers with metallic costumes and makeup, blurry gender lines, and pulsing lights and music. It was the most immersive show I’ve ever seen. I was in that club, and it was a game to figure out what in the world was going on.
I am notnone to try and efinie what theatre is or is not. I think it is something definitely open to some amount of interpretation and there are many people with vastly different definitions or constraints than others. I think this question, theatre or escape room, is especially challenging because of the similar elements: both have a storyline and often both have characters. There are definitely types of theatre in which audience members are onstage acting out scenes or providing opinions, forum theatre for example. This of course opens up the debate about whether or not those in the escape room are characters or audience members. I think there is an argument to be made for both, some escape rooms are set up so that one plays him or herself simply exploring, others create elaborate back stories that give the players a background or identity. Either way, I think over time escape rooms will either evolve into more of the theatre world, or create a new category of themed entertainment.
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