“Eating and drinking together is such an important component of an arts experience,” says Quantum Theatre artistic director Karla Boos.
Friday, August 31, 2018
Chefs Part of the Show at Unique Dinner & Theater in Pittsburgh
“Eating and drinking together is such an important component of an arts experience,” says Quantum Theatre artistic director Karla Boos.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
I have never been to dinner theatre, but I feel like it would be a great opportunity to explore the relationship between the art and audience. I know it kind of has a cliche reputation of people clinking glasses and eating while an old fashion musical drones on onstage. The pairing of this "choose your own adventure" style play and a new, rotating chefs gives the production so much life. There would not be any time for the show to feel stale for actors or technicians. This structure of immersive theatre gives the chef an opportunity to be a theatrical agent. I wonder if the chefs involved think of their contribution as artistic to both the meal and to the show? I would also love to see how and where the chef prepares meals for the show. I think being able to see the chef prepare the meal is a lot more meaningful to the evening. I wonder if the director discusses meal choices with the chefs; I think the food served would heavily influence the reception of the story. Because taste is such a memory-evoking sense, chef's could really curate an emotional journey within the meal.
I think it is wonderful that Quantum is incorporating local restaurants and chefs into its productions. Overall, this experience sounds immersive and in some ways interactive. I could see incorporating food as a potential direction for immersive theater. I’m interested in how the show fits in with the dinner service. Though they said that the last scene takes place in a restaurant and the act break is when the meal is served. I wonder if that is the only connection between the two. Also bringing the audience together for the first time during the meal must factor into how the audience perceives the scene. Additionally, bringing in local chefs could showcase their talents could encourage people to go out to local restaurants. The variety of restaurants that Quantum has brought it makes me curious about how the show interacts with the food, but allowing the chefs to have some freedom in their culinary style allows for a unique experience every week. It’s wonderful that Quantum continues to incorporate theater with the culinary arts.
Back home I worked at a dinner theater for two years of high school. While our set up was a little different, with us serving dinner before the show and desserts at intermission, the entire experience is some of the most fun I've ever had. I think that the decline in dinner theaters is disappointing, because the entire atmosphere of being able to sit down and have a good meal with your friends and then watch a show is something that many people miss out on. Besides that, dinner theaters offer a new line of revenue for theaters, because they are able to charge more for tickets, and draw some guests who might never have seen the production otherwise. Some of our shows have been interactive, and those shows tend to be the most popular performances we have. I think it's great that a theater in Pittsburgh is trying this in such a new and innovative ways, and I'm hoping that this might introduce the Pittsburgh community into good dinner theater performances, rather than the second rate cheap entertainment value that people have come to expect from dinner theaters.
This is an interesting idea for a show, as one of the biggest barriers to being on time to an evening show or event, is often dinner. This removes that barrier while also providing a unique entertainment and artistic experience to the consumer. While places like, Medieval Times, does provide a unique dining and entertainment, I imagine that this show will do it in a more creative and artistic way. Chatterton also appears to have a much more serious tone, and intends to cater to a more mature audience. This show also appears to be a form of immersive theatre, which in a sense, is similar to shows such as Sleep No More, in New York City. There are separate plot lines which you can choose to follow, in a choose-your-own-adventure-esque story, as stated by this article, while also adding to the experience of immersive theatre. One thing that is also interesting about this experience is that the dinner at intermission is shared by all guests, regardless of which plot line they chose to follow. This adds a collaborative effort in which all guests can share their unique experiences, and thus, adds another layer of creativity and uniqueness to the overall show.
We have heard about dinner-theatres. Places where you can eat and drink as you watch a show, or theatres with restaurants, so you can eat before or after the show. However, I find that it’s a really interesting concept, to converge dinner and theatre, not in the building, but incorporating it to the show. Having multiple chefs in a play where you can choose your own “path” and choose what to see/experience, opens the door for people to come see it more than once. It’s brilliant, the audience can return and have a whole new experience the next weekend. Friends can come and experience different shows, and exchange notes during dinner, and change paths as they go. These types of projects are becoming more popular, projects where the audience gets to choose what the story they’re witnessing its going to be. I believe this merge of food and art it’s a really innovative experience for the Pittsburgh audience.
Interactive performances have always been a point of interest for me. I like the idea that the show will be different every night, not because something goes wrong, but because the conditions are never the same. Creating an interactive, immersive experience is more interesting from the audience perspective as well. Feeling a part of something can lend itself to a more memorable experience than just observing a performance.
The cohesion between dinner and performance puts “Chatteron” a few good steps above regular dinner theater in my mind. Additionally, I love that the chefs rotate through the run of the show. So, it’s not only a celebration of Pittsburgh theater but of the rich food culture and culinary talent in the city as well.
Events like this are an amazing example of community collaboration and support, and an intriguing experiment in performing arts that I hope to experience myself, and see more of in the future.
My parents have always taught me to respect the dining experience and discern my preferences not only in flavors but also in details in presentation, service, ambience, decor, technicality, creativity, cultural inspiration, and hospitality. The concept behind “Chatterton” takes advantage of the abilities that food has to bring people together while complementing it with a theatrical experience that justly presents cooking and dining as artforms. Unlikely collaborations yielding cross-disciplinary work have appeared in so many facets of the art world in recent years, and I hope that “Chatterton” will be a happy marriage between two worlds known to foster human connection and shape culture. This aside, I generally have a confusing time with what the article calls “choose-your-own-adventure type of [experiences].” The close-up nature of these immersive performances naturally comes with audience decision-making, eye contact, and sometimes discomfort in the name of art. I think all of these individually are important and exciting to consider as artists, but my mind also acknowledges that these aspects (when improperly executed) can sum up to a cop-out recipe for experimental theatre. My hope is always that the story and storytellers carry the performance more than pure novelty ever will, and I hope that “Chatterton” delivers on that front.
Karla Boos could not have said it better when she said that “eating and drinking together is such an important component of the arts experience”. I feel that food and theater combined can create a more intimate and real connection between the audience and the performers. Instead of sitting in silence for an extended amount of time, the audience is able to eat and enjoy the show with the performers, making it feel like a couple of friends grabbing a meal together. Of course, everything has its place and time. I wouldn’t want to go to Phantom and have people munching on rump roast next to me, but shows like Chatterton an Sweeny Todd are perfect for an integrated meal. I love the idea of new theater that is multimedia, it brings so many disciplines together that I think represent the world very well.
Post a Comment