ArtsATL: When most people come to hear a play, they expect to sit inside of an air-conditioned theater with a heavy velvet curtain hanging between them and the performers. Found Stages, however, has made it mission critical to remove the walls from theater. Since 2014, this small innovative company has created outdoor, site-specific new work. The first Sunday of every month, through November, they are hosting a Wine & Reading Series at Dunwoody Nature Center, featuring free wine, food and new plays by Georgia playwrights.
5 comments:
A big problem so many people have with theater is the perceived in accessibility. Whether it is the foreboding pomp and circumstance and price tag of a velvet curtained proscenium or the eccentric cliquishness of more experimental theater, a lot of people feel theater is just not for them, not made for them. I think this theater is really interesting as an attempt to reach out to the community and show experimental works, show new works, show works done by top tier playwrights, to the local community. Hopefully it’ll truly help break down the perceived barrier between “normal” people and the theatrical arts. If you could be a part of it as just anyone in high school, you can be a part of it now; you don’t have to be a part of ‘that’ crowd. I feel it should be a goal of all theaters with new and fun ideas to reach beyond the walls, if not literally then at least through the informational barriers, and make it more know to their communities that they are part of the fabric of the community and their art is for all.
It's amazing that Found Stages is willing to nurture local playwrights. Allowing them to write whatever they want gives a space where everything is possible. I can not wait to see what kind of theater they produce. Also, this setup gives audiences a unique perspective into how writers improve their work. Not only are they removing the physical walls between the audience and theater, but there are allowing audiences to see aspects they otherwise might have not. I wonder what types of audience members come to these show. Are they made up of seasoned theater people, just random theatergoers who want a unique show, or people who have randomly stumbled into it. From this article, not only does it sound like this theater is encouraging local artists, but giving them a connection to the people in their city. I’m excited to see what kind of projects come out of Found Stages.
As someone with no experience writing plays, I imagine an early public reading of a new work as a very vulnerable event. The comfortable, community-driven, transparent nature of the readings hosted by Found Stages is thoughtfully constructed with the playwright in mind. I also appreciate that despite this unconventional format for experiencing a play, Found Stages has continued the tradition of making theatre a reason for socialization; the complimentary food and wine sparks casual conversation while site-specificity means that audiences have to do their research before arriving. Socialization occurring between creatives and audiences local to Atlanta may lead to a wider network, provocative dialogue, and potential future collaborations. I hope that similar readings series will pop up nationally and internationally. In cities where the theatre scene is overflowing and almost oversaturated, this is an opportunity to strip down the extravagance and highlight raw talent and community. In cities where theatrical events are more sparse, this is an opportunity to present an unseen side of theatre to people who would never typically expend the effort or money on the performing arts.
I think that what this theater is doing is interesting because it is merging the audience and the writers much earlier in the process than normal. Normally, the writer's write the play, it is published, it is rehearsed and then the public will see it. All editing of the work occurs before it is released to the public, in this case, the public can help edit the work. This theater is a great idea as well to connect the community and bring theater into the lives of more. Their mission to break boundaries is inspiring and I hope more theaters across the country join them. Theater is meant to be inspiring and cause people to think about something they might not have before, and I think that the way that Found Stages is breaking boundaries is opening up new possibilities in the entertainment industry that weren't there before. I admire what they are doing and hope they continue to innovate and change the industry.
Through the incorporation of media and more advanced equipment many aspects of mainstream theatre are becoming more and more artificial. Eventually not many will be surprised to find more and more technologically advanced special effects. I personally wonder if that could one day include virtual reality or three dimensional projected elements. The incorporation of nature into new theatre seems to nicely juxtapose this trend. Another benefit of this type of theatre is how the low production cost can make it more accessible. Brining theatre back to nature can make it more about the word and the characters and less about special tricks, and effects. I’m curious to see how certain aspects play out. Specifically, does being in nature make the characters seems small compared to the overall world? Or does the nature give the characters power to control their own world more clearly than for example a black box, with less going on visually? Overall the definition of a theatre space is fluid and the location matters, and this is a great example.
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