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Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Immersive Wolf of Wall Street actors get personal alarm buttons
Stage | The Guardian: The company behind The Wolf of Wall Street, the latest production to tap into the trend for immersive theatre, has introduced safeguarding measures to protect actors and participants following a series of incidents at previous high-profile shows.
This article makes me think of a number of other different events. For one, the dance piece that was exorciated for having naked dancers crawl--without warning or ability to deny consent--over audience members. For another, the deep-dive horror immersives that are starting to gain popularity. Finally, on a basic level, there are more types of escape rooms than I can shake a stick at. Each of these has a certain level of vulnerability, or outright danger, for the participants or facilitators (perhaps with the exception of escape rooms). When the audience is expected to be physically vulnerable, they sign a waiver. There is also the general assumption that the business would be ruined if something crossed the line, so the facilitators are going to stay within a certain level of safety. For performers in immersives, however, there are only so many protections they can have. I am glad to read that there are options; but now they need to become available for a lower ticket price.
This is an interesting premise for a show, which I never knew really existed. I’d heard of mild audience interaction during a show, such as during The Show That Goes Wrong, but never to the extent that this article discusses. The issue this sort of interactive type of show presents, as discussed through the extent of this article, is the unpredictability of the audience the actors interact with. Ultimately, I think this tactic of providing personal alarm buttons will prove immensely useful, and would not be surprised if such a practice became standard for interactive shows such as this. It provides a sort of protection and immediate consequence to wrongful or inappropriate interaction, which generally in life tends to cut into the percentage of misdemeanors pretty heavily. Ultimately, I’m curious to see many things regarding these shows, though, between how the personalized alarm system works out, and how the immersive show itself is when in action.
As someone who worked at Sleep No More, this article made me happy to see a productive move toward actor safety in the realm of immersive theatre performances for a particular company. I’m always disappointed to hear the large number of incidents reported at Punchdrunk's production of Sleep No More. This will help company culture and retention. I was not even aware that there was an adaptation of the debauched memoir of former stockbroker Jordan Belfort. I loved the movie The Wolf of Wall Street, I can only imagine what an immersive performance of this man’s life would be like. Insanely wild. The fact that the team who produced The Great Gatsby is using that original production as a blueprint to make this second immersive production of The Wolf of Wall Street after is smart. They’re learning and improving from past mistakes. Cannot say the same for Punchdrunk and their productions.
In high school, I was exposed to a little bit of immersive theater, and I feel as if I am still very curious about this new way of presenting theatre to audiences. Personally, when I go to see theatre I really enjoy when I feel as if I exist within the world of the play, not when I feel as if I am outside observing. However, I have never thought of immersive theatre as something that could potentially be unsafe towards the actors or the audience members. There was a very interesting point brought up in which there was an instance in which the actors were in a room with a group of audience members in which radio signals were not working. At that point, from an acting perspective, you have to ask yourself where is the line between keeping the audience members safe while also staying in character. I also was extremely shocked to hear that some actors were sexually harassed during the show. At that point, I feel as if audience members are no longer respecting the art form. Overall, I think immersive theatre is very interesting and a very new way to connect more people to art, and I am happy to see that there are more protocols being put in place in order to keep all parties safe in the process.
I really love immersive theatre. I think it can really add to a show if it fits well with the tone. But this is always in the back of my mind when I go to immersive shows. I worry about the actors and other audience members. I think a lot of times people don’t view actors as humans, which is super disturbing. Actors are not their characters and they don’t have to put up with this. The idea that sometimes the security measures just stop working is very scary and obviously cannot happen. Things go wrong in live theatre all the time, but this is not something that can go wrong. When we, as professionals, decide what needs to be most securely in place, it’s often the things that can cause injury if they fall or malfunction. This is the same thing. Actor and audience safety needs to come before all aesthetic or technical choices. I was really surprised that I had never heard about the instances of sexual misconduct on Sleep No More, because I follow that show fairly closely. It’s impressive that it’s still running and I hope they’ve put more measures in place to prevent that. It’s really important that producers start taking security risks more seriously than just emailing out rules.
At first I thought that "The Wolf Of Wall Street" was being adapted into a regular play, not an immersive one, and I still had thoughts about how the sensitive material in the film would be portrayed. Then, as I kept reading and learning about the great amount of audience interaction, I became even more concerned for how that material would be displayed. I've never really been involved in immersive theatre. The most immersive "production" I can think of is a haunted house. I guess that's an applicable example because haunted houses are the poster children for sensitive material. I've always thought that it would be fun to act in one, but also, I have a looming fear of how the patrons would treat me. I seldom go into haunted houses that truly preface how I am supposed to interact (or not interact) with the actors. Before reading this article, I never really thought about what they go through as actors in an interactive piece with sensitive material because I am always so focused on how they are not allowed to treat me. With this in mind, I can absolutely understand how producers and cast members of this type of show are worried about violation from audience members.
In a world where immersive theatre seems to be more and more the norm, I think it’s important that we consider the safety of all participants: actors, technicians, audience members, etc. I think that providing actors with what are essentially panic buttons will prove to be exceptionally effective. I think that, at a certain ticket price, some audience members feel that they can do anything, including harass or assault the actors. Similarly, some productions attract people from buzz generated by shock factor. Sometimes, this includes providing the audience with some sense of fear or, at the very least, anticipation. Providing security and actors with an immediate action reaction response system to deal with any sort of uncomfortable experience for anyone. That being said, I’m so intrigued to see how this “The Wolf of Wall Street” adaptation translates to the stage. I absolutely loved the movie and am so intrigued by the concept of using that story in an interactive setting.
7 comments:
This article makes me think of a number of other different events. For one, the dance piece that was exorciated for having naked dancers crawl--without warning or ability to deny consent--over audience members. For another, the deep-dive horror immersives that are starting to gain popularity. Finally, on a basic level, there are more types of escape rooms than I can shake a stick at. Each of these has a certain level of vulnerability, or outright danger, for the participants or facilitators (perhaps with the exception of escape rooms). When the audience is expected to be physically vulnerable, they sign a waiver. There is also the general assumption that the business would be ruined if something crossed the line, so the facilitators are going to stay within a certain level of safety. For performers in immersives, however, there are only so many protections they can have. I am glad to read that there are options; but now they need to become available for a lower ticket price.
This is an interesting premise for a show, which I never knew really existed. I’d heard of mild audience interaction during a show, such as during The Show That Goes Wrong, but never to the extent that this article discusses. The issue this sort of interactive type of show presents, as discussed through the extent of this article, is the unpredictability of the audience the actors interact with.
Ultimately, I think this tactic of providing personal alarm buttons will prove immensely useful, and would not be surprised if such a practice became standard for interactive shows such as this. It provides a sort of protection and immediate consequence to wrongful or inappropriate interaction, which generally in life tends to cut into the percentage of misdemeanors pretty heavily. Ultimately, I’m curious to see many things regarding these shows, though, between how the personalized alarm system works out, and how the immersive show itself is when in action.
As someone who worked at Sleep No More, this article made me happy to see a productive move toward actor safety in the realm of immersive theatre performances for a particular company. I’m always disappointed to hear the large number of incidents reported at Punchdrunk's production of Sleep No More. This will help company culture and retention. I was not even aware that there was an adaptation of the debauched memoir of former stockbroker Jordan Belfort. I loved the movie The Wolf of Wall Street, I can only imagine what an immersive performance of this man’s life would be like. Insanely wild. The fact that the team who produced The Great Gatsby is using that original production as a blueprint to make this second immersive production of The Wolf of Wall Street after is smart. They’re learning and improving from past mistakes. Cannot say the same for Punchdrunk and their productions.
In high school, I was exposed to a little bit of immersive theater, and I feel as if I am still very curious about this new way of presenting theatre to audiences. Personally, when I go to see theatre I really enjoy when I feel as if I exist within the world of the play, not when I feel as if I am outside observing.
However, I have never thought of immersive theatre as something that could potentially be unsafe towards the actors or the audience members. There was a very interesting point brought up in which there was an instance in which the actors were in a room with a group of audience members in which radio signals were not working. At that point, from an acting perspective, you have to ask yourself where is the line between keeping the audience members safe while also staying in character. I also was extremely shocked to hear that some actors were sexually harassed during the show. At that point, I feel as if audience members are no longer respecting the art form. Overall, I think immersive theatre is very interesting and a very new way to connect more people to art, and I am happy to see that there are more protocols being put in place in order to keep all parties safe in the process.
I really love immersive theatre. I think it can really add to a show if it fits well with the tone. But this is always in the back of my mind when I go to immersive shows. I worry about the actors and other audience members. I think a lot of times people don’t view actors as humans, which is super disturbing. Actors are not their characters and they don’t have to put up with this. The idea that sometimes the security measures just stop working is very scary and obviously cannot happen. Things go wrong in live theatre all the time, but this is not something that can go wrong. When we, as professionals, decide what needs to be most securely in place, it’s often the things that can cause injury if they fall or malfunction. This is the same thing. Actor and audience safety needs to come before all aesthetic or technical choices. I was really surprised that I had never heard about the instances of sexual misconduct on Sleep No More, because I follow that show fairly closely. It’s impressive that it’s still running and I hope they’ve put more measures in place to prevent that. It’s really important that producers start taking security risks more seriously than just emailing out rules.
At first I thought that "The Wolf Of Wall Street" was being adapted into a regular play, not an immersive one, and I still had thoughts about how the sensitive material in the film would be portrayed. Then, as I kept reading and learning about the great amount of audience interaction, I became even more concerned for how that material would be displayed. I've never really been involved in immersive theatre. The most immersive "production" I can think of is a haunted house. I guess that's an applicable example because haunted houses are the poster children for sensitive material. I've always thought that it would be fun to act in one, but also, I have a looming fear of how the patrons would treat me. I seldom go into haunted houses that truly preface how I am supposed to interact (or not interact) with the actors. Before reading this article, I never really thought about what they go through as actors in an interactive piece with sensitive material because I am always so focused on how they are not allowed to treat me. With this in mind, I can absolutely understand how producers and cast members of this type of show are worried about violation from audience members.
In a world where immersive theatre seems to be more and more the norm, I think it’s important that we consider the safety of all participants: actors, technicians, audience members, etc. I think that providing actors with what are essentially panic buttons will prove to be exceptionally effective. I think that, at a certain ticket price, some audience members feel that they can do anything, including harass or assault the actors. Similarly, some productions attract people from buzz generated by shock factor. Sometimes, this includes providing the audience with some sense of fear or, at the very least, anticipation. Providing security and actors with an immediate action reaction response system to deal with any sort of uncomfortable experience for anyone. That being said, I’m so intrigued to see how this “The Wolf of Wall Street” adaptation translates to the stage. I absolutely loved the movie and am so intrigued by the concept of using that story in an interactive setting.
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