www.fastcompany.com: Fri (pronounced “Free”) Forjindam is co-owner and chief development officer for Mycotoo, a global entertainment development and production agency that creates award-winning destinations, from theme parks and live events to museums and immersive brand experiences worldwide. She spoke to Doreen Lorenzo for Designing Women, a series of interviews with brilliant women in the design industry.
8 comments:
I was incredibly inspired by Fri saying that themed entertainment is all about making a space where people feel safe enough to let their guard down, and in many cases - suspend their disbelief. When lockdowns first began, I felt so uncomfortable even going outside to take out the trash or mail a letter - and even now, it’s difficult to feel secure in public spaces - because you feel as if you are putting yourself, and others, at risk. By now, people have also gotten far too used to accessing everything in their homes. While the experience is different if you go in person (such as themed Comic Con escape room or museum), we have begun to expect it to be remotely accessible. That means we will probably see far more virtual, immersive experiences in the coming years. It’s nice to hear that creative companies are aware of this shift, yet still maintain their original goals.
It is always fascinating to me how broad of a category theater can be. It can be anything from a traditional play to an immersive experience. It is anything that you make it. I think ultimately though they have the same end goal of a play to communicate experiences and emotions or to evoke those. A place where people feel comfortable to lose themselves in another world. The places where people feel comfortable has evolved. The areas where I feel comfortable and safe have definitely diminished because of the pandemic. Theater especially must adapt to people's comfort levels and new environments. I think that in the time being this means more virtual shows. I feel though however, it is very difficult to be fully immersed in something that is a video or zoom call. But I think right now this is all that we can do and so it must be embraced and optimised to the best of its capability.
Ten out of ten to this lady. The idea of safety inside of theme parks is something I had never put into words before, but that explanation totally clicks. Thinking back to when I was a kid and went to Disneyland with my family, I have such clear memories of the magic of seeing grown adults fully dressed up for dapper days or as their favorite characters. Running around amusement parks was always such an awesome thing because it feels like nothing can go wrong in these spaces, you have total freedom to let everything be light and easy in these spaces. Fri’s journey to her position at Mycotoo is incredible. She is driven, powerful, and adaptable. She has found ways to take advantage of every stage in her career, and clearly the tremendous amount of work she has done has supported her in achieving her goals. She is so mindful of the history of her industry, while guiding it into the future to ensure it stays successful and relevant.
Fri Forjindam’s story of a 3-person company working out of a garage to Mycotoo which does theme park design and entertainment development is an incredibly inspiring one, I’d highly recommend reading this article! What really struck me was the company’s design process always starts with the vision and the “why”- what do they want the audience to feel? Especially as they have continued designing during the pandemic, they are having to think about how to make the audience feel safe, and follow healthy guidelines of course. I think what got me thinking the most in this article was the fact that they are focused on creating story, but instead of on a stage, they are doing it through interactive rides, games, stores, and some use of staged plays. It is an entirely different form of theater, but it still has the same story-telling aspect that we think about in every play or musical.
What an interesting perspective of a theme park designer talking about her design process and how the pandemic has affected her industry. This article brought to light the fact that most designers, regardless of medium, have a similar design process that is centered around a vision for how one wants to tell a story. It is interesting that she had a background in theatre and moved into the theme park industry, but she uses her knowledge of storytelling in theatre in her projects. It’s an inspirational interview about a Cambodian born and raised immigrant designer who has pushed the envelope for BIPOC designers and went into a field that was not that prominent where she grew up. What I found the most interesting in the article was when she defined theme park design as a multidisciplinary process that starts from blank page to opening day, where master-planned concepts are envisioned, rides and attractions are conceived, and an overarching story that speaks to the vision comes alive.
Cmon West Africa!!!! Fri is a true inspiration to black designers and entrepreneurs. The care and detail she puts into her company, the people she works with, and the park visitors is so admiring. Her plans for theme park safety, before, during, and after the pandemic, are so well communicated within this interview. The importance of that, like Emma said, is something I never really put into words or thought about. I knew about SXSWestworld because I absolutely love the show, and had no idea about the company behind it. When she talked about how hard her mother hustled to get her business off the ground reminds me of exactly how I secretly admired my own mom over the years. A black mother’s love and influence grows inside young black women for a lifetime and it truly shows here. I’m so excited to start keeping tabs on this company and their future endeavors during and after the pandemic.
I think theme park shows as a whole are often overlooked in the theatre community when considering where one wants to end up. So many people shoot for Broadway so they end up starting in New York and attempting to work their way up from there, but the life of designing and managing in theme parks is actually super valuable and has great connections all around. A few years ago I actually spoke to a choreographer named Lindsay who happened to be a dancer at Disney World Orlando, and she was explaining how many positions for backstage theatre there were in the parks that nobody really realizes how important it is. For example, every live show that happens at Disney has a cue caller behind it, which is both interesting and insane to think about. That alone, opens so many doors for eventually working on a Disney musical production, thus becoming a different track to get to Broadway.
It's honestly fascinating to me to read about Fri Forjindam's experiences in design and creative storytelling. I feel like theme parks and corporate events are so often not looked at when someone talks about the entertainment industry, yet both are extremely commonplace in our lives. It's also extremely compelling to have the chance to create a truly immersive experience for an audience. It is one of the truest expressions of art I could think of. Storytelling can be done in so many different forms, and that's something that people can often lose sight of. I also think that these types of storytelling can offer unique solutions to our current issues with the pandemic, as Forjindam addresses in the interview. One thing is obvious: the notion of theater and art as a whole will dramatically shift after this pandemic has ended.
Post a Comment