The Theatre Times: This year, the University of Arizona School of Theatre, Film & Television partnered with The Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre to present From the Fishbowl, a new fantastical work devised in collaboration with Theatre Studies and Design & Technical Production students and directed by illusionist and physical theatre creator Wolfe Bowart. Created during the winter of the pandemic, the production features seven actors gliding magically and seamlessly between stage and screen as they explore what it means to live in a world that has become both socially distant and yet somehow more personal.
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As unfortunate as it is that we haven't been able to enjoy life theater as of late, it is cool to see a production centered around the experimentation that has come of this time. Especially when being focused so heavily on design, which we often don't see on commercial stages. I hadn't really thought about this before but I think the pandemic is really going to cause a rise in the prevalence of VMD in theater. It has always had some presence, but now I feel so many people have been kind of forced into media design, and have learned so much more about what it can do for a play. Some thing else I hadn't thought of about a specifically virtual theater, is that it, in a way, breaks down the barrier between the audience and actors because there is no stage. This is especially the case if the virtual play is set up to look like you're on a video call. It's a lot like those horror films/experiences that are made to look like you are on a video chat with people.
This seems so cool. As much as I know all my actor friends love a blank stage and a single light, there is something so fascinating about starting with the design and working backwards. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen an original piece of professionally produced theatre that has been approached this way. I guess the origin of a play is a playwright and it's not their job to think about design. But I just love this process that was created where the play was written and designed simultaneously, so they could feed off one another. I wonder if this made it easier to have a coherent final product or, since so little had been decided it was difficult to come to any conclusions. With all the freedom in the world to create something I would instantly run out of ideas. But with a script to build off of from the beginning it would probably be a lot more straightforward. I would be very curious to know exactly how decisions were finalized and how all those involved would reflect on the process.
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