AMERICAN THEATRE: To say that the mission and priorities of the average theatre company have changed in the past few years is a gross understatement. From navigating staffing and programming upheavals due to the pandemic, to suddenly becoming the bellwethers of health and safety strategy, to interrogating internal power structures within our organizations following both the #MeToo movement and the racial justice uprising in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, we have seen an unprecedented shift in culture that would have been hard to fathom just two short years ago.
2 comments:
I think that this is a huge step forward in human-centered design. Looking back on it, I've never been in a lobby that was made to spent time in. Even at a commercial venue like AMC theaters, there's extremely minimal accommodations for people to stay in the lobby as a space to spend time. Granted, they do have some activity spaces (such as a photobooth and a small arcade), but these spaces aren't meant for guests to stay a long time. Making lobbies into comfortable spaces that accommodate community events and gatherings is long overdue. I think it'd also make the post-show experience more enjoyable for theaters. Rather than scrambling to get out and go home, or else stand around awkwardly, lobbies could be a place to unwind after a show or connect with other audience members.
I also think the National Black Theater in Harlem's decision to make the lobby a dramaturgical space is really cool. I know we do some displays like that at Purnell shows (the central sticky note structure for Power/Trip comes to mind), and it surprised me a bit to hear that this would be a new thing for professional theaters to take on.
For some reason, this reminded me a lot of one of the many conversations happening around urban planning. Although dependent on your general area, it can be safely said that the United State’s infrastructure is built to accommodate cars and not people. This is for a plethora of reasons, but the point stands that people cannot get around their cities or towns without a car; sidewalks are nonexistent, crosswalks are essentially useless due to a lack of stoplights, public transport is unreliable and not often helpful, etc. This is like our current design of lobbies. I have had the luck to have been around spaces with nice lobbies, proper spaces with tables and at least a concession stand in which the box office, theater doors, and restrooms were all within view of one another. I think that the probability of more people being involved in the theater would increase if there was a point made that they belonged in this space, and it is not only reserved for those in the know.
Post a Comment