DC Theater Arts: Bob Bartlett, Maryland-based playwright and longtime professor of theater at Bowie State University, is no stranger to staging his work in unusual locations. A few years ago, he premiered his time-bending romantic comedy, The Accident Bear, which sold out its five-
week run to critical acclaim, at a working coin-operated laundromat in historic downtown Annapolis, Maryland.
7 comments:
I’m not saying I think ghosts or werewolves are real, because they’re not. But if they WERE real, this production would really be asking for it. Especially so close to Halloween?? Anyway, I love the commitment to site-specific theatre, and I think the intimate setting with only 25 audience members has the chance to be really powerful. The fact that they are willing to play to so small an audience if that’s what’s best for the production and means they get to use this venue is very telling––art isn’t always about reaching the most people or making the most money. Sometimes it’s about doing something because it’s new and exciting and it will be good. I wonder what the technical setup looks like. I’m also interested to hear that this is not the Congressional Cemetery’s first foray into being a home for theatre. I never would have thought that that was a common thing, for a cemetery, but like yes go off.
Am I the only one who thinks this is potentially highly disrespectful? Don't get me wrong, I LOVE site-specific theatre, I think it is a very powerful and beautiful thing, if done well. But graveyards, especially active graveyards, at night, are sacred. People are buried in graveyards to be laid to rest, and they are solemn places. I understand the Congressional Cemetary is a unique place, and they frequently host tours and events, which is a separate thing, but theatrical productions with lighting and sound systems, heavy metal music, and 25 guests who are going there to be entertained more than qualifies as a disturbance of the peace, and there is a high probability that this production, or seating, could take place on top of burial sites, unmarked graves, and overall hallowed land. The article doesn't say anything about whether or not the families of those buried gave permission for this event, and if they did, it makes it a lot more ethical, but overall I feel this is disrespectful to the dead. Especially on all hallows eve, the night that, in some cultures, souls come back to visit the earth. I will admit, I am a superstitious person, but as cool of an idea as this is, I think that some places should be left untouched by modern entertainment. (It's not as bad as using a cemetery for a campaign though, I will give them that.)
I wish there were more opportunities to work on/see immersive theater. There are so many conventions of performance that you don’t think to challenge: the location, the role of the audience, the narrative structure…once you start playing with these elements and thinking about what is essential to theatre vs. what is not, you can start having a lot of fun. I’m doing a project on Ntozake Shange for Antiracist Theater, and I think her work with choreopoems falls into this category. Her work helped popularize works of theatre that didn’t follow a linear storyline or include set characters. Obviously she wasn’t the first, but seeing her work on Broadway and in the mainstream led people to reconsider what theater COULD be. What Alex Levy is doing with Lýkos Ánthrōpos is another example of this. By challenging people to experience theatre outside of a traditional performance venue (especially considering that this production was such a success) he’s encouraging audiences to broaden their horizons and continue supporting artists who break conventions.
I really enjoy hearing about truly interactive forms of theater. When shows such as Lýkos Ánthrōpos are written to solely be performed in a specific place audiences are given the opportunity to connect with a piece deeper than they ever have before. In a horror play written to be performed only in a cemetery audiences are able to connect with the space around them and better immerse themselves in the world allowing for reality and fantasy to fade into one. This idea can be used in any way whether it leads to theater being performed in the middle of the woods or just on the city streets. But no matter where the pieces are performed, as long as they are written to connect the audiences and character to the specific space, viewers will be more immersed and connected to the world within the art.
Look I'm a fan of immersion. Especially in theater. But I'm not so sure about this specific site. Graveyards are a place where people can be remembered. It's a place with loved ones go to mourn or celebrate people's lives. I'm not saying nothing fun can happen in a cemetery, what I am saying is that Maybe it's not a place for Theatre. I could see this being just as effective with a fake graveyard outdoors in a park somewhere. But I don't think they need to be in a real and historic graveyard. It comes off as very disrespectful for me. And reminds meof the canceled Disney park that was scheduled to Beacon construction about an hour south of DC. People didn't like Disney, so close to DC, where historical moments and sites could be cartoon-ized or Disney-fied. Now a short term theater run is not an amusement park. and there's, I imagine, no permanent structure being added to the cemetery. So the two examples are definitely not parallels. But I don't think the cemetery should be a site if anything other than a place to remember those who have passed on. I have to imagine folks with a family buried there, and how they might feel about it. And I'm just not sure. I just think, with all the boundaries to push in Theatre, I don't think performing in graveyards is one we need to push. This industry has wonderful, scenic artists and prop artisans. I'm sure they could help come up with something similar out in a park. I just don't think this is necessary.
Sarah Pearce^
The location is definitely adding a lot to this production, while a show or a cemetery can be spooky individually, putting together the location and horror genre adds a lot to the atmosphere of the performance. The history of the cemetery brings an old and dilapidated feeling to showgoers, especially with them having to walk as a guided group through the cemetery to arrive at the performance space. The show itself seems really cool, I’ve never seen a show in the category of physiological horror, but I would love the chance to experience a play like Lýkos Ánthrōpos.
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