Scene By Scene
Act One - Pre-Set
Intention: Having generated a series of questions based around our Grund Gestus, actors will mix with the audience in the bar area and ask them their thoughts on the play and issues using the questions. In the theatre actors will be playing folk songs that the audience can listen to. This will create a different dynamic and break down the separation between actors and audience while also allowing the actors to direct the audience towards what they should be considering during the show.
Outcome
I am really pleased with the survey portion of the performance. It is interesting to see the responses of the audience in the bar and auditorium when they are approached by the actors. You can see their expectations being challenged; they’re thinking ‘actors aren’t supposed to do this’. Which is great, beginning to break down the barriers between actors and audience before the play has begun. During the feedback part there is a great sense of the audience having some ownership of that evening’s performance, heightening the sense of the breakdown of separation between actor and performer.
The music also works well in setting up the performance. It’s interesting to see the audience entering the auditorium and almost taking a step back with surprise, this confounding of expectation works well for us. It also signals a sense of the ownership of the performance by the audience. A few times the actors have been unsure what to do if the audience choose to talk through the songs – and I have had to tell them it’s the audience’s choice as it’s their show.