Comment related to preview tonight, not video... I want to reiterate - great work! This show made me think about a lot of things. There was one thing I thought about after the talk back was over, so I decided to share here... It's about the 4th wall in promenade and how the audience is used and related to. Looking back, it was inconsistent, which wasn't confusing as an audience member, but it take me out of the show for a moment as I noticed the differences. I'm not sure if it'd be possible to make it consistent without losing things, but it's interesting to think about. The biggest time I felt like I was in the scene and the actors were aware of me was when Alex and the priest were trying to talk privately. We were very clearly people who you were trying not to let hear (while obviously also letting hear since we're the audience...). But there were many times when the actors pretended I wasn't there. I felt very much in the actors space physically, which I was hyper aware of since it was so different than normal, and I thought in the moment about how they were doing a really good job of keeping focus and not breaking the fourth wall. But since this is promenade and it's undeniable that the audience's energy is right there in the actor's faces, it felt a little weird to me as an audience member to be completely ignored. And then the first scene was a little bit of both. And when actors, especially as guards had to move through the audience they obviously had to interact and it worked great for their character. It didn't bother me too much in the moment of the play that it was inconsistent, but it did stand out as very clearly one thing in some moments and then very clearly something else in others. So I don't know if some things would be stronger if the audience was used more - as people on the street being nosy, or new guys walking around the jail to glare at when they catch your eye - or if that's impossible for some scenes, and also not something you'd want to change so late in the game. But anyway, I just loved that there was so much in the production that made me think! Thanks, good work! --Maria Benson
Comment related to preview tonight, not video...
ReplyDeleteI want to reiterate - great work! This show made me think about a lot of things. There was one thing I thought about after the talk back was over, so I decided to share here...
It's about the 4th wall in promenade and how the audience is used and related to. Looking back, it was inconsistent, which wasn't confusing as an audience member, but it take me out of the show for a moment as I noticed the differences. I'm not sure if it'd be possible to make it consistent without losing things, but it's interesting to think about. The biggest time I felt like I was in the scene and the actors were aware of me was when Alex and the priest were trying to talk privately. We were very clearly people who you were trying not to let hear (while obviously also letting hear since we're the audience...). But there were many times when the actors pretended I wasn't there. I felt very much in the actors space physically, which I was hyper aware of since it was so different than normal, and I thought in the moment about how they were doing a really good job of keeping focus and not breaking the fourth wall. But since this is promenade and it's undeniable that the audience's energy is right there in the actor's faces, it felt a little weird to me as an audience member to be completely ignored. And then the first scene was a little bit of both. And when actors, especially as guards had to move through the audience they obviously had to interact and it worked great for their character. It didn't bother me too much in the moment of the play that it was inconsistent, but it did stand out as very clearly one thing in some moments and then very clearly something else in others. So I don't know if some things would be stronger if the audience was used more - as people on the street being nosy, or new guys walking around the jail to glare at when they catch your eye - or if that's impossible for some scenes, and also not something you'd want to change so late in the game. But anyway, I just loved that there was so much in the production that made me think! Thanks, good work! --Maria Benson