Tomorrow's Child--
Thanks for the really lovely welcome back comments on my last post, folks. That was really sweet of you! ♥
Obviously, I'm still stumbling towards making LJ a habit again. Baby steps, right?
Tonight was really nice. brodeurbunny30 gifted me with tickets to a show for my birthday, and to that end, we went to Vertigo Theatre this evening to see an adaptation of Ray Bradbury's Tomorrow's Child.
Here's the description:
IN THE STUDIO
JAN. 12 to 17, 2016
Ghost River Theatre’s TOMORROW’S CHILD
Presented by Vertigo Theatre & One Yellow Rabbit
Adapted from the Ray Bradbury Story by Matthew Waddell, Eric Rose and David van Belle
AN UNFORGETTABLE AUDIO EXPERIENCE CREATED FOR A BLINDFOLDED AUDIENCE
This new adaptation of sci-fi giant Ray Bradbury’s short story Tomorrow’s Child is a one-of-a-kind, audio-only theatre experience presented to a blindfolded audience. The quirks of ‘50s sci-fi are reimagined for a highly immersive sonic environment, created with the latest in sound technology.
Part of the 30th annual High Performance Rodeo, Calgary’s International Festival of the Arts.
Based on the short story “Tomorrow’s Child” by Ray Bradbury, originally published as “The Shape of Things” ©1947; renewed 1975 by Ray Bradbury. Performed by permission of Don Congdon Associates, Inc.
High Performance Rodeo pieces tend to lean towards the avant garde, and this was no exception. After the main actors came out into the lobby in labcoats and gave us a little introductory talk, we were encouraged to break ourselves into groups of five, and then when called upon, we were to put on our blindfolds and put our hands on the shoulders of the person in front of us. We were then led inside the theatre and exceptionally gently lead to our seats.
What followed was an hour of really fascinating uses of sound, volume and direction to create the narrative of "Tomorrow's Child." I'd wondered aloud earlier if people unintentionally fell asleep in the performance -- especially since both myself and brodeurbunny30 were pretty damn tired -- but you'd have to be ready to pass out to sleep through that. While the storyline is pretty straightforward, the way they layered dialogue and used sound to create images was just... They did an exceptional job, and it was totally worth it.
We had been directed to take off our masks at the end at the same time as one main character tells another to take them off, and that was the only visual portion (outside of the labcoated folks). It was a really interesting climax for what was an odd, but exceptionally worthwhile experience. (I don't want to give much away, but if you've read "Tomorrow's Child," you know the story. I found, in the end, the experience was far more about how they crafted the story and atmosphere than the actual narrative itself.)
Outside of experiencing the story through sound alone, though, what I also found interesting was the idea that the actors were watching us, rather than the audience watching them. We had been told that if we found the experience too uncomfortable/overwhelming, we were to remove our blindfold, raise our hand, and one of them would come over and escort us out (with no option of returning, presumably to minimize disruptions/not spoil the end reveal). While I didn't really think about them watching us much, the sound system was so good that you could feel vibrations as dialogue and effects moved between speakers, and at one point, there's a series of footfalls as a couple characters walk around, and that was the point that weirded me out the most, since it felt like someone was standing in front of me and just slightly to the left.
Apparently "Tomorrow's Child" is part of a Six Senses series, and next year, they're going to be putting on a performance centered on touch. Provided it's about audiences experiencing textures and not being felt up by actors, I think it might be worth looking into. ^_^
This is the second theatre performance I've been to in about three months, after a long dry spell, and it's honestly a really welcome return (kind of like being on LJ again ^_~). I hope to pay a little more attention to what's playing around town, and actually go to more live performances more often. Totally worth it, and I'm so grateful to brodeurbunny30 for taking me. ^_^
Obviously, I'm still stumbling towards making LJ a habit again. Baby steps, right?
Tonight was really nice. brodeurbunny30 gifted me with tickets to a show for my birthday, and to that end, we went to Vertigo Theatre this evening to see an adaptation of Ray Bradbury's Tomorrow's Child.
Here's the description:
IN THE STUDIO
JAN. 12 to 17, 2016
Ghost River Theatre’s TOMORROW’S CHILD
Presented by Vertigo Theatre & One Yellow Rabbit
Adapted from the Ray Bradbury Story by Matthew Waddell, Eric Rose and David van Belle
AN UNFORGETTABLE AUDIO EXPERIENCE CREATED FOR A BLINDFOLDED AUDIENCE
This new adaptation of sci-fi giant Ray Bradbury’s short story Tomorrow’s Child is a one-of-a-kind, audio-only theatre experience presented to a blindfolded audience. The quirks of ‘50s sci-fi are reimagined for a highly immersive sonic environment, created with the latest in sound technology.
Part of the 30th annual High Performance Rodeo, Calgary’s International Festival of the Arts.
Based on the short story “Tomorrow’s Child” by Ray Bradbury, originally published as “The Shape of Things” ©1947; renewed 1975 by Ray Bradbury. Performed by permission of Don Congdon Associates, Inc.
High Performance Rodeo pieces tend to lean towards the avant garde, and this was no exception. After the main actors came out into the lobby in labcoats and gave us a little introductory talk, we were encouraged to break ourselves into groups of five, and then when called upon, we were to put on our blindfolds and put our hands on the shoulders of the person in front of us. We were then led inside the theatre and exceptionally gently lead to our seats.
What followed was an hour of really fascinating uses of sound, volume and direction to create the narrative of "Tomorrow's Child." I'd wondered aloud earlier if people unintentionally fell asleep in the performance -- especially since both myself and brodeurbunny30 were pretty damn tired -- but you'd have to be ready to pass out to sleep through that. While the storyline is pretty straightforward, the way they layered dialogue and used sound to create images was just... They did an exceptional job, and it was totally worth it.
We had been directed to take off our masks at the end at the same time as one main character tells another to take them off, and that was the only visual portion (outside of the labcoated folks). It was a really interesting climax for what was an odd, but exceptionally worthwhile experience. (I don't want to give much away, but if you've read "Tomorrow's Child," you know the story. I found, in the end, the experience was far more about how they crafted the story and atmosphere than the actual narrative itself.)
Outside of experiencing the story through sound alone, though, what I also found interesting was the idea that the actors were watching us, rather than the audience watching them. We had been told that if we found the experience too uncomfortable/overwhelming, we were to remove our blindfold, raise our hand, and one of them would come over and escort us out (with no option of returning, presumably to minimize disruptions/not spoil the end reveal). While I didn't really think about them watching us much, the sound system was so good that you could feel vibrations as dialogue and effects moved between speakers, and at one point, there's a series of footfalls as a couple characters walk around, and that was the point that weirded me out the most, since it felt like someone was standing in front of me and just slightly to the left.
Apparently "Tomorrow's Child" is part of a Six Senses series, and next year, they're going to be putting on a performance centered on touch. Provided it's about audiences experiencing textures and not being felt up by actors, I think it might be worth looking into. ^_^
This is the second theatre performance I've been to in about three months, after a long dry spell, and it's honestly a really welcome return (kind of like being on LJ again ^_~). I hope to pay a little more attention to what's playing around town, and actually go to more live performances more often. Totally worth it, and I'm so grateful to brodeurbunny30 for taking me. ^_^