When first thinking about what we wanted to base our performance around we knew we wanted to include some kind of technology but we wanted to understand exactly how technology should be used in a performance. We spent time researching different theatre companies that based their performances around technology and this allowed us to evolve our ideas into something we could transfer into performance.
Blast Theory
“Blast Theory is renowned internationally as one of the most adventurous artists’ groups using interactive media, creating groundbreaking new forms of performance and interactive art that mixes audiences across the internet, live performance and digital broadcasting….the group’s work explores interactivity and the social and political aspects of technology.” (Blast Theory, 2012)
I’d Hide You is one of Blast Theory’s most innovative pieces. It is based around the notion of online gaming and virtual reality, really pushing the boundaries of technology within performance. I found this piece of work very inspiring and thought the way they made their audience the center of the game very interesting. As well as the technology being key to this performance, so was the audience (participants) and this is something that I had not seen before in any performance. When discussing this with the group we all agreed that that we wanted the audience to be very involved in our performance as well as the technology.
Gob Squad
We then moved on to thinking about what kind of technology should be used in our performance and this brought us on to looking at Gob Squad.
“We try and explore the point where theatre meets art, media and real life. As well as theatres and galleries, we place our work at the heart of urban life – in houses, shops, underground stations, car parks, hotels or directly on the street.” (Gob Squad, 2012)
The use of headphones in the performances Gob Squad’s Kitchen (You’ve Never Had It So Good) and We Are Gob Squad And So Are You was interesting in the fact that they told the participating audience members what to do through the headphones. I like the idea of headphones because I feel that it creates a very intimate experience between the audience member and the voice they are listening to. We decided as a group that we wanted to include something like this in our devised performance but we felt that for our piece to be original and experimental we needed something else.
We became interested in the idea of exploring the five senses or what happens when we take away a vital sense like sight. Could this dramatically change a performance for not only the audience members but also us as performers?
Claire Partington
Works Cited
Blast Theory (2012) About Blast Theory, Online: http://www.blasttheory.co.uk/bt/about.html (accessed 6 November 2012)
Gob Squad (2012) About Us, Online: http://www.gobsquad.com/about-us (accessed 6 November 2012)
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