Anna in the Tropics

          From the moment an audience member stepped into the theatre, they were made very aware that viewing the play, Anna in the Tropics, would be far from the experience of watching a film. Walking into the theatre you found that the flooring of the stage was at ground level with the front row, and the floor treatment extended out into the entry way and right up to the audiences feet. This immediately brought the audience into the life of the play and set the tone before the play had even begun, in a way a movie never could.

          Further immersing the audience, the stage was set up in a thrust formation with audience members on three sides of the stage. Additionally, the set brought the viewers in with more than just the flooring. The pillars of the "cigar factory" extended out into and around the seat-banks and the ceiling fans hung above really seemed to tie everything together. This was also enhanced once the play began. The actors entered from all sides of the audience, and certain actions that took place off set could be heard around you. For example, when the family goes outside to fire gun shots in celebration, the sound is created right where they exited and makes the audience feel as if they are workers in the factory participating in this event.

          Before that, right off from the first scene, the play began to demonstrate characteristics unique to the theatre. The first scene took place at two different locations: a ship yard and a cock-fighting ring. In a movie the film would simply cut from place to place, yet in a play the director is left with the decision on how to handle this obstacle. In this instance, rather than having the actors enter and exit the stage, what differentiated the two places were the actors (who gave hints about their location and froze when the focus was on the other scene) and the lighting that came up only on the scene in action. Similar conventions were used throughout the play. While a majority of the play took place in a factory, there were several other locations where scenes took place, yet the whole set never changed. Aided by the actors and lighting, by just moving furniture around a believably new or different place could be established.

          The one thing that stood out the most as something that could never been done with a film was when they smoked a cigar. At the celebration for the new cigar brand, they light up and smoke the first cigar of its kind, and the actors literally lit up and smoked a real cigar on stage. You could smell the thick aroma of the cigar as the smoke billowed out into the air and into the audience.         

          On a different note, the fact that the audience was so close to the performance, rather than safely disconnected by a screen, certain material seemed to have a heightened effect. Many audience members felt uncomfortable with a woman making out with a shirtless man on stage. This is rather entertaining when one considers the strong sexual presence in the media we are surrounded by every day. Just because the actors were so close, in the same room, countless viewers found it inappropriate.

          In conclusion, these may have been actors playing characters acting out imaginary circumstances just like in a film, yet the overall experience is very different. Most movie-goers expect a very believable and realistic presentation. When experiencing a play, on the other hand, much is left up to the imagination. It is up to the audience to except and buy in to the "reality" of the play.

Works Cited

Double Journey, 11 Jan. 2008. Web. 24 Oct. 2003. <http://www.doublejourney.com/2008/01/11/cuban-cigars-suck/>.

Felner, Mira, and Claudia Orenstein. The World of Theatre: Tradition and Innovation. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2006. Print.

Theatre Arts at Daytona State College, 15 Oct. 2010. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. < http://daytonastatetheatre.blogspot.com/>

Alternate Performance Methods: Playback Theatre

           Playback theatre is a unique art form that combines both storytelling and collaborative theatre. It unites the audience members and the performers in an interesting collaboration. Audience members are selected one at a time to share a story from their life. These stories can be any experience the person wishes to share from the mundane to the extraordinary, tragic to comedic, recent to remote, and anything in between. They next choose which performers will play the roles mentioned in their story. Then, the story is enacted and improvised on the spot. A non-naturalist approach is most often used in the re-creation of the stories. The performers often employ chorus, metaphor, narration, song, and movement to portray the story. 

          In the picture to the left we can see the basic set up of a playback theatre stage. While it may vary from place to place and production to production, the performers are usually only aided by basic props such as wooden boxes, musical instruments, and pieces of cloth.  Two chairs are usually set up somewhere on the stage for "the conductor" and "the teller".

          The conductor acts as a host or emcee. This person is responsible for selecting the audience members that will share their stories, or the tellers. Once a person has been chosen, the conductor will invite them onto the stage to share their story. The conductor will act as interpreter asking questions to clarify parts of the story. They are also responsible for moving the auidence members through the process keeping them informed and involved.

        The following video has clips from one night of playback theater done by Playback Theater West of Boulder, Colorado. It further illuminates what you could expect to see and experience at a playback production. 

          Furthermore, playback theatre is not your average improvisational theatre. The content is all true human events that have been experienced by someone who is present. Playback theatre isn't done just for laughs, it is a tool used to find the true heart of a story and to see things from a new prospective and in different ways. By seeing ourselves in others we are able to gain insight and build community. Because of this, playback theatre companies often have themed productions getting stories from different people on the same event, subject, tragedy or so on. This can also serve as a coping and rebuilding mechanism for many people.
          While playback theatre is a relatively a new form, first founded in 1975 by Jonathan Fox and Jo Salas, below we can see it has spread internationally. The first company, titled just Playback Theatre Company, was located in New York State just north of New York City. As shown in the map below this original company inspired many followers.

View Playback Theatre in a larger map