Interactive theatre

Interactive theatre is a presentational or theatrical form or work that breaks the "fourth wall" that traditionally separates the performer from the audience both physically and verbally.

In traditional theatre, performance is limited to a designated stage area and the action of the play unfolds without any interplay with audience members, who function as passive observers. Conversely, in interactive theatre, the performance engages audience members directly, making them active participants in the piece. Interactive theatre often goes hand in hand with immersive theatre, which brings the audience into the same playing space as the performers, obliterating any walls that separate the audience from the performers. They may be asked to hold props, supply performance suggestions (as in improvisational theatre), share the action's real-world (non-theatrical) setting (as in Site specific theatre and immersive theatre), or become characters in the performance. In addition the audience may be asked to participate in altering the course of the play altogether by taking part in a collective vote to help steer the plot in a new direction, as with Augusto Boal's forum theatre. In therapeutic and educational settings, the audience may even be invited to discuss pertinent issues with the performers.

Theatre companies and shows that regularly utilize audiences in an interactive fashion within their performances include The Second City, pH, Supernatural Chicago, Dungeonmaster, Mystery on the Lake Productions, and Walkabout Theater.

Examples

Precursors

There have been several stage shows where audience members can actively alter the plot. Examples include:

Types of interactive theater

See also

References

  1. ↑ Tom Gheier. "Sleep No More (2011)". Entertainment Weekly.
  2. ↑ Ben Brantley. "Shakespeare Slept Here, Albeit Fitfully". The New York Times.
  3. ↑ Zimbardo, Philip (2012-09-14). "Fear Thy Nature: A New Freakonomics Radio Podcast". Freakonomics podcast. the performers start walking on the seats over your head and walking down the aisles. And that, I had never experienced that before. It was really troubling, exhilarating, confusing, because, again “Hair” was going to confuse you. They’re going to sing songs about masturbation, and black girls having sex with white guys, black guys having sex with…You know, so essentially, before the play began what they did is set up to say this is going to shock you, this is going to be off your usual radar. So don’t come expecting, you know, traditional theater.
  4. ↑ "66 Minutes in Damascus, Shoreditch Town Hall - Review".
  5. ↑ Hanselman, Scott (2007-06-12). "The Boomerang Kid - You'll Keep Coming Back". Los Angeles: Splash Magazine. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012.
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