What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1318249
DECEMBER 13-19, 2020 WHAT'S UP! 5 Four Minutes, Four Questions Erika Wilhite, ALT LARA JO HIGHTOWER NWA Democrat-Gazette T he Artist's Laboratory Theatre isn't letting covid-19 stop its actors from bringing their own particular brand of community-based, site-specific theater to Northwest Arkansas. The project they've been working on for two years now, "Good Person of South Fayetteville," has been postponed for the duration of the pandemic — but they've still figured out a way to share a collection of performances devised from the play online, says ALT Executive Director Erika Wilhite. "These events are stand-alone, meaning you don't have to know the history of the project or the plot of the play to have a full experience," says Wilhite of "Adventus: Secret Theatre." "If you do follow the project and the performances related, you get to be a part of a larger unfolding of a world we've created for the play — an imaginary religion with a caveat 'prophecy.' Eventually we will produce 'Good Person of South Fayetteville' in person and hope to create some momentum for when we finally do." Wilhite says the notion of "Secret Theatre" is not a new one for ALT. "For many years, ALT produced Secret Theatre as a 'venue' for the work we were currently developing," she says. "We have always produced plays that took a while to develop, so we'd use Secret Theatre to try out ideas and to experiment with things like immersive and site-specific staging and character development. Secret Theatre was always for small audiences, and the 'secret' was what the performance would be, and often even the venue of the event until the last moment. In a way, we have returned to our roots: shoestring budgets and buckets of creativity." Wilhite answered some questions about the project for What's Up! Q. ALT has been working on "Good Person of South Fayetteville" for quite some time now — can you give a brief overview of the project, how long it's been in production, and where in the process you expected to be at this point? A. We developed the play over a two-year research process that included interviews, focus groups and community conversations about homelessness and housing insecurity. During the script development process, we shared the play with audiences through staged readings and a workshop production. We were meant to produce the premiere of the play in 2020, and as a result of the pandemic, we had to rethink how to share the story with our community at this time. The play is site-specific and takes place on Ozark Regional Transit and at locations throughout South Fayetteville, such as a laundromat, a park, parking lots and a residential home. We decided to postpone the full production until it is safe to convene again in groups. Meanwhile, we have devised performances based on the characters and circumstances of the play for 4X4 FAQ 'Adventus: Secret Theatre' WHEN — 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. today (Dec. 13) and Dec. 17- 20; noon and 2 p.m. Dec. 19- 20; 7 p.m. Dec. 31 WHERE — The Artist's Labora- tory Theatre online COST — Free INFO — artlabtheatre.com See Wilhite Page 6 "Though these circumstances pose a challenge to connect with audiences who do not have access to the internet through a computer or device, we have seen accessibility increase for folks who can't physically attend a show due to numerous reasons," says ALT founder Erika Wilhite of online performances. "But [there's] also an opportunity to create intimacy between strangers in a time when many of us cannot be in the same space with strangers." (NWA Democrat-Gazette File Photo/J.T. Wampler)