What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1318249
audiences to experience remotely. "Good Person of South Fayetteville" is an adaptation/deconstruction of "Good Person of Sezchuan" by Bertolt Brecht. The premise of the play hinges on the arrival of three deities who will be looking for a "Good Person," who audiences are tasked with finding as the story unfolds. In "Adventus: Secret Theatre," we have taken ingredients from the play — the setting, the conflict, a few characters — and created intimate, immersive performances on Zoom, SMS and Instagram. Q. The pandemic has proven so challenging to so many arts organizations, yet most of them are finding ways to connect with their audiences despite the challenge. Many have expressed the opinion that exposure to the arts is more important than ever right now. Does that statement ring true to you? A. I agree with that statement because art is a tool, and we need it now more than ever. Art stimulates the mind, stirs the heart — it starts conversations, causes self reflection, and it can create spaces (physical and digital) for folks to connect across our common humanity. Q. "Adventus: Secret Theatre" promises an interactive quality. I know you may not want to give too much away, but can you say a little bit about that? A. Each performance includes pre- show engagement — if the audience opts in. If they do, they will receive digital "artifacts" of the play — videos, photos and graphics, instructions and more. During the live Zoom events, people can be expected to be called upon to speak, but never at great length. We utilize the chat and polling features in Zoom, as well. Everyone can participate at their level of comfort, and during each performance we set expectations of that. Q. Are you discovering any advantages to online performances? A. 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. But also [there's] an opportunity to create intimacy between strangers in a time when many of us cannot be in the same space with strangers. As an immersive theater artist, I am excited about how to engage audiences with plot clues and themes in the audience's personal space and in their own self-guided experiences. How to extend the story into the lives of people outside of an organized public event. How to make it a living culture, the world of this play. Actually we always intended to include this type of engagement with audiences leading up to the production. ALT creates immersive theater, and we have been keen to create transmedia performances around the in-person production. So audiences would have been asked to follow the characters on Instagram, the Prophecy would have been built up, but mostly on a marketing level. So in a way, we have been given an opportunity to expand the form of our play, to break down the divide between the marketing of the work and the work itself. In a way, it's parallel to, or even a commentary on, how we as individuals are crafting our personae via social media. Now that covid has stalled much face-to-face interaction, our online interactions might seem more real to us than our "IRL" lives. We're living in a period of surrealism in which "what is real" isn't all that certain. Transmedia performance allows us a lot of potential to capture this moment. 6 WHAT'S UP! DECEMBER 13-19, 2020 4X4 Wilhite Continued From Page 5 In a way, it's parallel to, or even a commentary on, how we as individuals are crafting our personae via social media. — Erika Wilhite Charisma Henderson will perform in The Artist's Laboratory Theatre production of "Adventus: Secret Theatre." "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." (Courtesy Photo) 125 E. Locust St • Rogers, AR • 479-636-4151 www.garnerbuildingsupply.com BARGAINS of the MONTH ® 29.99 DeWALT® 100 pc. Drill/Drive Bit Set Ideal for most drilling and driving needs. Includes carrying case. R 264 992 B10 YOUR CHOICE 14.99 Energizer® Max 24 pk. AA or AAA Batteries Holds power for up to 10 years while in storage. E 221 452, 453 B12 E 171 831; 703 423, 437 B8 8 pk. C and D Batteries or 4 pk. 9V Batteries, 13.99