The nature of performance…

Now that the show has come to a close and I am reflecting back on our run, I keep thinking about the idea of “performing.”  The performances of Storybox were different from all of our rehearsals because they added a new element to our work: an audience. The audience is obviously an essential piece of performance art; without the spectators, the art is not a performance. However, Storybox is most effective when the spect participant can forget the audience and engage in the story as one real person speaking to another real person.  People with acting backgrounds said they had the hardest time giving up the idea of performing; they felt a pressure to be “on” or to be funny so that the audience would enjoy themselves. But it was often the people who were not trying to perform who seemed to engage the audience the most because their interactions were so authentically human. This process was a great reminder that rehearsal is the time to sharpen your skills and craft a show that will appeal to the audience. In performance, it’s best to forget about the audience and just trust that if we do our work, they’ll enjoy it.  It’s also a reminder that we all have our “stage” where we feel we need to perform, whether it is the family “stage,” the business meeting “stage,” the flirting in a bar “stage,” or, for actors, a literal stage.  Perhaps we need to stop performing everywhere and just connect.  If we stop worrying about “performing,” our “audience” will start engaging as participants.  Thank you to our audiences and participants for letting yourselves engage and learn how to not perform with us.

Love and admiration to all,

Carolyn