Saturday, November 10, 2007

Theatre review - 2o of Fear and Desire

You might have read my earlier post on the upcoming event of 2o of Fear and Desire. I have composed this theatre review previous to the last performance, so I didn't want to publish it until the three plays were over.

I went to the second day (November 8th) with a close friend of mine (J), with the excuse of his upcoming birthday. I love Rhizome and embrace all of what it is. Therefore, I always jump at the opportunity to participate in events that are hosted at this cafe.

My experience with the play was good, but there are several reasons for that.
  • I went to the play with one of my closest friends. Hard to beat a chance to spend time with good friends.
  • I am a specialist in environmental issues. I know the issues at stake and I am well read and well informed.
  • I am a former stage actor, and I've done experiential theatre before.
  • I am very analytical in my personality. I am used to over-analyzing issues and deconstructing my thoughts.
It is an interesting experiment and I would encourage people to go to the main performance, 2 Degrees of Adaptation. Right now these are explorations through the language of theatre, so they're not exactly the final product.

People are asked to share a story and then de-construct the inner motivations behind the interactions amongst characters. As I am a trained actor, I knew what the director wanted from me and from every participant. However, hardly anyone in the audience knew what was expected of them, and thus it took a long time to build the rapport and create the atmosphere that the director wanted.

All this being said, I really enjoyed it because it provided a very different perspective on how to examine the thorny issue of climate change and how to change our own behavioral patterns. These explorations as the director called them are the foundation for a larger ensemble piece called "2 Degrees of Adaptation". I would sincerely support this project and hopefully they will be able to find the funding that will enable them to bring it to fruition.

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