Cameras
The purpose of the cameras was to draw attention to the communicative acts people perform in everyday life. For example: the way we walk, the choice to ride a bicycle, and how we dress all say something about us and communicate ideas. When people are on camera they become extra aware of this communication and the fact that someone is possibly recording their actions. In reality, whether or not there are cameras we communicate and others are able to observe and record our actions in their memory.
The cameras also highlight the interaction of performance and communication. Some people reacted to the cameras by posing, others simply walked as far away from them as possible, by making these choices were the participants engaging in performance? Some of their reactions certainly could be described with the colloquialism "to be putting on a show". In The Viewpoints Book, while discussing experiments of postmodern pioneers, authors Anne Bogart and Tina Landau ask "If an elephant swings its trunk, is it dance? If a person walks across the stage, is that dance?" (Bogart 4). The "Audience" performance was also experimental in nature and asked: "what is performance?" and "at what point does a person's reaction become a performance?".
Actors
The actors in "Audience" functioned much like the cameras. With their bodies the actors formed the circle; a border distinguishing the performance space. They formed a second barrier, the first being the cameras, to the center of the circle. Though the performance extended outwards in every direction since the actors were facing away from the center, the actors formed the first physical barrier that people passing by would encounter. The actors all wore black, like the shadows in the inner parts of Plato's cave. The black clothing also served to communicate that all of the actors, though spread apart and not facing each other, were all united and each formed a part of one collective performance.
Centerpiece
I created the centerpiece for one specific purpose: to entice people to enter the circle. It had to look interesting and provide an incentive for people to approach it - hence the Hershey kisses. I put little treasure chest like boxes in the center and filled them with information cards to establish a metaphor of knowledge being treasure. Also, in the center there were flowers and colorful fabrics. These were a more direct connection to Plato's Allegory in the sense that in the performance the center of the circle was symbolic of the outside world full of color, light and life. There were also signs in the center explaining the project, similar to how cave dwellers could find truth only upon exiting the cave and entering into light in this case participants could only fully understand the concepts upon entering into the performance and reading about it.
Mirror
One last element included in the centerpiece was a mirror. The mirror was very overlooked, most people were preoccupied with the possibility of being photographed, but it was very connected to the themes of this performance. The mirror symbolized the capacity for self reflection. As I have mentioned, this performance was constructed to make people reflect on their everyday communication. A mirror interestingly is exactly the opposite of reality, giving a mirror image shows the reverse of the original image. Communication is often overlooked which seems backwards since it is critical in all of our interactions. A reflection, like the cameras, is a reminder of the image we are presenting to the world.
The purpose of the cameras was to draw attention to the communicative acts people perform in everyday life. For example: the way we walk, the choice to ride a bicycle, and how we dress all say something about us and communicate ideas. When people are on camera they become extra aware of this communication and the fact that someone is possibly recording their actions. In reality, whether or not there are cameras we communicate and others are able to observe and record our actions in their memory.
The cameras also highlight the interaction of performance and communication. Some people reacted to the cameras by posing, others simply walked as far away from them as possible, by making these choices were the participants engaging in performance? Some of their reactions certainly could be described with the colloquialism "to be putting on a show". In The Viewpoints Book, while discussing experiments of postmodern pioneers, authors Anne Bogart and Tina Landau ask "If an elephant swings its trunk, is it dance? If a person walks across the stage, is that dance?" (Bogart 4). The "Audience" performance was also experimental in nature and asked: "what is performance?" and "at what point does a person's reaction become a performance?".
Actors
The actors in "Audience" functioned much like the cameras. With their bodies the actors formed the circle; a border distinguishing the performance space. They formed a second barrier, the first being the cameras, to the center of the circle. Though the performance extended outwards in every direction since the actors were facing away from the center, the actors formed the first physical barrier that people passing by would encounter. The actors all wore black, like the shadows in the inner parts of Plato's cave. The black clothing also served to communicate that all of the actors, though spread apart and not facing each other, were all united and each formed a part of one collective performance.
Centerpiece
I created the centerpiece for one specific purpose: to entice people to enter the circle. It had to look interesting and provide an incentive for people to approach it - hence the Hershey kisses. I put little treasure chest like boxes in the center and filled them with information cards to establish a metaphor of knowledge being treasure. Also, in the center there were flowers and colorful fabrics. These were a more direct connection to Plato's Allegory in the sense that in the performance the center of the circle was symbolic of the outside world full of color, light and life. There were also signs in the center explaining the project, similar to how cave dwellers could find truth only upon exiting the cave and entering into light in this case participants could only fully understand the concepts upon entering into the performance and reading about it.
Mirror
One last element included in the centerpiece was a mirror. The mirror was very overlooked, most people were preoccupied with the possibility of being photographed, but it was very connected to the themes of this performance. The mirror symbolized the capacity for self reflection. As I have mentioned, this performance was constructed to make people reflect on their everyday communication. A mirror interestingly is exactly the opposite of reality, giving a mirror image shows the reverse of the original image. Communication is often overlooked which seems backwards since it is critical in all of our interactions. A reflection, like the cameras, is a reminder of the image we are presenting to the world.