As an immersive theater enthusiast, I often field questions from friends and family about why I’m so into immersive, and what it even is. This 4-part series is my attempt to answer those questions, at least a little bit. This is part 3, “Immersive vs. Other Interactive Theater." You can also read part 1, ("What is Immersive Theater, Anyway") and part 2 ("Why do I Love Immersive Theater So Much?"). Look for part 4 (“Immersive vs. Traditional Theater”) next week.
People who know how much I love immersive theater are often puzzled by the fact that I don’t much like improv comedy, and I really (really!) don’t like traditional shows that require audience participation (clowns, hypnotists, some forms of dinner theater). They, understandably, wonder why I seek out some kinds of interactions in my entertainment, and avoid others at all costs. After all, what’s more participatory than playing an improv game or volunteering to be hypnotized on stage? There are a few crucial differences which account for the types of interactions that I like and those which I run from.
There are mild spoilers here for Sleep No More (ongoing) and Space Pilots in Spaaaaace (which had a run in February 2018 and is running again July 18-21 2018)).
When I’m trying to predict if an interaction will appeal to me or not, the major question I ask is, “who is that interaction for?” Who is it meant to entertain, me or the other audience members? Am I the intended recipient, or merely a prop? When a clown plays with an audience member during a circus show, the goal is to amuse the rest of the audience. The “volunteer” is a prop, someone at whose expense the rest of us can have a laugh. Those types of interactions don’t appeal to me at all. I don’t want to be the butt of a joke, and I have no particular desire to entertain other people when I’m an audience member. Similarly, you’ll never see me volunteer at an improv show. Although most troupes aren’t aiming to make fun of the volunteer, the interaction is still meant to entertain everyone else. The volunteer is assisting with that goal, and while the troupe usually works hard to make them look good, they are still not the intended recipient of the interaction.
In contrast, interactions within immersive experiences are almost always for me, the person who is having the interaction with the actor. Some shows achieve that by having private 1:1s, where it’s completely unambiguous that the person meant to benefit from that interaction is the one receiving it. However, the same thing can be achieved without a 1:1. One of my favorite moments from Sleep No More was not a 1:1 (though I adore those), but a moment of interaction that was clearly meant to be intimate, despite the audience around us. I was at a bar (not the main bar, but a small, seemingly makeshift bar in the middle of a maze) with a number of other audience members. The bartender was doing his thing – cleaning, organizing, filling time. He made occasional eye contact with people at the bar, but didn’t interact with any of us. There was music playing, and suddenly, when the song changed, the bartender came out from behind the bar. He looked around the room and extended his hand to me! I took it immediately, and he pulled me close. We swayed to the music and he sang quietly to me, his lips right against my ear. Then he sat me down, sat down himself, and poured us both shots. After a toast, he kissed my hand and ran off, leaving me sitting there, enchanted and entranced. Many successful immersive interactions are ones that make the recipient feel just a tiny bit in love, and that was exactly the effect of this one. Although other people watched our dance, it was obvious that the interaction was meant for only me, the recipient.
A show that skirted that line (mostly successfully, from my perspective) was Space Pilots in Spaaaaace, an immersive-ish San Francisco production by a team who had clearly trained in physical comedy. The audience played the role of passengers on a space ship, while the cast were the crew. As we waited for the show to formally begin, several crew members walked around, interviewing the passengers. We were asked to hold things, stand and move in certain ways for the ship doctor, and answer questions about our destinations. This was done as the other passengers looked on. The interaction was interesting in that it was partially to amuse the person on the receiving end (it gave the individuals something to do and a way to be involved) and partially to amuse everyone else (it gave the rest of us something to look at and listen to). Nobody was *really* made fun of, though there were some jokes about people’s answers. I felt, for the most part, like I would be OK with being singled out, but I was not completely certain. Where in Sleep No More, I would pretty much always say ‘yes’ to an interaction, and at an improv show, I would pretty much always say ‘no,’ this show had me a bit ambivalent about what the right answer would have been.
I suspect that the major difference in my enjoyment is whether I feel pressured to do things or act a certain way. If I’m the intended recipient, I can react however I react – there’s no wrong answer, no one to impress. If I’m meant to entertain other people, then there’s pressure to respond in a way that’s entertaining, or somehow engaging for others. That’s not my motivation for going to theater, and hence, I tend to stay away from entertainment that asks for those kinds of interactions.