April 10, 2016 - 11:56
Just as Papalia writes of the gallery as a "social space," the same could be said of a theater. This ideology was certain engaged at the performance of A Fierce Kind of Love on Friday night, both before and during the performance. As we filed into our seats, all members of the cast shuffled around, engaging with audience members on a personal, friendly level, asking if they came with other people, what brought them there, and how they got there.
Outside of accessibility, this practice also seemed to mirror many of the messages of the production and the talk-back, as one of the most salient points seemed to be that people should not fear just striking up an everyday conversation with a person with an intellectual disability. As Sean expressed, even though you may be uncomfortable at first, you'll quickly realize you're talking to another human being, and that discomfort will disappear--both for that person in particular, and hopefully, for other people with intellectual disabilities as well. Having a cast member speak to you may produce discomfort on a different level as well, because it is breaking a widely accepted rule of social engagement (or lack thereof) in theatrical performance--but this breaking of the fourth wall seemed to be a huge point of access. Engaging with audience members before the performance allowed us to feel that we were watching something that mattered, because these were people with whom we had spoken--people whom we could now care about in a new and different way. This made me hold me attention the whole time (not out of obligation, but out of personal interest). As bell hooks writes in her book All About Love, "just by speaking to a stranger, acknowledging their presence on the planet, we make a connection" (hooks 143). And in doing so, we are no longer strangers. I am always engaged when I go see a production in which a friend of mine is performing, and we formed a connection (though on a more subtle level) by engaging in small talk before the performance.
This manifested during the performance in an exciting way: members of the audience felt comfortable being vocal in response to lines the actors spoke--and they were built up for this, rather than shot down, by actors acknowledging their existence and their words or response! This was very cool to see. From a young age we are trained that audience members at a theatre should be silent, and watch, full of attention, without engagement that would "disturb" the rest of the audience or "distract" performers. But when this "distraction" is incorporated into a performance, especially a performance about community and connection across difference, we are all invited to maintain our identities and diverse ways of engagement. We may even want to go see more art.