WAR Group C reaction to 'ervaringstheater'

We (Jo, Dana, Martin) read the description, watched the piece, and wanted to jot down our reactions and thoughts...

After reading the description of the word, we had some notions about what the piece would look like. Martin thought it might be a kind of street theatre, but the setting, the location, was super designed and set up specifically for the piece, and was almost the most important component. We thought about the differences between a controlled performance environment (as seen here) and an uncontrolled space (as in street performance). This set took an every day situation (a room with a bed is a familiar convention) and made it unfamiliar (isolation, mirrors...) and make us rethink the location.

We thought visibility was a key word in this piece. In here the people could see themselves, and sometimes others, but the focus was always controlled. This perspective allowed people to see themselves and to reconsider themselves in relation to others. Seeing others had to be a huge surprise to the audience, and we were forced to reconsider who is the audience and who is watching who. There is the possibility to change roles unexpectedly.

This also raised the question of 'what is theatre?' To fit this into the definition of theatre, we had to look at the components of this piece. If theatre is an audience watching an actor, than this isn't theatre. But we can manipulate the definition of theatre to include this piece. Maybe the definition is more broad.

We wondered if it was important to understand what the woman was saying. We guessed she was an audience member talking about her experiences, reflecting after the fact. But what if she was talking about politics? What if she was part of the performance and this was played live to the audience members? How would this change the performance, if at all?

WAR Group C