The name of the piece I saw was called, Vandershtok. In the final moments of the piece The main character leaves a scientist he meets in the woods. The main character goes wandering through the woods. As he wanders he touches leaves and is brought visions of other things and people. It ends with the character sitting by a fire in the woods, dark and alone. This piece is an interactive play. You make choices that determine what your outcome is. And this is tied into the moral of the play. Which is do we really know what is real and what isn’t or do we just make aimless decisions that guide our path. I really liked how it was interactive. Rather than just watching a play with a given plot you can choose. And if you wanted to you could rewatch the play and choose differently and see the outcomes. I also liked the vibrant colors and “trippy” feelings that were presented. It’s very different from any other play I have witnessed. The beginning was a little confusing. It was as if you were in a virtually reality game just viewing very little. Then when the whole screen went green and you just appeared in the woods was also strange. But as you keep following the play and interacting it became a lot clearer as to what was going on.
While observing the play the main character meets a faceless scientist standing in the woods. The scientist is trying to interpret the mysteries of the woods and what a dream really implies. The scientist was evaluating the woods and all of it’s mysteries. He wanted to explore all it had to offer to help and procure information about his overall goal. What is a dream and how do we know if we are dreaming. I actually really enjoyed the performance. It was very hands on which I was not expecting. I also liked how it was quite minimalistic yet at the same time very well produced and you could tell a lot of post production work went into it. I really felt connected to the performance when given choices. Rather than following the lot, you made your own. It was as if I was the main character in the play. It kept me intrigued and wanting to continue to make choices. And when I did make a choice I was able to see the outcome. I actually rewatched it and chose differently from the first time. To see how the story would vary and see all the possible options.
I am glad that you chose this one; i had no idea how it was going to turn out. I totally dug it though and I think your exploration of it is very clear. I really enjoyed how you identified yourself as the main character in the story. With this style of theatre, I think that is right on. Maybe I will offer another piece of immersive theatre- which is what a piece like this called- as an options for our second performance later in the semester.