Real-"Life" Sentence

About three years ago I was fortunate enough to catch the premiere of an incredible play entitled V to X (read, “5 to 10”) written by a local Philadelphia playwright Kash Goins. This work, as the title suggests, unapologetically highlights privatized incarceration (industrial prison complex), the US justice system, and the implications on the communities that are disproportionately impacted by incarceration rates. Because this is not yet a commonly known play (I have full faith that it one day will be), I’ll share some details. The setting is “a prison.” The set design within the black box theatre utilized jail bars to separate most of the audience from the action on stage. There was one row of seats in front of the bars. The majority of the action happened on stage where there were several cells represented. The cells belonged to characters in the play and they would alternate between those spaces and the center-stage common area. Two inmates’ cells were actually at the feet of the audience which helped offer an immersive feel.

This play lends itself very well to Schechner’s axioms for environmental theatre. I remember the sheer mix of shock, terror, and sorrow that both paralyzed me and overwhelmed my senses as the lights went black at curtain. How much more would an immersive quality add were it staged in an actual prison.

Welcome to Eastern State Penitentiary - a former prison in the heart of Philly that stands in ruins. Famous for being one of the most expensive jails at one point in time, it also housed Al Capone for about a year. (I say ‘housed’ because the famous gangster was offered luxuries not extended to the typical inmate - you know, oil paintings, oriental rugs, fine furniture, a radio to listen to his beloved waltzes). The prison gives general tours of its facility and offers the opportunity for Paranormal Investigations - a more privatized, exploratory experience.

In my mind’s eye, the immersion experience would begin with a free exploration of the space. Let the audience roam and explore! Much like Sleep No More has been described, I’d like to see artifacts placed throughout the space that would span about 6 cells facing each other. Allowing the audience to interact with the props, photos, clothes, personalizations or lack thereof, and space will give them a sense of who these characters may be and create a familiar intimacy with the prop items. For example, when the inmate picks up that letter I more deeply resonate with his reaction because I also read the sweet nothings that had been penned and now have greater context. As Schechner states, all production elements speak in their own language and how one audience member interprets that “language” may provide an entirely different experience for another.

This would be a mix between a transformed and found space although it will largely remain as is. The idea is for the space to “speak.” Too much addition would alter that effect. The bars of the cells lend well to the axiom that focus is flexible and variable. Seating would be strategically placed throughout the space with the prison guards letting the audience know when they can move about. During some scenes they would be allowed to roam and follow the activity. During others, due to activity of the actors, they would need to find a new seat if desired...like musical chairs, so to speak. 

Environmental immersion is a powerful theatrical tool, especially for works with a social compelling component. V to X, which is getting it’s first professional theatre debut later this month, is just exactly that. It’s very easy for most people to walk into a theatre and be a silent spectator. Heck, it’s almost just as easy for most folks to walk through life in the same way. But when we are truly affected by something due to engagement on a moving and personally meaningful level, we have been challenged. Challenged to be different; challenges to grapple with the discomfort; challenged to reject the status quo. Environmental Theatre...I dig it.

(This may be a completely useless additional rambling, but I’m also obsessed with the underdeveloped idea of capturing live audience reactions and playing it back at appropriate times [layered if necessary] in order to evoke a personalized experience each performance. Whether laughter, gasps, exclamations. Perhaps it would need to be guided in an introductory setting [curtain speech maybe?]...I’ll think on that a bit more...)