The performance work I researched this week is the comedy play “Peter Pan Goes Wrong”. It is a theatre production with the premise of a normal play based on Peter Pan that goes wrong while the actors have to go through with it despite the circumstances. Of course, this is all staged.

I find the use of audience engagement in this play in the service of comedy to be interesting, despite plays not typically having audience interaction. The actor of Captain Hook often reacts in frustration by the audience’s reaction, whether they are booing him, or making fun of him. Not only does this serve to heighten the audience’s investment in the play, it also works to craft the illusion that this play is going wrong, and that not all of it is scripted. I think it is important to also note that the heckling is most likely done by members of the production in order to stimulate the rest of the crowd to make fun of the actors. The play also utilizes the weaknesses of theatre in service of its comedy. The reuse of actors, awkwardness of switching sets and props, are all used to poke fun at the medium.

As for this week’s studio, we got to act out and witnesses everyone’s performance sketches. From observing other sketches, I have learnt of the importance of immersing the audience through atmosphere. A group utilized green screen as a cost effective way to set up a faux stage with props in order to set the environment of their performance. Another utilized lighting to their advantage as a way of transitioning between the online and offline space. In the future, I hope to utilize more creative tools to enhance an audience’s immersion.

For this week’s reading, the ABC article written by Purtill (2024) caught my attention. Focusing on the increased prevalence of AI generated spam content that permeates X (formerly known as Twitter), it paints a bleak reality and future of the internet, which I feel relates to the course. In particular, the article points out the increasing difficulty of identifying authentic and trustworthy content on the internet, which I feel would be an interesting topic to explore in performance. Such a performance could serve as a dystopian warning against the lack of online regulation, and the impacts on the beliefs and views this can have on people.

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References:

Lewis H, Sayer J, Shields H (2013), “Peter Pan Goes Wrong”, Mischeif Theatre Company, Pleasance Theatre, London. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8l0fqa