Created by Rumble Theatre
For the streamed Festival of Live Digital Arts (FOLDA—June 9-13) www.folda.ca
This piece is certainly one for the technological age.
From the info on the show:
“The viewer is invited to attend and experience the blending of a dreamy sonic landscape, a solitary physical environment, and an unexpected use of technology, as Good Things to Do by Rumble Productions, entices participants to place themselves within a dreamscape where they possess extraordinary powers. This wondrously immersive experience is a meditation on goodness, generosity, and the struggle to stay tender in a world that asks us to be hard.”
Participants are told that at a half-hour before the show they will be contacted by text to ensure that we are ready for the experience. Exactly at half-hour I got a text. I like that punctuality. Then we are told that we will receive another text at 15 minutes before the show we will be sent a text with a password that gets us into the site. I got the password right at 15 minutes. Loving this.
We are also told to watch the presentation on a tablet or laptop; to use earphones that go over the head rather than ear-buds; (I found ear-buds to be fine); to find a very cozy place, preferably in bed; have a nice drink handy and be cocooned in a blanket. The description was so seductive I thought it might be a porno movie, not that I would know about such things. But still.
Show time came. And went. For a few minutes hmmm. I texted my accommodating contact and was assured all was ok. We were asked to click a button and adjust the sound and ensure that we heard gentle falling rain. It played for some minutes. Lovely sound but suggestive. I went to the bathroom for a quick visit.
Then gently, delicately typing appeared on my laptop screen. The person was talking about a dream in which, miraculously, I was a participant. We ran in a meadow of yellow daisies; through forests; swam in water and under it. A hand was offered for comfort. Companionship; laughs, good times, jokes, sharing of secrets. We were asked to type things that were important to us. I did think of the play, Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan MacMillan that was about the same thing. This is part of the transporting power of Good Things To Do.
As the play progressed the languid pace continued but the typing seemed to speed up. Several surprises happened during the show. I loved the technology and the technologically gifted creators of the piece. Then it slowed down again and finally we were thanked and let go to continue our relaxing evening.
Fascinating experience. It was nice to be connected and taken care of so well. E-mails and texts were answered quickly, assurance was gracefully given. Here’s an interesting thing; we are told that if we want to be able to go to sleep quickly, we should get away from our computers at least a half hour before bed because our brains are just buzzing with the stimulation of the screen and what’s on it. As I was reading the quickening typing that appeared on my screen for Good Things To Do I could feel my heart racing with the buzz of it all. And while the pace slowed down at the end and I was toasty under the blankets, I wasn’t able to get comfortable or relaxed or sleepy until 2:30 am. thinking of all sorts of ‘good things to do.”
For information on FOLDA go to www.FOLDA.ca