What theater can show us about forging connections in a COVID world and beyond
Recently I attended two shows while sitting in my own home, each created in response to the isolation and disconnection many of us are experiencing as we struggle with the daily realities of social distancing. Each reminded me that powerful connection is possible even under difficult circumstances.
Seattle’s On the Boards theater is one of a dozen sites around the world hosting a three-part show created by 600 Highwaymen. For years, these artists have pursued their deep interest in fostering intimacy between audience and performers, and among the audience. In A Thousand Ways, Part 1: A Phone Call, two audience members encounter one another over the phone, taking turns responding to recorded instructions and listening to one another respond. The entire performance is created and witnessed only by these two people and the computer-voiced moderator.
Over the course of the hour-long encounter, the person on the other end and I shared a few small details about ourselves and our lives. What we were each asked to share was sometimes the same, sometimes different. We shared brief memories of elementary school friends, descriptions of the rooms we were each sitting in, the names of people who were important in our lives. But more important than any particular detail is that we were asked to connect with one another. We were asked to count to ten, alternating saying numbers. To confirm that we understood what the other said. To visualize the other person sitting with us in the room, and then to describe what we imagined. To articulate one lasting impression of them we had formed. It was through these seemingly small tasks and minor details that something like a bond was created between me and this stranger. Powerful, real, and intimate.
A Thousand Ways, Part 2: An Encounter will bring two people together in space, at opposite ends of a table, and promises “an experience of profound connection.” Tickets are available now for performances Nov. 5-22.
The other show I attended was the livestream finale of The Present, a show created by sleight-of-hand magician Helder Guimarães specifically for online Zoom performance. Throughout the summer, The Present played over Zoom to sold-out audiences of 25 households per night; the finale had 25 partipant households on shared video, and an additional 6000 watching. The illusions Guimarães performed were fantastic in their creation and execution, from impressive up-close sleight-of-hand to extended card tricks that incorporated decks of cards sent to all the participants. As compelling as those tricks wre, Guimarães’s gentle demeanor and sincere kindness in his interactions with participants were just as captivating. Throughout the show he told a story of how a serious childhood injury and recovery helped him connect with his grandfather, relating those experiences to our shared COVID isolation. The wonder inspired by Guimarães’s magic generated visual and audible reactions from the audience: gasps and ohmygods, hands over open mouths and astounded head-shaking. Our shared wonder connected us, bringing us all together for a short time, briefly collapsing the distance between us.