Fall 2020 Student Theatre Production: Space/Time -- Original New Work
Where will we be this fall? How will we be? Will we be together? What will “together” look like? The theatre can be many things, but it is predicated on social and emotional intimacy: artists and audiences connecting through shared space and time. But what if the nature of that connection, the nature of how anyone may share time and space, is determined by forces outside our control, outside the imaginings of artists and audiences? This fall, the theatre program at Pitt-Bradford will create new work that responds, in real time and in whatever physical or virtual space, to the time and space dilemmas that are presented to our community. Anything from socially distanced scenes to singing from the rooftops to installation pieces in Tuna Creek to YouTube videos is on the table. Art will prevail.
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#2 / - Perfect Hypothetical Socially Distanced Intimate
Imagined Outdoor Performance Spaces Can we take solace in imagining what we are missing in a new way? Does the act of creative reimagining give us something to look forward to? We only took what we could carry -- some random chairs, a one-person-size “proscenium” complete with red velvet curtains, a red performer-stands-here dot of carpet — and we took a look at the environment around us to find some unlikely places where we might continue to play. |
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#3 / Say It With Song — The Pandemic Playlist Scavenger Hunt
Hi-tech/low-key, intimate and personalized/socially distanced and solo — our scavenger hunt is an experiment in theatre-for-one. Each of us has chosen a gift for you: a song that speaks to us and this moment, delivered as an intentional encounter in an unexpected setting that may spark joy, invite contemplation, encourage mindfulness, or provide a distraction. Collect them all! Running for one week only! |
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#4 / Frames, Bromeley Quad
This project is an attempt to take viewers off their daily path and lead them toward noticing smaller, more intimate aspects of our environment. This term, perhaps more than ever, it is easy to be drowned in technology and overwhelmed by personal preoccupations. It can be hard to focus. Frames is an exercise in seeing, offering viewpoints that may be overlooked in our distraction. Whether it be an aesthetically pleasing scene or an object that may hold a deeper meaning than initially perceived, the project seeks to hold some space and time for the appreciation of the more low-key beauty that surrounds us. |
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#5 / Table Top Fairy Tales
With a nod to the venerable British theatre company Forced Entertainment (and their Complete Works of Shakespeare project), we have created our own lo-fi puppetry in limited spaces. A DIY aesthetic, cast with whatever is in the room/kitchen/junk drawer, these tales rely on our imaginations to animate, and empathize with, some of the little things in our lives. |
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#6 / Turn Your Dreams Into Reality, Erica Isenberg
What is art? Art is anything that you create, whether it's a painted rock, a toothpick man, a video of you lip-syncing to songs, or a marble statue of a man named David. The art I make is abstract and done on a larger scale. I use acrylic paint and bedsheets to create art that challenges the way you think and the way you interpret art. Watch the artist create a piece of art from the beginning! |
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Space/Time #7 -- Who's There? Stories for the Season
Here we have some Halloween tricks and treats, eerie tales for late night contemplation. Each of these uncanny stories was created under circumstances that required our further isolation, and yet ... at their core, each of them relies upon the notion of presence. Not our physical presence with you our audience, but the perceived presence of, well, something else, something beyond what our day to day (in)sight allows us to perceive. |
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Space/Time #8 -- Trail Walk With Me
Scan. Listen. Connect. One last engagement -- on your time, in this wonderful space. Along the walking trail behind the campus (over the bridge, past the gazebo and beaver pond, and on) you will find a series of QR codes. Each of them links to a personal soundscape: either to accompany you as you walk, or to stand with you for a moment in contemplation. Each of them contains a story, a memory, a piece of art through which we'd like to connect both with you and to this, our living, shifting outdoor performance venue. Breathe deep. Art will prevail. Scan QR Codes with phone to listen!
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