PunchDrunk, a company combining dance and drama, presented this production which took place in an abandoned post office. The building is a very old and broken, which sets a scene before we have even entered the studios. The building very much reflects the set, in a way which represents an abandoned, crumbling Hollywood studios. Before even entering the acting space, there is a dark, winding tunnel which immediately creates a ghostly and uneasy atmosphere, this gets us the audience alert and aware of what we are going into. The audience is forced to wear masks throughout the whole production, we are provided with these masks before entering the acting space, this allows us to familiarise ourselves, we find them normal and as a spectator we find that the audience does not disrupt the performance. We feel as though we are part of the production.
The acting space is the furthest thing from a normal proscenium arch (fourth wall) performance. We the audience are in the acting space, we can get as close as we want to actors and we fell included and part of the character’s story, We fell captured by the actors because we are part of their personal space and we see everything from their perspective. Occasionally we felt uneasy and insecure, because we are so close to the action and the actors interact with the audience, and this gives us a sense of responsibility over them and as though we are related to them and their story. Actors would take you by the arm and give you a deeper, personal insight to the play, either by reading to us, speaking to us, or dancing with us. These personal connections give us the chance to develop relationships with certain actors and enhance our understanding of their character.
The flavour of the event changes a lot throughout the production. It starts off quite respectful of the actors, the audience seem to give the actors a lot of space and don’t seem to interact much. However, over the course of the evening, the audience and the actors become more comfortable together, and the event becomes very informal, people are running all over the place and it becomes frantic. As an individual, you are very frightened to explore the studios on your own, but there are stewards which work their hardest to separate you from large groups, and you eventually understand that the experience is more thrilling when you have no one to fall back on. Although the space and atmosphere is quite informal, as an audience member you are expected to respect the actors and their space, even though you have the ability to approach the characters, as you like. The audience starts off very spread out, separated and in little groups, but as if by magic, the whole audience ends up together for the finale.
In the production, there were two different types of set. One is made to resemble a worn down, crumbling Hollywood studio, and the other, a rural area of the outskirts of Los Angeles. The set is very realistic, the 4-storey warehouse in which it was performed included sand and tanbark floors, which really create an outdoor feeling. The Hollywood set had so many details that made the set so much more capturing and made us feel as though we had travelled backwards in time. We roam the studios as if we have literally just entered a new part of the world and we are exploring everything for the first time. Small details such as postcards on the wall, bankcards that were all relevant to the characters and their stories made the whole set feel like a real world.
The lighting was very gloomy and created an edgy atmosphere. It was light enough for the audience to see where they were going, but also dark enough for us to carefully look around and work hard to spot things. We are forced to be more alert and keep up with the actors to fully understand the story we are following. The sound also created a very unique atmosphere. In certain places of the outdoor set, there would be open-air noises such as howls, and wind blowing, this created a great ambience for the scene. Most of the time, sound effects were played to affect the audience depending on which scene they were in, the specific sound would suit the scene and make us feel and hear the mood of the act. This made our feelings change with the sound. The timing of the sound was also very important, in some scenes, the voices of actors could be heard even when actors were not present, then the actor who the voice belongs to would appear and be perfectly synchronized. This technique plays with our brains and creates suspension and curiosity amongst the audience members. The costume was very accurate. I the costume was based upon glamorous Hollywood party dresses, but was also made to look rough and old, very much like the story of the play and the studios in which it is set.
All the actors were very highly skilled in dance, this skill added more depth to the performance and meant that the boundaries of the performance were stretched, and more techniques could be show to the audience. For example, fight scenes were very gripping and realistic because the element of dance in them meant that all the choreographed moves could be pushed further to show more craziness and uncontrolled movements, which were actually very precise and organised.
Overall, the performance was like no other production one will ever see, the style of PunchDrunk is very unique and it uses the audience to add to the play to make it better. The production makes you walk home curious about what you have seen and what you have not seen, because there were many characters who’s stories you might never have come across and you could have missed a lot of the plotline. It is all up to you to make the production better for yourself.
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