This past Saturday, I had the great fortune of performing with a wonderful band of souls in the sold-out show, Witness The Beginning. The performance took place at Redwood Studios in Brooklyn (Gowanus), and I can honestly say that I have never experienced anything quite like this in my life.
WTB, in essence, is an immersive experience that invites the audience to explore the dawn of civilization with the looming theme of how humans directly impact their environment. Not only did this show help me begin to consider my personal impact on the world around me, but it also required me to dive into parts of myself that I usually don't acknowledge. As much as none of us want to admit it, the characters we created came directly from within.
Devised theatre rooted in Viewpoints is an interesting and beautiful beast. She causes us to look deep inside of ourselves to tell a meaningful story. She encourages us to utilize our core-selves to captivate and inspire audiences. WTB brought to surface everyone's core, even that of the production team. We were challenged to question who we are as base humans - sans smart phones, as well as other modern resources, fads, and the clutter of pop-culture and sociopolitical influence. We stripped away racism, we decorticated classism, we removed nuanced dreams and hopes and aspirations. For one night only, we solely concerned ourselves with pure human relationships and the need for survival in high-stakes circumstances.
It was good. It was art.
I find that devised theatre still lacks a strong presence in the theatre community. For every devised piece, there are at least 25 shows being performed from a script (look it up, it's totally science). I mentioned to a friend that I was almost certain that many folks are intimidated by the idea of creating a piece entirely from scratch and raw emotion. So often we look for structure in our art - we perpetually cling to absolutes, and I find that incredibly ironic. This past Saturday was the result of six weeks of open play, collaboration, exploration, and honesty; some of the most imperative ingredients for drama.
Don't get me wrong, I love a good script. There's just something magical about presenting a work that spawned directly from your soul and having people appreciate it for both what it is and for what it isn't.
Many, many thanks to the cast and crew of Witness The Beginning; experiences like this last a lifetime. I hope to catch you all again somewhere in the theatre ether.
- K.