Last week I finally got to see one of Vikki Velenosi's shows outside of the context of the Alexander Singers and Players. The show, from Impact! Theatre, was in the "forum theatre" style, which was a little unusual. While there's a narrative, characters, and a linear sequence of events, there's also the opportunity for members of the audience to meddle and interfere with the proceedings.
The first time through, it was a fairly straightforward emergent fiasco. A touch of the "after school special" to the tone, but Vikki gave an insanely controlled and nuanced performance as the "voice of reason" character. I was very impressed with how controlled she was able to be -- every other bit of the play threatened to veer into the sanctimonious.
And unfortunately, on the "forum" run-through (after the "default, worst-case" run was done), people injected their most facile, after-school-special solutions to the scenario into their participation in the play. Everyone who came up to take on a role basically simplified things as much as possible, ignored character motivations and existing information, said "no", broke every rule given for the format. There was nothing safe about it; it was just an exercise in forcing a wish-fulfilling agenda onto the scenario.
Eventually, I protested when it started to ring too false. So I was called up, and all but shouted down by the other participants.
I don't know what I think, in the end. It's an interesting format, but improvisation relies upon trust. The format was just too ill-defined, the audience underprepared, and ultimately there was no trust, the rules unclear as to consequences and parameters, and it left me with a bitter taste in my mouth.
Not to say that the actors, director, writer, and so forth don't deserve credit for a compelling scenario. Definitely gave me something to think about.
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