The Herberger Theater Center kicks off an outdoor performance series this First Friday intended to engage and invite community interaction.
The first performance of the three-part series is called “WE ARE: Alive” and is presented in part by the Salt River Project. The event will be held outside of the Herberger on the corner of Monroe and Third Streets and is a fully immersive experience that incorporates light, projection, sound, art installation and movement to engage the audience in what the Herberger is billing as “an expression of life.”
“It’s so important that we become much more extroverted in our connection between the audience and the art,” said Mark Mettes, CEO and president of the Herberger Theater Center. “We say ‘We are where the audience meets the art,’ and we want to be very active in bringing them together in unexpected ways.”
The outdoor location of the event was a key choice in trying to bridge the gap between audience and performance. Any type of theatrical production designed to be performed outside a traditional theater is called site-specific. This type of theater stems from environmental theater and plays off the idea that eliminating the boundary between the performer and the audience heightens the audience’s awareness.
“Sometimes we look at something, and we want to be separate from it. It’s like that’s the art, and I’m the feeler. But we want to create opportunities for people to feel welcome to be a part of it,” artist Katharine Simpson said.
“WE ARE: Alive” also incorporates yoga as a way to engage the audience. Starting at 6 p.m., Joseph Dick of Lapis Yoga will lead a casual, guided class open to all attendees.
Near Dick’s yoga class, there will be a didgeridoo played by Dashmesh Khasla and several water features such as waterfalls to set the ambiance.
The water features and their movement symbolize yoga flow, Dick said. He says that in dance or yoga, “[Flow] is that state where you’re not really thinking about where you’re going; you’re just finding the right opportunity and moving into that space.”
Live music will be performed by Connie Avery, Vusi Shibambo, and Mark Gifford to create an underlying stormy soundtrack to the night, and visuals of lighting, flowing water and other forces of nature will be projected, illuminating the space. There will also be an aerial silk performance by Sedona Silks.
The series is an extension of a similar event held on First Friday last January in which Simpson performed, interacting with statues in front of the theater amongst a backdrop of energetic lights and music.
“We talked about doing something with a longer impact,” Mettes said. “Tangibly through working with a nonprofit organization every month, intangibly by activating the exterior spaces with energy and excitement.”
This month, the center is collecting donations of art supplies in an art drive to benefit The Centers for Habilitation, a non-profit dedicated to finding ways to provide hope and purpose for individuals with disabilities.
Donations of art supplies such as paint brushes, markers or construction paper enter donors for a chance to win two tickets to a show during the 2016-2017 season.
“WE ARE: Alive” takes place on Oct. 7th from 6-9 p.m.
Contact the reporter at absande2@asu.edu.
