When Australia's acclaimed Slingsby Theatre Company is developing a new production for its immersive repertoire, artistic director Andy Packer and his team are looking for a story with enough at stake "for the audience to really go on an emotional journey with the central character." Transformative themes of coming-of-age, gaining wisdom, of finding one's way back from desolation or uncertainty are prominent in Slingsby's works to connect with audiences and provide a sense of hope. Packer answered a few questions for 'SUP in advance of the company's Saturday visit to the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville with its production of "The Young King."
Q. How does the immersive nature of the show and the company affect the viewer's relationship with the story?
FAQ
‘The Young King’
WHEN — 11 a.m. & 2 p.m. Saturday
WHERE — Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville
COST — $9/children; $15/adults
INFO — 443-5600, waltonartscenter.org
FYI — The 2 p.m. show will be a relaxed performance, specially modified for viewers with sensory-input disorders, cognitive disabilities or who may feel uncomfortable at a typical live theater performance.
A. Our goal with the immersive entry of the show is to ... put the audience inside the frame of the story rather than them sitting outside peering through. When we started making this show, we began with the question, "How do we make theater the most desirable social act?" How do we create theater that makes people crave gathering, to be together? The key to this is intimacy and each audience member feeling that they have been seen -- that they have been valued.
Q. The videos previewing the show, and the language used to describe it, make it seem like quite a magical experience. What can you tell me about creating that atmosphere with only two actors and one musician?
A. Key to Slingsby's work is a balance between image, music and text. These elements are forged together by the audience. We have found that the more simple and more open an image is, the more readily the audience will apply themselves to the image -- put themselves, through their imagination, into the story. Theater is a kind of slight of hand -- the [fewer] ingredients you have and the better you employ them, the more surprising and delightful the trick is.
Q. The show isn't aimed at any one specific demographic -- what do you hope or expect different audience members will take away from the story?
A. If you can tell a powerful and important story in a direct and honest way, people will attach themselves to that story however they need or choose to. We meet each audience member as [an] equal -- we want to democratize the theater experience. When we are meeting an 8-year-old, we imagine the 50-year-old that child will grow into. Likewise, when we welcome a 60-year-old into our world, we also know we are greeting the 8-year-old that still resides deep inside that elder. We also know it is great for kids to see art being enjoyed in a family or community context.
Q. What is your favorite thing about the story of "The Young King?"
A. I like that it has many twists and turns toward the end. You think the story is heading somewhere predictable, and then all of a sudden it changes course. This complexity keeps me thinking about the story -- trying to work out what I can understand about leadership and what our responsibilities may be to address other people's suffering. Plus the language, the imagery, the reminder of beautiful things.
NAN What's Up on 05/04/2018