So, I have been on a mariachi kick lately. I know it's not super popular here in Baton Rouge, but I have been studying the different styles of mariachi bands, especially all female ones. The interaction between the performers and the audience is really never known. For most mariachi bands their main stage are restaurants, where people are already sitting down and as the band walks around playing requested songs the interested folks give donations and their undivided attention. On the other hand, there are those folks that have no interest in listening to a mariachi song and simply ignore them. Culturally speaking, people will request mariachi bands for birthdays or to serenade someone. Below I have added a clip to a novela where a man brings a mariachi band and performs with them to show his affection for the woman. I'm really not sure what's going on with the second guy, the only practically squeezing her face before she goes out to meet the lover guy, but I thought this perfectly shows how one can participate in a performance while providing a disturbance.
After watching this clip, the first thought I had for
seeing a change in theatre today is for regular people like me (or the lover guy) to be more
involved in performance. The last time I performed in a play was my 10th grade year
in high school and I have no plans on actively pursuing anything performance
related, but I do love attending productions or being part of non-traditional
ones such as protests, street performances, etc. If there was a way of
spontaneously getting involved in these types than that would be great. For
example, any ordinary day in the French Quarter, one can see a street performer
performing and entertaining those who pass by. Something like a challenge for
those watching would be a neat idea to incorporate in their performance. Maybe
something like instead of just watching a group of people playing a song, come
up and take part in our song and play an instrument (drums, tambourine,
triangle, simple ones to not completely ruin the performance). To echo a few
others, I would definitely suggest having theatre in every day places like by a
cross walks, parks, malls, really any public space where there will be crowds
of people. For LSU, the free speech alley is a prime place for such ideas
because no matter what it's a guarantee there will be people walking through.
Going beyond the four walls of a typical theatre and closing in the gap between
the audience and performers is what will bring change to theatre.
No comments:
Post a Comment