INTERVIEW: In ‘Zoetrope,’ the audience chooses the direction of the play
Photo: Vanessa Lynah and Jules Forsberg-Lary star in Zoetrope from Exquisite Corpse Company. Photo courtesy of Jess Dalene / Provided by Emily Owen PR with permission.
Slowly but surely the New York theater scene is starting to open up. In Union Square, theatergoers can take in a performance of the audio play Blindness while sitting in socially distanced chairs, and the Exquisite Corpse Company is now presenting the new play Zoetrope, billed as an interactive, immersive living diorama in which audiences chose the direction of the show.
Here’s how it works: After purchasing a ticket, patrons will have the chance to peer inside a New York City apartment built on top of a trailer bed. They will wear Bluetooth headphones, and a button next to the window of the apartment allows for interactivity. On the inside? There is a story involving Angel and Bae, a biracial couple who are navigating many of the historic chapters of the past year: the pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, the presidential election and the strains on their relationship.
The plan, right now, is for the unique show to run through June 20 at 134 Vanderbilt Ave. in Brooklyn (performances run every 45 minutes, and only five audience members are allowed per show). A transfer to Manhattan is imminent.
The piece comes courtesy of writers Elinor T. Vanderburg, Leah Barker and Emily Krause, and it’s directed by Porcia Lewis and Tess Howsam. Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Howsam, who also serves as artistic director of Exquisite Corpse Company, and Liz Frost, producer for the theater company. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
How did this unique theater project originate? What were the early days like?
HOWSAM: Oh, the early days … it was depressing. So many of the spaces ECC had collaborated with were closing, and for me, there was this initial sense of powerlessness and creative exhaustion. ECC typically builds immersive theatrical experiences where our actors can physically share space with our audiences. With the pandemic, this was no longer an option in its traditional form. I began to ask myself questions, “How could ECC generate its own space?” “How can ECC create a live interactive immersive experience that keeps audience members and artists safe during a pandemic?” As I began to conceptualize the space for this project, it naturally gave way into wanting to find a way to continue many of the conversations that were being had in 2020 into 2021.
FROST: Like Tess says, the early days weren’t easy. There were moments when I thought I’d never be producing live theater again. Over the Spring of 2020, ECC did two festivals of shows over Zoom, and although they were fun and created moments of community again, it’s not like the real thing. When Tess came to me with this project in August, I thought she was just musing on a performance idea that we’d do when the pandemic was over. This show was created to bring our community of Brooklyn and NYC artists back together.
What’s it like to have three playwrights work on a project together?
FROST: I love working with these playwrights. They’ve been working collaboratively since 2018, and because of the relationship they’ve built over the past three years, the writing process was probably easier than it could have been. The incredible thing about all three playwrights is that they wrote their own experiences into the show through Angel and Bae. Because of this, we get introspection into the relationship change between you and yourself, the change between you and your partner, and the change between yourself and your community.
HOWSAM: These three playwrights have been our Playwrights in Residence since 2018, and they previously worked together on our 2019 immersive show Water, Water, Everywhere… Having this existing relationship and awareness of each other’s styles enabled the flow of writing and development of this project as they created the two characters of Angel and Bae collectively. This is a fearless, smart and talented group of playwrights whom I am so grateful to have worked with!
How much control does the audience have to curate their experience?
FROST: Depending on which seat you purchase, you get to decide the beginning, middle or ending scene. I recommend coming to see the show more than once so that you get to choose different scenes from different seats!
HOWSAM: Like a living Exquisite Corpse, each audience member seated at one of our three interactive portals plays a role in one section of this show’s structure. The audience in this way is building a story together, curating their selection based off of their three images and witnessing the selections made by others.
How topical are some of the issues that are raised by the characters in the play?
FROST: Although the play is about one couple living in Brooklyn, the show was designed so that it could be packed up and moved across the country. All of the themes in the show are recognizable if not relatable.
HOWSAM: Very! The entire show is a collective reflection of the events of 2020 written by our three Playwrights In Residence (Leah Barker, Emily Krause and Elinor T Vanderburg). To me, the show offers ways of healing through reflection and a unique way of continuing to generate dialogue on systemic racism set inside the microcosm of an interracial couple.
What are the challenges of artists offering commentary on events of the recent past (and present)? What are the opportunities?
HOWSAM: This might sound too obvious, but a challenge is that we are inside these events, still reaching for our own understanding, and knowing that while we are, the nearness to it adds an additional filter of perception, and that is a part of the work, too. While we cannot offer perfect clarity, the opportunity for artists to creatively comment and build work that is in dialogue with recent events enables us to continue to question the ways we navigated these events and how we can continue to learn from them. This show is about 2020, but events that got national attention like BLM were not started in 2020 and did not magically resolve now that we are in 2021. This show to me is an important reminder and challenges us not to forget, but to continue to fight to get somewhere new together.
FROST: I completely agree with Tess, and I’ll add that theater is classically a reflection of life. And because as Tess says we’re still living through the repercussions of last year, every person who works on the show is coming from a place of shared experiences, which makes this project even more unique.
How difficult was it to produce with COVID-19 protocols in place?
HOWSAM: Oh, Liz, this is all you. The only thing I will add is that Zoetrope could not have been made without Liz Frost. Creating new non-traditional theatrical work takes a community of artists working together and a strong, smart, creative producer to see how to actualize the impossible. Thank you, Liz, for fighting to make this art child a reality. To say it hasn’t been easy is beyond an understatement.
FROST: Thanks, Tess! Producing anything during COVID-19 is difficult. Not only are you asking your designers and creative team to communicate with you about the artistic goals of the project, you’re also asking them to communicate with you about their lifestyle and health. It’s definitely made me realize how much stigma there is around COVID-19 still. I owe a lot of thanks and gratitude to Zachry J Bailey, our COVID-19 consultant. His guidance has been instrumental to the success of this show as well as the generosity and trust that Guild Hall, in East Hampton, gave us in order to build, design and rehearse this show. At the end of the day, however, I’d say that all the protocol and regulations we have in place are worth the show we’ve created this spring.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Zoetrope, from Exquisite Corpse Company, is currently scheduled through June 20 at 134 Vanderbilt Ave. in Brooklyn. Click here for more information and tickets.
Revised 5/21
