Going Up? The Elevator Project...

 
Last night after all the people went in for Opening Night of Clybourne Park, I took off to Tix on the Square to get a ticket for The Elevator Project.  I missed it in the fall because I was out of town too much and too busy when I was in town, so I was glad to squeeze it in this cycle.  I tried to start at the Tix elevator, but unfortunately it was having technical difficulties so it was not operational.  So I headed off for the CN Tower. There was a long line up there so I boogied over to EPCOR and got in for that one, then back to the CN Tower, where I waited a bit for that one and then the long trek to CKUA and a wait for the third.

The three shows were very different.  With a five minute piece, I don't actually want to say too much about them specifically because of spoilers, but overall it was a very interesting experience. I was worried in the first one because as I stood in the tight space my mild claustrophobia started to bubble up, but the brevity of the pieces made it okay.  It's very intense to be 'right there' while an intimate conversation happens in front of you.  I went through weird thought processes about how I should be personally engaging.  Do I laugh? Do I look at them? Do we clap at the end?  I wavered between elevator etiquette and theatre etiquette.  It was very, very interesting.  Like Shoot, Get Treasure, Repeat (which I saw at Fringe a few years ago), this was a theatrical experience greatly affected by the space.  The elevator has it's own rules about intimacy and eye-contact.  Breaking those rules to watch the show produced a myriad of emotional reactions in me. One of my friends said she had to watch a show sideways because she found she could not stand in the elevator without facing the front.  She tried to turn and watch, but had to turn front because standing sideways just felt wrong.  Our patterns of interacting with a space like an elevator are conditioned and when we break those conditions it affects us.

I think it would have been better if I had gone with a  friend (although I did bump into a couple of people I knew), because I think part of the experience would have been enhanced by a post play conversation and the wait at some sites was long as they could only have so many people in the elevator at a time.  Having someone to pass that time with would have been nice.  Also, it's a bit of a hike from site to site and that is nicer to do with a companion. I did have no trouble getting in my daily steps on my fitbit! Theatre as exercise! You have to love that.  I would recommend dressing warm.  I should have worn a hat and maybe a better scarf as I was not dressed as well as I should have been. You should also plan for 2 hours of time.  It might take less, but that will depend on how many other people are out for the adventure.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fringe 2024 - Friday, August 16th - A Terrific Afternoon of Shows!

Image
I caught three shows yesterday afternoon and had a wonderful time! Bright Lights - So funny and so well done! This script is hilarious but it only works because the acting and directing is so excellent! I mean, you have to figure those that attend a group for Alien Abduction "experiencers" are going to provide opportunity for huour but I was laughing so much! Great to see some of our finest local actors in this piece and some in roles you wouldn't expect to hilarious effect! See it! ROB AND CHRIS (BOBBY+TINA)-A NEW MUSICAL - Another excellent show. This one a new musical based on Collin Doyle's Let the Light of Day Through ( perhaps the best new script I have seen ever and I think of it often... ). The musical is the same but different, as it is a musical. But it is excellent. Doyle worked with Matt Graham to adapt the piece and it still has it's humour and heart break, but now with wonderful songs. I would avoid spoilers if you haven't seen the play as I th...
Read more

Sometimes it's hard to be nice... Lessons Learned with Donna Orbits the Moon and Spinsters in #yegtheatre this week...

Image
I caught two thought-provoking (and funny) shows this weekend.  Patricia Darbasie in Donna Orbits the Moon , Brianne Jang BB Collective Photography The first, Donna Orbits the Moon presented by Northern Light Theatre, was a one-woman show with the impressive Patricia Darbasie as Donna, a woman finding herself reacting with intense rage to inconveniences in her life. We are not exactly sure at the beginning why these moments are provoking such anger and violence, but there's something in the way that Donna tells the story that we are totally on her side. Indeed when I read a description online before seeing the show, I immediately connected. Too often we are expected to smile and be accommodating and the desire to say " No! " is often very strong with me. I see you, Donna! But there's something more to Donna's rage. There's a concrete reason she's suppressing and the reveal is deftly revealed in a touching and emotionally moving way (Directed by Trevor Sch...
Read more

Fringe 2024 - Saturday, August 24th - Young Wives and The Bells!

Image
I saw two shows on Saturday. I'm pacing myself this Fringe so I might not hit my usual 30+ total! But despite the slightly overcast weather, it was a nice day - not too hot and my feet could handle the walk to Sugar Swing and back to the main grounds! What a Young Wife Ought to Know - This was a very well done production of Hannah Moscovitch's script. I had not seen the show when it was done in the city in 2018 but was glad to catch it here at the Fringe. It deals with the challenges and trials of a young (a very young) wife in 1920s Ottawa dealing with managing her fertility despite a lack of support both socially and medically. This is pre-birth control pill times; this is back alley abortion and throw yourself down the stairs to end a pregnancy time; this is the time when women frequently dies in childbirth. This is the time when you are looked at with disgust and judged when you ask for help for how to prevent a pregnancy. Anyhow, the show was very well done. The cast of ...
Read more