That is the actual secret of life, stated the English author, speaker and thinker Alan Watts, to be fully engaged with what you might be doing within the right here and now. And as an alternative of calling it work, notice it’s play.
Watts, who made a reputation for himself by popularizing Buddhist, Taoist and Hindu philosophies for the plenty, continuously referred to life as a recreation. There isn’t a level in worrying about which transfer is the suitable onethere isn’t a proper or flawed transfer, he argued. We merely go to the following expertise, after which the following, and every will deliver us one thing totally different. Our solely job is to play.
Its heady stuff for a cabaret present, to make certain, however for Sarah Sperber, CEO of Rogue Worx, Watts concepts have been the catalyst for The Sport, the corporates most formidable manufacturing thus far.
I wished the idea to have extra that means this time, Sperber stated. We went from #Millennial (RogueWorxs first present, in early 2022), which was a complete parody comprised of vignettes, to Hush, a homicide thriller (in early 2023). The Sport is de facto about being current and waking up by lifestyles peak experiences (portals, as we name them within the present). I used to be listening to an previous Alan Watts recording, whereby he refers to life as The Sport, and it completely clicked! A cirque-style, psychedelic recreation present about lifes peak experiences that demand your presence & it appeared excellent.
Sperber wrote the script, created video interludes and conceived of the portals, together with choosing music and general descriptions for every quantity, together with concepts about costuming. General, she envisioned a futuristic/cyberpunk aesthetic and a choose-your-own-adventure premise.
The present is offered as a group of cirque-style performances together with songs, high-energy dance and acrobatics, tumbling by Andie Murray, the unbelievable fire-dancing contortionist Jenae Gerstmann, and a wide ranging aerial silks act carried out by Sperber and Gerstmann. Although Sperber choreographed the specialty acts, many of the dance numbers have been choreographed by Sierra Taylor Cline and are carried out by Cline, Sperber, Shannise Mora, Alexandria Clearwater, Ivy Case, Meghan Cooper and Mickayla Clune.
In the meantime, a narrative thread runs by means of the present. Our major character, Xander (performed by Alex Moya), is our Everyman and image for all of humanity, as Sperber defined; he’s being propelled by means of portal after portal. The viewers casts votes, through their telephones, for which of the six experiences, or portals, is offered subsequent. With route from our considerably goofy emcee, Cypher (performed by John Wade), Xander is dropped into every portal and compelled to let go of management, expertise being current and revel in enjoying the sport.
It has develop into widespread for exhibits to be billed as immersive once they actually arent. Now we have been responsible of this prior to now, and I wished to push that boundary a bit extra, Sperber defined.
Along with the text-to-vote element, the viewers additionally will get to see an alternate actuality, due to the rainbow refraction glasses everybody receives that flip dancers light-up costumes right into a hologram-like kaleidoscope of sunshine.
Talking of costumes, theyre all extraordinary. Sperber, whose background and formal schooling are in high quality artwork (she earned a bachelors diploma from Maine School of Artwork), curated the costumes, that are a spectacle in and of themselves.
Regardless of its existential theme, thats merely a hook on which to hold The Sport. In the end, the present is simply plain enjoyable, with loads to wow the viewer and attraction to the senses, making it an effective way to cross a Friday night time.
The Sport continues at The Theatre, 505 Keystone Ave., on Friday nights by means of Nov. 17. Doorways at 7:30 p.m., with the present at 8 p.m. Tickets are $35-$80. Tickets and data right here.
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Originally posted 2023-10-06 15:57:00.