{"id":17835,"date":"2023-10-23T15:49:16","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T20:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pvfa.tamu.edu\/?p=17835"},"modified":"2023-10-25T12:40:46","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T17:40:46","slug":"workshop-leads-to-successful-immersive-theatre-performance-for-three-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pvfa.tamu.edu\/news\/2023\/10\/23\/workshop-leads-to-successful-immersive-theatre-performance-for-three-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Workshop Leads To Successful Immersive Theatre Performance For Three Students"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Over the course of six hours, three Texas A&M University students put together an immersive theatre show with the guidance of Victoria Snaith, founder and creative director of Dread Falls Theatre<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Snaith, who presented her \u201cPatient 4620\u201d<\/a> horror theatre experience earlier in the month, was invited to work on various projects with students in the Texas A&M School of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts<\/a> to explore immersive theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Oct. 11 and 12, Snaith led workshop sessions with students Yuna Lo, Joslynne Santos and Victoria Villarreal. Lo and Villarreal are students in the Visualization program. Santos is majoring in Zoology with a minor in Performance Studies. Together, they crafted a 10-minute show for Oct. 13 at the Black Box Theater in the Liberal Arts and Arts and Humanities Building. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI really loved working with them,\u201d Snaith said after the performances. \u201cThey were so enthusiastic, and when I started pitching ideas to them, I could see how on board they were with the show and the process to produce it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the first evening of the workshop, Snaith explained the \u201cthree walls,\u201d or barriers between the actors and the audience in standard theatre performances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cImmersive theatre is different because it is trying to break down those barriers,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd that can happen in many different ways. Having the audience in the performance space, they are able to wander around. Sometimes they are guided, and sometimes they are free to explore that space, or be a working part of the performance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lo, Santos and Villarreal worked with Snaith to develop the skits and the genre of music for the opening scene. The result was eight skits for an audience to walk through, with no clues of what the experience would be. During the second workshop, Snaith created a soundtrack and light show, and provided props for each scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Immersive theatre can incorporate an audience of multiple people, Snaith said, but this show was designed for one audience member at a time to create a more personal experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Upon entry into the Black Box Theater, the audience member was guided by the actors onstage and immersed into the first scene: a breakup. One actor says the opening line, accusing the audience member of cheating in this fictional relationship, which prompts the audience member to play along.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Villarreal said this was her first immersive theatre experience, having participated in one-act plays in high school theatre. After the show, she said she was glad to experience something new. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI learned that you don\u2019t need much to make a good show,\u201d she said. \u201cYou just need the will to act, a few props and a lot of passion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n