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Limited Radius Theater? Tell us more... With the shows I've developed over the last few years, I've been exploring an aesthetic I call "Limited Radius Theater." Date of Birth Line One Antony & Cleopatra linger Starball The Perception Project The basic tenets of LRT are: Live performance that embraces and amplifies its inherent contrast to mass media Depth vs. Span: Live theatre has the potential to reach a small group of people deeply, while mass media is geared to reach a much larger group with more shallow psychic penetration. These media should focus on their strength regarding depth and span. Generated vs. Dictated: Live theatre unfolds in front of the audience and is affected by each human present. Mass media is dictated from without. Democratic vs. Autocratic: Each person present at the live event affects the outcome. This is not the case in mass media. (Yelling at the movie screen has no affect on the actors, etc) The rules of the event are communicated clearly to the audience. An audience member will simply observe (as with mass media) rather than participate unless the rules are clear. (participation need not be speaking/doing anything in front of the group: One can participate simply through breath, laughter, thought, etc.) The "rules" create a defined conflict between the structured and the spontaneous. This creates genuine rather than artificial struggle on stage. A LRT show should find ways to physicalizes this struggle. A deliberate efforts is made to put audience members in an "awakened state" (opening of the psyche: to pry or rattle the generally closed psyche open like the mouth of an alligator so it can receive the performance.) If this step is neglected, the work is in vain. Most live performance encourages this state naturally, but LRT identifies successful tricks and methods of this and deliberately employs them. (Live music is a basic example of a way to literally vibrate the psyche open. Rules, genuine struggle and the possibility of failure do this as well. In this way LRT is inspired by the physical and emotional involvement of people at a sporting event.)