Consider…. the Flash Mob…

So I was doing some reading around the Arts pages of some big name newspapers and it got me thinking about flash mobs. On the storytelling gambit people in flash mobs seem to run between spontaneous explosions of joy and laughter, to advertisements for major corporations. To me flash mobs have always seemed to dwell someplace on the Guerilla Theatre front. In the type of society we live in now where so many things happen instantly and then disappear from our world and from our thoughts what better medium to use to communicate with people than a Flash Mob? They’re a mob… so you cant’ ignore them and they’re there and suddenly gone, so their not wasting your time, they’re free and usually make people smile… all things that the common theatrical experience isn’t…

Typically going to the theatre is an investment, an investment of time, usually of a good chunk of money, and, like it or not, you’re pretty much bound in your seat until intermission (if there is one). Now, by no means am I insinuating that the theatre should adopt more of the mindset of a flashmob, at least, not in totality. My initial reaction is to say that there are certain things that a flashmob can’t do that theatre can (one might be pay the people who participate but this could also be up for debate), but is there? If theatre is a reflection of the culture, if it’s purpose is (to quote the cliche) ” to hold as twere the mirror up to nature,” then why, in our fast paced society, are shows still three hours long and pricier than a Van Gogh? I’ve always been a big fan of developing a story, giving it time to develop and take the audience on a journey in the mean time but I think that the culture is nudging us in a different direction. Really, this is nothing new, before revenge tragedies got big I’m sure there were theatre artists sitting around saying “you know, I’m going to miss the love and the pretty language and the frolicking, but the culture needs some gore every now and then, and a few severed heads.” These artists saw the disconnect between their art and their society and jumped in and viola, theatre happened and people loved it! I love to take time to develop a story, take time to delve into a character, but what if what the society needs is something a little more instantaneous, if nothing else perhaps it will demonstrate that there are certain things that require time to be great, on the other hand once again we are able to reflect and be in harmony with the society around us and, in doing this become an important part of it instead of a luxury that merely exists on the outside.

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