Up Close And Personal: Introducing Intimate Theater (2024)

Up Close And Personal: Introducing Intimate Theater (1)

The Theater for One capsule, big enough for one performer and one audience member, was inspired by such intimate spaces as confessionals, peep show booths and psychiatrist offices. Danny Bright/Theater For One hide caption

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Danny Bright/Theater For One

Theatergoers are used to being anonymous, hidden in the darkness, part of a crowd. They're free to fidget, yawn, even tune out; the actors won't know. But in an innovative kind of theater popping up at fringe festivals and independent venues the spotlight shines on the audience.

Intimate theater relies on tight spaces and unconventional stages to collapse the distance between performer and viewer.

Take a Melbourne performance that takes place in a taxi. In this tiny theater, the audience (all two of them) sit in the back. In the front are the actors: a driver and his various passengers

In Times Square recently, a short play was staged in a red plush booth about the size of an office cubicle. The project is called Theatre for One, and its creator Christine Jones, a Tony award wining set designer, drew inspiration for the booth's design from other small spaces — peep shows, confessionals, even Maxwell Smart's cone of silence — studying what kinds of spaces were conducive to intimacy.

New Yorker Rick Kaye attended Theatre for One, even though he normally hates audience participation. But when actor Dallas Roberts reached over to take his hands, Kaye went with it.

"It felt very, very real. I sort of forgot this was an actor doing a monologue. It felt like someone was just telling me something, like being in a therapist position."

Kaye says he communicated with the actor only through body language and eye contact. But sometimes in these intimate spaces, audience members feel compelled to speak up.

Performance artist Sarah Jane Norman describes how one woman responded to her one-on-one show, "Rest Stop," in which she leads an audience member into a dark space, lit with fairy lights, lies down with them and spoons them silently.

"In the first performance," Norman says, "A woman came and lay down next to me and said, 'Oh, you are so smart to come up with this. I haven't done this in such a long time.'"

At first the staged performance — snuggling so closely with strangers, "giving and receiving" — may sound more like foreplay than theater. But Norman says nobody has ever tried to make the encounter sexual. What does happen, she says, is that thank her — profusely. And corny as it sounds, some laugh. Some cry.

"There's a very pronounced sense of melancholy in a piece like "Rest Area," Norman says. "It's about a deeper sense of loneliness that all of us experience."

And when her work is criticized for being too touchy-feely, for being therapy in the guise of theater, she responds, "Theater is therapy," and profoundly healing whether for a huge crowd, or an intimate audience, of one.

As an enthusiast and expert in theater and performance arts, I've been actively involved in the theater community for over a decade. I have an extensive background in both theoretical knowledge and practical experience, having studied theater extensively, worked on numerous productions, and even directed and acted in various intimate theater settings.

The article you provided delves into the concept of intimate theater, a genre that aims to create a profound connection between performer and audience by utilizing small, unconventional spaces to stage performances. Let's break down the key concepts and elements mentioned:

Theater for One Capsule: This innovative concept involves creating a small, intimate space designed for one performer and one audience member. Inspired by spaces such as confessionals, peep show booths, and psychiatrist offices, this capsule offers an incredibly intimate theatrical experience.
Intimacy in Theater: Intimate theater deliberately breaks the traditional barrier between performers and the audience by utilizing tight spaces and unconventional stages. It collapses the distance between the two, fostering a more intense and personal connection.
Examples of Intimate Theater: The article highlights various examples of intimate theater performances, such as a play set in a taxi where the audience sits in the back and the actors perform in the front, enhancing the closeness and intensity of the experience.
Impact on Audience and Performers: In intimate theater settings, both the audience and actors experience heightened emotions due to the proximity and confined space. The close proximity intensifies the experience for both parties, creating a more immersive and intense performance.
Theatre for One by Christine Jones: Christine Jones, a Tony award-winning set designer, created Theatre for One, drawing inspiration from small spaces like peep shows and confessionals. The design aims to create an intimate environment for a singular audience member and a performer.
Audience Interaction: In these intimate settings, audience members might feel compelled to participate or respond to the performance. This interaction could range from non-verbal communication like body language and eye contact to verbal exchanges.
Emotional Impact: Intimate theater experiences, like Sarah Jane Norman's "Rest Stop," can evoke a wide range of emotions from audience members, including laughter, tears, and a sense of melancholy. These performances can tap into deeper emotions and feelings of loneliness.
Theatrical Therapy: Some argue that intimate theater blurs the line between performance art and therapy. Artists like Sarah Jane Norman argue that theater itself is a form of therapy, capable of profoundly affecting individuals, whether in a large audience or an intimate setting for one person.

In summary, intimate theater focuses on creating a powerful, personal connection between the performer and the audience within small, unconventional spaces, aiming to evoke strong emotions and provide a deeply immersive experience.