Concrete Utopia
completedPlayOn!
SummaryConcrete Utopia (Utopia Concreta) is an invitation to take a philosophical stroll along an old path up O Bando's mountainside, once inhabited by works by artists from various countries, later by stage machinery and destroyed by the Palmela fire in 2022. It's an individual journey in search of the principle of hope, in which the audience follows in the footsteps of the German philosopher Erns Bloch and the 50-year history of Teatro O Bando. Along the way, we pass through various stations with installations, projections, interviews and impromptu meetings. A tour where we have time to daydream and find the not-yet.
An Augmented Theatre Walk with the artistic direction of Dirk Neldner, guided by the voices of Raul Atalaia, Marta Barahona, Sara Belo and Nicolas Brites
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A Teatro O Bando production as part of the Creative Europe project PlayOn! in collaboration with University of York, Hochschule für Schauspielkunst Ernst Busch and Kolibri Theatre for Children and Youth
Introduction
What questions did you have at the start of this project?
How to make audio, light and video depending on the audience location.
What technology was the focus of the work, and why?
Pressure sensors to activate triggers, MQTT interface, use of phones in the audience, Open-Ear Bluetooth Headphones, video.
What did you hope to explore in terms of technology, form, and content?
The technology used was chosen and developed as a tool to tell what we wanted to tell, as not as a subject itself. We hoped to free the audience throughout the path as much as possible so they would have the impression of commanding in a way what they were listening and seeing.
Creative Process
How did the collaborators work together on this project?
Several zooms, all the technical and technological options thoroughly discussed in passe with dramaturgy, plus the implementation and rehearsals on site.
What forms of trial and error occurred?
To have the lights and sound triggered by the audience didn’t work, the programming of video triggers also failed.
Did you use existing software?
Ben Kirman designed an App for this show, that allow the team to see where all the audience members were along the path.
Did any of your questions or goals change, over the course of this project?
The audience trigger, connected to errors occurred.
What were the key milestones in the development of the production?
To cross Bloch’s philosophy with the O Bando history, specifically the one related to our international partners and works developed up the hill.
To reduce the technical (IT) expectations and to break it down to the need for a theatre performance.
Reflections
What was the final outcome of the project, and how does it compare to any expectations at the start?
More depending on present team than expected due to some programming problems.
In what ways was the production a success?
From the audience we received various positive and emotional reactions, we gave more insight about O Bando to new audience members, and shared the need of come to be part of change in the future.
