shattering the fourth wall: meaningful participation in live interpretation
DESCRIPTION
This presentation was given at the 2013 IMTAL conference in Washington DC by Andrea Jones and Catherine Hughes.TRANSCRIPT
Shattering the Fourth Wall
Meaningful Visitor Participation in
Live Interpretation
Presenters: Andrea Jones (Childress) – Free agentCatherine Hughes – Connor Prairie
Participation is everywhere . . .
What are the positive effects of participation?
Let’s see for ourselves . . .
Let’s go back to our list
What are the positive effects of participation? Keeping attention/heightened awareness
Fun/Novelty/Surprise
Feeling part of something bigger than self
Emotional reaction
Increased recall (memory) of performance
Increased recall of content within performance
Engendering empathy between disparate groups
Freedom RidersOne of Three Simulations in “Fight For Your Rights” School ProgramAtlanta History CenterGrades 3 - 12
Freedom Riders
Freedom Riders
“The BEST thing about this play is that it is participatory.
The audience becomes a part of history!”
“The performance stirs emotions and makes the audience question what
they know about Atlanta history- for better or worse.”
“The sis and I were both black, so it was interesting to walk in the shoes that our 80+ year old grandmother still tells us about to
this day.”
Back to our list . . .
Designing Participation for EffectWhat effects will come from these examples?
When we see Mr. Litter bug we’re
going to shout “Give a hoot, don’t
pollute!”
Audience uses frog
noisemakers to simulate rainforest
sound
“I need a volunteer to help with my
science experiment!”
Visitors in a Trail of Tears simulation makes a group decision about whether to leave their
home territory.
Visitors interact with 1st person
interpreters and
discuss historic
farm tasks
A slave trader debates with the
audience to defend his profession
Students act out a scene depicted in a
famous painting
Pyramid of Meaningful Participation*
LessMeaningful
MoreMeaningful
* this is not an exact science
Call and Response
Role Playing with Decision Making
Debate/Discussion
Volunteering
Tenets of Meaningful Participation
Changes Perspective
Triggers Emotion
Provokes Thought
Does less meaningful participation have a purpose?
YES! But it’s not the END GOAL.
This is only the
beginning of the discussion
Slide show available on slideshare.net
(Search: “Shattering the Fourth Wall”)
Contact us:[email protected]@connorprairie.org