BES Assignment 4

Join an Organisation

For this assignment we were to join an organisation of some sort.

A couple of us found a very small theatre company that was looking for volunteers. The name of the company was RETZ. It was a small company trying a very new concept of theatre. The concept they were testing was this: an 'audience member' would come to a movie that RETZ was showing for a weekend. Each member would register their name, phone number, and address. Then after seeing the film, the audience member would return home and after a few days time, would receive a letter condemning them of a crime and that they were to show up at a certain location for 'sentencing and processing'. There, the audience member would be sentenced to "death". And that is when the play begins. From there, each member is moved from one room to another in a series of one-on-one encounters between an actor and themselves. It is supposed to be 'helping them move on and prepare for death'. Finally after they have gone through each room the audience members will watch another movie that will wrap the whole thing up and reveal what actually happened. Then the audience member will be invited for biscuits and refreshments.

I went with the actors when we met. We would play improv games to get our minds working and our imaginations warmed up. Then we would practice with each other putting ourselves in situations that chould possibly happen and trying out different characters in different roles within the play's infrastructure. I met a lot of quirky people. There were people that were still in Uni, some that had been out for a year or two, and one that had been out for something like 10 or 11 years. Most had a job or other commitment in their life as well. Thus I guess is the life of someone who wishes to act. I feel that the experience was beneficial, although I was not able to make any of the "performances'. If anything, it helped me to reach out to people that I did not have any contact with at all. It was pretty scary at first meeting these new people from all walks of life. However I am grateful to have had it.