Through the door to your left is a three-dimensional rendering of the world you actually live in

After all that stuff last entry about immersive theater experiences, I actually got a job helping someone do something very similar. I'm stage-managing Static, a show similar to the audio tours you can rent at a museum, but a theatrical piece. (We can argue all day about what makes it a theatrical piece, instead of a "fictional art exhibit" or something similar; it's late and I'm not very smart right now, so I'm going with the it's-theater-because-they-told-me-it-is defense.)

Static is the story of a young couple who stumbles on an urban legend about "the collector and his wife," an older couple who obsessively tapes the sounds of daily life (Walt) or records it in journals instead of speaking (Millie). Walt and Millie collect other things, too: buttons, clocks, odd toys, tons of stuff, which they categorize weirdly but sweetly, according to categories like "mouse" or "night-time" instead of by type. Then, of course, disaster strikes -- but it's not clear exactly how. The Static audience listens to Walt's recordings and the younger couple's commentary as they walk through Walt and Millie's house (played by an actual house) and perform some of the tasks they did while they lived there.

I've been watching audience members do test runs of the audio and activities (some normal household activities, some more specific to the house's odd inhabitants), and it's definitely interesting watching, although it's still kind of a passive experience. The audio contains instructions about what to do, and that makes sense, because the point is just to walk in Walt and Millie's shoes, like the younger couple also did -- and learn about their story. It's much closer to being that kind of game experience than probably any other theater I've seen, but there are still guidelines, and obviously there are still clear lines between fiction and reality.

What about an experience where the audience members have to take an active role, to solve a puzzle or clear their own path? You could do it with actors representing obstacles (talk to this person, get them to give up a secret; fight with them; get their help), or the audience could work against the space itself (how do we get out of this room? can we find and light a candle?). Now that I think about it, it's a lot like the Cronenberg movie eXistenZ, which is itself about people playing a game that is basically indistinguishable from real life. Some of my favorite scenes are the characters figuring out exactly how to get what they want out of an environment that will completely unlock if they just do the right thing.

In my experience, people go see theater expecting to become invisible when they become part of the audience, and anything that necessitates their involvement ("You there! Come up onstage!") makes them very uncomfortable. Even actors looking straight at you can be incredibly unnerving. (I once had a part where my character was severely mentally ill, so I was already no fun to be around, and then the director instructed me to stare at one audience member during the performance. He looked like he wanted to figure out a way to kill himself with his chair.)

So -- would it be a thousand times worse to stick audience members in a situation where they're the actors, the engines of the story? Or would it be better, because the situation is clearly so different that there's no way a conventional production could occur, and so you can't pretend you're going to become invisible? I think better, although there are a lot of other problems with the idea, obviously. But it could be so much fun.