Ototheatre

Abstract

In this article the author defines the term ototheatre to encompass mobile, sound-based works that create individualized theatrical experiences. Ototheatre is a comprehensive category within which we can see fundamental links between different types of mobile audio work. The essay discusses three works that highlight the possibilities of different forms of ototheatre. Zombies, Run, by Six to Start, is an exercise app for smartphones that augments reality for outdoor runners. The second-person narrative allows runners to take on a new role in a post-apocalyptic world, layering fiction over the actual world. Everyday Moments, by Hofesh Shechter, is a dance podcast that guides listeners through a transformative, improvisational dance piece in the seclusion of a dark room. Sights, by Trickster^p, is a walking tour guided by phones in booths. The work draws attention to what it means to experience a place without sight, emphasizing what changes and what remains the same over time. This essay argues that, although each of these works may not be classified primarily as theatre, they summon theatricality through their use of recorded sound. Sound functions theatrically in a different way in each of these works, but each prompts audience members to engage with recorded sound in a way that transforms space and provides multiple ways for them to act as both audiences and performers. Zombies, Run!, Everyday Moments and Sights are important antecedents for the ways that reality augmentation through sound can be used in future theatrical works. The individualized and interactive ways that ototheatre can be experienced and understood makes it an ideal model for other works that could allow users—simultaneously performers and audience members—to customize their experiences based on their own desires, through the use of individual technology.

Notes

1 Zombies, Run! was co-developed and published by British independent games developer and entertainment company Six to Start. All references to the game are from Six to Start 2012.

2 All references to Sights in this section are from Trickster^p2015.