The Encyclopedia of Interactive Performance

Interactive experiences come with a wide variety of expectations. Some expect participants to hold back and observe, while others want them to get in the middle of it all. Some expect no physical contact, and in others, there’s no avoiding it.

This poses a problem for audience members. Those who are new to interactive performance have no idea what’s expected of them, and those with previous experience often assume that they’re supposed to play in the way they have elsewhere.

Most participants want to play well, but uncertainty gets in the way. Without clear guidelines spects may play in a tentative fashion, or not at all. And then there are the outliers. When faced with uncertainty, outliers exhibit extreme behaviors, doing things they’d never do in real life, like peeing on the set or grabbing women’s butts. They’re not bad people; they just haven’t been educated how to play well.

If you want spects to engage appropriately, everyone needs to be on the same page. This is why a portal is so important. The portal is the place where expectations and guidelines are established before stepping into the story. Here spects learn how to “play well,” guidelines are communicated, and questions are answered. Once expectations are clearly established, spects are better prepared to play appropriately.

It may seem clever to embed the portal within the experience of the story. The problem is this: What happens in the story is fiction. In other words, it’s a kind of lie. If the portal is delivered in the fiction, this raises the question of whether the rules are true or not. The resulting uncertainty causes spects to play based on their personal assumptions rather than a shared understanding. If you blur the line between what’s real and what’s not, that’s your call. But don’t be surprised if audiences behave in ways that fall outside your expectations.

Designing a portal

When developing a portal, make it welcoming and informative. It shouldn’t feel like a list of dos and don’ts. First clarify what good play looks like in your show. Give people a chance to practice those behaviors before they step into the story.

Next, share any guidelines that should be observed during the experience. Not every contingency needs a rule. For example, if the cast can handle inappropriate physical contact, there’s no need to make a rule about it. Only create rules that are absolutely necessary, and keep them to a minimum.

Be hyper-aware of the language used when setting expectations. If you say, “Fortune favors the bold,” don’t punish your spects for being bold in ways that you didn’t anticipate. Make sure that your language truly invites the behaviors that you want spects to embody.

The final part of the portal is the opportunity for spects to have their questions answered before entering the fiction. Treat every question as valid, even if the answer seems obvious or has already been addressed. For spects to feel free asking questions, it’s important that they not feel stupid doing so.

Once the portal has been delivered and the spects have stepped into the story, enforce the guidelines fairly and immediately. Anything less makes the guidelines pointless. When enforcing guidelines, keep your emotions out of the equation. Address issues calmly, no matter how unreasonable others may become. Enforcement is as important as the portal, otherwise the portal serves no purpose.

A well-designed portal serves as a welcoming introduction to a new experience that helps spects play appropriately and freely.