The Encyclopedia of Interactive Performance

When you finish playing with spects, as wonderful as the experience may have been, the most significant value is still waiting to be had—the opportunity for spects to reflect on the journey they just traveled. This not only serves spects by giving them the time to consider their experience, it also provides you with valuable feedback to hone your interactive skills. Whenever possible, debrief spects after playing with them.

Steps of the debrief

Lead with gratitude – Start by thanking the spects for their participation. No matter what the outcome was, when people have made the choice to play, it’s a gift of trust. Begin by letting spects know how much you appreciate their readiness to play.

The one thing you absolutely shouldn’t lead with is the ever-popular, “So, did you have a good time?” If they did, you’ll find out soon enough. If not, you’re putting them in a position where many people will be polite instead of honest. Lead with gratitude, not a request to stroke your ego.

Invite honesty – Before spects share their thoughts, let them know you value their complete honesty without concern for hurting your feelings. Sharing what worked is nice. Sharing what didn’t is vital. Make sure spects know that you want to know what didn’t work, as well as what did.

Start with an open prompt – With the preliminaries taken care of, start off with as broad an invitation as possible.

“Tell us about your experience. What do you remember? What stands out?”

Notice how this language invites spects to say whatever is at the forefront of their minds without pointing them in any particular direction.

Cover general topics – After spects have responded to the open prompt, move to general topics. Continue to phrase the questions as openly as possible. Instead of asking, “What was confusing?” (which implies that there actually was something confusing) ask, “Was there anything particularly clear or confusing?” This introduces a spectrum and allows spects to focus on areas that matter to them. Below are some general topic questions that produce useful feedback. Start with the broad questions before moving to the more specific.

• Was there anything particularly clear or confusing?
• Was anything especially easy or difficult?
• What did you enjoy the most or the least?
• Was there anything you wish had played out differently?
• With whom did you feel a strong connection? Why?

If you aren’t getting feedback on a particular topic, you may need to ask a leading question. However, you can always follow up with a more open-ended question.

The inter-actor asks, “Did you find anything to be difficult?” The spect responds, “It was hard to play as a scientist.” The inter-actor inquires further, “What was hard about that?” The spect clarifies, “I don’t know anything about biology, so I didn’t know what to say.”

One question that seldom provides useful information is, “How much control did you feel like you had over the story?” Regardless of how much the story is built around spects’ behaviors and choices, they often say that they didn’t have much control at all. This is the one case where you have a better read on spects’ autonomy than they do. If you were railroading the story, spects shouldn’t have to tell you so.

Ask about specific moments – If you want feedback on specific moments ask specific questions, but keep them free of assumptions. Instead of asking “Did my yelling at you make you feel bad?” say “How did you feel when I yelled at you?” Another way to frame these questions is to use the launch phrase “Tell me about…”

“Tell me about your feelings in the bedroom scene.”

Dig deeper – When spects answer questions, don’t assume that their first answers give you the whole picture. Follow up with an invitation for them to explore more deeply. Responses such as “Why?” and “Tell me more about that” can draw out deeper insights into spects’ experiences.

Anything else? – When the things you want to know about have been addressed, ask spects if there’s anything else they’d like to share. This opens the door for spects to bring up things they’ve been thinking about, but haven’t yet discussed.

Questions for us? – After questioning spects, you may want to ask if they have any questions for you. Questions often run along the lines of, “How much of that was planned?” Be honest, but don’t reveal too many details. If you were working from a scenario, you might answer, “There were some landmarks along the way, but we also followed where you took the story.”

Don’t give away the secrets – The “magic trick” of interactive performance is how you’re able to guide spects through satisfying stories while allowing them to play however they like. Like a kid who has performed a magic trick, you may be tempted to share how it was done. Don’t. It spoils the magic for the spect. Let spects enjoy the mystery without revealing the tools. The time to discuss interactive technique is after the spects have gone, during the after action review.

Don’t play psychologist – Spects sometimes point out elements from their real life that showed up in the story. This is to be expected. Interactive performances are like Rorschach inkblots. Spects see in them what they want to see. If spects share personal details, don’t turn the discussion into a therapy session. Leave that to qualified professionals. Your job is to empower participants through play. If they find the experience personally meaningful, that’s just icing on the cake.

Wrap it up – Don’t let debriefs go on too long. Allow enough time for people to share what matters, but don’t get lost in the weeds. When it’s time to finish, thank spects for playing and see them to the door. Along the way, listen to what spects have to say. They may share useful thoughts that didn’t come up during the debrief.

The debrief is a valuable part of any interactive experience. It gives inter-actors useful insights and allows spects to reflect on their experience while it’s fresh in their mind.