About Ambient Noise.

Today I assistes at the first VLP group project performance: Ambient Noise.

The performance conveyed an overall feeling of anxiety and uncomfort, supported by the condition of the audience.I personally found very clever the idea of exploiting the space outside the tv studio. The darkness, along with the sounds and the fact that members of audience has been in some ways compelled to stand next to each other in such a tiny space contributes to the creation of a claustrophobic atmosphere, from which it was almost impossible to escape.

The peculiar design of the set, which allwed the audience to see through a cloth what was happening on the "outside" (or "inside"? What actually was the inside and the outside could actually have been questioned and, why not, reversed) trsforming the spectator in a kind of voyeur, has been well developed. That separation emphasized the contrast btween the action and stillness, and, figuratively, between the values life vs. death. In spite of that, from a mere logistic point of view, I would say that a bigger space for the audience to stand would may have resulted better, without anyway preventing the feeling of uneasiness and the deep contact with the performers. This last element, in additon, provided a deep involvement, as the public was an actual part of the situation going on, as it was kind of projected in that environment all of a sudden. The importance of the sounds, in all of this, has in my opinion been massive.

What I found amazing as far as the action is concerned, has been the dis-covering and the transformation of the male performer into a soldier. However, athought they were wonderfully made, I didn't find the use of the masks essential in this case, because n my opinion they confused a little it the intentions of the characters.

In general, I must say that the experiment has worked out well, and the intentions I knew the design team had, has been clearly developed. Eventually, I cannot but pay my compliments to my mates Sarah, Bo and Vaso. Well done.