I'm going to attempt to review an arts experience, in a genre I am not as familiar with as the visual arts.
Last night, I went to Compagnia TPO: Blue! at the College of St. Benedicts, in St. Joseph, MN. This interactive theatre for children blew me away. I'm not usually exposed to such works as a visual artist, but this drew the crowd into a wordless world, where choreographing strangers... and children, at that, to make something fun and beautiful.
I had the desire to go because of the technology. I'm very much interested in the applications of technology to art, and art to technology, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to see it in person, instead of on my closest device... uh... technology. I am one of those audience members who will look at the lights, the props, the staging, and the dark spaces to see how they do what they do. Yet, at some point, I realized it was all there for me to take in and not miss a single thing.
And let me tell you!!! The children were excited to get on stage! A little boy, maybe 3 years old, not only got on the stage and followed the professional dancer's lead, but he got into it so much, that the grown man danced like the boy. Girls for the local Boys and Girls Club anxiously waited to be chosen for a place on the floor that lit up with their touch and the walls glowed with water-like ambiance.
I recommend checking this show out, if not looking at videos of their work. If you have kids, for sure, make a point to get there! On a side note: The quality of shows the College of St. Benedicts Fine Arts Programming brings into the community is amazing, and more people should be bragging up that place more often!
Performance Dates
- Friday, May 2 at 7:00 p.m.
- Saturday, May 3 at 10:30 a.m.
- Saturday, May 3 at 2:00 p.m.
Tickets
$20, Senior $17, Faculty/Staff $10,
Student/Youth $10
About TPO
Visual, emotional and immersive theatre. Space is the protagonist in TPO's shows with its images, colours and sounds. Thanks to the use of interactive technologies every show is transformed into a 'sensitive' environment where the thin border between art and play can be experienced. Dancers, performers and the audience itself interact with each other exploring new expressive forms that go beyond language and cultural barriers. TPO shows are renowned for using big visual sceneries which transform into interactive theatrical spaces, thanks to the use of sensors and digital technologies; this is what makes these shows accessible to a vast international audience.