ISSUE 94: DO IT WITH STRANGERS (OR, I'VE ALWAYS DEPENDED ON THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS)

Issue: DO IT WITH STRANGERS! (or, I’ve always depended on the kindness of strangers)

Convener(s): Lindsey Hope Pearlman (don’t be a stranger, look me up online)

Participants: remained anonymous to maintain illusion of stranger-ness

Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:

The conversation swirled in and out of theatre to social interactions to social media to relationships and back again. It was lovely and provocative, thanks to all those who passed by and put in their two cents (or 20p).

My scatterbrain notes:

Did your parents ever tell you, don’t talk to strangers?
It begins with gender, i.e, beware of strange men. What about strange women?
Does eye contact carry enough intimacy to change a stranger into a non- stranger?
What defines a stranger? Friend? Acquaintance?
Proposed a category of Semi- Friend.
FACEBOOK IS STRANGERS
D&D- strangers amongst each other- relies heavily on context
What is the opposite of a stranger? Isn’t this just a question of semantics?
Taboo subject of online dating/stigma- what does this person have to hide?
Stranger has inherently negative connotations (something STRANGE about a person) – in Greek a stranger is simply “unknown”
Pubs as private spaces
When you don’t know someone, that’s when more gets done (in theatre)?
Organizing collaborative projects among strangers
What does it mean to really “know someone”?
Do you have a shared aim (in collaboration)?
Theatre and ritual- shaking hands at a Catholic mass, desire to be part of a tribe
Sporting events creating “communities”
Social media aiding/facilitating/disrupting connection
Coyness/shyness/anxiety surrounding the consumption of information made public on Facebook/Twitter
“How am I going to represent myself in these shapes?”
Relating my friends to the computer- am I making myself a stranger?
The photography of Spencer Tunic (not sure I’m spelling his name correctly) spontaneous nude photo shoots one does with strangers
Intimidation in interactive theatre – extending the experience beyond the confined time/space of the performance itself
Using theatre to transform an audience into a community- is it possible? Is it what audiences want? Need?