This summer, fans of immersive theater have ventured onto a rooftop to welcome the Phantom of the Opera back to Midtown Manhattan and clambered through “Viola’s Room” while hearing Helena Bonham Carter whisper a gothic mystery into their headphones.
Now, adventurous theatergoers are immersing themselves in a different sort of experience, one involving a tall, twisting pagoda tree. And the work? It’s a 15-minute monologue, delivered by you. To the tree.
“We leave you alone,” said Dan Daly, a scenic designer who developed “Arborlogues: A Botanical Recital Performed for One Tree” with the writer and performance artist Lee LeBreton. “It’s just you and the tree.”
Conversing with a plant might sound silly, and Daly acknowledged the piece is probably not for everyone. But the aim is to highlight the interdependence of humans and trees, with LeBreton’s script incorporating arboreal history like the journey of pagodas from their native China to America. “We carried your ancestors here from another part of the world,” reads one section. “You made our grayest, busiest neighborhoods lush and peaceful. You thrived!”
LeBreton also weaves in prompts that help participants offer their own reflections. For a passage focused on humanity’s impact on the planet, people are asked to speak aloud a single word that captures their feelings about climate change.
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The post In This Intimate Play, You Perform for a Tree appeared first on New York Times.
