Side Pony Productions’ ‘The Confidence Man’ is not your average piece of interactive theatre. The complete absence of trained actors leaves six main roles to be filled – by members of the audience.
Each show sees its volunteers mask-up, plug into a headset and learn about their characters on the fly; as the unexpected unfolds onstage. The stage is surrounded by the remainder of the audience; onlookers who are tuned into the action.
The show is embarking on a tour of regional and city centres in September, after great receptions of its short seasons in Melbourne, Hobart and Perth in 2013 and 2014.
Onlookers can chop and change which character’s perspective they are experiencing the story from, as co-Writer and Director Zoe Pepper explains. “We really tried to embed the instructions in the narrative; it's not like Siri trying to tell you how to act out a play. They [the actors] all hear their own discreet channel, which is the same as the audio that the audience at the perimeter hears.”
The story is a crime/ thriller, played out within the confines of a family home. “Making it a shape that people recognised was quite a good tool, in terms of making everybody feel empowered. They can perform and not feel like we’ve thrown them in the deep end.”
The oversized masks were designed by Perth-based visual artist, Rebecca Bauman. Zoe says they are an integral part of the show. “It's about anonymity, so the audience members don't feel watched and they're free to act up as much as they like … as well as taking away people's power of speech. The actors don't actually speak to each other; it’s all in the pre-record.”
Zoe created ‘The Confidence Man’ as a sort of antithesis to the uncomfortable formats some interactive pieces follow. “I'm a person who really dislikes audience interaction, so I wanted to make a show that I would be happy to participate in. With the masks, it's not about you, it's about following instructions. It can be fun for people that don't usually get into performing.”
Implementing new technology has been both friend and foe to the show’s production team. “It was a pretty stressful process. Now it’s pretty seamless, but there were a couple of times, in the first trials, where we had no control and we didn't know how to fix it. We were just hoping for the best.”
The unpredictable nature of the performers leaves room for some hilarious slip-ups. “[The audience] know when something has gone wrong for the person in the middle. One guy accidentally threw this prop, that he then needed, five metres off the stage. You could feel the audience thinking 'oh god, how is he going to see this out?' That's where I creep around in the dark and help them out a bit.”
Zoe is excited to give more unsuspecting audience members the chance to participate. “Most people are on a bit of a high afterwards. A few people – whose characters have an ugly demise – take a while to get back to the real world. A lot of people want to know, so badly, what happened to the other characters, so they’ll come back and play another.”
The Confidence Man Tour Dates
20-23 September – The Street Theatre (Canberra)25 & 26 September – Civic Theatre (Wagga Wagga)
29 & 30 September – Chaffey Theatre (Renmark)
2 & 3 October – Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre (Mt Gambier)
6 & 7 October – Portland Civic Hall (Glenelg)
9 & 10 October – Capital Theatre (Bendigo)
15-17 October – Merrigong Theatre Company (Wollongong)
22-26 October – The Arts Centre (Gold Coast)
28-31 October – Brisbane Powerhouse
3 & 4 November – Mandurah Performing Arts Centre
12 & 14 November – Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre
