Immersion vs. Engagement.
I don't know if this is actually a debate, but if it isn't, I'm making it one. The difference between these two things has been bugging me for years. In many of the papers I'd read, these two words seemed to be thrown around as synonyms, used interchangeably. At the same time, I'd run into a paper or two that suggested otherwise, but even then the context wasn't particularly helpful. I had the sense that these were two terms I really needed to get a grip on.
Then something fantastic happened.
I happened to catch a review in The Washington Post about a show called Sleep No More, a highly unusual theater production showing in New York City. It was an audience-participatory version of Macbeth, told through the lens of a 1940's noir setting. Audience members had to remain anonymously masked and silent through the entire performance (which could last up to three hours), but they could move freely throughout the whole "stage" - six floors of two attached warehouses with completely outfitted rooms. Anything could be touched, opened, rifled through, and players could be approached and observed from mere inches away. Every room had something to offer (see six of the rooms, each with its own short audio commentary).
The Sleep No More version of Macbeth lasts about one hour, so in the maximum three-hour period, the play cycles three times. You see scenes out of order; some scenes you might see two or three times; some scenes you won't see at all. You can choose to stay in one room and see who comes in and out; you can choose to follow a single character around the whole time; or you can wander into empty rooms and just explore. Your path is entirely your own, and you piece together your own experience.
It was difficult to know who the characters were in their 1940's setting. The three witches became apparent after awhile, but distinguishing the difference between, say, Malcolm and Duncan, was a lot more difficult. It took a good hour before I had a fairly good idea who Macbeth was, and some scenes that I witnessed were a struggle to connect with the classic Shakespeare. At one point, I got tired of following the herd, and I wandered off on my own to soak up the atmosphere. It was eerie being alone. Ambient music and/or sounds effects were always playing. The lighting was always various shades of dim. Every object, every drawer's contents, was relevant or at least thoughtfully placed, and I had the sense I was intruding on someone's else's space.
On one floor, I stumbled into a series of rooms that looked like a family's personal living quarters. The sense of trespassing increased slightly. The lack of any other movement but my own was palpable; every move I made seemed to disrupt something across the room. I noticed the background music had taken an ominous turn. I rounded a corner and entered what was clearly a children's room, and as I explored, I saw a teddy bear sitting on the bed. I was drawn to it somehow. I picked it up and examined it closely, noticing only then that it had been sliced open from neck to crotch, and bits of stuffing were hanging out.
It took only seconds.
Suddenly, with horror rising up into my throat, I realized where I was and what it all meant. This was Macduff's children's room - the children who, in Shakespeare's account, were viciously murdered by Macbeth in an effort to quell Macduff's opposition to his kingship. For some reason, I looked up into a nearby mirror. It was a trick mirror, and the reflection of my masked, featureless self was indistinct. I was not the reality in that room. That slashed teddy bear was.
At that moment, I understood the difference between immersion and engagement.
To be continued......
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