The phenomenon of immersive theater in Argentina is going through an unprecedented moment of growth and promises to modify the way in which spectators relate to the performing arts. The main protagonist of this trend is the new production “Next to Normal Immersive”which sells out seats and reconfigures the theatrical experience, since the audience does not sit in front of the stage, but rather inhabits the space alongside the artists.
Broadway in Buenos Aires. The in situ version of the traditional work “Next to Normal” It has a rectangular structure surrounded by 360-degree screens and projections, surround sound, lighting effects and sensory stimuli, so that the viewer becomes part of the story. “It all depends on how the work makes the experience immersive,” explains its director, Melania Lenoirin dialogue with NEWS. “The public enters an unconventional space and feels part of what is happening. Sometimes the actors act literally thirty centimeters from the viewer, which makes it something very different from what we are used to.”
The setup, conceived in Barcelona by the Argentine Pablo del Campo, was adapted locally by Lenoir, who had to balance technology and emotion. “My biggest challenge was ensuring that the work maintained its deep emotional component. It took me a while to find the balance, but I finally managed to make the narrative and emotion coexist with the spectacular,” he explains.
Daniel Sousajournalist and editor of the newspaper La Prensa, add another point of view: “What is achieved with this immersive bet is to enhance the spectator’s sensations by being just a few meters from the actors. It seemed very true to meespecially because of the proximity. “Accustomed to seeing traditional theater, being part of the stage experience is wonderful.”
But “Next to Normal Immersive” is not an isolated case. Buenos Aires is experiencing a flourishing of immersive experiences that blur the boundaries between stage and audience. “Who murdered Beatriz?” It is a hybrid proposal that combines theater, gastronomy and a clue game. The audience takes on the role of detective and interacts with the actors as they try to solve a crime. It is presented in traveling locations, which are reported on the Instagram account of the Enigmax production company.
“The Jury Experience” It transforms the viewer into a jury in a fictitious trial. The experience, which takes place at the Margarita Xirgu Theater, proposes a realistic montage where each participant must deliberate and render a verdict. For its part, “A dangerous man” is a theatrical-documentary show that reconstructs the history of Severino Di Giovanni through puzzles, secret clues and alternative spaces in the Boedo neighborhood.
Art and culture. But the rise of the immersive also reaches the exhibition field. In La Rural, the “Art Masters” exhibition offers a virtual reality tour of the Prado Museum. There, the public can walk inside works such as “Las Meninas” and “The Garden of Delights”in an interactive and multisensory experience, as if you were inside a video game.
This year, the Palacio Libertad incorporated two free immersive experiences: “The mystery of the hidden letter”an interactive police comedy that will transport the viewer to Buenos Aires in the 1930s, and “Laboratory: Swarm. Immersive experience”a live performance, which proposes to immerse yourself in an expanded narrative, with projections, sensors and simultaneous actions in different sectors of the room. Both activities are free, with limited space and require prior ticket pickup.
The key to this trend is the transformation of the spectator into a protagonist or privileged witness, surrounded by the stage action and stimulated in multiple senses. If conventional theater proposes to observe a story, immersive theater proposes to live it.
This emergence also poses new logistical and creative challenges. Productions require complex technical engineering and actors prepared to act inches from the audience, with precision and naturalness. Immersive theater does not replace traditional theater. Seek to expand it with new emotions. He coexists with it and proposes a new stage grammar, where the boundary between stage and audience disappears.
