Apartment 348 is a new immersive, choose-your-own-ending, theatrical experience coming to Sydney. The brainchild of Flick Anderson it will premiere at the Woodburn Creative Studios in Redfern in October. We had a chat to Flick about what inspired this production and how it will work.
As a choose-your-own-ending immersive experience, what part does the audience play in Apartment 348?
The audience are essentially dinner party guests. They are in the house, they interact and talk to Astrid, and they’re basically her decision maker. Just as you’d ask a friend for advice, but if they actually did whatever you said. The voyeur and participant intersect in this show.
How crucial are the audience choices, how do they affect the 8 endings that follow from them?
Well… if the audience makes wrong choices then people literally can die so pretty crucial. Unfortunately for the actors, they are memorising 8 completely different scripts essentially, so whatever the audience decides, it basically results in a completely different play. You could go all four nights and see the same characters perform four different plays. I like the idea that when we argue, or tension rises, or drink too much, that things that were bubbling under the surface can pop up. So, in that sense, sometimes an outburst at the start of possible ending #1 may happen similarly near the end of possible ending #6. It always starts the same way, so the audience choices are really deciding what these characters experience or where they’ll be when certain news is delivered, and then also whether or not they’re there for that news at all. We all know in a play, what a character knows and also doesn’t know has a huge impact on what
they do.
What do you hope the audience takes away from this show/what can they expect coming in?
I hope that the audience gets a few things I guess. The first being that, audience participation doesn’t have to be terrifying. And that theatre isn’t always just Chekhov for 3 hours or whatever non-theatre people think it is. High school or that one play you saw and hated can have a huge impact on what a person perceives live performance to be. I’m really interested in playing with what ‘theatre’ and ‘performance’ actually means. In an age where we can just stay at home and watch Netflix; despite its beauty and authenticity and boldness, theatre has a lot to compete with. Why leave the house and take a chance on a show, spending money or time when you might hate it, when you can watch a TV show at home and skip to the good parts or just choose something else 10 minutes in? It makes the role of theatre-maker harder in the sense of putting bums on seats, but it’s also a useful way to really force us to play. Out of desperation comes inspiration! I hope audiences are excited about the future of theatre, and being involved. And that having your phone on your person in a show can be a good thing (if you can’t beat em, join em).
What was the inspiration behind this crazy story and these characters?
A few years ago I was studying performance in Canberra. I was 18 years old and I knew I wanted to create or perform or be involved in theatre in some aspect but didn’t know how. I also knew that even when there was a technically good show, that sometimes I felt like something was missing. I did a contextual class and we basically went through Greek theatre to now in terms of the evolution of performance and in the last class we were asked what we thought the next development in theatre would be. In that moment, two things clicked. One, was that technology had to somehow be involved. The other, was that innovation was what I hadn’t been seeing. Real rule breaking. Within a few months I’d written the first draft of this mammoth first ‘go’ at doing something different. I wanted people to be able to use their phones to live vote for character’s decisions. A few years later and here we are, a step in the development of Apartment 348; our first fully staged run! The first step in what I hope is a long career of experimentation.
How did you know Queerspace was going to be the perfect fit for doing the first full-scale production of this show?
I met one of the founders on set of a music video shoot last year and we got on really well. When I heard she was involved in a new theatre company that aimed to give a platform to Queer voices I immediately wanted to be involved. There’s four characters in my play, my original idea writing them was that the gender (and therefore sexuality) of the characters could be anything in any show. All women, all men, all non-binary, who cares. They are all young people, and I always think superfluous things like gender/sexuality/race/shape/size etc. that aren’t directly necessary for a character should be thrown out the window. I thought the ethos behind Queerspace meshed with that really well, I submitted my script, and here we are!
When you were developing the script, what was the most important thing you wanted to communicate through this story?
I don’t really think it was that deep, to be honest. Obviously there are parts of me, subjective views of the world, closely held beliefs, and all that jazz, that will be inherent in anything I write, it’s unavoidable. But the most important thing for me in this script…was to finish it. It’s my first work. A mentor of mine at the time did a beautifully wonderful thing for me in the early stages. Printed and made me sign a certificate that said ‘I, Felicity Anderson, give myself permission to write a shit first draft.’ For me, this play is also about being brave enough to give an idea a go, that could be a disaster, and put it up anyway. Sometimes I think you’ve gotta go the risky option in yourself, or you’ll write mundane crap. Luckily Queerspace had faith in my idea, so I did the same for them, gave them the script and the thumbs up…and I’ll see what happens on opening night!
Are there any characters in this story who you really relate to/are they based on people in your real life?
Haha! Everyone I write about it probably based on someone…I think I’d get in trouble if I revealed who was who…
What has been the most exciting part of seeing this show come to life/has it changed from what you had expected originally?
The most exciting part is that I’ve had no involvement in the process after auditions. Maybe a risky move…but I’m such an A type personality that I think I either had to direct it or leave it well alone. I’ve done the latter as I’m writing another show at the moment. We’ll see how much it changes on opening!
What is the most valuable piece of advice that you have been given?
Probably to let myself write a terrible first draft. Drafting. In writing and in life – I think is something I keep allowing myself to re-learn and re-acquaint myself with. Nothing is perfect the first, second, or third time around. Oh! And the value of rest. Rest and drafting have been key to developing my ability to work artistically.
Who has inspired you the most personally or professionally?
Oh my goodness…everyone I meet? I’m hopeless. Everytime I see a show I like or meet someone great they’re my new idol and I love them. At the moment I’m really inspired by Jameela Jamil because she speaks out publicly on sensitive issues with no care for ramifications, purely because it’s the right thing to do. I want to channel that sort of boldness in what I write about. Obviously dealing with sensitive issues with tact and respect, but also not being afraid to talk about things that are important. There’s a quote I really like ‘art, freedom and creativity will change society faster than politics’.
If you could direct any actor alive or dead who would it be and why?
Yikes! I don’t think I’d want to direct any actor I love…maybe just…sit in the corner of the rehearsal room in awe?
If you could send out a tweet that would reach the entire world, what would it say?
Do good everyday!
Make sure you have a look at this fascinating new work this October.
