Introduction
Gob Squad is a group of German and British artists. Gob Squad was formed in the Nottingham and now mainly operates from Germany. This group performs in the area of theatres, films, real life incidents, videos and other visual mediums of entertainment. Gob Squad performs in urban various centers including theaters, clubs, car parking, hotels, shops and houses. Gob Squad’s realistic and vivid performance is highly acclaimed by acclaimed by audiences, as well as, critics. This paper intends to discuss the Gob Squad’s performance and their show on “Kitchen”.
Background
Gob Squad was founded in the year 1994 in Nottingham by German and British performers. There are seven core members in the squad but other artists also perform whenever their presence is required on different occasions. The group performs on various issues that may range from real life issues to videos and movies to theatric performances. The group members perform in cities before the public. They select places where people could see their performance. These places include car parking, malls and shops. Gob Squad also performs in theatres and houses on demands (Squad).
Eva Hartmann manages the group while Sean Patten, Bastian Trost, Sharon Smith, Ohanna Freiburg, Simon Will, Berit Stumpf and Sarah Thom are core members of the Gob Squad. The group explores various forms of art, theatre, media and actual life experiences. All members, technicians, artists and performers contribute in the performance of the group as per their competence and role. Gob Squad has started operating mainly from Germany in recent times. The groups actively performs in European nations and has visited different parts of the world for performing (Squad).
Analysis
Gob Squad Kitchen show is based on an interactive theater concept that audience may have seen but not experienced earlier. The show starts with the performance of four people and end-up when four people from the audience are performing on the stage. When new performers i.e. audience join the stage, old performers sit behind the stage and provide instructions to the new performers by using headsets. The role of performers is very important and critical in the success of the show. All original performers are required to provide clear and accurate instructions to the new performers who replaced them. Performers, selected from the audience, are required to deliver lines and play the role of actual performers (Gob Squad's Kitchen).
The show is all about the performance of actors and actresses of the Gob Squad and also about the audiences who join the show. During the old time, the theater was not interactive and participative in nature. It was a one way communication and showcase of the performance of the artists. However, contemporary theater emphasizes on providing unique experience to its audience and bringing new form of theater to the people. The performance of the actors not only focuses on showcasing their talent to the audience but also focuses on involving audience in their performance. This process inspires performers to perform in a better manner and they deliver their best to the audiences.
Gob Squad’ Kitchen is a show where audience not only can interact with the performers, but can also perform their roles without any prior practice and planning. The show showcases performance of trained and experience people and also the real performance of untrained people i.e. audience. Some other shows such as Masque of the Red Death, History of Adrian Howells, Smile off Your Face, focus on establishing a traditional contact with the audiences. However, Gob’s show takes members from the audience and converts them into performers. In Gob’s show, members from the audience do not perform together with the main performers, they replace original performers. This approach is adopted to connect people with the show and with performers (Isherwood).
The concept of participation of audience in the show is common in the Europe but rare in Britain. The theater company is increasing its expertise and boundaries in working with non-performers. Traditional theater performance means audience will buy the ticket and performer will show his or her performance to the audience. However, in Gob’s show audiences who perform on the stage miss half of the performance. Audiences also watch only half performance by actual performers or artists and remaining by volunteers. Gob’s show is not about watching the show only but it also inspires people to interact and think about issues that are portrayed before them (Squad).
The traditional concept of the theater is changing. Artist and play directors are enjoying experimenting with it. The focus is now on making theater, an interactive way where audience can interact with artists and can perform their role. Audience now will go to the theater with pre-mindset that they may ask to perform on the stage. Performers’ role in Gob Squad’ kitchen shows that those old days when people arrive to the theater just to relax and watch artist’s performance are over. The role of performers is now to make their performance exciting and to bring adventure to the audience. God Squad’s members have realized these things and they also have tried to implement the same in their performance.
Conclusion
Having observed the Gob Squad and their performance, this paper concludes that Gob Squad has succeeded in making a special place in the area of art and performance. Members of Gob Squad group co-operate one another and believe in team work which ensures outstanding performance. Gob Squad is known for their vibrant performance on a variety of issues. Their performance is satirical, comedy, tragedy and issue based which changes from a subject to another. Gob Squad members keep innovating and implementing new ideas in their shows and they do various things in order to connect with the people. Gob Squad encourages audiences in perform in their shows and it helps them in increasing their audience base. Gob Squad has set a new example for artists and performance groups that aspire to be known on the basis of their performance.
Works Cited
"Gob Squad's Kitchen (You've Never Had it So Good)." n.d. volksbuehne-berlin. Electronic. 7 November 2014. <http://www.volksbuehne-berlin.de/praxis/en/gob_squad_kitchen/>.
Isherwood, C. "Visit to Warhol’s World, In All Its Goofy Glory." 23 January 2012. The new york times. Electronic. 7 November 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/25/theater/reviews/gob-squads-kitchen-inspired-by-warhol-at-public-theater.html?pagewanted=all>.
Squad, Gob. " Gob Squad's Kitchen: You've Never Had It So Good." 2012. gobsquad. Electronic. 7 November 2014. <http://www.gobsquad.com/projects/gob-squads-kitchen-youve-never-had-it-so-good>.
