Charlie Todd, the founder of New York’s Improv Everywhere collective will be presenting The MP3 Experiment, the first live theatrical performance that audience members will experience exclusively through headphones. The Experiment’s website describes the experience this way:
There are no actors. There is no host. Audience members will download an mp3 track from the show’s website in advance, load it onto their portable players, and bring it with them to the show.
The lights go down, a video projection cues the audience to press play on their mp3 players simultaneously, and the show begins. The mp3 track is an intricate mix of music and instructions from an unknown voice. The show is 100% audience participation; the crowd becomes the show, working together to create pure happiness on stage.
Taking inspiration from the antics of rock band The Flaming Lips (especially their Parking Lot Experiments and Headphone Concerts), The mp3 Experiment uses 21st Century technology to give audiences an entirely new experience. The show is being produced at the city’s premier comedy venue, The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, so naturally it promises to be funny as well.
The MP3 Experiment takes place at midnight on Saturday, December 11 at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (307 West 26th Street at 8th Avenue, New York). Admission is $8 and the 24.8MB MP3 soundtrack for the event can be downloaded here.
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