Last week a colleague had posted on LinkedIn about a secret pop-up concert Phoebe Bridgers had conducted in one of her venues. She had mentioned that people’s phones were stored away in magnetic Yondr pouches. At the time I assumed that this was because it was a secret concert.
But later that day or the next, Artsjournal.com had a WBEZ story about Chicago venues that were requiring people to stow their phones in pouches and specifically mentioned that musicians Phoebe Bridgers and David Byrne were requiring concert attendees to check their phones at the door.
The WBEZ story was reporting on a broader attempt to create an environment where people interacted and socialized to a greater degree than they are.
Because the story shifts quickly between discussing the environment in which this efforts are occurring, I made the mistake of thinking theaters were providing games and activities for audiences. That was actually a program by a marketing group called Little Council in response to clients seeking unplugged spaces where people could engage with each other.
They have an area in a co-working space labeled “Fulfillment Center” whose goal is to assist the achievement of personal fulfillment.
….visitors made their way over to a pair of industrial shelves stacked with activity boxes labeled “make,” “play,” “read” and “write.” Inside the boxes, they found crafts, readable materials and games — plenty of things to do instead of scrolling endlessly on their mobile phones.
[…]
The boxes are filled with things that people “might not always make time for, like creating or writing or reading or just playing,” Fuller said.
Even though I was mistaken about where the Fulfillment Center materials were being used, something along these lines might be something a performance space/group with the right vibe might employ. (Probably won’t be found in Lincoln Center in NYC, but maybe the Lincoln Center in Fort Collins, CO)
Ideally, you wouldn’t use this in conjunction with confiscating phones but rather as a social lubricant to get people in a communal space chatting with each other and asking to borrow the purple markers. Though in some places people may be so entrenched with their phones there may be little to no movement away from them after offering alternatives for a year.
Activities like these can make experiences feel more welcoming. One venue I ran, I created a visual arts fair that occurred twice a year. I partnered with a local creative group who helped arrange for music and different themed activities. I was a little concerned that people might not think a visual arts fair was for someone like themselves so having music and activities was one way to make the experience more welcoming.
The turn out and participation wasn’t too bad. I haven’t really tried something like that in connection with a performance but it could definitely work after some trial and error in design and execution.
