The Game of String
Director + Dramaturge
UpStart Festival - University of Waterloo, 2018
The Upstart Festival is a juried student performance festival produced by the Theatre and Performance program at the University of Waterloo. Written, directed and performed by students, the The Game of String is part of the festival alongside Hopscotch and Hamlet Reworked.
The Game of String explores the relationship between how we curate ourselves on social media and who we truly are in reality. In the digital world, we find ourselves in competition with others. When we die, is the digital persona we left behind authentic to who we really are?
Image credit: Will Innes
Image credit: Will Innes
Dramaturge
Developed conceptual ideas and informed research for the script alongside the playwright, Jenn Addesso. Embarked in workshop process and implemented dramaturgical findings into all elements of directing
Director
Collaboratively devised the all elements of production between cast and crew. Created an open and engaging environment to explore and develop the work throughout the rehearsal process. Maintained clear communication between stage management, movement and voice coaches alongside actors and directorial supervisor. Presented findings, informed reasoning for directorial vision, staging, and conceptualization of the world of the play.
Synopsis
The Game of String explores the relationship between how we curate ourselves on social media and who we are in reality. In the digital world, we find ourselves competing in a game of appealing to others. Is the digital persona we leave behind authentic to who we really were after we die? When a death occurs close to home, Madison is faced with the reality that what is left on social media after death may not be an authentic representation of oneself. This becomes an exploration of her life in whether or not she is truly doing what she wants. She must face the consequences of her actions and the actions of others. Madison clearly understands that what she is being encouraged to do with her life by her family and her peers are disconnected. When she finally confronts an opportunity of genuine connection, she must decide to accept this truth or regress into complacency.
Unraveling Our Association With Digital Media
Director’s Note
“We are all just actors trying to control and manage our public image, we act based on how others might see us.”
― Erving Goffman
Nearly a year ago, I told Jenn Addesso, the playwright of this work, that we should write a script together and submit it to the Upstart Festival for Fall of 2018. This conversation turned into a 12-month journey for me being the dramaturge developing a new play and pursuing the role of the director for this work after our script was accepted. It became clear to Jenn and I at the start of our conceptualization that we wanted to explore issues that dealt with mental health. Later on, we shared experiences of discovering someone’s death over social media, and how we felt a similar sense of uneasiness watching as people posted on the deceased’s profile. This became our focus, and where the inspiration of the performance derives from. I became fascinated with the idea of how we present ourselves online and how this inevitably becomes integrated in how we are perceived in our everyday lives. I investigated whether or not our online selves truly reflect who we are in person. Social media makes us feel connected, but how truly connected are we if we are staring into our computer and phone screens for the better part of a day? Social media, it seems to us, has become something reminiscent of a game, appealing to others and catering to perceptions in order to be liked and loved the most rather than as a source of connection. What became clear to us is that the more we try to be connected over social media, the more disconnected we are in real life, to our authentic selves. This examination of authenticity is what brought us to this work, and now we present these thoughts to you. I welcome you to explore and reflect on your own association with digital media and to open up discussion with us in our Q and A after the performances.
— Brooke Barnes