Video conferencing

The Attendants 2020

The Return of a Nerve Tank Classic. Online, interactive and free to all.

The Attendants 2020 Immersive Event - Main Image

Inspired by questions of confinement and virtual connectivity, The Attendants 2020 is a re-imagining of the cutting-edge interactive performance presented at Brookfield Place in 2011, during which the public communicated with performers through text messages and tweets. Our co-founders have reimagined the performance in response to the world's new normal, which relies on technology more than ever to communicate and connect with others. For the 2020 iteration, viewers will be able to influence the piece by texting messages to the performers via their phones. The performers can only respond with their bodies, each streaming in from the safety of their own homes. The plexiglas cube from 2011 has been replaced by the 2-D rectangular screens we've all become so familiar with and reliant on. And the concept of waiting -- so vital to the original piece -- has taken on a whole new meaning.

Audience Role

Viewers are encouraged to text messages to the performers. Without this interaction there is no performance.

Ages: All Ages

Content Advisories

No content advisories

Interaction Advisories

No physical contact with performers

Mobility Advisories

Event is wheelchair accessible
No mobility advisories

Tags

Ensemble-driven
Interactive
Live
Non-narrative

About The Nerve Tank

Named One to Watch in 2010 by BroadwayWorld, The Nerve Tank is a world-class innovator in theatrical performance. Founded by Melanie S. Armer and Chance Muehleck, the company collaborates with actors and designers in a spirit of artistic adventure and remodels traditional performance methods. We combine elements of popular culture, mediated image, and physical presence to test lines of engagement between spectator and live event. Based in New York, we have staged works at chashama, Dixon Place, University Settlement, Incubator Arts Project, the World Financial Center Winter Garden, the Grace Building Plaza, and La MaMa ETC. From 2008 to 2010 we were the resident theatre company of the Brooklyn Lyceum. NT was named a Person of the Year by the New York Theatre Experience, and The Maiden was nominated by the New York Innovative Theatre Awards for Outstanding Performance Art Production in 2014. We also produce short films and an audio drama called Dreamland.