Performances, Everyone's talented | #28

I’ve been thinking about the idea of performing. Something one of my teacher from college said, that left a deep impression with me, was along the line of :”If I can start a major, I would call it [Performing Arts] and we can just experiment with different ideas on stage or in real life.” I’ve always loved that idea of the process and outcomes of interaction design are performances. Whether you are pitching an idea, showing your best friends around your city, or rallying a team to accomplish a milestone, you are putting on a show.

This thinking proved to work well when I presented my senior thesis by acting out as a computer. Although I didn’t translate those content for other platforms, I think creating content online (or even running a company) would also benefit from thinking about theatrical performances. Perhaps this is why Ted Nelson said computers are a branch of filmmaking.

This thinking also aligns with how Disney structure their organization. They call all of their customers, regardless of which service/product they are referring to, their guests. If they are guests, they are here for an experience, and you as hosts should do your best in making sure they feel comfortable and have a good time. They also call their employees crew member, instead of staff. As a crew member, you are part of a larger team that’s putting on a show, you represent the larger identity that the team has crafted. So when you wear your uniform, you represent all of your fellow crew members.

While I love this metaphor, something that I still don’t understand though, is how and if this metaphor is euqally effective when addressing larger and more complex challenges like climate change.

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I’ve been watching America and Britain’s got talent this past two weeks. I remember seeing snippets of them in highschool but I didn’t pay much attention to them. Lately, as I’ve been thinking about more about movements and ways to inspire others, I find the auditions on these shows being particularly relevant. The energy that the comedians, singers, dancers, magicians, and others brought to the show are infectious (in a really good way).