‘Sonder’ micro-theater experience involves audience
Sonder is the realization that everyone is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.
“Sonder: A Micro-Theater Event” is a series of one-person plays exploring the Japanese idea of “ichigo ichie,” a term meaning you will never be in the same place at the same time with the same people.
The plays begin on Thursday, May 3, at 10601 Lomas NE, Suite 105. Audiences can see up to five performances per night.
“The idea is that people can kind of curate their own evening,” said Jeff Andersen of Blackout Theatre, co-producer of the event with Arts Hub. “If you want to spend it with one performer, you can spend $3.”
The micro theater concept came from a Spanish theater company, Andersen said. In Albuquerque, the stage is a 10-by-10-foot office space.
“We want to make it an intimate experience,” he said. “Micro-theater is all about being in close contact with the performer.”
The stories range from tales of annoying neighbors to taco stand rebellion.
“There’s a man on a journey to Nepal,” Andersen said. “He’s going to transform his space into a bus. The audience will be fellow travelers and he’ll try to strike up a conversation with them.”
A more surreal play concerns a woman who is trying to meditate but keeps getting interrupted by an upstairs neighbor taking a very noisy bath.
“At the end, the entire apartment will be filled with bubbles,” Andersen said.
“Taco Shop Acto” involves a worker and a regular customer.
“The conversation gets political,” Andersen said. “By the end of the performance, they’re going to try to get the audience fired up to a revolution.”