The Paramount Theatre in Aurora recently launched their Bold series at the renovated Copley Theatre, located across the street from the Paramount. They kicked off the series with Sweat, a Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a small town in the United States where most people’s goal is to work in the local plant and get their union card. The story moves through the characters’ dreams and struggles, working up to the event that landed two young men in prison and interactions with their parole officer upon their release. This is live theatre at its finest, in a small enough venue that every member of the audience feels a connection to the performers on stage. It packs a punch though, leading to conversations about unions, privilege, and the poor decisions people make out of desperation.
A week later, in an entirely different presentation style, I watched a 15-minute story called The Key on my Oculus. Virtual reality is definitely one step up the immersive ladder from a small theatre, and the story is designed with some interactive points. There’s not a lot I can say without spoilers, but the presentation and story were both riveting. The narrator leads you through their dreams and their struggle to remember the meaning of key objects in them. The story is available for free on the Oculus, or you can watch the story in a less immersive format on YouTube.
Both stories hit hard, each in their own distinctive way, and both are absolutely worth the time.