A Part of the Show; Street Theater

I left class around noon on a beautiful Wednesday with every intention of enjoying this day before the rain really began to take over Ireland. I hopped on the 140 bus from Rathmines Street to Mountjoy Street with my headphones on. As I sat on the bus waiting for my usual stop I decided to get off on Grafton Street and walk around for a bit. With all the commotion going on I knew I was in store for some major people watching, on top of shopping with money I knew I should not spend.

I made my way up Grafton Street dodging the quick walking Irish, and the slow moving tourists, when I noticed a statue I have never seen before. I continued to walk up Grafton Street, still staring at the statue, when suddenly I saw it move. I thought to myself, I really need to catch up on some sleep. Again, I saw some movement from the statue, and then it clicked, street theater!

When you take part in theater a major component is your costume. As I observed the actors, I noticed how well their costumes were able to make them look like an actual statue. What was even better was watching other people’s reactions when they saw the statue move, majority of them jumped about five feet. I continued to watch the performance, and I noticed how many people passed the actors, yet the actors were able to maintain focus, stay completely still, and keep the show going. The interesting part about street theater is breaking what is known as, “the fourth wall”

The fourth wall is that invisible wall that divides the actors and the audience. The interesting part about street theater is the ability to allow the audience to break the fourth wall. I watched as people would walk very close to the statue to see if it was real, breaking that wall. I decided to try this myself. I walked close to the actors, observed their stillness, and then decided to donate a couple euro, the actors made a thank you gesture, repositioned, and kept still for the next donation.

I noticed that when someone donates a euro or two, they become in control of the performance. It creates this atmosphere that makes most of the audience feel like they are apart of the show. This creates an interesting tension between the actors and the audience, which I found most fascinating about the entire performance. Since my interaction with the statue on Grafton Street, I find myself double checking other statues around Dublin to make sure I am not missing out on more performances!