(Photo courtesy Orlando Fringe)
This show contains Audience Interaction and Death
Renie and Rob Productions bring you “Automatic Orchestra: Just Add Music,” which is one of those Fringe experiences that makes you wonder whether you’ve walked into a performance or a participatory experiment. Entering the Blue venue, audiences are greeted with random musical instruments placed on their seats; everything from courtesy kazoos to children’s xylophones and assorted noise-makers. It quickly becomes clear: the audience is the orchestra.
Meant to be led by a guest conductor (I believe the instructions may not have been too clear for our guest conductor), the crowd is tasked with providing the soundtrack to the performance with those instruments or your voice, no words allowed, just sound.
And to be fair, it often feels more like noise than music, though that may ultimately depend on your perspective.
At first, the experience is intentionally disorienting as the audience tries to collectively find rhythm while performers pantomime their way through the scripted story (this is not improvised).
There are moments where the concept feels a little too chaotic for its own good, but the cast remains fully committed throughout. By the time the show reaches a larger war sequence, something unexpectedly clicked with our audience. The room began to actually sync up, the chaos became more focused and the experience started to feel strangely satisfying.
Was I confused? Absolutely. It’s absurd, unusual and not that I would know, but an edible probably wouldn’t hurt.
If you’re looking for a traditional theatrical experience, this may not be your show. But if you want to be part of the performance, embrace something experimental and experience just the right amount of Fringe weirdness, give a toot and go.
See “Automatic Orchestra: Just Add Music,” at the Blue Venue May 14 at 6:55 p.m., May 16 at 12:00 p.m., May 17 at 3:00 p.m., May 19 at 9:50 p.m., May 22 at 8:35 p.m., May 23 at 5:25 p.m., May 24 at 6:55 p.m.
Did you see it? Love it? Vote for it below!
Read more about Orlando Fringe’s 35th annual festival in our current issue and in the Orlando Fringe program.
Sign up for the Watermark Out News eNewsletter and follow us for more:
BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | TikTok | Threads | YouTube
