"Sleep No More"

One of the hottest plays right now is a theatrical "experience" titled Sleep No More.  The play is a new twist on an old play, Macbeth.  What is so interesting and intriguing about this play to me is that the audience does not go to the theater, sit down, and watch a play on stage.  Rather, they are free to interact and roam freely throughout a huge building, observing and participating at will.  But here is where the twist comes into play (no pun intended).  The audience members stand outside until the time that the play is to begin.  They are then taken to a nice plush lounge with the feel of a "speak easy" and served a mysterious drink.  Instructions are then given that everyone must wear a white mask that has an over-sized bird's beak on it and that no one is to utter a word while being encouraged that "riches follow the bold".  Then after being led through a dark tunnel for several minutes, the audience is released into a vast building with several rooms that are very dimly lit.  The rooms are both small and huge ranging from a bathroom, a bedroom, a huge forest, and an office space amongst other settings.  For twenty minutes people wander.  They can open drawers, they can relax in an easy chair, or explore in the forest. Then cast members start to appear amongst the audience and the play of Macbeth begins.  With no "prompters" or directions, the audience members are free to do as they please.  No rules, no judgements, no social mores (sound like moray) to follow.  People feel empowered, bold, sometimes rude, sometimes sexual, out of control, and sometimes afraid.  And they "act out" these feelings sometimes with their partners and sometimes with complete strangers.

I would love to go and participate in the experience of Sleep No More.  I love to be at the airport and observe people.  I love going to social gatherings and simply taking mental notes about people's behavior.  My wife would HATE going to this play.  She desperately needs control and without control in a setting with strangers, she would probably be near hysterics. 

But this whole mask thing and being anonymous and acting out with no rules or consequences has me thinking.  Yes, some people are more rude and mean than they would normally be during this play, some people are more sexual and uninhibited during this play, but it is reported that the vast majority of people still don't cross that line too far.  In fact some people gently and lovingly help the actors in the play by offering a towel or a drink.  But why?  I think it is because people act a certain way because they are expected to act a certain way according to societal rules and norms, according to where they are at any given place and time.

Interesting enough, I believe most people are "actors".  We act a certain way at work, another way at home, and a completely different way from Saturday night until Sunday morning when sitting at church service or mass.  Yes, I am guilty!

I think it is rare to find a person that is a true individualist and acts a certain way most of the time according to a set of principles, codes, or commandments.

How much does your mask cover?