Virtual Experiences and Radical Imagination in the Arts: An Interview with Alex Sarian

Time to read: approx 6 minutes

I recently had the pleasure of being a Zoom fly on the wall for my mother’s 50-year High School Class reunion. I was a powerful fly (or a Zoom host, whatever you want to call it) who had the ability to mute everyone in the room, provide in-chat tech support, and spotlight participants at random while staying unnoticed in the background.  This virtual version of what should have been a real-life celebration with her classmates back home, turned out to be an emotional and unforgettable night for my mother. And I got to witness it all as the Zoom ghost that I have become in the past 8 months.  

The meeting was filled with a chaotic swirl of constantly delayed and sometimes robotic voices. Some of the classmates had not seen each other in the past 50 years and it showed. As part of my self-inflicted host duties, I had to mute the hot mic of whom I can only assume was the class clown in her day and I had to override a rogue participant who shared her own Zoom screen several times by accident (creating a Citizen Kane like mirror effect on our screens in the process). I spot-lit each person as they told their life story. I had private chats with my mom’s best friend, and I watched them all shed muted tears while I shared my screen and scrolled through a presentation of old photographs. It was beautiful and messy.

While not all my Zoom experiences have been such a rollercoaster of emotions, there has been no shortage of innovative reimagined events and performances happening virtually, from fitness classes to multi-day folk festivals; from birthday parties all the way to immersive virtual theatre (thanks of my friend who is a Zoom Dramaturg); but what is behind the scenes of all these efforts to gather with meaning and community, and what can arts organizations learn from these everyday virtual experiences? I cannot think of a better person to talk to about this than my colleague Alex Sarian, President and CEO of Arts Commons, past Lincoln Center executive, global arts consultant, fellow arts lover and consumer, and brand-new citizen of our city.

STEPPING INTO THE VIRTUAL REALM
I was immediately curious to ask what the best virtual event or performance Alex had attended was. “I'll give you 2 examples,” he says. “One of them is recent, the other one is not so recent. The first is Deer Woman, the Downstage production. That was a powerful experience; it was theatrical without feeling like it was. It blurred the lines between film, television, and theatre; and I thought that was beautifully done.”  

The other example he offered was a show he worked on at Lincoln Centre called Up and Away. This show was devised for young people on the autism spectrum. The experience for young audiences was fully immersive and conceived for only a small group to attend at once, making it near impossible to potentially scale it to larger stages. A few years after the initial conception of the project, a film company was approached to try and capture the immersive theatrical production. Alex explains the idea behind that: “What that film company did is they used 360-degree technology to capture the show so that people could then, within the comfort of their own home, using virtual reality goggles, essentially feel like they were in the room. You can look around and experience the immersive nature of the show.” 

These two examples are two different instances of fully conceptualized virtual works that use contrasting tools and methods to create thoughtful and carefully crafted moments that elevate the experience of the arts to a different and unexpected level.

“Deer Woman was a very incredible example of how you translate a traditional theatrical presentation into a new medium, and then the Up and Away example is how you use immersive technology to really turn a theatrical experience into an innovative digital experience,” Alex explains. 

Up and Away

WHAT IS THE NEW NORMAL FOR PERFORMING ARTS?
In thinking about our “new normal”, I am excited about the possibilities of what we might see on the virtual stages, and to potentially attend performances I normally would not have access to. I asked Alex about the democratic and accessible nature of digital content and how he sees Arts Commons breaking down common barriers for both audiences and presenters. 

“Having a presence online actually means that we would be breaking down a geographic barrier, because somebody can consume Arts Commons content, or they can have a relationship with Arts Commons without having to travel any distance. We always knew digital technology was sort of a key component in breaking down that barrier, but now it is becoming really apparent.” 

Alex continued by saying that he is fully aware that while digital content is breaking down the geographic barrier, putting things online does not necessarily address the financial barrier some audiences experience. To him, this is a matter of figuring out what the business model is for online content, as organizations do not have the ability to be a mass-scale distributor like Netflix; but they also don’t want any content sitting on a website not being able to reach the wider community. Ultimately, finding a sustainable balance can help in transforming their current models and offer online content permanently as an option. “How can we find a new path together that allows for larger consumption of arts and culture, but in a way that doesn't either burden the organization financially or the consumer?” he ponders. 

I asked Alex what he thinks the solution is to this key issue of distribution. “I don’t have an answer but what I do know, in talking to other arts organizations, is that as a sector we haven’t figured out what the right question is.”  

He gives me examples of distribution such as Lincoln Centre at the Movies or the All Arts site created by WNET in New York. Not only are they great distribution channels, they are also great models of how digital content can avoid conflicting with in-person experiences, and even engage new audiences. Regardless of these amazing examples of creative and successful distribution of digital arts content, Alex explains that there are many other factors to consider when it comes to this topic, such as monetization, the complex legalities of shared revenue, and other things that unlike Film and TV, the live performing arts sector has not been able to fully figure out yet. 

DELIVERING THE ARTS TO YOU
For arts organizations, not everything is pending on distribution. They also have to think about the kind of content they create and whether that is specifically conceived for digital distribution or if it will be merely just a broadcast of a performance. In Alex’s opinion, there was a very big rush when COVID started to just get any content online, and a lot of it was archival, a lot of it was putting a camera in front of performers. But that kind of content is not what audiences are looking for now, the creation of digital content that is designed and conceived for a digital medium is key for engagement too.  

“How do we explore the creation of digital content using a work of art as a catalyst?” Alex asks rhetorically, and he convinces me that the answer to that is to collaborate and innovate with those who have already figured it out. He tells me that Arts Commons is looking at having the ability to broadcast, record, live-edit, and create digital content from its venues thanks to a partnership that is currently in the works, and can result in having that kind of technology in the building within the next 6 months. 

“What I hope Arts Commons can become is this think-tank or play space. I would like to think that Arts Commons can become this environment where artists and creators and filmmakers can come together and figure it out. I think if we can create the environment that attracts the right partners, then I think we have an incredible opportunity to be the conveners of the right minds, knowing we don't need to have the answers as long as we are inviting the right people that can help us figure it out. I think we are on our way.” 

Up until now, I have been eager to get back in a concert hall and experience one of my favourite things in the entire world: the thrill of live music. I thought, in the early days of the pandemic, that would happen in September of 2020 and now given the continued risks of an unforgiving and highly spreadable disease, many organizations have moved their shows and events to the late winter or spring of 2021. March is the new September, and we wait patiently for a new year to begin and to figure find out what new reality is waiting for us around the corner.

In the meantime, talking to Alex has sparked a hint of radical imagination and has brought up a hopeful outlook for the future of the arts, as organizations gear up – literally in some cases - for a new way to reach Calgarians. It is not lost on me that there are many possibilities available when we gather intentionally and with meaning; but also, when we explore technology, and we allow it to become a playground. A playground where we exchange ideas, muted tears, or celebrations. I think Alex said it best when he once tweeted:  

“Science will get us out of this, but the arts will get us through it. Pass it on.”