Paranoia

Imagine going to the theater and not standing in line, not entering a room, not sitting in a seat, not having the lights turned off, not being asked to silence cell phones, not having actors, no audience, no story. Imagine that the play begins like this: "Welcome to Paranoia. The performance has begun. You are the protagonist of a mega theatrical production designed to suit a single spectator: you." Imagine that this message comes to you on WhatsApp, that the director/playwright says it directly to you who are there, in the middle of a public place, surrounded by strangers who do not take their eyes off the cell phone screen without you being able to know if they are spectators like you, actors or simple passers-by who are unaware of the existence of this play in which you are the protagonist.

This is how it begins, Paranoia, a theatrical experience via WhatsApp from the Argentine company Perfil Bajo that has its international premiere here. The experience has instructions, because the conventions of theater theater do not apply to it. You must arrive alone and on time to the meeting point. You have to have your cell phone on, with access to 3G and with a charged battery, because you will use WhatsApp throughout the function. There you will have a dialogue with the director/playwright, who is watching you, even if you can't see him. He will pose questions, actions, movements and interactions around GAM.

"Paranoia proposes seeing reality with the eyes of fiction. Every day thousands of people circulate through GAM, but during the performance the spectator is the protagonist of GAM. Paranoia gives him a license to carry out actions that he would not carry out otherwise, if he did not have a fictional containment framework," explains Ezequiel Hara Duck, creator of the work.

Paranoia promises that all experiences are different, because they are created to suit the personality of each viewer, and because the interaction of each of them modifies it. In fact, the active and central role of the spectator transforms him into a leading actor or “spectator”, as Ezequiel says.

The format combines elements of intimate theater, site specific, immersive theater, interactive theater and new technologies. In Buenos Aires it was called Low Profile and it has had more than 300 performances since its premiere at the beginning of 2017. Both Low Profile and Paranoia are creations of Hara Duck, a radio and television man, as well as a director and playwright.

A residency is held at GAM, so that local authors acquire the methodology and can direct their own functions.

Direction Ezequiel Hara Duck
Assistant director Brenda Taubin
National directorsNaiara Murguialday, Sebastián Baeza, Benjamín Benavides, Carolina Carrillo, Vladimir Vera, Yomara Espinosa, Ronald Heim, Álvaro Soto, Philippe Droguett, Alicia Vázquez, Javiera Vilches, Cristián Cristino, Ítalo Gallardo, Mauricio Vaca, Luis Torres, Romina Perazzo, Iván Figueroa and John Álvarez.