Siobhan O’Loughlin is the writer/performer/activist/creative tour-de-force behind Broken Bone Bathtub, a unique one-woman show which has toured the planet. Broken Bone Bathtub blurs some of the lines between a traditional solo storytelling show and a kind of thematic salon.
O’Loughlin’s performance — commanding the room while au naturel in a bathtub — is the centerpiece of the work, pointing the way towards a solo theatre that creates a singular moment every time.
We asked O’Loughlin to answer No Proscenium’s “Immersive 5” as she prepares another tour of her signature show. Starting May 3rd she’ll be performing in Seattle, then Olympia and Portland, followed by California. West Coasters are encouraged to reach out to O’Loughlin if they are interested in hosting a performance. This interview has been edited for clarity.
No Proscenium: What does “immersive” mean to you?
Siobhan O’Loughlin: To me, immersive is an experiential event that is particular to the singular place and time in which it happens. The event can’t take place without all participants present, and the participants are deeply involved in the world of the event.
NP: Why (or why don’t) you think of your work as immersive?
SO’L: Of my work, Broken Bone Bathtub is the first that I have made that is immersive. It has a tiny, specific world of the bathroom, which the “audience” is required to be a part of. The event depends very much on the audience. Every show is different, because of what the audience brings, and so each experience is different from the next.
NP: What was the moment where you knew that this kind of work was for you?
SO’L: I didn’t create Broken Bone Bathtub to be immersive, at first. When I debuted this show in Tokyo in 2015, it was meant to be a site specific, slightly interactive piece. We had subtitles on the bathroom wall above my head, and bilingual talkbacks to discuss the themes of the piece. But I found, that even with a language barrier, the Japanese audience wanted to do MORE than simply give me a bath while I performed a monologue. A few months later, for the US premiere, I started experimenting with asking questions to the audience members, opening up the floor in a way that I hadn’t imagined the show to go at all. [No Proscenium founder/publisher] Noah Nelson was actually there for this; he saw the first iteration of this experience. I played with what kinds of ways I could engage with the audience after that. The show went from being a 30 minute monologue to something just over an hour, that leans very heavily on the space that we create together, as a group. It’s not about me anymore. It’s about all of us. And if we can create this kind of experience through immersive work, then it is absolutely for me.
NP: When designing — regarding your approach to presence, agency, safety, and consent — how do you cue the audience as to what’s expected of them and the nature of the content they might encounter?
SO’L: I can’t do this show without a production assistant. It’s a VERY small affair, sometimes for an audience of only three people at a time. I had to learn that I needed to be EXTREMELY particular for this project, because I am naked and inches away from the audience. It’s not to be taken lightly and I can’t risk feeling unsafe anymore. My PA preps the audience now for the experience, by asking for two-three volunteers who are wiling to sit up front. It is then made clear to the group that there is absolutely no touching of anyone, including the performer, unless she invites you to. There is no photography allowed either (because, gross). We have found the rule of the volunteers, people who would like MORE interaction, to be extremely helpful. My friend Adam worked with me in Long Beach, and established the rule of bringing the volunteers into the space to say, “Now YOU, sit HERE” so that the consent is very clear for both parties. We want the volunteers because we understand that some folks might not want to touch a naked woman at all, and to put them in that situation would create discomfort for all of us. It’s really the last thing we want. I’ve also had bad experiences with people touching me when they come in, photographing me, interrupting me, or making me feel unsafe. We can’t have that in the space either. My PAs are always prepared to remove someone who disrespects the agency of the group.
NP: What works — be they creative works, books, or other inspirations — have shaped your current work?
SO’L: I am a solo performer first and foremost, with two other docudrama shows written for the stage (gasp! proscenium!). These shows, The Rope in Your Hands, and Natural Novice, are interview-based projects. I interviewed survivors of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans (Rope) and women from all walks of life about their body hair (Novice) and perform as the people that I interviewed. I learned to listen well, to embody the people who shared stories with me. This is very much inspired by the works of Anna Deveare Smith, Eric Bogosian, Eve Ensler, Danny Hoch, and many more solo artists who are beautiful listeners and creators of docu-drama.
As I mentioned, I didn’t create Bathtub to be immersive. I saw Sleep No More in 2011 and it honestly wasn’t my cup of tea. I’m a theatre maker, and I’ve always taken seriously the German playwright and Marxist Bertolt Brecht’s idea of Verfremdungseffekt (the distancing effect, where the audience is not able to lose themselves in the narrative of a performance. They are instead forced to become conscious, critical observers). This also plays out in my training for Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed (TO), where the audience can tap out a protagonist at any point of the performance, stand in their shoes, and pose potential changes to the scene, or solutions to the problem being presented. Boal, a Brazilian activist and artist, considered the audience not to be spectators but “spect-actors”; participants who are deeply involved in the experience. I was taught this form by Boal’s son, Julian, and loved the interactive nature of this activist-centered work.
I think that Bathtub is a culmination of all of these influences and practices. From the art of listening for docu-drama, to directly engaging in Theatre of the Oppressed, it’s honestly not all that surprising that I’ve been performing naked, in a bath, in front of 6 people at a time and really getting to know each other, for three years.
Broken Bone Bathtub plans to tour the West Coast of the United States this summer. Keep your eyes peeled on their web site for announcements or get in touch if you’re interested in hosting.
View all of our Immersive 5 Interviews.
No Proscenium is a labor of love made possible by our generous Patreon backers: join them today!
In addition to the No Proscenium web site, our podcast, and our newsletters, you can find NoPro on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, in our Facebook community Everything Immersive, and on our Slack forum.
Discussion