海角大神

Nadia Fegela was nervous when an actor in full costume burst through the audience to summon her onstage during a performance of Friedrich D眉rrenmatt鈥檚 鈥淭he Visit.鈥�

The 13-year-old from Cape Cod was visiting family in the Chelsea, Mass., area with her parents when she heard about Apollinaire in the Park, a summer series of outdoor plays held in PORT Park and performed by the Apollinaire Theatre Company.聽

Yet this particular production was different from anything Nadia had experienced before. She was no longer a passive member of the audience, but an active participant in the play.

Immersive theater isn鈥檛 new for theatergoers familiar with such productions as the musical 鈥淗air鈥� and the play 鈥淭he Mystery of Edwin Drood,鈥� but the form continues with shows including this summer鈥檚 off-Broadway production of 鈥淪eeing You鈥� (from 鈥淪leep No More鈥� producer Randy Weiner) and the recent Tony Award-winning Broadway show 鈥淣atasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812,鈥� which closed last month. 鈥淭here鈥檚 something exciting about suddenly having a role in a performance,鈥� says Arnold Aronson, a theater professor at Columbia University School of the Arts. 鈥淚n a traditional piece of theater, often the audience is never acknowledged by the actors ... but the ability to be a part of an event has taken on a great deal of appeal.鈥�

Perhaps Nadia鈥檚 reaction to her participation in 鈥淭he Visit鈥� holds clues to how to get young people excited about theater. 鈥淚ncreasingly, younger generations aren鈥檛 going to traditional theater as much as people once did,鈥� Mr. Aronson says. 鈥淭he idea of sitting in a dark theater watching something happen off in the distance isn鈥檛 all that appealing ... especially in a day and age of digital entertainment.鈥� But Nadia says she loved being a part of 鈥淭he Visit鈥� and that her small role made the performance more interesting and engaging.