The Space of Zero Gravity

Gravity, being the most fundamental force on earth, affects the way we perceive our surroundings. I often think what life would be like without gravity. How it would feel, how we would move, how we perceive the basic elements of daily life, like up and down: left and right.

Few people feel and experience that sense and with the federal funded space program closing, there will be even fewer Americans traveling in Space. People are obsessed with Space; whether you’re a Star Trek or Star Wars fan (there is a little of either in everyone) the notion of Space is beyond our grasps, and it is so amazing we can help but fantasize about it.

Dr. Nicholas Patrick an Astronaut at NASA came to speak at the Ted x USC event in March. Logging over 680 hours in space Dr. Patrick certainly understands the complexities of space in Space. Everything changes in Space; as earth bound creatures we take gravity for granted. Imagine eating in Space, or rather squirting goo in your mouth with the hopes it just doest float away.

Nothing in Space has a direction; there is no up or down, no floor or ceiling. Imagine a 30,60,90 triangle and there is something you want to get at the very tip, a gravity oriented person would take long way traveling along each straight line (the ground and the wall). When you realize you have other options in Space, you take the hypotenuse, straight through the space the shortest route. Patrick said that realizing this phenomenon was freedom, letting go of what you understand as space with gravity, and understanding your body with out it.

The spacecrafts are all so designed with these concepts in mind. All of the controls can be read in any direction. The International Space Station itself is color-coded, this allows you to orient yourself so you don’t end up in Russia, when you meant to go to Japan.

Without great explorers like Dr. Patrick how will we as Americans understand Space? We do get incredible images from the Hubble telescope which teach us all about the cosmos, but nothing can replace, or is greater than, the human experience.

Shakespeare in the Park: The power of outdoor theater

With summer upon us I can’t help but get excited for my favorite cultural event, outdoor Shakespeare festivals. Attending them religiously for the last few years I never sat down to truly understand why I love them so much more than a traditional theatre setting.

There is certain power and energy that being surrounded by nature gives a performance, especially for Shakespeare plays. Most of his plays reference nature, and there are several that are emerge completely in it. The audience can be more connected to the show when nature is referenced if in fact they are outside, enhancing their imagination and transporting them to a different place and time.

Every year more and more Shakespeare theaters are adding outdoor performances, and there have been some ongoing classics, like Shakespeare in the Park at Central Park in NYC, which started in 1957. Theaters are going back to their roots and basing the production around the theater of Dionysus, which was an amphitheatre that was on the water. This position was not a coincidence; it was in fact very well planned. With the water behind the players the wind pushed the air and sound to the audience creating a natural amplifier. Tahoe Shakes has a similar design and is perfect for shows that revolve around water like The Tempest or The Comedy of Errors. When seeing a show like Midsummer, which takes place completely within nature, one can smell the cool air, see the moon, feel the darkness and really be involved with characters- lost in dark woods and transported to a magical place.

The physical involvement with the show is much different when outside as well. Most of the time you are closer to the performers and on the same level as them, with this you are able to project yourself into the scenes, and it is easier for the performers to involve the audience with a much more relaxed setting. An interesting theater company that reinvents scene change, audience involvement and movement within the shows is the Gorilla Repertory Theater in Brooklyn. As the scenes change the audience moves with the performers through the park, using the landscape, benches, tress and even people walking their dogs as a set.

Outdoor theater is a great way to get people out of the stuffy theaters and into nature, and the best part about it - you are aloud to drink wine.