Seen / By Everyone
HERE presents arts collective Five On A Match's exploration of the 21st-century experience of mourning and moving on in the digital age.
... Read moreCat videos, photos of ultrasounds, proclamations of loneliness, and the endless gloating of lives well-lived coexist with heartfelt final goodbyes to, now, ghosts in the machine. What does it mean to live, die, grieve, and keep living in the era of (over)sharing? Set in a karaoke bar, this theatrical collage serves up multiple story lines with text crafted from real-life social media posts.
- Official Site
- 1 hour and 15 minutes
- Already closed
- HERE Arts Center / Mainstage Theatre (Soho/Tribeca)
Cast & Creatives (16)
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Reviews (26)
7 Critics' Reviews
"The show too often feels swamped by the surfeit and shallowness of its source material…The production is largely unable to breathe life into snippets of texts written — quickly, sloppily, breezily — in the chill isolation of cyberspace. Put into people’s mouths, the words tend to come across as that much more distant…The performance can feel like reading a Twitter feed: So many voices, so many words, but rarely a thought of much consequence or meaning." Full Review
"An emotionally powerful portrait of love and loss, and of individuals coming to grips with both…The production is blessed with a pitch-perfect cast...They have done an excellent job of developing their characters out of the raw material of messaging sites…Everything about the production works because everything has been carefully planned...Rises above its non-linear performance roots to tell an emotionally honest and compelling story that sticks in the mind long after viewing it." Full Review
“In theory, an excellent exercise in verbatim theatre. In reality… a mess. There’s no coherent through line, beyond vague attempts at a theme and a symbolic character arc...What occurs, then, is an array of scenes that would be bewildering if they weren’t so boring. Occasional moments of poignancy are created, and the tech aspect of the show is gorgeous, but as an experience for an audience, it’s an awful slog.” Full Review
"This is not a perfect production...The delineation of the assorted dimensions is often unclear, as far as what triggers the change, if anything, and whether the characters are aware of the distinctions and the roles they play in them...However, whether these are purposeful choices or accidents, they do not dilute the validity and efficacy of the show’s journey. The questions raised about life, love, and death are made easier to digest when couched in the fun theatricality of this production." Full Review
"Although the production feels fragmented—it’s nonlinear in both story line and dialogue—it does resonate...Without the development of characterization and a story line, however, it’s hard to get a sense of who these characters are...The experience of watching 'Seen/By Everyone' can be disorienting if you’re not willing to leave your typical theatergoing road map of expectations behind. In the end, it offers a thought-provoking experience." Full Review
"The format of 'Seen/By Everyone' takes a little while to get into, but once you’ve settled into the futuristic digital world of the play, it’s absolutely intriguing...Kristin Marting’s direction makes great use of the space...The ensemble is a gorgeous mix of people of all shapes and sizes that give a voice to all the exclamation points and sad face emojis we read every day...The true impact of 'Seen/By Everyone' comes from seeing real emotions attached to typed sentences we read daily." Full Review
for a previous production "Like a bad status update, Five on a Match's social-media meditation uses a lot of words to say not much at all...The ten 'characters' who populate the show aren't so much people as mouthpieces through which the detritus of Twitter and Facebook flows...Total self-involvement is not dramatically engaging. The already gimmicky premise is further bogged down by Kristin Marting's portentous direction...Audiences deserve more curating than 'Seen / By Everyone' provides." Full Review
19 Members' Reviews
See it if You are in the social media or even just marketing field. Anthropology, sociology. Any field that examines human communication and dynamics
Don't see it if you need a story line to make sense, or a story line at all... if you are not into social media at all
See it if You like environmental theatre. You like nonlinear stories and multi media. Good acting
Don't see it if If you want a set storyline - if you like fluff or easily understandable stories
See it if you like to see a nontraditional, modern, relevant play about human connections through social network.Humorous, sad, and full of ambiguity
Don't see it if you are looking for a light, simple, and predictable performance.
See it if You know you're too attached to social media. Felt like my facebook news feed had come to life. Good set, use of music, very clever subtext.
Don't see it if You want a trad. "well made play" with a definite end. Difficult structure tries to weave full characters in with the trivial internet posts
See it if you like experimental theater and you're interested in the effect social media has on our lives and relationships.
Don't see it if you need a clear narrative, and to be able to follow along moment to moment.
See it if You interact with social media, you appreciate devised theater, you appreciate concept driven pieces
Don't see it if you want a polished, finished product- this show has flaws. You don't care about social media.
See it if You enjoy original works and also if you like expressionism
Don't see it if You don't like works that involve singing or works that don't have a beginning, middle, and end.
See it if You like experimental theatre.
Don't see it if You need a cohesive storyline to be able to follow a plot.
See it if You like experimental theater, technology, and non-linear storylines.
Don't see it if You're looking for something linear or easily understood.
See it if you, like me, question what kind of a legacy our cyber-words will leave behind. Also, see it if you love strong design.
Don't see it if you have a hard time following sharp shifts in narrative and use of language.
See it if You are on any type of social media, like mystery and thought provoking art.
Don't see it if Disconnected from the modern world
See it if you are a person who is fascinated by the intersection of social media and social behavior.
Don't see it if seeing the comments section of an internet article coming to life is upsetting.
See it if You want to see how emotion is processed via the lens of social media!
Don't see it if you do not like your views challenged
See it if You are interested in the ways that social media is part of life and death
Don't see it if If you have no interest in experimental theater
See it if you love surrealist, experimental theatre juxtaposed with fascinating commentary on social media.
Don't see it if you dislike theatre or critical thinking and find yourself lacking a sense of humor.
See it if you want to see a thoughtful, moving play about how social media is changing our lives, and then have an interesting conversation afterward.
Don't see it if you're not open to the idea that there is beauty and power in everyday language, or would rather see a comic sendup of Facebook.
See it if You're alive . I enjoyed seeing this piece from start to finish. It is very relevant and thought provoking. I would watch again at anew seat
Don't see it if Are confused by abstraction because sometimes you'll need to be imaginative
See it if You want a real life look into the absurdities and trageties of living life online.
Don't see it if You cannot follow a non-linear, intelligently crafted jab at millennial society.
See it if you want to take a hard look at how we now live and die online for everyone to see
Don't see it if if you dont want to think...this is not a spoonfed show