#27 Enabling empathy and cultivating connection

Now this is where things change. One small group of people, one small room, one unexpectedly vulnerable interaction at a time. And it’s not easy. It’s hard to just be present, let alone open up to strangers.

And this is where Siobhan comes in. Someone who can take something serious, and turn it into laughter. Someone who can take something that is so hard to explain, a performance in a bathroom? And not leave you feeling like it makes sense, but like it’s the only thing that makes sense. Siobhan O’Loughlin has crafted and refined and created something in Broken Bone Bathtub that redefines what immersive entertainment can be.

What is Broken Bone Bathtub?

Broken Bone Bathtub is an immersive theater experience performed -typically- for a small group, in a bathroom. Siobhan O’Loughlin casts the audience as close friends, letting her borrow their bathtub after breaking her hand in a bicycle accident. In the name of keeping her cast dry, and finding some much needed human connection, she hops in the tub; over the course of the 60-90 minute performance, she interacts with the audience in a way that perfectly walks the line between the topical gravity of the story and the situational levity of the scenario.

Selected Links:

Siobhan O’loughlin
Broken Bone Bathtub
-Instagram
-Facebook
-Twitter

Press and reviews of Broken Bone Bathtub through the years.
Siobhan’s Patreon
Siobhan’s Moth Grandslam and other videos
-*Editorial favorite from clips in above link is ‘Every Time I Try’

Show Notes:

Siobahn’s fictional world: artistic renaissance [4:23]
Are Patreon and crowdfunding platforms helping? [6:26]
What is Broken Bone Bathtub? [10:55]
Vulnerability and beginning the bath [15:00]
Japan to LA, meeting the audience where they’re at [19:53]
Spacial improv and staying on your toes [22:44]
The language barrier in immersive performance [24:12]
Moving with and through cultural barriers [26:05]
The impact of immersive experience [28:25]
Building the immersive community [30:55]