I was at a recent performance and couldn't hear the narrator. I wrote to Cirque asking if they would consider offering captions. Here's their response:
"By the very nature of the shows, Cirque du Soleil's performances are designed to appeal to the audience on an emotional, visual and sensory level. The spoken word, as reflected in narrations or lyrics in songs, in general do not reflect the essence of a show.
Crystal, the show’s main character, sets out on an exhilarating quest to fulfill her destiny as she dives into a world of her own imagination. She soars through this surreal world at high speed to become what she was always destined to be: confident, freed, empowered.
Crystal, who falls through a frozen pond to find herself in an Alice in Wonderland-ish world.
A short review from CircusTalk.News follows:
Crystal is an artistic daydreamer who doesn’t fit the flow a t home and school. In her fantasy, she skates herself in to an alternate reality where everything is slightly familiar, but just as non-sensical for her as her other reality just on the other side of the ice. What the story line lacks in nuance, it makes up for in youthful ebullience and romance as a classic coming of age story. Although, as is often the case with Circus, the thin plot and the simplistic characters are more of a device to hold the various acts together than a comprehensive story, it hardly seems to matter, because of the charming ability Cirque du Soleil has perfected of pairing drama with action and artistry in just the right ratio to make us feel for the main character—in this case as she goes through the simple motions of rejecting mundane life before inevitably realizing she has to grow up and can still maintain her original spark."
Note: I think it is interesting that she says understanding the narration isn't important, and then goes on to explain quite a few plot details that the narration covered. I didn't pick up any of the plot from just watching the action.
Thoughts?
"By the very nature of the shows, Cirque du Soleil's performances are designed to appeal to the audience on an emotional, visual and sensory level. The spoken word, as reflected in narrations or lyrics in songs, in general do not reflect the essence of a show.
Crystal, the show’s main character, sets out on an exhilarating quest to fulfill her destiny as she dives into a world of her own imagination. She soars through this surreal world at high speed to become what she was always destined to be: confident, freed, empowered.
Crystal, who falls through a frozen pond to find herself in an Alice in Wonderland-ish world.
A short review from CircusTalk.News follows:
Crystal is an artistic daydreamer who doesn’t fit the flow a t home and school. In her fantasy, she skates herself in to an alternate reality where everything is slightly familiar, but just as non-sensical for her as her other reality just on the other side of the ice. What the story line lacks in nuance, it makes up for in youthful ebullience and romance as a classic coming of age story. Although, as is often the case with Circus, the thin plot and the simplistic characters are more of a device to hold the various acts together than a comprehensive story, it hardly seems to matter, because of the charming ability Cirque du Soleil has perfected of pairing drama with action and artistry in just the right ratio to make us feel for the main character—in this case as she goes through the simple motions of rejecting mundane life before inevitably realizing she has to grow up and can still maintain her original spark."
Note: I think it is interesting that she says understanding the narration isn't important, and then goes on to explain quite a few plot details that the narration covered. I didn't pick up any of the plot from just watching the action.
Thoughts?