Blue's World

Abstract

Blue's World was a collaborative senior project created by Maeve O'Brien and Emily Woodside. The project's focus was on children's interaction with immersive theater and imaginative-play. Blue's World consisted of a 20 minute clown performance, done by Emily Woodside, that occurred within an installation designed by both collaborators. The installation was made up of paintings created by Maeve O'Brien, a 7ft high painted house used as the set of the performance, and animations, also made by Maeve, that were projected onto the walls of the space. Additionally, Maeve O'Brien and Emily Woodside created a picture book for Blue's World that was presented in the center of the installation. The book details the story of the main character, Blue the Clown, and goes into depth about her friends, as well as her journey exploring the world she lives in. Blue's World ran from May 7th - May 8th 2021 in room 0031 of the Art and Design building, and was open to small audiences for Purchase students and faculty. Before the performance, visitors were allowed to interact with the installation as much as they wanted. They were given access to touch the artwork, interact with the set piece, and flip through the children's book. Once the performance began, visitors were asked to sit on the floor across from the set, and watched as Emily Woodside performed and interacted with the projected animations that happened simultaneously. After the performance, visitors were again allowed to walk through the space and speak with both Maeve and Emily about the performance and overall experience.