Heated Conversations: An Immersive Performance

It’s November, the summer sun has faded to a distant memory and everyone’s putting on an extra sweater. Just enough distance for us to reflect on the high temperatures of August. Two researchers from an unknown organization conduct a qualitative data gathering session to fill in the gaps in the depiction of heatwaves in 2024. Because everyone knows what the statistics say, but how did the heat actually affect people’s everyday routines? Let’s get personal in some Heated Conversations!

Participants become experts in their own understanding of heat, tasked with mining each other’s lived experiences. The performance incorporates opt-in participation, with all audience members invited to engage as they wish. Observation is an equally important part of the immersive performance because our narratives about heat and coping with changing climate are collectively created through listening and re-incorporation. 

The conversations are structured around questions, creating an additional avenue for interpretation. The participants step into the shoes of anthropological researchers faced with formulating new questions as their studies uncover new information. Because science is a ongoing process, not an unchanging truth. The same is true about the beliefs and values we have in common.

Our shared experiences and understanding of our changing habitat are essential parts of moving forward into an ever hotter future. Heated Conversations aims to restore the power over the narrative to the people living it.