‘Grand Reveal’

After two presentations of our work in progress, we have been left asking how we should reveal the statistics to the audience.
The way it stands at the moment, we can either  reveal the premise of the piece during the event itself, (possibly through envelopes- containing the statistics which would be read out by audience members)

Or we could wait until the end, and have it as a ‘grand reveal’. I personally feel that this seems to have the largest impact upon the viewers, in the sense that what we are doing seems very monotonous and if being perfectly honest, random. This is until we reveal that the implications of the actions we have just been doing, and the meaning behind them. In both of our presentations this has caused a sense of shock from some of the viewers, almost as though what they have seen clicks into place, and they can begin to comprehend what they have just witnessed.

Another option was  to not give away anything at all. Let the audience leave questioning what they have just seen, and come to their own conclusions as to what it meant. One audience member seconded this, and questioned why we need to have a reveal. This was extremely interesting and gave us lots to think about- Particularly, what is our agenda for this piece. Is there even an agenda?

Audience feedback was very useful to us yesterday, for example, one of our facts regards how many words on average a person will speak during one day (Please see Kirsty’s blog post) One audience member suggested that we use this statistic to reveal the other facts, and the overall concept of the piece, but perhaps in a dijointed way so that it is not spoon fed, and does not seem preachy.

Speaking of preachy, this is not the aim for the piece. We are not doing it to make people feel bad or guilty about how many children die from drinking contaminated water for instance; but simply to provide a visual representation of statistics in the hope that they become more comprehensible.

Ultimately the question is: To reveal what is happening within the piece itself, or wait until the end?