Black Box Immersion

With Niklas Zennström, co-founder and CEO of Skype, in Tallinn.

I was completely ignorant of what “black box theater” means, and so I was very surprised when I walked on stage…

The black room is designed so that bright lights around the rim of the stage completely block out any ability to see the audience (no feedback, no reminders of the public forum). It is like being immersed in a void, and in this case, they furthered the sense of detachment by covering the floor with grass sod. It was like standing in an open field at night, within a bright circle of light… waiting for the alien abduction. =)

We were much more open and expressive than normal talks I have seen. I think the theatrical architecture achieved its design goals.

Photo by Euregio.