вЂњThis hasnвЂ™t really been done in theatre before.вЂќ Few people sit through an entire live performance without fidgeting somewhat. Recording galvanic skin response - changes in the skinвЂ™s electrical resistance caused by perspiration - has been more challenging, he said, because audience members have to avoid dislodging or shaking the recording devices. And, he added, вЂњweвЂ™re getting a lot of good heart rate data.вЂќ вЂњItвЂ™s very thought-provoking,вЂќ Jackson said. But 1984В presents a new range of possibilities, as audience members react to loud sounds, to the presence of rats, to scenes of torture, and even to a direct appeal for their help by a cast member. Typically, exercise scientists elicit stress in a lab, or in controlled situations, such as when a subject is required to speak in front of an audience.

The thing theyвЂ™re seeking to learn, Dolphin said, is вЂњhow people react to stressful situations.вЂќ And then, to determine вЂњways to manipulate their reactions.вЂќ Throughout the production, they have been wiring volunteer members of the audience in an effort to capture their physical responses to what they witness in the performance of 1984.В ItвЂ™s a meta-exercise they hope will yield some useful information about the effects of viewing a dramatic live performance. How affecting? Well, a pair of Pacific University professors and their students are trying to find out.ДЄssociateВ Professors Kathryn Dolphin and Brian Jackson of PacificвЂ™s Exercise Science Department are taking part in the Artists Rep production at the same time they are conducting research into the galvanic skin responses and heart rates of audience members.

The story resonates the tension is gripping the performances are affecting. Welcome to 1984,В the George Orwell story thatвЂ™s being performed in Portland this month by Artists Repertory Theater. Maybe you donвЂ™t even register whatвЂ™s going on in your body. In front of you, on a stage, a man is being tortured. YouвЂ™re sitting in the dark, in a crowd of people.

Galvanic skin response in art