The concept utilized when adapting the Escape from Planet Death podcast to the stage draws upon a type of performance consumption uncommon to traditional theatre fandom. In the world of our production, Escape from Planet Death was an authentic radio show that aired in the 1950s and built a cult fan base. In recent years the way in which audience members consume performance has become increasingly communal rather than individual. Fans and other consumers are invited to actively participate in the creation (or recreation) and circulation of new content, such as Fanfiction/remakes, cosplay, and collectibles.
In the age of the internet, the potential for Fan remakes has grown so much that entire films are remade just for the love of an original. One such example is Shrek Retold. Youtuber 3GI commissioned over 200 creators to help retell a snippet of the 2001 Dreamwork film Shrek. The creators had complete artistic liberty to retell their portion in any medium they saw fit. Published in November 2018, Shrek Retold features a variety of storytelling styles, from actors in homemade costumes, to low-budget computer animation, to paper puppets, claymation, and more. Escape from Planet Death at BYU shows a group of friends, all avid fans of a 1950’s radio show, restaging it themselves with costumes and props found in their basement, asserting a right to participate in the culture, on their own terms, when and where they wish.
Central to this type of deep fandom is media becoming an aspect of identity. Stories are an easy means by which mankind can relate to one another, many can relate to making small talk discussing the latest episode of The Mandalorian or new Marvel movie. While there are certainly degrees of engagement with these (yours truly owning a baby Yoda plush and substantial collection of marvel legos while others can bond over something more frugal, say a shirt) stories and fandom help foster connections and can biome a petri dish to examine issues in the source material in a productive way rather than throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
For example, 14-year-old Heather Lawyer created a web-based “The Daily Prophet” and published weekly articles written by young Harry Potter fans all over the world. This resulted in a jointly produced fantasy – somewhere between a role-playing game and fan fiction. The Harry Potter has become distinctly more divisive since Heather created her Daily Prophet, but the fandom still exists and flourishes with podcasts and the podcast communities such as Harry Potter and the Sacred Text, Witch Please, and Potterless all taking a skeptical view of the source material while still honoring it’s cultural and personal significance.
Science Fiction in the 1950s, while iconic, does feature values that would make many modern viewers uncomfortable, particularly regarding race and gender. As the fans of this show restage it today in 2021 keep an eye out for the ways in which some contemporary values parody and satirize sexist aspects of the outdated source material.
