One thing that stood out to me in this weeks readings was the overcrowding scene from 1/3 of a Nation, where the landlord sells "plots of land" to different desperate New Yorkers. The play allows the audience to visualize the intensity of the overcrowding by having the cast sit uncomfortably close to one another on their patches of land--they are "sitting in restricted, cramped positions... [and] going through some part of their daily routine" (34). I found this scene really powerful even in written form. It brings the inhumanness of overcrowding sharply in perspective by literally making it difficult for the characters to go through their daily routines, and I can imagine that image sticking with an audience member and increasing their sympathy for this issue.
I attached here a screenshot of performance activism from instagram that I see as a modern take on the same issue, and one that even employs similar strategies. This example is explicitly political, and has a direct goal of ending overcrowding of Britains social housing. However, rather than just stating that overcrowding and gentrification is a problem, the visual expression of a chair laden with fancy bags sitting on top of the actor is able to draw in the audience more quickly, while likely getting the same message across.
I particularly appreciate the connection you made between these two examples of using embodied visuals to concretize a point--that overcrowding isn't just an abstract idea, it literally impedes people's ability to live a full life. Do you think increasing sympathy is the goal of these types of performances? Or is there some other action implied?
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