The number of Colombians who attend to theater plays is low. That’s why we’ve wrote four short plays for WhatsApp to be performed anywhere by any Colombian, giving them the chance to get closer to theater, and becoming a main character beside four professional actors, and been part of the festival and the audio and radio campaign.

Each one of these plays was written specifically to release the user’s emotions and let them enjoy been someone else for a few minutes.

Please review the supporting material.

Theater in Colombia is in a critical condition. The Festival Iberoamericano de Teatro de Bogotá, one of the most important in the world, ceased operations in 2018. In the last decade, a lot of theaters have closed, and less than 10% of Colombians attended a theater performance in the last year. On the other hand, WhatsApp is the most popular social network in Colombia, with 92.4% of users, more than TikTok and Instagram.

The chatbot sent T&C and the four short plays selection for the users to choose. Then, the chatbot sent introduction and explanation videos. The interaction begins when the chat sent the actor’s audio with a short script for the user to act. After that, the user sent the audio with his or her performance. And so on. At the end, every user had to improvise the last part, turning every performance a unique play. And the chatbot delivered the full play into a single audio with a customized poster.

WhatsActs plays:

TWINS

TIME TRIAL

NEW YEAR IN APRIL

WATER BILL

The following is one of 3264 WhatsAct plays:

TWINS SCRIPT

INTRO: Festival Internacional de Teatro de Manizales presents:

TWINS

ALEJANDRO (ACTOR): This isn’t normal. This can’t be happening.

FRIEND (USER X): Shut up! If you’re not going to help me, shut it! Push princess, push. Breathe and push. Breathe and push. Push harder. Alejandro take her fucking hand, ‘cause this is your fucking fault!

ALEJANDRO (ACTOR): Is this my fault? How would I know that this could happen.

FRIEND (USER X): What the hell are you eating to get pregnant a sex doll? That’s it “mamita” Breathe, breathe and push. Push. Push. Push harder, fuck! See? That’s why nobody wants to talk to you. Push. Push. Here it is. I can see the head.

ALEJANDRO (ACTOR): It’s like you’d get pregnant with one of your dildos.

FRIEND (USER X): More respect, mother fucker.

ALEJANDRO (ACTOR): But, there’s nothing wrong with having some toys, isn’t it?

FRIEND (USER X): Shh, quiet! It’s coming out. It’s a boy!

ALEJANDRO (ACTOR): This shit can’t be real.

FRIEND (USER X): Here comes another one! Push hard princess, harder! Oh, it’s a girl. Alejandro, you are now an inflatable twins father. Congrats!

ALEJANDRO (ACTOR): Fuck it! I’m going to sue the company.

FRIEND (USER X): What do you going to tell them? I got one of your dolls pregnant, can you return my money back? Maybe, they were made in China. Do you speak Chinese?

ALEJANDRO (ACTOR): Ok then, Give me something sharp.

FRIEND (USER X): Are you going to kill them? Are you gonna kill them?

ALEJANDRO (ACTOR): To have them killed, they have to be alive in the first place.

FRIEND (USER X): But look how the babies are crying, and that doll has fall in love with you.

ALEJANDRO (ACTOR): You’re right, maybe I should sell them online. An abuser could buy them, that’s for sure; or an organ trafficker.

FRIEND (USER X): You are fucked up.

ALEJANDRO (ACTOR): That was a good one, don’t deny it. Just help me out. Or, are you an activist of a sex doll’s fetus lives organization?

FRIEND (USER X): Ok, take this needle, blow them up, and let’s get dinner.

OUTRO: Twins, starred by Bernardo García and someone who wanted to do catharsis by acting through WhatsApp.

WhatsActs. Created by Festival Internacional de Teatro de Manizales. From October 20 to 28.

If this is how two minutes of acting feels, imagine the entire theatre play season.

Buy your tickets at Tuboleta.com

Colombia has experienced a concerning trend in cultural consumption, with theater attendance declining by 8.5 points between 2010 and 2020. Against this backdrop, the objective of our campaign was to reverse this trend and achieve a 6% growth in attendance compared to 2022.

The festival saw significant growth across various metrics:

- Website visits increased by 22,029, with 60% attributed to SEO on Google.

- Instagram recorded 8,113 visits, reaching 57,470 individuals and generating 11,899 interactions with the content.

- Paying ticket sales surged by 67.4%, resulting in an additional 15,017 tickets compared to 2022. This brought the total attendance to 22,425 individuals.