May 6 and 7 mark a theater event from Free Play Theater Cooperative that is unlike any other this semester. Starting at 9 p.m. in front of the Spingold Theater Center, Elana Friedland '13 will take viewers on a tour of the University, narrating students' stories about what various locations on campus mean to them. Friedland won't share too many details about the piece, titled 'As if in a Dream,' but she did explain the story behind the formation of the event. E-mail elafri@brandeis.edu to RSVP or RSVP via the Facebook event in order to attend. JustArts: Where did you come up with the idea for As if in a Dream?

Elana Friedland: A class of mine took place in a different building from usual at a different time to accommodate a visiting artist. I stepped out of the building, noticed a light hitting a bench that I had never paid attention to and said to myself: "I want other people to see this." And that's where this started. I've also been investigating various forms of performance since a class I took in fall of junior year [of high school]-the conceptual roots of this piece actually came from the work I did in it for the Mapping Brandeis Project [a web-based artistic exploration of the University campus in which participants add their own photos of locations on campus to a collective map of Brandeis].

JA: Who is performing in and leading the tour/show?

EF: I'll be leading the tour. I don't want to give away any surprises, so I won't tell you who else will be performing, but I will say that I'm trying to cover various areas of the creative arts.

JA: Where/how did you acquire the student experiences that you mention in the Facebook event?

EF: I conducted interviews with other students, ranging from first-years to seniors; I sought people from a variety of backgrounds [and] with differing interests. I also did a bit of archival research about the campus, so I'm looking forward to being able to share the experiences of earlier Brandeisians as well.

JA: What are you most excited for people to see/hear?

EF: I'm most excited for people to see the campus in a different light. And very eager to bring all of these stories to life.

JA: If I were to go on the tour, what would I be doing?

EF: Again, I don't want to give away too much, but if you came on the tour, firstly, you'd be walking along with me. Ideally, you'd do a bit of talking too-I'm aiming for this to be an interactive experience and one where people can connect with each other.

JA: What are the benefits/unique aspects of experimental theater pieces like this one?

EF: This kind of theater really reinforces the fact that it's a live event. I feel like in some ways this kind of theater is more accessible, even if its methodologies might be a bit out there, because it's taking place in spaces that are readily available to everyone.

Creating this sort of experimental theater emphasizes the integral relationship between audience and performer; even in traditional plays, actors feed off the energy of spectators. This just makes that [idea] a bit more apparent.