It’s The End of the World As We Know It with ‘This is When We Rest’ (A NoPro Adventure)
Live In Theater’s latest mixes roleplaying, interactive theatre, and a meteor about to hit Earth
“I’m kind of sad to leave,” confesses one of the other participants.
I think to myself, It’s over. We’re dead.
It’s the end of the world. The meteor has hit and humanity is done for.
I murmur in agreement and heave a deep sigh.
It’s funny, I think. I don’t even know his name. But we grew up together. And we died together.
This is When We Rest, Live in Theater’s newest experience, is a departure from their other shows, which typically fall into the realm of historically-inspired murder mystery, usually taking place outdoors on the Lower East Side and inviting participants who the real murderer.
This time around Director Carlo D’Amore has paired up with live action game designer Leland Masek to create an experience that swirls together interactive theatre with live action roleplay. The experience is structured in a way that even those new to both can easily become lost in the events as they unfold. And on the night I attended, D’Amore himself was not just the facilitator of the event, but also a participant (and host of the party) as well.
During the first 90 minutes of the evening, we will each spend a few minutes changing places to meet every other participant. The task is to collaboratively build a history centered around a group of childhood friends. The workshop portion of the night contains four rounds representing childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, and present day. Each round is built upon open-ended prompts picked from a deck of cards. Participants will need to think on their feet, having only a few minutes to unpack phrases like “I asked you to commit,” “You were my friend,” or “You supported me completely,” into scenarios that describe their two characters’ relationships. And at the end of each round, pivotal moments are acted out in silent tableaux for the group.
We start off tentatively, even a little confused, until we realize there are no right answers or wrong answers here.
How old were we when we met? Where did we meet?
Why were you nice to me? OK, let’s go with that…
I am reminded of improv classes I’ve taken as I’m asked to quickly commit to a name, a backstory, a hometown, and more. I scribble my newly chosen name onto a nametag and paste it onto my shirt. I glance around the room, looking to see who these people and wonder what my relationships to them might be: an old flame, estranged friend, perhaps even an enemy?
But there’s no time to waste, as it’s on to the next round.
And within this mishmash, we move from playground dramas to deeper, more serious themes: broken hearts, bad roommates, alcoholism, unintended pregnancies, sexual assault, career stagnation, and more. But the content changes dependent upon what the other people in the room bring with them. No single night of This is When We Rest is ever the same. And any one player’s perspective can only encompass a fraction of the content being created, as we’re switching partners and creating new memories with every subsequent round.
It’s the second half the night where this preparation pays off.
Suddenly, we’re celebrating the end of the world even though some of us haven’t spoken in years; it’s a reunion of sorts. We arrive at this house party with the baggage of our shared past, some even with new secrets to reveal. This scenario is, of course, where the dramatic arc of the night unfolds. Each of our newly constructed characters catches up with one another, learns new things about one another, and tries to figure out what to do next.
We eat, drink, and mingle, and the music plays on, only to be interrupted periodically by an emergency broadcast. A disembodied robot voice announces the time to impact. It’s the worst version of Siri ever. She reminds us we have only about an hour to say our final words to one another. It’s the last hour of humanity’s existence, and the last chance to right wrongs or to lay one’s burden down. Just as there was no right or wrong answers in the first half of the experience, there’s really no right way to play at the end of the world. You, the participant, have full agency in deciding what your character does, or doesn’t do.
Thought-provoking, intimate, dynamic, and infinitely repeatable, This is When We Rest is an experience that lingers on, long after the party is over.
After all, we constructed our new identities together. We grew up with them. We went to high school with them. We fought amongst ourselves. We went away to college, moved to the big city, got jobs and kids and homes. Or maybe we didn’t. And then? We died together.
So what will you do at the end of the world? The answer may surprise you.
But there’s only one way to find out.
To Tom, Lauren, Wren, Clarence, Michael, Moose, and Aaron: I had a wonderful time at apocalypse with you. Forever yours, Sidney.
The public run of This Is When We Rest will take place September 27 — October 5 in an undisclosed location in Manhattan. Tickets are $89. Private booking is also available for groups of 7–9 people in LA and NYC.
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