NoPro’s Top Moments of 2019
Immersive is all about that moment a memory is made
Creating Top 5 lists is a long honored tradition of critics.
There’s a number of reasons for this: including traffic (circulation back in the old days), the incessant desire to compile lists and figure out “what is best in life,” and even the pleasure that stems from the discipline of sitting down and asking yourself what really mattered in the year past.
One thing that’s interesting, to me, about the immersive disciplines is that more than any other medium it is one of moments. The stories that participants tell after an experience are even more integral to the art than the ones that the production conveys to the audience. What we take with us as we leave an immersive, the memories that have formed, that’s the gold we seek to find.
Those memories begin as moments. Whether the production spent five dollars or fifty million, was a rousing success or a measured disappointment, it’s the moments that matter most.
Here are the NoPro crew’s top moments of 2019, organized by region — going West to East — with my own moments at the top at our Executive Editor Kathryn Yu’s at the bottom. (For the eagle eyed — yes, this is a flip of our Best Shows & Experiences of 2019 list, which if you haven’t read yet is available at that handy link!) — Noah Nelson, Publisher
Publisher Noah Nelson
At Last, My Arm Is Complete Again Thanks To Savi’s at Edge of the Galaxy
As it is for a lot of folks of my generation, Star Wars is less of a commercial franchise and more of a religion. What was once the singular vision of one Northern Californian oddball (I say it with love, Mr. Lucas, the utmost love) has become a kind of crowdsourced, multi-generational, spiritual effort to understand the mysteries of mysticism through the metaphor of The Force.
As a religion — one that has tax-exempt status in several Western countries — it has its own rites and rituals.
Of course, Star Wars is also a multi-billion dollar commercial franchise owned by one of the largest entertainment companies on Earth. Inside the borders of that company’s crown jewel is a place where the spiritualism of the Jedi Order and the commercial savvy of the Great Mouse come into balance: the Savi’s Workshop Handbuilt Lightsabers attraction. For $200, you can experience what it is like to built your own lightsaber and then take it home with you.
It is a ridiculous concept that has reduced many a grown man to tears in front of my eyes.
When I constructed my own, there was a moment that I got so swept up in the spirit that my hand grew HOT as I reached out to complete the rite. A full on physical reaction to an imaginary circumstance that played with a lifetime of resonance.
Yeah, this is the good stuff.
Hearing The Rhythms of the City
If you read enough NoPro, you’d think we were completely obsessed with story.
I mean, we are, but we also are not. There’s more to immersive and experiential work than narrative, just as there is more to art as a whole than narrative. Sometimes what you need is to dive into an experience like, say, a three story former residence hotel-turned-gallery — The Rendon — where two floors have had every available room filled with musicians. Each plays their part of a grand composition in the musical style of their culture, and it all weaves together to make a harmonious symphony that reflects back the soul of the international city that Los Angeles truly is.
And the feeling it produces is nothing short of joyous rapture. I heard the true heartbeat of LA that night, and it was beautiful.
Ah, So This Is How You Do Comics In VR, Thanks Edward Madojemu
At the Vancouver International Film Festival, I got to see something rare: one medium I love fully translated into another.
That was my experience of Edward Madojemu’s Dami and Falian, a project that the Emily Carr University of Art+Design student created in 2017.
The animated VR piece has a companion digital comic which is created using the same VR creation tools as the animated piece. While you can view the comic on an iPad, it takes on an added dimension when viewed in VR.
First, it appears as a panel-by-panel progression on a white “gallery” wall. Some of the panels break the border of the panel, or protrude into the gallery space, 3D movie style. What suggests that maybe there’s more to this than meets the eye… and indeed you can step into the panel. Then, walk around the panel, revealing narrative threads that were just out of frame when you were merely observing them from the outside.
This deceptively simple idea — that there is more going on outside the frame the author chooses for you to see, and then giving you the power to see that — speaks to the heart of immersive storytelling. There are hidden depths everywhere, and the direct expansion of a linear story that then allows the viewer to explore it sideways is perhaps the greatest gift virtual reality can give to storytelling as a whole.
Keep an eye on this guy. He’s a genius.
Being On The Bad Guy’s Team In The Kansas Collection
The Speakeasy Society’s Kansas Collection was a feat in and of itself — ten chapters spread out of years of work.
With a lot of downtime between episodes, it could be occasionally difficult to get back into the spirit of things.
Unless, of course, the story was revolving around Genevieve Gearhart’s Phoebe Daring/Queen Ozma.
My first contact with the series centered on Gearhart’s arc, and ,as the orbit of the story brought me back around to her plot line, it was nothing short of glorious to not only revel in how much fun she was having playing an archvillian, but to join her in that villainy. By the middle of the series, any one-on-one or small group scene with Ozma felt like I was having an extended bout of maniacal laughter. My loyalty never wavered, not even at the end.
Because sometimes it just feels too good being the bad guy.
Getting My Poltergeist On in Give Up The Ghost
My LARPing days are mostly behind me — I often find them to be more “work” than play, the residue of having spent half my college years running a LARP — but, once in a while, a scenario brings out the kid in me.
I wasn’t feeling the first ten minutes or so of Spectacular Disaster Factory’s Give Up The Ghost, which puts you in the role of a recently departed soul who is stuck in limbo until their final fate is decided. And then I ran into the ghost hunters.
Suddenly, I had two very game actors willing to react in shock to actions — turning on water facets, knocking over chairs — that I was doing right in front of their faces.
You know how cats will do something naughty while looking right at you, and you know they know you know they’re being naughty and they do it anyway?
Yeah, well, it’s good to be a cat. Very, very good.
I look back on this moment as the most fun I’ve had all year. Thanks Kirsten and Aaron for enabling me.
Los Angeles Team
Kevin Gossett, LA Reviews Editor
Journey Through the Dark Dark Ride Ride
Dark Dark Ride Ride was really a whole show, but the nature of it made it feel more like a moment. ZJU’s take on a dark ride manifested as an experience where two people hopped in a cart that a member of the cast pushed through a neon hellscape. It was twisted and fun, mixing jump scares with laughs: ZJU’s house style of movement and absurdity with a more immersive flavor. It was a delightful surprise and a hell of a ride.
What’s Behind the Christmas Door in The Nest
Even that title is sort of a spoiler for the revamped version of The Nest, but I’ll try to talk around it here. While I can’t remember if the tape you find here is the same as it was in the first version of the show, the location is brand new. It’s one of the lowest moments of Josie’s life and what’s behind the door captures the feeling perfectly. The whole show uses Josie’s feelings to inform the locations, but in its simplicity, this one transfers those feelings to the audience in a visceral way.
The Fall of the Haus of Creep
What begins as an art show slowly transforms over the course of the evening, until it all goes to hell. And once it goes to hell, the show ratchets up to Maximum Creep. As the end begins, the frenzy is slow to start, but you can feel it in the air. And then the energy becomes charged, kinetic, frenetic. As The Company falls and the art rises up in defiance of their chains, chaos and change take over. The change contrasts with the rest of the show (and mirrors the beginning of Haus of Creep) and helps put a perfectly Creep-y button on the show.
The Portal Closes On The Kansas Collection
What began with a few people in a small tent ends with a much larger audience in a gigantic church, but keeps the focus on the major players that people first encountered. Even though the stakes are as high as can be, the moment turns on the relationship between Phil and Phoebe Daring. Everything they’ve been through comes pouring out with the audience surrounding them. This is on here as much for the actual moment, but for what it represents: The Speakeasy Society gracefully sticking the landing on a story that had played out over ten chapters and several years.
Welcome to Black Spire Outpost
When we first talked about the idea of doing these moments, I knew Galaxy’s Edge would be on here and I knew it would likely hold the top spot. But I wasn’t sure what exactly the moment would be (and I didn’t even build a lightsaber or make it into the bar). I toyed with making it the moment of walking into the Falcon’s cockpit or getting to pull the level to kick it into hyperspace. But in the back of my head, I always knew what it was going to be…
And that was walking into Black Spire Outpost. It’s a holy shit moment if I ever saw one. But as I rounded the corner and saw the small outpost on Batuu laid out before me…holy shit. It was like landing on an alien planet and that planet just happened to be in the Star Wars universe. The size of the place was almost too much to take in, and then there was an A-Wing, and then there was Chewbacca walking through the crowd, and so many other small things I saw as I dashed through the crowd. I was rushing to try to get in line for the cantina and later thought I didn’t do enough to absorb those initial moments, but clearly that wasn’t the case. In some sense, Galaxy’s Edge has it easy. It gets to trade on years or decades spent thinking about Star Wars and use that to create a moment. But, somehow, almost impossibly, it rises to the occasion to create its own immersive magic.
Bonus Moment: Discovering Peteypedia
Is this just an excuse to sneak Watchmen on to this list? Yes, of course. But Peteypedia plays as a pseudo-ARX that fills in bits and pieces of the show for those who care to look. It riffs off of the segments that ran between chapters in the graphic novel while doing significant world-building of its own. It was a fun cherry on top of the basically perfect first season of the show (and a vital resource if you wanted to know what became of Lube Man).
Anthony Robinson, LA Correspondent
Getting Locked in a Room with our Heroes in Captivated: You
During the final chapter of the Frankenstein-inspired Captivated, a James Bond-villain-style monologuing led to me and another audience member being thrown in a locked room with hacker Emma B. Nation (Katie Conrad) and unconscious investigative reporter Mike Stone (Glen David). After a brief moment of panic, Emma encouraged us to splash water in Mike’s face and slap him to wakefulness and decide who to free. It was a fun moment to lean in and confirm some theories, and shake down a character for as much information as we could get. This adrenaline-filled scene was filled with a spike of emotion, an escape room-vibe and a violent payoff.
Chatting with Simon’s Ex-girlfriend Before The Recital
During that fun-filled moment when the doors to a show first open and you’re awkwardly trying to figure out where to turn your attention, it’s great when someone reaches out and helps to steer you towards the drink table. In this particular moment, it was both a blessing and a curse to get chatted up by Jen (played by Alana Dietze), the seemingly self-absorbed violinist and ex-girlfriend of former prodigy Simon. During an intense couple of minutes, it felt like I was having a genuine reunion with an old college acquaintance. The wine-fueled gossip reminded me of the LA parties where you’re cornered by someone puffing themselves up, ladling out biting tidbits (in this case about Simon’s fall from the spotlight), and taking your measure, all the while scanning the room for someone better to be “seen” with. Jen ended up having to excuse herself to refill her drink after eyeing Simon’s current girlfriend, in a moment that was so natural that I did a double take when she started up the exact same conversation with another audience member.
Chicago
Patrick McLean
When Gossip Becomes Fact in Focus Group: A Focus Group
It’s a Herculean effort to survive office politics when working a 9-to-5 corporate job. During my day gig, I’ve learned the importance of finding that one person to trust, ensuring that you have their back while they’ll have yours. Early on in NoMads Art Collective’s Focus Group: A Focus Group, I found myself becoming buddies with Brooks, the company lawyer played by Enrique Retana, the only level-headed member on staff. Most of the time, he kept his mouth shut and head down, working on making paper cranes. So when he stormed off outside, as the office was slowly being divided over petty bickering, I followed him. While hanging out with his paper crane-making coworker, Brooks dropped a bombshell about the company. After spending those few minutes outside, while debating the correct course of action, I wanted only the best for my co-worker. Focus Group: A Focus Group hit all the right notes of office politics.
Disclosure: Marjorie Muller is part of the Artistic Council at NoMads Art Collective, who had work produced by the author as part of the 10-minute play festival with The Arc Theatre.
Packing What’s Important in Grace and The Hanukkah Miracle
I appreciate meaningful gifts, things given that can keep me happy for a long time, as I accumulate a collection of personal items I’ll cherish forever. But what do you do when you can only fill one suitcase of things that surmise all the happiness of your life? I found myself deeply moved trying to answer this question during Chicago Immersive’s Grace and the Hanukkah Miracle as I assisted a European Jewish family quietly packing their belongings in the dead of night to flee the Nazis. The question of “What you could live without?” took on a deep emotional meaning as I struggled to make decisions on what to pack, each choice weighing heavily on me. And when I was unable to close the suitcase, I teared up, finding myself in the shoes of those who’ve gone through this painfully true moment. When I was finally able to close the suitcase, I gained a new appreciation for what’s important to carry through life, thanks to Grace and the Hanukkah Miracle.
A Delicious Meal in Open Spaces: An Art Dinner for Aliens
Let’s face it, formal dinner parties are the worst, especially when the host cooks a big meal. Since your host went through all that trouble, you find you need to compliment them with every bite, even when quietly spitting out into your napkin. Luckily that wasn’t the case when attending The Martin’s Open Spaces, where I had the best five course meal I ever had in my life. The concept for this dinner was that our hosts were an alien species that wanted to learn more about humans by watching the audience interact over a meal. I couldn’t get enough of every bit of food served by chef Emory Hall, scraping at the plate for every tidbit. Even now, while eating homemade salads at work, I daydream about how marvelously delicious those pickled root vegetables tasted. My mouth is watering for another bite of that meal in Open Spaces: An Art Dinner for Aliens.
Honest Conversations Among Strangers (Alice)
When asking how someone is doing, a typical response to get is “Oh, I’m fine,” accompanied by a shrug. But as the conversation continues, you quickly discover that they’re not fine, worried about this or that and weighed down by some problem. Perhaps they’re just trying to be polite or put on airs about how they’re doing, either way striking me as utterly pointless. In venturing down the rabbit hole in Upended Productions’ Alice, we eventually arrived at a tea party where the audience is prompted to make chit-chat with each other and the performers before the guise of polite conversation is dropped. There were no punches pulled as the performers opened up to strangers, being honest with how they’re doing in life. With expressing their true feelings, each performer became less of a stranger to me as I could relate to what they were feeling as well. Thanks to Alice, if you ask how I’m doing, well, prepare for a truthful answer.
The Queen Grabs A Bite (Bloody Bathory)
I imagine that being royalty during the 17th century wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, contending with not only unruly subjects but also rival nations out to destroy you. Rumors of you being a witch or demon wouldn’t make it easier, especially if you were a cold and removed ruler. This is the situation that Queen Elizabeth Bathory finds herself in during The Barrens Theatre Co.’s Bloody Bathory, with enemies on all sides, trying to tear her down. Yet, in following the Queen around, I found that she was handling things quite well. I became quite sympathetic to her stressful life. But that all changed the moment I saw the Queen sink her fangs into one of her subjects. As she sucked their blood, all the little clues snapped into place, with me realizing how efficiently she had been lying to everyone. While there were more terrible things to come by the Queen’s hand, that first bite of Bloody Bathory had me frightened for whoever’s neck was next.
New York City Team
Blake Weil, NYC Curator
The Arrival (House of Showfields)
Nothing says surreal, late stage capitalism like House of Showfields, the most fascinating blunder that still clings to my imagination. Arriving at the bottom of the ubiquitous selfie palace curly slide only to have a mincing scientist paint my face with vegan lotion (“courtesy of Nuria!”) sticks out in my mind as one of the strangest, “off” interactions of the year. At the same time, that kind of off-kilter way to see the world through a new lens is what drew me in to immersive theatre, so it’s a memory I treasure.
The Dancing Dead (2nd Sanctuary)
My biggest regret for shows I was unable to cover in full, but saw, was Brian Sanders JUNK’s 2nd Sanctuary in Philadelphia. A three-ring circus of dance, horror, and plenty of disco, the evening climaxed with The Dancing Dead, a full disco aerialist danse macabre. I got to sit in a ruined cathedral, covered in turf and grave dirt, watching hangmen swing above me twitching, zombies crack through rigor mortis to embrace one another to “Annie’s Song” by John Denver, and a gravekeeper waltzing on roller skates with a plastic skeleton.
Embracing the full schlock of the concept, the entire performance turns into a deeply moving exploration of the loneliness of age and the enduring nature of love. I legitimately cried to schmaltz like “Bridge Over Troubled Waters.” It deserves the nod.
Locked In with a Cannibal (Dreams and Nightmares)
Dreams and Nightmares is another experience I regret not having the time to address in the deluge of October productions. A haunted house for intimate parties of six, with not a single jump scare, it presented tableaux straight out of, well, dreams and nightmares. A one-on-one I received, locked in a room with a well-groomed, charming man — who asked me to be his priest for confession — turned into my best fright of the year. He broke free of his manacles, his soft caress of my hand being replaced with grasps and hot breath as his hunger grew, until he begged me to scurry from the room before he lost control. I tried but the doorknob popped off the door. He cornered me, frothing as he stalked me and pinned me against the wall, only to slap himself to sense at the last minute, fix the door, and shove me out.
The best part? The doorknob breaking was a total accident. Those are the moments of serendipity I live for.
Mallory Gracenin Recognizing Me (Sleep No More)
After a year at NoPro, I finally got myself a ticket to Sleep No More. It was an internal joke by that point, my shame at knowing the structure and fame of New York City’s longest running bastion of immersive theatre, so a viewing felt like an appropriate way to mark the occasion. I wandered in through the twisting, Bernard Herman-blasting, pitch black corridors that mark the spectacular entrance to the show, and, after emerging into Manderley, I ran right into Mallory Gracenin, that evening’s host at the bar. I recognized her instantly; her wonderful Katherine Hepburn voice and effortless giddy joy in her role as the Cheshire Cat stood out as the highpoint of The Unbrunch a month prior.
I recognized her; she recognized me, and we both knew it was mutual. “What’s wrong?” she said, in that amazing transatlantic whisper.
“Do I look like someone you know?”
Yep. I had arrived.
Getting Dick a Drink (Invited)
Invited was one of the most cathartic events I saw this year, allowing its audience to evaluate their own behavior in a party where everyone’s behaving badly. I behaved badly myself, lying, gossiping, and snickering at times. When the other shoe dropped, though, the show provided my favorite opportunity for empathy of the year. When the character of Richard, called “Dick” by his dismissive fellow revelers, sat dejected at the bar, while everyone else engaged in a dance, I took a chance and brought him water and checked in on him. This little beat of connection was such a fond reminder of the human capacity for kindness in a show about how often we disregard our better impulses, so much that it managed to transform the whole night for me.
Allie Marotta, NYC Correspondent
Seeing Dreams (ZeroSpace)
After making my way to “Alpha” status and exploring the incredible art installations, I was finally able to make contact with an Entity. We did the dance and I was taken by the hand and led to a small room away from the excitement of everything else. Once inside, there were three small boxes and a pair of headphones on the table. In this room, the Entity had the proper technology to translate our respective languages, and I was able to verbally communicate with them. They asked about my dreams. I was caught off guard and answered honestly. They then asked me to write down my dream, which I then got to place into one of the small boxes filled with other people’s dreams. After a few more prompts and written answers about what might be standing in my way and what I might be afraid of in accomplishing my dream, the Entity pulled out a fourth box with the lid on upside down. They then asked me to write down what I tell myself in order to keep going in the face of the fears, doubts, and limitations. This answer didn’t go into the box, but stayed placed on the lid while I was able to choose the words of encouragement written by someone else. This was one of those moments where I found my breath caught. There’s something incredible about seeing so many dreams in one place, and then getting to take a piece of something that existed entirely before me home with me. Not to mention the overwhelming feeling of grace and peace in being so close to one of the elegant, magical Entities.
Nothing Is What It Seems (Chained: A Victorian Nightmare)
After being onboarded, I was brought into a room with a small desk and mirror. I was met inside by a character who instructed me to write my name in the ancient book on the desk and then helped me settle into the VR equipment. Suddenly, it was time to move and I was PULLED THROUGH THE MIRROR. The same mirror that was solid and sure and attached to a wall only moments before. I! lost! my! mind! What an impressive example of using VR to create a new way to experience the story instead of simply another medium to tell the story.
After The Party There’s The After Party (A Cocktail Party Social Experiment)
Wil Petre’s project is perfectly described by its title: part cocktail party, part social experiment, and part game. The experience is created in order to test if we can create meaningful and deep connection between strangers. The night is created around a game, based on alchemical symbols, which asks complete strangers to generously give their thoughts and memories to the room. The magical part, though, is the way the cocktail party functions after the game has been played. The party beforehand is as you would expect, fun enough but a bit awkward being in a room full of mostly strangers, but the party afterwards is magic.
I’ve been twice and I still struggle to put into words exactly what has happened. Something about the relational nature of the game (and I’m sure a few more cocktails) puts everyone in a different frame of mind. Complete strangers are clustered together throughout the room discussing the deepest life questions and, sure enough, making plans to get tapas together following the conclusion of the experiment. I’ve never seen anything like it, and I think the fact that I can’t figure it out is part of the reason I keep going back!
When is a Jar Not Just a Jar? (Water, Water Everywhere)
There is probably nothing that I love more than a really well-laid breadcrumb, and the jars of water in Exquisite Corpse Company’s Water, Water Everywhere had me absolutely enthralled. Starting off as almost a throwaway with characters nonchalantly noticing the jars, or picking one up here or there, I really didn’t think much of them. I knew the jars were there but they became background noise of a world I didn’t quite understand yet. Later on, I got to peek in as the two children who lived in the house in the distant past began filling the jars with water and messages, and placing them around the house for the future inhabitants to find, when there wasn’t any water left in the world. I was stunned. What a beautiful through line and a smart way to take this simple element of the story to a full blown plot point. My heart was warmed seeing the kids act so thoughtfully and selflessly, but also broken at the same time as I already knew their fate and that of those to come who needed the jars.
Fair Has Nothing To Do With It (The Privilege of Escape)
After running out of time to complete our escape room, my team and I walked out of our room and into a debriefing area. Previously strangers, we all took a moment to take a breath and shake off the challenges we had just faced. Suddenly, I noticed the other team’s door was left wide open across the way on the other side of the debrief room, and I saw that they had full spectrum light. Another caught breath moment. I knew right away what had happened and found myself both seething and marveling at the ingenuity of the experience. Soon enough, we jumped into the debrief and they explained that one room, the other team, had full spectrum light while we were operating with only one square of proper light in a room otherwise filled with red-tinted light. Almost the whole room was color-coded, so this presented a significant struggle in our progress. The realization of this fact after the intensity of almost finishing the room was a fantastic moment.
Edward Mylechreest, NYC Correspondent
Catching Broken Bone Bathtub Before The Plug Gets Pulled
This year, I was able to witness Siobhan O’Loughlin in her much-loved and widely-respected piece of home-based immersive theatre, Broken Bone Bathtub. I am so glad that I got to see this piece before its close, after having toured around the country. This beautiful piece was simply charming.
Traveling To Wonderland (The Unbrunch)
I want to say thank you to the magnificent cast of The Unbrunch who were able to transport me to Wonderland, portraying a wide variety of characters that we don’t always see in typical Alice shows. Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum stole the show for me!
Living History (The Hidden Ones)
The Hidden Ones brought history to life for me this year. Thanks to this show, for the first time I was able to really comprehend and understand the emotion behind the stories we so often learn about when it comes to World War II. Finding myself, in the middle of a family, in the middle of a war, in the middle of crisis, this was by far the best and most meaningful history lesson I have ever had.
Spending Time with the Family (Inheritance)
Inheritance offered a glance into the immigrant lives of a Russian family who moved here to New York City. To see three generations of a real-life family, with daughter, mother, and grandma (baboushka) all performing in the show was truly unique and heartwarming.
Transforming Space (Water, Water Everywhere and ZeroSpace)
The set design of Water, Water Everywhere was a wonder to behold. As someone who experienced working on Governors Island this year, I know how complicated this build must have been, and all praise is due to the team of artists involved. On the theme of set design, I would also have to give huge props to the team behind ZeroSpace, with the amazing use of technology and projections, I loved exploring this futuristic world.
Michaela Holland, NYC & Social Media Correspondent
Hugging Chewbacca at Walt Disney World, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
The second day of Galaxy’s Edge’s opening at Walt Disney World brought a large hurricane warning. So what I thought would be intense crowds of impatient people turned out to be a quiet, almost idyllic exploration of the massive world. While carefully taking in the old base at the entrance of the outpost, Chewbacca came up behind me and began playing with the Coca-Cola vendor cart. Before I knew it, he had whisked me away from the cart to the merchandise pop-ups to try on bags, hats, and armor. We gathered quite the crowd, as he and I bantered back and forth. The whole experience ended in the most epic hug I have received this year.
Oddly Satisfying Spa with a Friend from San Francisco
I floated through Luxury Escapism’s Oddly Satisfying Spa with immersive creator Lyra Levin. Spending time with Lyra is a rare treat, as she is based in San Francisco. Moving through the Luxury Escapism’s relaxation stations and being able to discuss our experiences with her in real-time and afterwards, is a highlight of my immersive year. (My personal favorite moments were from the Sound Sauna and Kaleidoscope Tent.)
Exploring Remembrance Without a Ticket
I took a trip to Governor’s Island with my colleague Karena, who studied journalism with me at UC Irvine California, to check out all of the immersive work. While I was not able to grab a ticket to witness the performances in Linked Dance Theater’s Remembrance, the home was open and available for walk-through tours that featured various tape recorders which gave information about each room. The recordings dealt with Alzheimer’s Disease and its stages, by highlighting the characters within the performance of Remembrance.
After the walkthrough, Karena and I sat with fellow NoPro contributor and the show’s producer Edward Mylecreest in the living room and discussed the elements of documentary, research, and immersive/interactive design that Linked Dance Theatre so graciously and wondrously executed through Remembrance.
My Favorite Characters of FOUND
The maximalism art exhibition FOUND by Mikel Glass made its debut at The Cell Theater in Chelsea this year. What the show is most remembered for was its undeniable affinity toward dolls: a perfect October aesthetic that called for attention within the Spooky Season craze. Of the almost thousands of pieces of artwork, decoration, design, and detail that Glass put into the four-story space, my utmost favorite characters were the two rodents that resided in a repurposed Auto Vac. It was a hamster maze dream complete with a light-up and singing music box and a clear cavity (salvaged from the dump) to watch the cute furry characters live in their home, all repurposed from the innovative mind of Mikel.
Missing Persons and Packages (The Irishman Activation)
Living in Manhattan, people are constantly in the streets. Every now and again, you also have an overly enthusiastic salesperson trying to stop you from your determined New Yorker-paced walk. It is not often, though, that the annoying salesperson is dressed in full 1950s garb, trying to sell you a newspaper from that same era. In complete serendipity, I had stumbled upon Mycotoo and Netflix’s The Irishman activation in Little Italy. My experience unraveled, as I had concerned citizens asking me about the missing persons, a driver invited me to take a seat in the back of his 1950s-era car to discuss splitting the reward, and noisy reporters had the audacity to take my picture and give it to me as a souvenir. I was in such a state of shock, I couldn’t even process the other aspects of the site-specific activation. Who knew it would be the perfect time and day to run and grab a package? It was an incredibly sweet moment to see familiar faces in some of the talent, as well as realize that some Los Angeles friends from Mycotoo had traveled to New York City to open the activation as well. #synchronicity
Executive Editor Kathryn Yu
“Won’t someone answer the goddamn phone?” (The Johnny Cycle)
I’m face to face with Dalton Trumbo, as played by The Speakeasy Society’s Matthew Bamberg-Johnson, in their epic, sprawling work, The Johnny Cycle. Set at the eerie, gorgeous Mountain View Mausoleum in Altadena, California, 2019’s version of Johnny blends all three previous chapters of the production and spits out a fever dream of a show, with a story as layered as Russian nesting dolls. The audience travels through the mind of the blind, limbless Johnny from Johnny Got His Gun as well as the events of Trumbo’s real life. And even with a cast of multiple, talented actors, I find myself drawn to Bamberg-Johnson’s Trumbo time and time again. His refrain still echoes in my head every time I hear a rotary phone ring.
Volunteers Needed (The Mortality Machine)
At some point in every immersive fan’s life, there comes a time where someone from the audience needs to be the first to cross the threshold, and no one from the crowd volunteers to do it. We all stare at the ground or look around blankly, refusing to make eye contact, until someone raises their hand. In Sinking Ship Creations’ The Mortality Machine, well, that was my friend Brendan, who was the first to try this strange-looking “machine.” Which is how I ended up strapping him to a gurney, tightening a bunch of buckles around his body, and placing electrodes on him, as NoPro writer Leah Ableson booted up the nearby computer and punched in codes from the instruction manual. There’s nothing quite like pushing your very-much-alive friend into a portal in the wall… and then having the hospital bed come back empty.
We Came Here to Make Friends (The Rogues Gallery)
Broken Ghost Immersives’ The Rogues Gallery is a giant interactive game of Risk-like proportions where teams of three players (each complete with a dastardly supervillain identity) try to take over the world by interacting with masked actors, while solving puzzles, completing side quests, or collecting secrets, all under the purview of a mysterious benefactor. The plot thickens from there, and the ending of the story is driven by the audience as well. Which is how I found myself standing next to one half of Room Escape Artist agitating to pummel a dead enemy’s body “like a pinata” just in case it was full of gemstones, while the other half of Room Escape Artist so nobly sacrificed her own life for the greater good, to the tears of the crowd. In the end, good triumphed over evil. (Or, rather, did evil triumph over evil-er? Who’s to say?) Regardless, Team We Came Here to Make Friends both won the game and ended up making some new friends along the way. (Note: NoPro NYC correspondent Cheyenne Ligon was an actor in this experience.)
Personal Mix (Rhythms of the City)
A forty room vacant hotel? Filled with over a hundred musicians, all playing the same song, but in different styles originating from around the world? Looping multiple times? On paper, it seems a bit improbable. But Art at the Rendon’s Rhythms of the City not just worked, but it created a magical landscape of sound for those us lucky enough to experience it while also raising money for a good cause. The hours seemed to melt away as I wandered the hallways, dropping in on musicians from India, Korea, Cuba, Spain, and more. But perhaps my favorite moment was standing in the hallway equidistant from two rooms: one with a saxophonist and the other with rock musician Michelle Shocked, singing her heart out, the twosome creating a marvelous duet of guitar and sax and voice for me, only in my head.
“They’re *dancing*. In a *library*.” (Confection)
Sometimes immersive theatre has trouble having a little bit of fun once in a while. But, sometimes, there are scenes that radiate joy: where you can just tell the performers are having a blast, and the audience is, too. The closing scene of Third Rail Projects’ Confection, set at the Folger Shakespeare Library in DC, is just one of those times. The audience is on the ground floor of the Paster Reading Room — normally closed to the public — staring up at the performers. They’re dancing. In a library. I gasp at how their shadows flit and dart all around the balcony; we hear the sweet sounds of a harpsichord cover of “Honey, Honey.” No dialogue is spoken, it’s just the mesmerizing whirlwind that a perfect dance scene can create, with wigs, petticoats, and smiles all around.
Pulling Our Chain (Chained: A Victorian Nightmare)
In Chained: A Victorian Nightmare, a hybrid live and virtual immersive experience which popped at the Future of Storytelling’s Story Arcade in NYC this past Spring, participants enter into the story of A Christmas Carol as reimagined by Justin Denton and MWM Immersive. The otherworldliness of the experience begins with knocking on a large wooden door and a live performer playing Marley letting me into a replica of a Victorian-era study. She then asked if I was ready to “cross the threshold,” a clever nod to putting on some nearby VR goggles. As I put on the headset and acclimated to the virtual world, I found myself pulled forward — passing through a wall that I’d seen as “real” in the “real world” just moments previous to that. I could only yelp in response as I became a spirit in another world, ready for whatever came next. (Note: NoPro XR correspondent Will Cherry worked on this project prior to joining the team.)
This is a companion piece to NoPro’s Best Shows & Experiences of 2019.
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