A weekly feature pointing you towards the current experiences that have people talking.
For people who have that recurring dream where you’re running around campus to a final for a class you never went to...
Out of Time [OHIO]**
Immersive director Molly H. Donahue, formerly of the now shuttered Barrens Theatre Company in Chicago, revives one of that group’s best traditions in her new academic stomping grounds. An MFA Directing Candidate at Ohio University, Molly is hosting (through the University’s Theatre Department) a challenge fest that will see six teams of OU students including actors, playwrights, directors, and designers work to devise, rehearse, and present an entirely new piece of immersive theatre in only 24 hours. Each team will be randomly assigned their own unique prompt and playing space along with specific textual and immersive component requirements to ensure each new work will have its own distinct style and content.
Why we think you’ll love it: This free event, while mostly geared towards the campus community, is open to anyone in the public curious to see how this budding generation of college theatre practitioners fare in their first foray into immersive design.
For people who know the Illuminati are real, they just don’t know where Beyoncé fits in...
Cabal [MINNEAPOLIS]**
Walking Shadow Theatre Company revives their successful “play with puzzles” to indoctrinate a new wave of escape room enthusiasts into the fold. The Order of the White Stag has called upon you to serve, revealing a hidden world of ancient, corrupting magic that must be protected from those who would abuse such powers for their own ends. Initiates will sleuth their way through the many rooms of the White Stag’s sanctum on the heels of a renegade magister who threatens the cabal’s, and perhaps the entire world’s, very existence. With spirited live performers guiding you through the unknown, meticulous set and sound design that conjures an appropriately malevolent atmosphere, and a variety of puzzle elements ranging from cutting edge video projections to good old fashioned combination padlocks, this is one society that actually encourages you to expose and dismantle its secrets.
Why we think you’ll love it: Walking Shadow has established a consistent track record with both in person and remote experiences for well-crafted, detail-oriented work that keeps participants unnerved, anxious, and thoroughly engaged.
For people who can’t not sing along every time they hear Wellerman...
Fantasy Tavern Night [NEW YORK CITY]
Legend tells of a humble watering hole in the far away land of Brooklyn that, once every moon, is transformed into a tavern of medieval merriment where the walls echo with laughter, music, and the satisfying clank of tankards filled to the brim. For one night every month, the Wild Hunt experience company hosts a fantasy LARP where performers and participants alike don their cosplaying best and immerse themselves in a fantasy world where a call to adventure may be waiting for you at the next table over. Listen to bold adventurers regale you with tales of their latest triumph and wandering bards plucking out a bawdy ballad in between pints of ale or seek out one of the tavern's many mysteries and complete a quest that may just give you a story of your own to boast about over the next round.
Why we think you’ll love it: Lest you think you’ll be barred from admittance without sporting a full set of plate mail, this rollicking night is on enough of a track that those looking to sit back in their street clothes and take in the spectacle from a safe distance are more than welcome to bend an elbow.
**These listings were suggested by community members Lia Wollman and Patrick McLean, respectively. Thanks, Lia! Thanks, Patrick! Have an upcoming/ongoing immersive experience that has you buzzing? Point it out to us through pitches@noproscenium.com with the subject line "I Found A Trailhead" and we might include it in the next issue!