Los Angeles, CA
Escape! The Great Specific Garbage Catch (2026)
Through interactions with puzzles, props, plastic, politics, and prose, people will ponder upon the problem of the Pacific.
"Escape! The Great Specific Garbage Catch" is an immersive, climate action oriented one act play with many escape-room-esque puzzles woven into the narrative. A performance artist and climate activist known only as "She" hosts a solo protest on a metatheatrical island of trash. She draws the audience into her world, and challenges them to imagine a better one. Two news reporters from opposite ends of the Pacific bring unique perspectives, poetry, and comedy to the piece during their segments. Through interactions with puppets, props, plastic, puzzles, politics, and prose, people will ponder upon the preposterous problem of the Pacific! This show has been workshopped with Untitled Theatre Company, and performed at UCLA's Bruin Fringe Festival, the 2025 Hollywood Fringe Festival, and at Hatch Escapes. Join us for our newest iteration at the Japan Foundation for a cross-cultural performance set in the ocean between California and Japan, and consider our shared environmental problem. Be immersed by the beautiful Tea Ceremony with Pacific Plastics exhibit. The 100% recycled, carbon-neutral Japanese tea house structure provides a distinct framework for the performance (pun intended)! PLEASE NOTE: Audiences must WEAR SOCKS, not shoes or bare feet, to step onto the delicate, hand-woven tatami mats in the tea house structure where the show takes place. Audience will be sitting on the floor mats in order to be close to the miniature puzzles in the center and immersed in the recycled set. We'll have a few chairs available.
Audience Role
Audience sits on floor mats close to the miniature puzzles at the center of the recycled set and is encouraged to touch props, open locks, and interact with the story; not everyone needs to solve every puzzle.
Ages: 13 +
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Tags
5
Events
2
Years on EI
About Norm Scapes
Dorm Scapes was founded as a student org at UCLA by Tyler Neufeld in 2024 with the sci-fi game "Code Green" located in his dorm. Since then, it has grown to offer 5 games, including 2 free, public escape room murals called "Return of the Radiation" and "Don't Bring Your Zombies to Work" a digital/Zoom version of "Code Green." Additional experiences include puppet adventure "The Great Stanford Squirrel Scandal" and original climate-existentialist escape-play "Escape! The Great Specific Garbage Catch." Dorm Scapes is committed to using found and recycled materials to create accessible and affordable twists on the escape room medium for student communities and beyond.