New York Theater: Those looking to unlock the secret to the success of “Then She Fell,” the Third Rail Projects’ immersive take on Lewis Carroll and his writings now entering its fourth year, might start with the old-fashioned set of keys each member of the audience is given at the start of our adventure through this theatrical Wonderland.
4 comments:
I am such a huge fan of immersive theater. I've seen Sleep No More three times and I've seen Fuerza Bruta once, all of which have been fantastic experiences. I love how immersive theater breaks the fourth wall and doesn't pretend that the audience members are not truly there. Shows like Then She Fell accept the idea that the theater goer is part of the experience and make the experiences as much of what it is as the actors do. If I were to ever go into theater long term, I believe that working with some type of immersive theater would be my top choice. I think what attracts people to immersive theater is the concept that for the most part, you are in control of the world that you're going to explore. I remember in Sleep No More having the complete freedom to roam and discover every nook and cranny of the 4 story building-- I remember going into the vintage candy shop, slipping my hands into candy jars and sampling sweets. It's instances like that which make the immersive theater experience for me because I believe it is the ultimate culmination of being completely enveloped in the world of the play. However, I can see how one can run into issues regarding immersive theater. Most of the time, it can really only be put on by companies that have a substantial budget. Because this type of theater relies so heavily on the design aspect of it, the space that it takes place in has to be detailed and decorated down to the precision of a film set. People are up close and personal with every single part of the show and therefore will notice every little piece, especially if a mistake is made.
This production sounds fantastic. I really would love to see or work on an immersive show like this, though I have yet to be in the right place at the right time. And with that said, of all the productions of this nature I’ve heard of, this one sounds the coolest to me. I love the idea of walking in, getting some beautiful keys, and setting out to solve a mystery. Also the one on one interaction with the characters as the audience pieces together the story sounds like it would work really well. It changes the production from telling the audience a story to giving the audience the tools to discover a story, and that completely changes to audience experience. When I looked into getting tickets, just out of curiosity to see if I could manage to go, I learned that for the most part the show is 21+, but there are some non-alcohol performances, which makes me even more curious. I really hope I can make it to this production before it closes or a similar production at some point.
This show sounds crazy cool. I’ve always felt a connection to Alice in Wonderland; I have fond memories of reading the book with my dad when I was little, and I’ve always been attracted to fantasy stories that play with the ideas of time, space, and reality. The visuals the book’s description paints alone makes me feel like it has infinite possibilities as a staged show, and I love the idea of walking in and out of the many rooms of this hospital- turned- wonderland. This reminds me a bit of a show I saw at Emerson a few years ago, where the audience was divided into 4 sections which were led through 4 separate rooms in the “house”, between 2 separate theater spaces, the design studio, and a corner of the lobby, to experience what is happening within one household as if all of the events were happening at the same time, in a way in which it didn’t matter which scene you saw first or last. I love the idea of literally bringing the audience into the world of the play by giving them a prop with which they are able to interact with the literal physical space of the show, and encouraging them to engage with the “actors” as well, who seem to become more an aspect of the setting instead of merely a character. I think it’s so interesting to see how immersive theater continues to evolve and break down the typical limits of what we usually think theater should be.
This sounds like it could be a really cool experience. That being said I am a big fan of the plan a story method of designing an experience. I want my audience to leave with a new perspective not with just new memories and the use of story is in my opinion essential to that because it allows us to relate directly to the events around us and hopefully come away with a new understanding of their own extended circumstances. I don’t have a problem with audiences all getting a different story because everyone has a different perspective on something even if you all tell them the same story but I think there is potential in an experience like this to lose all sense of story entirely and have it end up being merely a high budget haunted house without the scares. That being said I would love to see this show and have a chance to experience what the design team and cast has dreamed up for me to experience.
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