Unblurred Lines

HowlRound Theatre Commons: I had my first encounter with immersive theatre in 2015, when I trekked to the abandoned mental hospital in Brooklyn that houses Third Rail Projects’ Then She Fell. I remember the experience in fragmented and disordered bits, the way one might remember a bizarre dream. It’s perhaps unsurprising that the two scenes I recall most vividly were also the two most intimate moments of my journey. In both scenes, I found myself alone in a room with an actor. One room was large, the other closet sized. One performer never spoke but offered me a cocktail and silently enlisted my participation in a game. The other invited me to brush her hair and asked if I’d ever been in love. I can’t say I was totally comfortable, but I never doubted I was safe.