“Take Me” by Nocturnal Fandango, 2019. Photos by Chelsea Morgan, courtesy of Nocturnal Fandango.
Non-profit theatre company, Nocturnal Fandango, will bring their long-form, two-hour solo audience experience, “Take Me,” Friday, October 18, 2019, through October 27, 2019, and festival of short-form immersive theatre pieces, “Dr. Rocket’s Twilight Carnival,” Friday, November 15, through Sunday, November 17, 2019, to a secret location in the Los Angeles area.
“Take Me,” for a third year, is a retooled Halloween experience that promises to be “wholly unique,” shedding “anticipated Halloween tropes” in a long-form, two-hour solo audience experience. This immersive and interactive production is to take audience members on “a completely enveloping journey through a fractured urban fairy tale of waking nightmares, emotional encounters, and elusive and actual hope,” giving the audience “a life-affirming piece of theatre,” according to producer Jason Davidson in a statement.
Nocturnal Fandango’s festival of short-form immersive theatre pieces, “Dr. Rocket’s Twilight Carnival,” features eight distinct one-acts that explore “the human drive to connect” from “dystopian landscapes to worlds of magical realism, each of the eight experiences places the audience members in circumstances both fantastical and wholly human,” staged at a single location. These theatrical experiences are individually described as anywhere from “emotional, character-driven and thematically intense,” “raw, intimate and physical,” or “speculative, physical and intense,” to “bittersweet and tender,” “personal and reflective,” or “visceral, disturbing and immediate.”
Dr. Rocket’s Twilight Carnival” of eight remounted, re-imagined shows include “The Museum of Mostly Human Oddities,” “The Underground Electric Love Conundrum,” “Good Times at the Tumbleweed Drive-In,” and “The Blood Comedies.” Making their premiere are “The Centrifugal Force of Lemon Peel,” “Your Very Own Wishbone,” “A Deliberate Act of Care & Feeding,” and “Wonderland’s Whirlpool Eye.” These shows are performed for individual audience members, with each being unaware of other audience members, even where multiple shows are booked and experienced.
The shows are written and directed by Kevin Davidson, Chelsea Morgan, and Jason Davidson and are experienced solo as half-hour one-acts. Performed by a revolving core ensemble of actors, Nocturnal Fandango company productions also feature new performers as well who interested in this form—all stemming from a variety of backgrounds, including classically and experimentally trained theatre actors, as well as artists with backgrounds in film and television.
Nocturnal Fandango’s “The Blood Comedies,” 2019.
Rooted in character and story, the experiences are to combine scripted and improvisational materials with actors where rarely is an audience member “just a passive observer.” Historically, Nocturnal Fandango’s productions have been staged in warehouses, mountain inns, hotel rooms, and homes, and have ranged in length from single one-acts of 30 minutes to two-hour shows. The longest was staged overnight, with audience members experiencing “hours of content,” with one production taking an audience member on a road trip with its characters.
As a 501c3 non-profit, Nocturnal Fandango has produced 68 works of original immersive theatre since 2016, whose productions have explored themes ranging from “life, death, identity, mental health, trauma, and grief” to America’s current gun violence crisis and LGBTQI relationships.
Dr. Rocket’s Twilight Carnival Itinerary
“The Museum of Mostly Human Oddities” – They travel the country from city to city, and no matter what it takes, they promise you a show. A visit to the museum finds the performers getting ready for tonight’s gig. Their story is both bittersweet and tender.
“The Underground Electric Love Conundrum” – Willa and Ed have asked you to meet them. They need your help. Ultimately, the choice is yours. Personal and reflective.
“Good Times at the Tumbleweed Drive-In” – It’s the last night at the Tumbleweed and you have a ticket to the show. You see, sometimes something just blows on through, on the wind, and you don’t know where it came from or why it’s there. Emotional, character-driven and thematically intense.
“The Centrifugal Force of Lemon Peel”- And, as the tree grows, so do we. While you are not a member of their family, you cannot look away and you cannot leave. Visceral, disturbing and immediate.
“A Deliberate Act of Care & Feeding” – They wanted to ask you: how is love supposed to feel? What are we supposed to be doing? What are we doing wrong? Absurd, raw and troubling.
“Your Very Own Wishbone” (sold out) – And so, he asks, what is it that makes you extraordinary? What is it that you’d like to leave with after your time together has ended? Speculative, physical and intense.
“The Blood Comedies” – And so, he asks, what is it about me that makes me anything more than average? His name is John Miller and he’s pleased to meet you. Intense, emotional and physical.
“Wonderland’s Whirlpool Eye”(sold 0ut) – Perhaps we go through this again, just as we always have. It doesn’t much matter whether or not you believe me: I just want you to listen before it’s too late. Raw, intimate and physical.
“Take Me” is October 18, 19* and 20, 26 and 27, 2019. The added shows Saturday, October, 26, and Sunday, October 27, 2019, have various ticketed showtimes now available. *Performances this Friday through Sunday, October 18, 19 and 20, 2019, are sold out as of this publication date.
“Dr. Rocket’s Twilight Carnival” is Friday, November 15, through Sunday, November 17, 2019, with various performance ticketed showtimes available.
Tickets range from $48.50 – $175.00, depending on ticketed experience.
Audience members are given instructions for the exact time and venue location for the experience following booking a reservation. To make a required reservation for “Take Me” or “Dr. Rocket’s Twilight Carnival,” see ticket links above, or visit www.nocturnalfandango.org for more information.
Nocturnal Fandango’s “Good Times at the Tumbleweed Drive-in,” 2019.
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