The hull hatches and creaks. A flight attendant leans over and whispers, “You’re already in the happiest seat.” Later you could swear you felt her breath in the pitch black darkness. She was that close. That’s how she seemed in “Flight,” one of three multisensory experiences that unfolded inside shipping containers being unloaded on a gravelly, gated lot in Denver’s River North Art District.
“Darkfield” is the title of the trilogy, but also the nickname of the inventive outfit that created ‘Flight’, ‘Séance’ and ‘Coma’, all of which are presented completely in the dark. The company launched its U.S. tour Friday at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, courtesy of Off Center, the host of works that are innovative, compelling and often very clever.
Describing each experience in too much detail would be a spoiler, akin to revealing where each skeleton will pop out on a haunted house tour. What’s the fun about that?
What’s remarkable is the way that total darkness shuts down one of the most important senses that many of us (but certainly not all) rely on, not just to orient ourselves in our daily lives as we consume stories. Before entering the container, attendees are advised in the most light-hearted way that if you are claustrophobic or afraid of the dark, now might be the time to reconsider your commitment. There is also a second chance to deviate, which is more than a roller coaster.
After a short, recorded burst into the shipping containers, the lights go out. It’s the kind of blackout that sleep-deprived people are advised to seek out: a darkness in which you can’t see the outline of your hand in front of your nose. For a brief moment in ‘Coma’ there was a small red dot above each bunk and then… nothing. Darkness.
Each experience evokes a different version of creepiness, fear, or unease. “Flight:” crash and unexpected death. ‘Séance’: interactions with things that collide (loudly) in the dark or skeptical encounters with bossy charlatans who exploit belief in the supernatural. “Coma”: the simulation of a consciousness that is on the other side of consciousness.
These different feelings are inspired by a 360 degree sound design produced by a bi-aural microphone. Although there are less elaborate examples, one version of this type of device is a head-shaped, dummy microphone that picks up sounds the way ears do.
This is the making of stories as an event, as an event. Although you’re in ‘Flight’ and ‘Séance’ and you’re stretched out in a bunk bed in ‘Coma’, each adventure is both a thrill adventure and a scripted experience. This means that everyone can touch emotions, sensations, thoughts or a satisfying personal combination.
With headphones on, a guest “feels” the space and “fills” it. The set gain becomes more real through the meeting of the sound design and the way in which we humans already carry within us the meaning (real or imagined) of certain spaces. Guests take this knowledge with them in the sea container.
‘Darkfield’ underlines the beautiful challenges of ‘reviewing’ this kind of experiential work: in the sense that my fears and anxieties may be very different from yours. For example, I am an anxious flyer. So much so that I know every whir and hum of a Boeing 737 and nothing about ‘Flight’ provided an answer to my primal fears. This does not mean that the considerations of death and consciousness, memory and survival, here and elsewhere, were not intriguing. They were.
Similarly, I heard a woman who has attended séances say that her experience of them was very different from that of the ‘Séance’, where the guests sit opposite each other at a very long table. Lights out. Hands on the table (btw, I misunderstood this by taking the order to keep everything off the table too literally). There are noises, thumps and spiky chatter.
The day after the opening of “Darkfield,” co-artistic directors David Rosenberg and Glen Neath and creative director and producer Victoria Eyton led a workshop on the way their shows are designed: first comes the story, then the physical design, then the sound .
After an introduction to how bi-aural audio works, the trio divided attendees into groups who would create their own audio experience. Participants included some local creatives known for the richly textured stories they created for local audiences: Off Center’s Courtney Ozaki, Theater Artibus’ Buba Basishvili, and Camp Christmas installation artist Lonnie Hanzon. That these were among those in attendance underscores the efforts that Off Center, under the leadership of Charlie Miller, is making in building and supporting local artists engaged in experiential storytelling.
As for the ‘Darkfield’ trilogy, customers can purchase tickets for one, two or all three experiences and can choose the order in which they dive in. If the banter that filled the space between each 30-minute experience and the next was any indication, “Darkfield” provides ample fodder for funny and amused deconstructions about food and drink. If you haven’t yet experienced an immersive production, ‘Darkfield’ offers a smart and thought-provoking entry point.
During opening weekend, the heat outside was intense, hovering around 100 degrees. For some, the temperature in the shipping containers, although air-conditioned, was very uncomfortable. On Monday, Off Center’s impresario Miller sent an apologetic email to customers, acknowledging that “due to the extreme heat and technical difficulties, we are sorry that the experience may not have met your expectations.” Hopefully the weather won’t reach these highs again, but Off Center and the show’s producers are addressing the issues.
Another caveat: While not every experience is designed to be accessible to everyone, expanding options for people with disabilities seems to be an afterthought when designing too many immersive shows. The only ‘Darkfield’ experience that does not accommodate people in wheelchairs is ‘Flight’. But the narrow confines of “Séance” and the tightly stacked bunk beds of “Coma” don’t seem much better. This observation does not have to sound like a call to throw the baby out with the bathwater. (Denver Center encourages customers with accessibility issues to email accessibility@dcpa.org.)
Instead, it is an observation that by creating new realities that mimic our current ones, we may improve the boundaries of the reality we navigate so differently. By doing this, we can increase awareness along the way.
IF YOU GO
Created by Darkfield. Co-directed by David Rosenberg and Glen Neath. Produced by Darkfield, Realscape Productions and Off Center at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. At the Vogelkavel in Rino, Larimerstraat 2532. Until September 1 at TK. For tickets and information: denvercenter.org and 303-893-4100.