TBD Immersive presents their new adventure, Under(world): The Lost & The Found, in Dupont Circle. The Dupont Underground has been transformed into a series of settings representing the inter-crossings of the world of the living and under(world) of the deceased.
TBD (Tradition Be Damned) productions are not your average live theater experience. Each audience member becomes a part of the story and no two paths are exactly alike. Some productions are more interactive than others and this particular adventure is more like a guided journey.
Jenny Splitter is the Devising Playwright and Story Director, with LaMae Caparas as Choreographer.
At the beginning of the experience, the audience is split in half. Then the TBD cast takes you on one of two paths. There is the group of the living, making their way through the end of life and transitioning into death. The second group, which is the one I was with, starts in the underworld and takes the journey of a soul preparing to be reborn into the land of the living.
Each group has its own guide, who stays with them from beginning to end. Our guide made us aware that our souls had been chosen for a special purpose and that, as we ventured through the Underworld, we were to find and hold one particular memory to carry through to the other side. Everything else would be wiped clean.
This internalizing was the primary focus of Under(world). There wasn’t a lot of action but instead abstract art, pages of books tacked to walls, and ethereal sounds (designed by Rikki Frohmader) to digest and interpret in whatever way comes to mind.
Halfway through, the two audience groups are briefly reconnected, as they represent their mirrors on the other side. For each soul that is reborn, one of the living is meeting their death. A sheer cloth divides the Underground at this point and the groups’ guides interact as they, too, are copies of the other; a living and deceased version of the same soul.
There is no traditional program to explain the characters you meet. It is entirely up to the audience members to listen, follow, and interact however they feel comfortable. There are certain guidelines and rules to follow that are covered at the beginning of the event, and there are also signals that can be used to express if an audience member doesn’t want to interact.
TBD Immersive’s latest production, Under(world), is best described as an extensive and interactive art installation. The potential for a deep and meaningful experience is tremendous, but the commitment of the audience member is a key factor in how the story plays out. Those unwilling to temporarily surrender their version of reality and delve into the world TBD has created will fail to find meaning and purpose.
For those who chose to explore this dark and unexplored passageway, “The Underworld Awaits.”
Running Time: One hour, with no intermission.
Under(world): The Lost and The Found plays through May 12, 2019, at TBD Immersive, performing at Dupont Underground, 19 Dupont Cir NW, Washington, DC. For tickets, call 866-811-4111 or purchase them online.
Life Track
Lida Benson
Rikki Frohmader
Keenan Gibson
Jasmine Jones
Rachel Messbauer
Gabe Peyton
Nell Quinn-Gibney
Alex Reeves
Annetta Dexter Sawyer
Cate Minichino (u/s)
Death Track
Claire Aniela
Florence Babatunde
Kristen Briscoe
Leo Delgado
Marissa Goodstone
Scott Graham
Nerissa Hart
Matthew Marcus
Natasha Preston
Heather Marie Vitale (u/s)
Creative Team
Producing Artistic Director – Strother Gaines
Devising Playwright & Story Director – Jenny Splitter
Producing Improvisation Director – Dana Malone Heiser
Choreographer – LaMae Caparas
Costume Designer – Deborah Lash
Costume Designer – Colleen Parker
Sound Designer – Rikki Frohmader
Music Remix – Frederik Rubens
Additional Voice Actors
Marshall Bradshaw
Karen Lange
Tony Lopez
Dana Malone Heiser
Cate Minichino
Kristin Zeldes
House Management Team
Ian Bannon
Mela Boyer
Marshall Bradshaw
Tyra Branch
Micah Haddock
Caroline Howe
Jullian Kline
Karen Lange
Tony Lopez
Ashley Nichols
Raechel Patrese
Alex Reeves
Adam Shames
Ariana Tobias
Production Team
Designer – Will Lowry
Technical Director – Justin Hicks of INCITE Colorado
Assistant to the Designer – Peter Adams
Associate Producer – Cate Minichino
Associate Producer – Heather Marie Vitale
Phone Imagineer – Morgan Ward
Intern – Doi Kim
Special Thanks
Charles Elliot
Jeremy Foster
Nicole Isaac
Bonnary Lek
Tony Lopez
Chris Riddle
Adam Shames
Alysa Turner
Dupont Underground
Urbana
