Following a successful inaugural run as part of The Exponential Festival in January 2020, the immersive choose-your-own-adventure sound performance Assemble has returned for a limited engagement through Friday, November 5, at an undisclosed superstore in Brooklyn. Created by David Blackman, Talya Chalef, and Jess Kaufman and presented by Flying Leap, the socially distanced self-guided solo guerrilla experience transforms the mundane spaces of a well-known retail location into a series of worlds, fantasies, and meditations, and now includes some updates to the 2020 original to reflect our current moment.
Participants will need a charged smartphone and earphones. After buying a ticket, downloading the performance app (which works on both Android and iOS), and arriving at the secret location (revealed post-purchase), ticketholders are prompted to navigate and to interact with the store, for approximately 90-120 minutes, through a series of choices and tasks. The site-specific experience, bridging the digital/physical divide, is part interactive theater, part audio tour, and an entirely unique experience for each person, as four people per slot, every 20 minutes (5-7 pm weekdays, 4-7 pm weekends), are invited to join 40-year-old Jane, amidst a global pandemic, in reflecting on her life and considering the cost of the choices she has made.
The thoughtful and innovative piece features Jen Taher, Sophie Sorensen, Danny Bryck, and a global ensemble of 20 voice actors including Alison Bell, Neil D’Astolfo, Robin Galloway, Brooke Ishibashi, and Obie Award winner Mia Katigbak.
Assemble plays through Friday, November 5, 2021, at a store location in Brooklyn. For tickets, priced at $40 ($30 for students, artists, and unemployed), go online. The production is fully compliant with all federal and local COVID-19 regulations, and the experience is solitary, socially distanced, and masked.
