What I liked
I really like that this company is taking a chance and adding immersive pre/post shows in order to connect to these characters a bit more….and be able to hopefully resolve your crisis.
What I didn't like
Can’t think of anything
My overall impression
Dark Arts Prelude –
When immersive theatre works for me, I tend to forget that I’m at a show. I was not at a show playing a part at the Prelude to Dark Arts, I was at a crisis management firm talking about my “crisis”. The actors in the room were no longer people I recognized, but they were “Klein and St. Jude” and they were trying to help me get sorted. I have to admit, it really helped talking it out with them. I felt better afterwards. This prelude gives you some background information about Ms. Klein and Mr. St. Jude before you see them in “Dark Arts”. You do not need to see the Prelude to understand what’s happening within Dark Arts, but if you want a few nuggets of information that most people won’t know about and/or want to just have a chat with this crisis management firm, check this out. I’m somewhat torn to say to see this before you see Dark Arts because after seeing them in action, I’d really like another appointment with them if I have a bigger crisis.
Dark Arts –
Dark Arts is the traditional proscenium show of the Dark Arts trilogy (Prelude, this show, and the Finale) and is where we get to see these actors truly shine. This show had me laughing a bunch, due to the comedy and sarcasm elements, and it had me disgusted seeing as how there are agencies like this in the world that manipulate people, words, and then turn it all around to benefit themselves and their clients. There’s a fine line between this crisis management company and lawyers. The back and forth and dare I say, chemistry, between the two leads (Lawrence Meyers and Stephanie Hyden) brought a smile to my face and really brought this show to life. Since I attended the Prelude, I felt like I knew them. I knew what they were about, but seeing them in true “work mode” and how venomous they can be in order to help their clients, made me very happy that I was on their good side and a client of theirs. If you followed The Tension Experience, you may see some familiar faces as well as some Easter Eggs thrown in as a nod of respect.
