Review: Reforged Immersive in LA
Last Call Theatre turning audiences into authors
You know I am a fan of Last Call Theatre, so as I eagerly await their latest offering, Worlds Collide, I want to share a little of their immersive goodness from a precious show from last year.
Reforged was an offering from last summer. Like much of Last Call’s offering, the setting was dark, more dystopic than spooky, with some last hope for the future. There was steam punk, possible magic, and leaders vying to head up the survivors. Reforged was set in the SCP universe of Signals but felt more their own.
In my usual role as chaos monkey, I wanted to test something the cast had shared after other shows, that the shows have multiple endings, and the cast and show runners are happy to entertain possibilities.
As the show began, we were divided into teams. I can’t remember if there was a preshow survey (which is typical) or if we just chose sides. I was happy to see my former student James Bilinsky in my group and to be with my fav immersive partner, Genevieve Marino.
I had her warning from Pirates Wanted in my head: you miss out when you story hop — leap off quests. But, a chaos monkey knows who he is. Our overall quest, to chose a leader from the three potential factions, with mini missions on the way.
Somewhere I got to thinking as my favorite netprov players have said, Those are your rules. Why should we choose one. What if we could have a multileader, all together?
I quickly set about trying to convince the leaders, asking if this could be a possibility. Only if you can get the assent of the other leaders, said one. And later, only if you can get the support of the factions. This last clause was key, and where I went wrong in Love Match!
So I quicklybset about collecting signatures and, in a word, caucussing!
My greatest discovery was the sacred writ. they had these documents that they were using as the basis for having this choice of leaders and not a whim. I decided that what’s your like?Most sacred writ was probably ambiguous and open to interpretation. so I began claiming out of the blue that the sacred writ actually had room four a multilater. i was just as surprised as anyone else when I looked at the sacred grit and saw that there were lines that could be interpreted in that fashion. soon, I began bringing the cast members over to the sacred writ and sharing this discovery with them. but certainly, the most important work was recruiting the other audience members into my wacky plan.
The show was full with the signature last call theater, set pieces and what wonderful characterizations. I was glad to see some familiar friends like oliviera and riley. i could tell that I was missing out on some amount of cool. Show like interactions, the factions were privy, too. but I had my chaos monkey mission.And so continued ahead.
At the end of the show, after another set piece combat, or perhaps right before my memory is a little foggy here. There was a vote. the multi leader was not offered as one of the options, and I began to despair. however, in the last moment, just as the leaders, we’re up. Readying themselves to hear the verdict. The announcement was made is that the multilater option had been chosen. now, if you’ve read my review of love match, you’ll see that this looks awfully similar to my attempt to create the octopul in love match. and I would say that particular attempt was not entirely sincere. that was motivated more towards mischief, and yeah, a goal to do the impossible diffe, then something actually based in story. having finally made some immersive of my own, I am embracing the role of chaos monkey. Who works within the bounds of the story world to enhance it? Not to disrupt it. and I felt extremely validated when my wacky ending was honored. Especially when I heard later from the cast that that was the only showing that had ever featured that ending. and while I won’t say that my ending, it’s changed the world, i must say that being able 23 make a difference, a meaningful difference in an interactive story is a highlight and of course, the main feature that attracts me to this art form.
As usual, I have not read ahead. The reviews of worlds collide to anticipate what kind of me. It’s mischief as possible, but yeah, I do promise to fully embrace my monkey self. and uh there is no troop, is that it’s a joke, it tolerates that better it’s then last call theater, which I believe is the most interactive immersive theater troop in Los Angeles, and possibly the world.
The last showing of Worlds collide is Friday, June 27, 9:30 pm at Thymele Arts as part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival.
