When Shadows Fall, the Minotaur’s Madness.

Posted on by Thor

The redrum appealed to me the first time I experienced When Shadows Fall. I had been assigned to assist Daedalus (Joe Hall) when I first became a citizen of Penumbra. My tasks never brought me back to this hidden sanctum. I discovered it later as I walked room to room during the first evening’s cast party. I needed to sketch this red asylum and thankfully the producers (Sarah Elger and Ricky Brigante) were on board with the idea.

The Minotaur, named Nathanael, (John Reid Adams) was in character from the moment he entered the room. I was cast as an artist, a member of the gold caste of the society, sent by the office to observe his activities. He paced the room and dug his nails into the wall, carving in sayings like “Why” and “What is the point?” Eyes mere everywhere to watch in his movements. When he heard that K. Alexander, Penumbra’s founder, had been killed he became quit distraught. Nathanael had been a gold member of society and a close friend of K. Alexander. Alexander’s son Nikolai, (Barry Wright), became jealous of the attention his father bestowed upon Nathanial. Nikolai convinced his father to have Nathanial become part of the Citizen’s Project, to be transformed in to a Greek godlike being. The surgery went wrong, and Nathanael, now the Minotaur, became mentally unstable and was banished to the Labyrinth.

Despite his abandonment and isolation, the Minotaur remained faithful to K. Alexander, and hoped someday to return and become a productive member of Penumbra society. In a sudden fit of rage, the Minotaur punched the a hole the wall. His knuckles were covered in blood. Much of his angst went unobserved by other citizens. He suffered silently alone, except for the watchful eyes of an artist. Odessa, with hair like Medussa, (Cassandra Heinrich), entered. She was startled by my presence. The Minotaur explained that I had been sent to observe. She saw his bloodied hand and was concerned. She turned to me in rage, “You saw him do this to himself and you did nothing!” I sheepishly explained that I was just there to observe. Odessa had also been a member of the gold caste of society. She comforted so many who suffered and share her fate. I was surprised that this tender moment went unobserved except by me. 


The Minotaur was forcibly removed from his red room and dragged off to surgery. The thugs tried to calm him, “It is for your own good.” He returned much late and his broken horn was now restored. Perhaps the surgery had indeed been to his benefit. By remaining still, I managed to discover that the Minotaur wasn’t a monster. He was an intellectual, and a romantic idealist. He envisioned Penumbra as the perfect society even though that society cast him aside. 


When Shadows Fall tickets have been selling out.

Only two performance remain of When Shadows Fall. Every show has been selling out. 

Friday September 9th, at 8pm is a new show that was just added.

Saturday September 10th at 8PM is SOLD OUT

Don’t
miss this unique interactive theater experience. Leave your material
and spiritual insecurities on the outside. Consider Penumbra your new
home.

Penumbra, the Perfect Futuristic Society?

Posted on by Thor

When Shadows Fall is a groundbreaking first-person interactive experience that takes place in a 15,000 square foot maze of futuristic offices, labs, and a dark labyrinth. Mallory Vance and I were recruited by Daedalus (Joe Hall) to recover documents from the office of acting president Nickolai (Barry Wright). Documents we found hinted at a sordid affair with Odessa (Cassandre Heinrich). She had been a gold member of society, but she volunteered for experiments which scarred her for life and cast her as an unknown in the Labarinth. The relationship was abusive. Mallory hoped that if we kept the abusive relationship a secret, that Nikolai might one day repent and the couple could live happily ever after. She was a romantic at heart but ultimately an enabler.  Of course life never is that sweet and innocent. Besides, weren’t the only ones who knew this dark secret.

What had been described as the perfect society was less than perfect. Posters proclaimed that “After acclimation everyone has a place” and “Join our society towards good.” Our reward for joining the greater good was to be banished to the labyrinth for our anti-social behavior. Mallory was the most social of the new citizens, and of course I am an artist and therefor deserved be be part of the gold cast of society. As the unnamed, we had to give up our old name and embrace a new name, I became know as Odin and Mallory became Sarah.

In the end we all met in a public square where the true face of the society showed itself. Ideals were clouded by jealousy, rage and revenge. The misshapen underclass fought against their oppressors. Nathanael, the Minotaur (John Reid Adams) seemed the most tortured of the unnamed.  One of his prosthetic horns was broken off. His pained screams could often be heard in the halls. I clearly only experienced a fraction of the stories that could be unearthed. The experience left me yearning to learn more. One evening in Penumbra only begins to scratch the surface. You have to experience it for yourself.

When Shadows Fall

Posted on by Thor

I went to a media preview of “When Shadows Fall.” This groundbreaking interactive experience happens in a large innocuous warehouse south of Downtown Orlando. There is no signage on the building. A young woman in a black dress held her phone in front of her and spoke to it. I assumed she was skyping but she was actually recording a video blog. Inside was a waiting area where four clumps of press spoke amongst themselves. Ricky Brigante the producer and Technical Director welcomed me. I was issued a small bronze colored badge. It looked like a mechanical eye with sunlight radiating from behind it. It was attached to a note which read, “Welcome new Penumbra citizen! Please accept this symbol of our new society with my highest regards.” ~K.C. Alexander

One of my favorite early computer games was “Myst.” In that game, you wandered through a three dimensional world looking for clues about the now abandoned civilization. Penumbra offers all the mystery of “Myst” while being fully interactive. It is unlike anything I have experienced before. We entered the first fully functional, totally harmonious society in the history of mankind two at a time or, in my case, alone. I walked down a long dark narrow hallway approaching a woman who asked for my allegiance to the new society. I was directed to a series of glowing tablets on the wall. Here, new citizens are given their new roles in the society. I then had to wait for a office worker, Cain (Chris Brown), who was in charge of internal affairs and quality control. He interviewed me briefly. When he found out that I was a journalist and sketched, he seemed interested and advised me to keep me eyes open and report back if I found any, deviant behavior.

I was reunited with the group in a dark hallway. Then, Harlan (Brett Carson) began calling out names. I knew already knew that there were various classes in this society. Golds were intellectuals and artists, certainly that is where I belonged. Silvers were like the middle class, while bronzes were hard laborers and then there was another darker class, the nameless, that no one wanted to talk about. Harlan called out about five names and then he called for me. I met the woman in black, Mallory Vance, and we wondered what our new role in society might be. We were lead to an area near a large reinforced vault door. Harlan’s kind welcoming demeanor changed. He announced that our antisocial behavior had earned us a spot in Penumbra’s dark underbelly, the labyrinth. Dark sinister rooms were contained by iron bars. A red light blinked above the vault door. Harlan bolted the door closed as he left us behind. A large octagonal table offered a spot to rest and ask long-term residents questions. While they were all scarred and misshapen, the women were quite beautiful despite their scars.

Mallory and I were assigned to help Daedalus (Joe Hall), who was dressed in a dark leather trench coat with a sharp pointed collar. He had red scars on his face. He asked us if we would do anything to escape from the labyrinth. Mallory was all in. I hesitated, wondering if murder might be required. He asked us to help him mix a potion in his lab. The walls were burned as if there had been a chemical explosion. I warned Mallory, but she was already pouring the chemicals together in a flask. The mixture could be used to incapacitate someone and allow for our escape.

Mallory and I were each given armbands that made it look like we were under house arrest like Daedalus himself. We were then sent on a mission to recover documents from Nikolai’s office. Nikolai was an ambassador, the son of K.C. Alexander. After his father’s death, Nikolai took over control of Penumbra. Mallory and I rushed through the maze of hallways, and hid any time security came around. We hit the jackpot recovering plenty of aging documents from the office. I followed Mallory’s lead. She seemed to know her way around the hallways better than I. It was fun having a co-conspirator. A secret panel got us back to the labyrinth. We were looking for information about a citizens project but many of the document were love letters. When Daedalus asked about what we found, Mallory snatched up the love letters and hid them behind her back. She later gave these letters to Odessa (Cassandra Heinrich). Mallory is a romantic at heart, and she wanted the romance to remain private. Daedalus might have used the information to forward his own devious agenda. . .

Tickets to this first person experience are $45.95-$74.84.