Thea’s Golden Life in When Shadows Fall.

Posted on by Thor

When Shadows Fall is an exciting new form of interactive entertainment
that combines live performance with high-tech interactions and immersive
environments to create a unique experience like no other. You explore a hyper-real world with shocking visual elements, live professional actors,
couture costumes, a rousing original musical score, cinematic lighting,
and high-tech interactions that bring familiar video game mechanics to
real life.

I have been sketching at each performance, situating myself in one spot rather than exploring the entire labyrinth. Golds are the elite of Penumbra, an ideal futurist society. They are intellectuals and artists. I should fit right in. To my right was a table with a bowl of half used oil paint tubes. Whoever resided in this room must be an artist herself, or have artist friends.

Thea, (Laura Lewis) entered the room, sat on the couch and began reading a book. She wore a gorgeous gold dress and her skin glittered. She turned to me, and said, ” You are my artist friend.” My roll was cast. Several new citizens entered the room and Thea showed them her room. She was very welcoming. One new citizen started looking through books and tried to piece together ripped up shreds of paper. I was asked if the paper was an important document and I respond that it wasn’t important to me. I didn’t even include it in my sketch. One citizen wanted to see my sketch, so I turned it around and showed everyone. Thea was impressed with how I sketched her donkey. She then opened a drawer on her dresser to show her guests that she had been sketched many times before.

A golden angel held a small vile. It contained a potent drug and Thea offered some to her guests. One guest described it as “pure bliss.” They then went in to the next room of Thea’s flat. I had peeked in before I started my sketch. The room contained a large wooden X with leather wrist and ankle straps. Assorted whips and other sexually deviant toys were scattered around. The door clicked closed. I continued to sketch but was distracted by screams of pain or pleasure.  I heard the whoosh and snap as the whip met flesh. After an eternity of screams, Thea returned with her guests. She was so pleased that they had been so willing to play along. I wasn’t sure it they had been voyeurs, whippers or whippies.

K. Alexander was the founding father of Penumbra. His sudden death swept through the society. A representative from the office entered Thea’s suite and asked her to come in for questioning. She left feeling elated that she was finally taking a greater roll in the society. I continued painting the now empty room alone. Two members of Security entered the room. One asked “Are you a citizen?” I responded, “I am.” She said, “Wait outside, Harlan (Brett Carson) might have questions for you.”   Harlan glanced at me with my iPad and didn’t consider me a threat. When his minion returned, I re-entered the gold quarters and got back to work. I worked until all the lights went dark.

Out in the public town square everyone was assembled. I’m amazed that the outcome of each evening is completely unique. I will not give away details, but I was upset to find out that Golds had been tortured. Thea had seemed so radiant when she left.

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

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

Saturday September 10th at 8PM is SOLD OUT

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.

When Shadows Fall, Hawthorn’s agony.

Posted on by Thor

I have been documenting each performance of When Shadows Fall. Since I’ve become somewhat of a fixture, the cast works around me as if I were a member of the futuristic society of Penumbra. I am cast a a member of the gold cast of society which consists of the intellectuals and artists.  I dress up a bit to look the part. On this evening I focused on Harlan the Engineers lab. Hawthorn (Robert Cunha) is both a pastor as well as an engineer. As I sketched in his lab, I heard him preaching in the chapel behind me. He asked the congregation to close their eyes and imagine what he described. His vision was so cynical and disturbing, that it sounded like the ravings of a madman.

After the sermon, he quickly entered the lab, and grabbed a bottle of booze from the cabinet on the right. He offered me a cup, we were long time drinking buddies. On his stool, was a mechanical device, it was the final piece of something he had been working on for a long time. Two of the new citizens were assigned to his lab. He instructed them on the final steps to complete the devise. Plans on the walls showed all the inner workings. Before the manufacture was complete, or the devise tested, a member of the office came in and confiscated all that he had been working on.

An orange glowing shackle on Hawthorn’s ankle kept him under house arrest in his lab. His assistants however were not constrained. He gave them both walkie talkies and asked them to find a fail safe that could disarm the device.  If the assistants failed, all of Penumbra could be in jeopardy. Harlan’s daughter, Odessa was used as bait, to keep Harlan on task. There were spies, espionage, and at times it was hard to distinguish the new citizens from the cast.

What choices the new citizens made could dictate how the story might unfold. With so many story lines unfolding at once, you never get a complete picture of what is happening everywhere. You would never see the same story if you returned. Some scenes unfold without any witnesses. I was the only person who saw the tender relationship between  Hawthorn and his daughter Odessa, (Cassandra Heinrich). Just as in everyday life, the tenderest scenes can only be witnessed by slowing down and being perfectly still. When Shadows Fall is a truly unique evening of interactive entertainment. I for one, am highly addicted.

When Shadows Fall Grand Opening.

Posted on by Thor

After experiencing life as a Penumbra citizen, there was a Champagne reception in the original wait in area. This was I believe the office of K.C. Alexander the found of this dystopian society. Objects around the office indicated he was an educated and well traveled man. Clues about his vision for a perfect world could be found among the books and piles of paper on his desk.

Each cast member was announced and they entered the party to applause. Many actors were hard to recognize in their Orlandoan fashions. Some of the actresses wore gowns and party dressed. This was a big night, deserving a celebration. After a champagne toast, the cars and press wandered through the maze of rooms finding plenty of opportunity to mingle or sit in intimate groups to talk. For the first time I explored every of ice and chamber. I had only experienced a fraction of the amazing and intricate rooms. Each setting had hints about the occupant and the society as a whole.

I got to speak to my co-conspirator, Mallory Vance for the first time outside the playful confine of the game. She had already experienced Penumbra five times. She was doing office work for her mom, and in exchange she asked for a multi pass to When Shadows Fall. I was very fortunate to have been assigned to work beside her, since she knew her way around a bit, and she got us out of a few tight spots. To me she seemed to fit into the imagined over perfectly. After wandering through every room, I am left wanting to know more.

The cast and roll playing citizens all posed for a group photo. I can barely be seen, an artist hidden in the shadows.

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.