I know Sparkle Theatricals for their dance and movement-based shows, but they also produce more immersive, experiential work. My first experience with the latter is their current production,
Afterlife: The Experience, running for one more night only at the Wabasha Street Caves. I'll admit, part of the draw was to see the Caves, built into the sandstone bluffs on the Mississippi River across from St. Paul originally as storage, and later turned into a speakeasy during Prohibition with rumored visits from some of the era's most notorious gangsters. Now it's an event center, and a very cool theater venue. The conceit of
Afterlife is that we're all (recently) dead, and our souls have arrived at the Caves on our way to somewhere else. A number of previously departed souls are there to guide us on our way. I found it to be overall a unique, interesting, and fun experience, although parts of it were a little too interactive and participatory for this introvert (I don't want to be part of the storytelling, I want to be a witness to it). A mix of theater, storytelling, party games, food and drinks, and dance, you have one more chance to
enter the Afterlife on October 25.
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| the Caves (photo by Jaime Chismar) |
Each evening has three staggered start times, with about a 40-minute experience ending in the Afterlife Afterparty. After checking in, your group of souls will be ushered into the Caves by the hostess Bridget (Lois Estell), who explains the rules. We then wander through the Caves (which are super cool and slightly creepy), encountering various souls along the way. Some are dancing nymphs, some are '50s housewives, some are '70s dudes wondering if Jimmy Carter won reelection (Joshua English Scrimshaw). The audience is asked questions, and to perform tasks; there's also an audience plant (Jack Bonko) to help move things along. There are various things to look at and watch along the way, culminating in a shadow puppet show in which each soul gets to tell their story.
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| IMP (photo by Jaime Chismar) |
If you opt for the VIP "Behind the Veil" package, you will then be ushered into a dinner party hosted by the medium Cassandra (played by Kat Grannis). While we enjoy our drink tickets and Kowalskis snacks, Cassandra uses a Ouija Board to communicate with the spirits, based on audience prompts. Everyone eventually ends up in bar area, and the dance floor where the Improv Movement Project does, well, improvised movement. This was my favorite part of the evening. About eight or so performers (led by directors Evelyn Digirolamo and Mark Benzel, the latter from my favorite Minnesota Fringe show this year,
Transatlantic Love Affair's 5x5) create movement/dance/physical theater based on an audience member's story of a memory. The one I saw was a story of a home birth, and the resulting performances ranged from silly to moving.
As a morning person who had stayed up past their bedtime for the previous two nights, I left at about 8:30, but the party continues until 10:30, with more food and drinks and performances. Created by Alejandra Iannone and Rick Ausland, and written and directed by Christine Pietz Stoffel and Danielle Krivinchuk, Afterlife is a unique experience that goes beyond just theater. Especially if you're someone who likes to dress up and play pretend, and interact with others in a party-like setting (I am not), this might be the kind of thing you like.
