immersive theatre | The Hanslick Girls

September 23, 2019

Playing Along: Nothing Without A Company’s “Pakalolo Sweet”

“It had to get dramatic, didn’t it?”

“Was it not already?” asked Eleanor, as they walked carefully across the astroturf lining the ground in the Berger Park Coach House. The space, a tight blackbox in the center of a park on the edge of Lake Michigan, felt tightly cramped when oriented in a traditional proscenium setting.

“Well, yeah, it was, but I had hope it would stay upbeat about it,” Dania mused. “It wasn’t like Batu, last year. That was dramatic the whole way through. This one felt like it suddenly decided to be a drama halfwa––”

September 3, 2018

Act Like You’re There: Shedd Aquarium’s “Wild Reef” Exhibit

“Did we already look at the Great Lakes animals?” Gwen asked, glancing around. Shedd Aquarium’s unique architecture, designed around a rotunda that served as the hub, was both simple to navigate and easy to get turned around in.

“Yeah, that’s where the huge crabs are,” Dania said. “And the eel petting.”

“Eel petting was in the Australian wing,” Eleanor corrected.

“What about this one?”

Dania was pointing to a relatively bright room, off to the side of the main hall. Almost no signage indicated what the room contained, save for a two word title treatment affixed on the wall.

July 2, 2018

Cultural Commodities: Nothing Without A Company’s “Not One Batu”

The house lights rose – as much as they could in the already illuminated space – just as Eleanor was already standing. The patter of rain against the concrete step could be heard through the open door, though she noted that it had been stronger during the performance than now.

“We should bolt,” Eleanor said to Dania and Gwen, still seated. Gwen might not have even heard, her gaze fixed intently on the author’s note.

“Hey,” Eleanor repeated, tapping Gwen’s shoulder.

“What?”

October 23, 2017

Smash The Heart: Free Street Theater’s “Meet Juan(ito) Doe”

Meet the Hanslick Girls: Gwen, Eleanor and Dania. Created by writer Zach Barr, they are a trio of friends who are always out experiencing the best of entertainment. Be it plays, films, concerts, exhibits, or games, they’ve learned that the arts are best when experienced together. They may not have the same opinions, but their conversations tend to make for an entertaining read. Today, the girls take in the newest play by the oldest social justice theatre troupe in Chicago. Let’s listen in on their conversation…

“But what if a pedestrian comes by?” asked Dania, glancing towards the window of the storyfront.

“They did, did you not notice?” Eleanor said. “There was this one guy, he was looking in through the window during the graffiti scene, trying to figure out what was happening. That’s kinda what happens in a storefront like this.”

“Storyfront,” Gwen added, insistently. “A name as clever as it is a terrible pun.”

Tag / immersive theatre