Written by Jesus Figueroa@ThisFunktional
The United Theatre on Broadway sets as a spectacular backdrop for BLACK LODGE.
BARDO pre-show immersive theatrical experience is the highlight of the night with performers located throughout the multiple floors of the United Theatre.
You are invited to step into the haunted world of BARDO, a liminal space between life and death where lost souls linger, awaiting passage to the next realm. In this immersive pre-show experience, you will confront your deepest secrets as you wander dark corridors amidst trapped shadows, tormented souls, and mystifying creatures, all bound to this otherworldly realm, in search of escape.
Entering the theatre immerses attendees into the world of BARDO while providing a lobby area for refreshments while waiting for the show to start.
Each floor of the theatre has different performers that interact with attendees in creepy ways all while the host reads out desires or regrets that those in attendance write down on their way into the theatre.
A psychic awaits on the top floor to foretell each attendees future.
The performers set the mood for the evening and bring on excitement for the show to come.
Produced by Beth Morrison Projects with original music by David T. Little.
Costumes by Sandra Powers.
Displayed costumes from BLACK LODGE by Sindy Butz.
Hosted by Jeffrey Damnit, Sindy Butz (butoh performer), Brittaney Talbot and Chad Wyszynski (shadow puppetry), Matt Bruce (psychic), Roger Fojas (hungry ghost), Deneen Melody (hungry ghost), Michelle LaVon (hungry ghost), Kent Jenkins (hungry ghost), Erin Maxick (nurse), Alison Stanley (nurse), Alec Anderson-Carrasco (confessions reader), Erica Malachowski (Artaud's ghost), Michael Lanham (death), Olivia Xing (witch), Jasmine Brimsmayd (tormented writer), MaryKate Glenn (tormented writer), Keila Cone-Uemura (tormented writer), Prix de Beaute (burlesque), Cat DeCuir (page piercer), Pony Lee (page piercer), Darija Varnas (model), Megan Sutherland (model), Tiffany Brooke Fest (model), Tara Ozella (model) and Isaura String Quartet.
About BLACK LODGEDrawing on the complicated mythologies of the surrealist writer William S. Burroughs (Naked Lunch), Black Lodge uses dance, industrial rock, classical string quartet, and opera to take viewers through a Lynchian psychological escape room.
Set in a nightmarish Bardo, a place between death and rebirth, a tormented writer faces down demons of his own making. Forced to confront the darkest moment in his life, he mines fractured and repressed memories for a way out. A woman is at the center of all the writer’s afterlife encounters. She is the subject of his life’s greatest regret, and she materializes everywhere in this Otherworld. The writer cannot detach any thoughts of his life from her.
Part film screening and part industrial rock opera concert, this West Coast premiere event features glam opera band Timur & the Dime Museum alongside musicians of the Isaura String Quartet.
BLACK LODGE fits well into the Halloween season line of events in Los Angeles.
The film itself is a bizarre work of art which captivates with a haunting soundtrack.
Enhancing the experience is the live band performing the soundtrack on the United Theatre on Broadway’s beautiful stage.
For those in attendance whom embrace the artistic presentation, it is an exciting presentation of BLACK LODGE.
The event in its entirety is an unforgettable experience which is unique.
The music enhances the creepy distorted film. The lyrics are poetic and beautiful while the instrumentals are serene and complex.
The opera aspect of the performance brings out an aspect from which the industrial rock music benefits from.
Story, Screenplay, Film/Stage Direction by Michael Joseph McQuilken
starring Timur and the Dime Museum, Jennifer Harrison Newman, and Isaura String Quartet.
