New LAist Article/Reivew (including some spoilers)

[Addison BornParticipant]

Hey gang, there’s a new article about Ascension on LAist, worth a read if you’ve been through (though there are some spoiler images and references to certain events)

http://laist.com/2016/09/26/tension_experience_review.php

While the whole article is great and def worth a read, I think the most interesting thing here is one of the closing thoughts –

But Tension is, if anything, an ambitious piece that is constantly reworking itself, and as such, one that I can only hope is a catalyst for Los Angeles to get its own Sleep No More or Then She Fell.

I haven’t had the chance to see SNM or TSF, and I hope to get out to see them next time I’m in the city. But I really think this hope might be shortsighted, for lack of a better way to put it..

The way I see it, productions like SNM and TSF already exist in NYC – while it would be cool to have similar shows available in LA, Tension/Ascension is its own unique beast. Yes, more theater is always welcome, but Tension is pushing the boundaries even further than anything else, it’s presenting a new way to approach the intersection of immersive theater and extreme haunt, and it is a living, breathing thing that reacts to the participant. It’s interactive in that the show reacts and adapts to the audience in the same way the audience reacts to the show.

I guess what I’m getting at is that while Sleep No More is still seen as the gold standard for immersive theater, Tension is bending, breaking, burning down the framework put in place by shows like SNM and deserves to be celebrated as it’s own thing. Rather than hoping for SNM or TSF in LA, let’s hope for more Tension shows, and more shows building on Tension’s new foundation for the immersive/interactive/extreme.

[Michael RizzoParticipant]

Absolutely agree, I want to see more tension and other original stuff. I would love to see SNM and such, but I also think it’s special when you’re seeing something in its earliest form and being their fornits evolution. The article was very well written and enjoyed it quite a bit!

[Author]

Posts