Nocturnal Fandango's 'Take Me': Personally Affecting Theater Unlike Anything You've Experienced

I was very intrigued and a little nervous when I first heard about Nocturnal Fandango's two-hour solo experience: a play that is totally immersive that you experience alone.

The mission – as per their website – is to "produce emotionally evocative immersive theater while providing professional development for performing artists."

Their vision is to "provoke exploration of human interaction and society by giving artists and individual's agency to drive stories that create lasting memories."

When it was proposed I cover the show I jumped at the chance. Soon after, I received a questionnaire asking about my comfort level around certain thematic issues, physical limitations, and my comfort with personal nudity. I was open to it all. A few days before I was to attend I got a waiver that covered things that I couldn't hold them responsible for, such as being emotionally traumatized and death. *insert wide-eyed emoji here*

I figured it was just a way to make sure they were legally covered so I wasn't really worried about that stuff. I was more worried that I wouldn't know how to interact with the actors and what was expected of me. Thankfully, the cast is good about getting you to talk and move you to where you're supposed to be. If you're super-shy, you might have a difficult time. But if you open yourself up to the experience, it can really affect you. I know it did to me.

A day later and I'm still thinking of the things I saw, the surprising things I felt, the ideas I was presented with, and how the entire production ended up relating to me personally – especially where I'm at in my life right now. I'm not sure if the actors are trained to pick up on insecurities or personality cues, but by the time it was over I was hearing things I've needed to hear (at least lately) and trying not to cry.

It's hard to really define what the "play" is about and how you experience it as the experience will be different for everyone who partakes in it. Not necessarily that each scene you become a part of is completely different, but what you bring to will alter the interactions and what you take away from it.

The best way I can describe "Take Me" is that you start in reality and then get sucked into a lucid dream that sometimes becomes a nightmare, which is still beautiful despite it. You enter a sort of dystopian world where monsters exist and trod-upon men and women try to disguise themselves as monsters in order to survive. The question of whether "lying for the greater good" is a positive thing or not is a topic that comes up a few times. Also the idea of whether hiding our true selves is self-preservation or ultimately damaging.

While the writing is really impressive and deeply thought-provoking, the commitment of the actors is exemplary. These artists do not break character and easily navigate what you give them and work it into the production. You sort of believe them and forget they are actors, which helps in getting you to interact as well. It's sort of like being a kid again and getting to play make believe on the playground. Remember how real it seemed to be and how committed everyone was to their "roles?" It was like that but much more adult.

Trust me there are a lot of adult themes here and there is physical contact (both mildly abusive and also erotic), psychologically challenging moments, and yes, at one point I had to drop my pants to get an "implant" out. But if you're up for it and allow yourself to play in their playground, it's something you kind of don't want to wake up from.

As in life, dreams teach us things and while I was experiencing "Take Me," I felt like I was learning about myself. And when I "woke up" I was sort of disappointed it was over. I wanted to absorb more and I grew attached to even the most disturbed of the characters. (I heart "Bo.")

What was interesting about it is wondering how far they would take some of the scenes. There is a heavy LGBTQ through-line here which was sometimes startling, sometimes tender, and sometimes arousing. Things are offered, things are taken, and as you wander the discomforting dream you start asking yourself whether or not you secretly want things to go further. While I knew they wouldn't probably "go there" I also wondered if my boundaries would be tested and if they'd allow for it.

It was fascinating.

Ultimately, the things that were brought up for me are only for me to know about so there are moments and interactions I won't review here. "Nocturnal Fandango" creates personally affecting theater unlike anything you've experienced. This isn't a haunted house walk-through or some Halloween romp. This is something much more. It's curious, it's scary, and it's deeply emotional. It will test your boundaries, make you feel things you might not have expected to feel, stimulate you, awaken parts of you that might need waking up, and leaves you completely transformed and affected by the experience.

"Take Me" completed its run on October 27th. Their next production, "Dr. Rocket's Twilight Carnival," runs November 15-17th. Information about their December show is forthcoming. Visit https://www.nocturnalfandango.org for more information and tickets.