Sit & Spin Productions, a theatre group dedicated to taking risks and bringing new definitions of theatre to life, is bringing “Locus” to the stage from Dec. 5 to Dec. 7.
The show doesn’t feature any actors. Instead, about 20 small groups of audience members will be brought into an all-consuming cross between immersive theatre and a massive escape room within Shanley Pavilion.
Communication senior Drew Slager, Sit & Spin’s fall artist in residence, drew inspiration from their cognitive science and theatre double major to design the non-traditional show.
“Locus” focuses on perception and the five senses, and groups of seven attendees at a time will solve uniquely crafted puzzles. The set includes various rooms centered on each sense, and each group is meant to understand and view the rooms differently, based on their perceptions, Slager said.
“We’re challenging our audience members to understand or to deal with their understanding and their interpretation of a specific sense and how that’s going to help them solve that problem,” Slager said. “And so I’m just hoping that people come to ‘Locus’ with a sense of play and a sense of curiosity, and they’re ready to let those run wild.”
They added that their goal is to create a theatre experience that leaves the audience feeling like a part of the world around them.
Reading Period is a popular time for Northwestern theatre productions. Weinberg sophomore Owen Meehan-Egan, the producer of “Locus,” said there is a tug-of-war between the stress of balancing tech week with final exams and the joy in producing such fulfilling shows at the very end of a quarter.
As a Sit & Spin board member, Meehan-Egan has seen the group put on several shows. From the rock concert last fall to this escape room sensory experience, every production offers wildly new opportunities for NU students to be involved in performance and get in touch with their creative side, he said.
“This is the most unique show I’ve ever worked on,” Meehan-Egan said. “I would probably have to say it’s my favorite. I think a lot of times going to the theatre can feel sort of not necessarily impersonal, but ‘Locus’ is definitely a much more intimate show, so I think people will really be able to enjoy and connect with a theatre experience more than they would for a typical show.”
Weinberg sophomore Sam McLain is part of the “Locus” game design team, which designs the puzzles and finds ways to manipulate audience members’ senses so they can solve each puzzle using one sense at a time.
He said the team’s biggest challenge was striking a balance within the puzzle making process.
“It’s a project that’s meant to be completed and meant to be fulfilled, but if it’s just super easy every time, then you reduce your engagement with the audience,” McLain said.
Tickets went on sale Saturday, and slots are filling up by the hour.
Meehan-Egan emphasized that especially now, during Reading Period and tech week, he is looking forward to standing back and watching the team’s efforts take the stage.
“So many people have been giving their all to the show and putting so much work into it,” Meehan-Egan said in closing. “I think it’s very successful, and I’m so thankful to all of them.”
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