Moments of Magic: The Wizard’s Den
In-person performance is difficult to navigate right now. Performers need to be safe interacting with one another; audiences need to be distanced; local and federal health and safety guidelines need to be followed.
During She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms, we accomplished this by rehearsing and performing primarily via Zoom. When we were ‘in person’, we filmed no more than two actors at a time, roughly 30 feet apart from one another.
But people are hungry for contact, for adventure, for fun. And that is exactly what The Wizard’s Den, a new interactive experience in Denver produced by Australia’s Viral Ventures, attempts to provide.
The Wizard’s Den is presenting us with moments of magic. An invitation to safely gather is magical in our current era of COVID and curfews, and any opportunity for adults to play and shamelessly and publicly delight in content that they love is a moment of magic.
This performance creates the chance for both of these to occur. Tinted with the deep jewel tones of the space and the narrative lore and characters imbued with wizardry, this experience saturates guests in the magic of communal enjoyment. Also, alcohol.
Viral Ventures has also attempted to create an atmosphere of safety, which is in and of itself a magical experience nowadays. Guests are socially distanced, and mask requirements are woven into the story and the lore of the world created. Safety is the #1 rule in wizardry school.
Within those parameters, guests are invited into a lovely space, decorated to the smallest detail to create a magical atmosphere as ‘students’ are invited to attend their first potion-brewing class of wizard school.
I have participated in many immersive performances as cast members, and never have I felt so respected and cared for as an actor. The production company is absolutely looking out for performers. Not only in regards to COVID, but also regarding our individual comfort levels and safety within audience interactions.
We’ve just opened, and I would invite anyone in the Denver area who’s interested in wizards (no matter your nerddom—we cover LOTR, HP, D&D, the whole gamut) to check it out! Due to major audience size limitations, our first month rapidly sold out. If you’d like to have a night to play with your COVID bubble in a magically themed interactive performance, brewing some potions (cocktails), consider The Wizard’s Den!
https://explorehidden.com/event/details/1547229
