Out of the DARKFIELD

Amy Johnson and Nathan Alexander on the highs-and-lows of bringing their immersive audio experiences to Colorado

In an era dominated by screens and visuals, DARKFIELD offers a sensory escape that challenges perception by immersing patrons in total darkness. Stationed inside three custom-built shipping containers that reside at The Bird Lot in Denver’s RiNo district, the experience features three distinct audio productions, SÉANCE, FLIGHT and COMA, that invite audiences to test their boundaries.

Behind this innovative venture is the married producing duo Amy Johnson and Nathan Alexander of Realscape Productions. The pair met in Britain and discovered that Johnson’s background in digital marketing and Alexander’s experience in theatre laid the foundation for a strong personal and professional partnership.

After thoroughly enjoying the first DARKFIELD attraction, SÉANCE, when it was performed in the United Kingdom, they decided to contact the creators, British immersive theater legends, David Rosenberg and Glen Neath, to discuss bringing the container-based event to Australia. Since 2016, Realscape Productions has worked with the DARKFIELD creative team to produce shows in Australia, and in 2020, they helped launch an at-home version called Darkfield Radio.

Now they have partnered with the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) Off-Center to produce the U.S. premiere of DARKFIELD.

“Rather than approaching it as immersive theater, we always think about what the need of the experience is,” Alexander says. “That is always where we begin with a project: What does it require and how can we create something unique and exciting for audience members?”

Unique narratives

DARKFIELD’s experiences each present a unique narrative. SÉANCE transforms a container into a Victorian séance room so attendees can confront the supernatural; FLIGHT mimics the experience of flight and explores the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics; and COMA invites participants to take a pill that will launch them into a collective dream state.

“The reason why we brought these specific experiences to Denver was because SÉANCE and FLIGHT are the most popular audio experiences that we’ve created,” Johnson says. “They’re also the first two that were made, so we know they work. COMA offers audiences something a little different. SEANCE and FLIGHT are slightly more high-energy, so COMA offers a nice contrast to those experiences for audiences.”

A distinct feature of DARKFIELD is its use of 360-degree audio. Guests enter the shipping containers and don headphones to hear the experience, which is supplemented with other sensory elements like stylized lighting, scent and an interactive environment.

“The audio experience is slightly different depending on where you are sitting,” Alexander says. “For example, in FLIGHT, there are separate tracks for people who sit in the aisle seat, people who sit in the middle seat and people who sit in the window seat. The story is the same for everyone, but how it’s presented depends on where you physically are in the shipping container.”

Concept first approach

Johnson adds that the creative process often starts with an unconventional inspiration. Rather than coming up with a story and then figuring out how to stage it, the creative team generates a concept then gets to work writing a story.

“David and Glen usually start a little bit backward,” Johnson says. “For SÉANCE, they first came up with the idea of wanting to do something set at a séance inside a shipping container, so we created the story off the back of that. It was the same thing for FLIGHT; they wanted to recreate the experience of being on a plane inside of a shipping container. From there, through inspiration from other literary and historical texts, we created the shape of those experiences.”

The decision to debut in Denver was deliberate. “We’ve been aware of the Denver Center, specifically its Off-Center program, for a couple of years now,” Alexander says. “The Bird Lot seemed like a great space for DARKFIELD, and Denver audiences have been primed for this experience because of the work of Off-Center and other immersive creators in the city.”

Bumpy opening

When the show opened July 11, there were some unanticipated issues that negatively impacted the audience, as extreme heat affected the air conditioning inside the containers. Charlie Miller, Executive Director & Curator of DCPA Off-Center, addressed this issue in a statement to opening-weekend patrons on July 15.

“Due to the extreme heat and technical issues, we regret that the experience may not have met your expectations,” Miller wrote. “We are working with the producers, Realscape Productions, to improve the air conditioning and the overall experience to ensure our patrons’ safety and comfort.”

Johnson echoed this sentiment during our conversation. Given that the show was produced in Australia, where it can get hot, and that all the shipping containers already had cooling systems in place, “we did not anticipate it being such a big issue,” Johnson says. “It really should have worked.”

Since the disastrous opening, which City Cast Denver dubbed the “DCPA’s Big Flop” and OnStage Colorado’s Alex Miller described as “hot as hell,” the team has had technicians come in to work on the air conditioning. They worked on improving the airflow, installing more air conditioners and double-checking their systems to ensure they were ready for Denver’s heat — which has hit several records this summer.

“We never want someone to not be able to focus on the show because of the heat and we’re sorry about what happened on opening night,” Johnson says. “It was particularly hot that day, but that’s no excuse. We have put measures in place to prevent it from happening again, made the containers more comfortable and are much more closely monitoring the weather.”

When I checked out DARKFIELD on July 23, I dressed light in case the problem had not been resolved, but the team had effectively addressed the heat issue. For those who are nervous about DARKFIELD, the team has some advice.

“Fear and anxiety are really subjective, so that’s one thing we tell people who are wary of attending,” Johnson says. “If you’re claustrophobic, this might not be the experience for you, and we clearly communicate that, but we are also clear that it’s not intended to be a horror or haunted house thing. For some people, it’s even slightly therapeutic to come in and accept the anxiety.”

Tickets for DARKFIELD are on sale through September 1, with special bundles available for those who wish to experience all three containers. For more information, visit www.denvercenter.org/tickets-events/darkfield/.