The Philadelphia-based creative group, Obvious Agency, is debuting a new show this summer, and like all of the brand’s past performances, locals can expect a unique and immersive encounter.
‘Space Opera’ is OA’s latest “playable theater” experience, and it centers around immersive role-playing, live performance, and collaborative storytelling. The plot takes on a sci-fi/fantasy theme, with audience members and players decide where the story goes under the direction of trained “performer-facilitators.”
Currently, Obvious Agency is seeking players, gamers, and theater lovers to gather over three Saturdays in June and collaborate in this interactive story.
As a release describes, Space Opera is not just a show—it’s a living, evolving universe where participants play an active role in shaping the story and collaborate with game masters and performers in a unique combination of gameplay and theatricality. Participants develop relationships and join forces to survive an oncoming cataclysm over multiple days, which carries over into each weekend of play.
Essentially each night of the show has participants build a mock society and work together to “survive, navigate, and dream.” The show is meant to help create a communal experience, and it draws from traditions of both tabletop role-playing games and theater: Think, Dungeons & Dragons-style dice rolls and audience role-playing, combined with facilitation tools inspired by the practices from the Theatre of the Oppressed.
Inspired by Adrienne Maree Brown’s writing in ‘Emergent Strategy’ where “science fiction is simply a way to practice the future together,” the release also notes that the story is non-linear, meaning no two performances are the same. Decisions made in one session will ripple through the following weekends, creating an interconnected narrative across multiple performances. Players are encouraged to attend for all three weekends to see how their choices have shaped the world—or take on a new role entirely.
‘Space Opera’ will be led by award-winning director/lead producer, Cat Ramirez (they/them.) Ramirez specializes in new plays, devised work, multidisciplinary performance, and event production. Past work has spanned collaborations with Theatre Horizon, Tiny Dynamite, Simpatico Theatre, Power Street Theatre Company, Temple University, Mel Hsu, Villanova University, Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, Orbiter 3, InterAct Theatre Company, Lightning Rod Special, and Asian Arts Initiative.
Philadelphians might also recognize Ramirez as the Creative Director for the Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists, a Steering Committee Member of the Philadelphia Death and Arts Festival, and a board member of the Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation.
“Each performance builds off each preceding shows all created by the community of collaborators who exist in the world of Space Opera,” Ramirez said. “During each performance the players must collaboratively respond to crises that will affect generations to come, adding layer after layer of a story that they have created in real-time through the relationships they have developed with the other participants and the performers. In doing so, they co-create the artistic experience.”
The show will kick off in June, but it’s been two years in the making with different play tests at Obvious Agency. Unlike a piece of theater that might undergo workshops or previews, Space Opera is an interactive game that requires frequent play testing. The feedback from play testers are meant to create a better, more accessible game.
Currently, there are openings for a total of 40 players and 100 observers for each session, which begin at noon and end at 7 p.m. (and include a catered meal). Dates for the show are set for Saturday June 14, 21 and 28.
OA’s past work includes the Barnes Foundation-commissioned ‘Barnes Jawn(t)s’, a series of improvised jaunts guided by local personalities, ‘Game the Gallery’ where Moore College students and artists from Obvious Agency teamed up to transform the 2019 Faculty Triennial into an interactive gaming experience, and many other performances—all of which stood out in their own way.
Tickets to participate in all three weeks Space Opera are $360 with a minimum of $90, all on a sliding scale. It includes three full-day sessions of Space Opera gameplay and three catered meals. One Episode Experience tickets for a session are a minimum of $50 based on a sliding scale and include one full-day session of Space Opera gameplay and a catered meal. Galactic Witness or Slot-based Observer tickets are a minimum of $15 (also based on a scale.) It includes entrance to ‘Space Opera’ as an observer for two-hour sessions.
Note, all participants must be masked and Covid tests are provided. To find out more information and to purchase tickets, visit obvious-agency.com
