As I’ve been pulling photos for Distant Era theatre photography literature these past weeks, I’ve reflected back on some of my favorite shows that just predated Distant Era, and I wanted to take the opportunity to show some of them off here, starting with Lonely Hearts, by Birch House Immersive, in whose residency I first took the time to lay out the initial groundwork for Distant Era.
Who Are Birch House Immersive?
These fine folks, who commissioned a company Distant Era session in 2022! Birch House Immersive is a Chicago theatre company that creates interactive stories. Founded in 2017 and helmed by Lauren Fields, Janie Killips, Dean Corrin, and Sarah Kimia, Birch House produces some of the most innovative theatre to be found on Chicago’s small stage. I use “stage” loosely, as the stages upon which I’ve viewed Birch House performances have been two different bars, two different houses, a computer screen, and my mailbox—the latter two during the pandemic.
Birch House’s shows appeal to all five senses. In the course of a show, beyond seeing and hearing the action, audiences usually move around the space, interact with tangible objects and props, taste a sweet treat, smell flowers, perfume, or incense, or sip a beverage during a toast.
Audiences usually answer questions, make choices, or talk to characters during Birch House shows. The timid need not worry, as these shows are always opt-in. The Birch House shows don’t put audience members on the spot but instead favor more intimate, personal interactions. Every audience member interacts with the show differently and takes away a unique experience of the show. This attention to detail is one of the reasons Birch House productions must keep their audiences small, but this quality is also why their shows sell out quickly.
Lonely Hearts
Every February, Birch House Immersive presents a Valentines-Day-themed show called Lonely Hearts, which examines the various aspects of love. Recurring characters connect Lonely Hearts from year to year—especially Giles, Beatrix, and Mr. Rigby, the three characters played by Birch House’s directors Janie, Lauren, and Dean respectively—but the audience doesn’t need to know about them going in, since each show is completely different. In this entry I’d like to walk through Lonely Hearts 2, “the wedding,” in a series of photographs taken in 2019, a few months prior to founding Distant Era. Notice the way the scenes use various sections of the space as backdrops for the action. Also, it’s important to note that the following is the way I experienced the show and that every audience member experienced it in a different sequence and interacted with different characters.
The Wedding
In the second Lonely Hearts show, the audience members arrived at the Den Theater bar (Rigby’s Bar in the story) as guests of the wedding that’s about to occur. Just like at a wedding, the host asked if we were bride’s side or groom’s and gave us a number. When the show began, audience members moved to a different section of the bar according to the number they held.
The Mother of the Bride
I was assigned to the table with the mother of the bride, Heather, played by Cat Dughi, who lamented her daughter’s choice to get married in a bar. She asked us for advice, and the table consoled her and tried to calm her fears.
The Bride
Next, we moved on to the bathroom. Here we heard there was some trouble with the bride, Julia, played by Christina Jones. We found the bride on the bathroom floor in her wedding dress. There she ate her wedding cake while expressing second thoughts about whether to go through with the wedding.
The Matchmaker
The Matchmaker, played by Juliana Brecher, hung out at the bar and asked us questions about love and our experience with love while trying to match us up. This is one of my favorite photographs from the session.
The Groomsmen
Emerson Elias played a best man in need of a speech. Together the audience encouraged him and gave advice on what kinds of things he should say, consulting the books on the nearby shelf and our own experiences with weddings.
James Martineau played a man obsessed with the chocolate treats given out as favors at some weddings. This wild character ended up eating, drinking, and snorting chocolate while explaining facts about chocolate’s place in wedding traditions. As a bonus, audience members get a tiny wedding favor bag of chocolate candies like the one James holds in the picture below.
The Officiant and the Groom
In a Birch House Immersive experience, you don’t see everything there is to be seen. In spite of having photographed at dress rehearsal the groom, played by Eddie Lynch, and the officiant, played by Gary Henderson, on my visit to the show, I didn’t experience their sequences. It’s kind of cool that way—everyone carries a different experience with them that invites conversation and comparison. Everyone leaves the theater with a unique experience to share.
The End
The show ended with the wedding, in which the bride and groom backed out, and a puppet named Stanley got married to one of the members of the audience (as far as I know this didn’t happen every night), and the wedding singer, Alana Grossman, performed an amazing song, after which our Birch House hosts, Giles, Beatrix, and Mr. Rigby closed out the evening.
Bottom: Dean, Lauren, and Janie.
Subsequent chapters of Lonely Hearts involved a house party (2020), an online experience (2021), an epistolary via post (2022), and a board game (2023).
In Conclusion
Going to the theater could feel like a hassle even before the pandemic. Now that we’re conditioned to comfortable streaming entertainment, it can be more of a challenge. However, Birch House shows are worth the trip, as their immersive work is fundamentally different from any other kind of entertainment in the city. It goes beyond virtual reality; you’re living the production in the space, making choices, experiencing the event with all your senses. Keep your eye out for Birch House’s future work, as well as other immersive experiences happening in your area.
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