The Rise and Fall of Dracula by Cadame Co.

_ Ensemble theatre piece with some immersive elements in a non-traditional space._

Experienced: July 14, 2017 at Hollywood Fringe Festival
Location: Stephanie Feury Studio Theatre
Address: 5636 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles CA, 90038
Price: $15.00
Audience Size: About 20 per showing
Runtime: 70 minutes
More Information: Hollywood Fringe, Cadame Co., Instagram

The play starts out inside a long hallway with audience members on both sides of the wall. The action takes place right between us in this tight space. We are introduced to a man dressed in a suit and as he walks the halls he is followed by a woman who is seemingly affecting his movements. He can’t seem to see her but he can definitely feel her. They do a beautiful dance across this hallway sometimes inches from our faces. It’s a wonderful beginning that eases the audience into the immersive nature of this production.

The play takes place in multiple rooms inside the space. Some actors would break character a bit, coming back to life after being attacked for instance, to facilitate the movement of the audience from one room to the next. It worked nicely as they still remained “in character” in tone and demeanor.

There is a lot of action in this play through tense fighting scenes with people being attacked and reacting to others being attacked. People would run in and out of different doors to a room in these fight scenes keeping the action fast paced. Dance and music play have a major presence as well to further the story. A passage of time is sometimes passed through dance and it fits the overall production perfectly.

The final 15 minutes or so take place on a more traditional stage with the audience in seats. Overall this plays more like a traditional play in a non-traditional space as there is little to no audience interaction or participation. I enjoyed myself throughout and would suggest checking it out if you get the chance.

Cadame Company