Psycho Clan, the creative team behind the NYC Halloween institution, Nightmare Haunted House (in the lower east side for 13 years) in association with Studio 153 announces THIS IS REAL, a heart pounding horror experience by Nightmare Haunted House creator Timothy Haskell. This intimate and unnerving simulated abduction allows for only 8 people to participate at a time. Performances begin on September 8th, 2017 for an open-ended run and take place in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn (an area of NYC one would likely be taken to if they actually were abducted) at 153 Coffey Street, between Ferris and Conover Street. Performances are Tuesdays-Sundays at various times, with tickets ranging from $95-$110. Visit www.thisisreal.nyc for complete details.
You've been kidnapped. You don't remember how; you don't know by whom. But there you are, locked up in an abandoned warehouse watching the gruesome treatment of the person who was taken before you. They implore you to help them, but you cannot. By the time they are dispensed with, your time has come. Your friends have been taken away. You are on your own. You have just one shot at getting away if you are to survive and be reunited.
THIS IS REAL is theatrical immersion at its most visceral and thrilling. You are entrenched in your very own horror story, but the stakes are real! From the intense moment the psychopath steps out, you are forced to devise an escape plan and try to survive... the decisions will not be easy. A dexterous blend of interactive theater with a complete story line, a mind-bending survivalist game, an extreme escape room and a twisted version of hide 'n seek, you'll have more to think about than yourself. You have the other victims to consider. Do you risk valuable time to figure out how to save them? Or is it every man for themselves? Wrong decisions come at a steep price for captives... do not get caught!
"THIS IS REAL is NOT A HAUNTED HOUSE" says creator
Timothy Haskell. "I've directed many different horror productions, haunted houses, escape games and populist interactive events, so this is a culmination of everything that has worked rolled up into 70 minutes worth of entertainment!"
THIS IS REAL premiered in October 2016, in an unadvertised trial run that sold out in six hours - unleashing a truly unsettling and unforgettable experience on participants that tested their quick wit, agility, resolve and even their moral compass.
THIS IS REAL features technical design by
James Lo (received New York Dance and Performance (BESSIE) Awards for John Jasperse's furnished/unfurnished and for Donna Uchizono's State of Heads, and has created sound scores for dozens of choreographers as well as electronic and software designs for Robert Ashley, Ben Neill,
Elizabeth Streb, and David Behrman), props by
Faye Armon, costume design by Kimberly Matela (designed Psycho Clan's Santastical) and production design by
Paul Smithyman (designed the Nightmare Haunted House for 12 years, as well as Full Bunny Contact, Santastical and
Timothy Haskell's Fatal Attraction, Jaded Assassin, and Road House, among other critically acclaimed theatrical productions).
Timothy Haskell directed THIS IS REAL last October. He created and directed the Easter spectacle Full Bunny Contact as well as the ridiculous Christmas wonderland Santastical. He has also directed actual plays including the recent James and the Giant Peach at St. John's University and Sex You (I'm Gonna) by
Nathan Phillips at the ACE Hotel and then in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Other credits include Off-Broadway's Stitching (The Wild Project and The Elephant in Los Angeles), The Jaded Assassin (Ohio Theatre), Fatal Attraction: A Greek Tragedy starring
Corey Feldman at the
Classic Stage Company, the
Paris Hilton spoof I Love Paris by
Doug Fields also at the Blue Heron Arts Center and the cult hit Road House: The Stage Play, which transferred from Off-Off Broadway to Off-Broadway at the
Barrow Street Theatre. Mr. Haskell also created and directed the annual Nightmare: New York's Most Horrifying Haunted House, which ran every fall for 13 seasons.
