Box Office is Now Open For Immersive Pop-Up Theatre RAILROADED: A Shadow Of The Run Story

After successfully introducing immersive theater in the Cleveland market earlier this year with Chapter 1: Wanderlust, Shadow of the Run LLC, Co-Founders Beth McGee, Adam Kern, Christine Woods and Ben Needham are announcing new plans to continue the innovation in 2020. Those plans include a limited January engagement "pop-up" production utilizing an alternate reality game, as well as a separate full production, Chapter 2: Calloused, that is set to premier in late 2020.

Railroaded: A Shadow of the Run Story, will premiere an original story in a limited engagement January 9 to12, 2020 in the City of Bedford. This short-term installation, or "pop up" theater production with limited tickets, will feature an alternate reality game (ARG) built into the experience. The result will be a multi-location trek through Northeast Ohio, with a reward for those that complete the optional ARG. As a "Pop-Up" run time of the performance is approximately 20 minutes, not including the ARG. Tickets can be purchased at www.shadowoftherun.com.

The story is set during the Great Depression, when desperate men and women travelled the country's railways seeking work or a fresh start, but many tearing their families apart in order to provide for them. An unfortunate time where the less fortunate could disappear without a trace - whether by their hand, or another. Add a serial killer to the story and discover how easy it is to become railroaded yourself.

Railroaded is written and directed by Co-Founder Christine Woods, with production design by Ben Needham, and support from McGee and Kern. Carol Dolan and Gregg Hill of Secret Pond LLC return as Executive Producers.

"Audiences today are choosing personal experiences over the purchase of physical objects. Immersive theatre dives into this mindset - a guest can attend multiple performances and have a completely different experience based on the choices they make throughout the evening. Combining elements from theatre, night clubs, and personal exploration into one evening of fully engaging entertainment, audiences will want to gather afterwards to share their experience and make plans for their next trip," in a statement prepared by the four founders.

Woods went on to explain that an alternate reality game (ARG) is a game in which the boundaries between players' lives and the narrative world become blurred. Players interact with information and characters as if they were real, without the proscenium or 4th wall of a game interface. This integration of game into real life is done through social media, real-life destinations, and physical objects. An ARG is a means for completely engaging in gameplay that allows the player to forget that it's just a construct.

Railroaded fits between 2019's Chapter 1: WanderLust and Chapter 2: Calloused, which will tentatively premier in the summer of 2020.

Shadow of the Run was conceived in 2015 by Beth McGee and Adam Kern. The project was awarded a $1,000 grant as an audience favorite from Notre Dame College's SEAChange Program, prior to appearing in the Cleveland Leadership Center's Accelerate Competition the same year. With initial support from Joe and Anthony Russo, the team continued development to find the right opportunity to bring immersive theater to the city of Cleveland.

Chapter 1: WanderLust was the first part of a trio of full productions, which premiered in July 2019, produced by Carol Dolan and Gregg Hill of Secret Pond LLC. Investors and sponsors for Chapter 2 are currently in development and there will also be a pre-sale Kickstarter campaign leading up to the 2020 summer production, Chapter 2: Calloused.

Shadow of the Run LLC will present ongoing original immersive works, like New York's Sleep No More which has been running continuously since 2009 in Hell's Kitchen. After the Shadow Series, the company has three other projects they plan on premiering in Cleveland, in hopes of making the city the immersive theater capital of the Midwest.

Shadow of the Run LLC is run by Co-Founders Beth McGee, Adam Kern, Ben Needham and Christine Woods. Major support and funding provided by Carol Dolan and Gregg Hill.

Shadow of the Run LLC was founded by artists living in Bedford, Cleveland Heights, Orange and North Canton. Beth McGee is a professor at Case Western Reserve University while Needham and Woods are all alumni of CWRU. Adam Kern is a graduate of Kent State University and Harvard's American Repertory Theatre / Moscow Art Theatre Institute.

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