EgoPo Presents Adam Rapp's NOCTURNE As An Immersive Drive-in Theatrical Event

EgoPo announces the finale of its 2020-2021 ISOLATIONS season, an interactive drive-in production of Adam Rapp's Nocturne, with preview performances on April 27 and 28, an opening on Thursday, April 29, with a final performance May 9, 2021.

The production is directed by Artistic Director, Lane Savadove, and will star Theatre in the X's Walter DeShields, seen last season in EgoPo's Buried Child. The play will take place in a North Philadelphia parking lot five minutes from Temple's main campus, on Sedgley Avenue across from Reyburn Park, and welcomes both vehicle and lawn chair seating. Guests arrive in their vehicles and surround the nighttime performance space, shining their headlights to illuminate the show, and listen to the event through their FM radio feed. Ticket sales for this limited run event begin on April 5th. Nocturne will participate in Philadelphia's Theatre Week as part of Theatre Philadelphia's celebratory event of the year.

Nocturne is the conclusion of EgoPo's season of radically intimate and socially distanced theatrical events that reinvent the way live theater is experienced. All four events have focused on achieving human connection during this period of physical isolation. The most contemporary of this season's events, Nocturne, was written in 2001 and is a powerful meditation on how we can recover from catastrophic losses and dramatic disruptions to our lives.

"As we planned this season, we looked to create four very different, innovative ways to experience live theater safely. Each would re-envision the very nature of theater. Over the course of the season we wanted to slowly add more and more live interaction to mirror our process of living through this pandemic. We began by connecting with audiences through the mailing of letters and art objects (Emily), then through social media (Underground), then audiences came to our backyards and peered in through our windows (Rockaby). Now we will finally share a space together communicating through a car window - but in the same space!" says Savadove.

EgoPo's staging in an abandoned nighttime parking lot highlights the weapon of destruction that sits at the core of the play: a car. In this immersive environment surrounded by the sounds of Amtrak train tracks, the audience sitting in their cars become not only observers, listening on their FM car radios, but active protagonists in our story as they shine their headlights directly onto the action of the play.

"I read Nocturne several years ago, and was absolutely devastated - never in my life had I been so shook by a play. Though it didn't seem to fit EgoPo's mission, I put it on my shelf hoping secretly I could direct it some day. At the start of the pandemic my mind went to drive-in theater, but I didn't want to just use the form as a poor substitute for live theater. I wanted something that would be BETTER, that would be woken up, by using the drive-in form. And then it hit me: in Nocturne CARS are at the very core of the piece - they are the protagonists. What if we could amplify this extraordinary play by letting cars be the literal and figurative VEHICLE for performance?"

Audiences receive the GPS coordinates of the parking lot upon purchasing their ticket. They make their way into north philadelphia at sunset, arriving at the Sedgley Lot as the sun is going down. Upon entry they are given envelopes which contain directions for experiencing the piece, along with portable FM radios with headphones and flashlights. Cars are arranged into a massive semi-circle with lawn chairs brought by audiences scattered between - all safely enclosed and socially distanced. On cue, all the headlights go on illuminating this powerful, unforgettable, heart-wrenching tale.

"Now that I have a child - a 6-year old-daughter - I recognize the fragility of life in a new way. One horrible misstep, a child's mistaken decision, a driver looking the other way, and our lives could be DESTROYED in an instant. This year reminds us that this is true of all life This year has been a reminder to celebrate this fragility, to see and value every breath. Our lives are magical, glorious...and are gone in a blink of an eye. Right now I want to make theater that acknowledges this. I want us all to be more present," adds Savadove.

EgoPo's Nocturne stars Walter DeShields (Egoli, Buried Child) as the unnamed narrator. Joining DeShields are Kirsten Quinn (The Seagull) and Kylie Westerbeck (The Women, The Lydie Breeze Trilogy), with Tasha Holmes, Emilia Weiss, Kayla Bowe, and Skyler Easterbrook making their EgoPo debuts.

"I chose Nocturne with the idea of having Walter DeShields in the role of the 'Narrator'. He has worked with EgoPo for several years and is a highly focused actor with an incredibly powerful presence. He draws you inside that enormous depth with his voice and this brooding quality that makes him the PERFECT performer to take on this tour-de-force role."

Savadove is joined by production team members Damien J. Wallace (Associate Director), Dirk Durossette (Scenic Design), Andrew J. Cowles (Lighting Design), Chris Sannino (Sound Designer), Natalia de la Torre (Costume Designer) and Jordan Chester (Stage Manager). The production is sponsored by Drs. Lisa and Glenn George.

Nocturne runs from Tuesday, April 27th through Sunday, May 9th, 2021. You choose whether to attend as part of the front row of participating vehicles, or arrive with your personal lawn chairs to set up in socially-distant formation. A guide will be onsite to direct you to your designated parking area by ticket purchase, where you will be handed suggested instructions on how to watch and interact with the events of the night. Tickets pricing begins at $25 per person and can be purchased online at www.egopo.org/nocturne beginning April 5, 2021. Pre-sale is required as walk-up sales will not be permitted. Masks are required and an ADA accessible toilet will be available.

For more information, visit www.egopo.org/isolations or www.egopo.org/nocturne or call 267-273-1414.

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