#balltimore

When I discovered immersive theater with Sleep No More,  I finally discovered a world where I could be the kind of person I was.   I have always craved mystery and suspense.  I adored hosting murder mystery parties,  having everyone come dressed in full 1920′s  garb,  creating characters and solving a crime.   It was hard to find others out there quite like me.    Yes, there were options if you wanted to be a vampire, or live action Dungeons and Dragons, or even the Renaissance Faire,  but what of us Victorians,  or people who wanted to dress like a 1940′s film noir character,  or experience going to a Speakeasy?   Immersive theater let me experience this type of environment  and let me explore.  Not only characters but a set filled with secrets. I can open drawers, read letters,  pick things up and move about a space in my own time and my own way.  And if inside my mind I am also creating a character or a reason as to why the person in my mind is there,  that is fine, too... immersive is all about how I experience it.  In my own time and in my own way.  It doesn’t have a wrong or right answer.

I got to Sleep  No More as often as I could,  but because of the expense involved, not as often as I would have liked.   Also the crowds in Sleep No More got more and more overwhelming,  and I tended to get lost in the shuffle, and not able to see or experience it in the way I wanted to.

Then this marvelous little show opened in Baltimore.  Only 26 guests as a time and a plot that I watched but somehow involved me.   I was led upstairs and down,  meeting characters that I would see again and again,   who also seem to know I am trapped as they are by the spell of this house.  And I am compelled to go again and experience the story one more time.

And now, at show 13, I know the end is near.   I have no doubt that this will not be the last immersive production in Baltimore but it will be the last for this set of marvelous actors and characters I have grown to love.  Odd, I know.  I don’t know the actors or much about their lives outside the show, but the characters I know inside and out.   Each time Roderick the butler asks for help,  I can only obey,  I must keep V safe.  Help V along on his journey. If only I can do something to make this happen.

On show 13 I was wandering about making a list inside my head.  What scenes do I want to see one more time... if anyone could drag me off for a 1:1  what would my favorite one be?   What room should I be standing in?  Should I help at Sarah’s séance or find Madeline’s ?  Or help Roderick keep order?

Roderick again chose me to go down to the basement to help V.   I love this so much as V is so troubled.. trying to regain his senses and his memory. Roderick took me upstairs again to help him with objects he had collected.   I try to understand. And yet, I want things to remain a mystery.

1. Adrenaline Ben Rosen / Via BuzzFeed Baltimore’s sports and social leagues turn co-workers into competitors. Even weekend warriors can look like pros when outfitted in hometown company Under Armour. 2. Caffeine Via undoubtedl-y.tumblr.com Craft coffee isn’t precious in Baltimore. Just good, like Zeke’s good. Experts atArtifact Coffee and Spro have opened many eyes to the glory of Japanese Cold Brew. 3. Alcohol anothersliceofcheesecake.tumblr.com / more »

Welcome to my happy place!

Whenever I need to get away, to work out some stress (not to mention beers, pizza, and generally-debaucherous lifestyle choices), or just be in nature, I come to Cromwell Valley Park, in Baltimore County. And I've been coming here for 10 years now.

I've traversed the fields, climbed the hills, explored the trails, and traipsed through the streams. I stroll, run, stumble at times, read, do yoga, nap in fields under a sky of clouds. Sometimes my dog, Peanut, joins me. I haven't been going as much since I moved to the city. But whenever I get the chance, I soak up these beautiful moments in my happy place! :)