#thelastdefender

132 The Last Defender Written and Directed by Nathan Allen, Puzzle Design by Sandor Weisz for The House Theatre of Chicago for the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Back to the stache! Yes, I got contacted by my friends at the House, saying they were going to co-produce The Last Defender in Denver, CO with the Denver Center for the Performing Arts in an off-site location, and would I be available to fly out there and reprise my role of Dr. Truman Heston. I of course said yes and got to go to Denver. They sent me the script, I rememorized the lines and flew out there in May of that year. Things got a little tight when shooting was pushed by a day and instead of flying back on Thursday night, I would fly back on Friday night, and Saturday morning I had to fly to North Carolina for my brother-in-law’s wedding. Oh, and they were also going to remount Last Defender in Chicago and I would need to re-tape it for that location in June, so I would be stuck with the stache for a month since I can’t grow the stache that quickly. Two days before Denver - I got horribly sinus garbage ill, so I actually spent most of my time in Denver in my room in housing watching all of Schitt’s Creek. Also when I got to set, I was told “you know the Chicago stuff still works, so we just need to do the new pages” since they changed the story a little bit. So all told - we started at 9 AM, were finished at noon, and I wasn’t leaving until five the next day. Which would have been lovely if I could have seen more of the city, but again, stupid crazy ill. Oh and the shooting in June never happened so I had the stache for the wedding for no reason. In fact - the Games Cafe in Chicago is opening soon, and when I saw the press release I contacted them and they said “We’re just gonna re-use the old footage!” It’s like they don’t know what the stache costs my soul. #retrospective #2019 #thehousetheatreofchicago #thelastdefender #nathanallen #sandorweisz #denvercenterfortheperformingarts #dcpa #drtrumanheston #madai #mutuallyassureddestructionalgorithmicintelligence #centralsystemscommand #blackrabbit (at Denver, Colorado) https://www.instagram.com/p/B9B-Ig6pPEn/?igshid=7vji5ucn1cab

118 The Last Defender Written and Directed by Nathan Allen, Puzzle Design by Sandor Weisz for The House Theatre of Chicago at the Chopin Theatre. One day out of the blue, while I was working on another project and waiting to go to Miami (coming up) I got a call from Nate Allen, asking me to do a thing for him. He was writing and directing a show - similar to an escape room - which was going to be an environmental installation in the Chopin basement called The Last Defender. I would play Dr. Truman Heston, Chief Engineer of the Ballistic Systems Division of Central Systems Command, and inventor of M.A.D.A.I., the Mutually Assured Destruction Algorithmic Intelligence, a computer linking together sensor and satellite data, that begins a 60 minute countdown to a fully automated launch at the first detection of enemy launch activity. The Defenders would have 60 minutes to confirm the launch or prevent retaliation. So I would go in and shoot on video for the day, basically explaining the game and then would pop up on screens, to warn or congratulate the defenders. This was complicated by two things. One - The Chopin rented out the basement space the day before to Empire, so the entire thing had to be disassembled and reassembled up to the last minute on both fronts. Two - I had been growing a beard since July for the upcoming remount of The Hammer Trinity in Miami and Nate just wanted a mustache. I attended my step-mother’s funeral in that ridiculous beard. But since Nate was directing both shows, the ole broom pusher it was. FYI - I have yet to play this game. I was so intimidated that people would look to me for answers since I was in the video, that I have never participated. But it’s reopening soon! You can come see me in it Chicago Board Games Cafe! #retrospective #2016 #thehousetheatreofchicago #thelastdefender #nathanallen #sandorweisz #chopintheatre #drtrumanheston #madai #mutuallyassureddestructionalgorithmicintelligence #centralsystemscommand #blackrabbit (at Chopin Theatre) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8d77ReJl58/?igshid=5il7ud8rppi8

Enjoyed saving the world with my favorite group of people on Sunday. You’re all welcome. Ha, but really - the @denvercenter has an escape room-like experience downtown called #TheLastDefender and it was REALLY fun and it’s worth doing. We saved the world with 38 seconds to spare. #sundayfunday #escaperoom #dcpa #denvercenterfortheperformingarts #skidmark #denver #downtowndenver #fuckyougetpumped (at Denver Center for the Performing Arts) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz8rZ4cFZ8F/?igshid=1hhed27wel2ed

I highly recommend you try "Project Last Defender" if it comes to your city. #TheLastDefender #Game #ImmersiveStoryTelling https://www.instagram.com/p/ByPCPmbJfpK7HJrGBIijlkY-SiwnpONF8QarD40/?igshid=9emlr4sumzw1

2/2 Surprise Dispatch from the Road! Hey everybody. I’M IN DENVER. I’m also fighting a head and chest thing to I’m currently ensconced in it blankets watching Wine Country in my room. But I did get to walk around a bit and ate the biggest burrito ever. No pictures of the burrito. It was a contest of wills and out of respect for a vanquished enemy, he will live on only in my memory. But anyhoo - here’s some Denver! #thelastdefender #dcpadefender #thehousetheatreofchicago #dcpa #denver (at Denver, Colorado) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxyn_x-pg8c/?igshid=197attz4x4l76

1/2 Surprise Dispatch from the Road! Hey everybody. I’M IN DENVER. I’m also fighting a head and chest thing to I’m currently ensconced in it blankets watching Wine Country in my room. But I did get to walk around a bit and ate the biggest burrito ever. No pictures of the burrito. It was a contest of wills and out of respect for a vanquished enemy, he will live on only in my memory. But anyhoo - here’s some Denver! #thelastdefender #dcpadefender #thehousetheatreofchicago #dcpa #denver (at Denver, Colorado) https://www.instagram.com/p/BxymQNRpiGt/?igshid=1ppus6ih3js8x

See?!? I told you! #thelastdefender #dcpadefender #thehousetheatreofchicago #thehousetheatre #denver (at Downtown Denver) https://www.instagram.com/p/BxxgZYUp2G8/?igshid=1xr6maafz3yrc

Heston, Dr. Truman Heston #thelastdefender #dcpadefender #thehousetheatreofchicago #thehousetheatre #denver #denvercenterfortheperformingarts https://www.instagram.com/p/BxwC0uIJh0m/?igshid=mcthbjyhpml7