Hey, Can I Be on Stage Too?

Upon entering one of the rooms at the McKittrick hotel, a performer looked in my direction. I immediately looked around me to see the other performer she was looking at but realized that it was me – an audience member - she was looking at. She then took my hand and led me to a dark room. But wait a second, I thought. I'm an observer. I'm not a part of the show (hey, see my mask). That’s the way it should be. Right? 

Well, not for all shows. As I reminisce about my Sleep No More experience, I recall a few other instances where audience members become a part of a show. 

Gob Squad's Kitchen (You've Never Had it So Good) - Take a few random audience members, throw them into remakes of Andy Warhol films under the direction of the Gob Squad and you have one entertaining evening (even if you are not a Warhol fan).

Room 17B – In this case, I actually knew the audience member who was pulled into a hilarious version of musical chairs on the small stage at 59E59 Theaters. What fun it was to watch!

Play Dead – The audience promised Todd Robbins not to give away what happens in this cross between a magic show, seance and haunted house visit.  Let’s just say that the audience better be prepared to partake in all the goriness.

Blind Date – In this production Rebecca Northan as Mimi (clown nose and all) selects a guy from the audience, and together they have an impromptu blind date, with the audience watching every move (as if a blind date isn't stressful enough on its own). An absolutely clever piece of improv theater.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee – How about getting to relive middle school for a few moments? Throw in some quirky characters and an audience member and you have one heck of a competition.

The Donkey Show – My colleague reminded me of this blast from my past. Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream set to disco in a club on the far west side. Aaah, I want to get up and dance right now.

All of these productions were so much fun. Hey producers, if you are looking for an audience member to add a little impromptu color to your interactive production, sign me up!