Rock Island Tunnel Co.'s “The Tapes: An Immersive Revolution,” October 11 through 26

Friday, October 11, through Saturday, October 26

Sound Conservatory, 504 17th Street, Moline IL

This past February and March, area theatre-goers were treated to something truly novel in producer/director Ben Gougeon's and playwright (and Reader theatre reviewer) Alexander Richardson's The Stacks: An Immersive Mystery. Blending elements of whodunit, travelogue, and choose-your-own-adventure, the production invited patrons to roam throughout Moline's Sound Conservatory – the Carnegie building that was home to the first Moline Public Library – as they sorted through clues, eavesdropped on hushed conversations, and enjoyed, as its title implied, a piece of immersive theatre that was literally a unique experience for every individual audience member.

Now, boasting a company name that suggests mysteries of its own, Gougeon, Richardson, and the Sound Conservatory are back with Rock Island Tunnel Co.'s The Tapes: An Immersive Revolution. Running October 11 through 26, the production is both similar to and quite different from The Stacks – partly because, not long after that show closed, the library stacks themselves vanished.

“The area that was 'the stacks' no longer exists,” says Gougeon of the Carnegie building's since-removed bookshelves. “It's now a performance venue, and it's wonderful – they're doing great things there. But what's exciting in The Tapes is that we're getting to open up into a lot of other spaces for people to walk through. Like down in the basement where we didn't have audiences in The Stacks. So The Tapes is at the same location, and there are some rooms that we've used for both pieces. But there's also a whole series of other rooms that previous audiences did not get to go in and see.

“That's kind of the idea behind Rock Island Tunnel Co.,” he adds. “The name came from the rumors of the mysterious tunnels under Rock Island. But it also fit what we're trying to do as far as exploring and digging into places that most people don't normally see or explore. To open up these new doors to new places, both with content and with form.”

A dystopian tale based on Richardson's one-act drama Tapes from a Fascist State, The Tapes, says Gougeon, “is about the relationship between a failed poet (Jeremy Mahr's Yevhem) who is part of the resistance movement, and the IIS state officer (Esteban Lopez's Conrad) who is tasked with monitoring him. But we've immersified the script, and for our experience, the audience will function as guests who are touring The Nation, which became quote-unquote 'fascist' – they, of course, don't see themselves that way – 12 years earlier.

“So you have this state agency and a group of resistance fighters who are trying to start a revolution. Those from the state extol the virtues of The Nation to our guests, giving them a tour of all the 'wonderful things' they've done under the great leader. Those on the resistance side will be trying to get the audience to join the resistance. And not to spoil too much, but there will be a 'choice' moment at the end of the show, where one of the audience will have the choice of which side they're gonna go with.

“Form-wise,” Gougeon continues, “this is going to be very different from The Stacks. Rather than kind of a free-form audience experience, there will be portions that are guided, and then there will also be some free-roaming periods, and areas where people will watch specific scenes.

“It'll be a little more interactive, as well. There'll be lot of different ways for our audience to interact with characters, from their tour guides to citizens of the nation. Audiences members are all going to get travel papers and some of The Nation's currency, and they'll be able to try to find secrets with some of the things they receive. We also have lots of audio-interactive elements involving wireless head sets.”

Beyond producer/director Gougeon and playwright Richardson, the creative team includes art director Dominic Ramirez, assistant director and stage manager Jean Tegtmeyer, and violence/intimacy coordinator Lily Blouin. Joining Mahr and Lopez in The Tapes is an ensemble of 12 who will portray The Nation's various supporters and disruptors: Maggie Caliendo, Dash Crow, Anjuli Gordon, Jess Gordon, Noah Hill, Emma Hughes, Titus Jilderda, Perin McGrath, Ulan Okai, Sora Richter, Vivian Rodriguez, and Emma Watts. And unlike in The Stacks, patrons of The Tapes will, on occasion, be allowed to speak with members of the cast during the performance.

“There will be times where they can ask mostly yes or no questions,” says Gougeon, adding with a laugh, “You know, we're not trying to make anyone an improv artist here.”

In addition to the added interactivity of his latest presentation, Gougeon says, “What's been really interesting about this process versus The Stacks is that with that one, we were creating it as an immersive theatre piece – whereas with this one, there was an established script that we then had to adapt into something immersive.

“The thing that actually led us here,” he continues, “was that as a theatre artist, I felt it was very important to put up a play before the election that spoke to political states and countries – that spoke to the kind of world we want to live in. I had been looking at a couple other scripts. But Alex had sent this one to me months ago, and it made sense to work with Alex to immersify his script rather than be stuck with a script where I was like, 'Oh, I can't really tear their script apart the way we need to make it work in this form.'

“And of course,” Gougeon says with a laugh, “I would much rather support a local playwright than just pay Samuel French some money.”

Meanwhile, regarding future projects for Rock Island Tunnel Co. following The Tapes' three-weekend run, Gougeon says, “There are lots of things that we're discussing. The challenge with this type of theatre is finding the space and the play that match. So we're not going to plan a season. It's definitely going to be project by project.

“But I'm continually looking at empty buildings, or little-used buildings, to try to find the thing that speaks to me,” he says. “Like, 'Oh-h-h-h … I see a world in here.”

Rock Island Tunnel Co.'s The Tapes: An Immersive Revolution runs at the Sound Conservatory from October 11 through 26, with performances Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., and an additional 10 p.m. performance on Saturday, October 26. Admission is $10-75, and more information and tickets are available by visiting Facebook.com/rockislandtunnelco.