Creating, writing, directing, producing and opening the premiere of an interactive production in a new city in just five weeks to enthusiastic audiences has been exactly as exhilarating, rewarding and exhausting as it sounds. Mindspin has long been the brainchild of UglyRhino artistic director Nicole Rosner and has been developed by Nicole, the entire cast and myself in a whirlwind collaboration of theatrically epic proportions.
Mindspin combines everything that UglyRhino feels passionately about: original work, visual art, live music and drinking booze. We didn’t know exactly what to expect in our travels from our Brooklyn base to Los Angeles, but we could not be more thrilled with our winter stint in the golden state.
What is an UglyRhino, you ask? UglyRhino Productions premiered our first show in November 2010 at the Brooklyn Lyceum, a performing arts warehouse in the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn. We’ve had a residency at the Lyceum ever since, and it has been home to our monthly short play events, eight mainstage productions and a handful of bangin’ warehouse dance parties. Each show or “micro-season” of work we’ve produced since includes an original play, or plays, with evenings of live music and a post-show party.
An UglyRhino evening is lively, multi-dimensional and very social. Our work gravitates toward the site-specific, promenade, and interactive. We believe that audiences become further engaged and stimulated when their participation is active and challenging. We also believe that audiences don’t need to be entirely sober to see one of our shows, so we include at least one free curated cocktail with every ticket price. Our first interactive piece included six stories and six cocktails, for $20. “Wow, what a deal!” is right! Our mission statement promised “affordable, dynamic and multi-sensory theatrical experiences,” and we wouldn’t lie to you about that.
After hearing from friends and NYC ship-jumpers how LA is developing a hunger for non-traditional theater, we decided to take our special blend of performance and party to Los Angeles. When asked in New York why we were choosing to travel to LA for the winter, we gave two main reasons: “The arts scene in L.A. is a bubbling at the surface and more vibrant than ever and we believe that our brand of theater has a vital place in that new energy” and “I’m really, really cold”.
In the short time we’ve been here, LA has welcomed us with open arms. Whether speaking to other theater professionals or strangers on the street, the desire for a “hip” new interactive experience is palpable. Mindspin marks UglyRhino Productions’ premiere full-length production in Los Angeles. We immediately found the incredible Red Loft space in Downtown LA, bursting with character and charm, with an owner eager to begin booking theater for the first time. Our multi-talented actors and designers entered our lives almost divinely, and jumped entirely into the process of creating the unique world of Mindspin.
Mindspin is an interactive party play about fear and love. The setting is a loft party, at which the audience members are all guests. Two (delicious!) curated cocktails are included in the ticket and everyone can groove to the sweet tunes of DJ Laurette Goldfish, view the original artwork around the loft, and play with one of the many installations set up around the space that encourage interaction with the actors and other guests.
The audience then takes a peek into the lives of the party hosts, Tahnee and Auren, along with their artist collective made up of their closest friends. The evening is part party and part play, centering on a story about these two women with a complex relationship that mixes friendship, work and creative collaboration.
In the midst of a disagreement, a new man enters their lives, causing them to examine their inner “mindspin” of self-doubt, identity and sexual desires. The story and the experience have been inspired not only by our personal experiences with running UglyRhino but also by the warm and electric energy of this city.
We are so grateful to the audiences from our opening weekend who explored the loft, played games like children with our actors, and fully invested themselves into the story. Responses have ranged from “Where are the seats!? There are no seats!?!” to “This is the coolest thing I have ever seen #mindspin” (a direct Instagram quote). On opening weekend, there is nothing better than the feeling of “it’s working!”. We can’t wait to continue sharing our party/play this weekend, and to be a part of all the excitement the theater scene in LA has to offer.
Mindspin, UglyRhino Productions at the Red Loft, 605 E 4th St. in Downtown LA 90013. Fri-Sat 9 pm. Through March 30. Tickets: $20 and includes 2 free cocktails. www.uglyrhinonyc.com
**All Mindspin production photos by Steve Payne.
Bryce Norbitz is a producer, director, writer, and graduate of Northwestern University. Producing credits include Heart Sutra and Anchor Women (The Cell Theatre), Consume: A Grotesque Burlesque (Gorilla Tango Theatre), and the New York International Fringe Festival Best Musical winner Jurassic Parq: The Broadway Musical, which she also co-wrote. It returned as Triassic Parq to Off-Broadway’s Soho Playhouse in the summer of 2012, and two months ago it was produced by Chance Theater in Anaheim. UglyRhino credits include directing TinyRhino’s Eyeteeth, The Compoung and writing both Let’s End Them and The Henchmen for TinyRhino, as well as pieces for Centralia, and both Warehouse of Horrors.  Also for UglyRhino Bryce adapted The Awakening and wrote the story for GLAMDROMEDA. She is the proud producer of UglyRhino’s inaugural micro-season, as well as UglyRhino Originals and 2012 micro-season. After stints at Chicago Shakespeare, Second City and the Public Theater, she currently works at Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment and on a myriad of Off-Broadway productions developing social media marketing strategies.
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