Then we went through some basic training-getting acquainted with the layout, the stewarding system, the walkie-talkies, and some rules-and were told to show up in blacks for the show. Some of the first things we saw were the birds, the eel, and some washing machines full of “bloody” costumes and sheets. There was fake blood everywhere and dusty curtains and lots of tape. We said: “Sure, sounds like fun.” When we finally found the school, we went inside and entered this weird horror set. I had a friend who was majoring in stage management and had somehow gotten in contact with the volunteer coordinator at Sleep No More and asked me and some friends if we would usher. Just before I volunteered to be a Black Mask, I didn’t know hardly anything at all about the A.R.T., nevermind Punchdrunk (the British half of the two-company collaboration). By the way, the name “Black Masks” came about because the audience wore white masks and the Black Masks wore (wait for it)… black masks. Black Masks would also be in charge of reminding patrons not to use their cellphones, take photographs, or disrupt the show. The job of the Black Masks was to help audience members who wanted to find their way back to the bar, bathroom, etc., prevent audience members from going to restricted areas or getting lost, and assist with set up and clean up at the beginning and end of the night. From there the audience could wander the space at their own leisure or choose an actor to follow and craft a new experience of the show each time. The show was set up so that the audience entered the school through a bar, were given white masks, and were deposited on different levels of the school through the elevator. Again, I haven’t seen the production since it moved to NYC, but in Boston, the show spanned all three levels of the wing of an abandoned school, and everything about it-from the lighting, set design and decoration, sounds, and even smell-was planned (as much as possible) to be part of the show experience. Sleep No More is an immersive theatre adaptation of Macbeth crossed with Hitchcock’s Rebecca. Black Masks are the glorified ushers/stewards of Sleep No More. If you haven’t seen the show at all and are therefore totally creeped out by what you just read, calm down. ![]() But if you saw the version in Boston, then I might have been lurking in the shadows behind you, wearing a black mask. And I haven’t even seen the version in New York. ![]() ![]() I wasn’t in The American Repertory Theatre’s (A.R.T.) acclaimed Sleep No More.
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