That’s funny, you don’t even own a pocket watch

Mix an obsession with clocks, magic, and theatre together, and you might end up with the Minneapolis-based Sparkle Theatricals, who’ve been sending out mysterious reminder letters that it’s time to get your pocket watch fixed.

The letter is actually an invitation to check out their new production, Apartment 101, which appears just in time for Halloween and was created in collaboration with a real life clock repair shop, Blackstone Manor Clock Repair. We caught up with Alejandra Iannone and Rick Ausland, co-directors of Sparkle Theatricals, over email to ask what all this clock business is really about.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

No Proscenium: For people who aren’t familiar with your work, can you tell us a little bit about Sparkle Theatricals?

Alejandra Iannone: We are an adventurous Minneapolis-based performance company that engages artists and audiences of diverse backgrounds in inventive, curious, and fun theatrical experiences. Since 2015, we’ve been a fiscally-sponsored project of Springboard for the Arts.

Sparkle Theatricals is rooted in the spirit of collaboration. All of the pieces we have made were created with the performers. Rick (Ausland) and I co-founded and co-direct the company.

NP: Without giving away too much, what exactly is Apartment 101?

AI: Apartment 101 is an original, immersive experience about our relationship to time that integrates storytelling and theatrical magic. But it’s more than an everyday magic show.

We like to start our immersive productions off with a letter mailed to past guests weeks before the event. This year, they received a reminder that it’s time for them to make an appointment with the horologist so that he can fix their pocket watch for them. Once they make an appointment, the secret Minneapolis venue location is revealed to them.

On the night of their scheduled appointment, audiences of 15 are welcomed to a one-bedroom apartment-turned-theatrical space by Mr. Lepus (played by actor Neal Beckman), a receptionist character who checks them in for an appointment to have their pocket watch fixed by the horologist, Mr. O’Ryan (played by magician and storyteller Steven Paul Carlson).

Rick Ausland: This year is our 4th year producing a late-October event. We were always excited about the idea of Halloween, but every year the day would come and go. We wanted an alternative Halloween experience that wasn’t bloody, gory, or gross. Something more than a drunken costume contest in a bar. Something mysterious, beautiful, and magical.

NP: Can you speak about your collaboration with a real life clock repair shop? How did that come about?

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AI: Steven Paul Carlson, the magician who stars as Mr. O’Ryan, knew of the shop and recommended that we try to connect. We sent them an email explaining the project and asking if they would consider partnering with us. Less than 20 minutes later, they replied: “YES.”

RA: We are so fortunate to have contacted such a generous real-life horologist. It was a game-changer when they got on board. As collaborative creators, we can’t be afraid to ask people to get involved. Oftentimes they will really embrace your project and help you to make it far better than it otherwise would have been. As a bonus, their shop is called ‘Blackstone Manor.’ Blackstone is the last name of a very famous family of magicians and illusionists. I love details like this.

NP: Last year around Halloween, you also staged an event based upon Harry Houdini. How do you view the relationship between immersive theatre and magic?

AI: Both require a suspension of disbelief. And both allow us to become enchanted by what we experience. Magic brings out a playfulness in audiences. And I think that immersive theatre requires a level of playfulness from the audience. Close-up magic, like what Steven will be performing, gives them the opportunity to experience the unbelievable first-hand, to touch and see the objects that vanish, appear, and shift before their eyes. Likewise, immersive theatre makes it possible for audiences to investigate while they experience.

RA: Magic and immersive theatre share the requirement that an audience is present for it to work. If there is no audience, the magician is just practicing movements and memorizing lines. It’s just like the immersive theatre performer. Skilled as they may be, the magic only happens when the audience suspends their disbelief and perceives what they saw to be magical.

NP: What else should audience members expect from Apartment 101?

AI: There will be treats! It is Halloween season, after all.

RA: Yes, and even the ingredients in the treats will connect with the theme of our event — thyme will be one of them. We hope that by baking these thyme-flavored treats earlier in the day, before the show, we will be able to integrate taste and smell into the audience experience. Audiences may never make the connection, but if they do, we hope it deepens their experience.

NP: BONUS QUESTION: What work (theatre, art, dance, film, music, etc.) do you wish you had created?

AI: I have two: Aurelia’s Oratorio and Bamboo Blues. But, honestly, I’m pretty glad I didn’t make those works of art after all. I get to love them and aspire to create something as beautiful.

RA: What a great question! As I think about this, I feel like if I created any of the works it would not have been the same production that I got to see and be inspired by.

That being said, I would have loved to be involved in the production/creative teams that created the percussion shows STOMP and the Blue Man Group. I also think Sleep No More seems like it would have been an amazing project to be involved in.

Apartment 101 runs October 26 — 30 in an undisclosed Minneapolis location. Tickets are $50, but No Proscenium readers can save $15 with the offer code “MAGIC101.”

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