Billy Bell and Devin Compton of Cinereal Productions talk to us about their first public show
Starting on Saturdays in January 2019, Cinereal Productions will be mounting an Alice in Wonderland-themed experience over multiple floors of a historic townhouse that’s home to an arts-centric private club in Chelsea.
The Unbrunch will include a buffet-style brunch and drinks, allow audiences members to explore at their own pace, and take place in the morning (that’s right!); the cast also includes multiple former performers from Sleep No More.
We spoke to co-creators Billy Bell and Devin Compton over email to learn more about their first public production.
No Proscenium (NP): Could you tell us a little about yourself and your background in the immersive arts?
Billy Bell (BB): I moved to New York about 11 years ago to attend The Juilliard School. After my time there, I pursued my career as a contemporary ballet with Jose Navas/Compagnie Flak (Montreal) and Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet. On my 21st birthday my mother flew to the city and took me to see a newly opened show called Sleep No More. From there, I was hooked. I met Devin around this time and we started to see and develop immersive work very rapidly, forming relationships with private clientele to create bespoke events and productions for personal and corporate occasions.
Sadly, Cedar Lake folded, and while the dance world lost a major player, I was given the opportunity to join the incredible cast of Sleep No More. I did so happily and was there for about a year before leaving. Having my concerns with the producing and managerial parts of Sleep No More (read as: Emursive, not Punchdrunk), Devin and I decided to form Cinereal Productions to create and produce boundary pushing work that respected the audience and performers to the level that they deserve.
Devin Compton (DC): I grew up in Michigan, before moving to NYC to attend the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. I majored in musical theater and met Billy Bell on the day I graduated from college at a bar on the Upper West Side. My career has spanned many mediums, including TV/film and commercial work, modeling, writing, producing, and directing.
I was introduced to the immersive arts when I moved to New York City nine years ago and I have been a patron and supporter of all types of immersive experiences since. Billy and I founded Cinereal Productions three years ago and we have enjoyed curating original immersive events for private clientele and the membership of the Norwood Club. We are thrilled to open our first public show on January 5th, 2019!
NP: What, in a nutshell, is this project about?
DC: Inspired by the realms of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Unbrunch brings the classic story, with a twist, to life in a stunning New York City historic landmark.
BB: Also… brunch. It’s been ironic that because of the show’s title many people are confused that The Unbrunch does in fact include brunch. And a damn good one at that! The talented Executive Chef, Carlene Nelson, has dreamed up some really lovely buffet-style brunch offerings the differ from floor to floor.
NP: How did the project come about? What inspired you to make this experience?
DC: Our company, Cinereal Productions, has been curating immersive experiences for the clientele at the Norwood Club for the past year. We are so enamored with and inspired by the space itself, it’s history, and it’s decor. After the success of our commissioned events for the Club, Rachelle Koser, Norwood’s fabulous Director of Events encouraged us to create an experience that would fill every floor of the Club when the venue is typically closed.
Once the idea was planted, Billy and I took inspiration from the Club’s lavish and unique decor, unreal art collection, and stunning architecture. We scoured the club and found a large gorgeous wooden piece of art, a large carved Queen of Hearts, and from there we let our imaginations run wild. The space really lends itself to the Wonderland motif.
NP: How has your experience performing in Sleep No More influenced you artistically?
BB: My experiences with Sleep No More have undeniably changed the way I perceive performance. It taught me incredible lessons in subtlety, the audience-performer relationship, and the psychology of performance.
Overall, it was the driving force in my decision to return to school. after leaving the show I enrolled in the Savannah College of Art and Design for Interior Design with a focus in Themed Entertainment Design. My goal is to understand and create physical spaces that fully express and articulate narrative. Adding performers into that type of environment helps connect the abstract to the reality we’ve weaved for the audience.
DC: Although I’ve only ever been a patron of Sleep No More, seeing such a successful, large scale immersive piece definitely piqued my interest as a creator. As an actor and writer, I love words. After seeing Sleep No More, I was inspired to figure out a way to create an entirely narrative immersive piece that doesn’t loop and that is exactly what Billy and I have done with The Unbrunch. Pushing immersive boundaries in regards to narrative, set and location, as well as performance is our company’s aim.
NP: As this work is being developed what influences did the team find itself coming back to?
BB: I think we constantly are looking toward simple human emotions or experiences to extrapolate into scenes. We generally create an overall arch for each character (there are 15 in The Unbrunch) and then work from the macro to the micro.
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As we flesh out the work, I find myself often diving into Greek and Roman mythology as well as science-related academic articles to take the moral of these historic stories and modernize them.
DC: Existentialism has always fascinated me. The definition itself quite mirrors immersive work: “a philosophical theory…that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of the will.” The audience of an immersive piece are completely autonomous, free-moving pieces of the artistic puzzle. I am inspired by grand existential thoughts that are interpreted and broken down into smaller, specific “isms” and are explored by our slightly other-worldly characters.
My goal is for the audience to feel genuine connection to the story, performers, and the environment which just so happens to be a experienced in a world slightly elevated from our own.
We also feel that taking typical casting and turning that on its head adds additional inspiration. For example, we do not have the expected Caucasian, blonde hair, blue-eyed Alice, our Mad Hatter is a female, among other fun casting twists. Our cast becomes a major point of inspiration as we write each scene with them in mind. Exploring characters outside of their traditional stereotypes has added depth and a diverse element that is far more representative of our world than the flat, outdated archetypes of the past.
NP: How is the audience incorporated into the work? How are you designing around audience agency, consent, and safety?
BB: We aim for the audience to be central to our work’s storyline. Usually the first idea we generate, after we nail down the concept, is what role the audience will be playing. This allows us to create characters with a
clear and understandable relationships to the audience.
As for safety, and Devin can attest, I’m a total stickler. My education in Interior Design has definitely helped us execute a higher level of security and comfort for everyone involved.
I had experienced a good number of uncomfortable situations during my time at Sleep No More and vowed to never put our audience, cast, or staff in these types of positions.
Remarkably, it’s not that hard once you make it an intentional act. We use clear moments of consent before any type of interaction, layout the ground rules right away, monitor alcohol consumption, and maintain appropriate staff-to-guest ratios while complying with Life Safety regulations and ADA requirements. We believe that this is all possible without losing any “edge” or “danger” in the work.
We also stress the importance of not only working with well experienced immersive performers, but training performers that are less experienced in immersive work to understand and exercise skills like understanding who is suitable for the scene you’re about to perform, how to gauge when the audience is uncomfortable, what to do in emergencies, and other logistical protocol. It’s definitely not the “sexiest part” of immersive work, but that doesn’t make it any less vital to the success of a work.
DC: Consent and safety within immersive work has always been the topmost priority at Cinereal, for both our actors and audience members. I have personally experienced unwanted, nonconsensual physical touch as an audience member of an immersive show. It is our first priority to ensure that our actors and audience members feel comfortable to experience our shows without having to worry about their safety. We have stewards on every floor and we ensure that even in a “one on one” experience, no actor or audience member is completely alone with only one other person, for each of their safety. We have a zero tolerance policy toward predatory, coercive, or threatening behaviors from both our cast and audience.
NP: Who is the ideal audience member for this show?
DC: Anyone 21+ that enjoys brunch, live performance, slight escapism…or a combination of all three!
BB: Those who are curious and are looking let go of their world, if only, for a moment.
NP: What do you hope participants take away from the experience?
BB: I’d like for guests to leave with a full belly and an experience completely different from what they thought they’d have. There may or may not be 2 or more alternate endings… I’d love for a group to enter, slowly lose track of one another, and compare their experiences afterward in complete confusion of one another.
DC: I hope the audience has the desire to come back, re-explore, and connect to facets of our Wonderland that they perhaps didn’t upon the first visit.
The Unbrunch will take place at an undisclosed Manhattan location on Saturday mornings starting in January 2019. Tickets are $125–225.
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