The Intimate ‘Snow Fridge: Halloween Edition’ is a Spa for the Soul (A NoPro Second Look)

by Lauren Bello
Lauren Bello
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October 22, 2018
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4 min read

NoPro contributor Lauren Bello returns to the Hollywood Fringe favorite

Over the past year, Keight Leighn has emerged as a unique voice in the Los Angles immersive scene. Already known in the immersive world for her transcendent turn in Annie Lesser’s A(partment 8), her gleeful role as the Lion Tamer in C(ovell), and her absurdist improv show Ccabareight, Leighn debuted as an immersive creator in Snow Fridge (Fringe Edition) earlier this year to rave reviews.

The original Snow Fridge edition (which Leighn co-created with Karlie Blair) read like a surreal extension of her improv show — an improvisational party full of props, an energy that somehow combined “easygoing” and “electric.” The aesthetic bombardment of sound, light, and the raised pitch of the actors’ voices all felt effectively frenetic, an experience based on sensory momentum. Her follow-up, #bedrUmplaI, on the other hand, took a surprising and effective turn in the other direction: slow, meditative, and full of gentle wonder; it was an intimate experience characterized, primarily, by tenderness. As Leighn expanded her emotional toolkit, I wondered how that would shape her third production: Snow Fridge (Halloween Edition).

At first blush, little had changed. The structure of this edition of Snow Fridge was much the same as the first. To prepare, participants were emailed a questionnaire based on a central question: in this case, “WUT DO U FEAR?” The in-person induction process was similarly familiar. Whimsical “while you wait” amusements. A low-voiced introduction in a dark room. Finding oneself surrounded by iterations of the self — calling each other by one’s name, tumbling over themselves to address the central problem laid at their feet.

What follows after that will differ from participant to participant. We all have different fears, after all, and the voices in our heads tell us different stories. But in my case, I was treated to warm recognition (I’d visited these voices before, you see), a re-enactment of my fear and its manifestations, and a sincere conversation between my Heart and my Head. And though the structure of the experience was familiar, the content still sang.

It is difficult to say whether I experienced this show differently because it had changed, or because I had. Regardless, in my subjective perception I felt that in this edition the momentum had slowed, the noise quieted. The cast was, or seemed, smaller. My senses were entertained without being overwhelmed, leaving me more room to process and interact. The result was that I felt less an observer, more a part of the unfolding revelation — in my case, the revelation that my Head, in its earnest desire to protect me, was innocently sabotaging me. A faint hint of the earnest kindness of #bedrUmplaI had made its way in: the Voices were less concerned with hearing each other, and more with seeing me.

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As effective as the subtly tweaked pace was, however, we soon returned to the familiar. The dialogue between Heart and Head was wrapped up neatly, the show ended in much the same way as the previous edition, and the scene “button” was nearly identical. Which is not to say that it was ineffective: as I left I felt the same eerie transitional feeling I’d felt before. I had to pause in the hallway for a moment, processing, before I could emerge into the real world again.

Much as I loved to revisit the world of Snow Fridge, it was very much that — a revisit. It felt like the team had missed some opportunities in production design to tailor the show to its Halloween theme: only a single skeleton-themed costume seemed to even evoke the concept of fear. A new color palette, fewer “rainbow” lights, could have gone a long way toward differentiating this show from its previous edition — and justifying the 40% ticket price increase. A more thematic Halloween show would also have allowed the audience to journey through their own unease longer, exploring the haunting tension between what they want and who they are. As it was, this was undoubtedly the most soothing, affirming, and peaceful “Halloween edition” one could experience. It was less a haunting than it was a spa for the soul.

All that said, I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to step once more into the unique and loving Snow Fridge oasis. In a city that can feel impersonal, it felt like home.

Snow Fridge (Halloween Edition) continues through October 25 with a ‘Blood Moon’ special on October 24. Tickets are $35.

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