COMING SOON: 40 WATTS FROM NOWHERE
No dead air. Play what you want. Don’t get caught.
Jeff and Andy Crocker, also known as Mister & Mischief, are lighting up the airwaves again with their interactive experience 40 Watts From Nowhere. The experience puts audiences into radio pirate Sue Carpenter’s booth to run the station by playing music and broadcasting their voice while avoiding getting caught by the law.
NoPro invited the Crockers to broadcast all the details about 40 Watts in the newest edition of COMING SOON.
40 Watts From Nowhere will performing at the Denver Film Festival from November 10th to November 11th. It runs performers times each day and tickets are $45. For more, follow the creators on Facebook and Instagram.
This is No Proscenium’s COMING SOON, a look at upcoming immersive experiences and events. To learn more about how your event could be considered for this feature, check out How To Get Covered By NoPro.
No Proscenium: Tell us a little bit about your experience! What’s it about? What makes it immersive?
Jeff and Andy Crocker: 40 Watts From Nowhere tells the true story of Sue Carpenter, a restless 30-something turned legendary radio pirate. In 1995, Sue poured every penny she had into creating an illegal radio station, KBLT, in her closet, transforming her apartment into this super-secret epicenter of the hipster Silver Lake music scene.
Thousands of listeners got to know Sue on the air, but few know the off-air truth. By living her story inside her booth, audiences may hear what the airwaves never revealed and maybe give Sue and KBLT the closure they never got.
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Immersive can mean so many things, so we refer to 40 Watts as an “experiential documentary.” You’re Sue, the subject of the documentary, and you’ve got to run this illegal radio station. You play music, share your voice, and try not to get busted by the FCC, all the while unlocking the truth behind the urban legend.
NP: What was the inspiration for your experience?
J & AC: We had been researching neighborhood history when Jeff came across the story of KBLT. We were immediately fascinated and when we found out that the real Sue still lived nearby, we reached out to her to see if we could option her memoir. It was such a great conversation, because she really saw the parallels between her pirate radio life and our work and community as indie immersive theatre makers. We remember describing how we seek alternative venues, reframe audience impact, smash the fourth wall, and we’ll never forget the starstruck joy we felt when she said “that’s pretty punk rock.” So, long true story short — 40 Watts is a direct adaptation of Sue’s memoir of the same name in both content and, we’re very proud to say, in spirit.
NP: What do you think fans of immersive will find most interesting about this latest experience?
J & AC: We’re pretty excited about the balance of facts and audience autonomy. We really do have folks play whatever music they would like (as long as we have it in the station- no streaming here! All analog, baby!) and we want folks to say whatever they’d like into the mic. Participants truly run the station together all while the true story unfolds around them. Though no one can change the fate of KBLT (as much as we would like to change history, we can’t) every show is still bespoke to that group of guests.
NP: Once you started designing and testing what did you discover about this experience that was unexpected?
J & AC: There are absolutely no puzzles in this experience — in the traditional sense. We learned very early on that using your voice, sharing the mic, not letting the fear of failure or the need to be an expert overpower the group experience– just to be in the moment and enjoy the story– for lots of folks is challenging enough!
Also — holy moly, people really love Blister in the Sun.
NP: What can fans who are coming to this, or thinking about coming to this, do to get into the mood of the experience?
J & AC: This is SUCH a fun question! The show takes place in 1998, but KBLT played every genre under the sun so blasting (aka sharing) any beloved pre-1998 jam is totally fair game. That being said, some faves from our 40 Watts musical mood board are Minutemen, A Tribe Called Quest, Ween, Mazzy Star, that dog. , Stereolab, Liz Phair, Red Aunts, and if you are seeing the show in Denver, you can’t forget hometown heroes The Apples in Stereo!
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