COMING SOON: Dragonslayer
A Polish legend in Seattle for a two-night stand with an impressive creative pedigree immersive in February
AnA Collaborations’ Audrey Rachelle and Alex Oliva are no strangers to the world of immersive, with Rachelle being part of Sleep No More’s cast and Oliva being part of multiple productions at The McKittrick. The duo formed their creative partnership back in 2013, and after multiple dance driven works over the last decade are debuting an original “immersive odyssey” in Seattle this February.
The show is Dragonslayer, and it delves into a Polish legend by giving the audience a “90-minute experience, where they are free to explore, interact with, and uncover what may be simmering under the surface.”
We checked in with co-directors Rachelle and Oliva, about the new show which plays Feb. 8 & 9 in Seattle with tickets starting at $45.
Follow the production team at @anacollaborations on Instagram.
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This is No Proscenium’s COMING SOON, a look at ongoing immersive experiences & events. To learn more about how your event could be considered for the feature check out How To Get Covered By NoPro.
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No Proscenium: Tell us a little bit about your experience! What’s it about? What makes it immersive?
Audrey & Alex (AnA): Dragonslayer is a re-telling of the Polish legend of Wawel the Dragon in the year 2048. Audiences are invited to join Our Majesty Krak’s Republic so that they may benefit from the protection and knowledge this body provides. As new members, you are initiated into a nomadic way of life where your security hinges on your willingness to respond to an ever-shifting environment.
In Dragonslayer, audiences will move through the same space as the characters. Audience members may be selected for intimate one-on-one encounters, and will be given the chance to actively participate. They might find themselves whispering with a member of the Resistance, witnessing a woman sacrificed to save them, or asked about how they would slay a dragon. Throughout, there are opportunities to stimulate all five senses, and space to explore the set to discover elements of the story hidden within.
NP: What was the inspiration for your upcoming experience?
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AnA: Our collaborator, electronic music composer Maciej Lewandowski, shared the story of the Wawel Dragon to us in 2018. Together we built a 45 minute version of the tale and premiered this first iteration at Brooklyn Studios for Dance.
We love the story with its visceral imagery, unexpected twists, and multiple versions. Now six years later, we have the opportunity to share this tale with west coast audiences as a newly developed 90 minute multi-track production. We’re psyched.
NP: What do you think fans of immersive will find most interesting about this latest experience?
AnA: Dragonslayer is told through a unique blending of improvisation and specific choreography. We have a special knack for creating visceral movement and cinematic images. Our work has been described as “the love child of Pina Bausch and David Lynch”.
NP: Once you started designing and testing what did you discover about this experience that was unexpected?
AnA: To answer this question we share a quote by David Bowie “Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth. And when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting.”
NP: What can fans who are coming to this, or thinking about coming to this, do to get into the mood of the experience?
AnA: Get jazzed for Dragonslayer.
To read: Station Eleven, Annihilation, and anything by Ursula K Le Guin.
To watch: Reign of Fire, Carol and the End of the World, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, this trailer of Dimitris Papaioannou’s Transverse Orientation, and the adaptations of Station Eleven and Annihilation.
To listen: this track by Maciej Lewandowski
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