COMING SOON: Field of Flesh
An intimate performance at a chaotic dinner table arrives in Chicago this September
Director Derek Spencer’s work is no stranger to these pages, with Ceaseless Fun being one of the defining theatre companies of the pre-pandemic LA immersive scene. In the wake of the High Pandemic Spencer returned to the Chicagoland area, exploring new performance avenues.
This season Spencer and an ensemble cast have devised Field of Flesh, tagged as “an intimate performance at a chaotic dinner table,” the show description delivers on the kind of experimental theatre vibes Spencer is known for:
Field of Flesh seats a small audience at an overflowing dinner table with a cast of loosely-connected family members. Dinner is about to be served, but between the cognitive decline and Tik Tok brainrot, no one seems to remember why we’re together, who’s cooking, or how we’re all related. Through parodic exchanges with the audience, the performers perforate the boundaries between flesh and food, other and self, care and codependency. Meanwhile old age and death loom large in the corner. Ultimately, Field of Flesh asks whether our culinary culture supports us in moments of crisis, and how we might rid ourselves of an anxious attachment to tradition and nostalgia.
We checked in with Spencer about Field of Flesh through the magic of email.
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NO PROSCENIUM: Tell us a little bit about your experience! What’s it about? What makes it immersive?
Derek Spencer: Field of Flesh is an immersive performance for 12 audience members at a time. It parodically simulates the beginning of an extended-family dinner party, casting the audience as various distant relatives. It marries traditional immersive elements with experimental and physical theater sensibilities. Ultimately, Field of Flesh asks whether our culinary culture supports us in moments of crisis, and how we might rid ourselves of an anxious attachment to tradition and nostalgia.
NP: What was the inspiration for your upcoming experience?
DS: In 2022, I moved back to my hometown of Chicago after 7 years living in LA. I was simultaneously dealing with three changes: the death of a close loved one from cancer, the nominal end of the pandemic, and the culture shock of being back in the Midwest. This show began to take shape at the intersection of these changes, consolidating around themes of food and interdependency. I became interested in what we called in the rehearsal room “familial specificity, unbounded by logic” — all the reference points of particular families and lives strung together in a web of free association.
NP: What do you think fans of immersive will find most interesting about this latest experience?
DS: As an immersive fan myself, I’ve always been frustrated by shows that cast me in a role (exciting!) but then expect me to do the work of carrying on a scene without sufficient guidance (hard, distracting). I think we’ve found an interesting approach that allows the audience to feel integral to the action without overburdening them.
NP: Once you started designing and testing what did you discover about this experience that was unexpected?
DS: I think the ensemble brought a lot of unexpected delight and humor into the room. I knew the premise and themes would be fertile for everyone, but I was blown away by how many strange and specific personal experiences we were able to incorporate into the performance.
NP: What can fans who are coming to this, or thinking about coming to this, do to get into the mood of the experience?
DS: Look at old photos, bake a pie, drink a glass of Kirkland red wine, call your mom, get screened for cancer, unplug your fridge and observe what happens.
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