Nightclub theater

The stony, theatergoing cynic slumped in her chair might suppose that her world is hermetically sealed. How could she imagine, sitting in a dimly lit seat five rows back, that she too will be a performer in the drama, a dancer in the troupe, a star on the stage?

If only she knew.

Most of us will never see our names spelled out in lights. Still, as a hip, hybridized form of live entertainment dubbed “interactive theater” grows in popularity, the stage light’s beam may stop inches away from your seat or even—bam—shine right down on you.

Elizabeth Weigel, artistic director of AREA-51 Dance Theatre, says that her troupe has traditionally performed its summer Artown productions in Wingfield Park. But at Wingfield, with its proscenium setting, the distinction between stage and seating is fairly rigid. Not so in an indoor setting—especially a setting like Metropolis Nightclub Complex, a big downtown club known for its bumpin’ and grindin'.

“I want the audience to feel like they’re as much a part of the experience as the dancers, actors, singers, aerial artists,” Weigel says. “We’re looking to push boundaries in Reno.”

Her latest boundary-pusher is Project X, a theatrical experience that fuses song, dance music (spun by local DJs), modern dance, go-go dancing, trapeze artistry (performed on the world’s first portable A-frame trapeze) and plenty of audience participation.

“The audience won’t quite know what they’ve come into,” Weigel says.

AREA-51 has performed previews of the show in California and Oregon and received an overwhelming response, Weigel says. She attributes AREA-51’s success in part to its range of cultural influences.

"[AREA-51] is kind of unique in the fact that [Nevada] has casinos, so we do have this extravagant opulence, but we have Burning Man, and [AREA-51] has a professional dance background,” Weigel says. “In San Francisco, they said, ‘Wow, where did you come up with this?’ It was really weird to freak people out in San Francisco.”

Although Project X gave the ‘Friscans pause, it is the sort of theater many Nevadans expect to see in the Bay Area.

“We premiered a seven-minute performance [of Project X] on July 9, and [the audience] was like, ‘Wow, it’s like a little piece of San Francisco in Reno.’ “

Weigel says that Project X is directed in part at a new breed of dance junkies, aka club-goers. By bringing theater into the club, Weigel hopes to pique young peoples’ interest in that highbrow-sounding thing called theater. And while the premiere of Project X isn’t for all ages—Metropolis is a 21-and-over venue—AREA-51 is shopping around for family-friendly spots with an alternative, dance-worthy feel. Project X isn’t all about the club kids.

“It’s not necessarily adult, but it’s more avant-garde,” Weigel says.

Weigel gleaned ideas for AREA-51 in part from national touring acts like Dela Guarda. Weigel loved the audience-performer meltdown she experienced at these shows. At one show, bored-looking audience members were surreptitiously doused with water.

And will Project X include some spot precipitation?

“There are gonna be quite a few surprises," Weigel says, laughing.