‘In the Conservatory with the Knife’ @ Bombshell Dance Project
Photos by @maehainesphoto
—Teresa Marrero
On November 3 and 4, the Dee and Charles Wyly Theater became a literal playground for Bombshell Dance Project´s “who done it” dance-theater piece, In the Conservatory with the Knife, an Immersive Murder Mystery.
I mean this literally, as the audience-participants followed 11 dancers throughout the building, including some long grey inner corridors usually reserved for performers only. No, there was no sitting down to watch this show: from the start, most of us stood and watched dancers on the third, sixth and 10th floors of the magnificent architectural wonder that is the Wyly.
The action began in the Potter Rose Performance Hall, configured in a way that I (and an usher-turned- elevator operator… more on this later) had never seen before. The hall was divided into two distinct spaces, one in what is ordinarily backstage, and the other a center space surrounded by a smallish-scale seating arrangement. Not many sat.
VIP tickets allowed a few to enter the performance space first; they were given clues regarding the “who done it” aspect of the show, and complimentary champagne.
All of us were asked not to speak or touch the dancers, but to feel free to follow whichever dancer or group of dancers we wanted to pursue—in search of clues as to who killed Pearl. The story line was written by Katie Bernet and choreographed by Bernet and Taylor Kinsey, and the music billed to various artists; lighting design was by Aaron Johansen, and sound by Jeff Kinsey.
There were spaces that suggested a billiards room, a dining room, a tropical living area, narrow, grey corridors with walls full of graffiti from performers of previous shows. To my surprise, some of us found ourselves on the theater’s 10th floor balcony—an astounding space with a marvelous view of Dallas I’d never had access to before. The use of the whole building and its unusual spaces was quite impressive—and yes, we walked around and stood for the entirety of the 80- to 90-minute performance.
For the first time since I began reviewing in the Dallas area in 2013, I could not take notes during the performance. With no pen in hand, this review necessarily relies upon my memory and impressions of last night’s performance.
The first segment took place in the wide-open space of the Potter Rose hall—with two high cocktail tables and lots of empty plastic wine cups. The dancers picked up cups and dropped them off at different points, making it evident that this was a party with wine or cocktails. The way the choreography fluidly sent dancers flowing in and out of the space was wonderful. Dancers were seamlessly side-lined, then almost imperceptibly moved back in. I found myself with the challenging task of counting heads, and eventually gave up due to the fluidity of this introductory sequence. This first segment definitely felt over-long, especially as the plot had been laid out, and it took some considerable time before we were asked to move on.
All I knew is that there were eleven total dancers. Each dressed with a particular color, they took up the space in highly energetic moves, going to and from one area to the next. Grey (Camille Bourgeois) and Goldie (Ally Van Deuren) set the stage for the murder mystery: one among them had killed Pearl (Emma Weiss). She was dressed in an all-white flowing gown and gave the impression of being a ghost, shadowing the other dancers’ moves. The dancers were: Willow DuBose (Rose), Ally DesJardins (Violet), Tay Diggs (Clementine), Claire Jones (Amber), Heather Jordan (Olive), Taylor Kinsey (Azure), Shadden Hashem (Xanthe), Elizabeth Akudugu (Sterling), and Emily Barnet (Ruby).
Once we were prompted to move, we piled into one of three elevators with ushers now serving as operators. Each elevator took a group of attendees to a different floor/ experience. At some point, we used the stairs, only to find dancers there also.
If I recall correctly, I found myself in a dining room, then a pool room, back in the Potter Rose, in a grey hallway and a tiny room with mirrors—and then into the fresh air of the 10th floor balcony.
As more and more of the dancers were wearing white, we began to wonder if they too had been murdered. The final reveal of the mystery story line happened about 80 minutes into the piece. We never knew the why of it all, but that didn’t seem to matter. Frankly, I (and apparently some others) lost interest in the mystery, mostly because the clues were confusing and difficult to comprehend.
The point, perhaps, was the immersive nature of the experience—not just that the audience followed along trying to figure out the mystery, but more than the audience members were talking to one another: “I think Azure (or Goldie, or Ruby) did it because…” or “What’s with all the dancers changing into white costumes?”
In the Conservatory created a collectively shared experience for the audience members, who were at no point allowed to remain passive—at first because we had to physically move with the dancers, and then because we were sharing ideas about the mystery. I enjoyed seeing people engaged and conversing, sharing moments in time even after the show ended. Not a single cell phone in sight the whole time.
Having audiences physically “follow” a performance isn’t a new trope in theater or dance; in Dallas most recently, it was seen with Jennifer Mabus’ Bare Feet and Burning Bushes at Arts Mission Oak Cliff. The particularity of the Bombshell Dance Project was in its access to the Wyly’s striking multi-story building and its elevators. The Wyly became a protagonist in this piece, something that was both unusual and quite enjoyable.
Teresa Marrero is a Professor at the University of North Texas Department of Spanish. She specializes in theater/performance studies and reviews both Dance and Theater.
