By Desiree Cunningham and Faith Miller
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Amid a turbulent election season, an entirely different type of political experience is taking place at local theater Space 55 in the form of an immersive mock political convention dubbed Space Con ’16.
“The Republican Party had their national convention and the Democratic Party had their national convention,” said actor Megan Holcomb. “So now it’s time for the Space party to have its national convention.”
The interactive theatrical experience kicked off in mid-September, and its newly extended run will continue through Oct. 9. Ticket holders walking into Space 55’s small black box theater, located on the corner of Seventh and Pierce streets, can expect to get involved in the production.
Visitors have the chance to become delegates of Space Con states such as the State of Mind, State of Shock, State of Being and State of Michigan. The convention is the start of Space 55’s 11th season and is inspired by a similar concept that premiered in 1996 at the Fritz Theatre in San Diego.
The mock election is equipped with paper ballots, “I Voted” stickers and Space Con buttons. Despite its simultaneous premiere with the ongoing election season, the show does not contain any direct references, or even allusions, to real-life political candidates or situations.
Instead, audience members participate in their own truly unique “Space Party” convention, complete with an alcoholic Madam Chairperson (played by Holcomb), a candidate from the State of Isolation running on the promise of putting Michigan in space, and a Party Boss who leads audience members to a back room in an attempt to “buy” their votes.
“We wanted to sort of point a finger at the absurdity of the process,” said Director Duane Daniels, “(But) we were really careful to try to keep real politics out of the show … so we could all kind of come in with a blank slate.”
At Space Con, the visiting delegates, also known as the audience members, call the shots and run the show, but there is a cast ensemble on hand that guides the process, sets the tone for the night and engages the audience in the production.
“Audience interaction for this particular show is so important right from the get go,” Holcomb said. “Going on interacting with people helps me get into my character.”
Throughout each show, delegates are introduced to processes similar to those at a national convention with a few twists. They vote on things such as limited laws, which is essentially a law that would limit the number of new laws, and, ultimately, who wins the presidential nomination.
Related: Curtain Critic: Space 55’s ‘Sexual Perversity in Chicago’ explores timeless gender issues
At Friday’s performance, a young audience member left his own mark on the show, taking over the “State of Michigan” and throwing tough questions at the candidates. Another audience member ran for candidacy on a Communist platform and gave her campaign speech in Chinese.
Daniels said he hoped the show would “whet the appetites” of the audience members, especially the young ones, for becoming more active in politics.
“It’s really designed as entertainment, but it is also important and relevant because it’s actually participating in the political process,” he said.
Ensemble Member and Technical Director Dennis Frederick set the mood with the use of lights, shadows, music selection and acoustics.
“Realistically, we’re a small black box theater that doesn’t have much, but we’re dedicated to doing as much as we can with what we have,” Frederick said.
The room was brightly lit and felt welcoming, with a set painted in red, white and blue. Props like paper ballots, balloons, posters and free T-shirts helped set the scene.
“It’s an exercise in the democratic process,” Daniels said. “It’s all very exciting and coolly patriotic.”
Contact the reporters at Faith.Anne.Miller@asu.edu and Desiree.Cunningham@asu.edu.
