Marissa Dahl tours the Showroom at Boundry Labs [sic]. Photo by Glenn Ricci.
If you had the ability and the means to customize your afterlife experience, would you do it? Baltimore’s Submersive Productions’ latest project casts its audience in the role of marketing focus group for a fictional tech startup called Boundry Labs, a company whose mission is to “create your perfect afterlife.” Boundry demonstrates its services through an elaborate presentation including a self-guided tour through the Showroom, bracketed by a user survey, a post-crossover “Waiting Room,” and a final stop at the “Bar Dō.” It’s vaguely reminiscent of Edward G. Robinson’s character in “Soylent Green” who signs up for a curated end to his life. A private death chamber is customized with light washes of his favorite color and video images of his favorite nature scenes as he is euthanized. Boundry’s idea feels similar; they simply focus on the following stage of their clients’ existence. There’s a great deal more detail, of course, because eternity lasts forever.
The time, effort, and attention to detail exhibited in the entire production is truly astonishing.
Tickets to the production are sold in groups of up to seven, with presentations staggered to begin at 20-minute intervals. The overall duration of the experience can vary, as there’s a built-in optional rest stop that follows a particularly intense portion of the show. Apropos of that, it’s important to mention that “The Boundary” is neither an escape room nor a game. Submersive is clear and careful to explain during the performance that it is easy to opt out or seek help at any time. This attention to safety and comfort of audiences is greatly appreciated.
The performance is set up by a sort of ringleader in the person of Regina LaCroix, Assistant to the COO of Boundry Labs. Her character is played alternately by Jenna Rossman and Betty O’Hellno. Rossman was in the role for our performance and gave Regina a hilarious blend of officiousness and anxiety. Through what ought to have been a one-way mirror, Regina fights with underling Henry Walker (Josh Hne) as members of the focus group take a detailed survey. Once data is collected, it’s time for a quick decontamination, after which we meet Juno (Tina Canady) and Ronald the Roomba (a real Roomba, with a gray, felt moustache on top). Regina then leads us to the Showroom. “Think of this space as an Ikea showroom,” she says. One is immediately reminded of “Abbie/Other Works of Art/Lee,” an immersive show from Mother Lode Productions in the 1990s which was presented in an actual abandoned furniture store.
The Showroom consists of two, long hallways with several doors each. Each door is labeled for a different “afterlife model.” Behind it is a roughly, walk-in closet-sized diorama of sorts, meant to suggest a focused eternal experience for the user. Some of the models are mildly macabre, others are whimsical. Most contain some sort of interactive technology to explore. These little rooms have space for one or two people at a time, and there’s a clever badging system that signals when a model is occupied. Investigating these spaces is a self-guided process and comprises about 30 minutes of the performance. After this section is the “feedback session.” Two audience members at a time are led into a “conference room” in which a pair of performers executes a gorgeous piece of abstract choreography. This leads to a “waiting room” that features some one-on-one interaction with another pair of improvisers. Finally, each audience member is called by number to a lounge area from which bartender and doctor characters send us on our way.
There’s quite a large cast in this production, likely due to staggered start times forcing actors to alternate. Designer Deana Fisher Brill clads the Boundry workers in white lab coats or blue jumpsuits, while a variety of “Timeless Beings” exist in heightened forms of whatever they were wearing before they transitioned. Sound is by Megan Livingston and Glen Ricci. It permeates the entire building with a sort of whooshy, Joe Meek kind of vibe. Ricci’s lighting is that familiar, clinical sci-fi look in the common areas and wildly imaginative in the little Afterlife Model rooms. The design of these isn’t specifically credited in the program but, WOW, are they impressive. The time, effort, and attention to detail exhibited in the entire production is truly astonishing.
Running Time: Approximately one hour and 30 minutes (varies by audience member) with no intermission.
Advisories: Flashing lights, discussions of death.
“The Boundary: A Life and Death Experience” runs through October 15, 2023 at Submersive Productions, 3523 Buena Vista Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21211. Tickets are available online. Face masks are requested. Patrons are urged to seek parking on nearby 36th Street.
