Personalized therapy session introducing the main characters for Dark Arts.

Experienced: June 6, 2017
Location: Undisclosed
Address: Los Angeles, CA 90035
Price: $20.00
Audience Size: 1
Runtime: 30 minutes
More Information: Hollywood Fringe

I was on the fence with getting tickets to Dark Arts but I was sold after Lawrence Meyers’ performance in a Periscope (of all places) describing his involvement in the Prologue for The Lust Experience. What could have been a simple explanation ended up being a short piece of theater with subtly delivered scripted jokes and dialog between Lawrence and his daughter. It was way more entertaining than it had a right to be.

The Prelude started with an email questionnaire with a few questions about my personal crisis. I try not to dwell on life’s problems but felt I should play along and came up with two different issues.

A second email came with instructions on where to meet and mentioned arriving 15 minutes early. I’m glad I did because in that time I got to meet with an assistant for a short prelude to the prelude in the downstairs lobby of the hotel (which served as the venue for both the Prelude and Finale). Natalie was drinking wine and I could tell she was a little buzzed. She loosely alluded to some funny business between Lyndsey and Andrew as if they were an item. She also made sure to tell me I made a great choice and that my personal crisis would be solved because they were the best at what they do.

After the short intro I was told to go up to the second floor and follow the signs with the Klein & St. Jude logo. I ended up in a conference room and walked in on Lyndsey and Andrew having a heated discussion. They apologized and let me sit while they walked out of the room to finish what sounded almost like an argument.

When they came back we went through what an initial consultation would likely feel like with personal crisis management specialists (if that’s even a thing). What followed was a pseudo-therapy session hitting on both of my crises with surprising detail and sensitivity.

Some of the stories Andrew would tell to try and help me in my crisis would also have a secondary meaning as it became clearer that the argument I overheard was about Lyndsey cheating on Andrew. The slow burn in which this thread played out over the course of the roughly 30 minute show (between Natalie downstairs and the conference room scene) fired perfectly.

While the Prelude was a short show it was longer than I had originally expected due to the 20 minute ticket intervals. It was an unusual mix of subtle character and story development combined with a therapy session.