{"id":26643,"date":"2020-10-16T07:00:29","date_gmt":"2020-10-16T14:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/becomeimmersed.com\/?p=26643"},"modified":"2020-10-16T14:17:22","modified_gmt":"2020-10-16T21:17:22","slug":"fire-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/becomeimmersed.com\/fire-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Capital W’s Fire Season: A Socially Distanced Meditative Hiking Journey"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve wandered along a dirt path, lost in the pre-show music and musings, and I\u2019ve now found myself on a sunny bluff looking down on an abandoned church.\u00a0 I look at the branching path ahead of me and contemplate my level of ambition, when abruptly the music cuts out and I hear Monica Miklas\u2019 soothing voice crackle through the FM static. She urges me to pause and to look, and as I take in the dusty landscape with greater intention she begins to meditatively describe the ever transforming land, reminding me that where I stand was once an ocean, might one day be a mountain.\u00a0 Finally, she turns my attention towards\u00a0 my internal landscape: \u201cIs this what you thought you\u2019d look like when you were younger? Is this what you thought the world would look like?\u201d I whisper a nostalgic \u201cno\u201d to an empty meadow, setting the tone for the internal and external exploration to come in Capital W<\/a>‘s Fire Season<\/em>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Thematic Wanderings<\/span><\/h3>\n

Capital W<\/a>\u2019s Fire Season<\/em> is an in person but socially distanced meditative and immersive hiking journey at Paramount Ranch in Agoura Hills, CA. During the hour long run time, participants are given free reign to explore the space before coming back together to close out the experience as a group.\u00a0 The show emphasizes social distancing as a theme by allowing completely free exploration of an outdoor ranch space, accompanied by meditative prompts, custom music, original artwork, and a political call to action. The tone is hard to pin down as the prompts range from abstract retellings of well known myths to unsettling descriptions of the current climate crisis to deeply personal and detailed accounts of love and sexuality – a variety show of thought provoking and\u00a0 loosely connected content.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Monica Miklas is the participants\u2019 guide, and is accompanied by a support team that help guide setup for participants and facilitate the show\u2019s transition into the full group finale.\u00a0 Participants are given flexibility as to their intensity level – challenging hikes are available, but participants are just as welcome to sit at a bench for the duration of the show.\u00a0 The prompts interact with the scenery, scorched land that calls to mind the recent fires both as a crisis of human creation and as a metaphor for our time.\u00a0 Or, as Miklas would put it, “doesn’t the world just\u00a0feel\u00a0<\/em>hotter?”.\u00a0 With only 8 participants across an entire ranch, it is likely that a solo participant will not encounter any other participants or facilitators until the group portion of the show – the interactivity is with nature, not with characters or facilitators. The end result is a thematically ambitious abstract piece that reflects the political and geographical climate of this exact moment in history.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Open World Theater<\/span><\/h3>\n

Fire Season<\/em> makes social distancing a central tenet of the experience, rather than a mere requirement, reframing the way that we view our current challenges and frustrations.\u00a0 Participants check in one at a time and are given temperature checks and freshly sanitized FM receivers, high quality headphones, and camping stools. Participants are free to explore the grounds of the western town and surrounding hiking trails, with the option to make their experience a fairly strenuous hike if they so choose (they will be told when to turn around in order to make their way back to the western town in time for the finale). In the style of an open-world adventure game or a rugged western movie, participants set off on their very own journey, accompanied by the beautiful and compelling musings of Miklas\u2019 mind, which serve as their own internal monologue.\u00a0 Sadly, in my case, I frequently found my path blocked by my receivers\u2019 limited range, with static warning me that I\u2019d reached the boundary of my journey.\u00a0 With about 15 minutes remaining, participants are called back to a central location for some facetime with Miklas and their fellow travelers, as well as a political call to action that brings home the \u201cso what\u201d of the journey and reflection.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Inside Miklas\u2019 Mind<\/span><\/h3>\n

The audio content felt as pleasantly winding as the trails themselves, with each new section bringing a new theme, tone, and question, just as each turn in the path brings new and unique scenery.\u00a0 Miklas might draw a participant\u2019s attention to the uniqueness of a mood, space, or their own body in a\u00a0 given story, draw them into a philosophical contemplation of societal progress in the next, and deposit them back in a grounding tactile observation\u00a0 of the landscape around them in a third.\u00a0 The cadence of the audio makes it easy for participants to relax into a contemplative rhythm, while the content keeps it fresh and versatile,\u00a0 connecting with different participants in different ways.\u00a0 Not every vignette will hit home for all, but the mood and content is ever changing, and there\u2019s never a dull moment.\u00a0 In fact, ever changing landscapes, lives, and societies is a main theme\u00a0 of the piece itself. As Miklas herself reminds us, systems\u00a0 tend towards discord.\u00a0 The audio incorporates the landscape brilliantly – I was struck by the symbolism of \u201cbushes coming up around their own skeletons\u201d, and began to see the very plants around me\u00a0 as reflections of my story and humanity\u2019s. \u00a0 The overall mood is somber, contemplative, but compassionate.\u00a0 This is a mature and thought provoking experience of the now.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While the language is predominantly poetic, there are some themes of sexuality, death, and destruction.\u00a0 The content is slow moving and highly intellectual and contemplative in nature.\u00a0 Concepts like \u201clove predating oceans\u201d and the world \u201cfeeling\u201d hotter this year will resonate deeply with a thoughtful, emotionally self-aware, or politically engaged participant.\u00a0 Concepts are often presented abstractly and left as open ended prompts for further contemplation.\u00a0 There is an excellent balance of structure and sophistication in the content, providing for a challenging and thoughtful physical and intellectual journey through the piece and the space.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/h3>\n

A <\/span>Different Type of Immersion<\/span><\/h3>\n

Previous Capital W shows have focused on personalization and interaction between participant and facilitator, but Fire Season takes a different approach.\u00a0 The immersion in this case is in the environment.\u00a0 There is a high level of agency as participants are free to wander the entire ranch.\u00a0 The freedom is almost overwhelming, and feels rebellious during a time when we are all used to being closed up in quarantined spaces.\u00a0 There are countless paths and landmarks, varying in difficulty\u00a0 and elevation. While participants can presumably attend together, the audio intentionally creates a solitary world, thematically reflecting the isolation of quarantined society, and participants in the same group will have little occasion to speak with each other. The piece is best experienced alone and with a solitary, reflective, and exploratory mindset.\u00a0 Agency is also achieved in a different way than in previous pieces. There are no \u201ccharacters\u201d to speak of.\u00a0 Each participant is engaging primarily with Miklas\u2019 prompts and their own mind.\u00a0 It is a very natural experience, but not a personally interactive one.\u00a0 Participants are given agency to explore, but have no influence on the events,\u00a0 themes, or content of the piece. The content is enjoyable and engaging, but participants should not expect an immersive or personalized show.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, the vignette format is compelling, but there is no narrative thread running through the experience.\u00a0 For me, the audio was refreshingly abstract, allowing my mind to wanderer with my feet towards\u00a0 the challenges of our times.\u00a0 For another participant, they might find that the lack of narrative and structure for most of the piece leaves them restless or unsure what to do. In a similar vein to the \u201cwhat do you need?\u201d series previously performed by Capital W, mindfulness is the focus here.\u00a0 While I normally prefer narrative heavy experiences, I find that Capital W has their finger on the pulse of the strained souls of quarantined humans, and the show still hit home for me, even with very little narrative structure.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/h3>\n

The Team\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

The overall focus of the team was on facilitating a seamless experience for participants. In addition to contributing music and visual art, team members are on hand to ensure Covid safety and shepherd participants through the transitional moments of the experience.\u00a0 The result is a show that feels safe and organized while also being unstructured.\u00a0 The Capital W team operates as a well oiled and collaborative machine, creating a remarkable and unique overall experience.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From a performance perspective, multiple creatives contribute to the experience\u2019s orchestration.\u00a0 Monica Miklas is the show\u2019s champion, credited as writer, performer, and zine and postcard designer of the visual art take home and activism elements. Lauren Ludwig, a Capital W staple and a brilliant performer in her own right, directs and produces. Both women bring sheer overwhelming artistry and vision to the table, as always.\u00a0 The result of the collaboration is contemplative and cohesive.\u00a0 The production is a thematic arc that ties together everything from global warming to covid to heartbreak to death and identities, driven by Miklas\u2019 candid performance style.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The broadcast itself showcases a high production value.\u00a0 Dave McKeeveer\u2019s sound design allows for subtle mood setting and seamless transitions between vignettes. These transitions and pauses helped the piece flow and gave participants space to fill in the gaps with their own thoughts and reflections.\u00a0 Gorgeous original musical compositions by Susan Voelz punctuated each vignette.\u00a0 The music perfectly reflected the landscape around us.\u00a0 Together with the other team members, these talented individuals created a predominantly audio-based experience that was intimate and moving.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

Final Thoughts on Fire Season<\/span><\/h3>\n

Capital W\u2019s Fire Season is a journey.\u00a0 It is explorative, thematic, compelling, challenging, and yet candid and compassionate.\u00a0 A departure from both traditional immersive theater and the common socially distant zoom show format, the show is a great way to get out of the house for some reflection and immersion in the outdoors.\u00a0 Although not really ideal for groups, solo participants or those not afraid to separate will find themselves face to face in conversation with their own minds, frustrations, emotions, and judgements.\u00a0 The ideal participant here is one with an interest in contemplative solitude.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fire Season foregoes linear narrative in favor of site specific immersion and physicality as well as contemplative prompts.\u00a0 Using the \u201cchallenge by choice\u201d framework, Fire Season leaves it to participants to discover whatever wonders might await them on the trails.\u00a0 The ranch is a bit of a trek, but getting out of the city is part of the point.\u00a0 Most participants will find a touchstone for their own fears and worries somewhere in Miklas\u2019 prompts.\u00a0 Exploring solitude as well as the landscape around you can be an incredibly empowering experience, and that theme of\u00a0 empowerment is an important counterbalance to the frustration and hopelessness explored in a few of the vignettes.\u00a0 Your adventure awaits\u00a0 – what will you find as you explore both the internal\u00a0 and external spaces?<\/span><\/p>\n

If you want to read more about Captial W’s previous experiences, check out our reviews on What Do you Need?<\/a> and Red Flags<\/a>.\u00a0Check out our Event Guide<\/a> for more immersive entertainment throughout the year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve wandered along a dirt path, lost in the pre-show music and musings, and I\u2019ve now found myself on a sunny bluff looking down on an abandoned church.\u00a0 I look at the branching path ahead of me and contemplate my level of ambition, when abruptly the music cuts out and I hear Monica Miklas\u2019 soothing…<\/p>\n

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