Pittsburgh Fringe 2024
Divine Ride…..or Wait?
Savage Art Escape
Genre: Immersive, Site-Specific, Storytelling, Theatre
Venue: International Children's Art Gallery
Festival: Pittsburgh Fringe
Low Down
In an experience that invites you to be the star of the show, Divine Ride…..or Wait? is an interactive performance-based escape room that goes far beyond any cheap tricks or easy gimmicks in other live-action puzzle games. The audience has a mere 45 minutes to unravel riddles and create meaningful conversation to decode the path that will lead them to the way out. The twist here is, you aren’t looking for a key, but the lock instead. Simply because in this escape room, you- the fellow artist- are the key.
Review
In an experience that invites you to be the star of the show, Divine Ride… or Wait? is an interactive performance-based escape room that goes far beyond any cheap tricks or easy gimmicks in other live-action puzzle games. The audience has a mere 45 minutes to unravel riddles and create meaningful conversation to decode the path that will lead them to the way out. The twist here is, you aren’t looking for a key, but the lock instead. Simply because in this escape room, you- the fellow artist- are the key.
What do you know about escape rooms? I thought I knew escape rooms to be scary, first and foremost. When I think of the term “escape room”, I picture a dark, cold room with a locked dungeon door and a Voice of God flooding the space, telling me I’ve got only 45 minutes left before I’m stuck in here forever.
I thought I also knew escape rooms to be anxiety-inducing, which is essentially the whole reason they became such a craze in America in the early 2010s. The stakes are heightened, the pressure is on, and while you know you’re safe, the thrill-seeker in you is electrified by this feeling of terror. Via escape rooms, is being afraid a new form of being entertained?
While I walked into the Sunday afternoon’s performance of Divine Ride… or Wait? by Savage Art Escape at the Pittsburgh Fringe Festival feeling apprehensive I might lose sleep that night, I left feeling quite the opposite of anything I could have anticipated from a piece such as this: artistically nourished.
Everything was meticulously and painstakingly placed; that was apparent. The small locked trunks, the table adorned with cupcakes and decorating materials, the mini easel with a plastic tarp and unopened paints. There was a heightened sense of awareness required upon entering, as it was not clear if time had already begun or if we had a moment before the performance started. It became clear the clock had not started to tick when our leading player at the helm of this production took a moment to go over some ground rules. This included identifying building exits, reviewing consent for both the audience and the actors, and specifying elements in the space that were not a part of the escape room. While this was technically not the beginning of the performance, it eased my anxiousness and informed me, “We’re here to have a good time. You are safe here.” This was sincerely appreciated by someone who has anxiety, especially when seeing theatre where it feels as though there is no way out. That’s the tricky line you must teeter in immersive theatre: keeping an element of mystery, while also making your audience feel comfortable and safe. This cast of actors handled this flawlessly throughout the entire performance, which allowed me to truly let go and fully invest myself into this story. I’m so glad I did.
Our 45 minutes had finally begun and we managed to rummage through every nook and cranny we could. From identifying hidden meaning in lyrics to questioning a cupcake recipe; organizing anatomy flashcards to reciting poetry in exchange for a key to a padlock- the types of puzzles implemented into this specific escape room were original, interesting, and required some amount of art of varying mediums. While we as the audience were viewing this performance, it was obvious that we were also part of this performance; understudies put in to have their moment in the spotlight and help move the story along in our own right.
We crossed paths with several different characters on our journey; from our musical narrator of sorts, to the goddess-like figure who loved anatomy cards, to one actor cleverly dubbed “the clue goblin”, dressed head to toe in black with a fragile, antler-like headpiece. Each actor embodied their role with care and precision, never wavering in their commitment to the story and more importantly, their commitment to helping the audience, their “fellow artists” as we were nicknamed, escape.
I sincerely commend the writers of Divine Ride… or Wait? for investigating the needs, challenges, and achievements of an artist; both one that does it for a living and the artist that lives inside all of us. The implication that you are the key needing to locate the lock leads to a truly satisfying escape and reminds us that the artist within you still remains. It doesn’t go away because you put down that one project or because you haven’t performed in a while, and as a former performer myself, this was a message I needed to hear.
This was a fact I had not become aware of until after the performance, and one I appreciate so much more now in hindsight. It might not be something you are aware of in the moment because of your desperate need to “escape”, but this escape room was an anomaly from all the others; this was one that actually wanted you to escape. One that sincerely hoped you would uncover something within yourself that could go beyond its 45 minutes. I feel as though I did. I left this unique experience not frightened- like I expected; but fulfilled. I do think there is an opportunity to drive even deeper into the raison d’etre of this piece to make it a bit meatier, but overall, this show is well worth it. And while I’m still pondering the exact etymology of the title of this piece, I feel confident telling you that you should not wait to see this work. Go escape… and maybe come back to the artist in yourself.
