@dramatistsguild

While there is always new work brewing in Western New York, Build Your Own Adventure: Mystery of the Silver Chalice, which ran a beta test last season at Buffalo Laboratory Theatre, and made its official debut at 710 Main Theatre (the former Studio Arena) in February, deserves special mention. New? Unusual? Experimental? Silver Chalice is all those things in one hilarious, ever-changing package. Using technology that allows for instantaneous polling, Silver Chalice introduced us to Rob, a romantic loser who embarks on a quest for love, guided – and sometimes misguided – by audience choices. Infused with local references, humor, and a sprinkling of improv, Rob’s journey is as unpredictable as an audience.

“It’s half script, half flow chart,” says author/director/Buffalo Laboratory Theatre Artistic Director Taylor Doherty. “It’s like the old Choose Your Own Adventure books: if you want to explore outside, go to page 44. I feel terrible that the actors, especially John Kaczorowski [the lead, Rob], had to learn so many lines that they were not going to be used on any given night.” But unlike the old Choose Your Own Adventure books where all paths lead to two or three possible endings, the myriad branches of this narrative take complex routes – on any given night, many scenes do not even get played – to one of fifteen possible denouements, which means you could go every night of the run and never see the same show twice.

“One night, the audience might really have an emotional attachment to the protagonist and if they feel for him, care about him, they will make very sure to make good choices for him. But… if the audience is more playful, they might make the ‘funny’ choice, a choice that purposely wrecks his chances with the girl,” says Doherty, who is particularly intrigued with the social behavior aspect of the show, and noted that repeat attendees tended to make increasing worse choices for Rob. (I can attest to this in that I attended closing night of the beta run – one of the only two nights that the audience took Rob to the darkest place in the script before ultimately saving him.)

Doherty is thrilled to have access to the advanced technology, not just because it enables such a grand theatrical experiment, but also because it allows audiences to influence the show without being put on the spot, or feeling forced to interact. “As an audience member, I hate theater where you think the actors might start talking to you,” says Doherty. “This allows the audience to invest, be fully empowered, control the direction of the narrative, without feeling like they might get dragged up on stage or any of that nonsense. No thank you.” (Ditto!)

Comparisons were obviously made to The Mystery of Edwin Drood, but Doherty points out that Silver Chalice is a very different experience, because while Drood has just one choice – at intermission – Chalice has many that continually change the direction of the show. “We sit here and discuss what choice will probably be made on a given night, and we can’t wait!” Doherty says. “It’s a little scary, but it’s a magnificent theater adventure, and a social experiment as well!”

dhoke@dramatistsguild.com