Last year, Annie Lesser began an ambitious project where every little of the alphabet will tell some sort of story. Entitled The ABC PROJECT, she astounded many during the Fringe Festival with the debut of A(partment 8). An intimate, one-on-one piece, the show really blew people away, and I heard so many of my friends (who were lucky to see it) rave about it. She followed it up with B(arbership), another fantastic piece.
Now, the project continues with C(ovell), where “you can only lose if you play, but playing is half the game.”
According to Lesser, C(ovell) follows a troupe of carnies who entice you into playing the “BIG GAME” which happens to be made up of lots of little games.
“Drinking, debauchery and other metaphors occur,” said Lesser.
The show is made up of an one hour pre-show, one hour of BIG GAME itself, and one hour post show. However, if you have the VIP experience, you will have a lot more opportunities for easter eggs during the pre and post shows.
While the first two shows were one-on-one pieces, this one you can experience with a group of up to 15 people. I asked Lesser about the change.
“I write for the space, and what inspires me about the space. C(ovell) inspired me to write a show that involved drinking and games. And you need lots of people to make games fun and exciting,” she said.
Of course, I had to know more about The ABC Project in general, because it’s such a clever idea, and Lesser is pulling it off quite well so far.
“It was really on a whim (how I came up with it). I came up with the title Apartment 8, and then just wrote it in my notebook like ‘A(partment 8)’. And it just hit me then. That I wanted to do every single letter of the alphabet. And have the locations inspire me. Which is what had happened with A(partment 8). I’d been inspired by my apartment and wrote a show for the space,” she said.
The ABC Project also received the title of ‘Most Extreme Audience Immersion” from LA WEEKLY last year, and it’s definitely a well deserved win.
“I like the intimacy of it (immersive theater). I like the feeling that you had a connection to something, but you can’t change how you interacted with it. Because the moment was there, but you only have your memory of it. You can’t talk to the person again you were interacting with, and you can’t rewatch it. It feels somehow greater than,” she said.
Tickets for C(ovell) are now on sale and are $175. You can also purchase the VIP Add-On for an additional $50. Tickets include an open bar all evening AND appetizers!
Preview for the show is this Sunday, February 26th. Regular shows will run on Sundays from March 12 through April 2nd. There is limited capacity for the shows, with 15 people allowed in at a time, so be sure to grab your ticket fast.
You can purchase them here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/covell-tickets-31784325774
