Over the course of my life, I’ve been on many, many first dates. Some were just fine, others were nightmares; not all of them the fault of the person I was meeting. One time, my ex’s best friend sat at the table next to us, relaying details of it all to her via text, and going out of her way to try to ruin it. Another time, my date turned out to be nothing at all like she described; from pictures all the way to personality.
But in the history of first dates, I have never experience one quite like the one I had with Emma last week. Emma, the star of Captial W’s RED FLAGS, is part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival’s line up this year, but I was lucky enough to catch a preview (and meet Emma) early.
The show itself is an intense, immersive experience in which you, the audience member, go on your very first date with Emma. As with most immersive shows, your ability to interact depends on the show you get. RED FLAGS takes it up a notch, considering it is literally just you and Emma for the entire run time. You MUST interact with her, and experience this terrible first date together.
And I say “terrible” to describe the actual date itself, not the quality or production the show. While the content itself may push some people to the edge, the show itself is an incredible feat of storytelling and acting, brought to life by actress Lauren Flans. Because this is an one-on-one experience, the emotional weight of the show lies almost entirely on Flans, who literally carries everything on her shoulders. While some of her neuroses shine through right off the bat, more and more of her nature begin to unravel before your eyes as time goes on. Subtle references to her true nature come through during conversation naturally, and often left me thinking to myself “Wait, did she just say that?”
The date starts off inconspicuous enough, meeting Emma on a corner somewhere in Hollywood, and determining what it is you two are going to do. And with all first dates, there is that awkward ‘getting to know you’ phase, where the two of you fumble over your words, and reveal a little bit about yourselves. While the show may only be a simulation of a date, it sure feels authentic. Soon enough, you may even be reminding yourself that it is indeed a show and NOT a real date.
Again, because this is an interactive show, things will only get better as you reveal more about yourself to your date…and vice versa. Some of the stories she told about her life had me questioning how much research the production team did on their audience members before hand, considering how some of her experiences seemed to mirror mine (in reality, except for a questionnaire you fill out before hand, they don’t…it was all just a happy coincidence). That said, this allowed me to connect to Emma on a deeper level than most, and that shows how different each performance can be. Some may be more sympathetic to her problems, while others may feel anger toward her actions.
The show is what you make of it; the date will change slightly depending on how you react to certain situations, and the emotional response you put out there. But really, Flans is an acting tour de force here, really living the character of Emma up, and making her real. Her emotions go all over the map, and I was impressed at how deftly Flans handled the delicate situation that is Emma’s life. During the course of the 50 minutes or so I spent with her, I was absolutely captivating by her, and can easily see why she was cast in this role. Her performance commands your attention, more so than you realize, and when she walks away at the end, you can’t help but feel for her. Now, what emotion you feel will differ depending on how you feel about her by the end of the date, but that’s the whole point of these shows; to feel something. It also makes sense about how good Flans is in the role; the show was developed with and around here from the start, so she was fully embedded into the character from the get go.
A big kudos to writer/director Lauren Ludwig and producer Monica Miklas for pulling this one together. It’s often not easy to make one-on-one shows like this work, but they pulled it off beautifully. And though it was a ‘bad’ first date, I can’t help but hope Emma finds the love she is looking for
RED FLAGS is currently sold out for its entire run at the Hollywood Fringe Festival, and rightfully so. It’s good. Damn good. But, the team is currently planning an extension. To sign up for the mailing list, and to find out when tickets for the extension go on sale, visit them online at: http://www.
