The rendezvous point was a small coffee shop and bar. Along with about 30 other recruits (participants) I was given a lanyard containing a welcome letter and a schematic of Colony 933. I almost missed a small tightly-rolled scroll that outlined a brief modern history of Earth and the colony. It made claims contradictory to the ones in my welcome letter.  Directed by Kate Speer, an artist-in-residence at Denver’s RedLine Contemporary Art Center, Colony 933 is an immersive experimental theater of a post-apocalyptic world which mirrors an authoritarian society.

Photo by Julie Rooney.

Two colonists wearing coveralls required my allegiance to the colony before leading me through an alley to an undisclosed location. Inside the large garage divided by plastic curtains, an indoctrination video informed us Colony 933 is a high performing community that makes algae. The bio fuel is sold to The Corporation in exchange for food and shelter. Culture is important and mandatory dance rituals in service of the High Profit (Prophet) are essential to life in the colony.

Photo by Julie Rooney.

We were divided into pods (teams) and isolated in separate rooms. In the work room, my pod received commands from Amazon’s Alexa. I was told to take apart flash lights. A bell rings and we each moved down one seat. I was instructed to record how long it took for the person on my left to accomplish his task. Ding! I moved to his spot, and noticed my efficiency was recorded.  Ding! Assemble flashlights. Every time someone spoke a colonist blew a whistle. With a firm tone and sense of urgency from colonists, my fellow recruits and I submitted to commands at an alarming rate. We also made jokes at our ridiculous predicament.

Photo by Julie Rooney.

Despite our tasks and isolation, we quickly learned bits about the end of civilization. In the kitchen, two colonists busily orbited the room arguing in hushed voices about the state of the colony. One talked about revolt and the other asserted acceptance of their status as if convincing herself.

Photo by Julie Rooney.

Breaking up our training and light detective work were mandatory dance rituals. With pensive faces, colonists glided around the room in coordinated waves of movement. Three men in suits, cocktails in hand, surveyed the performance. People whispered they were The Corporation. The amount of energy the colonists exerted in their ritual eclipsed anything else they did.

Rumors circulated about a prisoner in the colony jail with important information.  At the second dance ritual, two recruits performed a sit-in. They were quickly hauled away to prison. The female recruit raised her fist, her male comrade followed her out, but his beer prevented a visual commitment to resistance.

George P. Perez, A Lack Of (2018), an immersive installation at Colony 933. Photo by Wes Magyar.

For those who wanted to believe The Corporation was bad, revolt sounded good, but we lacked the conviction and communication skills to make decisions. We delayed and waited for more anonymous information to grant us permission to protest. Some participants exhausted themselves encouraging others to join a rebellion but nearly as many recruits happily made widgets to the bitter end.  It is a mirror of the American dilemma. Author Sarah Kendzior often writes that authoritarianism is both a governing practice and an ideological construct. Distrust of other citizens, harassment of troublemakers, surveillance of each other and by superiors are all techniques to claim power. Colony 933 demonstrates that authoritarianism is apocalyptic.

Jessica Forrestal. Immersive installation at Colony 933. Photo by Wes Magyar.

Colony 933 was a performance and to not play along would seem disruptive. But that was the point. If participants were simultaneously encouraged to surrender and disobey, what would they do? Could the hesitancy to upset the productivity of the colony be squared with the desire to revolt in the absence of trusted information? Are these diverse reactions uniquely contemporary or American? We did not know the playbook of our keeper enough to respond appropriately.

Genevieve Waller + Katy Zimmerman, Diorama of the Cosmos (2018), an immersive installation at Colony 933. Photo by Wes Magyar.

Ultimately, our revolt had the enthusiasm of a high school walk out where many participants had no idea why they weren’t in class.  Standing in the alley some recruits cheered, others pulled clues and maps out of their pockets as if we were moving to another location. The actors announced the performance was done. After some discussion among new friends we remembered it was late and cold. We headed home without a script.

Colony 933 is an immersive dance-theater performance in Denver produced by Control Group Productions and directed by Kate Speer. The final encore performance is January 25, 2018 at 7:30 PM.