Theater review<\/h2>\n
On a scale of 1-10, rank your positive feelings about the following combination of words: interactive improv.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Your answer may predict your affinity for Dacha Theatre\u2019s \u201cDream, Carl, Dream,\u201d a brand-new show now rolling at 12th Avenue Arts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In this singular, laugh-out-loud theatrical experience, which I can only describe as having strong \u201cSeverance\u201d-meets-\u201cInside Out\u201d vibes, the onstage cast is a workforce of neurons who craft the dreams they will perform nightly for Carl (played by Kevin Tanner at the show I saw, though the actor in that role changes frequently throughout the run).<\/p>\n
We in the audience are homunculi (in broad concept, tiny humanlike beings), brought into this psychological workplace, be-lanyarded and tasked with helping these poor saps increase the quality of these dreams. If Carl just remains calm and well-rested, he\u2019ll be the best version of himself. Right?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because each \u201cDream, Carl, Dream\u201d performance will be unique and because surprises are part of the fun, I won\u2019t tell you much else about this show \u2014 created by Nathan Whitehouse, directed by Gavin Reub and devised in collaboration with the company of performers \u2014 other than to give\u00a0very special shout-outs to scenic designer Devin Petersen and props master Sam Edgren, both of whom very much deserve one.<\/p>\n
Together, neurons and homunculi must weave together random prompts and stimuli from Carl\u2019s day into dreams that will then be improvised by the neurons in a game show-esque endeavor that takes place inside Carl\u2019s head. Rising stakes throughout the show make for increasingly bizarre dreams, and if there\u2019s a more fun way to explore the brain\u2019s desire to protect itself by avoiding hard things, I\u2019ve never heard of it.<\/p>\n
That said, these hapless neurons possess an Amelia Bedelia-like level of literalism that requires endless clarification, and I possess a strong suspicion of art that dictates how I engage with it. Among the performers I interacted with, there was a wide variation in the ability to, shall we say, read a room and encourage participation to everyone\u2019s individual comfort and interest level. For a show fueled by (fair warning) big theater kid energy, both on stage and off, dialing in this crowdwork element feels crucial.<\/p>\n
While I understand an impulse to overexplain the rules of this theatrical world, a fair amount of narrative throat-clearing in the show\u2019s first half slowed down the storytelling and added up to a two-and-a-half-hour run time \u2014 there is no formal intermission, but you are encouraged to order drinks digitally throughout the show and allowed to come and go as needed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So sure, not everything landed for me, but what a delight to experience an original piece of theater, crafted and performed with unbridled joy for the creative process. A show with a complete narrative arc that is also informed by audience participation and unique night to night? Wildly impressive. Risk aversion can wreak havoc on theater in uncertain financial times, and Dacha\u2019s appetite for experimentation (and therefore, gentle creative provocation) rewards us all.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yakimaherald.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Theater review On a scale of 1-10, rank your positive feelings about the following combination of words: interactive improv.\u00a0 Your answer may predict your affinity for Dacha Theatre\u2019s \u201cDream, Carl, Dream,\u201d a brand-new show now rolling at 12th Avenue Arts.\u00a0 In this singular, laugh-out-loud theatrical experience, which I can only describe as having strong \u201cSeverance\u201d-meets-\u201cInside […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2452008,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[21741],"class_list":["post-2452007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/\u2018Severance-meets-\u2018Inside-Out-in-Dacha-Theatres-\u2018Dream-Carl-Dream.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2452007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2452007"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2452007\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2452009,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2452007\/revisions\/2452009"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2452008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2452007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2452007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2452007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}