R E V I E W S:

FYI Before we re-envisioned our company on the East Coast, “Theatre of Magick” was called “The G8B4”. All of our Los Angeles work was under the latter name.

• No Proscenium Podcast Episode 220- Featuring Keight Leighn & Elisabeth Stranathan (hosted by Noah Nelson)
  https://noproscenium.com/nopro-podcast-episode-220-the-g8b4s-keight-leighn-elisabeth-stranathan-437be6f537f7
  
• Review for the Original 2019 run of <DeadPlay> by Cristen Brickerhoff
  https://www.haunting.net/deadplay-review/
  “<DeadPlay> is a welcome addition to the immersive theatre landscape, a play that engages its audience before, during, and even after the camera shuts off.”
  “Leighn and Stranathan have crafted a classic revenge story combined with modern twists and flair that excites and dismays in equal parts.”
  
• Review by Noah Nelson of No Proscenium for bedrumplaii(2)… The Experience that Created the g8b4
  *https://noproscenium.com/you-can-go-home-again-bedrumplai-ii-the-nopro-review-a26c7c8e3964
  “Keight Leighn’s work continues to exist in a kind of grounded liminality. A place where poetic license is the prerequisite for a journey into inner space…and then it’s Stranathan’s turn to play psychopomp. Like Leighn, there’s something magickal about Stranathan. The two share a penchant for wordplai, excuse me, wordplay that suggests they have access to other dimensions than this one.“
  “This piece couldn’t work with other performers, and it’s not meant to, but the act of sharing of the self in order to get the audience to mentally show up: that right there is the alchemical formula at the heart of profound immersive work. Which is happening again. In a townhouse apartment off the 170.”
  “And for a brief moment, a small sliver of time spent at BEDRUMPLAii 2, that room is brought to life, and guests are given the chance to shed some of the memories that have come to haunt them, to an extraordinarily cathartic effect.”
  
• Review for the Original 2019 run of <DeadPlay> by Cristen Brickerhoff
  https://www.haunting.net/deadplay-review/
  “<DeadPlay>, a strong shift from the ethereal, self-explorative pieces Leighn and Stranathan have produced in the past. Where a show like BedrumPlaii and its sequel encouraged participants to look inwards and connect with their own strengths, <DeadPlay> is a much darker, almost traditional story of betrayal and repercussion. It is Fatal Attraction meets the modern telecom era, conducted entirely online and over text messages – the hopelessness of watching the story unfold while trapped on the other side of a screen is palpable. The whole of <DeadPlay> is conducted online, from the seeming comfort of your own home, and yet there is an oppressive terror that surrounds the experience that makes nowhere feel safe.
  Leighn, as Margot, deftly portrays her madness; she feels like a barely contained burst of anger, orchestrating the terror on the screen with a wry smile. Stranathan counters her as Maggie, my innocent wife, sobbing and struggling to comprehend what’s happening to her – what my actions have done to her – to heartbreaking effect. Both Leighn and Stranathan bring a sincerity and realism to their roles that stuns me; I feel responsible for what’s become of both of them, and my mind races to find a solution that I realize, with a dawning dread, is completely out of my control.
  <DeadPlay> is a welcome addition to the immersive theatre landscape, a play that engages its audience before, during, and even after the camera shuts off. That the entire experience is conducted online allows for a more comfortable exploration of my own “character” in the piece; I don’t feel as pressured to perform as I would if I was faced with this scenario in person. That said, the stakes still feel as high as they would were Leighn and Stranathan right in front of me, even more so, in fact – the separation between us that the online aspect provides makes me feel even more helpless in a dire situation. Leighn and Stranathan have crafted a classic revenge story combined with modern twists and flair that excites and dismays in equal parts.
  
• “LiVEPLAY is the latest from Leighn (bedrumplai, Snow Fridge), who’s well known for a kind of esoteric, improvisational style that is as engaging to some as it is off-putting to others. Her audience is the main driving force behind the narrative. Leighn operates on a different frequency than the rest of us. She is so deeply connected to herself, her art, and by extension her audience that you can’t help but be carried along on the wave of her explosive energy. LiVEPLAY is just that – a wave of feeling. Sometimes frustrating, sometimes confusing, but uniquely Leighn and uniquely you.” (“Keight Leighn’s LiVEPLAY Explores Connection Through Technology”, January 23, 2019 By Cristen Brinkerhoff)
  
• “While I hadn’t caught the original version of the show at Hollywood Fringe Festival, I knew that it was on the lips of many, hailed as an exercise in pure imagination. The most talkative of the shades (co-creator Keight Leighn) excitedly deduced that my fear of nothingness was just that: a fear of absolutely nothing, before leading me beyond a threshold and into an even darker room to find out for myself that there had been nothing to fear all along. By the end of the show, the different versions of me curled up on the floor, exhausted. Death stood up, reciting to me the answers that I’d given, before giving me candy for my troubles, inside an origami box. I had trick-or-treated beyond the veil, and had come out unscathed. As I looked down into the box, I saw my own fears printed on the orange paper, while the different facets of me sleepily bid me a Happy Halloween. My cheeks hurt from nervous giggling, nervous giggling that gave way to the real thing and then back again. Every version of Snow Fridge, Halloween or otherwise, is unique to that audience member, but the infectious energy of the performers undoubtedly remains constant. The show is relentlessly, unstoppably optimistic, and just like Karlie’s small talk at the beginning of the night, casts a cheery, wide-eyed perspective on some truly enormous topics. As I “met myself,” I learned about myself, and as I laughed and played and explored, I discovered, even if only for a moment, that there was nothing to be afraid of.” (“Snow Fridge: Halloween Edition Employs Imagination to Conquer Fear”, October 24, 2018)
  
• “With Bedrumplai, Leighn once again forays into the intimate, self-reflective elements that made 2018’s Snow Fridge such a meaningful journey. Where Snow Fridge was a multi-actor, collaborative effort, Bedrumplai is a pared down production that manages to emanate a stunning level of intimacy by stripping itself down to the simplest tenants of immersive theatre: one actor, one audience member, limitless possibility. Her commitment to her guests shines so strongly in this piece that I imagine her creative process is that of a creature so filled with humanity and passion that it pours out from her in waves of art. …[I] felt my breath and beating chest slow and calm as I touched palms with Keight. There is a realness here that transcends theatre. For maybe it’s that realness that truly affected me; I was able to slot so easily into to the lives of these women that the scenes laid out for me may as well have occurred in my own home. Bedrumplai, Leighn, and Eastin use their bare-bones immersive approach to force attendees to feel present, to challenge their perception of their place in the world around them as they curl up in bed—the safest place in the world. I end my evening out of breath and giggling, having cast strange spells on a bedroom floor, and maybe one step closer to making my own magic. It’s as if I fell into that same dream about chasing desire that Shayne spoke of but tonight, just this once, held tight to it as it threatened to flit away. (“Beautiful Imagery and Cosmic Intimacy in Keight Leighn’s Bedrumplai”, August 18, 2018)
  
• “Snow Fridge exhilarates the senses and also manages to achieve what even heavily-scripted shows often fail to: it makes each participant feel the show is uniquely personalized for their benefit. I told the Fridge what I wanted to change, and it enveloped me inside it and pushed me back out, changed. I’d experienced a conveyor belt of thought and feeling, delivered through play, a smile, a gentle touch, and a slow dance. It isn’t just that Karlie Blair and Keight Leighn have taken the time to understand each audience member, and they have; it’s that they’ve created a safe space for someone to understand themselves. Your show will be different than all the others because you are different than everyone else. Imagine a place, sitting on the border between dream and waking: a place wherein you can hear your own thoughts aloud, and finally just listen. That place exists, sixteen minutes at a time, in fits and spurts, in the basement of an historic Hollywood club, waiting for you to step inside. So come; your story has already begun, come find the next chapter. Fall at the feet of your own insecurities and stand back up again, fall in love with your flaws, fall into the Fridge.” (“Fringe 2018: Snow Fridge Brings Us In From the Cold”, June 6, 2018)
  
• “…And for a brief moment, a small sliver of time spent at BEDRUMPLAii 2, that room is brought to life, and guests are given the chance to shed some of the memories that have come to haunt them, to an extraordinarily cathartic effect. Bedrumplaii2…The performance, if you can even call it that – it is such an effortless interaction amongst three souls – takes place in two parts, equally spent with each person. Leighn is the vessel in which you place your stories, the painful kind you don’t often tell (the play is subtitled The Story of You for good reason), and Stranathan is the blank page from which your new self, now cleansed of the things that formerly shamed you, will now burst forth. It’s the kind of gently uncomfortable yet freeing experience that is the very foundation of immersive theater, and no pair seems to grasp this concept in the powerful way that Leighn and Stranathan do. To attempt to describe it: Keight and Beth both exist in this enviable state of being, a world that is so possible that you can reach out and grab it, and you should. It’s not theater, you can’t label it that, because even immersive theater has a sense of unreality to it, and this is so, so real. The show asks why poetry is necessary, which is clever, because BRP2 itself is poetry, true and beautiful, slowly turning in perpetual motion. There is no tension, no real pressure to perform, only a sense of willingness to be. Leighn is in her usual top form, her generous smile and warm company easing her guests into an openness that’s often hard to achieve in these kinds of scenarios, let alone outside of them. Stranathan brings such artistry to her role that it transcends her own performance; her creative abilities seem to pass on to the participant, allowing for a shared, poetic channel to spring up between them. I left BRP2 full of hope and clarity – a sensation that is so often fleeting in the wide, troubling world. It made me want to write, to create, to exist fully. More than anything, I wanted to cling to this sense of self with everything I have so it doesn’t slip away again. I wanted to gift this feeling to as many people as I could, to open the doors to the room in my mind at long last and say look, it’s safe in here.Fortunately, thanks to Leighn and Stranathan, there’s ample opportunity for new guests to join in this tremendous experience. The door to their room is open – it’s time to come inside. (“BEDRUMPLAii2 is Personal Storytelling in Poetic Motion”, September 19, 2019)
  
• DeadPlay (<>), a strong shift from the ethereal, self-explorative pieces Leighn and Stranathan have produced in the past. Where a show like BedrumPlaii and its sequel encouraged participants to look inwards and connect with their own strengths, DeadPlay is a much darker, almost traditional story of betrayal and repercussion. It is Fatal Attraction meets the modern telecom era, conducted entirely online and over text messages – the hopelessness of watching the story unfold while trapped on the other side of a screen is palpable. The whole of DeadPlay is conducted online, from the seeming comfort of your own home, and yet there is an oppressive terror that surrounds the experience that makes nowhere feel safe. Leighn, as Margot, deftly portrays her madness; she feels like a barely contained burst of anger, orchestrating the terror on the screen with a wry smile. Stranathan counters her as Maggie, my innocent wife, sobbing and struggling to comprehend what’s happening to her – what my actions have done to her – to heartbreaking effect. Both Leighn and Stranathan bring a sincerity and realism to their roles that stuns me; I feel responsible for what’s become of both of them, and my mind races to find a solution that I realize, with a dawning dread, is completely out of my control. DeadPlay is a welcome addition to the immersive theatre landscape, a play that engages its audience before, during, and even after the camera shuts off. That the entire experience is conducted online allows for a more comfortable exploration of my own “character” in the piece; I don’t feel as pressured to perform as I would if I was faced with this scenario in person. That said, the stakes still feel as high as they would were Leighn and Stranathan right in front of me, even more so, in fact – the separation between us that the online aspect provides makes me feel even more helpless in a dire situation. Leighn and Stranathan have crafted a classic revenge story combined with modern twists and flair that excites and dismays in equal parts. (“DeadPlay Is a Classic Story of Revenge Told in a New Medium”, November 14, 2019) https://www.haunting.net/deadplay-review/
  
• “This show speaks volumes of Annie Lesser’s artistry and Keight Leighn’s fearlessness. Leighn gives Lesser’s work a body to inhabit, taking formless brilliance and giving it shape. Thus, this living breathing performance adapts to each patron differently—depending on their actions, responses, feelings. It becomes something special in that each moment is fleeting; disappearing with the water down the bathtub drain.The feelings that are implanted will reside within you for weeks—if not years. Keight Leighn with the force of a whirlwind; she roars through her audience, altering their mindset, shaking their foundations. As the truth of the situation dawns, what emerges is a truly unique perspective on mental illness from what manages to be simultaneously an outside point of view and an intimate personal connection with the patient. This piece is highlighted not only by the strong performance of Leighn, but by the crossover of Kittredge’s character from Students, sharing with participants a private moment so genuine that it almost feels taboo to witness.” (ABC Project – “The Chalet is a Poetic Lesson in Empathy, June 2, 2017)
  
• “The Instigators of the Unknown (Sélynne Silver and Keight Leighn) deftly blend physical contact and overlapping whispers to build a fantastic sense of tension.” (“Discover What Hides in the Dark with The Unknown”, October 31, 2018)
  
• “Keight is not only one of the most dynamic and open performers in the live sphere, she also creates one-on-one online productions that blend elements of ARGs and video chats to create a microreality.” (“A.I.U.”, NOPROSCENIUM)
  
• “…A dialog where my truth was brought into question and I was forced to confront whether that truth was really my own. #bedrUmplaii2 is a strange beast, at once calm and meditative and harrowing in its construction, at times deeply uncomfortable but a discomfort of your own making as Leighn calmly and kindly works to dislodge the foundation of the ego. It’s difficult to defend against Leighn’s line of inquiry, not that you would want to given how essential vulnerability is to allowing yourself to become part of the experience. She tends to talk in riddles, half-formed alien logic that can require a great deal of focus to allow you to follow her intent and muster a response but these labyrinths of thought have a way of making it impossible to talk your way out of disavowing truths you come to know are false. Her nature is disarming, with a friendly demeanor and copious amounts of body glitter that found its way all over my arms as she was covering them in written affirmations, she is the antithesis of threatening, which is ironic given how existentially threatening the nature of this show can be. bedrUmplaii2 managed to resonate with me in a way that show could not, perhaps due to the unavoidable separation created by not sharing a physical space. While the show can be demanding and at times intimidating, I wouldn’t want to give the impression that my overall experience was negative. It’s a sort of theatrical bloodletting and if you allow yourself to face its challenges honestly, there is catharsis on the other side. #bedrUmplaii2 isn’t as thorough a deconstruction of the concept of immersive theatre as <> was but its strength lies in straddling the line between drama and sincere humanity and in questioning whether such a line need exist at all. Perhaps there is a place for scripted drama to serve as a conduit to break down barriers and open up novel channels of communication that are otherwise impossible through traditional means and there is no one more uniquely positioned to exploit that potential than Keight Leighn.” (“#bedrUmplaii2 A Thoughtful, Challenging Journey” )
  
• “Leighn, and by extension LiVEPLAY, shines. With many interactive shows, you’re given characters that might have a page or two of background to go on, along with the actor’s improv skills and whatever narrative they may have fleshed out in their heads, resulting in a limited breadth of interaction and the sense that you need you to play within their lines. Here there are no such restrictions.” (“LiVEPLAY Strips Away the Performance from Theatre to Create Something New”, HORROR BUZZ, Brian Tull)