The Mission, In Brief
The Arcanists produce live, interactive, creative nonfiction performances in ongoing series to build recurring platforms that foster direct, long-term connection among artists and audiences.
We produce interactive shows where the audience is part of the story, empowered to change what happens in real time. We produce creative nonfiction because we want what happens to be as real as the artists and audiences that create it.
Our aesthetic embraces the arcane and the esoteric because they engender a sense of play and wonder that can unlock deeper meaning. There is a bit of peculiar, carnivalesque magic in everything we do.
Our current lineup includes The Tarot Reading, The Internet: LIVE!!1, and SHRINES. Our work has been called "a perfect balance of campy indulgence...that defies easy categorization" (DCist), "fresh and daring" (DCTS) and "A wholly new framework for experiencing live theater" (DCMTA).
The Arcanists, Inc. are a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization, Our tax ID is EIN 82-4950630.
We produce interactive shows where the audience is part of the story, empowered to change what happens in real time. We produce creative nonfiction because we want what happens to be as real as the artists and audiences that create it.
Our aesthetic embraces the arcane and the esoteric because they engender a sense of play and wonder that can unlock deeper meaning. There is a bit of peculiar, carnivalesque magic in everything we do.
Our current lineup includes The Tarot Reading, The Internet: LIVE!!1, and SHRINES. Our work has been called "a perfect balance of campy indulgence...that defies easy categorization" (DCist), "fresh and daring" (DCTS) and "A wholly new framework for experiencing live theater" (DCMTA).
The Arcanists, Inc. are a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization, Our tax ID is EIN 82-4950630.
More About The Arcanists
Producing In Ongoing Series
When we say "ongoing series," what we mean is that The Arcanists don't follow the traditional model of producing live theater, the one that involves 3-10 shows that run for 6-10 weeks across a year-long season. Instead, we create shows that are recurring platforms--more like a talk show, a game show, or a cabaret series--where the format is familiar but what happens within is new each time. Instead of producing a regular season, we tend to produce in shorter runs and pop-up locations to feature a diversity of artists and artistic disciplines.
This allows us to be agile, producing in iteration so we can improve upon our platforms every time we generate them in a way that isn't possible under a more traditional model. It's also cost-effective, affording us the ability to prioritize ethical artistic labor practices. We do all this because our goal is to catalyze the connection between artists and audiences directly. That connection is more organically made when artists have the freedom to create according to their own vision, have their time and expertise valued fairly, and have the support of an existing structure and a primed and excited audience. We hope this experiment could be, perhaps, a blueprint for the future of live entertainment.
When we say "ongoing series," what we mean is that The Arcanists don't follow the traditional model of producing live theater, the one that involves 3-10 shows that run for 6-10 weeks across a year-long season. Instead, we create shows that are recurring platforms--more like a talk show, a game show, or a cabaret series--where the format is familiar but what happens within is new each time. Instead of producing a regular season, we tend to produce in shorter runs and pop-up locations to feature a diversity of artists and artistic disciplines.
This allows us to be agile, producing in iteration so we can improve upon our platforms every time we generate them in a way that isn't possible under a more traditional model. It's also cost-effective, affording us the ability to prioritize ethical artistic labor practices. We do all this because our goal is to catalyze the connection between artists and audiences directly. That connection is more organically made when artists have the freedom to create according to their own vision, have their time and expertise valued fairly, and have the support of an existing structure and a primed and excited audience. We hope this experiment could be, perhaps, a blueprint for the future of live entertainment.
Interactivity
When we say "interactive," what we mean is that we make our shows such that they can't exist without an audience. And, we don't mean in the way that perhaps you've experienced in high school or college improv, where the audience provides an input and the artists riff the output (no knock to our colleagues in improv, mind you). We always want our audience to have the agency to change the outcome. It’s not just that we want the audience to feel that their choices matter, it’s that we want their choices to actually matter.
Having interactivity means that we will often ask folks to step out of their comfort zone and do something unexpected. That said, having agency means you'll always have the agency to opt out. We are always sure to broker consent with participants first, because we never want you to feel pressured to do something you don't want to do.
We do all of this because we think it's a lot more fun, and surprising, and magical to experience something where no one, not even the performers, knows what's going to happen next. It brings us all closer together when everyone experiences something at the same time.
When we say "interactive," what we mean is that we make our shows such that they can't exist without an audience. And, we don't mean in the way that perhaps you've experienced in high school or college improv, where the audience provides an input and the artists riff the output (no knock to our colleagues in improv, mind you). We always want our audience to have the agency to change the outcome. It’s not just that we want the audience to feel that their choices matter, it’s that we want their choices to actually matter.
Having interactivity means that we will often ask folks to step out of their comfort zone and do something unexpected. That said, having agency means you'll always have the agency to opt out. We are always sure to broker consent with participants first, because we never want you to feel pressured to do something you don't want to do.
We do all of this because we think it's a lot more fun, and surprising, and magical to experience something where no one, not even the performers, knows what's going to happen next. It brings us all closer together when everyone experiences something at the same time.
Creative Nonfiction
When we say "creative nonfiction," what we mean is that a fundamental tenet of an Arcanists show is that we will never lie to you. There are lots of amazing performers who will sweep you away to another world and immerse you in a wonderful fictional setting, but we are not among them. Every performer in an Arcanists show is simply themselves, 100% of the time. Every story you hear at our shows is 100% true. Everything that happens, including that which happens with the audience, is 100% actually happening. If we say something is random, it's random. If we ever choose to play pretend, which we will from time to time, we'll always tell you when it begins and ends. There are no plants. If we ever trick you it will only be for the sake of delight, and we'll always reveal the trick before the end.
For us, this isn't about being documentarians, or biographers, though what we do will sometimes feel like personal storytelling. For us, it’s a means to an end. We do this because we want our shows to make a concrete, measurable change in reality, however small that concrete measure may be. We think the only way for live entertainment to change reality is if what happens in that performance is reality. In committing 100% to being ourselves, we hope our audience will feel 100% free to be themselves as well. This is in no small part connected to why we do interactivity—living in the truth brings everyone closer together. That means No Lies.
When we say "creative nonfiction," what we mean is that a fundamental tenet of an Arcanists show is that we will never lie to you. There are lots of amazing performers who will sweep you away to another world and immerse you in a wonderful fictional setting, but we are not among them. Every performer in an Arcanists show is simply themselves, 100% of the time. Every story you hear at our shows is 100% true. Everything that happens, including that which happens with the audience, is 100% actually happening. If we say something is random, it's random. If we ever choose to play pretend, which we will from time to time, we'll always tell you when it begins and ends. There are no plants. If we ever trick you it will only be for the sake of delight, and we'll always reveal the trick before the end.
For us, this isn't about being documentarians, or biographers, though what we do will sometimes feel like personal storytelling. For us, it’s a means to an end. We do this because we want our shows to make a concrete, measurable change in reality, however small that concrete measure may be. We think the only way for live entertainment to change reality is if what happens in that performance is reality. In committing 100% to being ourselves, we hope our audience will feel 100% free to be themselves as well. This is in no small part connected to why we do interactivity—living in the truth brings everyone closer together. That means No Lies.
Name & Logo
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the word "Arcanist" (Ar-CANE-ist) comes from the Latin word arcanum ("secret"), and was used originally in the 18th c. in Europe to describe someone who knew the secret to making particular kinds of pottery, especially true porcelain. Today, it's used to describe a craftsperson who has a secret or intimate knowledge of manufacture (wiktionary).
We chose the name The Arcanists inspired in no small part by the name of our first and flagship show, The Tarot Reading, which is arcane in the sense that it is a bit magical. We also chose the name to reflect our dedication to process, and manufacture, which for us takes the form of iterative performance series. In connecting artists and audiences in the way we do, we create a space for those artists to impart the intimate secrets of their craft.
Our logo, which looks more like "AR" for us but renders "🜆" in Unicode text, is the alchemical symbol for Aqua Regia. Aqua Regia is a 1:3 mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acid, used by alchemists to dissolve inert noble metals like gold and platinum for the purpose of further alchemy. Our logo gets its orange color from this chemical.
We chose it because the "AR" so clearly connected back to the word "Arcanists," but also because we wanted to hint at the idea that, at our shows, we dissolve that which is gilded and inert about live entertainment so we can catalyze it into something much more usefully reactive.
The Arcanists' Logo, Wordmark and Combination Mark were designed by Paula Discipulo.
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the word "Arcanist" (Ar-CANE-ist) comes from the Latin word arcanum ("secret"), and was used originally in the 18th c. in Europe to describe someone who knew the secret to making particular kinds of pottery, especially true porcelain. Today, it's used to describe a craftsperson who has a secret or intimate knowledge of manufacture (wiktionary).
We chose the name The Arcanists inspired in no small part by the name of our first and flagship show, The Tarot Reading, which is arcane in the sense that it is a bit magical. We also chose the name to reflect our dedication to process, and manufacture, which for us takes the form of iterative performance series. In connecting artists and audiences in the way we do, we create a space for those artists to impart the intimate secrets of their craft.
Our logo, which looks more like "AR" for us but renders "🜆" in Unicode text, is the alchemical symbol for Aqua Regia. Aqua Regia is a 1:3 mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acid, used by alchemists to dissolve inert noble metals like gold and platinum for the purpose of further alchemy. Our logo gets its orange color from this chemical.
We chose it because the "AR" so clearly connected back to the word "Arcanists," but also because we wanted to hint at the idea that, at our shows, we dissolve that which is gilded and inert about live entertainment so we can catalyze it into something much more usefully reactive.
The Arcanists' Logo, Wordmark and Combination Mark were designed by Paula Discipulo.
Above photos of Tarot V by R. Maxwell Photography, production design by Niomi Collard.