(Orlando, FL) Orlando Fringe is back with a wide variety of ticketed performances, a free outdoor stage, an eclectic visual art gallery, and kids’ activities. While there’s simply too much Fringe to cover in a single article, we are doing a series of posts about this incredible Orlando event. In this first installment for the 2024 season, we’re joining Phoenix Tears Productions for one of their immersive and engaging performances. Take your number, and have a seat inside The Waiting Room!
Freaks of HHN was honored to be invited to attend a special media preview of The Waiting Room. Delightfully weird with a touch of creepiness, The Waiting Room is yet another unique and captivating show in Phoenix Tears’ extensive repertoire. I can’t wait to tell you all about my experience. Thank you, Orlando Fringe and Phoenix Tears Productions, for inviting us out!
What is Orlando Fringe?
The Waiting Room is playing at Orlando Fringe, a two-week theater festival focused on unjuried and uncensored works of performance art. While similar festivals exist all over the world, Orlando Fringe is the longest running event of its kind within the United States. Fringe Festivals are generally known for featuring alternative or experimental pieces of art, so you really never know what you’re going to find!
Learn more about Orlando Fringe, and see this year’s digital program at orlandofringe.org.
About Phoenix Tears Productions
Are you familiar with Phoenix Tears Productions? If not, let me tell you about this one-of-a-kind theater group! Based in the Orlando area, Phoenix Tears specializes in immersive performances, utilizing both physical and digital mediums to achieve their goals. While I’ve had the opportunity to attend several of their incredible shows (like Horror in Headphones and Infected), my favorites have been their “audio dramas.” This innovative storytelling style employs carefully designed 360° soundscapes, real-world environments, set pieces, and live actors to engross audiences in creative worlds and narratives.
Find out more about Phoenix Tears Productions by visiting their website or get all their latest updates by following them on Instagram!
The Waiting Room
Part audio drama and part organic one-on-one conversation, The Waiting Room is a 60-minute interactive experience. Like many of Phoenix Tears’ shows, The Waiting Room audience members are active participants in the story – asking questions, talking to characters, and paying attention to the action unfolding around them.
The Waiting Room, according to the Orlando Fringe website:
What are you waiting for? You don’t know.
How long have you been waiting? You’re not sure.
Will your number ever be called? Only one way to find out.
The Waiting Room is now open for appointments.
This brand new immersive experience from the award winning Phoenix Tears Productions, is exactly what it says on the tin. Check in with reception, fill out your intake paperwork, receive a number, listen to our hold line, and perhaps you will be called.
We hope you get in.
How It Works Inside The Waiting Room
The Waiting Room is an immersive and organic production centered around a fairly universal human experience – waiting! As the show begins, make sure to check in at a central desk to receive your personalized number, a set of Phoenix Tears headphones, and a bit of intake paperwork. It’s appointment time, and your experience is about to begin!
After you fill out your paperwork and return it to the desk, there’s nothing else to do but wait for your number to be called. Utilizing a silent disco-type technology, the production provided headphones include a total of three tracks: the Hold Line, Sponsor Ads, or the exclusive 94.4 WAIT FM. Each of these three channels features specially designed audio as well as important information to enhance your experience.
Pro Tip: Listen to these channels very closely! You just might hear something very important.
Eventually, your wait will come to an end and your number will be called by the program’s staff. When it’s your turn, head to the desk and wait to be escorted to the next piece of your experience.
While I will not discuss the actual details of The Waiting Room appointments, I will tell you that the interactions and discussions that await beyond the central desk are highly personalized and engaging. Live cast members will repond and react to any questions or comments in real time, allowing you to even further engage with The Waiting Room’s complicated world. There are several carefully crafted storylines that you might find during your visit, making each person’s experience unique and intriguing.
Once you have completed your appointment, you have two choices: you can keep waiting and hope to be called a second time, or you can leave the show and continue with your evening.
Freaky Thoughts: The Waiting Room
As a huge fan of Phoenix Tears and their many performance styles, I am always so impressed by their ability to create immersive worlds and fascinating backstories in the middle of every day settings. The Waiting Room takes place in an indoor, lobby-esque area in the Orlando Shakes Theater (just outside Visual Fringe HQ). While most people would dismiss this setting, Phoenix Tears has managed to turn the random benches, frigid air conditioning, and available artwork into an otherworldly venue complete with sights, sounds, and friendly characters.
Due to the varied nature of the show’s breakout interactions and pacing methods, The Waiting Room is a highly individualized experience. Between the difference in waiting times and the availability of one-on-one conversations, I am sure that no two audience members will ever have the exact same experience inside The Waiting Room and its riveting story. In short, Phoenix Tears has once again truly created a fascinating and remarkable show – filled with detailed backstories, charming characters, and just a touch of creepy/sci-fi undertones. Don’t miss your chance to experience The Waiting Room at this year’s Orlando Fringe Festival!
Getting Tickets for The Waiting Room
The Waiting Room will run on select dates May 17-26 . To buy your tickets and schedule your appointment, visit the Orlando Fringe virtual box office.
Because 100% of the base ticket price is given directly to the respective artists, you will also need to purchase a reusable 2024 Fringe Festival button. Buttons are $10 and grant access to all the performances at this year’s event (along with an individually purchased show ticket). No matter how many productions you plan to see, you only need one button per person, per year.
Know Before You Go
- A 2024 Fringe Festival button (and show ticket) is required to visit any performance. You can purchase your button online.
- Parking at Orlando Fringe can be tricky. Make sure you arrive early to allow plenty of time to locate a suitable spot and travel to the show location.
- The Waiting Room starts inside the Orlando Shakes Theater next to Visual Fringe HQ.
- You will be literally waiting for much of this experience. Make sure to listen carefully to the provided audio channels for your number to be called!
