‘The Stacks’ adds late-night performance

Jonathan Turner
·3 min read
‘The Stacks’ adds late-night performance

The new immersive theater piece, “The Stacks,” is adding a late-night performance at 10 p.m. Friday, March 1 at the Sound Conservatory in downtown Moline.

This performance of the 75-minute play will also offer additional availability of $10 student/subsidized tickets.

“The Stacks” is performed across three levels of the former downtown Moline library, 504 17th St.
“The Stacks” is performed across three levels of the former downtown Moline library, 504 17th St.

Created by QC actor/director Ben Gougeon and written by Gougeon and Alexander Richardson, with art direction by Dominic Ramirez, the show takes place over three floors of the newly relocated music academy at the former Carnegie Library (504 17th St., Moline) and the audience will move through the space in an attempt to solve the fictional unsolved murder of Sam Hawkins.

The Stacks invites audiences to the night of Sept. 25, 1957, when the body of Sam Hawkins is found in a small Catholic college library. The play takes place simultaneously on multiple floors and in multiple rooms, and as the story unfurls, audience members can decide where to go and what to see, look for details embedded with the set and props, and “choose their own adventure,” ensuring that everyone’s journey is unique, and each visit is different.

One of the rooms in “The Stacks.”
One of the rooms in “The Stacks.”

Each character has a specific track and tells a different perspective of the story. Guests can choose to follow one actor or move around to different scenes in an attempt to discover what really happened to Hawkins.

The story of The Stacks is seen through the eyes of a present-day investigator, who has come to the old library to try to solve the 67-year-old cold case. As they explore the stacks, the ghosts and events of the fateful evening come to life around them and stories of students pushing against the status quo, forbidden love, jealousy and zealotry swirl into a frenzy that results in Hawkins’ demise.

Immersive theater differentiates itself from traditional theater by removing the stage and “immersing” audiences within the performance itself.

This can be accomplished by using a site-specific location, allowing audiences to interact with their surroundings, and giving the audience agency in how they choose to follow the show, transforming them into active observers. In addition to the events that play out, the show’s art director, Dominic Ramirez, and his team have transformed the rooms and stacks of the library into an explorable art installation in and of itself, with nine different spaces within the library that contain clues and references that add to the depth of the plot and characters, enhancing the audience’s experience.

The cast includes Kira Rangel, Bradley Robert Jensen, Eric Teeter, Anya Giordano, Jean Tegtmeyer, Alice Sylvie, Titus Jilderda, and Jeremy Mahr. The creative team is made up of Ben Gougeon (Creator/Writer/Director), Alexander Richardson (Writer), Dominic Ramirez (Art Director), Bradley Robert Jensen (Costume Design), Roger Pavey Jr. (Asst. Director/Stage Manager), Jacqueline Isaacson (Intimacy Coordinator), and Ron May and Andrzej Kozlowski (Music Consultants).

The Stacks: An Immersive Mystery will perform at Sound Conservatory’s downtown Moline location on Feb. 29 and March 1 & 2 at 7:30 p.m., with the added performance at 10 p.m. on March 1.

Advanced reservations are highly encouraged as capacity is limited. Tickets ($10-$75) are available HERE and details can be found by visiting The Stacks: An Immersive Mystery on Facebook and Instagram (@thestacksqc).

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