Pursuing Legacy is a new, experimental immersive theatre experience from The Union for Contemporary Art. This unique storytelling approach combines the mediums of immersive theatre and alternate reality games. As you study and solve the riddles and clues located at monuments scattered around North Omaha, you will experience a story told through the eyes of Grace Thomas, a fictional documentarian.

SPOILER WARNING

If you are familiar with the mediums of immersive theater and alternate reality games, you may want to skip this document and go out and experience our story with fresh eyes. Living the story as it unfolds and not knowing what might come next is our preferred method of participating in this story.

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In this immersive theatre experience, as you study and solve the riddles and clues located at monuments scattered around North Omaha, you will experience a story told through the eyes of Grace Thomas, a fictional documentarian. Grace’s reality is different from the reality in which you and I exist. Therefore, any references to history or community memory may not be “real,” but may be important to the reality of our story.

The theatrical experience will live fully outside the walls of a traditional theatre space, inviting participants to explore and experience North Omaha history in person. Engagement will involve some light travel around North Omaha and engaging activities, including puzzle solving, in order to unlock new chapters of this expansive narrative.

Pursuing Legacy will tell the story of our fictional character, Grace Thomas who has received a special Union Artist Fellowship, named in honor of Omaha Star founder Mildred D. Brown. As part of her Fellowship, Grace is on a mission to uncover the truth about her family and their connection to North Omaha.

Each theatrical experience the audience participates in will highlight a historical location or artifact in the community. “The goal of this project is to invite our audience to see our neighborhood in a different light,” says Denise Chapman, Producing Artistic Director of Theater at The Union. “By solving the mystery of Grace’s family, we hope the audience can celebrate our shared community history.”

While many participants might find their first gate to entry to the Pursuing Legacy world online, the theatrical narrative is multi-faceted, with many ways to engage. If you like breaking codes, solving riddles, binge watching Netflix shows, or taking your time to read a book over several weeks, this experience may be for you!