Do you know the feeling when day turns to night?

A question posed in the ethereal menagerie that is Vesper, a dream play, a new work premiering at The Voxel in Baltimore’s Remington neighborhood. Conceived and Directed, or dare I say dreamed, by Jarod Hanson (with a co-productive assist from The Acme Corporation and assistant directorship from Brandice Thompson) this masterfully articulate and evocative work of living theatricality encapsulates the essence of the rich, experimental and edgy, independent theatre scene that used to thrive vivaciously in Baltimore not so long ago. An evocative and visceral experience, whose intrinsic spirit can only be fully expressed by the craft that is live theatre, Vesper is a powerful and stunning work of art and intrigue, of emotion and heart. It creates a universal accessibility to the audience whilst exploring the vast and ever-changing oceans that encompass the notions of nighttime, darkness, sleep, dreams, and light.

Layers of beauty and pathos are meticulously curated into every element of this production, not the least of which is the show’s scenic artistry, by way of Set & Properties Designer Joe Martin. There is a deceptive simplicity to Martin’s fabrication— a black box play-space, flanked by two ship’s masts that stretch upward, seeming endless in their ascent with gauzy sheet-sails, a black scrim that drapes the back wall, and a rolling ‘bed’ of sorts raked at a jaunty angle with some wispy curlicues of fog…or dreamstuff…whirled into place along the floor. And yet the imaginative capacity that this type of scenery invites is extraordinary, hence the phrase deceptive simplicity. Joined by the efforts of Lighting Designer John McAfee and Multimedia Designer (also sound & music creator) Jason Charney, the performance space is transported to something ephemeral and intangible, otherworldly and yet so realistic you could reach out and grasp it— just like a dream.

This design team has done an extraordinary job of curating a dreamscape in both aesthetic and aural platforms, particularly when the two blend together as one. There are stars, there’s a moon, there are moments of indescribably striking audio effects— some fiddled into existence by Charney others breathed, quite literally, to life by the performers. Martin, McAfee, and Charney work together to manifest this visually explorative, aurally intriguing, and overall emotionally evocative theatrical experience as something that is both curiously new and oddly familiar. For lack of better wording they’ve built the structural foundation of what it’s like to live in live-time through the fragmented existence of a dream. (There has to be praises thrown in here as well for Costume Designer Rowan Gardner, because again much like Martin’s set, deceptive simplicity comes into play. Flowy trousers and tops all made of various light shades of cotton-muslin, moveable, breathable fabric, as if Gardner had taken the threads of dream and sleep and wove them together to create these garments.)

What Jarod Hanson has created with Vesper is an artistic masterpiece that not only harkens back to Baltimore’s more creative, independent theatre days (think Single Carrot Theatre, EMP Collective, The ACME Corporation, Annex Theatre, etc.) but it revitalizes the this intrinsic, unnamable component that exists only in live-theatre…which is essentially what makes the difference between a live stage performance and something on screen or streaming. There is a breath, a pulse, a life-force that ebbs and flows through Vesper, cared for, tended to, and guided by the ensemble. Hanson’s production explores a myriad of experiences when it comes to darkness, night, sleep, and dreams, using words sourced from his own mind as well as everyone listed in the program, and a few others (like Shakespeare!) bringing them all together in one mesmeric dreamlike experience.

The way Vesper moves is essentially like a dream. Little fragments, some flushed out, others more beautifully fleeting, all dovetailing and dipping in and out of one another with fluidity and grace. The play feels endless (in the most enjoyable sense) where time ceases to exist and yet when it’s over it feels as if no time at all has passed and that strange sense of waking and returning to reality settles heavily into the mind, heart, and soul. Hanson and the creative team as well as the performative ensemble have created something extraordinary and unique, a journey that can be accessed by all— everybody sleeps. Everybody dreams, even if we don’t remember our dreams, everybody has encounters or experiences in the night or the darkness. Vesper is a north star, of sorts, shedding lighting and hope, essence and wonder, into the intrinsic and inevitable darkness that exists in all of our lives.

The performative on-stage ensemble features Alix Fenhagen, Ally Ibach, Molly Margulies, Parker Matthews, Luu Pham, Chelsea Thaler, Hailey Withrow, and Matthew Williams. The breath-work (once you see it, you’ll understand this notion) in which this eight-person ensemble engages is exhilarating, creating relatable moments of existence while effecting emotions effortlessly out into the audience. The true beauty of those moments which top-and-tail the production (in addition to reappearing throughout) is their appearance of effortlessness. Anyone who’s ever worked in theatrical-ensemble-based experimental theatre or taken performances classes of that nature will know exactly how tricky and intense this type of work can be, so to be so successful and look so easy is a boon beyond compare.

The physicality that this octet of humans pour into this work is sensational. There’s a moment when different performers are physically hauling one another across the stage in this painfully beautiful fashion, intentionally slow, specifically crafted to show burden and weight, dragging them on these ‘dream-sheets’ and watching that is exquisite. One of the highlights of the ensemble’s work, for me personally at least, is the ‘nightmare fuel’ moment, where Luu Pham is under one of the ‘bed’ structures with Matthew Williams on top and the way he articulates and warp-contorts his body around to display this terrifying ‘night demon’ of sorts is spine-tingling. There are moments of sheer movement— in unison or apart— there are moments of dialogue— one truly touching one that springs to mind is Parker Matthews and Hailey Withrow seated on one of the beds at the beginning talking about feeling comfortable with one another, not having to be some performative part of themselves they believe the other will enjoy. And it has to be said— Molly Margulies as Moon, the glowing, exquisite lunar queen of all existence, is just breathtaking.

There is a lunacy to the performance, in both senses of the word, and edge as well. Moments of shared terror, shared relief, evocative and open exposure, desperation, humor, wonder— it’s a never-ending cycle of whimsy and wonder, darkness and light. One of my personal favorite nighttime quotes—“when it’s dark, look for stars” applies here. There are so many striking and stirring moments- witches, the Northern Lights, being lost, being found; it’s impossible to fully do all of them justice. As we traverse this ever-darkening world— look for eight shining stars— specifically Fenhagen, Ibach, Margulies, Matthews, Pham, Thaler, Withrow, and Williams, with Jarod Hanson as their North Star— for brilliance, inspiration, comfort, shared human experience. The production is a marvel, the experience is a gem; Vesper is a theatrical dream like no other and radiates exquisite light into the darkened times in which we presently live.

Running Time: Approximately 75 minutes with no intermission

Vesper, a dream play, runs through November 2^nd 2025 as a co-production of The Acme Corporation at The Voxel— 9 W. 25^th Street in the Remington neighborhood of Baltimore, MD. Tickets are available for purchase at the door or in advance online.