Tickets On Sale Now via Nocturne-X.com

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (October 7, 2021) – Gray Area, one of the country’s premier experimental and performance art organizations, today announced the grand opening of its new large-scale, immersive exhibition Nocturne X, created in partnership with Numina Studio. This grand opening party on Friday, October 29 from 9:00 pm to midnight marks the debut of Nightfall on Nocturne X, a new weekend event series for adults in the expansive exhibition, featuring live DJ performances, experimental theater, and more.

At each of the special Nightfall events, the all-ages exhibit will transform into a 21+ concert space complete with a dance floor, live DJ booth, and paid bar, as well as 360-degree music visualization. Explorers can enjoy an immersive dance party inside a 4000-square-foot forest filled with hundreds of glowing plants that respond to music, touch, and motion in their own mysterious way.

IMMERSIVE THEATER COSTUME PARTY

On October 29th, attendees of the grand opening event will be encouraged to dress up in their favorite space-themed costumes and dance the night away as they are treated to exclusive late-night access to the new exhibit.

This special after-hours event will also feature an immersive theater experience from 13th Floor Theater Company’s cast of actors, dancers, and acrobats called Space Pilots in Spaaaace!. Set against the backdrop of Nocturne X’s glow-in-the-dark forests and psychedelic crystal caves, party-goers are enlisted to help a team of interstellar space pilots as they travel across galaxies to restore the delicate balance of life found within the planet’s biosphere. Through interactive games and other surprises, partygoers will help pull the moon back into orbit, while avoiding a series of unique obstacles in their race to not only save the party but the entire planet.

Led by Nocturne X's Narrative Lead Jenny McCallister and Art Director Zach Fish, the critically acclaimed San Francisco-based theater company is also responsible for producing the recently sold-out immersive performance “Assemblage of Monsters” at the Old Mint.

Zach Fish and Jenny McAllister perform during the 13th Floor Dance Theater’s “Assemblage of Monsters/An Immersive Gothic Fairytale” at the Old Mint Building in San Francisco on Thursday, Aug 19, 2021.

“13th Floor is known for creating fantastical immersive theater adventures”, says Jenny McAllister, “With Nocturne X, we were able to interweave narrative throughout the installation through in-depth exploration of the characters’ environment, background, and belongings rather than directly through performance. I’m really proud of creating a world where it feels like the characters are hovering just off stage.”

A limited number of tickets to the inaugural Nightfall On Nocturne X are available for purchase on Nocturne-X.com, starting at just $30. Stay tuned as more late-night events inside Nocturne X will be announced in the coming weeks.

INCUBATING CREATIVE COMMUNITY

Nocturne X marks a new collaboration between Gray Area and the newly-formed Bay Area-based artist collective, Numina Studio. The immersive art experience invites visitors on a journey of exploration within the galactic ecosystem of planet Nocturne X, a 4000-square-foot interactive forest filled with surprising stories and hidden puzzles. Hundreds of glowing plants, designed and hand-sculpted by the team at Numina Studio with the use of A.I. and other custom-built technologies, create a landscape brimming with life as the interconnected vegetation responds to touch, sound, and movement.

Nocturne X is also the first major production from Numina Studio, a 100-person team of artists and tradespeople — sculptors, fabricators, metal and woodworkers, sound and light designers — who work alongside world-class hardware and software technology experts. Through the creative application of cutting-edge technologies, Numina Studio empowers artists to explore new mediums and create experiences that blur the lines between storytelling, technology, and the arts.

“It’s been amazing to see how this project has brought together so many talented artists from really diverse backgrounds,” says Shlomo Zippel, founder of Numina Studio. “I’m excited how the Nightfall series can showcase more local talent, and become a platform to foster collaboration within the Bay Area’s creative communities.”

The exhibition soft launches to the public on October 15th and tickets for the first two weeks are now on sale. Visit Nocturne-X.com to reserve your hour-long reservation, available Tuesday through Sunday each week from Noon to 8:00 p.m. PT.

During the month of October, pricing for ticket reservations between Noon through 4:00 p.m. begins at $20, while those for 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. cost $30 and up. Visitors are encouraged to reserve their times quickly, as capacity is limited and prices will rise as spaces fill.

Gray Area requires all visitors to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccinations in order to ensure the safety of the local community in accordance with the City of San Francisco’s health guidelines. Mask-wearing will also be strictly enforced at all times within the exhibition, and the space will be sanitized frequently.

For more details about Nocturne X, including more Nightfall On Nocturne X events as well as the release of additional tickets to the day-time exhibition in November and December, make sure to visit Nocturne-X.com as well as follow along on Instagram at @nocturnexsf, on Facebook at @nocturnexsf, and on Twitter at @nocturnexsf.

ABOUT GRAY AREA

Gray Area is San Francisco's premier cultural hub applying creative action for social transformation. The organization ​operates the historic Grand Theater in San Francisco's Mission District, generating platforms that enable creators to transcend boundaries through antidisciplinary collaboration. Through public events, education programs, project incubation, research, and international cultural exchange, Gray Area brings together diverse communities to engage creatively with the critical issues facing our rapidly changing society.

Learn more online at GrayArea.org and make sure to visit us in person at the Grand Theater (2665 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94110).

ABOUT NUMINA STUDIO

Numina Studio is a Bay Area-based 100-person multidisciplinary team of sculptors, fabricators, metal and woodworkers, sound and light designers who work alongside world-class hardware and software professionals. As digital transformation shapes the modern world, and society as a whole becomes inseparable from the use of technology, Numina Studio examines the impact that those technological advances have on our perception of the world.

PRESS CONTACT

Trey Hicks // [email protected]
Rachel Wilson // [email protected]