THIS IS REAL Now Running Through the End of the Year!

You’ve been kidnapped.

You don’t remember how; you don’t know by whom.

But there you are, locked up in an abandoned warehouse watching the gruesome treatment of the person who was taken before you. They implore you to help them, but you cannot. By the time they are dispensed with, your time has come. Your friends have been taken away. You are on your own. You have just one shot at getting away if you are to survive and be reunited.

Psycho Clan, the creative team behind the NYC Halloween institution, Nightmare Haunted House (in the lower east side for 13 years) in association with Studio 153 announces THIS IS REAL, a heart pounding horror experience by Nightmare Haunted House creator Timothy Haskell. This intimate and unnerving simulated abduction allows for only 8 people to participate at a time.

THIS IS REAL is theatrical immersion at its most visceral and thrilling. You are entrenched in your very own horror story, but the stakes are real! From the intense moment the psychopath steps out, you are forced to devise an escape plan and try to survive… the decisions will not be easy. A dexterous blend of interactive theater with a complete story line, a mind-bending survivalist game, and a twisted version of hide ‘n seek, you’ll have more to think about than yourself. You have the other victims to consider. Do you risk valuable time to figure out how to save them? Or is it every man for themselves? Wrong decisions come at a steep price for captives… do not get caught!

“THIS IS REAL is NOT A HAUNTED HOUSE” says creator Timothy Haskell. “I’ve directed many different horror productions, haunted houses, escape games and populist interactive events, so this is a culmination of everything that has worked rolled up into 70 minutes worth of entertainment!”

THIS IS REAL premiered in October 2016, in an unadvertised trial run that sold out in six hours – unleashing a truly unsettling and unforgettable experience on participants that tested their quick wit, agility, resolve and even their moral compass.

THIS IS REAL stars the following dangerous people: Rudy Bamenga, Alejandro Cardozo, Federico Mallet Flores, Millie Gillana, Brandon Marchand, James McClain, Erica Moore, Christopher Morris, Aaron Van Scyoc and Taylor Zito

THIS IS REAL features technical design by James Lo, props by Faye Armon, costume design by Kimberly Matela (designed Psycho Clan’s Santastical) and production design by Paul Smithyman (designed the Nightmare Haunted House for 12 years, as well as Full Bunny Contact, Santastical and Timothy Haskell’s Fatal Attraction, Jaded Assassin, and Road House, among other critically acclaimed theatrical productions).

Timothy Haskell directed THIS IS REAL last October. He created and directed the Easter spectacle Full Bunny Contact as well as the ridiculous Christmas wonderland Santastical. He has also directed actual plays including the recent James and the Giant Peach at St. John’s University and Sex You (I’m Gonna) by Nathan Phillips at the ACE Hotel and then in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Other credits include Off-Broadway’s Stitching (The Wild Project and The Elephant in Los Angeles), The Jaded Assassin (Ohio Theatre), Fatal Attraction: A Greek Tragedy starring Corey Feldman at the Classic Stage Company, the Paris Hilton spoof I Love Paris by Doug Fields also at the Blue Heron Arts Center and the cult hit Road House: The Stage Play, which transferred from Off-Off Broadway to Off-Broadway at the Barrow Street Theatre. Mr. Haskell also created and directed the annual Nightmare: New York’s Most Horrifying Haunted House, which ran every fall for 13 seasons.

ABOUT PSYCHO CLAN: Psycho Clan had long been the artistic team behind the world renowned “Nightmare Haunted House” and produced a limited run of “This is Real” in October 2016 that sold-out in 6 hours. They’ve also designed the extreme Easter egg hunt Full Bunny Contact and the absurd Christmas event Santastical. The original Psycho Clan members, Timothy Haskell (the creator of Nightmare Haunted House) and Paul Smithyman (production designer), have been joined by Charles Dunham, Faye Armon (Broadway props designer) and Nathaniel Nowak (producer, Full Bunny Contact) to expand productions of the Psycho Clan company to include various immersive theatrical spectacles this season and beyond.

STUDIO 153 is an artist-led venture, dedicated to exploring the dramatic potential of constructed space through both performance and design. The studio was co-founded in 2016 by theatrical designer Andromache Chalfant and Michael Sharkey, a photographer and filmmaker.

This is Real is a scary, heart-pounding experience that starts as soon as you approach the warehouse where it begins deep in Red Hook.  When you arrive, you’re given a waiver to sign followed by a one-page description of what will happen to you once you go inside.  After reading what was going to happen, I was already feeling my adrenaline start to flow and starting to worry. You’re then led inside and see the seven other people who will be abducted along with you.  You slip into your uniform of gray overalls that you wear on top of your street clothes.  And you leave all bags, coats and other items behind. (Any valuables can be stored in a locked bag for which you’ll hold the key.)  Everyone introduces themselves by their first names so you know who you’ll would be working with to try to escape the room. Then it starts and the terror begins.  You realize that you’ve been split into two groups of four.  You’re in a locked cage and three of the others are in adjacent locked cages.  One of the madmen is torturing someone right outside and you see/hear the guy’s screams of agony.  Then the madman leaves and it’s time to start planning your escape.  Time is of the essence as you’re rac …Read more