On Friday, Oct. 17, Powell Gardens, a botanical garden in Johnson County, opened their doors for the 5th annual “Dark Forest” event. Dark Forest is a one mile trail filled with scary spectres that provide a uniquely eerie experience. At time of press, Dark Forest will be open from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1.
Dark Forest opens at 7 p.m. and the last entry is 8:45 p.m. Tickets start at $43 and VIP tickets cost $98. VIP tickets include admission, VIP parking, a T-shirt, and other perks. The experience includes strobe lights and may be cancelled due to severe weather conditions.
“Dark Forest … is an immersive, multimedia walk-through experience that takes place each fall at Powell Gardens. The event combines light, sound and live performance to create a spectacular and spooky world in the woods,” said Laina Burdette, Manager of Marketing and Communications of Powell Gardens.
Powell Gardens worked very closely with a performing arts company in Kansas City called Quixotic to create this experience. According to Maggie Andriani, the Principal Artist Staging Director and Choreographer at Quixotic, the company was given complete creative control in tailoring the experience of Dark Forest. She describes the general theme of Dark Forest as “hauntingly beautiful.”
“Our director, Anthony Magliano, comes up with the installation themes and then the lead performers help to carry out the vision of the characters all the performers embody,” said Andriani.
The performers at Quixotic work to bring this theme to life by embodying characters that are hand-crafted to create an eerie atmosphere. Performers train to move and talk like the creatures they are meant to embody and learn to do makeup to look like their mysterious counterparts.
“Everyone receives a character synopsis that they will embody. Some characters, like the witches, have a rehearsal to learn the dances around the fire. Other characters who are maybe more vocal than others will workshop how to interact and what to say to audience members,” said Andriani. “This particular show that we put on has a ton of acting involved. All performers also do their own makeup, which takes lots of practice. Each character is given inspo and guidelines but from there, it’s pretty much all on the performer to embody the character through their makeup and performing abilities.”
Powell Gardens employs a staff of nearly 100 people who work diligently to create the atmosphere of Dark Forest in tandem with the staff of Quixotic.
“It takes the entire Powell Garden team to create and execute this amazing event. It’s a celebration of creativity, nature and community. I’m proud of how it’s grown and grateful to everyone who makes it possible,” says Paula Elledge, the Director of Visitor Engagement.
