An L.A. ghost tour that gets scarily real

THE HORRORS OF HOLLYWOOD WILL HAUNT YOU AT 'PEOPLE IN THE DARK,' A NEW IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE.

- BY TODD MARTENS

THE SHOW is a passion project for Jackson Mancuso, right, and Josiah Evaristo. The two have day jobs in the theme park industry.

IMAGINE YOUR TYPICAL ghost tour. Now subtract a significant number of historical factoids and add in some real ghosts — or at least a few tricks of the light and convincing actors.

That's the big-picture pitch for "People in the Dark," a new interactive theatrical production from DrownedOut Productions, a young troupe creating a bit of buzz on the local immersive theater scene. Leading guests through a darkened, windy downtown storefront, the show is a heavy nod to 1950 noir film "Sunset Boulevard" in the way it aims to explore old Hollywood. Drowned Out is Jackson Mancuso and Josiah Evaristo, two friends in their mid-20s who by day work for competing design firms on the local theme park scene - Mancuso for Universal Studios Hollywood and Evaristo for Walt Disney Imagineering. Their goal in their personal work is to combine theme park-like art direction with scrappy, budget-friendly immersive theater, a term that typically denotes some level of active participation on the part of the guest.

With "People in the Dark," which opened over the weekend and runs through Halloween, the pair infuse lessons learned from their day jobs.

"What is the indie film version of making a ride? It's immersive theater," Mancuso says. Like many an immersive theater production, in which people are moved through a space to hide reveals and build tension, "People in the Dark" will have attendees following an actor through prop rooms, makeup counters and into a few spooky surprises.