INTERVIEW: With ‘Anonymous,’ spit&vigor embeds the audience in the action
Photo: Anonymous stars Azumi Tsutsui. Photo courtesy of spit&vigor / Provided by press kit with permission.
The folks at spit&vigor, an engaging and successful theatrical company in New York City, have brought back one of their most talked about productions from 2025. For the next few weeks, audience members have the chance to attend Anonymous, a piece of “embedded theater” that finds patrons up close and personal at a support group meeting.
Here’s the rundown: Charlie, who normally runs this support group, doesn’t show up for the meeting, so this leaves Richard to lead things for the evening, according to press notes. As talk of addiction and sobriety commence, the audience members find themselves in chairs at this support group, as if they were attending themselves.
Nick Thomas wrote, directed and stars in Anonymous, and he recently exchanged emails with Hollywood Soapbox, allowing the publication into the inner circle to better understand how this theatrical experience was developed. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
When did inspiration first come to you for Anonymous?
In 2021, spit&vigor was operating out of a very small blackbox theater (14 seats!) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, and we were looking for site-specific work that would work in that space. I had always wanted to write a play that dealt with themes of addiction, sobriety and hope, and I loved the idea of performing it in an intimate venue. Once I started writing, it really was like opening the flood gates, and the first draft was written in about two weeks.
How are audience members embedded into the narrative?
So as I mention, this play is performed at our tiny black box theater. When the audience enters, they enter a room much like they would if they were attending a meeting themselves. We have a table set up with coffee and cookies, like you would find at a real meeting, and the audience is invited to have a coffee or tea whilst they wait for the show to start. We have a maximum of 20 audience members in each show, and the chairs are set so that the audience sits in a circle with the actors as the addiction and support group is taking place. They are fully present as part of the group, embedded in the play without being a part of the play.
Is there a fear factor in immersive/embedded theater? Being close to the action can be scary, right?
Definitely! And as someone who has done a lot of immersive projects over the years , I can recognise the look of trepidation on people’s faces when they first walk into space and see just how close to the action they really are. You can see people thinking, “Am I going to have to perform or do something?” I do put people at peace, and in the opening speech to the audience I explain that they are about to experience something we have labeled embedded theater. They are here. They are in the show, but they are not part of the show.
What do you feel the piece says about addiction and support groups?
There’s a couple of things I want people to see. Firstly, that addiction can affect anyone from any walk of life, any age, race, sexual identity, anyone. Addiction pulls no punches and takes no prisoners. But I think mostly I want to show that going to support groups and asking for help is an act of bravery. To be able to admit that you have a problem and that you need help takes real courage.
Was another run of Anonymous always in the cards? How did this extension come about?
Two reasons for this. Firstly, we get great feedback from the show. Audiences love the experience, and we had people who had seen it asking if it was coming back so that they could bring their friends. And secondly, we love doing the show. We have great actors in our ensemble and have changed the cast here and there along the way, and being that this is a character-driven play, it is a great piece for actors to work on.
What do you see as the goal of spit&vigor?
This year will be the 10th anniversary of spit&vigor as a theater company here in New York. The company was originally founded by Adam Belvo and Sara Fellini, and I joined them about seven years ago. Our primary goal is to create original theatre in an intimate setting. So we will continue that mission, and the next big goal is to again up-size to a bigger space. I also love being able to provide opportunities to other artists. I love producing shows and giving work to our ensemble, and since opening the tiny baby black box, we have made it a mission of ours to be able to offer affordable space to other small companies to produce their work and create their projects.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
spit&vigor’s Anonymous, written, directed and starring Nick Thomas, continues through Feb. 28 at the spit&vigor baby black box theater on MacDougal Street in New York City. Click here for more information and tickets.
