Theatres near and far have tried many ways to integrate social media into their business from tweet seats to rehearsal tweet-ups. Dog and Pony DC has taken the social experience to a new level with their latest endeavor, A Killing Game. Not only does the show encourage you to follow the conversation on Twitter, but it allows audiences to tweet during the show, which is about a viral outbreak that wreaks havoc onto a small town. There is plenty of time to check Twitter during frenetic scenes of actors pacing around the small blackbox theatre at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop. Even though silence fills the room, the airwaves are a buzz as the actors type on their smartphones to tweet about the spread of the disease. Following the twitter handles of the in–show characters offers a modern-day glimpse of how panic, information, and fear of an outbreak can spread faster than the disease that is to blame.

Performance live tweeting is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to audience participation for this show, which is more of an improv show than a traditional play. Audience members are handed cards upon arrival which contain instructions and actions to perform during the course of the show. The tasks range from “dying” on the delivery of a certain line to stepping into a role alongside the actors as a town official dealing with the outbreak. The results are a  highly interactive and enjoyable romp that is mash-up of Clue and Whose Line Is It Anyway?

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