Groups of participants will follow clues in a Renaissance-inspired espionage mystery across the La Jolla campus
Amateur sleuths track down clues in the immersive theater adventure “Decoding DaVinci,” which opens June 4 on the UC San Diego campus in La Jolla.
Following upon the success of last summer’s immersive theater event “Clue: A Walking Mystery” at UC San Diego, another sleuthing adventure on the La Jolla college campus is about to begin. ArtPower at UCSD is collaborating once again with New York theater producer Kevin J. Hammonds on a new site-specific interactive show that will premiere next Thursday. Last year’s hands-only mystery-solving show was inspired by the board game “Clue.
” This summer’s show is inspired by Italian Renaissance artist and inventor Leonardo Da Vinci and a mystery involving a secret society known as the 7 Pillars. Part scavenger hunt, part immersive theater, part outdoor escape room, “Decoding DaVinci” will send groups of seven ticket-holders out on a clue-solving adventure across the UCSD campus to ultimately uncover the identity of the newest member of the 7 Pillars.
Armed with an adventure kit, participants are summoned to a secret location where they’re tasked with deciphering cryptic codes, uncovering hidden symbols, navigating shifting alliances and outwit enemies and operatives stationed around the campus. UCSD worked with Hammonds and his team to create “Decoding DaVinci” specifically for the sprawling La Jolla campus.
“’Decoding DaVinci’ was a concept that had been floating around my brain for a few years, but it wasn’t until I got to know the campus during last year’s ‘Clue: A Walking Mystery’ that it started to come together,” said Hammonds. “The UC San Diego campus is like a universe unto itself with unique and fascinating worlds at every turn. There were so many cool sculptures and pieces of architecture that screamed to be turned into a puzzle.
It was the perfect place to launch this new experience. ” Colleen Kollar Smith, executive director of UCSD’s campus performances and events office, said UCSD’s tree- and art-filled campus is the perfect landscape for a walking adventure.
“Last summer’s ‘Clue: A Walking Mystery’ showed us what’s possible when brilliant puzzle designers and storytellers meet a campus as culturally rich as UC San Diego. Those designers loved our campus so much that they have designed ‘Decoding DaVinci,’ an original world premiere experience, around it, and UC San Diego is honored to be its launch,” Kollar Smith said.
“The arts here don’t just happen in traditional venues; they activate the spaces around us and pull audiences into the storytelling. ‘Decoding DaVinci’ will do exactly that, turning our campus into a living world of mystery for audiences to unravel and solve. “It will also be the perfect way for players to discover UC San Diego, or to explore parts of campus they may not yet have had a reason to visit.
We can’t wait to share this experience with our guests,” she said. Tickets to “Decoding DaVinci” will be sold in groups, with a maximum of seven people on each sleuthing team. Up to 11 teams will head out to explore on each of the performance days, Thursdays-Sundays. When: Previews, Thursday through June 14.
Opens June 18 and runs through July 19. Tickets will be sold in groups of seven, with up to 11 tours a day beginning at 2 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays and 10 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
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