Welcome to Night Vale podcast brings 'Murder Night in Blood Forest' to life on stage

Put the headphones down and talk a walk in the Blood Forest as the Welcome to Night Vale podcast comes to life on stage. 

The twice-monthly podcast, created by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, tells the tales of the fictional town of Night Vale, “where every conspiracy theory is true.” 

Symphony Sanders, who voices Tamika Flynn, said “Welcome to Night Vale: Murder Night in Blood Forest” acts as a standalone production and can be seen without having listened to the podcast prior.

According to the Welcome to Night Vale website, “Tamika Flynn is joining a few hundred of her friends for the annual Murder Night in Blood Forest, a celebration of crows, ravens and all corvids. But a masked killer is hunting these carefree partiers one by one.”

“The show is called ‘Murder Night in Blood Forest,’ and basically we’re all in Blood Forest together,” Sanders said. “It’s very much like a slasher sort of film vibe.”

While a standalone, she said it is not the only way the live show differs from the podcast.

“As opposed to just being a 25-minute episode, there’s a lot more to the show,” Sanders said. “It’s like a super episode, and we also have a lot more music and interaction with the audience than we do on the actual podcast itself.”

She said, for her, the show creates more energy with the cast and audience than when she records solo at home for the podcast.

“It’s very exciting to see, to be able to see the show and experience it in person, because, you know, we’re all there and the vibe is very strong (and) very fun,” Sanders said.

The live show also creates a different listening experience for the audience, she said.

“The live experience is so different from when you’re listening in your home or in your car,” Sanders said. “Being able to experience this with hundreds or thousands of other people that are also interested in the same things you are, it’s a one-of-a-kind experience.”

The Welcome to Night Vale live show has come to New Mexico before, and she said Albuquerque is a fitting setting because the podcast is set in a small desert community.

Sanders has been part of the Night Vale cast after first appearing in a live show, then she joined the podcast about 12 years ago. Her character, Tamika Flynn, began as a town hero and has evolved into a community leader over the years.

“As your characters grow up and get older, they’re gonna have different priorities or things that interest them,” Sanders said, “and it’s been amazing to be able to be a part of this, because she’s been able to grow with me.”

While she has not seen many people dressed as her character, she said many in the audience wear cosplay and she loves seeing everyone’s outfits.

“I truly feel so humbled that the work that I do in any way has changed someone’s life or has inspired them,” Sanders said. “So it’s very special anytime I see people light up because I noticed what they wore.”

She said people wanting to experience something new and different will be drawn to “Welcome to Night Vale: Murder Night in Blood Forest.”

“We just hope everyone comes and enjoys themselves and has a really good time,” Sanders said.

Elizabeth Secor is an arts fellow from the New Mexico Local News Fellowship program. You can reach her at esecor@abqjournal.com.