Floating Toward Meaning: Assembling the First Draft of FLOAT
Eric Rose, Artistic Director
The end of November marked a big step forward for FLOAT. Kris DeMeanor, Anton deGroot, and I have been shaping the first draft from hundreds of hours of field recordings, interviews, and music. It’s a huge task: slow, detailed, and often surprising, but it’s one of my favourite parts of devising.
Curating an immersive sound experience is a bit like panning for gold. You sit with the material, listen closely, and wait for the moments that shine back. It’s not about technical perfection at this stage. It’s about opening and relaxing your mind enough to notice what is already there. When we stop trying to force the piece into a predetermined shape, the shape begins to reveal itself.
One of those moments surfaced during a summer float, Kris and I recorded. We were passing under the Peace Bridge when I asked what the bridge meant to him. Just then, a flute player, pure chance, was busking overhead. In the recording, you can hear us both notice it and fall silent. The flute blends with the river and the city, comes briefly into focus, and then fades as we drift away. Listening back, it’s a simple moment, but it carries surprising weight. These are the kinds of small moments we’re collecting, hundreds of tiny fragments that, when assembled, begin to form the experience.
Giving the River a Voice
As part of this phase, I wrote five short pieces in the voice of “Bow”, a way of bringing the personality of the river itself into the work. We recorded these with GRT’s Artist-in-Residence, Jamie Konchak, who is one of the country’s most gifted actors.
When Jamie reads something, she brings a tone that’s rich, subtle, and deeply resonant. And, just like panning for sound gold, the right actor can reveal things you didn’t know were in the text. Hearing Jamie bring Bow to life opened new insights into my writing and suggested clear pathways for how Bow can help guide the audience through the experience. An important step forward: the river has a voice, and now we know what it sounds like.
Cedric Lightning
I also spent time revisiting material we recorded with Cedric Lightning, who many will know from GRT’s Echoes of the Land. Cedric has this rare ability to talk about his life: growing up, making drumsticks, figuring out what “home” means, with clarity and ease. Nothing is forced or embellished; he just tells it the way it is. Cedric’s interviews, alongside his music, reminded me how much lived experience sits inside this project. When Cedric’s stories are layered with the river or the energy of a Powwow Grand Entry, they have an undeniable presence; they shift the piece in subtle, meaningful ways. His presence continues to shape FLOAT in ways I’m grateful for.
The Joy of Devising
"Float started by asking how a river rafting journey can be expressed through sound, and has developed into a deep dive exploring how voices of people and nature deepen our understanding of place, history, and ourselves. Par for the course with a Ghost River project! I'm honoured to once again share an artistic adventure with Eric and Anton, in a process that is always positive, democratic, rigorous, and kind." Collaborator Kris Demeanor
In the space between disparate ideas, a third meaning appears, something we could never have planned, but which feels profoundly right once it arrives.
This is the joy of devising.
Not invention, but invitation.
Not accuracy, but attunement.
As we continue shaping FLOAT, I’m struck again by how collaborative listening becomes its own form of artistry. Together, we’re discovering a conversation that’s been there all along, waiting beneath the surface, waiting to be heard.
Stay tuned for FLOAT. We can’t wait to share this immersive audio experience next year in our 26/27 season!
Eric.