On May 4, 2015 a group of near strangers gathered together from various places across Canada and the world in the West Village Theatre to begin work on a new production. We knew three things:
1. That the work would be 30 minutes long
2. That the work would be about the Mars One project, an in-progress, private sector mission to Mars that also happens to be a reality TV series.
3. That the work would be created by the group of near strangers that we had assembled, with the facilitation of Ghost River Theatre staff.
We presented the result, MARS ONE, to two audiences on May 21 and 22.
Ghost River Theatre’s Devised Production Intensive explores a full devising process, from initial idea to public performance. It provides our participants the opportunity to experiment, discern, play, argue and create in a supported, collaborative environment. It also allows Ghost River Theatre to conduct performative research in a laboratory environment.
MARS ONE materialized as an investigation of visual scale, biography, and responsibility. Can we start over? And if we can, who will we be? We’re grateful to our participants for joining us for this experience. And we’re also grateful to the audience that came to complete the experience.
Ghost River’s next educational opportunity will be our four-day Introduction to Devised Theatre, which will happen in the West Village Theatre November 12-15, 2015. If you’re interested, send a note to registrar@ghostrivertheatre.com to be kept in the loop.