Each fall, Ghost River Theatre offers its collaborative, immersive art-making experience to school classes at West Village Theatre.

Our Fall 2025 experiences have sold out.

We will be accepting new bookings for fall 2026 starting in april.

Questions?

Contact us at ed@ghostrivertheatre.com or 403-242-7118 ext. 2.

FALL 2026 SCHOOL BOOKING FORM: AVAILABLE IN APRIL 2026

PRODUCTION HISTORY

The Room Sculpture Experience was piloted during a workshop session in October 2023 and premiered for school and public performances in September 2024 with project support from Calgary Arts Development.

CORE CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS AND LITERATURE

Grade 6/7/8/9

Through building a landscape: Land is a text and can be read for multiple readings and understanding. Land literacy can be enhanced through examining human-made structures of land.

What stories can be told through the experience? Elements of fiction include conflict, which is a struggle between individuals, groups, or forces that prevents the protagonist from achieving a goal. Engaging with fictional texts can develop empathy and inspire creativity.

Grade 10/11/12

Consider new perspectives:

a. describe personal responses to new perspectives, appraise whether such responses contribute to or inhibit understanding, and identify influences that have contributed to such responses.

b. identify one’s own ideas, perspectives and interpretations and evaluate them for depth of explanation, evidence or support; and consider the ideas, perspectives and interpretations of others to broaden one’s own understandings when exploring and responding to texts.

MATHEMATICS

Grade 6/7/8

Shapes are defined and related by geometric attributes. Analyze shapes through symmetry and congruence. Congruency may not mean symmetry. Ways shapes can be related using conservation of area, how volume ca be characterized in space, how can a mathematical function enhance interpretations of change.

Grade 10/11/12

How can a mathematical function enhance interpretations of change?

SCIENCE

Grade 8

What do we know about the nature of light? — investigate how light is reflected, transmitted and absorbed by different materials; and describe differences in the optical properties of various materials (e.g., compare light absorption of different materials; identify materials that transmit light; distinguish between clear and translucent materials; identify materials that will reflect a beam of light as a coherent beam.)

SOCIAL STUDIES

Grade 6

Students will demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of the dynamic relationship between governments and citizens as they engage in the democratic process.

Grade 8

Appreciation of the ways in which beliefs, values and knowledge shape worldviews and contribute to a society's isolation or adaptation. Demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of how the exchange of ideas and knowledge contributed to shaping the worldview of the Western world. Demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of how intercultural contact affects the worldviews of societies.

Grade 9

Students will assess their roles and responsibilities in a globalizing world.

Grade 12

Students will explore the relationship between identity and ideology. Students will assess their rights, roles and responsibilities as citizens.

VISUAL ARTS

Grade 7/8/9

Students will develop the ability to investigate visual relationships in the environment.

DRAMA

All Grades
Participants engage in tableau, role-play, and artistic interpretation to explore interactions with objects, people, and space. Through non-verbal communication, improvisation, and collaborative creation, they develop a deeper understanding of dramatic tension and storytelling.

Post-show discussions encourage participants to share interpretations, reflect on their choices, and consider how their contributions shaped the collective creation. This dialogue fosters critical thinking, empathy, and an appreciation of perspective-taking—core principles of drama.

CREATIVE TEAM

Eric is an award-winning director, deviser, playwright, educator, and the Artistic Director of Calgary’s acclaimed Ghost River Theatre (GRT). Eric’s work is fueled by his dyslexic brain and is characterized by a striking audio-visual aesthetic that embraces the impossible, constantly reframing and rediscovering what theatre is and what it is capable of. Eric’s passion for the creative process has inspired the diversity of his performance experience, spanning sensory, experiential, site-specific, immersive, and devised performance, as well as large-scale contemporary, classical, and design-driven theatre and dance.
As a sought-after teacher, Eric has shared his unique approach to theatrical creation with students and professionals worldwide. For GRT, Eric has taught its 4-Day and National 3-Week Devised Theatre Intensives for the last 15 years. He has taught for the Young Vic in London UK, Prague Quadrennial of Performance and Design, Kathy Knowles Theatre Company in Accra, Revolutions International Festival in Albuquerque, and across Canada at various post-secondary institutions and festivals. Eric has been honoured to be the Playwright in Residence at Alberta Theatre Projects, be named to Avenue Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40, and receive the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Artist Award for his body of work as a theatrical innovator.
Recent GRT credits include: Concept/Co-Creator, Echoes of the Land (Betty Award Best Musical Direction); playwright /director STRUCK (Betty Nomination Best New Play); director/co-playwright SensoryBox; director/co-playwright GIANT (Betty Mitchell Nomination Outstanding Director & New Play – Award for Outstanding Ensemble); concept/direction/co-creation of Intuition Project; co-adaptor, sound designer and director Tomorrow’s Child (Edinburgh Fringe), director/co-playwright TheLast Voyage of Donald Crowhurst (Betty Mitchell Awards for Outstanding Production, Direction, NewPlay and shortlisted for the Gwen Pharis Ringwood Prize in Playwriting).
Additional credits include directing a lab workshop of Troilus & Cressida for Stratford Festival; concept/co-creator I am Canada, Canadian Museum for Human Rights; concept/co-creator TropiCalgary, GLOW Festival; director/co-creator A Date With The Night for The Globe Theatre; director/dramaturg a new version of Hannah Moscovitch’s The Huron Bride for Vertigo Theatre; director the Canadian premiere of The Kite Runner for Theatre Calgary/Citadel Theatre; director/co-playwright Once Upon an Atom Bomb with Jennie Esdale and David Rhymer for the Green Fools Physical Theatre; director/co-playwright Peril in Paris with Ethan Cole (Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding New Play) a new musical for Lunchbox Theatre; director/dramaturg The Forbidden Sacrifice for the Kathy Knowles Theatre Company in Ghana.
For Film and TV, Mr. Rose recently co-wrote the feature documentary Close the Divide (AMPIA Award Best Documentary Screenwriter). He co-wrote / co-directed a new 5-part streaming series, So Dark the Sky (TOWebFest Award for Best Sci-fi Series), which has been screened at over 15 international festivals. He is currently co-writing a feature film with Kyle Thomas, which is in development for North Country Cinema.

Ebony R. Gooden

Assistant Director, Experience Guide

Ebony R. Gooden is a filmmaker, director, and changemaker dedicated to reimagining accessibility through bold storytelling and immersive art. As the founder of Deafinitely Digital, she creates platforms that amplify BIPOC Deaf voices across film, theatre, and digital media. Ebony currently serves as the Marketing Coordinator at Inside Out Theatre, where she supports inclusive arts initiatives.
She was featured in SHADES Season 2 by Humainologie and has developed short films through the CSIF and Storyhive programs. Her works have received support from the Calgary of the Arts, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and the Canada Council for the Arts, including the production of a new short animation.
Ebony has directed and produced numerous projects, including Expression Unmasked and His Hands, His Art, blending artistic vision with accessibility innovation. Her work challenges traditional forms and creates space for underrepresented communities to be seen, heard, and celebrated.

Tauran is a disabled queer designer born and raised on Treaty 7 territory in Mohkinstis (Calgary). She loves working with technology to make art that is both engaging and thought-provoking. Selected credits include: Sound Design and Original Composition for Imperfect Symmetry (Jupiter Theatre), Lead Programmer for STRUCK (Ghost River Theatre), and Lighting Designer for Someday (CYPT). She's excited to once again craft the lighting for the Room Sculpture Experience. In the (rare) moments when she isn't working on theatre, she fences foil, makes electronic gadgets, and reads and re-reads all the books she can.y online can make all the difference.

Tania Alvarado is a contemporary dance artist whose career spans diverse performance mediums and somatic practices. She has performed across Canada, interpreting choreography by notable Canadian dance artists. Her choreographic work has been featured at major festivals and contemporary dance venues nationwide, and she has brought her solo performances to international stages in Europe through Bancs d’Essai Internationaux.
In recent theatre engagements, Tania has performed in two productions at Vertigo Theatre, Cipher, and Murder in the Studio, which she also choreographed. Her choreography has also contributed to various productions, including Calgary Opera's La Traviata, Caravan Farm Theatre's Blackhorse, ATP's Teenage Dick, and Cowgirl Up. Most recently, she worked with Ghost River Theatre as Movement Director for Frontier, currently in development.

Abby is a Calgary-born theatre artist, and a graduate from UofA's BA Drama. Over the last three years she has been developing her technical talents with the likes of Calgary Young People's Theatre, the Ignite Festival, West Village Theatre, Ghost River Theatre, and more. For Ghost River Theatre: Palace of Magpies, 2024 (Stage Manager); The Room Sculpture Experience, 2024 (Stage Manager). Striving to be a jack of all trades artist, Abby is also a lighting designer, a writer, a director, and an FDC certified Basic Actor Combatant.

Jennie Esdale is thrilled to return to Ghost River Theatre! She is a performer, playwright, and director. Jennie is Education & Outreach Associate at Theatre Calgary. She ran the Theatre School and wrap around programming at Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton, Ontario.
Jennie has worked with theatres across the country, including the National Arts Centre, Banff Centre for the Arts, Theatre Calgary, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre, Alberta Theatre Projects, The Cultch, Ghost River, The Only Animal/ Vancouver Olympics, and numerous children’s, arts, folk and puppet fest. Jennie was co-Artistic Director of Calgary’s Green Fools Theatre from 2004-2017. Her original works and collaborations have toured Canada and internationally, to the U.S., Brazil and Japan. Jennie also co-founded a Brave New Works festival, Spotlight Youth performers festival and numerous other initiatives in Hamilton.
Jennie has been recognized through theatre awards and nominations (Elizabeth Sterling Haynes & Betty Mitchell and Hamilton Arts Award), including: Outstanding Actress in a Drama, Outstanding Achievement TYA, Outstanding New Play, Outstanding Production of a Musical and Outstanding Performance in TYA.

Tiffany Lai is a registered social worker in Hong Kong and Alberta. She graduated with distinction from the Hong Kong Academy For Performing Arts with a MFA in Drama and Theatre Education. She received the Estella Wong Drama Education Scholarship, the HKSAR Talent Development Scholarship and the Reaching Out Award. She was also sponsored by the Lee Hysan Foundation to undergo two short-term drama trainings in the UK. Tiffany is actively involved in planning, educating and performing roles of the drama aspects in Hong Kong and Canada. In 2021, she co-founded DuO Lab, a drama education company in HK, and received support from the Social Innovation Fund. She was selected for the Canada ICAI Newcomer Art Professional Program in 2024 and was chosen as one of the Top 20 Newcomer Artists in Calgary and Edmonton. She has collaborated with over 30 organizations, implementing drama in education workshops for various social welfare agencies, using drama as a medium to address the needs of different communities.