A funny, delightful, & surprising experience unboxing the uncertainty of our time.

Canadian Theatre Review by Camille Intson:

“Sensory Box is a rarity among pandemic performances as its design is intended for audiences to feel ‘together’ in moments of participation. Through a combination of audio drama, Zoom theatre, and a stimulating exploration of the five senses, Sensory Box heightens the potential for digital togetherness in performance, and specifically in augmented environments, both live and socially distanced.”

Colleen Renihan, Queen’s University:

“…many students cited it as the highlight of their semester… I really appreciate it, and know the students did, too!”

ABOUT

When was the last time you felt the first gentle brush of a butterfly kiss? Or the sticky sweet taste of maple syrup licked off your fingers after a pancake breakfast? Or how about the soft, warm hug of a fluffy blanket straight out of the dryer?

Explore the electric connection between our senses and the imagination with Ghost River Theatre’s SensoryBox. Blindfolded, and alongside the guiding voice of performer Mike Tan, uncover the mysterious contents of the box from the safety of your own home (or be one of twenty of the first audience members to join us in the theatre each night) and rediscover the importance of play.

Wrapped and delivered to your door, SensoryBox offers you an unboxing adventure through the tips of your fingers.

“It doesn't matter what's in the box; it only matters that there's a box and there's a mystery.” -JJ Abrams

Running time: 60 minutes

Recommended for ages 10+

Christopher Duthie is a Calgary-based playwright and co-founder of Bad Knaps Theatre Collective who premiered his play A Dinner Party (Finalist - Gwen Pharis Ringwood Award for Drama; Nominee - Best Original Play, Calgary Critics’ Awards). Other writing/creation credits include: n00b (Vertigo Theatre’s Y-Stage Series. Tour: Young People’s Theatre, Persephone Theatre); Of Fighting Age (Verb Theatre/Glenbow Museum/High Performance Rodeo). Christopher also works as an actor most recently appearing in A Christmas Carol (Theatre Calgary). He is thrilled to be playing with Ghost River again after performing in REVERIE ages ago. Much love to Alexandra and Izzy!

Mike is a Calgary-based theatre artist and photographer. He has worked as a co-creator in devised theatre creation ensembles with Downstage, Theatre Junction, and Ghost River Theatre; an acting ensemble member at the Banff Centre Playwrights Lab workshopping new plays from around the world; and as a actor at Vertigo Theatre, Alberta Theatre Projects, and Theatre Calgary. Mike also works as a documentary photographer for arts and culture organizations, events, and independent artists. He lives with his loves, Di, his son Aiden, and their cat babies, Frankie and Prismo.

Emily Promise Allison is an artist and educator who uses alternative approaches to living by questioning conventional human behaviour. She studied Sculpture at the Glasgow School of Art and is a 2015 AUArts Sculpture Graduate with Distinction. www.emilypromiseallison.com

Sara is a Calgary-based stage manager who last worked with the Ghost River team on Giant in 2019. Other stage management credits include: The Louder We Get, The Secret Garden, Twelfth Night, The Audience, The Little Prince- The Musical, The Crucible (Theatre Calgary); It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, Ride (Lunchbox Theatre); Strangers On A Train, The 39 Steps, Dial "M" For Murder, Vintage Hitchcock; (Vertigo Theatre) Legends Of Country, Million Dollar Quartet, Rumors & Dreams (Stage West Calgary); Canada 151, Million Dollar Quartet (Drayton Entertainment); The Red Priest (Alberta Theatre Projects); Polygraph (Sage Theatre); Marion Bridge, The Shape Of A Girl (New West Theatre).

PRODUCTION HISTORY

June 2020: Ghost River Theatre Workshop, Calgary

September 2020: Ghost River Theatre Premiere, Online

March - April 2021: L’UniThéâtre, Edmonton (French Version: La Boite Sensorielle)

March - April 2021: Young People’s Theatre Shifting Stages Program, Toronto (TYA Version)

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

We’re currently seeking partners and residencies for Sensory Box. If you feel an artistic calling to this show and are interested in the project, please get in touch with us.

If you’d like to stay up to date on this show in the future, sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of the page.

credits

Eric Rose: Director and Co-Playwright

Christopher Duthie: Co-Playwright

Emily Promise Allison: Designer

Mike Tan: Performer/Collaborator

Sara Turner: Stage Manager

Photos by Jaime Vedres

THE SIX SENSES SERIES

SensoryBox is the latest instalment in this celebrated series of performances including Tomorrow’s Child, The Intuition Project, and Scent Bar, just to name a few. The Series is a rigorous exploration of what happens to the boundaries of narrative when you focus on stimulating the audience's senses. When you take away sight—our primary gateway in the world— how do our imaginations open up to narrative? How can being deprived of sight prime us for a unique performance experience? How does the audience imagination/engagement factor into the overall narrative experience of performance?

At the forefront of our work is the question of liveness: how we unearth and reveal the world differently for audiences based on the immediacy and interactivity of the performance experience. The Six Senses Series challenges us in our devised practice to break down our ‘total artwork’ approach to creation into its component parts, in order to better understand and trust the imaginary space our audience needs to fully engage in the live performance experience.