“Time has been lost. It has been lost to aging and memories, to madness and illness, to part-time jobs, careers, divorces, and children. Time has been lost to industrial lines and efficiency training, to management and nightshifts. It has been lost to numbers and instruments; to clocks and punch-cards, measuring cups, sign-ins and shift-work. Time has been lost.”
A WAKE FOR LOST TIME is a 24 hour performance created by the [elephants] collective, a Toronto-based performance art group, which has been performed in 4 different iterations. The work is composed of a two hour loop that the actors repeat 12 times. Each repetition of the ritual will reveal new variations as actors enact and embody the physical and psychological strain of time, first in subtle differences and small mistakes and, later, as the performance continues the eight actors will become tired, irritated, hopeless, and even fall asleep on stage, forcing the others to improvise and take up each other’s cues. Scroll through its most recent installation at SummerWorks, followed by The Pearl Theatre in Hamilton, at hub14, and its original production at Theatre Passe Muraille.
title. A WAKE FOR LOST TIME
playwright. [elephants] collective
date. August 2015
Theatre. Hub 14
producer. SummerWorks Theatre Festival
city. Toronto, ON
collective core. Donna Marie Baratta, Thomas McKechnie, Michael Reinhart
associate artists. Jessie Byiers, Hannah Kaya, Nicole DeAngelis, Montgomery C. Martin, Ximena Huizi, Andrew Gaboury, Anahita Dehbonehie
Hub14 SummerWorks
Hub14 SummerWorks
Hub14 SummerWorks
Hub14 SummerWorks
title. A WAKE FOR LOST TIME
playwright. [elephants] collective
date. January 2015
theatre/producer. The Pearl Company
city. Hamilton, ON
collective core. Donna Marie Baratta, Jenna Harris, Thomas McKechnie, Michael Reinhart
associate artists. Jennie Egerdie, Katie Sly, Kevin Rees, Joanna Black
The Pearl Company
The Pearl Company
The Pearl Company
The Pearl Company
title. A WAKE FOR LOST TIME
playwright. [elephants] collective
date. November 2014
theatre/producer. Hub 14
city. Toronto, ON
collective core. Donna Marie Baratta, Jenna Harris, Thomas McKechnie, Michael Reinhart
associate artists. Jennie Egerdie, Katie Sly, Kevin Rees, Nicole DeAngelis
Hub14
Hub14
Hub14
Hub14
title. A WAKE FOR LOST TIME
playwright. ELEPHANTS IN THE ROOM (devised)
date. January 2013
theatre/producer. Theatre Passe Muraille
city. Toronto, ON
collective participants. Kanika Ambrose, Donna Marie Baratta, Kathleen Edwards, Jenna Harris, Karen Hawes, Thomas McKechnie, Michael Reinhart, Tanya Rintoul, Moez Surani
Theatre Passe Muraille
Theatre Passe Muraille
Theatre Passe Muraille
Theatre Passe Muraille
reviews.
"The collective responds to the blunt and helpless realization of our loss with a melancholic energy: they will hold an absurdist mourning ritual, as much a party as a ceremony." - Alena Sokhan (Berlin Art Link)
"Much like the viewers of the Truman Show, I was rooting for the collective members of Elephants in the Room to get through 24 hours of performing, but when the end came I was not ready...This being an Olympic year, I felt that those 24 hours merited these emerging performers’ a medal. I am inclined to say gold, for their all round incredible durational skills, ability to stay funny at cycle 16, and the originality of their content." - Emma Letki (Mooney on Theatre)