Dog From the Machine runs until September 29 at Vertigo Theatre

DETAILS

Dog From the Machine by Downstage Theatre
Studio
EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts
Thursday, September 20 - Saturday, September 29 Thursday, January 22 - Saturday, January 31

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Simon Mallett smiles ironically at the drive-by advertisement going past us. The moving picture on the back of the truck begs to steal our attention, albeit momentarily, but in a very impersonal way. This sort of communication — invasive, technologic — is something the Downstage Performance Society’s new show, Dog from the Machine: Arm’s-Length Embrace seeks to explore and break down in a very new sort of theatre.

Arm’s-Length Embrace, initially conceived by Mallet, was collectively created by several artists. It features characters that inhabit a series of environments similar to what one finds in Calgary.

“We started off discussing and brainstorming ideas connected to communication and community,” says performer Ellen Close. “ A variety of characters rose out of that, and different situations we wanted to explore.”

Situations involving a character who is outwardly repugnant but inwardly a beautiful poet, and a couple who does not get along in reality but are able have a virtual affair are among the individual narratives explored in Arm’s-Length Embrace.

“As far as what we’ve specifically explored in the show, we’ve taken observations and sort of pushed them to extremes,” says Close. “The people walking downtown with earpieces in and cellphone communication, which is a very easy way of closing yourself off of connecting with anyone right in front of you. There’s one character (in the show) that never stops talking on her cellphone and then takes that to the extreme.”

These characters, within their own narratives, interact and entwine their stories onstage. “The idea was to create almost a micro-society in a way, one that can share a lot of different samples of the way that people seek community with each other and engage in communication,” Mallett says. “We’ve got nine characters that each have their own story, and all nine of those stories are happening simultaneously. It’s up to the audience to choose which story they want to follow, whether they want to follow a single character’s story through the show.”

This sort of choose-your-own-adventure theatre included a process that resulted in many Post-It Notes, timelines and logistical configurations for the collective. Mallett says if the people in the audience choose to come back and see the show a second time, it will be a completely different performance. “Everyone’s going to have a completely different experience,” adds Close, noting that audience members have the option to actively engage in the show.

Arm’s-Length Embrace features the talents of performers Col Cseke, Anton deGroot, Nicola Elson, Kristin Eveleigh, Mark Hopkins, Andrew Oberhofer, Derek Paulich and Erin Quinlan. “All of the actual creation work was done by the nine performers, and six other artists who filled a variety of roles in the production,” Mallett says.

“What we’re interested in doing is, rather than trying to say ‘isn’t this messed up that we try to communicate this way?’ or anything like that — that’s not the point,” Mallett says. “The point is just to present as diverse a range of experience as possible. People will come in, they’ll recognize themselves, people they know, recognize interactions they’ve had, and ask why they do what they do, what they say, why they go about life as they do on a day-to-day basis. And is that the best choice, or can they do something to gain another layer of human interaction? I don’t think we’re interested in telling people how they should think, but we are interested in having them create a dialogue.”