Photo by Aidan Searle

AWAKE & STILL DROWNING is a 30-minute shared experience in VR and unsuspecting performance.  It is a cautionary fable about the day Nova Scotia becomes an island, told through a combination of virtual reality and group choreography in which watching and performing signify the high cost of human migration when the exploited ocean takes back what is hers. 

The experience splits the audience into two groups. The first group transforms into the protagonists, a flock of little white seabirds, performing a guided walk along a narrow landscape as directed by the VR headset, which depicts the rising ocean and disappearing shoreline. The second group waits in line, witnessing the flock without fully grasping the crisis unfolding inside the headset. Then, they join the dance, becoming part of the flock. The cycle continues until no one is left, or we must leave the venue.

Audience Experience:

Audience members will be invited into The Theatre Centre Gallery where they will be greeted by SummerWorks staff and volunteers and given instructions. Once ready, the group will enter the Franco Boni Theatre to learn how to use the VR headsets and how to calibrate the headset before the experience begins. The VR experience is approximately 15 minutes. Afterward, the audience members are invited to stay in the theatre for as long as they would like to witness the experience from the outside, sitting in the Franco Boni Theatre audience seating. Individuals can stay as long as they would like, watching multiple cycles.

Dustin Harvey: Creative Director
Dana Dansereau: Producer
Arcade XR: Digital Production
Sue Goyette: Poetry
Rich Aucoin: Music
Graeme Campbell: Audio Engineering
Millefiore Clarkes: Film Production
Aidan Searle: Graphic Design
Gus and Lia Harvey: Narration