[elephants] collective originated out of an emerging artist creation residency facilitated by Theatre Passe Muraille (The Elephants in the Room Creation Lab, 2013). This initial group was constructed as a gesture towards TPM’s collective roots and provided the selected artists two residencies at the theatre, the second of which resulted in the first draft of A Wake for Lost Time.
Following their time at TPM, artists Donna Marie Baratta, Jenna Harris, Thomas McKechnie and Michael Reinhart decided to embark on a longer project of collective creation, formally announcing their collaboration as [elephants] collective in March 2014.
Since then, [elephants] has seen many manifestations, projects, and events. But certain principles have always remained consistent:
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a mandate that experimental performance must express an experiment within the performance. The audience must be accounted for as an essential part of this
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commitment to dramaturgical rigor
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ongoing physical training
Pictured: Michael Reinhart, Jenna Harris, and Kevin Rees in A Wake for Lost Time
[elephants] has presented work in an array of venues and festivals including Rhubarb, SummerWorks, Toronto Fringe, DaPoPo’s Live-In Festival (Halifax), Katzman Contemporary, Pi Theatre's Provocateurs Series (Vancouver) and through a number of residencies and independent productions.