May I Take Your Arm? by Red Dress Productions
A tactile audio experience where participants are taken by the arm through an immersive installation.
Attended at FOLDA in Kingston, ON in Summer 2019 and virtually at FOLDA in Summer 2020
Attended at FOLDA in Kingston, ON in Summer 2019 and virtually at FOLDA in Summer 2020
Performed by: Alex Bulmer
Sound design and editing by: Tristan R. Whiston
Installation by: Anna Camilleri
Live video animation by: Katie Yealland
Funded by: Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, National Arts Centre, English Theatre (The Collaborations)
If we walk together, does the way we “see” our neighbourhood change?
May I Take Your Arm emerged from audio recorded walks between blind performer Alex Bulmer and storytellers who provided sighted guide. The artists ‘takes us by the arm’ to walk, listen, and share stories of place in this tactile performance installation. May I Take Your Arm is about interdependence, relationships between people, our relationship to the St. James Town and Cabbagetown neighbourhoods in Toronto, and the land upon which these neighbourhoods are settled. May I Take Your Arm was a live performance; however, audiences were invited to interact with the installations/within the environment 30 minutes prior to the performance.
After evolving into a theatre piece that integrates live performance, immersive audio, live video, tactile installation, and audience interaction, May I Take Your Arm has been reimagined and remixed as an online performance during a global pandemic when we are not, pointedly, taking each other’s arms.
Sound design and editing by: Tristan R. Whiston
Installation by: Anna Camilleri
Live video animation by: Katie Yealland
Funded by: Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, National Arts Centre, English Theatre (The Collaborations)
If we walk together, does the way we “see” our neighbourhood change?
May I Take Your Arm emerged from audio recorded walks between blind performer Alex Bulmer and storytellers who provided sighted guide. The artists ‘takes us by the arm’ to walk, listen, and share stories of place in this tactile performance installation. May I Take Your Arm is about interdependence, relationships between people, our relationship to the St. James Town and Cabbagetown neighbourhoods in Toronto, and the land upon which these neighbourhoods are settled. May I Take Your Arm was a live performance; however, audiences were invited to interact with the installations/within the environment 30 minutes prior to the performance.
After evolving into a theatre piece that integrates live performance, immersive audio, live video, tactile installation, and audience interaction, May I Take Your Arm has been reimagined and remixed as an online performance during a global pandemic when we are not, pointedly, taking each other’s arms.
Awards & Press
“A stunning immersive performance installation” - The Wheelchair Critic
Presentations
- FOLDA: Livestream 12 June 2020
- Theatre and Accessibility in a Digital World Symposium: Vancouver, BC 21 October 2019
- FOLDA: Kingston, ON 14 June 2019
- Festival of Original Theatre, Equity and Diversity: Toronto, ON 15 February 2019
- Cahoots Theatre: Toronto, ON 21-23 September 2018
