Current project: A Wonder Wander

Go on a date with someone from the future, take a stroll with your great great grandparent, or meet a vibrant version of yourself in a parallel universe in a Wonder Wander play. This innovative theater walk-and-talk questions embedded inequities in our societal systems while engaging you in a unique live experience.

Wonder Wander Future Date is now available to be produced in your location as part of a season, in a fundraiser or festival setting or as devising project with your ensemble or students.

From March 2023 produced by Mondo Bizarro Productions:

Experience a one-of-a-kind time travel date in the Marigny/Bywater with our immersive walk and talk audio play! Single and ready to mingle? Or just time travel curious? Bring your phone, your headphones and an extra sock. You’ll be transported to New Orleans in the year 2299, where you’ll meet locals from the future, share flirting humor, gravity footwear tips and ponder how the choices we make affect generations beyond us. Just don’t say anything that will change the future.

Responses from the audience:

The self-reflection I did after listening to the tree and thinking about my contributions to the earth was sweet and unexpected.

Smelling the landscape, being asked to pay attention and notice things around us. It was all carried by the wit and humor throughout. It was really funny!

I loved walking around the neighborhood and having what I see be connected with the experience.

I really enjoyed being observed by the public, all walking around in a group and laughing with headphones in…loved being involved with a consensual act with a tree.

The idea that concrete sidewalks etc. were there to protect one from the soil which was harmful, and that sometimes plants break through. (I had been weeding my driveway the day before). Hearing a mushroom and tree talk shifted my thinking about environmental impacts and made me think of the book “Should Trees Have Standing”. While the whole premise is inter temporal dating, it’s the little nuances, (Carbon Dioxide release) that I remember. So, I found it a very gentle way to make a very strong statement about environmental policy.

What: A short immersive audio play for an audience. Rather than a traditional play in a theater, this play takes place as the audience takes a physical walk outside “with” the virtual characters. The experience lasts an hour.

Why now: To take an action in response to the earth’s temperatures rising and remaining elevated for many centuries. To be invigorated by an innovative art form and connect during general apocalyptic malaise.

Where: After a brief time travel orientation, the play takes place outside as the audience takes a walk as a group.

Who: People who have a smartphone and can travel on an accessible walking path.

How: Using wireless internet and developments in communication and haptic technology, the audience members hear the characters speak through headphones and respond through their microphone. The characters are not seen but manifest through speaking and listening to the audience member live and “holding hands” through the audience member’s smartphone. Each script is written with improvisational space to accommodate the audience’s responses engaging the audience member whether they are talkative or reserved. A pre-show survey, research, and strategically placed props along the walk customizes the experience.