Dedicated to the Revolutions

From the Program: There is a list of seven revolutions from Jacob's grade eight science class. Some of the revolutions changed the tools we use to communicate and share knowledge. Tools can change our behaviour, which can lead to a difficulty in slowing down of taking the time to look around. But we'd like to try that. Having all this time to reflect, though, can make us anxious. Things take a long time, everything changes, nothing is constant and science could end the world. But this anxiety shouldn't prevent us from trying to make our way through, and certainly shouldn't prevent good will and singing.

Monster Makers

From the Program: Monster Makers is an interactive adventure for children. Monster Makers was conceived in Navi Mumbai in collaboration with Shobha Murthy's students of Aarambh (www.aarambh.org). Aarambh is a non-profit charity organization based in the slum colonies of Navi Mumbai, India and was created as a support center for the children and women living there. Monster Makers is dedicated to the students and their anarchic spirit.

The Greatest Cities in the World

From the Program: For the last few years, we have been delving deeper into the words of interviewed individuals to create our work. We do this for a number of reasons: our interest in the immediate, our fascination with unique experiences that could never be imagined, and our desire to avoid the loneliness of sitting in front of a computer trying to create "true" voices. We also do it to make things more difficult for ourselves. In our experience we find it very easy to become quickly reliant on the plot-driven elements we swing towards- relationship, stakes and conflict. Utilizing it forces us and our collaborators to decode the material and present a structure that relies on interest and rhythm shifts rather than plot twists, as we search for some king of accumulation. This process results in fractured narrative arcs and meandering character transformations, but allows the piece to emerge as a spacious collection of anecdotes, observations and conversations that flirt with traditional storytelling rather than rely on it. For this exploration we headed to the Deep South. our encounter with these small towns in Tennessee held many things, but they all proved to be entirely unpredictable-as unpredictable as any encounter with complete strangers can be. With The Greatest Cities in the World, we attempt to create an evening that honours the complexity of both the people whose words we draw upon, and the audiences we hope to entertain and inspire.

Official CCA Jury Most Memorable Moments:

Chloe: "When they took out the big sword. I like when they did the funny dancing."

Mike: "The knight pulled a gigantic sword for fighting."

Max: "The little truck, the big sword and the houses."

Elephant Wake

From the Program: On a very personal level, Elephant Wake is my coming of age story. It grew out of a moment when I realized I ws no longer a boy and that myself and the place I grew up in was rapidly evolving into something different. This self-reflective epiphany, where I balanced precariously between the future and the past, was very profound for me, as it was a complex moment of beauty, fear, sadness, and joy. It is precisely the essence of this moment that spawned the character of Jean Claude. With his child-like simplicity, he is able to live forever in a space where the past, the present and the future are one and the same. He has not grown up. So despite the incredible amount of loss and solitude that defines his world, he is still able to defy despair by populating his community with wonderful old memories and cling to an unbreakable sense of hope. This quality becomes both an admirable feat of innocence and a sorrowful tragic flaw.

Official CCA Jury Memorable Moments:

Ayden: "When he first came out on stage."

Jade: " The props were made of papier mache. I liked all the bright and colourful lights, there were some lanterns that were like stars. I liked the ground because it was made of shredded paper."

Cali: "When his parents died, when he had a party, when his grand parents died, when he made a zoo out of paper, when he was dancing with family and friends."

Giovanni: "I liked the songs. The lights were cool. It looked like a farm. The character had a cool accent and I liked the comedy."