Event Details

Talk Is Free Theatre is based in Barrie, Ontario. The company was founded in 2002 by Artistic Producer Arkady Spivak and since then has produced sixty productions. Our mission is to produce and to develop a wide range of ensemble-based programming, concentrating largely on new writing, rediscoveries of neglected work from the past and drastic re-examinations of classical repertoire.

This application is for “Public Activator”, taking place September 1 to October 31, 2022, in several non-traditional spaces in and around Barrie. Public Activator, conceived to re-galvanize in-person attendance, will consist of two ‘mini-festivals’, both offering free experiential programming:

(1) "Giants in the Sky” (two weekends in September, tbd): Music and spoken word pieces performed from the rooftops and/or balconies of businesses in downtown Barrie. Performances will be between 30 and 60 minutes in length, and there will be 24 in total over two weekends of programming. Some examples include: (i) "Confessions of Motherhood", written and performed by Jennifer Stewart; (ii) "Untitled", written and performed by Amelia Sargisson; and (iii) "Having Hope: A Hand Drum Song Cycle", created and performed by Nicole Joy-Fraser; and

(2) “Talk Is Fear Festival” (October 14 to 31): multi-disciplinary mystery/thriller/horror themed programming, inspired by and leading up to Halloween, including: (i) “The Mystery Happenchance” an immersive outdoor theatrical experience at Springwater Park; (ii) “Dinner in the Dark”: restaurant patrons experience a meal while deprived of their ability to see; a project developed, curated and performed by actors who are legally blind; (ii) interactive haunted walks around Kempenfelt Bay and St. Mary’s Cemetery, narrated by popular artists, with "accidental encounters" on each audience journey; (iii) interactive make-up lesson by Gerry Altenberg, Head of Make-up at the Stratford Festival; and (iv) “I Am Dracula”, a video project whereby interested participants can be dressed and made up as Dracula and create a monologue to then be edited into a video album and disseminated on social media (also functioning as a promotion for the subsequent renditions of the Fear Festival).