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 the “Marry a Star Festival”, taking place September 19 to October 21, 2024, in Barrie. The Marry a Star Festival (MASF) will feature 62 overlapping experiential/participatory events on the theme of Marriage. This is also intended to be an annual “special theme” festival. In future years, however, the themes will change (e.g. "Childhood" in 2025) to entice repeat annual visits. All events will be participatory, in which each patron will actively play a character in the story, through interactions with actors and each other. Specific programming will include:

(1) various pretend-weddings of existing real couples (20 in total), with Andrea Martin and Nia Vardalos (stars of My Big Fat Greek Wedding) attending as wedding guests. The strategy is that a wedding, even if a pretend one, will be attended by many of personal guests of each couple (50 on average) - therefore it will drastically increase the audience through this personal connection, let alone the popularity of stars featured;

(2) A longer, 8-hour long engagement based on our viral hit “Something Bubbled, Something Blue”, which was a 20-minute in-person community wedding in which the wedding party wore bubbles over their formal attires. Over 1,000 people have signed up for advanced notification for this full in-person version from around the world, thus guaranteeing built- in audience interest;

(3) Blind Date - a very popular experience in which the leading lady improvises a date and a life with a male patron pulled from an audience;

(4) an immersive experience about a same-sex relationship and marriage (details tbc);

(5) 20 other themed experiences (details tbc), both paid gated and non-gated.

MASF will include a combination of paid and free performances, gated and non-gated. The unpaid opportunity has enabled TIFT to rebuild audience levels more quickly, by removing economic barrier and facilitating in a new, younger and a more diverse audience.