All of us at Mixed Company Theatre have spent the last few months exploring how we can take our beloved Forum Theatre to you online. And after some very successful pilot presentations on Zoom - we are proud to present our next online production - TO WORK OR NOT TO WORK!

As restrictions lift, will we still be allowed to keep working from home? Does the system ask us to choose between our careers and our family's health? How can we support each other when we're asked to return to the office?

TO WORK OR NOT TO WORK is an interactive theatre presentation that seeks answers to these questions. It is written by renowned Forum Theatre artist Luciano Iogna, and directed by our very own Simon Malbogat. Our talented cast includes Malia Rogers, Madeleine Brown, Gabriel Hudson and Tony Babcock!

PLAY SYNOPSIS

Andrea's daughter has just been diagnosed with an autoimmune condition while Andrea and her co-workers, Caleb and Dahlia from the ad agency, have been forced to work from home during the COVID-19 lockdown. As the pandemic subsides and government sanctions on physical isolation loosen, Brian (owner and boss at the ad agency) prepares the workplace for everyone to come back to the office before the company folds due to lost work from the pandemic. Brian claims the workplace will be sterilized and working conditions will as demanded by Public Health guidelines.

Can Andrea trust that everyone at work will follow the protocols so that she won't bring a disease back to her vulnerable daughter?

Will co-workers Caleb and Dahlia support Andrea's desires to keep working from home for the meantime?

WIll Brian force Andrea to choose between her rising career and her daughter's health?

What could you do if you were Andrea?

WHEN: July 23, 2020, 7:30 PM ET

WHERE: Online via Zoom. Register Now to receive the Zoom link.

ABOUT OUR STYLE OF INTERACTIVE THEATRE:

You will experience an adapted format of Forum Theatre that is rooted in anti-oppression work as is interactive. This style of theatre compels audience members to develop real-time strategies for dealing with social and personal issues.

In a Mixed Company presentation, a story representing an issue is created, rehearsed and performed (the first act). The story is then presented again—only this second time, audience members can intervene in the story, as “spect-actors,” to create a positive alternative ending. A trained Forum Theatre facilitator (the Joker) prepares and encourages participants to replace the actors on stage and to change the story in a constructive way. This social justice-based theatre approach sparks community dialogue and enables grassroots advocacy.