Dream Machine
English Theatre: All
October 17 - 28, 2006
Let the artists speak for themselves
Peter Hinton introduces the 06-07 Season
Peter Hinton on Dream Machine
One Yellow Rabbit Co-Artistic Director, Michael Green on Dream Machine
Learn more with this web feature!
Dream Machine Study Guide
Dream Machine paints a hallucinogenic chronicle of the 1950s/60s Beat movement, including Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs and his Canadian mentor Brion Gysin, in the form of a genre-defying musical. Gysin and other prominent Beats worked tirelessly to build the enigmatic Dream Machine, a device that used flickering light to alter brain waves and plunge the user into a waking dream state, free from the influences of advertising and mass culture. An exploration of their iconoclastic aesthetic and context forms the basis of OYR's unconventional musical inspired by this group of notoriously wild outsiders, whose spiritual and artistic quest changed popular culture forever.
"An oratorio is a musical composition for voices and orchestra on a religious theme without costumes, scenery or dramatic action. Could we create a musical without characters or plot? Could we musically induce in the audience the emotions of these courageous, idiosyncratic and frustrated minds? The Beats embodied a new kind of faith. Their belief in the benefits of multicultural synthesis, sexual tolerance, and resistance to commercial and social conformity continues to permeate contemporary culture. If the Beats are a kind of religion, and an oratorio is a kind of love letter to religious feeling, then Dream Machine is our kind of oratorio to this gang of notoriously wild outsiders who made our world better. Or if not better, then easier, just a little easier to be different." Blake Brooker
A riveting work by the award winning ensemble of artists who are One Yellow Rabbit. I promise you, they’ll knock your socks off. Dream Machine has excited audiences and reviewers across Canada.
What is a Dream Machine?
The Dream Machine a device built to emit patterns of flickering light, was invented by Brion Gysin and Ian Sommerville in 1960. (The copy used in One Yellow Rabbit's production has been built according to Gysin and Sommerville's exact specifications.) Their machine was meant to transport the user into a waking dream state. The inventors knew that it was capable of producing a drugless high, and hoped that it would become a common household appliance. It never caught on.
"I sat on the bed looking at my record player ten minutes before I saw it… " William S. Burroughs Jr.
"YOU are the artist when you approach a Dream Machine." Brion Gysin
"Hypnotic…superbly accomplished… it makes you feel good, like a dream machine should." Robert Cushman, The National Post "****…. Mesmerizing... Powerful... Brooker's writing is arresting…The acting is a superb example of the One Yellow Rabbit troupe’s specialty, a sharply etched physical comedy tinted with authentic feeling." Martin Morrow, The Globe and Mail "... as engagingly inventive as the band of 50's literary misfits who inspired it." Bob Clark, The Calgary Herald
Members of the One Yellow Rabbit Ensemble, Left to right: Denise Clark, David Rhymer, Onalea Gilbertson, David Van Belle, Andy Curtis, Michael Green, Blake Brooker
Photo: Laird Mackintosh
Illustration: Lino
| Artist (s) |
Written and directed by Blake Brooker
Music composed by David Rhymer
Staged by Denise Clarke
Sound producer Richard McDowell
Set design by Chris Cran
Assistant directed by David van Belle
Produced by Stephen Schroeder
Production manager Ian Wilson
Stage managed by Oliver Armstrong
The Maverick Think Tank:
Denise Clarke
Andy Curtis
Onalea Gilbertson
Michael Green
David van Belle
Musicians:
Strings, clarinet and bass Jonathan Lewis
Sequences and sound effects Richard McDowell
Percussion Brent van Dusen
Keyboards David Rhymer
The world premiere of Dream Machine was co-produced by Six Stages in Toronto, February 2003.
The performance is 90 minutes long with no intermission.
|
| House |
Studio |
| Seating Plan |
Non-Reserved Seating |
| Ticket Information |
Single tickets $25 to $35 |
| On Sale Date |
Single Tickets on sale September 5th
|
| Company |
A One Yellow Rabbit (Calgary) production |
| Group Information |
Groups of 10+ receive great discounts! For more information contact grp@nac-cna.ca.
|
| Season |
2006-2007 |
Performance Schedule |
Time(s) |
|
Box Office Information
Box Office Hours
Monday to Saturday: 10:00 to 21:00
Sundays and Holidays:
When a performance is scheduled, the Box Office will open 2 hours prior to curtain until 15 minutes after the curtain time of the last performance.
No service charges. Debit card and major credit cards accepted.
