Dissonant Species
2024-2025 Cycle
Theatre Gargantua's New cycle of work Dissonant Species Premieres Fall 2025 at Factory Theatre Main Stage!
How do we find Harmony in the Dissonance around us?
Every day each of us share the planet, the sidewalk, sometimes our dinner tables with people who live differently and believe fundamentally different things than us. Conflict is inevitable. Can we find harmony in this dissonance around us? Through Theatre Gargantua’s unique and dynamic blend of storytelling, live music, and physical theatre, Dissonant Species delves into the symphony of human discord that surrounds us.
Written by Heather Marie Annis and Michael Gordon Spence
Directed by Jacquie P.A. Thomas
Ensemble: Heather Marie Annis, Nicholas Eddie, Malia Rogers, Michael Gordon Spence, HannaH Sunley-Paisley
Set Design: Michael Gordon Spence
Lighting and Projection Design: Laird Macdonald
Sound Design: Christopher-Elizabeth and Richard Lam
Costume Design: Jackie Chau
Stage Manager: Andrew Dollar
Location: Factory Theatre 125 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontario M5V 2R2
Tickets: $45 General | $30 Under 30 and Seniors | $25 Arts Worker
PWYC tickets available at the door for Sunday Matinee performances
Buy tickets before September 30 for a 30% early bird discount!
The first instalment of Dissonant Species was presented November 14-17, 2024 at Factory Theatre,
Written by Heather Marie Annis and Michael Gordon Spence
Directed by Jacquie P.A. Thomas
Cast: Heather Marie Annis, Sam Boucher, Malia Rogers, Michael Spence, HannaH Sunley-Paisley
Set Design: Michael Gordon Spence
Lighting and Projection Design: Laird Macdonald
Sound Design: Heidi Chan, Christopher-Elizabeth
Costume Design: Jackie Chau
Stage Manager: Andrew Dollar
What is a first instalment?
Creating new work takes time. Theatre Gargantua develops our Main Cycle of work over a two-year period, slow-brewing it to create a richly layered work. We begin with a concept that is explored through a spring development workshop with all of the artists. The first instalment in the fall of the first year of development is the mid-point of our cycle and the first time that we present the work to a public audience. Not a workshop or a development reading, the first instalment presents the show with full technical elements.
With feedback from our artists and audiences we take the show back into development in its second year where every element of the show gets a second treatment as we pull it apart and rebuild it with a focus on the elements that worked well and a reworking of elements we thought could be improved, sometimes being led in unexpected new directions. All of this work culminates in the premiere of the show in the fall of the second year and the completion of that Cycle of Work.
The end result is a stronger work that reflects the complexities of the topics we engage with and the input of all of the artists and audience members who have participated in the development process.d
