For the inaugural Rocky Mountain Series masterclass, Calgary’s Swallow-a-Bicycle Theatre requested Darren O’Donnell of Mammalian Diving Reflex. Compelling Telling: Imaginative Interventions in Public Space took place December 4-6, 2015.
Based in Toronto, Mammalian Diving Reflex has been conducting culturally exploratory work since 1993. The artists of Mammalian are committed to the creation of “social acupuncture” —playful, provocative, site-specific, and social-specific participatory performances with non-actors of all ages and demographics, designed to bring people together in new and unusual ways.
This master class focused on the basics of Mammalian’s “social acupuncture” method to create innovative ways for artists to engage and interact with the public. Through discussions, case studies, exercises, and designing and testing out performance interventions in the Banff community, participants gained tools and ideas for developing an artistic practice that is socially-minded, playful, and engages members of their own communities.
