Performing Material Objects: Reconnecting the “now, then and since”

Abstract

The Cellar Door Project is a theatre company in Kingston dedicated to producing historically authentic, site-specific original plays. Opting out of “pioneer village” style re-enactment and instead turning to slightly romanticized stories based on archival research, we believe that by animating sites that are present but affectively invisible in our daily lives, we inspire a rethinking of our connection to the past. Each show invites audience members to make a pilgrimage to historical local spots (City Hall, City Park, The Royal Tavern, etc.) to watch a semi-fictional re-telling of the stories of the site. Through performance, we hope to strengthen and modify our contemporary connection, create a bridge between that sties’ original historical moment and the multitude of stories that exist between. By inviting people to remember the “now, then, and since” through the material world that has survived, we remind ourselves that we are a part of something bigger, reaching not only into the past but also to an imagined future.
 This presentation will explore the creation process and audience response to two of our productions. Both Stones in the Woods (City Park) and The Eliza Show (The Royal Tavern) animated spaces that were still active in their real world functions at the time of performance, effectively asking our audience to peer into the past with the present still in view.
 Questions to be considered include: Is a strictly educations approach the best way to encourage historical connectedness? Can we ask contemporary audiences to apply the same kind of environmental stewardship to the historical past?
 Works Cited
 Nora, Pierre. "Between Memory and History: Les lieux de mémoire." Representations. 26 (1989): 7-24. Print.