FoLDA: You Should Have Stayed Home — Kingston Theatre Alliance

We join Tommy Taylor as he recounts his journey attending his first ever protest in the “Free Speech Zone” at Queen’s Park before being swept up in a mass arrest and detained at the Eastern Avenue Detention Centre.

Originally a stage play that toured Canada in 2012, You Should Have Stayed Home now occurs in virtual reality and is presented in three modes:

• In-person audiences at The Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts can watch Tommy Taylor perform in-person, while the action unfolds in VR on screen;
• 10 audience members can join the performance in VR using an internet-connected VR headset (Quest, Vive, etc.); and
• On Friday June 10, a livestream will combine in-person and VR footage to be experienced remotely on-screen.

Directed by Michael Wheeler and performed by actor and playwright Tommy Taylor, the play presents a virtual adaptation of Tommy’s original Facebook note, How I Got Arrested and Abused at the G20 in Toronto, which has been translated into seven languages and appeared in twenty-one countries. Today, Tommy’s story takes on urgent new meaning in the context of the ever-rising tensions and public dialogue on police violence, protest, and institutional reform.

Tickets are pay-what-you-choose
$15/ $25 / $50

Venue
In VR (online) and in-person viewing at the Film & Media Lab in the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts
Livestream on Friday June 10th

ASL Interpreted. Captions available.

Credits
Tommy Taylor – Playwright and Performer
Michael Wheeler – Director
Laura Levin – Dramaturg
Jayna Mees – Assistant Dramaturg and Research Assistant
Justine Katarenchuk – Stage and Production Manager
Beth Kates – VR Theatre Consultant / Virtual Lighting Designer
David Mesiha – Virtual Sound Designer
Seyed Tabatabaei – Lead VR Developer
Anthony Aloisio – UDON Developer
Rea Goldson – Avatar Designer
Flora Diep – Student Developer
Michaelah Wales – Student Developer
Zarrin Tasnim – Student Developer

Content Warnings
You Should Have Stayed Home contains:

-Images of police brutality and physical violence
-Descriptions of physical and emotional abuse
-Homophobic remarks
-Sexist remarks
-References to ableist remarks
-References to racial profiling
-Temporary use of colourful flashing lights
-Temporary exposure to confined spaces
-Possibility of experiencing VR motion sickness

Acknowledgements
Tommy Taylor acknowledges support from the Ontario Arts Council Recommender Grant for Theatre Creators by way of Volcano Theatre