It’s a dance party. It’s a theatre show. It’s a rave opera for desperate times.

Me Time is one of Toronto’s favourite underground DJs, known for her inclusive events and infectious energy on the decks. While DJs typically mix and blend tracks, this time she’s teamed up with Outside the March to remix live performance styles, bringing interactive theatre to the dancefloor to tell the story of a futuristic wellness startup and a founder forced to face the music.

The result is an immersive mashup like no other. 

R.A.V.E. is parody meets autobiography; Black Panther meets Severance; Oprah meets Daft Punk. No rave experience required.

* * *

Coming this June for just six performances, R.A.V.E. blends fact and fiction, imagining DJ Me Time’s alter ego, The Founder, as an Elizabeth Holmes-style character, and the performance itself as the product launch of a new “R.A.V.E.” (Real Audio Visual Experience) technology.

Staged on a dancefloor in a cleared-out cubicle farm at Downsview Airport Lands, audiences are invited to dance for the entire performance as Me Time performs one of her signature sets. Through storytelling and a cast of four dancer-performers, the audience becomes part of the drama.

“The experience is woven together with an evocative dance music soundtrack, blending original compositions with historically relevant samples from Black pioneers, building on my work as a DJ, vibe selecta and beat archivist,” says Me Time. “Drawing from seven years of creating dance music events that provide safer spaces for marginalized communities and promote underrepresented artists, R.A.V.E. emphasizes that shared values enable transformative communal experiences.”

The project is supported by some of Canada’s leading designers and immersive artists. It is co-directed by Me Time and co-devised and co-directed by !Kona, a leading artist, writer and activist in Vancouver’s Black, queer and artistic communities. It is supported by contemporary dance artist, choreographer and educator Andrea Nann and Dreamwalker Dance Company, whose embodied community practice has been key to creating the piece’s participatory and choreographic elements. Creative development has been supported by Outside the March Creative Producer Griffin McInnes and Artistic Director Mitchell Cushman, whose collaboration has underpinned many of OtM’s most genre-bending immersive experiences, including the telephone-based The Ministry of Mundane Mysteries (2020-2023) and the escape room-inspired The Tape Escape (2019).

Thanks to its designers, the project’s design fuses dance parties and Silicon Valley-style tech startups in a former real-life office and industrial space. Set and environmental design is led by Leigh van Maaren, whose colourful and eclectic work has underpinned a slew of Toronto’s most exciting pop-ups, installations, raves and immersive experiences. Amine Bouzaher is the project’s Sound Designer and Composer, whose award-winning designs and electronic music have been performed all over the world across live and recorded media. Lights are designed by long-time OtM collaborator and one of Canada’s leading immersive designers Nick Blais. And costumes are designed by Diséiye, whose impressive work spans the worlds of fashion, performance and music videos.

Joining Me Time on stage are “Modelling Citizens” (in R.A.V.E.’s pseudo-tech-speak), or four multi-talented performers and dancers: Chenise Mitchell, Ashley Perez, Wellesley Robertson III and Raoul Wilke.

ABOUT ME TIME:

Me Time, also known as Sarah Barrable-Tishauer, is an artist, event producer and community advocate who engages dance music as a catalyst for social change. She’s known in part for her performer roles on stage and screen, including as Nala in the original Toronto production of the Julie Taymor-directed The Lion King, and as Liberty in the Canadian megahit television series Degrassi: The Next Generation.

She’s now cultivated a dedicated following as one of Toronto’s favourite underground DJs, with festival debuts at Tomorrowland Belgium, Hyperborea and Harvest Festival. She’s known for her genre-mashing and perfectly-time dancefloor stormers, particularly with her monthly dance parties EveryBody and Bass Witch.

Me Time is a champion of safer spaces that celebrate sobriety and moderation, promote diverse underrepresented artists and hold intentional space for all bodies to move freely.

“Returning to the stage after over a decade, I'll assume the role of 'The Founder,' whose narrative arc explores the systemic challenges of my personal self-actualization journey; guiding audience discoveries and making the personal, universal. Ultimately, R.A.V.E. blends imaginative play, immersive theatre, reflective technology, and dancefloors to promote self-discovery, nurture connections and drive social change.”

COLLABORATION WITH OUTSIDE THE MARCH:

Four years ago Me Time connected with Outside the March through the company’s TD Forward March Commissioning Program. Her aim was to expand her practice creating safer spaces on the dancefloor by more deeply implicating her audiences in the experience itself; immersive theatre felt like a natural next step. Since then, the collaborators have been building and “beta-testing” the project, including with Portal, a buzzy, one-on-one dance experience at the 2021 SummerWorks Festival.

“Anyone working in live events these days will tell you that our industry is in transition,” says OtM Creative Producer and R.A.V.E.dramaturg Griffin McInnes. “Audience habits have changed since the pandemic, and with people’s household budgets stretched, the bar to convince anyone to attend a live event is higher than ever. At OtM we believe that the future of live performance is in leaning into our artform’s strengths of liveness and immediacy. We often call our performances ‘experiences.’ That’s not just branding. We really believe that performance is at its most thrilling when it is epic, intimate and deeply-felt. Me Time absolutely shares that instinct.”

R.A.V.E. marks the second of OtM’s two 2024 Spring Season productions, titled “The Founders Season,” featuring complicated corporate founders. The first, A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney recently closed at Soulpepper with “rave” critical and audience reception.

DOWNSVIEW AIRPORT LANDS’ FIRST EVER PERFORMANCE:

The project marks an exciting milestone as the first ever performance at Downsview Airport Lands, thanks to a partnership with Northcrest Development. Formerly the home of Downsview Airport, it houses runways, hangers, offices and more. It’s now being operated by Northcrest as an exciting arts and culture venue, and will ultimately be one of the largest urban development projects in Canadian history. R.A.V.E. will be performed in one of the venue’s former office spaces operated by Bombardier Aerospace.

“Raves have a long history of transforming unlikely industrial spaces into sites of imagination, wonder and fun. The best raves are created in opposition to the commercialized clubs of the downtown core. They aim to create utopian spaces in found venues based on shared values of harm reduction, consent, and safety. There’s a sense of adventure and democratization to discovering a new, repurposed venue, where the event organizers and participants are together responsible for sharing space together. R.A.V.E. is no different.”

AT LUMINATO FESTIVAL TORONTO:

The project is presented in association with Luminato Festival Toronto, and runs during the festival from June 9 - 16. R.A.V.E. is part of Luminato’s In Association Access Program, supporting physical accessibility on the production, a comprehensive venue guide and more. More details at luminatofestival.com.

DANCING:

R.A.V.E. is a playful interactive and participatory experience on the dancefloor where dancing is encouraged. Audiences are invited to fully participate at their own pace, physical ability and comfort level. Don’t worry: you won’t be put on the spot or in the spotlight. A curious, open mind is all you need!

The project welcomes those using mobility devices and who can’t stand for long periods of time. Dancefloor seating is provided so that you can be part of the action.

No matter your definition of dance, you’re in good hands at The R.A.V.E. Institute.

R.A.V.E.

Previews:

June 9, 2024 – 8PM

June 12, 2024 – 8PM

Regular Performances:

June 13 – 16, 2024 – 8PM

Location:

Downsview Airport Lands

123 Garratt Blvd

Near Wilson Subway Station – parking available

Detailed travel instructions at outsidethemarch.ca/how-to-get-to-rave

Approximate runtime:

135 minutes

R.A.V.E. includes flashing lights and may include haze/fog. It is appropriate for ages 16+.

TICKETS:

TICKETING PAGE: outsidethemarch.ca/the-experiences/rave

Previews (June 9 & 12)

Solidarity ($20)

Subsidized ($35)

Discounted ($50)

Full Priced Ticket ($100)

Regular Performances (June 13 - 16)

Solidarity ($25)

Subsidized ($40)

Discounted ($55)

Full Priced Ticket ($100)

Pay-it-Forward Program:

Outside the March has limited tickets available for audience members in financial need. Just email laura@outsidethemarch.ca to request a single ticket, no questions asked. Or donate to the program "caffè sospeso"-style and give a stranger the gift of an evening at the theatre! Details at www.outsidethemarch.ca.