Secret Ingredients is a theatre project created by Keely O’Brien that uses cake to explore the intricacies of human relationships. Leading up to the performance, the public is invited to consider messages that they find too difficult to express directly to someone in their life, and submit them via an online form. These messages are translated into beautiful, subversive, and delicious cakes, which are delivered to the intended recipients as an edible form of communication. The project culminates in a live performance and cake tasting, inspired by the cakes and the stories behind them.
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Like overhearing tantalizing gossip at a neighbouring cafe table, Secret Ingredients satisfies a human itch to peek into intimate and relatable details of other people’s lives, while also inviting reflection on our own unspoken feelings. The project pairs sweet flavours with challenging messages: the dark chocolate of embarrassment, the citrus zest of annoyance, the tart cherry jam of grief. Secret Ingredients takes a playful and intentionally inefficient approach to the challenges of honest communication, and provides a window into the quirks, nuances, joy and heartache of real relationships.
RUNTIME
70 Minutes
PRICE
Pay-What-You-Can-Afford
($30/$40/$50)
SEATING
General Admission Banquet Seating
AUDIENCE NOTES
Mention of parent’s life threatening illness, psychiatric hospitalization
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PLEASE NOTE
Cakes are served to the audience as part of the show; eating the cake served is optional. The cakes are vegan, contain gluten and nuts, and may contain trace amounts of dairy and eggs. We will have to-go containers ready if you prefer to remain masked and enjoy your cake later at home.
CAST + CREW
Keely O'Brien
Performer / Creator
Keely O'Brien (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice incorporates handmade objects with innovative theatre creation. Devoted to a thoroughly DIY process, Keely’s work includes experimental performance, imaginative ephemera, and interactive experiences. She often creates collaborative projects with community members who may not consider themselves artists, and invites the public to participate in unusual meaning-making experiences. Keely is Co-Artistic Director of Popcorn Galaxies, a theatre company with a focus on unconventionally structured and audience-activated performance. She holds a BFA in Theatre Performance from Simon Fraser University, and is a self and family-taught visual artist. Keely is Theatre Replacement’s current COLLIDER artist-in-residence, and recipient of Theatre Replacement’s Accelerator Lab Fellowship. She lives in Richmond, BC, on unceded territories of the hÉ™nÌ“qÌ“É™minÌ“É™mÌ“ speaking peoples.
Joël Azevedo
Production/Stage Manager
Joël Azevedo is a dance artist based in Corner Brook, NL. As an independent artist their skill set includes production, stage, and tour management (with an emphasis on logistics coordinating for non-traditional shows and venues). They have been enthusiastically collaborating with Keely since Elk Walk (2014), and are also a frequent collaborator of Keely and June Fukumura's creative project: Popcorn Galaxies.
FESTIVAL FUNDERS
FESTIVAL SUPPORTERS
