Theatre Centre Opens Live Arts Hub, Will Stage Premiere of SEA SICK

The Theatre Centre has announced the grand opening of their live arts hub and incubator with the world premiere of Sea Sick by Alanna Mitchell. Adapted from Mitchell's award-winning book of the same name, Sea Sick is a deeply personal solo performance that reveals how the global ocean is changing and why it matters. Directed by The Theatre Centre's artistic and general director Franco Boni with artistic director-in-residence Ravi Jain and performed by Mitchell, Sea Sick will be the first production in the company's newly renovated home at 1115 Queen St. West, on stage from Mar. 19 to 23.

The Theatre Centre moves into the historic Carnegie Library after a $6.2 million capital campaign to revitalize the space. The organization has preserved the tradition of the building as a space dedicated to public use with a renovation of 11,797 sq. ft. that includes a main performance hall, a lobby café, a rehearsal hall, gallery space, greenroom, green-roofed terrace and office space.

An official grand opening will take place on Mar. 19 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. It begins with opening ceremonies and acknowledgements at 11 a.m., followed by a community open house starting at noon. The open house will include performances of Anticipation written and performed by Dene-Inuvialuit artist Reneltta Arluk and developed with directorial support from Terrance Houle. Anticipation examines the impacts of climate change on Northern peoples and explores the artist's personal cultural identity - in the context of witnessing a whale hunt off the Arctic coast. The Theatre Centre's grand opening will culminate with the opening night performance of Sea Sick at 8 p.m.

"When I was invited to attend Cape Farewell's Carbon 14 Workshop in 2011, I was entirely unprepared for the impact it would have on my life and work," said Boni. "One of the most profound moments that weekend was listening to a talk by science journalist Alanna Mitchell, whose words hit me like a thunderbolt. So now, after a 12-year hiatus from directing, I am thrilled, not only to be working with her on Sea Sick, but that it's also the production welcoming us into our new home."

Mitchell is an award-winning Canadian journalist and author (New York Times, CBC's Quirks & Quarks, Globe and Mail, and more) who writes about science and social trends specializing in investigative reporting. She's written three books about science, and her most recent book, Sea Sick: The Global Ocean in Crisis, is an international bestseller that won the prestigious US-based Grantham Prize for excellence in environmental journalism.

Sea Sick was the first book to examine the current state of the world's ocean and how humans are altering everything about it. In this powerful adaptation for stage, Mitchell recounts her journey to the abyss and how she stumbled upon the biggest story of her career; bigger than she ever imagined.

"Creating this play has been the most terrifying thing I've done in my entire life, including going to the bottom of the ocean," said Mitchell. "Working with Franco and Ravi has been an intensive piece of psychotherapy and they've helped me dig even deeper than I did in my books, giving me the strength to tell my story -- and the story of the planet."

Sea Sick is approximately 70 minutes long, without an intermission. Tickets from $25 to $30 are available online at ticketwise.ca or by phone at 416-538-0988. For more information visit theatrecentre.org.

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