on now: Production
Upintheair Theatre presents
dead drone apr 11-19, 2025
Artificial Intelligence is a Hivemind
surveillance. love. honeybees
“If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then we would only have four years of life left.“
Albert Einstein
DEAD DRONE a New Dark Comedy
Written by David Mott
Directed by Tamara McCarthy
APRIL 11 – 19, 2025
THE RUSSIAN HALL – 600 Campbell Ave, Vancouver, BC V6A 3K1
A NEW WORK OF SPECULATIVE FICTION PRODUCED BY UPINTHEAIR THEATRE
Cloud sickness engulfs the planet as the world burns.
In the near future, environmental collapse causes wildfires to rage across the planet, poisoning the air and killing off the vital species that pollinate the earth. In a desperate attempt to remedy the collapse, humankind’s Citizens breed a subrace of bee-humans to save the earth. Forced indoors by The Cloud surrounding each city-centre across the globe the Citizens must stay in their designated zones scrolling their feeds, seeking freedom from the toxic world.
A flicker of hope grows when a freak bolt of lightning fries the motherboard of an aerial spy drone, causing it to fall into the hands of those who need it most. As the Gods look on, worker bees struggle to connect and the next wave of superstars ascend.
DEAD DRONE is a speculative view of how love is the most viral force on earth when fueled by advanced technology, social influencers, and substance abuse. The peoples of the earth work from home, get high, and scroll their feeds, seeking freedom and safety from the toxic cloud. The play allegorically dissects the role of patriarchal systems of government, hierarchy and society that prevent us from authentically loving each other while turning us into consumers of social media content and addictive substances.
STARRING
Evelyn Chew* as Jenny
Darcey Johnson* as The Mountaineer
Chloe Payne as Wipple
Paulo Ribeiro* as Sam
Sarah Roa* as Nim
*Appears courtesy of Canadian Actors Equity Association
ARTISTIC & PRODUCTION LEADS
*Tamara McCarthy: Director & Dramaturg
Sherine Menes: Assistant Director & Assistant Stage Manager
Dave Mott: Playwright
Nico Dicecco: Stage Manager & Production Manager
Randi Edmundson: Puppetry Design
Alexandra Caprara: Lighting & Video Systems Designer
David Roberts: Scenography Designer
Florence May Barrett: Costume Designer
MJ Coomber: Sound Designer
Christian Ching: Props Designer
Jessica Hood: Animator
Chantal Short: Workshop Dramaturgical Costume Designer
Gavin Cameron: Workshop Stop Motion Designer
Stephanie Elgersma: Workshop Puppetry Builder & Design Assistant
*Appears courtesy of Canadian Actors Equity Association
UPINTHEAIR STAFF
Dave Mott: Managing Artistic Director
Production TD: Brianna Bernard
Workshop TD: Ash Shotton
Jessica Hood: Creative Producer
Nikoo Nikpeikaran: Marketing & Event Producer
Sarah Roa: rEvolver Festival Curator
Kelsi James: rEvolver Resident Curator
CONTENT WARNING: Adult Content
- Discussion about mental illness, substance abuse and death.
- Consumption of drugs and alcohol.
- Some physical intimacy.
- Loud noises.
- Use of Haze.
- Flashing Lights.
- For more details, here is the visual story for Dead Drone. A visual story helps people prepare for the experience or decide if the show is right for them.
Show Dates & Times
- April 9 & 10, 2025 By Donation Preview @ 7:30pm
- April 11, 2025 Opening Night @ 7:30pm [Join us for our opening reception]
- April 12, 2025 Expert Talkback @ 3:00pm [Misinformation & Pollinators in the Digital Age with Elizabeth Elle]
- April 12 – 19, 2025 @ 7:30pm
- April 15, 2025 @ 7:30pm[Talkback with the Cast of DEAD DRONE]
- April 19, 2025 Expert Talkback @ 3:00pm [Misinformation & Pollinators in the Digital Age with Elizabeth Elle]
EXPERT TALKBACK
Misinformation & Pollinators in the Digital Age.
An opportunity to chat with Artistic Director Dave Mott about the popular conceits held by our society focusing on the popularized roles of domesticated honey bees in our ecosystem, the disinformation present on the internet shared colloquially amongst friends and colleagues about this species, and interesting facts about very cool pollinators. In the world proposed by Dead Drone, what has the earth lost, what do we actually know about bees, and how do we learn more? Dave will be joined by local bee expert, Elizabeth Elle, for this conversation.
Elizabeth Elle is a Professor of Biological Sciences at Simon Fraser University. A conservation ecologist, Elizabeth’s research focusses on drivers of biodiversity loss in BC pollinators, what society can do to prevent pollinator extinction, and bee contributions to crop pollination.
UPINTHEAIR THEATRE
Co-founded by Daniel Martin and David Mott in 1999, Upintheair Theatre has focused on producing original and provocative theatre in Vancouver. Under the leadership of Artistic Director David Mott, recent productions include The Array: An Exquisitely Sensitive Machine (2023), The Array: Beyond The Knowledge of Humankind (2022), Revelations (2021), The Array: The Shape of The Galaxy (2019), A Brief History of Human Extinction (2018), The City and The City (2017) co-produced with The Only Animal at PuSh Festival. For the past 12 years, the company has presented rEvolver Festival each spring, showcasing contemporary performance work by emerging and early mid-career artists.
Thanks to Campbell’s Gold for their support providing honey for our concession and fundraiser
Thanks to Campbell’s Gold for their support providing honey for our concession and fundraiser.
Please buy some honey at the show!
