THE ARRAY: Supermassive Black Hole
Oct 21-23, 2026 at 7:30 PM | Artist Talkback Post Show Thursday Oct 22, 2025
What Lab – 1814 Pandora St, Vancouver
4 Companies, 3 Nights, One Theme
UpInTheAir Theatre in association with What Lab present THE ARRAY: Supermassive Black Hole. Three nights only from Wednesday October 21st to Friday October 23rd, The Array is the thrilling fusion between sci-fi and experimental performances. Four brand new creations will be performed by danielle Mackenzie Long and Shion Skye Carter, Jarin Schexnider, Plastik Theatriks, and UpInTheAir and staged at What Lab on 1814 Pandora Street in Vancouver.
Now in its sixth instalment, The Array continues to draw inspiration from recent discoveries in science. This year’s theme: the discovery of a single, supermassive black hole that puts into question the history of the universe as we thought we knew it. “This new black hole, which is as heavy as 50 million suns…clashes with the old, provisional account of the galaxy formation process, which did not start with black holes. Black holes were thought to have come along only after a galaxy’s stars gravitationally collapsed into black holes that then merged and grew. But Maiolino and his colleagues described a solitary leviathan with no parent galaxy in sight.” The Array will showcase 4 unique responses to that shared theme.
The Array will be held in an intimate setting at What Lab 1814 Pandora Street, Vancouver. Tickets are limited. Book Now.
What is The Array?
In astrophysics, an array is a group of satellites and telescopes that can be trained on a single phenomena to provide a more detailed, nuanced, and multi-dimensional understanding of the subject than could be gained by a single instrument. The Array proposes artists as telescopes.
2026 COMMISSIONED ARTISTS
Featuring performances created by danielle Mackenzie Long and Shion Skye Carter; Jarin Schexnider; Regina Ríos and Loreto Andrea (Plastik Theatriks); and Jesse Del Fierro, Jessica Hood, David Mott, and Sarah Roa (Upintheair Theatre).

danielle Mackenzie Long
danielle Mackenzie Long uses performance, new media and film to create work that surpasses gendered bodies through visual experimentation and expanded audience access. They hold gratitude to the stewards of the land that they currently reside on; the stolen and unceded territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh, and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm nations. Shifting between performing, producing and computational creation they have worked with Action at a Distance/Vanessa Goodman, Shion Skye Carter, Jasmine Liaw, self checkout, FORM, Notebook, Plastic Orchid Factory and shared works through InterAccess, New Works, Boombox and TO Love-In among others.

Shion Skye Carter
Shion Skye Carter (they/she) is a dance artist from Gifu, Japan, based in Vancouver, Canada on the unceded, traditional lands of the Coast Salish peoples. Through a choreographic practice embodying calligraphy and a distinct movement language of sensitive intensity, their works take form as abstracted storytelling and archive: contemplations on memory as heirloom, dance as respite, and performance as imperfect artifact. Shion’s projects have been performed across Canada, as well as in Berlin, and Paris.

Jarin Schexnider
Jarin Schexnider is an arts administrator and performer who has built spaces of creative expression for fellow artists, explorers, and tinkerers since 2009. Currently, they do this work through What Lab, which Jarin founded in 2018. When they can, they create and perform site-specific, participatory, chaos-adjacent performance work.
Originally from the coastal swamps of south Louisiana, Jarin now calls the Coast Salish territory known as Vancouver home. They hold a Masters of Archival Science from UBC, and completed their undergraduate studies in Drama at Bennington College in Vermont. They call themselves a mom, a mover, a poet, a quilter, a bike-rider, and so much more.

Plastik Theatriks
Plastik Theatriks is a Canadian-based theatre company led by immigrants Regina Ríos and Loreto Andrea. With absurdism, whimsy and eeriness as their spearheads, they create by experimenting with different forms of Physical Theatre, such as puppetry, objects, clown, and mask, focusing on visual storytelling, and moving images emancipated from traditional text. Their show Popurrí has been performed at Victoria Fringe, rEvolver and Vancouver Fringe. Regis and Lore are thrilled to be part of The Array!
Upintheair Theatre

Jesse Del Fierro – Devisor/Performer
Jesse Del Fierro is a second-generation, non-binary, Filipinx – Canadian actor, dramaturg and prop builder with the privilege to work on the stolen, ancestral lands of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations. Their work centres community, culture and immersive storytelling with a love for collaboration on and off screens and stages. Their theatre work has brought them across Turtle Island, performing in festivals like PuSh International Performing Arts Festival and SummerWorks. Intersectionality is our reality, and we will always be stronger together. Free Palestine.

Jessica Hood – Devisor/Designer
Jessica Hood (she/they) is a queer, disabled theatre and animation artist and white settler based on the unceded, ancestral lands of the Qayqayt First Nation, and the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples, colonially known as New Westminster and Vancouver, BC. Jessica holds a BFA in Theatre Performance from Simon Fraser University and a diploma in 2D Character Animation from VanArts. They are the co-founder and co-artistic producer of unladylike co., an interdisciplinary multimedia production company that creates new femme-focused works in a feminist, collaborative, and inclusive process.

Dave Mott – Director/Devisor
Dave is a BFA graduate of University of Victoria , founding member of Upintheair Theatre, an actor, director, performance deviser, playwright and creator. He was born on the unceded and ancestral territory of the Coast Salish People, in the city known as North Vancouver, and is committed to betterment of these lands through generosity, sharing and respect for others. He holds a non-hierarchical world view, values inclusion, loves nature, and reveres Indigenous culture, ceremony, and storytelling. Committed to the creation of new plays and performance, supporting and presenting artists at transitional points of their careers, community building, and training the next generation of theatre makers, Dave’s true passions are exhibited best when he is mentoring artists, presenting their work, and visiting other Canadian cities to view works in development.

Sarah Roa – Devisor/Performer
Sarah is a Filipino Canadian; an Actor, Creator, Producer, Teaching Artist and Arts Administrator. She holds an Acting Diploma from Douglas College and a BFA in Acting from UBC. Selected performance credits include: Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Bard), Mary’s Wedding (The Firehall Arts Centre), In Wonderland (Alberta Theatre Projects), Turn of the Screw (Aenigma Theatre), Robinson Crusoe + Friday (Axis Theatre), The Drowning Girls (Theatre North West), and Pride & Prejudice (Arts Club). Sarah is invested in enriching her skills and passions by continuously learning, adapting and being inspired by her community. As a BIPOC Artist, Sarah is committed to uplift new and emerging artists by creating a space where they feel valued and honored.
UPINTHEAIR THEATRE
Co-founded by Daniel Martin and David Mott in 1999, Upintheair Theatre has focused on producing original and provocative theatre in Vancouver. Recent productions include Dead Drone (2025), The Array: An Exquisitely Sensitive Machine (2023), 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 13 years, the company has presented rEvolver Festival each spring, showcasing contemporary performance work by emerging and early mid-career artists.






*** If the cost of tickets presents a financial barrier, we are happy to provide you with a free ticket. Please email us at [email protected] to book.
