Primetime Festival Review: Project-a-Sketch

Projectors, and puppets, and portals, oh my! Mind of a Snail Puppet Co are nailing the DIY vibe, interactive, virtual theatre. (Which shouldn’t be surprising, they’ve been creating since the early 2000s!)

Blessedly, the online platform gather.town was only used as a gateway to the Mind of a Snail magical living room portal via their Twitch channel. Did I say that right? Twitch is not a platform I use,  but even for a technophobe like me, it was easy to navigate. 

With an overhead projector, a few cameras, and simple puppets Chloe Ziner and Jessica Gabriel transform their living room into a multidimensional space, a forge where a shark-man (in the show I saw at least) goes on a wild space adventure into a void. The show is interactive, so puppets may vary, but no matter which puppet goes adventuring, it will be fun.

Speaking of the interactive nature of this show, the duo has the audience participation down. Encouraging audience members to make sounds from a bank (a thing on Twitch?) and write in the chat, the story is directed in part by everyone who chooses to participate. But no worries, there is no obligation, no one will coerce any kinds of participation. Hanging back and just watching worked just fine for me. 

The show is bit puppetry, a bit clowning, a lot of improvised and experimental visuals, with a bit of guitar for a score. Mind of a Snail have turned their virtual space into something that feels surprisingly tangible for staring at a computer screen.

Project-a-Sketch is on now as part of the Toronto Fringe’s Primetime Festival.
The remaining performances are November 11, 14, 20 and 24, 2021.
Tickets available here