THE TIMELINE

You are walking down a street, late in the evening. A streetlamp flickers. Under

its light, a series of strange, stylized posters appear on a brick wall: "See the

Future - Follow the Line - Timeline." There is a local telephone number printed

at the bottom. Curious, you take out your phone and dial the number. The line

clicks, connects. On the other end, the recorded voice of an operator answers:

“Welcome, Traveler. We have been expecting your call.”

THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF A JOURNEY IN SOUND sent across telephone wire. The Timeline

guides the audience through an interstitial space between the material dimension of

the city and the emergent worlds of imagination. As the story unfolds, choice and chance affect the outcome of this performance, growing into a participative event that

spans theatre, music, and time.

After first dialling a telephone number, the audience is launched into an electroacoustic

narrative built of broadcast sound and voicemail messages delivered by a mysterious

operator. Over seven movements, they discover a vast electromechanical network extending through more than 50 public spaces on the island of Montréal. By following

the Timeline, the audience is transformed into actors, and the city into their stage.

The Timeline will live as an ever-present performance woven into the fabric of everyday

experience. Calls will be connected in Montréal beginning on September 7, 2021.

The following pages present some of the environmental scenographies the

audience may encounter in their journey through the Timeline.

- - - - - - The time is now. Your call is being connected. Stay on the line. - - - - - -

POSSIBLE SCENOGRAPHY NO. 1 - CHAMP-DE-MARS METRO -

POSSIBLE SCENOGRAPHY NO. 2 - PARC-EXTENSION FIREHALL -

Photo credit DH Nadeau

POSSIBLE SCENOGRAPHY

Photo credit DH Nadeau

POSSIBLE SCENOGRAPHY NO. 3 - PLACE DES ARTS METRO -

POSSIBLE SCENOGRAPHY NO. 4 - MOUNT ROYAL CEMETERY -

POSSIBLE SCENOGRAPHY

Photo credit DH Nadeau

Photo credit DH Nadeau

POSSIBLE SCENOGRAPHY NO. 5 - RUE SAINT LAURENT -

POSSIBLE SCENOGRAPHY NO. 6 - CHINATOWN GATES -

POSSIBLE SCENOGRAPHY

Photo credit DH Nadeau

Photo credit DH Nadeau

POSSIBLE SCENOGRAPHY NO. 7 - CORNER OF SAINT LAURENT BLVD AND ONTARIO ST E -

POSSIBLE SCENOGRAPHY NO. 8 - CORNER OPPOSITE THE MONTRÉAL MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART -

POSSIBLE SCENOGRAPHY

Photo credit DH Nadeau

Photo credit DH Nadeau