In a Western society driven by marked and efficient use of each minute, the change of seasons demonstrates a natural passing of time. Canopy, an immersive show run by Control Group Productions, asks the audience to consider how nature’s cycles are intertwined with our own. The show ran from Oct 7- 9.
Founded in 2008, Control Group Productions is a theater company based in Lakewood. Their work is rooted in what they describe as ‘expeditionary’ performance. Productions typically involve audience travel and take place outside of a traditional theater setting.
Photo courtesy of Natalia Roberts
Following Control Groups’s summer production, THE END, a dystopian look into Denver’s climate future, Canopy takes a gentler tone. Fall offers plenty of joyous activities for Colorado residents. One of the most popular is leaf peeping.
Structured as an enhanced leaf peeping tour, the 70-minute experience celebrates the coming of fall as a moment to pause, sit with the idea of impermanence and consider our relationship with the trees we seek out beyond their beauty.
Caroline Sharkey (she/they), Associate Director of Control Group Productions and creator of Canopy is also the sole actor, who performs as herself.
For each show, the audience is large enough to fit on a renovated, open space school bus, with three stops along Deer Canyon Valley Road. Rather than follow a traditional plot arc, the show takes the audience through a leaf peeping tour with vignettes of performance throughout.
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At the first stop, a curious audience exits along a seemingly random section of the road. We find Sharkey making her way down a rock formation through lyrical choreography. She deftly adapts her movement to the landscape in front of her, telling a brief story of our reliance on land.
Once at ground level with the audience, Sharkey sends everyone back on the bus for more leaf peeping and storytelling.
Photo courtesy of Katie Weisberger
As the audience is set in motion again, Sharkey sits with everyone and asks a simple directive: “I want you to think about your favorite tree,” meaning a particular tree from a specific place in time. Keeping that personal memory in mind, she describes her own favorite tree, first in words, and then through dance.
After another 15 minutes, the bus stops again in front of an Aspen grove. Here, Sharkey shares a piece of Indigenous folklore that explains why Aspen trees flutter at the most gentle breeze, yet still stand strong. Then, she invites everyone to take some time to visit with the Aspen grove.
It is a moment for a group of people whose connection to nature has been severed by modern society to truly spend some time with the trees. Not just in passing on a hiking trail or ski slope, but as a way to coexist. The audience is also encouraged to consider how life and society could be different if we mended that relationship.
While intriguing, the invitation to spend time with Aspen trees still leaves the majority of the audience resistant to step outside of their comfort zone. Some do so with ease, while others take small steps closer to the grove.
Photo courtesy of Katie Weisberger
When everyone’s time in the Aspen grove comes to an end, so does our time with Sharkey, who doesn’t follow the audience back to the meeting point in Littleton. The fifteen minutes back allow everyone to decompress and start to transition back into the rhythm of any other Sunday afternoon.
Canopy featured a beautiful live, original score from Conrad Kehn and Ryan Fiegl of Playground Ensemble, who performed on a moving bus.
For many, the typical expectation for a theatre production is to experience excitement and witness melodrama. Canopy instead focused on creating a lasting sense of calm and serenity, giving the audience the opportunity to relax and reflect. Captivating an audience through such a meditative show is a difficult and remarkable achievement.
Canopy is the latest in a series of Control Group Productions shows focused on issues of climate change and environmental justice.
The company also hosts an Artists Services Program, which features opportunities for the creative and professional development of local artists.
You can find more information about Control Group Productions on their website.