Ellipse Theatre Community (ETC) announces a groundbreaking expansion of its upcoming production of Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire. Partnering with Subliminal Story Art, the theatre experience will transcend the stage, offering audiences a multi-sensory, interactive art exhibition with a specific focus on helping the community navigate and heal from grief.
The accompanying art show will feature five powerful paintings born from a recently completed three-phase Subliminal Art Workshop series. These workshops guided participants through stages of Intention, Reflection, and Transformation, bringing clarity to the often isolating pattern of loss. To broaden the community’s voice, ETC and Subliminal Story Art have also issued an open call for local artists to submit works that explore moving forward and reshaping identity after grief.
“Grief is a topic that we all experience in many facets of life and we wanted to bring an art experience so we can be there for our community around this topic,” says Mark Jamnik, director of Experience at Subliminal Story Art. Jamnik will showcase a piece titled Trust, painted while going through the grieving a part of his life, shared with a story of the steps he took as a tangible way to process the steps needed in their own specific areas of grief.
Throughout the run of the show, attendees will be invited to contribute to a canvas with a prompt inspiring them to contribute their healing journey towards hope on a canvas. The idea is to invite others to share their inspiration so others may see other approaches toward the hope of the journey of healing. This experience invites the community into a conversation, allowing this largely uncommunicated topic to have an expression. This allows them to physically share their own stories and make the decision to contribute to a shared path of healing.
Additionally, the “Tiny Mosaic Project” is another immersive element that allows attendees to create their own healing journey of hope on a small mosaic representing their personal transformation. This was designed for those that want a more contemplative environment and attendees can take a 3×3” canvas home and are asked to drop off their canvas on June13 from 12-3pm at Open Space Studios. Jamnik will then assemble these individual mosaic canvases together into a massive, unified community artwork.
The Collective Canvas that guests will be invited to contribute to along with the collection of the mosaic masterpiece will be unveiled at a live Legacy Reveal Party later this year in September. Tickets for the Legacy Reveal Party will be available during the Rabbit Hole performances and online. The reveal event is part of a continuity program that will provide a dedicated space for attendees to reconnect, discuss the ongoing impact of the play, and reflect on the healing they have experienced over the intervening months. “We invest months getting everything ready for the performances and then it’s over. We felt that doing an experience where we invite the community back allows us to carry on the conversation in our community in a way that really builds on the focus of healing through grief.” said Debbie Levin from ETC.
For tickets to Rabbit Hole, artist submission guidelines and Legacy Reveal Party details, visit etcbend.org/immersive. To learn more about Subliminal Art Experiences, visit markjamnik.com.
