Theatre Preview: Nothing But Sky - A Comic Book Come to Life

Vancouver’s love affair with comic books and nerdism continues with a fascinating new play from The Only Animal.

The Only Animal, best known for its imaginative locales and site-specific work, moves inside of a theatre with its latest creation, Nothing but Sky, premiering February 21–March 2, 2014 at the Faris family studio at the Scotiabank Dance Centre. Despite this more conventional locale, Nothing but Sky falls right in line with the company’s mandate to innovate. The action takes place inside a live drawing to tell the story of Joe Shuster, the Canadian who first drew Superman.

Meet Joe; his best friend, Jerry, the Superman writer; and Joanne, the original model for Lois Lane and the girl they both love.Ride the skyrocket as their creation goes from slushpile to the most popular Superhero of all time. The play becomes a living comic book, where real and drawn characters merge as we discover that our closest friends are equal parts Villain and Hero. But the real danger comes when DC Comics gets a hold of Superman, and your creation might return to destroy you.

With 3-D projection mapping, panelled action sequences, and an animation team that includes Paul Dutton (Academy Award winner for Triplets of Belleville,) Nothing but Sky is a comic book brought to life, where we leap off the cliffs of love… and hope that we can fly.

Nothing but Sky features video design by Keith Murray, Superman character design by Paul Dutton, costume design by Christine Reimer, lighting design by William Hales, and set design by William Hales and Keith Murray. Starring Amitai Marmorstein as Joe, Robert Olguin as Jerry, and Dawn Petten as Joanne, the play was conceived, written and directed by Only Animal Artistic Director Kendra Fanconi.

Nothing But Sky

When: February 21 to March 2, 8 p.m.
Preview performance February 20

Where: Faris Family Studio, Scotiabank Dance Centre – 677 Davie Street, Vancouver

Tickets: Via eventbrite.ca

NOTE: Intended for adults, contains cartoon bondage and other mature content