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We create and produce a variety of projects:
Mixed Media Experiences
Participants are guided through a theatrical story using multiple mediums.
They can choose their degree of interaction.
Experiences can last between 1-3 hours.
Full Length Works
Theatrical live and interactive performances with a run-time of 30-45 minutes.
Audience sizes vary from 6-40+ depending on the piece.
Short Form Works
Projects are 3-5 minutes each for only 1-3 people at a time.
Workshops
Participant engagement sessions can be booked for 2-3 hours for up to 12-24 individuals.
Installations
We install storytelling objects in spaces that provide self-guided engagement during the venue’s hours.
For Kids
Short Form Works written specifically for the young and young at heart.
For 1-3 people at a time.
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MIXED MEDIA EXPERIENCES
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THE MAILBOX
Original Artwork by Ya Chin Chang
Performances include:
March & May 2021 Post Theatrical - available worldwide
The Mailbox was developed, in part, with the support of The Orchard Project. This event is made possible (in part) by the Queens Council on the Arts with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.The world premiere is being held during Post Theatrical a festival conceived and coordinated by RealTime Interventions.
Tiny Box Theater (NYC) and Ya Chin Chang (Hong Kong) in collaboration with David Lamoureux (NYC) present The Mailbox, an experience that unfolds through theatrical text, original illustrations, audio, video (with closed captioning), text-based puzzles, and branching story interactives. Join the Worldwide Wildlife Investigative Firm (WWIF) with Lynx, Hound, Chameleon, and Raccoon to embark on your first case. When all of the mailboxes in the world disappear overnight, you are tasked with tracking the truth. When you go digging, swimming, and climbing, you may uncover more than one mystery at work...
Tiny Box Theater is proud to partner with Post Theatrical: A National Wave of Plays by Mail to present The Mailbox.
Story: Joy Tomasko, Sarah Murphy & Ya Chin Chang
Original Artwork: Ya Chin Chang
Text: Joy Tomasko with Sarah Murphy
Sound + Score: David Lamoureux
Voice Artists: Jen Anaya, Arsène DeLay, Nico Grelli, David Lamoureux, Sarah Murphy, Victor Santos, and Matthew Leonhart
“The Mailbox is a gorgeous, well-produced, and thoughtful experience that offers a unique opportunity for immersive lovers of all ages to solve a mystery by mail.”
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FULL LENGTH WORKS
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THE HOUSE WE NEVER LIVED IN
Performances include:
2019 Eleventh Street Arts in Queens, NY
This event is made possible (in part) by the Queens Council on the Arts with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
After purchasing a fully furnished house in a small town, the new occupant discovers their new home is not as advertised...
Tiny Box Theater presents: The House We Never Lived In, an interactive performance for just six audience members at a time. The audience will listen to the story on headphones and, when prompted, interact with props and objects of nostalgia including a dollhouse. Depending on both chance and choices, the story will play out differently for each audience member.
The House We Never Live In is approximately 40 minutes in length.
Ages: Adults (16+)
Story: Joy Tomasko
Direction & Visual Design: Sarah Murphy & Joy Tomasko
Sound + Score: David Lamoureux
The Narrator: Sarah Murphy
The Realtor: Jen Anaya
The Mail Carrier: Nico Grelli
The Guide: Justin Steeve
Toy Consultant: Jonathan Alexandratos
Poster Design: Aaron C. Smith
“Each of us embarked on our own unique journey...into a world that is new and strange.”
LOST MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT
Performances include:
2019 So-fi Festival in NYC
An interactive theatrical story that unfolds through card catalogs, doll-house miniatures, a Radioptican Magic Lantern, and an antique windup tin train. A Librarian guides the audience along on a series of six journeys, each of which contains choices for the audience, resulting in more than 128 possible story variants. Lost My Train of Thought explores how we catalog time: is it borrowed, bought, saved, stolen, wasted, or lost?
Lost My Train of Thought is approximately 45 minutes in length.
Ages: Adults (& mature teens)
The Librarian: Sarah Murphy
Voices: Justin Steeve
Engineers: TBD per production
Story: Joy Tomasko
Design: Tiny Box Theater
Train Consultant: Mark Lamparski
Radioptican Consultant: John Eckert
Poster design: Aaron C. Smith
“In a clever mix of object work and group collaboration, Tiny Box Theater’s Lost My Train of Thought leads audiences through the shifting worlds of time and memory...like the act of recollection itself, the show’s experience is as communal as it is personal, a shared effort to give meaning and context to that which we encounter. ”
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SHORT FORM WORKS
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the curiosity shop
Performances include:
2019 Jewelry City Steampunk Festival
2019 Figment NYC on Roosevelt Island
2018 Luna Stage in West Orange, NJ
2018 Figment Toronto in Dufferin Grove Park
2018 Edinburgh Fringe Festival
2018 Figment Boston at The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy
2018 Figment NYC on Governors Island
Inside an antique Victorian cash register till is a house with messages from the future and the past left for you to find. Using an audio recorded story, that participants listen to on headphones, this piece includes paper pop-ups and cut-outs, miniatures, and a few buried objects. Seed Money is an optional follow-up interactive to this story.
Ages: 6 & up
Narrator: Sarah Murphy
Gertie: Elizabeth Klett*
Guide: Justin Steeve
Story: Joy Tomasko
Story Editor: Sarah Murphy
Design: Sarah Murphy, Justin Steeve, Joy Tomasko, Grace Trimble
“Tiny Box Theater is truly unique, and because it’s such an intimate experience, so close up and with tiny
items, you bond with the performer and with the mysterious story that is symbolized by up-close
items in the box. ”
seed money
Performances include:
2019 Jewelry City Steampunk Festival
2019 Figment NYC on Roosevelt Island
2018 Luna Stage in West Orange, NJ
2018 Figment Toronto in Dufferin Grove Park
2018 Edinburgh Fringe Festival
2018 Figment Boston at The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy
2018 Figment NYC on Governors Island
A 1950's Budget Box invites you to make four decisions and offers predictions based on your choices. Using an audio recorded story, that participants listen to on headphones, this piece includes paper cut-outs and an exchange of ideas and currency. A follow-up interactive to The Curiosity Shop.
Ages: 6 & up
Gertie: Elizabeth Klett*
Predictors: Sarah Murphy & Justin Steeve
Predictions by Joy Tomasko with Sarah Murphy and Justin Steeve
Design: Tiny Box Theater with Grace Trimble
*Elizabeth Klett is a guest artist. She's an accomplished Audiobook Narrator and Voice Artist. Visit her website to hear more of her work.
“Merchu Curutchet-Ziv brought her two sons, Unai and Gael. They enjoyed many of the installations, and singled out for particular praise the Tiny Box Theater, in which the participant determines the outcome of the story. ”
The PLACE OF MANY HILLS
Performances include:
2017 Figment NYC on Governors Island
Inside a repurposed tackle box an explorer shares his perspective on how to pack for a journey when you don't know the destination. Using an audio recorded story, that the participant listens to on headphones, this piece includes a concertina fold, origami animals, archival postcards, toy theater, and a scrolling map.
Ages: 6 & up
The Explorer: Justin Steeve
Story: Joy Tomasko
Design: Tiny Box Theater
The salty people oyster bar
Performances include:
2017 Figment NYC on Governors Island
Inside a submarine battery box a history of oysters in NYC as told from the point of view of a comb jelly. Using an audio recorded story, that the participants listen to on headphones, this piece features a pictorial menu of local NY oysters, archival imagery, toy theater, and miniature bioluminescent creatures.
Ages: 6 & up
Comb Jelly: Sarah Murphy
Story: Joy Tomasko
Design: Tiny Box Theater with Grace Trimble
Island Specimen
Performances include:
2016 Figment NYC on Governors Island
Inside a microscope box, follow along and take notes as a botanist shares her experiences exploring an island army base that has returned to wilderness. Using an original audio recorded story, that the participants listen to on headphones, this piece includes a magnifying glass, specimen slides, archival imagery, illustrations, photos, magnets, levers, and a mini UV flashlight.
Ages: 6 & up
Botanist: Sarah Murphy
Story & Design: Joy Tomasko with Sarah Murphy
Technical Consultant: Justin Steeve
Island Soldier
Performances include:
2015 Figment NYC on Governors Island
Inside a repurposed mailbox, a letter from a soldier tells a story within a story of what he's reading and writing. Using an audio recorded story, that the participants listen to on headphones, this piece includes archival imagery, illustrations, yarn, magnets and levers. A companion piece to Island Librarian.
Ages: 6 & up
Soldier: Justin Steeve
Story & Concept: Joy Tomasko
Design: Tiny Box Theater
Illustrations: Anthony Baus & Patrick Byrnes
Archival Images: NYPL Digital Collections
Island Librarian
Performances include:
2015 Figment NYC on Governors Island
Inside a repurposed mailbox, a letter from a Librarian explores her life in island time and book time, and how a discovery she makes at work is a bridge across real time. A companion piece to Island Soldier. Using an audio recorded story, that the participants listen to on headphones, this piece includes archival imagery, illustrations, magnets and levers.
Ages: 6 & up
Librarian: Sarah Murphy
Story & Concept: Joy Tomasko
Design: Tiny Box Theater
Illustrations: Anthony Baus
Archival Images: NYPL Digital Collections
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WORKSHOPS
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A Life In Miniature: Storytelling Through Spaces
Photo by: Tracey Diamond Designs taken during MDW2019 at Elemental Interiors
Workshops include:
2019 Montclair Design Week
Participants receive an empty model of a living space and a narrative about the inhabitants. Through design and decoration of the model, they will complete their characters’ stories. The event will culminate in a storytelling experiment that weaves the projects together.
A workshop for 12 individuals or teams of 2 people.
Maximum 24 participants. The workshop lasts 2-3 hours.
Family friendly.
A collaboration with architectural designers Smith&Kane&Co.
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INSTALLATIONS
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RETURN IF FOUND
Installations include:
2019 Jewelry City Steampunk Festival
2018 Boston Figment at The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy
2018 LIC Arts Open at Grand Central Atelier
An original story starring you, the Reader, unfolds in a card catalog with one beginning and eleven possible endings. There is no audio to this piece, the story is written out on the cards to be read as directed.
Ages: 9 & up
Story: Joy Tomasko
Story Editor: Sarah Murphy
Design: Sarah Murphy, Justin Steeve & Joy Tomasko
For the LIC Arts Open presentation there were two additional elements. Scenes from the story along with additional text could be explored inside the accompanying roll-top desk. And the mural was a work-in-progress by artists at the Grand Central Atelier and was incorporated as a backdrop for the installation.
Mural: Anthony Baus, Ananda Fetherston, Len Clark
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FOR KIDS
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the shoe Shine sam show
Performances include:
2019 Figment NYC on Roosevelt Island
2018 Madison Square Park Kids Fest: Stages in the Square
Sam is a man with a plan. Sam's plan involves this box. And Sam may just share with you what's inside...if...well, you'll just have to experience it for yourself. Using an audio recorded story that the participants listen to on headphones, this piece includes a repurposed shoe shine box and a very special book, both of which contain secret ingredients.
Ages: 6 & up
Sam: Jason Planitzer*
Disembodied Voice: Justin Steeve
Story: Joy Tomasko
Book Design: Sarah Murphy
Sound Design: Justin Steeve
*Jason Planitzer is a guest artist. Catch him doing stand-up comedy in NYC & on tour. Learn more on his website.
song of my shoe
Performances include:
2019 Figment NYC on Roosevelt Island
2018 Madison Square Park Kids Fest: Stages in the Square
Where would you like to go today? Your shoes take you on an adventure with several choices to be made and some dancing along the way. This piece includes a shoe shine box, caddy, props, and an audio recorded story for very young audiences and the young at heart.
Ages: 2 & up
The Shoe: Sarah Murphy
Guide: Justin Steeve
Music: Eric Holm*
Story & Design: Joy Tomasko & Sarah Murphy
Sound Design: Justin Steeve
Illustrations: Devin Cecil-Wishing
*Eric Holm is a guest artist. In addition to being a theater maker, he hosts regular musical classes for the little ones in New Orleans. Learn more about these classes on his website.
SOLE SEARCH!
Performances include:
2019 Figment NYC on Roosevelt Island
2018 Madison Square Park Kids Fest: Stages in the Square
Welcome soldiers! Your mission is to collect as many lost shoes left behind at the Good Luck Ball on Horseshoe Island before word gets out and the Paparazzi arrives…
Tiny Box Theater's first game incorporates a repurposed shoe shine box. Participants listen to the pre-recorded game introduction and rules on headphones. Then play by moving your game piece across the board using a spinner & story cards to collect as many doll shoes before the time is up.
Ages: 6 & up
Epic Trailer Voice: Justin Steeve
Disclaimer Voice: Sarah Murphy
Story & Concept: Joy Tomasko
Game Design: Sarah Murphy, Justin Steeve, Joy Tomasko
Sound Design: Justin Steeve
Rainbow Joes Game Pieces by Dan Abramson/Yoga Joes
We are grateful to use Sound Effects from the following sites: Freesfx.co.uk and Soundbible.com.
Tiny Box Theater is a proud contributor to the Indie Theater Fund. www.indietheaterfund.org