Secret Ingredients is a theatre project created by Keely O’Brien that uses cake to explore the intricacies of human relationships. Leading up to the performance, the public is invited to submit messages that they find too difficult to express directly to someone in their life. These messages are translated into cakes, which are delivered to the intended recipients as an edible form of communication. The project culminates in a live performance inspired by the cakes and the stories behind them. Cake is served to the audience as part of the show, pairing sweet flavours with challenging messages: the tart cherry jam of embarrassment, the spicy ginger of annoyance, the salted dark chocolate of grief. Like overhearing tantalizing gossip at a neighbouring cafe table, Secret Ingredients satisfies a human itch to peek into intimate and relatable details of other people’s lives, while also inviting reflection on our own unspoken feelings.
Audience Role
Audiences invited to eat cake; smell of cake. Ingredient list available onsite, upon request. Eating the cake is optional.
Ages: 13 +
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3
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1
Years on EI
About Keely O’Brien
Keely O'Brien is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice incorporates handmade objects with innovative theatre creation. Devoted to a thoroughly DIY process, Keely’s work includes experimental performance, imaginative ephemera, and interactive experiences. She often creates collaborative projects with community members who may not consider themselves artists, and invites the public to participate in unusual meaning-making experiences. Keely is Co-Artistic Director of Popcorn Galaxies, a theatre company with a focus on unconventionally structured, site-specific, and audience-activated performance. She holds a BFA in Theatre Performance from Simon Fraser University, and is a self and family-taught visual artist. She lives in Richmond, BC, on unceded territories of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaking peoples.