History

Rising Sun Theatre began in 2004 as a project at SKILLS Society in Edmonton and incorporated provincially as a non-profit society in 2007. Now in our 22nd season, Rising Sun Theatre has produced and premiered 17 original theatre performances and one film. We usually perform for the general public but have also played at conferences, arts festivals, and community and professional theatre spaces, and have developed a loyal audience, drawing especially from the disability community.

Since our inception, we have explored a range of artistic disciplines including improvisation, movement, scripted works, storytelling, mask, film, puppetry and music. Our creative process is primarily focused on collaborative creation in which our actors develop ideas, share experiences and participate actively, with facilitation and guidance from theatre professionals, in creating original artistic material. Ranging in age from their early 20’s to mid 70’s, many of our actors have been with the company for more than five years..

Rising Sun Theatre is a recipient of the Telus Courage to Innovate Award (2009).

How We Work

The goal of our creative process and the root of our artistic work is the full expression of our actors’ ideas, input, and stories. Under direction from theatre facilitators, our actors practice improvisation, movement, vocal technique, solo performance, thematic exploration, storytelling, clown, and character work. These activities hone the actors’ skills in expressing and developing their own performance material. The material is continually shaped through physical and verbal experimentation, exploration and conversation by the actors with the facilitators.

Our Shows

Our performances are lively and energetic, highly anticipated by both actors and audiences. They feature original and live music, and encourage audience participation and interaction before, during, and after the shows. The creation process and performance are guided by a collectively-chosen theme that shapes the work, and creates a throughline for the performance. Our performances are inclusive of and accessible to cognitively and physically disabled people, their families and caregivers. Click HERE for more information on our past shows. 

We look forward to meeting you at our next show!