Zee Zee Theatre Presents Virtual Humanity

Zee Zee Theatre presents the world premiere of Virtual Humanity, streaming online from March 6 to 28, 2021. The deeply personal, one-on-one experience adapts the company’s annual Human Library project into the digital space, where participants can ‘check out’ a human for a candid conversation about their life experiences, culture and beliefs—including such titles as Porn Actor, Two-Spirit Foster Child, The Taxidermist’s Son, and more.

Zee Zee Theatre Presents Virtual Humanity

When: Over four weekends, March 6 to 28, 2021
Where: Online
Tickets: Purchase a day pass for $5, with a subsequent “Pay What It’s Worth” option after the show. The full roster of titles available each day for bookings will be announced the morning of through a secret portal on  the Zee Zee Theatre website, accessed after reservations have been secured.

Co-curated by Sam Chimes and Bunny (Daisy Joe), the online edition will feature an array of new and returning ‘Virtual Humans’—with a particular emphasis on representation from BIPOC individuals—available for 20-minute loans over the course of four weekends.

“Virtual Humanity creates a digital space that allows for a kind of open conversation and learning,” says Producer Jordy Matheson. “The kind which can be difficult to come by in the intense and polarized online world. A great deal of division is created from people not engaging with each other and really listening.”

Human Library began in 2000 in Copenhagen by a collective called Stop the Violence and since then, the hugely popular “open source” project has popped up in more than 70 countries. The original Human Library project was ignited by a brutal hate crime perpetrated against a friend—and this  act of healing for four people became a global movement. It was a commitment to end violence—one person at a time—by narrowing the ideological gaps that divide us.

In the past eight years of Zee Zee’s edition of Human Library, public response has been tremendous, creating lasting memories, relationships, and shifting people’s understanding of otherness and difference. This new digital pivot becomes an opportunity to welcome those outside of the Lower Mainland to participate as virtual humans and audience, and become part of the broader conversation on challenging prejudice.

In Virtual Humanity audience members will select a title from the collection of 20+ ‘Virtual Humans’—something that intrigues or confounds them. They will then proceed into a one-one-one digital conversation over Zoom with their Virtual Human, a person who will share their true personal story that is reflected in their title, over the course of 20 minutes.

As with Human Library, the project is designed to shatter preconceived notions about otherhood, to challenge our biases and misunderstandings and to put a human face to difference as a means to foster empathy. The breadth of individuals extends from Zee Zee Theatre’s core philosophy: everyone has a story worth sharing, if we simply take the time to sit down and listen to them.

About the Curators

Bunny (Daisy Joe) is a 2 spirit indigenous award-winning musician from the Stl’atl’imx and Gitxsan Nations. They are a vocalist with The Spiritual Warriors, recipients of  Best World Recording at the 2019 Native American Music Awards, a co-creator of the Stl’atl’imx Friends singing group, who were awarded the 2019  Best Historical Linguistics from the NAMA’s for the album “The Kindness Project.” Bunny applies storytelling through song to address topics such as decolonization, indigenous empowerment, and to advocate for the revitalization of language through music.

Sam Chimes is a multi-talented individual, expressing his talents as a sound technician in film, a DJ, and a music producer and performer.  Born in Africa, Chimes lived in Brunei and South East Asia before coming to reside in Canada. With his jazzy, soulful vibes, he uses a looper and a microkorg synthesizer to create instrumentals on the spot, layers his voice, and performs for his audience. Chimes has performed in eight countries outside of Canada and recently came back from his second world tour, performing at showcases in Australia, and street performing in between.

More theatre: The Cultch Presents Mx, Pi Theatre’s Provocateurs Presentation Series, The Arts Club Audio Plays, Us: A Black Peoples Month Festival