Part theatre and part social intervention, Boca del Lupo’s Red Phone is an audience-to-audience performance that utilizes the intimacy of a phone call and the technology of a teleprompter. Two at a time, from within a bespoke constructed phone booth, audience members partake in a five to ten-minute dialogue about some of the day’s big questions as written by a prominent playwright.

What it looks like:

Two phone booths near the festival hub. The installation is hosted by a concierge who guides participants through the experience, which is controlled by an unseen operator in a room or curtained nook nearby.

We provide:

  • Technology Director and Artist Presence
  • Bespoke Project Technology (travels with TD in one hard case)
  • Catalogue of scripts (currently 28 incl. French, Spanish, Braille, English)
  • Building Plans (including customized design alterations and build supervision)
  • OR Phone Booths freight coordination

You provide:

  • A Writer Commission from your Community (optional)
  • Boca del Lupo Artist Fee
  • Boca del Lupo Artist Accommodation and Per Diem
  • Boca del Lupo Personnel Airfare/Travel Costs
  • Set Build Costs and Coordination OR Freight Costs
  • Printing costs for signage at presentation
  • Project Support at the Festival including an Operator, Concierge, and two ushers

Previous Tour Locations:

Vancouver, BC – 2016 at Boca del Lupo
Vancouver, BC – 2017 at Vancouver Writers Festival
Vancouver, BC – 2017 at SFU
Calgary, AB – 2018 at the High Performance Rodeo
Kelowna, BC – 2018 at Living Things Festival
Toronto, ON – 2018 at theatre passe muraille’s RUTAS Festival
Victoria, BC – 2018 at Intrepid Theatre’s UNO Festival
Vancouver, BC – 2020 at Boca del Lupo
Montréal, QC – 2020 at Centaur Theatre
St. John’s, NL – 2020 at RCA Theatre
Fredericton, NB – 2020 at Theatre New Brunswick
Halifax, NS – 2022 at Prismatic Festival
Buenos Aires, ARG – 2023 at Festival Internacional de Buenos Aires
Toronto, ON – 2023 at Harbourfront Centre

Sherry and Carey in Argentina
Sherry and Carey with the producers of FIBA
Audience members at Red Phone
Audience members at Red Phone
Playwright Nelson Valente reading in the booth
Fredericton, 2020
Montreal, 2020
St.John’s, 2020
Vancouver, 2020

Background on the project

Since its inception, the Red Phone project has commissioned 24 Canadian writers and 4 South American writers including the likes of GG Award winning Hiro Kanagawa, Siminovitch prize winning Tara Beagan and celebrated storyteller Ivan Coyote; toured to festivals across Canada including High Performance Rodeo in Calgary, Carol Shield’s Festival in Winnipeg, Wildside Festival in Montreal, Writers Fest in Vancouver and FIBA in Buenos Aires; and scripts have been translated into English, French, Spanish and Braille.
Red Phone was Conceived by Sherry J Yoon and Jay Dodge, dramaturgy by Sherry J Yoon, designed by Jay Dodge, with technology by Carey Dodge.

About Boca del Lupo

Led by Artistic Director Sherry J. Yoon and Artistic Producer Jay Dodge, Yoon is a co-creator and director of the company’s original productions and Dodge’s writing, performances and designs are central in Boca del Lupo’s shows. Creating over 60 shows over the last 25 years, the pair has received numerous awards including Jessies for Outstanding Design, Outstanding Production, Significant Artistic Achievement and Outstanding Performance; the Critic’s Choice Award for Innovation; and the Alcan Performing Arts Award

For Boca del Lupo, collaboration is the core tenet of our creativity. Working across cultures and disciplines our productions are energized by the collision and confluence of difference. Since our inception in 1996, our artistic focus has been one that explores cultural hybridity and interdisciplinary through consciously convening artists from diverse backgrounds and giving them voice within the work through our established processes. We also have an extensive track record in touring, a strong level of engagement with our professional arts service organizations and meaningful outreach into the community. 

Boca del Lupo’s mission is to create extraordinary experiences in unconventional spaces.  The company consciously collaborates with artists diverse in culture and practice and seeks to engage intergenerational audiences. We believe in providing equal opportunities to a diversity of artists and individuals in both emerging and leadership positions. We are devoted to accessibility and we work to broaden the participation, perception and importance of contemporary performance.