A Phone Call The Journey

THE JOURNEY

Created and Performed by Scott Silven

Virtual June 8 at 6:00pm and 8:00pm; June 9 at 5:00pm and 7:00pm; June 10 at 5:00pm and 7:00pm; June 11 at 5:00pm and 7:00pm; June 12 at 1:00pm and 4:00pm; June 13 at 2:00pm and 5:00pm

Director Allie Winton Butler Production Designer Jeff Sugg Text Rob Drummond

Sound Designer Gareth Fry Composer Jherek Bischoff

Creative Producer Michael Mushalla

1 hour | Performed via computer

These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.

Program Note

I am delighted to be bringing The Journey to Spoleto Festival USA.

This show came out of a desire to create an immersive experience that explored the power of home, place, and connection in fragmented times. Memory and nostalgia form a big part of my work, and serendipitously, returning to Scotland and my childhood home last year made me recognize the power of place and our connection to the past and ignited the concept of the show being based around the Scottish landscapes and myths from my childhood. I discovered that I wanted to craft an experience that would take my audiences on a virtual adventure across the world from their home to mine and to use their imaginations and memories as the guide on this transportive journey together.

The challenges of the online format have allowed me unique opportunities to engage with the audience on a deeper level that I wouldn’t ordinarily be able to do in a traditional theatrical environment. I send the audience exclusive advance content—including cinematic vignettes and a binaural sound experience—that they can interact with before the experience. As well as this, I wanted to tap into the unique power of participants being in their own homes as they watch and engage with the show. I ask the audience to bring specific objects from their home, as well as images and memories of meaning to them, which I hope makes for a uniquely personal and immersive experience that you may not get sitting in the usual darkened space of a theater.

By weaving together these interactive elements with breakthrough technology, stunning visuals, and breathtaking illusions to help tell my story, we have hopefully created something audiences will have never experienced in the online realm before. For me, illusion has the power to be so much more than simple escapism. My hope is that The Journey asks the audience to consider what makes them who they are. We’re all driven by memories, decisions, relationships, and dreams, and The Journey should make you look closely at your own path through life and consider what motivates you and what you’re capable of when you open yourself to new forms of connection. I’m truly excited for Spoleto audiences to take the first step on what will hopefully be an unforgettable adventure. Creator/Performer

SCOTT SILVEN is a renowned illusionist who has mesmerized audiences for more than a decade, pushing the boundaries of his craft by creating stylish, smart, and uniquely immersive performances that have received critical acclaim across the globe. Hailed by Vogue as a “worldrenowned mentalist” and The New York Times as “astounding,” Silven’s latest groundbreaking digital work, The Journey, follows two major sold-out runs in New York and a headline world tour of his smash-hit shows At the Illusionist’s Table and Wonders at Dusk. From stage to screen, Silven’s objectives remain absolute: to orchestrate an aweinspiring experience that invites his audiences to look at the world and themselves in an extraordinary way.