Shaping Sound and Shadow: Developing A Cave of Dreams

This past week in Calgary, we began shaping something truly singular — a choral opera set to unfold deep underground in Rat’s Nest Cave this September.

A Cave of Dreams is more than music in a cave — it’s a site-specific performance that merges voice, silence, and light in an elemental space where time feels suspended. Central to this world are puppet lanterns — dreamlike figures that serve as guides, symbols, and shadows of the subconscious. These luminous beings are the unique characters of the work, bridging choral storytelling with visual ritual.

We were incredibly fortunate to workshop these ideas and begin development in the Old Trout Puppet Workshop — a space alive with creativity and possibility. A huge thank you to Old Trout Puppet Theatre for their generosity in hosting us. There is no better place to begin bringing this dream to life.

And to the phenomenal team of artists who gathered this week: your vision, talent, and collaborative spirit are the heart of this project. I’m so grateful to be on this journey with you.

This is just the beginning.