MOUNTAIN GOAT MOUNTAIN A New Audio-led At Home Experience for Families Announced

Families across Australia have the opportunity to participate in an adventurous new audio-led theatre experience, Mountain Goat Mountain, developed during isolation for families to enjoy at home. The work has been created by Threshold and developed with the support of Arts Centre Melbourne, Adelaide Festival Centre's DreamBIG Children's Festival, HOTA Home of the Arts and AWESOME International Children's Festival, takes families with young children (5+) who are missing going to the theatre on an interactive storytelling journey.

Through a series of activities that help families set up and step into their own magical imaginative world, Mountain Goat Mountain is a theatre experience that that will see participants crawling through tunnels, crossing lava pits and swimming through underwater caves without leaving home! Guided by a narrative soundscape, families will embark on this 45-minute theatrical experience using only a charged audio device (computer, phone of tablet), a bed sheet (the bigger the better), a piece of blank paper (A4 will do) and favourite pencils, pens or textas.

The unique theatre experience created for children and grown-ups to share together was created in isolation by artists Zoë Barry, Liz Francis, Nikita Hederics, Tahli Corin and Sarah Lockwood for Threshold. Threshold is a new Australian company that uses theatrical tools to create experiences that bring people together.

Co-creator Sarah Lockwood says Mountain Goat Mountain is for families with young children (5+) who enjoy adventure and are missing going to the theatre, or to their special magical place.

"It's for families needing a break from monotony and who are looking for a sense of occasion and a way to celebrate each other and this time together,'' says Lockwood.

"Over many years I've been working with members of this creative team to create invitational spaces that encourage relationships to grow. When theatres started shutting down, we realised that we had a unique offering."

Co-creator Tahli Corin says as artists who live regionally and are raising small children they had been thinking about how to bring theatres into homes for some time.

"Threshold launched in June last year, so we were already interested in how we could work to create theatre in people's homes before the pandemic hit and made it a necessity,'' says Corin.

"There's a lot of commentary right now about what the world will be like post coronavirus, and Mountain Goat Mountain is an opportunity to imagine and explore a new world together."

Arts Centre Melbourne announced on 15 March the cancellation of all scheduled performances and events and temporary closure of its buildings to the public due to COVID-19. Now Arts Centre Melbourne is focussed on finding new ways to engage with audiences, including the digital online hub - Together with You.

Audiences can access Mountain Goat Mountain via Together with You on Arts Centre Melbourne's website from noon on 14 May.

Important information

Tickets: $12.95 for a 30 days access family pass with all funds going to Threshold and the artists who created the work.
Age range: Suitable for ages 5+
How many can play? Created for family units of any size. Minimum - a grown up and a small person.
How long does it take? Around 45 minutes, about as long as a show at the theatre!
What do you need for this journey? A charged audio device (computer, phone of tablet), a bed sheet (the bigger the better), a piece of blank paper (A4 will do) and your favourite pencils, pens or textas.

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