Silent Dinner is the title of an eight hour performance set to take place during the Progress Festival, which is hosted in Toronto, Canada. It involves a combination of Deaf, CODA (children of Deaf adults) and hearing artists that are both performers and non-performers, who will be expected to "collectively arrange a rudimentary working kitchen, prepare, cook, and consume a shared meal, all in complete silence," informs the Progress Festival website.
Any number of situations are bound to occur during Silent Dinner, which will underscore the need for careful and active communication on the part of the participants. Silent Dinner hones in on the complex layers of such connections and how restraint can result in more meaningful interactions. A post-performance conversation will also take place in which loud and hushed voices are welcomed.
Restrained Supper Performances
Progress Festival's Silent Dinner Relies on Active Communication
Trend Themes
1. Silent Dining - Opportunity for innovation in the restaurant industry with unique and intimate dining experiences
2. Deaf Culture Integration - Potential for disruptive innovation in technology and communication industries with more integration of deaf culture
3. Kinesthetic Performance Art - Innovation opportunity in the entertainment and art industries with more emphasis on interactive, sensory experiences
Industry Implications
1. Restaurant - Restaurants can offer unique and intimate dining experiences with silent and restrained dining concepts
2. Technology - Technology can create more opportunities for the deaf community to integrate and communicate with hearing individuals
3. Entertainment - The entertainment industry can innovate their offerings by including more interactive and sensory performances, like Silent Dinner