Mad Horse Theatre Company closes their 36th season with the premiere of “Homecoming: An Odyssey,” an immersive, installation production. Submitted photo

What does home mean to you? This summer, audiences will reflect upon that question when Mad Horse Theatre Company closes their 36th season with the premiere of “Homecoming: An Odyssey,” an immersive, installation production. There will be six performances over the course of four days: at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, June 23 and 24; at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 25; and at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 26.

Large scale, three-dimensional transformations of several indoor and outdoor spaces are underway at the Mad Horse venue in South Portland. Inspired by the characters and worlds of Homer’s The Odyssey, “Homecoming” combines dramatic performance and visual art to explore the people, places, and events that define what home means to each of us. Audiences will experience moments of being seated, and actively travel through the space.

“Audience members will have the opportunity to experience their own homecoming odyssey through this unique immersive production – as observers and as participants, if desired,” says co-creator Stacey Koloski. “The team has been very thoughtful about how to provide multiple different ways to engage with the piece to allow for a variety of different responses from audiences, including those who prefer to just observe.”

This designer-led, installation production – a first for Mad Horse – was created over nine months by a team of eight creative collaborators, representing a wide range of artistic and design disciplines including puppetry, music, illustration, paper crafts, sound design, weaving, and found object sculpture. The “Homecoming” creative collective includes Reba Askari*, Brooke Bolduc, Jennifer Halm-Perazone*, Josh Hsu, Stacey Koloski*, Ian-Mer Lindsey, Mark Rubin*, and Shannon Wade. Keegan Perry is the Stage Manager. (* denotes a Mad Horse Company Member).

All indoor and outdoor “Homecoming” installation components are fully ADA-accessible. The production is a rain-or-shine event, and includes some outdoor components. Please plan/dress accordingly for the weather. In the event of severe weather or thunderstorms, adapted versions of the outdoor components will take place inside the building.

We are now offering our entire season of productions as Pay-What-You-Decide. That means every production, every performance, every person pays what you decide. Here’s how it works: Make a no-cost reservation, come to the event, make a payment as you leave the theater.

Mad Horse continues to assess the COVID situation. The safety of our audience, performers and  support crew are of the upmost importance to us. At this time, Mad Horse requires masks inside the building for all audience members and at the Box Office to provide proof of vaccination or proof of a negative PCR test from within the previous 24 hours or a negative ‘Rapid Test’ from the previous 12 hours. These safety precautions are followed by all Mad Horse event personnel, volunteers, and artists. For more information, please refer to our website.

To connect with Mad Horse Theatre Company visit our website (www.madhorse.com) or Facebook (Mad Horse Theatre Company), follow us on Instagram and Twitter @madhorsetheatre, or send an email to madhorseboxoffice@gmail.com.