When Wren arrives at the Mariposa Hotel, she is certain something bad has happened, and that she will fix it by finding her sister Lottie. Yet nothing at the Mariposa Hotel moves or functions in quite the way Wren expects. Staff pops out of walls, doors lead to museums where memories stand like sculptures, people call loved ones from other dimensions, and she keeps just missing Lottie. As Wren searches for Lottie, she revisits her life in fits and bursts, finding tenderness, bitterness, loss, and celebration in equal measure.

VOLTA is a physical theater piece created and performed by William Acker, Aiden Ankli, Tenara Calem, Arantxa Chavez, and Jo Kramer. The show is informed by research in the anthropocene, the neuroscience of memory, and narratives of death and the afterlife. At the center of the piece is the question: will we recognize our loved ones in the afterlife? VOLTA is a dreamy, charming, echoey reflection on love’s enduring power even after the death of the ego and the self.

“Volta is meditative, transportive, and otherworldly. I felt as though I’d stepped into another universe. The ensemble’s work is magical, shifting seamlessly between characters and states of being. It’s a journey that lingers, haunting and beautiful, long after the performance ends.” – Jacinta Yelland, co-creator of the award-winning show KOAL

ORIGINAL SOUND DESIGN BY: Colby Calhoun

STAGE MANAGED BY: Ashley Bailey

VOLTA @ Christchurch Neighborhood House, Miniball Festival. Philadelphia, PA. April 19th.

VOLTA @ Fallout Fringe. Las Vegas, NV. June 2026.

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES:

“The highlight of the  festival for me this year was the extraordinary VOLTA performed by Hum.  On a bare stage this protean ensemble transported us through a kaleidoscope of locations and images with delightful alacrity and playfulness.  VOLTA is physical theatre at its best:  wildly inventive, surprising, and deeply moving.” – Bill Bowers, Co-Founder of PhysFestNYC

“A haunting exploration of memory, love, and recognition beyond death. …stunning physical theater” - VaudeVisualsPress, Jim R Moore

photos by Eli Eisenstein