Off The Map
The Geography of Becoming
Come curious. Leave with a different map.
A live performance gathering featuring theatre, music, conversation, creative participation and a room full of fellow travellers.
Sat 15 August
5pm - 8:30pm
1-3 Ellingworth Pde
Box Hill
$25
Ticket price includes homemade soup, bread, hot drinks
The event takes place inside the Box Hill Baptist Church building. This is not a religioius event, BHBC has generously offered us their home.
What Is Off The Map?
Most of us spend our lives navigating.
Sometimes with confidence. Sometimes by instinct. Sometimes by following maps we didn't realise we'd been handed. And sometimes by discovering that the route we've carefully planned no longer exists.
Life has a way of doing that.
A diagnosis. A new beginning. A relationship ending. An unexpected opportunity. A change in faith. A career that no longer fits. A dream that quietly changes shape. Or simply the growing realisation that who you're becoming no longer matches where you've been heading.
What happens when the map no longer matches the landscape?
Off the Map is a live performance and community art gathering that blends theatre, music, conversation and hands-on creativity into a shared exploration of the geography of becoming. Artist and anthropologist Kendall Bryant, storyteller Eugene Wong (Founder, A Stronger Narrative) and social worker and art therapist Hannah Wright bring three different perspectives to the same question, inviting us to explore what it means to find our way when certainty disappears.
Together we'll explore the maps we follow, the stories we tell ourselves, the landmarks that shape us, the unexpected detours, and the companions who help us find our way when certainty disappears.
Through theatre, music, conversation, hands-on creativity and shared inquiry, this isn't simply an evening to watch. It's an invitation to notice, question, create and discover alongside one another.
Come curious.
Leave with some beautiful a-ha's and a few different questions than the ones with which you arrived.
What to Expect
Every Gathering takes a different shape.
Off the Map isn't a lecture, a concert or a workshop. It's a live performance gathering where theatre, conversation, creativity and community weave together into one shared experience.
Throughout the evening you'll be invited to watch, listen, wonder, create, laugh, reflect and connect with others as we explore the geography of becoming.
A Live Performance Essay
At the heart of the evening is a theatrical performance essay woven from storytelling, performance, music and reflection. Rather than presenting ideas from a podium, we'll explore them through art, imagination and lived experience.
A Conversation with Eugene Wong
Narrative strategist Eugene Wong joins us to explore one of the gathering's central questions: How do the maps we carry shape the lives we live? Expect thoughtful conversation, fresh perspectives and plenty of moments that might shift the way you see your own journey.
Music & Live Performance
Original songs, contemporary music, spoken word and live performance are woven throughout the evening—not as entertainment between conversations, but as part of the conversation itself.
A Community Chorus
This gathering is being created with a temporary ensemble of singers, performers and curious humans who have come together especially for this event. Their voices, movement and stories help bring the evening to life in unexpected ways.
Creative Participation with Hannah Wright
You'll be invited to make, write, sketch and contribute throughout the evening. No artistic experience is needed—just a willingness to be curious. Every invitation is optional, but many people discover that making something with their own hands changes the way they experience the conversation.
Hospitality & Time to Linger
Come early. Stay afterwards. Share a bowl of soup, a cup of tea or coffee, meet new people and continue the conversation long after the formal gathering has finished. Some of the best moments happen between strangers who aren't strangers for very long.
Good Humans and Warm Hospitality
Whether you arrive with friends or come on your own, you'll be warmly welcomed. Introverts, extroverts, deep thinkers, curious wanderers and slightly confused humans are all encouraged to attend.
The Studio Collection
Explore Kendall Bryant's latest artworks and works in progress, browse prints and creative pieces, and wander through the ideas that continue beyond the stage.
Space To Linger
This is not a rush-in, rush-out event. There will be time to explore, create, browse, connect, reflect and enjoy meaningful conversation throughout the evening.
Something To Take With You
Every gathering includes something to continue the journey after the evening ends—because the conversation rarely finishes when the chairs are packed away.
The Cartographer's Notebook
The gathering has already begun.
Ideas are being sketched. Conversations are unfolding. Wrong turns are being taken.
New Coordinates are being plotted.
Step inside the notebook and follow the making of Off the Map as it unfolds.
Who Is This For?
Perhaps you're standing at a crossroads. Perhaps you've already taken the unexpected turn. Or perhaps you simply enjoy evenings that leave you with more to think about than when you arrived.
Off the Map might be for you if...
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Life hasn't unfolded quite the way you expected, and you're learning to navigate unfamiliar territory.
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You're questioning old definitions of success, purpose or what a "good life" is supposed to look like.
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You're beginning again after a significant change, or quietly sensing that a new chapter is emerging.
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You're in a season where you don't yet know what comes next, but you're curious enough to keep walking.
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You enjoy thoughtful conversation, live performance, music, storytelling and creative experiences that invite participation rather than passive observation.
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You love meeting generous, interesting humans and having conversations that continue long after the chairs are packed away.
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You don't need to be artistic. You don't need to have your life sorted. You don't need to know anyone before you arrive.
You don't even need to know whether you're "off the map."
Just come curious.
We'll figure out the rest together.
Become One of the 100 Life Cartographers
This isn't simply an audience being assembled.
It's a room of people helping to make the work.
Everyone who books before midnight Sunday 9 August becomes part of Off the Map before the doors even open.
As you book, you'll receive a single prompt:
One map I have had to redraw is...
Your response becomes part of the installation artwork at the heart of the gathering. It won't simply be displayed—it will help shape the conversations, creative experiences and moments of reflection that unfold throughout the evening.
By the time you arrive, part of you will already be there.
You'll also receive an exclusive Journey Card—an original artwork created especially for Off the Map, accompanied by a reflection to carry with you before we meet. Your digital Journey Card will arrive before the gathering, with a printed keepsake waiting for you on the night.
Book after midnight Sunday 9 August, and you'll experience Off the Map.
Book before, and you'll help shape it.
Book Your Place
Every chapter stands on its own.
You don't need to have come to the Winter Gathering, and you don't need to know anyone before you arrive. Whether this is your first Gathering or you're returning for Chapter Two, you'll be warmly welcomed.
Off the Map is a live evening of theatre, music, conversation, creativity and community exploring the maps we inherit, the paths we choose and what it means to keep becoming when life doesn't follow the route we expected.
Bring a friend or come on your own.
Come curious.
Leave with something to ponder.
Saturday 18 July
5pm - 8:30pm
3 Ellingworth Parade, Box Hill
Tickets: $25
Young People Welcome
Children and teenagers under 16 are welcome to attend free of charge when accompanied by an adult.
While the themes and conversations are suitable for all ages, much of the discussion is aimed at adults and older teens. Younger children may find some parts of the evening less engaging, although art-making materials and creative activities will be available. My own teens will be there, and families are warmly welcome.