Penumbra is the antidote to the art-car bass: a sound-dampened tent built for performance that thrives on eye contact, nuance, and connection of a quiet, seated audience. Inside, fabric drapes the walls and ceiling; warm light pools on a low wooden stage; fifteen or twenty guests sit close on rugs and cushions. It's the kind of room where a whisper carries and a held gesture lands.
Penumbra is what we wanted to build for the art that gets quieter the closer you lean in.
The format
- 45-minute sets, 15-minute turnover
- Sets begin at 9:30, 10:30, 11:30, 12:30, 1:30
- Open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings
- Audience is seated and there to listen
- Sound check available at 7pm or ten minutes before your set
What we book
- Music — acoustic or low-volume electric
- Singer-Songwriter · Duo
- Movement — articulate, not expansive
- Burlesque · Belly Dance · Flow Arts
- Word — rewards a hush
- Spoken Word · Storytelling · Magic
The bill
Fifteen slots. If you've ever apologized to a room for being too loud, this is your room.
Monday Evening
Wednesday Evening
What we're not
If your set needs a sub, a crowd that screams back, or a bass drop to land — this isn't the room. We'll happily point you to camps that do that beautifully; there are dozens, and they're great. Penumbra is for the held gesture, the whispered chorus, the line that needs a quiet room to land.
About the camp
Penumbra is the intimate performance space of Yellow Balloon, a small sober camp at the corner of 7:00 & Ararat. We don't restrict our audience, and we don't ask what anyone does on their own time, but we do ask one thing of our performers: please don't consume alcohol or other substances within our camp (before, during, or after your set).
This isn't a rule about who you are; it's a rule about the experience of the space.