The Siren Ship at Treasure Island

Treasure Island Las Vegas – TI Hotel & Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada
May 2017

The pirate ship at Treasure Island remains in place, but the performance it was built for ended in 2013.

For a decade, the structure functioned as a primary stage for Sirens of TI, a free outdoor production staged along the Las Vegas Strip. Two ships occupied the space—one naval, one pirate—but the performance centered on a crew of women. Movement, choreography, and sound organized the environment, with staging designed for visibility across multiple levels.

The title and framing draw on the association of “sirens” with allure and danger, while the staging positioned the women as the primary occupants of the space.

By 2017, the performance no longer operates.

What remains is the physical framework: rigging, masts, staircases, and deck levels arranged for staging. Without performers, the structure reads differently. Sightlines remain intact, but their function has shifted. The space no longer directs attention; it holds it.

In daylight, the theatrical construction becomes more apparent. Surfaces that would have been obscured by lighting and movement are exposed. The ship reads less as a vessel and more as a set, built to support a sequence of actions that no longer occurs.

The surrounding environment continues to operate—hotel, walkways, pedestrian flow—but the stage itself remains inactive. There is no visible indication of its prior use, only the persistence of the structure.

At the bow, a sculpted figure remains fixed in place.

In performance, the figure would have operated within a larger system of movement and sound. Here, it functions independently, contained within a single gesture. The posture suggests motion, but none follows. The figure does not change, and the space does not respond.

The structure remains; its original function does not.