#canoefestival

This tight ensemble from Kitchener explores what happens when seven stories intersect on a Canadian beach. The characters are familiar in their “otherness” – a young Indian woman struggles to let go of her father, and his ashes. A Syrian woman fights to stay in Canada, and a passive-aggressive blond tries to maintain her professionalism, while fighting her heart.

And then there’s the lovely Ato, a shaman-type figure who runs on the beach, only to be followed by the panic-stricken Tristan. And Assaf, a soldier from the Lebanese civil war, and arrogant and handsome Thomas, debate which side to “let it hang.”

The physical performance style is unique, expressive and intimate, and works well to raise sometimes banal subject matter into the realm of art. The ending might throw a few for a loop, but ultimately, it’s beautiful and soulful. The show is, at times, bawdy. At other times, fragile and sweet. It’s not dissimilar to the Canadian identity – unapologetically kind, aggressively sweet, and powerful in its moments of vulnerability.

About Marliss Weber

The tagline of Workshop West’s annual Canoe Festival is “theatre that rocks the boat”. The performances range from the use of multi-disciplinary art forms to unconventional spaces, each show pushing the boundaries of what audiences expect of theatre.

Back in October, Mack and I attended the inaugural National Elevator Project. Eight plays had been commissioned by writers from across the country with the specific intention of being performed in an elevator. Five to eight minutes in length, the plays were brief, situational encounters – eavesdropping mid-conversation, stumbling upon the climax of a long-simmering conflict, or, in some cases, becoming a part of the story ourselves. For such short plays, I didn’t anticipate the intensity that many of the scenes conveyed.

Part of the experience also involved trekking from one building to another, and in the process, seeing a different side of downtown Edmonton. Towers virtually empty at night, I loved that this show repurposed elevators into stages, and encouraged foot traffic in areas that would have otherwise been empty. It’s no secret that I’m passionate about the possibilities of underutilized spaces, and the National Elevator Project is a wonderful example of what can come from ingenuity.

Without a formal stage boundary, some of the plays also included elements of audience involvement. In one, we were vetted by an off-site man via FaceTime and in another, poked and prodded as nameless bodies. To cap off the night, we were invited to drink a “shot” and conga-line with our fellow passengers back into the elevator. The interaction was at times unnerving, but made for very intimate scenes.

Although we had been able to take in all eight plays within the two hour window, it had been a tight program; we literally sprinted and just made the final show. As a result, the National Elevator Project Part 2, part of the Canoe Festival, retooled the format, splitting eight shows between two cycles. Mack and I watched both over the weekend.

It’s challenging to write about these brief plays without giving anything away – they are really best experienced firsthand as the unexpected vignettes that they are. That said, I can say that I was transfixed by the raw, emotional confrontation in Brad Fraser’s First Father, and appreciated the Maritime/Alberta context in which Dear Mr. Keith was written. Ian Leung’s dual roles also stood out, first as an understated candidate in The Program, and then as a spirited guide of worldly consequences in #Abandonhope. While I can’t say I connected to every piece I watched, this format provides so much variety that every audience member will encounter something that appeals to them.

A scene from The Program

The byproduct of a more relaxed pace was that we were able to take the time to chat with others attending the shows, instead of dashing off to the next venue. Catching up with people at various points, checking in with their thoughts about what they had seen, was an accidental but welcome element of the new format.

The National Elevator Project Part 2 runs until Sunday, February 2, 2014. I’d encourage you to check it out while you still can! You can buy tickets here.

About Sharon Yeo:

The carefully scripted work is a masterful blend of script, voice, movement and sound. A live band creates the backdrop for this work that comes from the creative minds of “The MT Space” from Kitchener, Ontario.

Body 13 looks at our demons and angels and the struggles that we all face in wrestling with the complexities of our identity.

If you ever have a chance to check out ‘The MT Space’s’ work it’s highly recommended.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Canoe festival’s 2014 line-up: http://www.workshopwest.org/index.php/shows/2014-canoe-theatre-festival/2014-01-07-00-23-56

About Mike Hudema, Greenpeace Canada

Mike Hudema is a long time member of the Canadian progressive scene. He was part of a motley band of activists that took to the streets of Quebec City for the FTAA protests, slept on the steps of the legislature to protest rising tuition rates when he was President of the University of Alberta Students’ Union, and occupied Anne McLellan’s office to defeat Canada’s anti-terrorism legislation. In his spare time he used to co-host CJSR’s alternative news program Rise Up: Radio Free Edmonton and co-wrote books like the recently published “An Action a Day Keeps Global Capitalism Away”.

Mike worked in San Francisco for 3 years for the Peace and Human Right organization Global Exchange on a corporate campaign with the Ruckus Society and the Rainforest Action Network targeting the auto industry. He currently works for Greenpeace as the Climate and Energy Campaigner focusing on stopping the tar sands, the largest industrial project on the face of the planet and bringing about a green job future. He is also a climb trainer with the Ruckus Society.

The shows I liked most in Cycle B made explicit use of the fact that the show was being performed in an elevator, and played with the strange relationship we seem to have with elevators. I think most of us are familiar with the “rules” of elevators – and if you’re not, there are at least 914,000 webpages that can bring you up to speed on elevator etiquette (like this one). First Father by Brad Fraser was the first performance I saw, and I loved that it played with the convention that we’re not supposed to talk about anything except the weather in an elevator. While I won’t spoil the story for you, it was really interesting to examine how you reacted to overhearing this conversation as an audience member and comparing that to how you would react if the exchange happened in your day-to-day life instead.

Another of my favourite performances was Replay by Melissa Thingelstad. Focusing on creating connections between people, and the inner dialogue and anxiety that goes on inside one’s head in intimate social situations like you find in an elevator, Replay especially stood out as it included sound in the performance. In such a small space, the addition of sound created an even more heightened emotional experience than it typicallydoes in a theatre.

I have to say though, my favourite moment at the National Elevator Project wasn’t supposed to happen. As Replay came to a close, the doors opened and the main character was about to step out of the door but before he did, someone else got inside the elevator. The main character exited and all eyes turned to the newcomer. After pushing several buttons without any results, he turned to us, said “I don’t think it’s working” and then followed what the rest of us were doing and leaned against the elevator wall while the audience watched. The actor from Replay had to come back and tell us that this wasn’t actually part of the performance, and let the newcomer know that the elevator was being used for a performance. And that’s the beauty of the National Elevator Project – these incredibly intimate experiences in ordinary spaces that open our minds to the possibilities of that space and what “performance” could be.

Canoe Theatre Festival runs January 22 – February 2. The National Elevator Project runs until February 2. Tickets are $20 – $30. Check out the full festival schedule on Workshop West’s website.

About Jenna Marynowski:

As a lover of all things theatre, Jenna is excited to be invited back to write about the Canoe Theatre Festival. 

Jenna’s articles appear on both Sound + Noise and After the House Lights. By day, Jenna works in marketing, but in her spare time, she is an avid theatre-goer, serial volunteer, and downtown dweller.  

In particular, the advances made by Thomas (played by John Havens) on all of the characters – from giving those on stage creepy gazes and sleazy flirting to name calling to physically attacking someone allowed me to reflect on what I, and others, experience on a day-to-day basis. What situations do we accept this behaviour in? What situations is it creepy? Why doesn’t someone intervene? Much as in life, each of the characters in Body 13 must encounter Thomas’ behaviour and decide how to react, and ultimately overcome, it, thus freeing themselves from social norms holding them back.

Body 13. Photo credit: Ali Kheireddine

Another aspect that made Body 13 such a powerful piece was the live musical accompaniment. I don’t think I’ve ever heard music that is so chilling in a performance before. Throughout the show the musicians sit omniscient behind the stage, partially hidden by a sheer curtain that only gives us glimpses of them in the moments when the stage lights come up. The music is an eclectic mix of noise music and more traditional sounds, made through the intersection of electronics and traditional instruments like the guitar, cello and drums. Instead of using sounds that maybe a more traditional score would have employed – screeching seagulls, crashing waves, the soundscape used a mix of individually unidentifiable sounds to accelerate the action and the audience’s understanding of the action – throwing you off-balance and creating the sense of attack and prejudice that is being portrayed on stage.

Canoe Theatre Festival runs January 22 – February 2. Body 13 will be performed again January 24 and 26. Tickets are $18 – $20. Check out the full festival schedule on Workshop West’s website.

About Jenna Marynowski:

As a lover of all things theatre, Jenna is excited to be invited back to write about the Canoe Theatre Festival.