Sifting through the sands
The Athabasca oil sands, one of the world’s largest deposits of crude oil, is a major source of revenue for Canada but also one of the country’s most hotly argued topics.
That debate is at the core of Highway 63: The Fort Mac Show, a collective creation by Architect Theatre that begins performances tonight (Thursday, February 3) as a co-pro with Theatre Passe Muraille.
Founded by Albertans Georgina Beaty and Jonathan Seinen, Architect Theatre’s already performed the work in Alberta and elsewhere around the country.
“Even what you call the deposit has a weighted, political suggestiveness,” says Seinen, a graduate of the National Theatre School. “If you’re in favour of the drilling, you call it oil sands if you’re against, you speak of tar sands. In fact, neither is correct: the accurate description is bitumen sands.”
To create the show, Beaty, Seinen and Newfoundland actor Greg Gale journeyed to Fort McMurray, the home base for many of those involved in the drilling and mining business. A transient town whose population includes a large percentage of workers from around the country, Fort Mac has its own unique culture.
“The politics is actually only a small part of our show,” adds Seinen. “What we want to do is discover the different perspectives that residents have about the work and, by extension, about the town itself.”
Along with Layne Coleman and director Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman, the three actors conducted their research in various ways, interviewing residents and culling various viewpoints about life in the town.
Coleman’s background with collective creation and his history with Theatre Passe Muraille – he was formerly its artistic director – made his association with the younger people a natural fit.
“Collective creation lets you be writer, performer and director all at once,” smiles Seinen. “Layne’s generosity and passion for that kind of work was inspirational for me, especially with the technique of jamming. In that style of creation, the artists move around the space and, when they feel ready, tell a story or enact a scene based on research, a theme or whatever inspires them.
“There’s exciting potential and an extraordinary sense of working together when you develop a show in this fashion.”
The company gives its own twist to the production by introducing a fictional story into the researched and verbatim sections. That tale involves a reclamation scientist from Edmonton who wants to restore the land after the mining, a Newfoundland worker who has a two-year plan for making money and a woman who plans to leave Fort McMurray to study dance in Toronto.
“The storyline lets us combine our impressions of Fort McMurray and the experiences and challenges of those who face the oil sands issues. We want to talk about those issues, create an environment to discuss different viewpoints by means of personal stories. Through the personal, we can tackle environmental, political and societal issues.”
See listings.
Tara takes over
Talented playwright and actor Tara Beagan is the new head of Native Earth Performing Arts, taking over from retiring artistic director Yvette Nolan.
Beagan’s a great choice, not just because of her general theatre background but specifically her work with the company, which premiered Dreary And Izzy in 2005. Since then, she’s worked as assistant director on A Very Polite Genocide, spent a season as playwright in residence and worked as training coordinator for Native Earth’s inaugural training program in 2010.
As an independent artist, she’s developed several scripts for her own company, halfbreed productions, as well as contributed to Theatrefront’s The Mill, UnSpun Theatre’s Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump and Crate Productions’ environmental piece The Fort At York. Her other plays, Miss Julie: Sheh’mah and free as injuns, bring a First Nations perspective to classic theatre texts, the first an adaptation of August Strindberg’s drama and the second a reimagining of Eugene O’Neill’s Desire Under The Elms.
Despite her departure from the company’s helm, Nolan’s still working with Native Earth as dramaturge, mentor and facilitator. We look forward to her direction of Marie Clements’s Tombs Of The Vanishing Indians next month.
Home again
If you didn’t catch the first-rate production of Joan MacLeod’s Another Home Invasion at the Tarragon a few seasons ago, you have another chance.
As a prelude to a tour to Edmonton and Vancouver, the company’s holding a series of open rehearsal runs of the show, again directed by Richard Rose and featuring the wonderful Nicola Lipman as Jean, a senior providing home care for her husband.
Performances run through Saturday (February 5) at 8 pm. Pwyc at the Tarragon Studio (30 Bridgman) no reservations and limited seating. For more info, call 416-531-1827.
Spicy clothing sale
We’ve always been impressed by the work of the Paprika Festival, which offers developmental opportunities through mentorship and staged productions to young theatre artists.
Now the company’s going about fundraising in a new way: it’s holding a clothing sale, Off The Spice Rack, this Saturday (February 5) at Fixt Point Studio.
In addition to clothing, you’ll also find books, bags, CDs and accessories and have a change to meet festival participants. Every item goes for $2.
See listings.
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