12/16/2019 1 Comment Artist Yes ChallengeUpon receiving the Metcalf Performing Arts Prize, creator-performer Sunny Drake decided to gift some of his earnings to two artists he admires as a way of building a "yes" in a vocational practice that is filled with so much "no." To my knowledge, these artists made no requests of his money and, it seems to me, his unsolicited shout of endorsement is as meaningful as any much-needed funds. He then encouraged other artists to do the same. Because I live and work regionally I am constantly hungry for the creativity, community, and recognition of other artists. I was therefore extremely moved by Sunny's example. There is a bit of purity to the work that can happen in regional environments when the artist's best source of inspiration is often their own life. Here is a place where we have something very real to share and, most ironically, fewer people to share it with. We don't always feel like we're part of something bigger than ourselves when the inverse is usually true. Recognizing each other for this is vital. The only prerequisites I fashioned when deciding who to reward by passing on the "yes challenge" is that the artists, while Canadian, not be primarily tethered to the Toronto theatre scene and that they not be very recently recognized by more formal awards. Despite the narrowness of those stipulations, however, I find myself wishing to support more than two people. I've also been thinking about G.B. Shaw a lot since my master's degree. He wrote these big juggernaut plays, published theory to match his practice, supported his community by writing reviews, and helped spearhead the existence of the National Theatre in London. Naturally, we can't all be Shaw, but more and more I find myself thinking that selfless administration and community development are vital elements to an artistic vocation. Perhaps that is partially why I was so inspired by the Artist Yes Challenge. Unfortunately, I don't have the financial support of the Metcalf Foundation (at least not right now 😛). And part of the point here is that the life of an artist is often close to poverty. So, rather than spending my family's precious income on these artists I admire, I'm gifting them each with a book I've loved from my own private library. Without further ado, here are the four artists I wish to honour today: I met Bó Bárdos when I was at my most-emerging. We were both hired to work with InterArts Matrix where, in my first proper acting gig, I felt like a tiny mute fish wagging between multiple modes of expression. Bó was profoundly welcoming, giving me the confidence I needed to rise to the project. This is true to her personality at all times: if a room requires just a little more love and joy, invite Bó. Naturally that personality does her worlds of good on stage as well. I think Bó is primarily a musician but her appetite to work inter-disciplinarily usually has me thinking of her as an actor. On her website she speaks to art as being a "sacred responsibility." I cannot overstate how strongly I feel about this. There is a great selflessness in approaching the work through this lens which can be clearly felt by those privileged to engage and participate in it. I mostly only see Bó these days if I pop into the MTSpace Theatre's office where she's been known to scrape away at a keyboard in administrative support of the company. It is already meaningful for our small/growing region to retain a talent the great size of her's without her also giving back to it by daylighting for one of our few local theatre companies. For the Artist Yes Challenge I am gifting Bó my copy of issue 7 of Canthius Literary Magazine. I bought it on a wonderful day. Perhaps, in a way, I chose this because I don't know her as well as others I'm "yes-ing" right now. But because the magazine's ethos focuses on contemporary identity politics, because the work therein is so beautifully accessible, because this particular issue celebrates community so well, ... to me, it is all about discoveries. There is nothing quite like a welcoming horizon. I've been close with Janice Lee for over ten years which means I've been privileged to watch her grow in her art and her voice. Since the very beginning she has been a constant mentor and champion to other musicians, artists, actors, and poets. Janice's work is multifaceted and difficult to peg down. She speaks of herself as a "folk artist" meaning that her work is "of the people." She is ruthless in her ability to be simultaneously whimsical and bitingly political. In both cases, intentionally accessible. I've watched her slowly and fearlessly claim her Korean heritage before growing audiences as she matured out of the cultural-whiteness of her once regional environment. A profound, inspiring, and certainly difficult journey. A constantly prolific performer and creator, it strikes me that Janice often puts more energy into raising the floor for other marginalized creatives. When serving as the City of Kitchener's Artist in Residence she used the opportunity to point away from herself and highlight some of the best parts of the community. She helped originate and build the MTSpace's Young Company, cofounded my region's queer film festival, Rainbow Reels, taught poetry and performing arts who-knows-how-many-times in rural First Nation communities, she leads workshops on anti-racism and micro-aggressions for BIPOC youth, and is presently on tour with accessible ticket prices. She is prolific as a creator as well as a leader. And she has bolstered each step of the way with staggering investment. The thought she has put into her work, and to living her politics with sincerity, is too rare. She speaks the truth, she is constantly learning, she deserves the best. I am giving Janice my copy of Mouthpiece by Amy Nostbakken and Norah Sadava. As a highly performative political text, Mouthpiece is a close sibling to Janice's creative work. It both guards and celebrates femininity, never loses complexity in those themes, and plays with an extremely heightened aesthetic without ever breaking into obscurity. Like so many others, Nathaniel Voll is an under-utilized talent in our region. He is an actor, writer, and arts educator. Like mine, his creative career-trajectory is gently slowed by focusing on fatherhood. The few times that GreenLight Arts has shoved Nathaniel and I in the same room, however (me behind a laptop, him on a bare floor), I've felt supported with the confidence that my writing will be well-honoured and my flubs well-ironed. He provides a great ease in working through the shortcomings and errors that development rehearsals unearth. As the most-emerging artist of the four I'm "yes-ing" I've seen great maturity from Nathaniel when these roles are reversed. As a writer, he responds to critique and suggestion with respect and ... sometimes a lot of new pages! Nathaniel went from a leadership role at KW Youth Theatre to being GreenLight Arts' Education Manager and then to working with Theatre of the Beat as a Restorative Justice Facilitator. There he leads drama education, new play development, and production with the incarcerated population at the Grand Valley Institution for Women. With the help of some deeply-giving and incredible others, Nathaniel helped benchmark the first-ever collective-creation developed between a professional theatre and incarcerated women in Canada. What a task! I'm giving Nathaniel my copy of Out of Line by Tanis MacDonald. This book is about finding hope, community, and direction as an artist who sometimes feels isolated by living and working regionally. Because the book celebrates our region, specifically, it provides a welcome touchstone to say yes, I see you! It is peppered with anecdotes to make us better teachers and a sense of access to the Canadian literary scene. I don't know Liz Whitbread terribly well. When I first moved back to Canada after my MFA I was searching for voices on the subject of the Canadian theatre ecology. Hers stood from the crowd. So I was naturally charmed and even a little intimidated when our collaborator Kendra Jones cast her in the development-workshop of my play. Of all the magnificent actors in that ensemble, Liz was the most dramaturgically forthright in a way that I very much appreciated. After the labour of her feedback in development, it was a joy to watch her fall in and out of character with her entire breath and body, with playfulness and subtlety. At this time she had just been working as Communications and Administrative Coordinator at the Theatre Centre. As an administrator, Liz has helped to elevate the Toronto Fringe Festival, Seven Siblings, and Lost & Gone. But she left Toronto to continue making opportunities for others in Winnipeg where she is now the Assistant Artistic Director of Sarasvati Productions. There she is championing women's voices in a very real way. She also now assists programming and touring new work with a necessary contemporary political edge. Her devotion to maintaining and developing a strong instrument for craft is clear and enviable. But her career trajectory shows a devotion to supporting and uplifting the deserving artists around her with careful and creative leadership. I'm grateful that Canadian theatre has her.
I'm giving Little One by Hannah Moscovitch to Liz. For its darkness and it's humanity, this is a wildly formidable play. To honour Liz's skill as an actor, this play provides two great roles with a tremendous and understated poetry to them. While this particular play doesn't need Sarasvati productions, it speaks directly to their mandate in a way that raises expectations of everything around it. I believe Liz will help raise great plays like this one in her career as a leader.
1 Comment
6/11/2023 11:26:40 pm
We’re a video production agency that brings fresh thinking, top-tier quality and bags of experience to every project. We don’t want to make the same film twice and you don’t want your film to sink into a sea of interchangeable content.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
September 2023
Categories |