PuShing it.

Best of Twitter, PuSh 2012, Vol. II

2012-02-02T14:27:00.000-08:00

We've laughed, we've cried, and we've all liberally used the #PuShFest hashtag.
Thank you to all of our amazing friends and fans who have kept PuSh thriving in the Twittersphere throughout the festival.
Here's a collection of some of our faves from the last week.
There are a few days left, friends. Get in on the conversation, it's not too late.

Message from PuSh Festival Board President Max Wyman, OC

2012-01-30T16:42:00.000-08:00

January 30, 2012

As you may have heard, Norman Armour, our executive director, collapsed at a Club PuSh performance on Saturday night and was taken to hospital. He was treated swiftly, and is now resting and recuperating.

Please ignore the rumour mill. One media outlet has reported that someone in the arts community claimed Norman had “a serious stroke.” Someone else has said that he was involved in “a major car accident.” Neither statement is true.

We are respecting Norman’s wish for privacy on the details of this matter, but I can assure you that the situation was quickly brought under control and Norman is now alert, upbeat and recovering well. All signs point to a full recovery, and he is expected to be released within a few days.

Like all of us at PuSh, Norman is touched by the extent and depth of the response from friends and colleagues, and says he “would like to thank everyone for their tremendous outpouring of support and well wishes.” He’s not receiving visitors right now, but if you’d like to send him a note or a card, please forward them to the office and the staff will make sure Norman receives them

Never a natural patient, he quipped yesterday that "Hospitals are like prisons, except the people are nicer." And, always the natural promoter, he urged everyone: “We still have a few tickets left. Please enjoy the last week of the Festival.”

El pasado es un animal grotesco - Curatorial Statement

2012-01-27T11:42:00.000-08:00

El pasado es un animal grotesco (The Past is a Grotesque Animal)
by Mariano Pensotti

Curatorial Statement by Sherrie Johnson, Senior Curator, PuSh Festival

Mariano Pensotti is one of the leading playwright and directors to emerge from Argentina's vibrant theatre scene.

Ten years ago, a shop near Mariano's home was discarding damaged photographs. Not knowing why he was collecting the boxes of damaged images, he began to sift through the fragments and materials of unknown lives. Remembering a Balzac quote that "art was an attempt to photograph the soul of people and their times" he began think about peers from his generation. As Mariano began developing ideas for the play from his found source material, he was listening to the song "The Past Is a Grotesque Animal" by the band Of Montreal (Click here to hear the song). The excessive narrative and duration of the song was parallel to what Mariano was developing in his own writing. He was so inspired by the song he decided to use the title for his new play and include the lyrics in the play when the stories reach their end.

The beauty of the play is the lyrical quality of the text and action. The set is constructed as a turntable and rotates at varying speeds through the performance. The constant rotation and movement of the set keeps the action and poetry flowing, like a song. El pasado es un animal grotesco is set in 1999 in Buenos Aires. We follow the lives of Mario, Laura, Pablo and Vicky - all "twenty something's" coming into their careers, love and maturity. The play follows their lives over the course of a ten-year period.

The impressive narrative is multi-layered, and over the course of one hour and fifty minutes we experience the heartache, collapse, longing, and unexpected turns that life throws at each of them.

The expressive and melodic nature of the story along with the seamless direction blending multiple narratives, voice-over, and short, sharp inter-related scenes, makes this evening play out like a passionate, soulful and nuanced symphony.

El pasado es un animal grotesco is in Spanish with English subtitles. It's an epic work that gives us insight into a generation avoiding sentimental stereotypes while delicately balancing the complexities of misfortune, disappointment and adversity. El pasado es un animal grotesco is a classic work that Vancouver audiences will remember for years to come.

For more information about El pasado es un animal grotesco, and to buy tickets, click here.

Aboriginal Performance Series presented by Vancity

2012-01-25T17:46:00.000-08:00

The 2012 PuSh Festival Aboriginal Performance Series presented by Vancity aims to profile compelling and virtuosic projects that transform perceptions, provoke questions and explore tensions through a range of indigenous performance, in order to foster a broader understanding and interaction of contemporary indigenous artists and their diverse cultures.

Linda Ryan, Communications Consultant for Community Investments at Vancity shared some words with us about the value of supporting this series.

At Vancity we define wealth as resilient, ‘rich‘, whole, healthy communities. One of our greatest strengths is our ability to connect with the communities in which we operate and where we live. That’s why we’re supporting the Aboriginal Performance Series and events like the PuSh Festival, together we can deepen connections to build resilient, rich, whole, healthy communities. After all, at Vancity we’re all about Good Money™. We make you good money by putting money to good. Learn more.

The Aboriginal Series opens tonight with Beat Nation Live, and continues with No. 2, Almighty Voice and His Wife, Michael Greyeyes Keynote Manifesto Address: Staging Ethnicity, and Ghostkeeper.

For more information on The PuSh Festival Aboriginal Performance Series and 2 for 1 ticket opportunities for Vancity members, click here.

Club PuSh 2012 Video

2012-01-24T13:56:00.000-08:00

licensed. chilled. intimate. Club PuSh is the place to be! It's the social hub of the PuSh Festival.

Not only does Club PuSh offer stellar programming, including amazing late night music acts, but there's plenty of other fun to be had.

The bar features delicious beer thanks to Kroenenbourg 1664, sumptuous wines thanks to Tangled Vines Winery, and tasty nibbles from our friends at Guilt and Co. All the while, we are enchanted with pre and post-show music hand-picked for Club PuSh, courtesy of the groovy folks at CBC Radio 3.

Play with our button maker, courtesy of Vancouver Is Awesome, and make sure to give your "In Your Face Review" in the lobby to let us know what you thought of the show (and to be entered to win a 4-show PuSh Pass for 2013!).

Come play with us at Club PuSh. There's so much more in store in the coming weeks!

For more information about the line up, or to get tickets for Club PuSh, click here.

Turning Point Ensemble: Colourful World - Curatorial Statement

2012-01-24T11:53:00.000-08:00

By Owen Underhill, Co-Artistic Director, Turning Point Ensemble

In 2008, the Turning Point Ensemble made application to Arts Partners in Creative Development for a large-scale commissioning and development project called CHAMBER SYMPHONY 2010. At that time, we proposed the commissioning of three major chamber symphonies from three of Vancouver’s most respected and internationally recognized composers – Dorothy Chang, John Oliver and Rodney Sharman. We were delighted when this project received funding. Given the scale of the project, the creation and development components have been multi-year. With the premiere of Rodney Sharman’s Chamber Symphony on the Colourful World program, all three commissions will now have received their first performance.

Part of the philosophy of the Turning Point Ensemble is to enter into meaningful relationships with leading composers (locally, nationally, internationally) and to have them work with us to develop music of significant scale and ambition. We wish to give composers opportunity to do their best work, thus contributing to the creation of a lasting repertoire for large-size chamber ensemble. In working together, we schedule reading sessions well in advance of the premieres so that there can be the opportunity for experimentation, feedback and revision.

The first stage of this project was the commission and performance of John Oliver’s Five-Ring Concerto. This virtuosic chamber concerto was premiered as part of the 2010 Cultural Olympiad on a program that also included Schoenberg’s Chamber Symphony and John Adam’s Son of Chamber Symphony. The second stage was the unveiling in November 2011 of Dorothy Chang’s brilliant Three Windows. Her piece was inspired by a small corner of Vancouver, specifically the westernmost tip of Point Grey where, as Dorothy articulated, “one’s eye might catch in a single glance the striking juxtaposition of nature, man and machine.

We are delighted to present the third ‘chamber symphony’ commission by Rodney Sharman. In programming the concert, we entered into a dialogue with Rodney, selecting works by some of his favorite composers: Morton Feldman, with whom he studied; Toru Takemitsu, one of the most subtle and expert orchestrators of the last fifty years; and the master Claude Debussy who was a direct influence on so many composers including Takemitsu, who said “I consider Debussy my teacher – the most important elements are colour, light and shadow.”

Taken together, I hope you will agree that the assembled works reveal a rare and sumptuous Colourful World.

For more information about Turning Point Ensemble: Colourful World, click here.
To purchase tickets for the January 29th performance, click here.

PuSh Assembly - Curatorial Statement

2012-01-20T10:26:00.000-08:00

By Sherrie Johnson, PuSh Festival Senior Curator

Mariano Pensotti's El pasado es un animal grotesco is one of three PuSh

offerings

shared with New York Presenters.

January - the time of Under the Radar in New York and the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival in Vancouver and snow! The events are on opposite sides of North America, one in the USA, the other in Canada, but bound together by their shared history, both 8 years old, and the sharing of some International touring artists who are being presented in North America during this timeframe. This year at PuSh we are sharing three shows with New York presenters: chelfitsch theatre company, Rabih Mroué and Mariano Pensotti. All don't-miss events which took New York by storm and received rave reviews!

December and January are always filled with energy, enthusiasm and that kind of "back to school" excitement as I prepare for Under the Radar's Symposium (January 5 - 6) and the 2012 PuSh Assembly (February 2 - 4). Two major networking events for those of us in the performing arts industry.

For the past three years, Under the Radar has brought me into New York to host and prepare the pitch sessions with U.S. based artists. It's no secret the pitch sessions are one of my favorite events. I thoroughly enjoy spending my time with artists, assisting them in crafting their pitches to my presenting colleagues from around the world.

My pitch expertise all started here in Canada, with my work putting together Industry networking events for the performing arts at Magnetic North Theatre Festival and the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival.

This year's 2012 PuSh Assembly once again promises to stimulate the local scene. The Assembly is the perfect social setting to get to know some of the worlds most sought after curators!

Michael Greyeyes will deliver the keynote address.

At this year's Assembly we will be joined by International presenting colleagues from Denmark, New Zealand, Germany, U.S.A., Ireland, Macau, Korea and Belgium. The PuSh Assembly kicks off on February 2nd at 6p.m. with a keynote address from acclaimed First Nations actor, choreographer, director and educator Michael Greyeyes. Michael is the director of Almighty Voice and His Wife - a featured presentation in our Aboriginal Performance Series.

The pitch sessions, one of our most popular Assembly events, takes place on February 3rd, 11:30a.m - 1:30p.m. This year's lineup includes: Small Wooden Shoe (Toronto), Secret Theatre (Halifax), Cathy Gordon (Toronto), Boca del Lupo (Vancouver), The 605 Collective (Vancouver), brokentalkers (Ireland), Raven Spirit Dance (Vancouver), and Full Performing Bodies (Vancouver).

The Assembly Talks on Saturday, February 4th from 1pm. - 3pm has confirmed Taylor Mac as one of our guest artist panelists. For those of you who saw Taylor at Club PuSh in 2009, you won't want to miss out on hearing from him first hand! A rare treat! You won't want to miss his new show at Club PuSh either - Ziggy Stardust Meets Tiny Tim Songbook on Feb. 3rd and 4th!

Please join me at the PuSh Assembly - it's the West Coast's only annual interdisciplinary forum for the performing arts and great occasion to share ideas, catch up with old colleagues and make new friends.

Taylor Mac will be a panelist at The Assembly Talks Feb. 4th

For more information on the PuSh Assembly, click here

PuSh Passes and Industry Passes are SOLD OUT! Advance single tickets may still be available for sale for individual events and Assembly events. Click here and scroll down for venue box office information.

Best of Twitter, PuSh 2012, Vol. I

2012-01-19T20:26:00.000-08:00

We have some pretty dedicated followers on Twitter, and this year's hashtag #PuShFest has really taken off!

Here's a small sampling of some of our favorite recent activity in the Twittersphere:

We almost died when George Stroumboulopoulos gave us his best wishes. *Swoon*

We love our friends at Vancouver Is Awesome. They, like Vancouver, truly are awesome:

As always, it's wonderful to have the support of powerhouse MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert:

Stay tuned for more, folks. And please, we encourage you to get in on the action. Follow us @PushFestival...and don't forget to tag us #PuShFest.
See you out there, in 140 characters or less!

PuSh 2012 Opening Gala Video

2012-01-18T15:32:00.000-08:00

It is our pleasure to announce that the PuSh opening gala was a resounding success fraught with incredible music, dance, entertainment, revelry, passion, and excitement for the festival. We were thrilled to be there with all of you to launch these three weeks of boundary-pushing performances and experiences. Please take a peek at our new video, capturing some of the action at the gala. This is the first of a series of features, so stay tuned. Enjoy!

In Your Face - Reviews by you!

2012-01-17T15:49:00.000-08:00

IN YOUR FACE REVIEWS

Okay, so not all of us have the time to sit down and write a whole review after a show. But sometimes you want to share how you feel.

In this day and age, everyone has a camera in their phone, or at the ready in some way or another.
This year at PuSh, consider giving a review...with your face.

It's easy:

1) See a PuSh performance.
2) Feel something about it.
3) Write the show title on a piece of paper, or use the handy white board and backdrop in the lobby at Club PuSh.
4) Take a picture, capturing your facial review.
5) Post it on Facebook.
6) Tag "PuSh International Performing Arts Festival" (You may have to "Like" our page first if you don't already!)
7) You're automatically eligible for weekly prizes, and a draw to win a 4-show pass for the 2013 PuSh Festival.

Have fun, get creative, and enter as many photos as you like.
We can't wait to see all your gorgeous faces!

Host tables still available for Mary Margaret O'Hara at Club PuSh!

2012-01-13T16:45:00.000-08:00

How would YOU like to spend one spectacular evening at Club PuSh, being treated like the star you are? Host a table at Club PuSh for $500 and get the star treatment. Host tables still available for Mary Margaret O'Hara, Trampoline Hall and more!

Think Rat Pack...

You and five friends head out for a great night on the town. Upon your arrival to the Club, you are ushered to the best table in the house. At your table, you find a bottle of wine for you and your friends. You get a shout out in front of the whole crowd, and a spotlight on your table, highlighting how truly cool and important you are.

All this, and you get a tax receipt for $300!

Contact Jocelyn Macdougall at PuSh (604.605.8284 ex 202 or jocelyn@pushfestival.ca) to book your table today. There is an extremely limited number of tables, so get your show of choice now in order to avoid disappointment!

The tax receipt can be split up if required. This offer is valid for groups of six. Host table sales will be accepted up to 72 hours prior to a performance. Full payment is due at time of booking. There are no refunds and all sales are final.

Club PuSh
Presented by the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival and Theatre Conspiracy.
Jan 18 – Feb 4, Wed-Sun. Performance Works on Granville Island (19+)
Club PuSh is a dynamic space that is all about experimentation – cutting- edge work suited for a less traditional, more informal venue. Visit pushfestival.ca for full details on Club PuSh.

Looking for a Missing Employee - Curatorial Statement

2012-01-12T11:07:00.000-08:00

By Glenn Alteen, Program Director for grunt gallery

I first visited Lebanon in December of 2007 and was struck by the work I saw there. Rabih Mroué’s performances exist in a context of other artists in his generation who came of age during the Civil War in Lebanon during the 1980’s and their work has a shared interest in found photography and video as elements to be repurposed into story telling. Mroué shares with Walid Raad of The Atlas Group, Akram Zaatari and the Arab Image Foundation, Lamia Joreige and many others an interest in photography and
video as media to explore the war and its lingering effects on their society.

I was travelling with fellow curator and gallery director Vittorio Urbani from Venice’s Nuova Icona Gallery who had earlier that year been commissioner for Lebanon’s pavilion in the 52nd Venice Biennale: the first time Lebanon had participated. He had been invited to visit Lebanon and asked me to accompany him and because this was a golden opportunity to explore an art scene that had lately interested me and I wanted to know more about I jumped at the opportunity.
Through Vittorio I was able to meet a large range of artists in the community and we had the opportunity to visit Ashkal Alwan the dynamic media centre in Beirut and it was there I viewed a video of the performance Looking for a Missing Employee as well as other work by Rabih Mroué. I was immediately struck by how Mroué was using the found media and the liberties he took with the material. The work was fresh, brazen and provocative in ways I had never seen before and frankly haven’t seen since.

Mroué wasn’t in Lebanon at the time but we did have coffee with his wife and collaborator Lina Saneh whose work is fresh and exciting in its own right and who I would love to see in an upcoming PuSh Festival. I came back raving to Norman about their work.
I returned to Lebanon in early 2008 for Ashkal Alwan’s amazing conference Homeworks 4 where I was able to take in “How Nancy Wished that Everything Was an April Fool’s Joke” Mroué’s epic retelling of the war through the myriad of factions that fought in it. The four actors sat passively onstage as different posters of the different factions of the Lebanese right and left flashed over their heads and they retold heroic tales of their deaths. The collective weight of the stories and the vitriolic retelling spoke to the futility of the conflict and the lasting yet contradictory lessons that were taken from it.

I still don’t know how to categorize Mroué’s work. As a refugee from theatre who migrated to visual art and performance I have a hard time placing exactly what he does. Theatre has always been for me a medium based in storytelling while performance takes its strength from image making but Mroué is somewhere between the two. His use of found media to make meaning is fascinating and disturbing but perhaps a fitting tribute to a war that left 300,000 dead and no one to atone for any of those losses. This generation of artists takes its impetus from making meaning out of the atrocity that was the Civil War in Lebanon. If they take liberties with the truth it is only because the truth is impossible to discern within this constantly shifting political landscape where deception and subterfuge go hand in hand. Mroué tells us a story that will knock your socks off as he takes us places we have never been before!!!! Don’t miss it!

For more information about Looking for A Missing Employee, click here.
For more information about The Pixelated Revolution, click here.
To purchase tickets, click here.

The Solo + Ensemble- Curatorial Statement

2012-01-10T19:14:00.000-08:00

By Nigel Prince, Executive Director, Contemporary Art Gallery

It was around April 2009 while still working as curator at Ikon in Birmingham, UK that I became aware of the possibility of developing an exhibition for a new work by Andrew Cross. The director of Ikon, Jonathan Watkins and I knew Andrew from earlier days in London and were familiar with earlier series of works such as An English Journey or Some Trains In America which rigorously document time and place through relatively minimal but analytical visual means.

Cross was in touch with his idea to make a film working with a rock musician, the exact details still to be fleshed out. However he crucially had a contact and an agreed commitment from Carl Palmer of ‘super-group’ Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Now for people of a certain age, usually men, and teenagers who grew up on ‘prog’ – progressive rock – prior to disowning this music for punk, such a possibility presented a mixture of intrigue and curiosity, and a certain excitement. Based on the artist’s larger concerns rooted in experience and memory associated with locations of particular value, the notion to let his scrutiny fall on a moment of cultural significance such as a drum solo seemed compelling in the least.

Cross and Palmer were both concerned to avoid celebrity as much as possible, so there was deliberate avoidance to let the camera linger on the persona of Palmer beyond the obvious. Instead what we get is a film focusing on the minutiae of his performance, the absorbing relationship between drummer and drum kit as the work unfolds across five specially composed solos. I remember seeing unedited takes, enthralled by Palmer’s virtuosity but at the same time Cross’ shooting somehow making for a deepened visual enquiry beyond a mere document. And of course there came the day when we all met, so to come face-to-face with Carl Palmer was quite a thrill, reminding me of days walking to friend’s houses as a fourteen-year old, vinyl LPs tucked under arms ready to sit there and studiously listen.

By coincidence it turned out Carl Palmer grew up in Birmingham, and as a sixteen-year old played an all-nighter at the Town Hall with his band who had just released a single. He was approached by Chris Farlowe to get in touch if he ever wanted a job. Months later the single flopped; options were running out so Palmer found Farlowe’s card, called him up and that weekend headed to London. The rest as they say …

A whole series of events - talks, discussions, Carl Palmer and his eight ‘favourite things’ - surrounded the exhibition which manifested as a double projection at Ikon Eastside at the beginning of July 2010. Of course other fun things opened up to us such as Jonathan and I going to the one-off Emerson, Lake and Palmer reunion gig in Victoria Park, London last summer, clambering over walls, going backstage. And it was during the installation that I was offered the position of director at the Contemporary Art Gallery here in Vancouver, so my memory is an odd conflation of differing pressures – installing The Solo and being interviewed at the end of the day UK time are not necessarily the most compatible of activities.

So I urge you to come to see this film and Ensemble, Cross’ latest which features cult band ‘The Enid’ at work in their communal home, then performing live with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. I was briefly at the rehearsals at the concert hall – something else. Both films have an intensity that is far reaching.

For more information about The Solo + Ensemble, click here.
To purchase tickets, click here.

Creating The Idiot- An interview

2012-01-09T14:17:00.000-08:00

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE IDIOT CREATORS DIRECTOR JAMES FAGAN TAIT AND COMPOSER JOELYSA PANKANEA

Both “Crime and Punishment” and now “The Idiot” mark a certain production style in your body of work. How did it start?

JAMES FAGAN TAIT: I had just finished working in the Downtown East Side with over 80
actors in a play, and I had done a few Ann Jellicoe-type community plays - one on Toronto Island, one in the Downtown East Side [In the Heart of a City] and six in Enderby with the Splatsin First Nations band and the City of Enderby - and I started believing in the power of large community and music and many people on stage of different variety. I realized that large shows with just a group of white professional actors didn’t have the same same resonance for me anymore. Camyar [Chai at Neworld] said that their mandate was diversity and I said “Can we have another field of diversity on stage: community artists, students, professional artists and artists who are not Equity?” So we did Crime and Punishment and the result was significant. We’re pursuing the same mandate with The Idiot: to create a culture in the cast.

Where did the idea for adapting “The Idiot” come from?

JOELYSA PANKANEA: I think Jimmy always felt it made sense after Crime and Punishment. He used to tell me back then, "We have to do The Idiot! That's the next one!" So something about it was right for him.

JFT: I first read it in 1982 for Ryerson Theatre School. I read Crime and Punishment and it changed my life. Then I laughed my way through The Idiot. And, after that, I always looked for people in my life who were those characters and I thought “I’m going to do this onstage”. I always knew I was going to do “Crime” – that was a for sure. After we did, I thought “Well, we did that. Why can’t a group like this do The Idiot? Dostoyevsky really had a different way of observing than anyone I had ever read.

What has been the life of this process?

JP: I can take you through the timeline of creating the music. I have been writing the score over the last year, we've done two workshops during that time. Each workshop consisted of four days in which we learned a TONNE of music. After our last workshop, Jimmy and I made final decisions about what pieces would stay in or be cut. For the last few months, I have been editing the score and the finished product finally got to Neworld a week before rehearsals started!

JFT: After “Crime” I said to Joelysa “We should do The Idiot with the same group. We then got a writing grant with no strings to any company. Camyar Chai said that Neworld might be interested in the next few years. (It ended up being seven years later). Peter Hinton at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and Albert Schultz at Soulpepper Theatre in Toronto were negotiating Crime and Punishment. It was just too big but we were looking for a way to get that work to the NAC and to Soulpepper. So Peter wanted to then go into development on The Idiot. So I went on a “Translation and Adaptation” residency where I finished Part One of the play (there were going to be two plays). That was four years ago. Once that was finished Marcus Youssef at Neworld then expressed interest in having a reading of Part One, sponsored by the Belfry Theatre with 15 actors. That was three years ago. Albert at Soulpepper wanted to hear it so I went to Toronto and had a reading with the Soulpepper Academy. When I came back Marcus said that Neworld was going to go forward with the production in three years. We then got grants to finish the writing – which meant the second part of the play. It was supposed to be two plays over two evenings but it was decided that I could do it in one evening as one play. Part One was compressed into our Act One. Last January and February I wrote Act Two, which was books two, three and four of the novel. We had our first workshop this past August, another in September and now here we are.

What has been the biggest challenge in creating this adaptation?

JFT: Turning Books Two, Three and Four into a play, compressing that much information.
It’s so different than “Crime and Punishment”, which is basically in one man’s head for three quarters of it until it goes into another man’s head for the last quarter (which I eliminated).
For “The Idiot” it was hard to take what is a polyphonic novel and turn it into something that has many fewer voices and to maintain its interest and beauty.

JP: Musically, the biggest challenge (other than the sheer size of the score) has been the
musical arc of the story. I always found Dostoyevsky's writing 'not as smooth' in this
particular novel. It wasn't until much later that Jimmy had told me that back then, this book would've come out as a weekly edition, piece by piece the story would be done, not all at once. I'm no Dostoyevsky expert, but I believe that he may have had a harder time writing this one than some of his others, and that might have been the 'fragmentation' I experienced and had such a hard time following. Also, it's usually trickier when dealing with books that are in large sectioned parts such as The Idiot.

What similarities and differences are there between “The Idiot” and “Crime”?

JFT: The Idiot moves from a redemptive place to one of despair, to bleakness. “Crime” is the opposite: it moves towards redemption where the criminal mind recognizes that, in order to live as a human being, he has to kneel down at the crossroads and beg forgiveness of the community. Then he can find redemption. In “The Idiot”, it moves in an opposite direction where a person coming out of an institution with his mind back intact after suffering severe mental illness is out in the community and he continually fails without his support group. He eventually loses his mind because he has not been programmed.
One is a descent and the other is an ascent. People who have seen “Crime” may have some
recognition this time in Dostoyevsky and think “That reminds me of that time in Crime and
Punishment”. But they’re very different novels, very different adaptations and the music is very different.

How do you find and create the “sound” for “The Idiot”?

JP: That's a huge question. Every theme comes from a different place, but I'll talk about the main theme only - creating a piece for a specific character. Nastasya is a character that is very complex. I'll spend a lot of time with the script until I really feel that I understand 'my version' of this person and I'll create the theme with my set of 'Nastasya-isms' in mind. I always know if I've come in at the right angle because the music comes cleanly, clearly and precisely.

JFT: The text is contemporary and the language is very current even though the play is set
in another period. As I write, I write all the lyrics and where the music starts in the first draft. I’ll sit down with Joelysa and read through it and then I’ll sing through it for her (which is horrifying) so she can hear a little bit of the flavor of where it comes from in my brain. She can hear scanning and word stress and genre. I’ll also feed her lots of CDs for inspiration. She’ll then ask for adjectives to get a sense of the qualities of the music and we go from there.

After Trio A + Beginning - Curatorial Statement

2012-01-06T10:55:00.000-08:00

By Mirna Zagar, Executive Director of The Dance Centre

The invitation for Andrea Bozic to come to Vancouver and present her work came quite late, as our originally scheduled artist Ivana Muller had to temporarily put on hold all physical activity to attend to motherhood. While I was sorry our community wouldn't be able to see Ivana’s work for a while, I didn’t hesitate for a second to call on Andrea.

I have known Andrea since her days as a student. Croatian born, she earned her degree in Comparative Literature and English Language in Croatia, and for a couple of years assisted me with the Dance Week Festival as well as other international projects. She was just out of dance school at the time. Her genuine enthusiasm, curiosity, passion for the performing arts coupled with a keen sense of analytical observation and her high voltage energy stood out even then! It was not a surprise then to one day hear her desire to further pursue her interest in performing arts as a practicing artist. Holland was a natural move as we had developed extensive connections to the Dutch mime and contemporary dance scene. And – off she went. I followed her development with pride and joy from the time she entered the School for New Dance Development in Amsterdam, which she completed in 1999, and then to her graduation from the Dance Unlimited MFA program in movement research and new media at the Theatre School Amsterdam. Her works continued to reflect her broad interests and as a result she continued to work cross-disciplinarily including performance, installation and short film. Slowly but steadily she was moving up and her work was spreading internationally, attracting the support of one of Holland’s most notable production houses The Frascatti.

Moving forward to Springdance Festival 2009 (Holland’s key festival and launch pad for many a Dutch choreographer), I came across her and two other long-time acquaintances of mine: Emio Greco and Pieter Scholten – the renowned Dutch artistic duo who are at the helm of ICK (International Choreographic Arts Centre), an internationally acclaimed choreographic and dance research centre in Amsterdam. It was the premiere of the performance Beginning, Middle, End by artists Andrea Bozic, Madalina Dan and Michael Pinchbek. This was a commission by the Festival for a collaboration by three former participants from three different countries- the work’s title itself refers both to the structure and concept of the work and to the structure of the working process. It was at that time that Emio and Pieter invited Andrea to become the first artist in residence at the ICK. The motivation for their choice lay in a “strong connection paired with mutual curiosity and empathy”. The structure of the piece itself allowed the authors to retain some autonomy yet also to collaborate on a full-length work. I was quite intrigued and enjoyed the simplicity of this endeavor that at the same time put forward questions that each author has to face each time a work is in the making. It was quite brilliant, I thought, at the time. And still do.

Also interesting, was that each part retained a life of its own. The full-length piece was created out of 3 simple words: beginning, middle, and end—turning the words into both form and content. In the end it was the questions that mattered, and the continuing dialogue: What is beginning? What is ending? What is it like to be in the middle? How are a beginning, middle and end related and how do they interact?

Beginning as a performance is the staging of a negotiation. It’s a dialogue between video artist Julia Willms’ drawing hand and Andrea’s moving body; a dialogue which happens somewhere in between sketching, walking, painting and the ritual of the dance. Simply put: two people talking.

After Trio A is based on Yvonne Rainer’s minimal dance piece Trio A and the No Manifesto written alongside of it (reconsidered in 2008). For those not as familiar with dance history: Trio A reduced dance to its essentials and is considered one of the beginning of postmodern dance. Yvonne Rainer turned the then current conventions of dance and the perception of body upside down, saying “dance is hard to see”. After Trio A is not a re-staging of Trio A, but a dialogue with it. The audience is not excluded. On the contrary, it becomes very much part of the piece as audience members go through the process in which watching becomes learning, learning becomes virtuosity, task-like activity becomes a dance, knowledge becomes power, history becomes present, body becomes political, the non-spectacular becomes strangely spectacular.

This work was commissioned by the organization of notable Cover#2 who invited Andrea Bozic to remake of a piece by a choreographer of a previous generation. Andrea’s response to the challenge resulted in a dialogue with a master, where she asks two dancers to learn a part of the original Trio A phrase live on stage, without any previous knowledge of it. They do it in front of the audience, learning from a recording of the original piece played on a TV monitor, within the course of the hour.

Andrea collaborates regularly with video artist Julia Willms. Wilms has worked with prominent composers and choreographers such as Chris Haring of Liquid Loft, and has also presented her work at galleries in Vienna, New York, Ghent, Essen and London among others. Another of Andrea’s long time collaborators is Robert Pravda, who, having studied engineering at the University of Novi Sad (former Yugoslavia) dedicated himself to making music in experimental underground circles. In 2001 he started WEIM a workshop on electro-instrumental music, which transformed into the electronica improvisational ensemble RecPlay. During his studies in Holland, he concentrated on building instruments for multimedia performances and making algorithmic compositions for spatial sound and light installation. For his sound-light installation 5x5x5 he was awarded the visitor’s prize of Shell’s Young Artist award in 2002. He currently teaches a course on image and sound with Kasper van der Horst, works with research groups Interactive Sonice Spaces and Genius Loci, and teaches sound-design at the St. Joost Academy in Breda. He exhibits throughout Holland, Germany, Belgium.

Andrea’s works always propose unorthodox strategies of viewing and often deal with the nature of reality and its perception. What happens on the borders between spaces has always been of particular interest to myself in making curatorial choices and in observing dance. Specifically I am intrigued around the notion of time, as much as I am fascinated by the treatment of space; how then does our perception of these change through the movement of the body or the action afore us? Some artists have an exceptionally elaborate way of approaching these questions, some invent new vocabulary and syntax – Andrea is very perceptive in all of her approaches, her questions probe – yet it is amazing how it all suddenly appears effortless, the connections of the key stakeholders in the making of a performance becomes subtly but strongly immersed and intertwined, seamless and so simple, allowing us to enter her world as it unfolds before us. However it is far from simplistic! After all she explores and proposes possible responses to questions most appropriate for stage: Where am I? What can I see? In what physical, fictional, imaginary space am I? The stage is a place in which to look and a place of practice. The theatre being a permanent space for dialogue on liveness. This has been the driving force behind her work: she investigates the relationships between presence, intimacy, distance in a space configured by media as much as by our own perception of what unfolds before us. And, nothing she does diminishes our experience of the reality before us or the one we are left to form through our own experience of the reality we shared with the performer(s) and with our fellow audience members. In her works she becomes a maverick as she investigates the themes of makeable realities and the shifting boundaries and the relations between reality and its perception.

Having followed Andrea’s work from her very first steps through to her development into a mature accomplished theatre maker, I have been particularly taken by the way she involves new media: combing, juxtaposing, questioning, probing, and blurring the boundaries between film, video and choreography. I am thrilled to be able to present Andrea’s work to Dance Centre and PuSh Festival audiences. It is the type of work that opens the dialogue on what dance is today and what it will be tomorrow, reminding us how often great ideas come in small packages! There is nothing really small about any of this, as something that once said “No” to spectacle becomes spectacular in its own way as does After Trio A. Watching becomes learning, learning becomes virtuosity, task-like activity becomes a dance, knowledge becomes power, history becomes present, body becomes political, the non-spectacular becomes strangely spectacular.

Dances for a Small Stage® 25 - Curatorial Statement

2012-01-05T10:21:00.000-08:00

By Julie-anne Saroyan, Artistic Producer of Dances for a Small Stage

This show marks the Silver Anniversary, or 25th installment, for Dances for a Small Stage®. We celebrate this milestone by bringing back some of the very first artists who helped launch the Small Stage Series almost 10 years ago, while welcoming emerging talent who will usher in our next 25 shows. I am really excited to present an eclectic range of dance, flamenco, and hip hop artists.

I have asked the artists to tackle the themes that come up in the Grimm’s Fairy Tales. There are more than 200 stories that have been told over and over again. There are a number of versions of these popular stories, like Little Red Riding Hood and Sleeping Beauty to Rapunzel to The Frog Prince; we all know at least a few of them. I just love these stories; they are dark, scary and always include a lesson to be learned.

The role of the master of ceremonies is a great way to thread together a performance of this nature. For this Small Stage, at the PuSh Festival, I am thrilled to have the incredibly talented Patrick Pennefather as the host for the evening. I have known Patrick for eons. He’s a composer, songwriter, sound designer, producer, musical director, and performer in almost any genre of music imaginable and… he has been on the Small Stage a few times in the past. Patrick is a master of improvisation and zany antics!

I have invited an incredible line-up of artists that I am really thrilled about. There is a diverse array of returning audience favourites and fresh choreographic voices, including Serge Bennathan, Noam Gagnon, Cori Caulfield, Josh Beamish, Claire French, Caroline Liffmann, Lina Fitzner, Yeva & Thoenn Glover, Flamenco dancer Karen Pitkethly, and hip-hop artist Kim Sato.

Both Noam Gagnon and Cori Caulfield were in the very first Dances for a Small Stage back in May 2002 at The Royal. It seems fitting they should return as part of this celebration.

I am honoured that Serge Bennathan is going to create a work for the Small Stage. I have been a fan of Serge’s work for many years.
Sit back, relax, enjoy a drink and get ready for a wild ride!
As always, the most exciting thing for me is that I can hardly wait to see what happens on our Small Stage. The possibilities are endless.

Darren O'Donnell: Reflections on Eating the Street with Children

2011-12-29T12:36:00.000-08:00

Now that our Haircuts by Children have grown back and we've recovered from the high of our Children's Choice Awards, we are delighted to welcome another PuSh experience fraught with the unbridled opinions and exclamations of children with Eat the Street.

We spoke with the ever-adventurous Darren O'Donnell, Artistic and Research Director of Mammalian Diving Reflex about the value and challenges of working with children.

How do you decide the theme for each project? (Haircuts, Children's Choice Awards, The restauranteur experience of Eat the Street)

We are just trying to think of fun stuff to do with kids and adults together that tend to flip hierarchies so the actual activities are often just fancy excuses to make that happen. The theme is the same thing over and over and over. In terms of how we pick the activity, I don't know. They just seem like good ideas, I suppose.

How do these experiences with children inform the rest of your work?

They've made me very relaxed about outcomes. When you work with kids, you pretty much have to give up on controlling how things happen and you have to work with what you get. That's really valuable in all contexts.

What drew you to children as collaborators?

Nothing, really. Haircuts by Children occurred to me while attending a antiracist conference in Chicago when I tried to get a kid to cut my hair and he wouldn't. The project was so successful that everybody thinks we're experts at working with children and we enjoyed it so much that we didn't mind the shift. But, we kept working with kids because they are really a contested entity. I had been trying to make "edgy" work all of my life but when I started to work with kids, many people reacting strongly, some suggesting I'm a pedophile or that the work is unethical or suggesting that we should lower the age of consent. Craziness. But productive craziness. There's a community artist in Vancouver who slandered me on a blog and the lawyers had to be called in and she deleted it all. Because children represent a future ideal of us, they are in the middle of many battles. That makes them interesting collaborators. They also force adults to choose between a dictatorial hierarchy, where you control their bodies with very little negotiation, or a situation where you pretty much let them do whatever they want and the situation becomes quite anarchic. So forcing adults to choose between authoritarianism and anarchism is a pretty funny thing to do.

What's next?

They Came from Outer Space - video
Dare Night: To Hell with the Truth will be happening monthly at gallerywest in Toronto and a special one on February 18th at the Drake.
we will be doing Eat the Street, in Vancouver in January-February
Monster Makers in Ottawa in March
Rights of the Child, infraction ticket (artist multiple)
The Best Sex I've Ever Had in Germany and Switzerland in April and Singapore in May and Vancouver in June.
These are the People in Your Neighborhood, May 2012, Toronto
Nightwalks with Teenagers, June 2012, Leeds UK
The Torontonians vs. The Gladstone Hotel, August 2012
Haircuts by Children in a few places in Australia
Companions and Strangers, summer 2012, Australia and Fall 2012, Toronto
The Children's Choice Awards in Germany at the Rhurtriennelle
The Children's Choice Awards at Nuit Blanche
a Residency at the Art Gallery of Ontario
a gig in Philly at some market there.
plus I'm working on a Msc in Urban Planning at U of T and hope to go overseas for a Phd.

* * *

Darren O'Donnell is a writer, director, social acupuncturist, designer and research director of The Tendency Group. His shows include A Suicide-Site Guide to the City, Diplomatic Immunities, pppeeeaaaccceee, [boxhead], White Mice, Over, Who Shot Jacques Lacan?, Radio Rooster Says That's Bad and Mercy! He has written for C Magazine, Public, Canadian Theatre Review, Daily News and Analysis India and Descant.

Zachary Oberzan: Capturing time through video

2011-12-29T12:32:00.000-08:00

Zachary Oberzan is a multi-talent. He is a filmmaker, theatre director, actor, singer/songwriter and experimental video artist. His most recent work, the funny, touching, and at times, deeply personal Your brother. Remember? opens Club PuSh, and we couldn't be happier.

An original member of the New York City-based theater collective Nature Theater of Oklahoma, he collaborated in the creation and performance of the plays No Dice (Obie Award), Poetics: a ballet brut, and the one-man show Rambo Solo. In 2007 he created a "one-man cinematic war," Flooding with Love for The Kid, a feature film that adapted David Morrell's 1972 novel First Blood, in which Oberzan, as a metaphor for Rambo's own singular struggle, shot, designed, edited, and played all 26 characters by himself in his 220-square-foot Manhattan studio apartment.

First of all, we're thrilled to have you back at PuSh this year. What are some of the highlights of your career since we had the pleasure of seeing your work in Poetics: a ballet brut with Nature Theater of Oklahoma in 2010?

It was in May of that year, 2010, that Your brother. Remember? premiered at Kunstenfestival in Brussels, and I've been truly astonished and flattered by the run it's having. Also in 2010, the feature film I made essentially for myself in my own apartment, Flooding with Love for The Kid, was "discovered" and has been playing all over the world at various film festivals and institutions. When I'm able to I attend the screenings and I very much enjoy discussing the process and motivations of making that film with audiences.

As is evident in Your brother. Remember? you've had a fascination with recreating scenes from iconic films from a young age. And some dark material, to boot. What drew the young Zachary and Gator to a film like Faces of Death?

When we were teenagers my brother and I spent a night at my dad's house in New Hampshire. For entertainment, we went to a video store and he let us pick out whatever we wanted. Faces of Death jumped out at us, and having only viewed it that one evening on my dad's VCR, it obviously made a lasting impression.

Revisiting the same material 20 years later must have been a trip. Was there something healing or comforting in the experiment of the before and after? Did you anticipate any personal revelations through the process?

When I began the project, it really was just an experiment of sorts, an attempt to capture time through video. It was only while actually working in it, and then fitting it all together, that the true nature of the piece began to develop... a healing process between myself, my brother, and Jean Claude Van Damme, whom I consider an honorary brother. I was quite surprised how the piece turned out. I had no idea it would be so poignant for me. Bur that's really at the core of my work...I think it naturally takes that shape, because my work has to teach me something about my life, otherwise there is no point in it.

You've had incredible success with Rambo Solo, your one-man theatre show which you later developed into a solo film Flooding With Love For The Kid (on a $96 budget no less!). When did the idea come to you that you should revisit similar reenactments from your childhood with Your brother. Remember?

When I finished making Flooding with Love for The Kid, I was a Hollywood movie star. Hollywood never bothered to make me one, though I was quite capable of the task, so that's why I took matters into my own hands. Anyway, having become a Hollywood star, I figured I should continue in the steps of Hollywood. Every 20 years, Hollywood remakes its own films. But they plug in the latest actors and hairstyles and hip locations and music and body fat ratios. I wanted to remake my own 20 year old films, but keep everything the same as much as possible, to create an elaborate before and after effect. So I re-made them shot for shot, with the same exact locations, actors, dialogue, props, etc. Except now you could see the 20 years difference. For better or worse. And of course seeing those differences, and taking a look at what happened during those 20 years, and how we all ended up where we are...therein lies your bittersweetness.

Do You Want What I Have Got? A Craigslist Cantata - Curatorial Statement

2011-12-22T20:49:00.000-08:00

By Norman Armour, PuSh Festival Executive Director

Soon…. Another January… Another year… Another holiday season… Another partnership with the Arts Club Theatre Company. For all of us at the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, working with Bill, Howard, Peter and the rest of the Arts Club team is not only a tradition—it’s an annual celebration!

Eight years for the annual PuSh Festival. Hard to imagine something being more of a miracle these days than the emergence, growth and remarkable achievements of the Festival since its modest beginnings as an initiative of Rumble Productions and Touchstone Theatre. Notice a pattern? Partnerships are something of a modus operandi for us; they’re at the heart of virtually everything we undertake. And truthfully, they are also behind much of our success.

Across the city, over 100 performances will be presented to curious and passionate audiences totaling well over 20,000 strong. I invite you to count yourself among the lucky ones—fortunate to be taking in a new theatrical creation from two of Vancouver’s most beloved artists.

I mean, think on it for a moment…. Veda Hille and Bill Richardson. Who would you rather sit down with for a long and leisurely coffee, in Paris café style, to watch the world pass by, with the requisite stream of shared commentary and the appropriate observatory wit? Then add to the mix director Ami Gladstone, dramaturg Rachel Ditor, a stellar cast and a crackerjack design and production team… and, well… as the saying goes, you have a recipe for success.

PuSh is just too darn proud… proud to be presenting this brand new Canadian piece with the Arts Club, and just as proud to have played a role, with Theatre Replacement, in its original commission and presentation, as a “twenty minute musical” at Club PuSh, way back in 2009. The Arts Club’s Revue Stage is steeped in a long and embroidered history of musicals and cabarets, so it’s fitting that the theatre will soon be adorned with Veda and Bill’s artful stitching and musical rendering of our daily retail flotsam and their accompanying S.O.S.

Do You Want What I have Got? A Craigslist Cantata is the kind of homegrown theatrical folly that PuSh has been championing since its beginning. Putting a new twist on the well-worn and veneered tradition of musical revues is just as groundbreaking and innovative as anything you might take in at the 2012 PuSh Festival. Indeed, a few hundred Craigslist entries might well reveal as much about contemporary life and the human condition, North American style, than anything you might read at the newsstand, or take out from the public library.

Come on… I’m certain Veda and Bill have got a little something you want.

Your brother. Remember? - Curatorial Statement

2011-12-22T13:45:00.000-08:00

By Sherrie Johnson, PuSh Festival Senior Curator

It was a blustery New York evening as I trudged along Lafayette toward Dixon Place, New York City's Laboratory for Performance. I was in New York for the annual Under the Radar Festival. UTR Festival Artistic Director, Mark Russell, has kindly invited me to N.Y. the past few years to produce and host the pitch sessions as part of the Symposium activities. Just as I have been involved with PuSh since the inception, the same holds true for Under the Radar. Every year, for the past eight years, I always look forward to my annual pilgrimage to New York and Vancouver to engage with artists, colleagues, peers and audiences in the communal environment of shared space.

On this particular evening I was heading to see Zachary Oberzan's Your brother. Remember? I was already taken by Zachary the first time I saw him perform with the New York based company Nature Theatre of Oklahoma (Poetics: a ballet brut, PuSh 2010). I took my seat in the front row and I could feel my body relax as I settled into this warm and familiar environment: the theatre. On this night four brave souls sat in the front - one was my dear friend, the other two were strangers to me, the rest of the audience sat behind the front row.

Your brother. Remember? is the most sincere and heartfelt 60 minutes of solo storytelling I've come across in the theatre. Two brothers, Zachary and Gator, grow up in a loving family in rural Maine. As a way to pass the time the brothers, along with their sidekick sister Jenny, parody Hollywood films by remaking them to precision in the comfort of their own home - costumes, props, locations and all. A favorite was Jean-Claude Van Damme's Kickboxer (the films' premise is that the main character fights to avenge his brother who has been paralyzed by a Thai kickboxing champion). As the children grow up they grow apart. Zachary goes on to become a well-known performer, Gator spirals into an abyss of drug addiction and is sent to prison. As an attempt to stay connected, Gator writes his brother letters from prison. As time passes, Zachary reaches out to connect with his wayward brother using the letters as a starting point for dialogue. As a way to rebuild their relationship, they go back to the house in Maine where they grew up, and twenty years later, recreate Kickboxer - using the same costumes, props, locations and all. Their bodies are much different - but frame-by-frame, word for word, as the cameras roll, you see the transformation, love and respect as the brother's work to regain a sense of belonging and place and Gator struggles to regain control of his life. The crowning achievement of this family portrait is that it never passes judgement. As an audience member you experience the pain, the struggle, the vulnerability, the humour, and the absurdity of a family working to overcome their struggles. As you watch the footage of the younger brothers edited alongside footage of the men they've become twenty years later, you clearly see the affection that exists between them and how their lives are forever intertwined. All the while Zachary emcees the evening from a chair on the stage.

It was about half way through Your brother. Remember? when I realized the man sitting next to me in the front row was Zachary's brother Gator. The tenderness, honesty, simplicity and complexity of Zachary and Gator is an homage to families. Any conflict can be overcome with love, commitment and dedication, and this I learned from Zachary and Gator one cold night in New York.

Taylor Mac, Comparison is Violence - Curatorial Statement

2011-12-15T14:40:00.000-08:00

By PuSh Festival Executive Director Norman Armour

He’s back!

Taylor Mac is back. And this time, he’s serious. Seriously. Well, not so seriously. But he is back.

Remember him from 2009? Maybe you caught him headlining Club PuSh. Maybe you were caught by the photo of him that served as the Festival’s signature image that year. Come on, surely you remember… he was regaled in all his sequined, coifed and coutured splendor—as striking as a peacock in full bloom. Regardless, there’s a good chance you may have been caught off guard.

Taylor is disarming. Not in some superficial, shocking way, but in the way that his take on the world, his take on life, and his take on performance, will make a die-hard fan out of the most cynical and world-wearied. Underlying Taylor Mac’s work is a vision of a world and a revolution one could believe in. What’s also remarkable is the way her/his alpha-persona never loses sight that we all are performers eargerly awaiting our time on stage in the limelight. Each one of us singular, one of a kind, with nothing and no one to be compared to—because yes…comparison is violence.

On countless occasions, Taylor Mac was written up by media as “a cross between Ziggy Stardust and Tiny Tim.” Taylor chose to take matters into his own hands, and take his backstage rants out front and centre. Essentially make a show of it. He also thought to take the bull the by the horns—to celebrate the songs of Tiny Tim and David Bowie’s 70’s glam alter ego. (If you have a big question mark hovering above your head right now, simply Google "ukulele + Tiny Tim.") Join us at Club PuSh for a night of songs, anecdotes, observations and the occasional rant.

In the meantime, as Oscar Wilde quipped, “Be yourself; everyone else is taken.”

Click here to read more about Taylor Mac at Club PuSh 2012 with Comparison is Violence

Mary Margaret O'Hara & Peggy Lee- Curatorial Statement

2011-12-15T10:19:00.000-08:00

By Veda Hille, Club PuSh Curator

I have been part of the curatorial team for Club PuSh for a few years now, and I’m still giddy with the power of it all. For example, when my friend and frequent collaborator Peggy Lee (the cellist, not the deceased singer) mentioned that she had worked with iconic Canadian songwriter Mary Margaret O’Hara in Whitehorse last year, my new curator-brain immediately sprang into action. “I would love to see that.” said my brain, and then my mouth. Peggy and Mary Margaret have continued their collaboration, and I am so so excited to present them here in our town. A premiere! Really, it just seems like the best musical pairing. It also has the rare specialness that I associate with PuSh. A chance to see something that just doesn’t happen all that often, something that I’ll feel lucky about for years.

And it doesn’t end there. Then we had to figure out who the heck could follow this show on the late night stage. I’m particularly proud of these musical coups: on Friday night we have Apollo Ghosts, my favourite Vancouver rock band of the last few years, and on Saturday we have that irascible troubadour Geoff Berner. I’ll be there both nights, running from my performance at the Arts Club to catch as much of this music as I can. See you there.

For more information and to buy tickets for Mary Margaret O'Hara & Peggy Lee at Club PuSh, click here.

Happy Holidays from PuSh. Win Tickets to BAH! HUMBUG!

2011-12-09T09:29:00.000-08:00

AN SFU WOODWARD'S TRADITION
SFU Woodward's and the Vancouver Moving Theatre with the Vancouver Playhouse and The Community Arts Council of Vancouver are pleased to bring back to the stage Bah! Humbug!, a benefit in support of community arts in the Downtown Eastside.

Directed by Max Reimer 
Musical direction by Neil Weisensel
Starring Jay Brazeau, Jim Byrnes & Margo Kane
Featuring over 20 popular & seasonal songs

A contemporary adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Bah! Humbug! parallels the economic disparities between Victorian England and Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Reconceived as a staged reading and musical event, this presentation includes community actors working along side professional actors from the city.

"A witty, heart-filled production!"  –Megan Harris
"A fantastic way to get into the spirit of the season!"  –Diane Roberts, urban ink

BAH! HUMBUG!
Fei & Milton Wong Experimental Theatre, Level B2
December 14-17th at 7:30 pm and from December 17-18th at 2 pm
Winning tickets are for the performance of your choice.

For more information, or to purchase tickets to Bah! Humbug!, click here.

Fill out the form below for your chance to win. Two pairs of tickets will be awarded.

***The contest is now closed. Congratulations to Nita B and Brigitte R!***
<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Loading...&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

Attacks Lab- Curatorial Statement

2011-12-07T18:00:00.000-08:00

By Dani Fecko, Associate Curator, PuSh Festival
& Anita Rochon, Attacks Lab Co-Curator

A workshop with Guided Tour (2012) and
City of Dreams (2011) director Peter Reder
is among the many Attacks Lab offerings.

The idea behind Attacks Lab started two and a half years ago, in conversations with PuSh Executive Director Norman Armour and Rumble Artistic Producer Craig Hall. The intention was to create a space for directors to be able to talk about each other’s work in a critical way – not to put each other down, and not always to raise each other up, but to have frank discussions about why/how artistic decisions are made, when they work and why they might not. Last year, Rumble and PuSh hosted the Director’s Lab that brought seven directors together with CanStage’s Matthew Jocelyn for a week of exploration, discovery and discussion.

Award-winning director and
hybrid artist Phil Soltanoff
offers a series of workshops.

Attacks Lab 2012 has a wider array of activities with a roster of some of the most exciting voices in theatre from the local, national and international scene. We built on feedback from last year where the directors appreciated the opportunity to examine and define their own practices in relation to others, so this series has an equal mix of hands-on workshops and conversations with focused questions. The topics range from working with actors and designers to case studies to the specific techniques of the invited directors. Many of the sessions have been opened up to artists of all practices as well as to our audiences.

Directing is usually a solitary endeavor with few opportunities to reflect and examine in a public context. With local moderators bringing years of experience and pointed enquiries into the workshops and conversations, we hope to facilitate heated and relevant exchanges meant to inspire and challenge all involved. Most of the activities are free or very affordable as it was important to us to encourage healthy participation and cross-pollination. The Attacks Lab 2012 series is the perfect compliment to the festival so we invite you join us for many (or all) of the events.

Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner and the Farewell Speech- Curatorial Statement

2011-12-07T15:02:00.000-08:00

By Sherrie Johnson
Senior Curator, PuSh Festival

“A singular language, made of hijacked rituals and obsessive poetry, captivates from start to finish.” -Le Soir (Belgium)

This 70-minute show, which is in Japanese, with English titles, consists of three short parts created by Japan's leading experimental theatre-maker Toshiki Okada.

Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner and The Farewell Speech challenges our prejudices, provokes our imaginations and allows us a forum to contextualize our current state of being. Toshiki Okada's chelfitsch theatre has captured a deeply personal and political worldview with this triptych.

With today's struggling society as our backdrop: the world financial crisis, Occupy movements, the Arab spring, juxtaposed alongside a world of banal dialogue, spastic movement, and seemingly trivial and repetitive patterns of speech, Okada is making a profound and daring statement reflecting the disparity of the current generation through his art. The message one takes away is the absolute disillusionment and despair about what the future holds for his generation and the next.

The anxiety illustrated by this group of young performers as they contort, shake, and tremble starts to agitate and disturb to the point where you as an audience member begin to shudder at the thought of being a citizen in this "empty society".

Is it possible we can be jolted out of this nightmare? That is the burning question underlying this captivating production. cheltfitsch masterfully strips away layers and through this production reminds of us our common humanity. It is through casual conversations, habitual routines, and everyday scenarios that we come to understand we are the 99%. Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner and The Farewell Speech has reminded me that art can stir us into action and give us a glimpse into understanding the human condition. I guarantee a night out at this show is the key to navigating and taking control of your future. It's yours for the taking!

Eat the Street- Curatorial Statement

2011-12-01T11:58:00.000-08:00

By Norman Armour
Executive Director, PuSh Festival

Darren O’Donnell's visit to Vancouver this January will mark the third time PuSh has presented the work of Mammalian Diving Reflex. Presenting an artist multiple times over a festival life is nothing particularly out of the ordinary; in some cases, a festival can become a true champion for an artist, commissioning work, hosting residencies, connecting the work with other presenters for subsequent tours domestically and abroad. At the same time, the meaning of these types of relationships runs both ways; in some cases an artist and their work can become a signature, signpost and/or a standout feature that defines the character of a festival—its identity, curatorial bent and reputation with festival colleagues elsewhere.

Darren O’Donnell’s work speaks to many of the values that the PuSh Festival stands for and acts upon: innovative artistic practices, genre-busting work, community engaged interests, and a discerning curiosity for the everyday, for the world at large. His notion of “social acupuncture” alone has made Darren a trendsetter and one of the most sought after Canadian contemporary performing artists. Google his breakout project Haircuts by Children and you’ll get a sense of just how far and wide his body of work has reached.

Vancouver’s culinary scene needs no boosting here. For Eat the Street, we have chosen a sampling of restaurants that define Vancouver’s downtown food culture. Mostly are relatively new, though we have also included a couple of age-old stalwarts. Every one of the eating establishments is an enthusiastic participant; and with both Mammalian Diving Reflex and PuSh, enthusiasm counts for a great deal. In fact, a “celebratory” attitude is a prerequisite with Darren’s work. For those of you who experienced at PuSh The Children’s Choice Awards (2009) or the Haircuts by Children (2008), you’ll know what I mean.

Eat the Street celebrates food and youth. It puts the agency of kids at the centre of what is surely one of our most social and human activities. Thirty kids from Surrey’s Bridgeview Elementary School will be enrolled in the project: a roving jury, ten kids at a time, will be escorted by Darren and local coordinator Donna Soares. In the coming weeks, we’ll be providing details on the restaurants involved, along with the dates and times when the “Jury from Surrey” will be sitting down for a meal. Consider joining them one night. It’ll be fun.

In the meantime, save the date: Saturday, February 4 at 2pm, Roundhouse Arts and Recreation for the official awards ceremony (a free event). It will be a raucous, delightful smile-on-your-face event. Be there, or be square!

Donor Spotlight: Lydia Marston-Blaauw

2011-12-01T10:11:00.000-08:00

Without the generosity of donors like Lydia, PuSh would not be able to continue. It's as simple as that.

"Attending the PuSh Festival makes January a month I look forward to with great anticipation. The shows are always delightful, provocative and thought-provoking in equal measures. And of course I donate to the Festival … I know that buying tickets is just not enough to keep a marvelous festival like this one strong."

Lydia Marston-Blaauw
Curators Circle Member

PuSh is committed to engaging and enriching audiences with adventurous contemporary works in a spirit of innovation and dialogue. To do that, the Festival works hard all year to raise funds to support its ambitions mission. Donors are rewarded for their support with exclusive access to the Festival and its programming. Make a tax deductible donation to the PuSh Festival today!

One of A Kind Offer for fans of PuSh

2011-12-01T09:35:00.000-08:00

PuSh fans are One of A Kind, and so we do our best to reward you with appropriate opportunities.

Win a pair of tickets to The One of A Kind Show

Thursday December 8 to Sunday, December 11

The One of a Kind Show is North America’s answer to contemporary craft shows, bringing innovative artisans, craftspeople, and designers together to share their unique creations with the rest of the world. With a proud focus on homegrown talent, our shows bring together the best of the best, for a personal shopping experience like no other. Our vast selection, on-site perks and endless show features make us the most preeminent shopping destination of the season.

The One of a Kind Show
December 8 – 11, 2011
at the Vancouver Convention Centre West.

Show Hours:
Thursday to Saturday 10am - 9pm
Sunday 10am - 5pm

Increase your chances of winning, and tell your friends!
Follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook to increase your chances of winning.
Two prizes will be awarded: one from the form below, and one from a random draw of names from new Facebook likes and RT's of our One of a Kind contest tweets.
Contest closes Wednesday, December 7th at 5pm. Winners will be notified shortly thereafter. Names of winners will be left at the door for complimentary entry to the event.
Good luck, friends!

Loading...

DEADLINE EXTENDED! PushOFF 2012: Call for Expressions of Interest

2011-11-24T16:35:00.000-08:00

***DEADLINE EXTENDED TO DECEMBER 11. 2011***

PushOFF is an independent curated platform for tour-ready works and projects in development by BC artists.

PushOFF 2011 was initially instigated by an ad-hoc group of artists and centred around the PuSh Assembly. This inaugural edition was a showcase coordinated by Kris Nelson/Antonym and Joyce Rosario/New Works, hosted by The Cultch and The Dance Centre and produced with the support of Made in BC – Dance on Tour.
Companies that participated last year include: Radix Theatre, MACHiNENOiSY, The Chop Theatre, Theatre Replacement, Les Productions Figlio, Tara Cheyenne Performance, Out Innerspace, Theatre SKAM, Kahlil Ashanti, Joe Ink & 605 Collective.
96 industry professionals participated and attended PushOFF 2011, about half were from Vancouver and the rest were guests from the BC region, across Canada, USA, Europe and Australia.
We produced 250 brochures, a micro-site, as well as cross promoted our activities on the PuSh Festival website. For your reference please visit http://www.antonyminc.ca/pushoff/

PushOFF 2012 will be co-produced by a working team comprised of Theatre Replacement, Antonym, and New Works. Guided by a desire to create an ‘off’ culture in Vancouver and connect colleagues attending the PuSh Festival with local professionals in an independent event, PushOFF is a platform for innovative projects, strong artistic voices and work and ideas that are ready to travel. PushOFF 2012 will include curated showcases at The Cultch and Progress Lab 1422 and umbrella other off-events happening in the city. Selections will be made by committee. Values that will impact our selection include artistic integrity, feasibility, and a dedication to advancing theatre, dance
and interdisciplinary performance as they connect to audiences beyond their homes.

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR WORK FOR CONSIDERATION

We seek expressions of interest for the following type of activity: 15–20 minute performed excerpts of finished works or works-in-progress presented in a showcase format
open rehearsal / studio showing of work-in-progress to be included in PushOFF’s marketing umbrella
independently produced work to be included in PushOFF’s marketing umbrella
no pitches, thanks
please submit your application by email as a single PDF document
a one-page letter introducing yourself, your project & why you would like to participate in PushOFF this year
completed expression of interest form (Click here for PDF. For Word version, please contact us below)
links to websites, work samples and videos available online are encouraged
send your application to submissions@newworks.ca

FEES
There is no submission fee. Participating artist entities or companies will contribute $50 to project marketing & coordination. deadline and notification
Please submit your letter by Sunday, December 11, 2011. Selections will be made by Wednesday, December 14, 2011.
PushOFF will take place February 2 – 5, 2012 with the showcase events complementing the schedule of the assembly. We encourage participating artists to attend the PuSh Assembly and other festival events. Admission to showcase events is free, stay tuned for details on how to reserve tickets.

ANY QUESTIONS?
Please contact joyce@newworks.ca or kris@antonyminc.ca

Almighty Voice and His Wife - Curatorial Statement

2011-11-24T11:55:00.000-08:00

By Sherrie Johnson
PuSh Festival Senior Curator

In October 2010 I had the good fortune to travel to Halifax to attend Prismatic, a national festival celebrating Canada's leading Aboriginal and culturally diverse artists, produced by Shahin Sayadi and Maggie Stewart of Onelight Theatre.

It was during Prismatic that I attended Native Earth Performing Arts' production of Almighty Voice and His Wife, written by Aboriginal playwright Daniel David Moses. This first rate production was revived in 2009 (originally produced in 1991) and directed by Michael Greyeyes, an outstanding First Nations actor, choreographer, director and educator. As a sidebar, PuSh has commissioned Michael Greyeyes to deliver a keynote address to kick off this year's PuSh Assembly titled "Staging Ethnicity" (Feb. 2nd).

Almighty Voice and His Wife is written in two acts. The first act is a naturalistic snapshot of Almighty Voice, a 19th century Saskatchewan Cree, and his Wife, White Girl. Act 1 comes from a place of oral tradition and story telling - the story is narrated and told from the memory of White Girl. We discover Almighty Voice is accused of stealing a settler's cow for their wedding feast, is jailed, makes a heroic escape and together the newlyweds go on the run from the law fleeing through Saskatchewan. While hiding from their captors, Almighty Voice slays one of the pursuing Mounties. The couple is forced to separate - eventually leading to the incarceration of White Girl and the death of Almighty Voice.

The second act takes a bizarre and ironic twist as a vaudeville cabaret. White Girl is now dressed as a Mountie, leading us through the second act as a Master of Ceremonies while Almighty Voice returns as a Ghost (both in whiteface). The second act mocks a non-native society in their attempt to locate their "native voice". In this Act, White Girl forces Almighty Voice into one demeaning act after another until finally they succumb to each other and are reunited as man and wife as "proud Native-Canadians." The circus that ensues in the second act underscores the absurdity of colonialism, and therein lies the brilliance of this piece. A sheer assault on our moral compass as a society - theatre doesn't get any better than this.

This iconic work from Daniel David Moses stands the test of time and should not be missed by PuSh audiences!

Board of Directors Spotlight- Kent Gallie

2011-11-23T21:30:00.000-08:00

There are many people surrounding the PuSh Festival who offer their time, passion,
and expertise to its success. Among those people are the inspiring, hardworking, and committed members of our board of directors. Kent Gallie is a recent addition to that incredible team. We asked him a few questions about his relationship with the festival.
He very kindly answered them.

Why do you support PuSh?

I've been a fan of the festival for a long time.
Innovative, compelling, risky, yet always meaningful work from local, national and international artists, all presented with highest quality professional standards right here in our own backyard.
This festival is one of a kind, and one of only a handful of similar festivals in North America. It helps put Vancouver on the map as a desirable cultural destination, helps define the identity of the city.
A midwinter artistic feast to brighten up those long, gray, dreary days. I look forward to PuSh every year, I support it by donating both time and money and I love it!

What do you bring to PuSh?

Arts administration and production experience in general, and more specifically my work as Interim Managing Director for the PuSh Festival in 2010-11, helps me bring a deep level of understanding of the administrative workings of the festival to the board table and into my work on the PuSh finance committee.

What is PuSh's greatest asset?

Vision, both curatorial and in a strong practice of organizational strategic planning.
That and the staff - Norman, Minna, Sherrie and all of the full time, part time and contract staff - an absolutely phenomenal team of talented, hard working and passionate pros.
What they pull off year in and year out presenting this festival is nothing short of astounding.

The Idiot- Curatorial Statement

2011-11-17T08:50:00.000-08:00

By Norman Armour, Executive Director,
PuSh International Performing Arts Festival

The PuSh Festival has had several watershed moments throughout its brief history. These have been times in the Festival’s life when something defining occurred, something that changed how PuSh was viewed by people within and without the organization. These were points along the grid of history when the outer edge of certain limits was shifted. Last year’s La Marea (The Tide) in the streets of Gastown was such a moment. The Electric Company Theatre’s collaboration with Theatre at UBC on Studies in Motion was also such a moment. Another one was the premiere of a local production back in 2005, the very year when PuSh became a stand-alone organization, moving on from its founding organizations Rumble Productions and Touchstone Theatre. The Roundhouse Arts and Recreation Centre played host to an adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment that was simply astounding, breathtaking, remarkable, stunning, jaw dropping—and a host of other well-worn clichés.

There was the sheer scale and vastness of the work’s theatrical vision. There was the large acting ensemble cast with members from the Downtown Eastside—all of them artists in their own right—teamed up with regulars from the ranks of Vancouver’s professional acting pool. There were the words—often spoken almost as song with a haunting live score, on a stage of the barest scenic elements and brilliantly illuminated. And yet, what struck me was the tender humour, the wit and the assuredness with which the production cradled the novel’s pained themes and world weary sensibility. I remember to this day, with absolute clarity, the final image of Raskolnikov, the play’s protagonist, being swallowed up by the crowd and the audience feeling that they had participated in something on a grand scale that they might never encounter again.

For this year’s staging of Dostoevsky’s The Idiot, they are back at it again. Once again Neworld Theatre is working with Vancouver Moving Theatre. Once again, director and adapter James Fagan Tait is collaborating with composer and musical director Joelysa Pankanea. Once again, a group of Vancouver’s finest designers join a group of actors from diverse communities and neighborhoods being brought together for what promises to be another watershed moment.

The Idiot is as big as it gets. This is big theatre. This is theatre that tackles big questions. This is theatre that fills the stage. It breathes. It heaves. It’s symphonic. It’s monumental. And it’s completely human. This is work that deserves to be on any stage, anywhere in the world. The PuSh Festival is fortunate to be a commissioner. Theatre at UBC is fortunate to have it students involved. All of us are fortunate to have the chance to witness its premiere. Please, come join the crowd and be one of the fortunate.

Neworld announces book club for The Idiot

2011-11-16T16:48:00.000-08:00

The Idiot. The production. The BOOK CLUB.

In preparation for our upcoming production of The Idiot, Neworld Theatre is starting an online conversation about Dostoyevsky’s great novel. And we invite you to join the chat!

This is a unique opportunity to engage with the story on a whole new journey: enjoy the book, discuss it with other readers, see our production and continue the discussion. Establish a relationship with the characters and the story that goes beyond just reading or watching – join a community!

It’s easy:

First, join the online social network for literature Goodreads (www.goodreads.com) - it’s free and basically like Facebook for book-lovers. You can also download the free app for your iPhone or iPad.
Add Neworld Theatre as a friend.
Read the book (obviously!). It’s easy to find in most used or new bookstores or you can download it for free online at Project Gutenberg (www.gutenberg.org)
Add “The Idiot” to your books in Goodreads. Then you can join the Neworld discussion on the book: “Page to stage in a whole new way!" When you do this, you’ll be joining a community of readers who discuss the book and anticipate the Neworld production.
Invite friends to join and help expand the discussion.

Happy reading! Happy chatting!

Win two tickets to Dance In Vancouver, November 23rd

2011-11-16T16:43:00.000-08:00

Enter to win a pair of tickets to the opening performance of Dance In Vancouver on Wednesday November 23 at 7pm.

Vancouver’s contemporary dance scene takes centre stage in Dance In Vancouver November 23-26. This biennial event provides a great opportunity to experience the energy and innovation of contemporary dance generated by local artists, with eight companies performing excerpts of new works and recent hits in four mixed programs. The 2011 edition features some of the West Coast’s most exciting companies: battery opera performance, Jennifer Clarke, MACHiNENOiSY, Out Innerspace Dance Theatre, the plastic orchid factory, Shay Kuebler, The 605 Collective and Wen Wei Dance. Organized by The Dance Centre, Dance In Vancouver is unique for its concentrated focus on promoting the province’s contemporary dance talent, not only to local audiences, but also to presenters who come from around the world to sample West Coast dance.

You could win a pair of tickets to the opening performance of Dance In Vancouver on Wednesday November 23 at 7pm, a double bill featuring the witty and provocative MACHiNENOiSY team of Daelik and Delia Brett in Vancouver vs Vancouver; and David Raymond and Tiffany Tregarthen of Out Innerspace Dance Theatre, who will perform an excerpt from their forthcoming new work, inspired by the genre-defying music of Japanese experimental percussionist Asa Chang.

Click here to enter.
Contest closes Monday, November 21st at 5pm.
Winners will be notified shortly thereafter.

The Dance Centre presents the 8th biennial Dance In Vancouver
Wednesday-Saturday November 23-26, at Scotiabank Dance Centre, 677 Davie St, Vancouver
Shows at 7pm & 9pm nightly
Tickets 604.684.2787 www.ticketstonight.ca
Info 604.606.6400 www.thedancecentre.ca

DEADLINE EXTENDED! Pitch At The PuSh Assembly 2012

2011-11-16T12:44:00.000-08:00

DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Pitch At The PuSh Assembly 2012

The PuSh Assembly, Feb 2 – 4, 2012

The PuSh Assembly is a performing arts industry initiative directly linked to the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, offering global networking opportunities through its specialized programming for the Canadian performing arts. The PuSh Assembly is the West Coast’s only annual international multi-disciplinary marketplace for the performing arts.

The Assembly links foreign buyers with Canadian performing artists in a personal and welcoming setting during the Festival. The Assembly prepares Canadian artists for export readiness and international market development, increases export sales, and identifies trade opportunities for Canadian companies by providing opportunities for touring, co-production, residencies and cultural reciprocity.

PuSh is pioneering new ways of collaborating with artists and producers. This commitment to new ideas, new practices, new forms and new producing models has helped to made PuSh an industry leader. For the 2012 Assembly, Senior Curator, Sherrie Johnson has returned to liaise with national and international delegates and collaborated on programming this year's events.

PuSh Assembly Pitch Session  
Friday, February 3rd, 2012 11:30am – 1:30pm, Performance Works

This is a fabulous opportunity for artists and producers to make their ideas become a reality: the flash point from where tours are booked, commissions are dreamed up, residencies secured and relationships struck. Artists, agents, and producers are given the opportunity to raise awareness about works on tour and projects currently in development to an audience of international presenters and programmers. A combination of an entrepreneurial ‘pitch’ and an aesthetic dialogue, the PuSh Assembly pitch sessions have already resulted in several new collaborations in theatre, dance, multi-disciplinary creations and hybrid performance projects.

Click here to view the application form
Please send your completed submission on or before Monday, November 21, 2011

Amarillo- Curatorial Statement

2011-11-09T16:13:00.000-08:00

By Dani Fecko, Associate Curator, PuSh International Performing Arts Festival

Almost a year and a half ago I was in Mexico, at the end of the first big chunk of touring for Best Before (a show PuSh commissioned for the 2010 Festival that then went on tour) After a week in Mazatlan, I returned to Mexico City for about 36 hours before flying home. During this time, one of my new friends invited me to a show he worked on. I happily accepted.

The theatre was in a business-feeling corner of Mexico City. We had pork tacos and tamarind soda down the street from the venue. The space was over a book shop/café – a very long and narrow space, with a very articulate audience. Sarah (the lighting director for Best Before that I was traveling with) and I had no idea what to expect. Nor did either of us know any Spanish.

I was blown away. Once it ended, I couldn’t get it out of my mind and I couldn’t stop talking about and analyzing it.

I had my friend email me links to the show and promptly emailed them to Norman and Sherrie (Norman Armour, Executive Director and Sherrie Johnson, Senior Curator). This is what I said:

Hey you two,

This is a show that I saw on my last night in Mexico City – Amarillo. It took my breath away and I’m still thinking about it. I’m concerned that the video doesn’t quite do it justice, but I hope it will give you an idea. It’s a big show, but one that I think is definitely worth investigating. I’m really interested in the story and in presenting this aspect of immigration. It presents a whole new perspective that our audiences don’t usually see. And the spectacle of it is stunning – so well thought out and rigorous. Each image is valuable and impactful…I could go on for hours.

It needs a very wide space, and a wall to climb up. I saw it in a very shallow space which made it both overwhelming, because there was so much to take in, and very affecting.

See you soon! Off to the airport in a few hours.

Best,

Dani

Everything I said I still feel today, almost 18 months after seeing it. Most of the images are still clear in my head, and so many moments sink deeper and deeper into my mind.

Amarillo is unlike any piece of theatre I have ever seen. I cannot wait to see it again. I just hope I can find a pork taco and tamarind soda nearby.

Schoenberg with Music on Main: Enter to win two tickets!

2011-11-09T15:43:00.000-08:00

Enter to win tickets to Music on Main's
Christopher Bagan, piano:
The complete piano works of Arnold Schoenberg
Tuesday, November 15, 2011 at 8pm

We hope you plan to join us as we present Eve Egoyan plays Simple Lines of Enquiry with Music on Main January 23-24, 2012.
In the meantime, there's a wealth of opportunities to see the wonderful work that our friends at Music on Main present. It is our pleasure to give you the opportunity to win tickets to one of their upcoming events.

Christopher Bagan, piano: The complete piano works of Arnold Schoenberg
Tuesday, November 15, 2011 at 8pm

Don’t miss this rare chance to hear music that shook the world. Arnold Schoenberg changed the face of classical music forever when he declared atonal music the “emancipation of dissonance.” Yet the heart of Schoenberg’s piano music always remained Romantic. Discover rising star Christopher Bagan as he performs Schoenberg’s complete solo piano works.

Cellar Restaurant & Jazz Club
3611 West Broadway
Doors open at 6:30 pm
Come for a drink, or a meal!
All ages welcome.
Music starts around 8:00 pm

Click here to enter to win two tickets!
Contest closes Monday, November 14th at 5pm.
Winner will be notified shortly thereafter.

Music on Main has become a mainstay in the artistic fabric of Vancouver, hailed by the UK’s Gramophone Magazine for programming that “provides western Canada with one of the finest windows onto the post-classical scene.” With their commitment to top-flight musicians and innovative concert formats, Music on Main has collaborated with the PuSh Festival on sold–out hits like Steve Reich's Drumming (2009), So Percussion (2010), and Terminal City Soundscape (2011).

Volunteer for PuSh 2012

2011-11-03T20:33:00.000-07:00

Call for Volunteers: PuSh has the best volunteers in the world, and we want you to be among them.

There are approximately a zillion reasons to volunteer for the PuSh Festival. Here's what a few of the volunteers from the 2011 festival had to say about their experience:

"What I enjoyed most was that feeling of being part of a team to make things happen. Learning what goes on behind the scenes in theatre is fascinating -- my respect for theatre people has grown enormously! I will continue to encourage friends to volunteer."

"The PuSh Festival is a phenomenal addition to the Vancouver arts scene and I love being able to support it."

"Everyone I worked with was friendly & respectful, professional & enthusiastic. I quickly felt part of the team and that my efforts were appreciated."

Whatever your talent, we have a position for you! Ushering, special events, hospitality, transportation...you name it, volunteer coordinator extraordinaire Bali Singh will find the right position for you.

Volunteer for the PuSh Festival and change lives...including your own.
Discover why some of the richest people in the world are not millionaires, they are volunteers.

Sign up today! Bring a friend (or two)!
Click here for the volunteer registration form.
Click here for more information.

Exclusive offer for PuSh Fans: Win Tickets to Turning Point Ensemble's Folk Songs, Nov. 9th at 8pm

2011-11-02T08:42:00.000-07:00

We here at PuSh love you, our audience, and believe your dedication should be rewarded.
This week, along with our friends at Turning Point Ensemble, we are giving you an exclusive opportunity to win tickets to what promises to be a glorious evening of song.

Folk Songs
Presented by Turning Point Ensemble in partnership with SFU Woodward's at GOLDCORP CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
at the Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre, SFU Woodward's
Wednesday, November 9th at 8pm

Guest Soloist Fides Krucker

Luciano Berio’s Folksongs from 1964 is one of the magical works of chamber music of the 20th century. Berio’s playful and captivating anthology of 11 songs explores the cultural roots of music from around the world including Kentucky, Armenia, Azerbaijan, France, Sicily and Berio’s own creations. Toronto’s Fides Krucker prepared Folksongs under the guidance of Berio. Her remarkable voice and electrifying presence are fully engaged by this extraordinary piece.
The program will also feature the premiere of a major new Chamber Symphony by Vancouver composer Dorothy Chang. This three-piece movement work is full of poetry and rhythmic vitality, inspired in turn by the shifting patterns of clouds, oceans and landscape of coastal Vancouver, the silent encircling of eagles overhead, and the urban energy and density of the upward climbing city.
The sumptuous ‘four-course’ program will include the timbral virtuosity and visceral power of French composer Gerard Grisey’s Partiels, and cellist Ariel Barnes’ performance of Ana Sokolovic’s spellbinding Vez.

For more information, click here
Click here to enter contest
Contest closes November 7th at 5pm
Winners will be notified shortly thereafter.

Call for Young Ambassadors, PuSh 2012

2011-10-26T13:16:00.000-07:00

"I thought that the program was genius. I NEVER would have had an opportunity to work with such a neat group of international artists without this chance. It has sparked my imagination, and has given my own work new life. It also introduced me to many of the Vancouver theatre professionals; not only are they fun people, but as a soon-to-be graduate they are good contacts to have."

– Zoe Green, U.B.C. Graduate and Young Ambassador to White Cabin (AKHE Theatre)

The Young Ambassadors program is entering its third year at the PuSh Festival and is coordinated by the Festival’s associate curator Dani Fecko (pictured here, see bio below). The program integrates the next generation of Vancouver’s young arts professionals into the Festival and introduces them to the artistic sensibility and world-view of visiting Canadian and international artists. PuSh wants to encourage the sharing of the rich and specialized knowledge that exists within our organization and strengthen opportunities for emerging practitioners to enter the cultural sector by providing behind the scenes knowledge and a dynamic work experience.

Goals of the Young Ambassadors Program:

Provide local, emerging professionals with the opportunity to engage with acclaimed Canadian and international artists;
Assist visiting artists with making meaningful connections to Vancouver’s arts and cultural scene;
Be a knowledgeable, local resource for visiting artists;
Foster friendly and helpful experiences for visiting artists’ stay in Vancouver.

Who the Ambassadors are:

Post–secondary students in their senior year of a diploma, degree, or masters program; Participating students do not need to be a Theatre, Dance, Music or Visual Arts Major. Recent graduates will also be considered;
Open minded, friendly individuals with an in depth knowledge of Vancouver and its various cultural attractions, from restaurants to museums, from movie theatres to music venues and galleries.

What the Ambassadors will be responsible for:

1-2 weeks and 4-6 hours a day of dedicated time;
Researching the visiting artists and their work, prior to their arrival;
Assisting with the back stage workings and running of the visiting artist’s performances during the Festival. This may not be required in all cases;
Being a resource for visiting artists. This could include recommending restaurants, helping to organize excursions, finding physiotherapists and helping to plan local trips;
Providing a comfortable, social atmosphere for the visiting artists.

Key Points:

The artists are not mentors, and the Ambassadors are not “personal assistants.” They are peers and considered vital to the artist’s ability to engage with the local community;
This is an unpaid, volunteer position, although participants will be provided with a stipend to fund any activities they may take part in with the artist;
The artists may vary in their need to call upon the ambassador during their stay. An ambassador is expected to be flexible, ready to respond to the individual character and cultural background of the visiting artists.

Dani Fecko began her career in Vancouver as a professional stage manager and has since worked with the production team for the Vancouver International Children’s Festival, the Magnetic North Theatre Festival and the Vancouver Folk Music Festival. Her work as a Stage and Tour Manager has taken her to Toronto, London, Berlin, Mexico City, Calgary, Victoria, Seattle and Prague to name a few and her life has allowed her to see shows in each one of these cities and more across Europe and Australia. She was the proud recipient of the Sam Payne Award for Most Promising New Comer at the Jessie Richardson Awards in 2009 and is a graduate of Studio 58.

For more information, contact Dani Fecko: dani@pushfestival.ca
Application Deadline: November 4th, 2011

Exclusive offer for PuSh Fans: Win Tickets to Theatre Under The Gun at the Here Be Monsters Festival

2011-10-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

The Here Be Monsters Festival, October 27-30, 2011 at Performance Works on Granville Island, features new play creation, performance and community development; as well as artist workshops, forums, mentorship, networking and opportunities for theatre artists to collaborate with artists of other disciplines.
The Here Be Monsters Festival has established itself as a progressive platform for ensemble creation in Vancouver and Canada.
In their 6th annual monstrous celebration of young performing and visual arts, six independent theatre companies will be put to the test to create one of a kind theatre in 48 hours in Theatre Under The Gun! Proud participants of Vancouver125, the Monsters have added a new element to the festival: Theatre in 125 hours! Three theatre companies and Theatre Under the Gun alumni will work together on a unique creation that will be performed on the of the festivities in 1 hour and 25 minutes.
Fun Fact: Club PuSh Manager Heather Lindsay is one of the masterminds behind this hot Hallowe'en weekend festival, so you know it'll be a good time.

Click here to see the full Here Be Monsters Festival lineup

EXCLUSIVE OFFER for PuSh fans: Enter to win two tickets to Theatre Under the Gun at the festival, either Friday Oct. 28, or Saturday Oct. 29.

TO WIN: Name 3 of the 6 brave companies participating in Theatre Under the Gun this year. Submit your entries to outreach@pushfestival.ca.

Deadline to enter is Wed, Oct. 26, 5pm.

2012 PuSh Festival Sneak Peek

2011-10-17T17:12:00.000-07:00

2012 PuSh Festival Sneak Peek
We here at PuSh are brimming with excitement. Bursting at the seams, even. We can't wait to tell you about our 2012 lineup...but our lips are (mostly) sealed until our official launch on November 3rd.

In the meantime, we can give you a sneak peek at some of what you can expect from PuSh January 17- February 4, 2012:

- 19 days, 14 venues, over 100 performances and events.
- 16 Main Series Shows
- 3 weeks of Club PuSh
- Work from 9 Countries: Mexico, Canada, England, Spain, Japan, Lebanon, New Zealand, Argentina, The Netherlands

The cat's out of the bag with some of our partnered shows, so it's our pleasure to give you a taste of what's to come by highlighting a few of those productions here.

Almighty Voice and His Wife
Native Earth Performing Arts (Toronto, Canada)
Presented with Touchstone Theatre and Pi Theatre

Feb 1-4, Waterfront Theatre. 8PM, Matinee Feb 4 4PM.
First Nations playwright Daniel David Moses tells the story of a Cree man arrested for killing a cow without a license, and the ensuing manhunt that gives rise to his status as a martyr and a legend.

Do You Want What I Have Got? A Craigslist Cantata
Bill Richardson & Veda Hille (Vancouver, Canada)
Presented with the Arts Club Theatre Company

Jan 19-Feb 11, Arts Club Revue Stage. 8PM (Tues 7:30PM), Matinee Wed & Sat 2PM, No show Sun.
Your personal ads, set to music! Irregular hats for cats, mounted lobsters, autographed copies of the Bible: this new work explores what humanity has to offer and turns it into sidesplitting musical fare.

Soledad Barrio and Noche Flamenca
Noche Flamenca (Madrid, Spain)
Presented with the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts

Jan 21, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. 8PM
Spain's most treasured flamenco group, hailed for its raw and deeply emotional performances of virtuosic guitar, cathartic song and spectacular dance.

The attendance at last year's festival was an impressive 24,439. We look forward to seeing you all again.

Donor Spotlight: Michael Dobbin

2011-10-17T13:35:00.000-07:00

It takes a village to raise and nurture an international performing arts festival.
Come, join our village. There are good people here.

Donor Spotlight: Michael Dobbin, Supporter level, PuSh Patrons Circle

"I have spent most of my adult life attempting to push the envelope in Canadian Theatre. PuSh Festival is the epitome of boundary-breaking...in fact, the PuSh Festival is more of a mind-blower and eye-popper; a truth-telling, soul-keeping, seed-sowing, and spirit-lifting enterprise. I put money where I can afford it and where I think it will do the most good, affecting the largest numbers of beneficiaries. Because I am a Canadian theatre artist, I am not rich but, I am delighted to be a modest supporter of the PuSh Festival for all it has done for the people of Vancouver and Canada, the countless artists it has hosted, and the many engaged citizens who will benefit in the future if this festival is allowed to truly flourish. I know Norman has a lot more where “that” came from and I suspect we ain’t seen nothin’ yet! PuSh is a national treasure!"

-Michael Dobbin
Producing Director Emeritus, Alberta Theatre Projects, Calgary
Founder of the Enbridge playRites Festival of New Canadian Plays
President of the PAL Studio Theatre Society, Vancouver

PuSh is committed to engaging and enriching audiences with adventurous contemporary works in a spirit of innovation and dialogue. To do that, the Festival works hard all year to raise funds to support its ambitions mission. Donors are rewarded for their support with exclusive access to the Festival and its programming. Make a tax deductible donation to the PuSh Festival today!

Win two tickets to see the VIFF Screening of Inni: Sigur Ros on October 6

2011-10-02T12:35:00.000-07:00

An exclusive offer for PuSh Festival fans!

Inni is Sigur Rós' second live film following 2007's hugely celebrated tour documentary Heima. Filmed in a manner that invites both intimacy and claustrophobia, Inni cocoons the viewer in a one-on-one relationship with the band, eschewing the audience for closeness, depicting how it feels for both band and fan to experience Sigur Rós live. Read more on the VIFF website

CLICK HERE TO BE ENTERED TO WIN
(Contest closes Tuesday October 4 at 10:00AM)

Ticket details
Thu, Oct 6th 9:45pm
Visa Screening Room at the Vogue Theatre
918 Granville St. (at Smithe St.)

An afternoon with John & Jane

2011-08-16T16:55:00.000-07:00

Board member Peter Dickinson reports on the August 14th PuSh Festival Fundraiser...

This past Sunday approximately 45 friends and supporters of the PuSh Festival gathered at the beautiful Shaughnessy home of Roberta Beiser (founding Leaders Council member) and Allan Black for an afternoon filled with wonderful music, great conversation, and delicious food and drink. This unique fundraising event welcomed a number of new members to PuSh’s Patrons Circle, and in addition to enjoying canapés and wine in a spectacular art-filled setting, guests were treated to a special command performance by John Gray (also on our Leaders Council) and Jane Mortifee.

Sitting at the grand piano in Roberta’s living room, John began by playing a selection of songs from his best-known musical, Billy Bishop Goes to War, which continues to enjoy phenomenal success, most recently in a popular revival at Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre. John then welcomed Jane to the stage, and together they harmonized on several tunes from John’s other musical theatre creations, including Amelia, Don Messer’s Jubilee, Rock and Roll, and The Tree, The Tower, The Flood, a recasting of three well-known Bible stories for the information age. Jane closed out their set with a rousing, bluesy version of Cilla Black’s “You’re My World,” which immediately brought unanimous cries for an encore. The between-song patter was as much fun as the numbers themselves, and combined with the intimate setting, it felt like a little bit of the late-night cabaret vibe of Club PuSh was being recreated on this sunny, late-summer afternoon.

Executive Director Norman Armour also gave a sneak peek of some of next year’s planned programming, including an adaptation by Neworld Theatre of Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot with Theatre at UBC at the Frederic Wood Theatre. This special PuSh commission is a follow-up to Neworld’s Crime and Punishment, which premiered at the 2005 Festival to rave reviews.

PuSh Board President Max Wyman concluded the proceedings by thanking John and Jane for their performance, Roberta and Allan for their generous hospitality, Interim Development Manager Jocelyn Macdougall for her organizational prowess, and all Board members and staff (including Communications Manager Kara Gibbs) who helped ensure the event’s success.

Max then got a surprise of his own when Jocelyn emerged with a cake, John struck some familiar keys on the piano, and the assembled group broke into a chorus of “Happy Birthday.” The cake, a confection as witty as it was tasty, was the brainchild of new Board member Leslie Nolin, and featured a miniature Max sitting on a park bench reading a book of Emily Dickinson’s poetry. Only at a PuSh event can you expect dessert to double as conceptual art!

Special thanks to Emelle's Catering and Wild Horse Canyon for the delicious food and drink!

Congratulations Bobbi & Scott

2011-07-25T13:48:00.000-07:00

The PuSh Festival is pleased to announce that the Festival family has recently grown by one!

Huge congratulations and much love to Development Manager Bobbi Parker and her husband Scott Michaels on the birth of Anne Charlotte Parker, who made her debut the morning of July 13, 2011 weighing 6 lbs. 11 oz.

Welcome to the world, Anne Charlotte!

Watch Out for Bikes

2011-07-11T12:03:00.000-07:00

PuSh Festival publicist Ellie O'Day shares her experience with Watch Out for Bikes - a PodPlay at the Vancouver 125 Summer Live celebrations:

As part of the Summer Live celebrations at Brockton Oval on the weekend of July 8,9 & 10, Neworld Theatre presented another PodPlay – this one a composition by Adrienne Wong. I’d previously done the PodPlay at last year’s Powell Street Festival written by Tetsuro Shigematsu, and took in PodPlays - The Quartet at the 2011 PuSh Festival.

I’m drawn to PodPlays as a former broadcaster who loved radio plays (one of my most memorable class assignments was to create a scene with sound-effects instead of dialogue). What PodPlays adds is the intimacy of listening by iPod, and the participant’s relationship with place/geography.

Summer Live was a challenging place to do a PodPlay – until I reached the further points on this walk it was a strain to hear Adrienne over the Hannah Georgas set on the mainstage. Also, the geography of the park wasn’t as specific as walking city streets, so I slid off-track a couple of times. My own knowledge of the area at times worked in my favour and at other times led me to unintended places.

I felt Watch Out for Bikes had the thinnest through-story of the six I have participated in. While verbally guiding you, Adrienne is interrupted a number of times to take cell phone calls of something exciting about to happen in her life. The route you take led you through what at one time were native shell middens in what is now Stanley Park and along many parts of Vancouver’s waterfront; identified by name the shipping terminals opposite the park on the north shore; and as you re-entered the park took you to the totem poles and to the surrounding trees. The information was interesting but not compelling and connecting in the same way to the listener as some of the other PodPlays with more empathetic or emotional undercurrent as with Look Up or G…Cordova from the Quartet.

Welcome Jocelyn

2011-06-15T14:09:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to welcome the newest member of the PuSh Festival team, Interim Development Manager Jocelyn Macdougall. Jocelyn will be taking on the role of Interim Development Manager while our current Development Manger, Bobbi Parker, is on maternity leave. We wish Bobbi all the best in her new role as a mum!

Jocelyn Macdougall approaches development like she approaches everything else in life: with passion! Jocelyn believes that some of the most critical perspectives on the ways we live in community, both locally and globally, are produced in the non-profit sector. She feels honoured to work with the donors who fuel the creativity and energy that change the world.

Jocelyn holds a Bachelor of Arts and Science from McMaster University and an MA in Communications and Culture from the University of Calgary. After three years at a top executive recruiting firm, Jocelyn decided to try the non-profit sector, and she has never looked back. Before coming to PuSh, Jocelyn had the privilege of building the development and communications department for Focus Foundation of BC, which runs programs for youth who fall through the cracks of traditional educational systems in BC.

The arts have always been a key element of Jocelyn’s existence; she has had tons o’fun with theatre and music since she was wee, and continues to perform regularly with Vancouver’s Broadway Chorus and the North Short Chamber Orchestra. She is thrilled and excited to now be joining the amazing team at PuSh, and looks forward to pushing her own personal, professional and artistic boundaries further than she ever thought possible.

Welcome Jocelyn!

Norman Armour presents at the Atelier for Young Festival Managers, Singapore 2011

2011-05-26T15:15:00.000-07:00

“The true role of a festival is to help artists to dare, to engage in new projects...” - Atelier motto

PuSh Festival Executive Director Norman Armour was a guest presenter and lecturer at the 2011 Atelier for Young Festival Managers in Singapore–a professional development workshop with an emphasis on the artistic aspects of festival management, including artistic vision, political and social responsibility, internationalization, networking, renewal and sustainability.

He was joined by Atelier Mentors & Presenters:
Hugo DE GREEF: Former EFA Secretary General (2004-2008) General Manager Brugge European Capital of Culture 2002 Founder and former director Kaaitheater, Brussels, Belgium.
Rose FENTON: Co-Initiator network Theatre Festivals in Transition FIT Co-Founder LIFT - London International Festival of Theatre, London, United Kingdom.
Nele HERTLING: Member of Strategy Group, A Soul for Europe, Berlin, Germany Former Director Hebbel-Theatre, Berlin, Germany General Manager Berlin European Capital of Culture 1988.
Grace LANG: Programme Director Hong Kong Arts Festival Society, Hong Kong, China.
Ching –Lee GOH: Founder and Director CultureLink, Singapore Former Director Singapore Arts Festival.
Robyn ARCHER: Creative Director The Centenary of Canberra (2013), Australia. Artistic Director The Light in Winter, Melbourne, Australia
Bernard FAIVRE D'ARCIER: Vice-president Les Biennales de Lyon Former director Festival d’Avignon, France.
Gérard MORTIER: General director Teatro Real, Madrid, Spain. Former director Salzburger Festspiele, Austria. Former director Ruhr Triennale, Germany.
Carla VAN ZON: Artistic Director Auckland Arts Festival, New Zealand. Former Director Creative New Zealand.
Seok Kyu CHOI: Founder and Executive Producer AsiaNow Productions, Jongno-gu, South Korea.

Photo: Seok Kyu Choi and Norman Armour

Read more here

Peter Panties: the Rock Show

2011-04-28T10:41:00.000-07:00

Here it is, another chance to see the amazing musicians that rocked Peter Panties as part of the 2011 PuSh Festival: Veda Hille and The Bank Dogs! You won't want to miss this one folks...

Peter Panties: the Rock Show
Thursday, May 5 · 7:00pm - 10:00pm
The Wise Hall, 1882 Adanac St. Vancouver

Peter Pan, Peter Pan, Peter Pan, Peter Panties!

We just can't let this show go. Come see Veda Hille and The Bank Dogs plus the fabulous cast of Peter Panties rocking out at the Wise. A chance to hear the songs in their entirety, without the fancy theatre stuff! Including 4 bonus tunes about panties, death, and trees. Plus a set by The Bank Dogs, plus it's all ages (but also with a bar), plus you'll be helping to fund the Peter Panties Rock Record.

doors at 7, show at 8
bring your panties, don't be late.
tickets at the door, $10-15

Luminato Festival, June 10-19

2011-04-13T11:18:00.000-07:00

PuSh loves Luminato! This fabulous festival is a great reason to hop a flight from Vancouver to Toronto in June. Tickets go on sale this weekend.

We also want to give a special shout out to our friend Chris Lorway, Artistic Director of Luminato. In August of 2010, Chris spent some time with us here in Vancouver at the PuSh Festival offices to help consult on our business plan. His wisdom, kindness and humour was much appreciated. Thanks Chris!

About Luminato
For 10 extraordinary days, from June 10-19, 2011, Toronto’s stages, streets, and public spaces will be illuminated with arts and creativity. Now in its fifth year, Luminato is an annual multi-disciplinary celebration of theatre, dance, music, literature, visual arts, food, fashion, film, magic, and much more. The Luminato Festival embraces three key programming principles: collaboration, accessibility, and diversity, which are emphasized through an array of ticketed and free events.

This year, Luminato is particularly excited about our new, central hub location (Metro Square) in downtown Toronto, which will be home to a series of free outdoor concerts, featuring some of Canada’s best-known artists−from The Joel Plaskett Emergency and k.d. lang−as well as new discoveries from around the world. Luminato tickets go on sale Saturday, April 16, 2011 at luminato.com.

Check out Chris Lorway's blog
Visit Luminato online

Our Favourite 2010/2011 Statements by Norman Armour

2011-03-18T17:04:00.000-07:00

"I think the 125th is an opportunity to speak to ourselves, and to invite others into the conversation who are asking questions about urban identity and social progress. What defines a city and who are the individuals in it?" (Vancouver Sun, 2011.01.13 article by Peter Birnie)

Photo by Kris Krug www.staticphotography.com

"Artists have dealt with this question of identity, political and ethnic, and identity of place. To not work with that community would be to lose out on the opportunity to tap into a great reservoir of praxis, expertise and intelligence." (Vancouver Sun, 2011.01.13 article by Peter Birnie)

"We continue to challenge audiences. People may hate the work but they respect that there is real artistry in it and that there's integrity and rigour in it. …We use the notion of broadening horizons." (Globe and Mail Jan-2011 article by Marsha Lederman)

"I don't believe that you can buy an audience in Vancouver. You have to earn it." (WE 2011.01.13 article by Steven Schelling)

"Vancouver is the finest city I've ever encountered in terms of an arts community that is open, generous, curious, respectful of hard work, ingenuity, and a desire to share expertise, experience, successes and failures." (2011.01.11 Granville Online article by Jackie Wong)

"Isolation is the thing you have to fight against, and do everything that's positive on the other side that leads you away from isolation and brings you together with people to look at common problems and common solutions." (2011.01.11 Granville Online article by Jackie Wong)

"We have a real amazing set of entrepreneurial spirit in this town, whether it's people in I.T., or whether it's restaurateurs, people like Sean Heather and the people behind Nuba, and the people behind the Waldorf Hotel renovation." (2011.01.11 Granville Online article by Jackie Wong)

"I think that the city is really being shaped by a lot of business activity that's happening on a real grassroots level." (2011.01.11 Granville Online article by Jackie Wong)

"Now that we've hosted a Winter Olympics and its accompanying Cultural Olympiad, what's next? Now that the social arts sector—one of the undeniable engines of innovation, imagination, and creative thinking about ourselves and the world around us—is wrestling with unprecedented cuts to sources for public funding within our region, what's next? Now that we are about to step onto the threshold of Vancouver's 125th anniversary, what's next?" (2010.11.04 CreativeMix Conference)

Announcing the PuSh Festival Email List Winner

2011-03-03T14:40:00.000-08:00

Remember those pretty little ballots and boxes that we placed at all the different venues that we presented shows at? Well, we finally did the draw last week and the entire office was ecstatic that audience member Gerald (Gerry) Kowalenko won. Gerry has attended most PuSh Festival shows since PuSh became a festival in 2006!

He has won a Kobo wireless eReader & a $50 gift certificate for eBooks ($200 value)

CONGRATULATIONS!

More about Gerry:

"I'm a former prairie farm boy and 4-H club member. I remember during hay making season, on my way back out to do more field work, seeing city kids with their suntans and new bikes on their way to the George Ward Swimming in Saskatoon. I moved to the big city as soon as I could. And Ive never looked back. Vancouver has been home for over 30 years.

By day I work for the federal government filling out forms and looking after the taxpayers dollars. By night I love the cinema, the theatre, music, and books. I am blessed with the nicest friends in the world. Im a good trade unionist, a social democrat and a pacifist always and forever. My artistic heroes include Zola, Hugo, Truffaut, Bergmann, Isabelle Huppert, Vanessa Redgrave and all those fabulous Italian filmmakers who are now gone but never forgotten. My favourite addition to the local arts scene...Blackbird Theatre.. without a doubt. And Music on Main. Ive been involved with an arts program on Coop Radio 102.7FM for years.

I admire anyone with artistic talent and the guts to put it out there.The Push Festival is ...as someone said...the best thing to happen to Vancouver since the glaciers retreated. And over the years....I've had the pleasure to see some truly phenomenal stuff that I would never have had the chance to experience without the vision of Katrina Dunn, Norman Armour and many others...and the hard work of so many. Our tax dollars at work indeed. So many wonderful and memorable Push events...its unfair to name only a few. But over the years...I would have to mention the brilliant performance artist Marie Brassard from Quebec, the 4 Horseman Project choreographed by Serge Bennathan, the sweet humanity of performance artist Taylor Mack, James Long in his rabbit outfit with Clark and I Somewhere in Connecticut, Toby Berner as Steve Fonyo, the intense horror of The Jerk, and the incredible artistry of White Cabin from St. Petersburg a season or two ago.

As for Push 2011....all terrific....and with discount ticket passes....all affordable .... but the poetry...the performances....and the music of In the Solitude of Cotton Fields from Radoslaw Rychcik/Stefan Zeromski Theatre in Kielce Poland. Words almost fail me, but I knew I was in the presence of something magnificent and memorable. Keep up the good work. I can barely wait for Push 2012. And a quote. If I could. From the (late) Chava Rosenfarb.....from the yiddish...."A kind word costs nothing and is worth so much". Thanks again. And please everyone. Support the arts. And tell our new premier to restore and enhance arts funding ....because the arts represent what is best in all of us."

PuSh Festival Photo Contest: What is your Vancouver? WINNER ANNOUNCED

2011-02-08T17:10:00.000-08:00

Congratulations Jayme Lum, winner of the contest!!! With 84 Facebook photo 'likes' Jayme was one of our favourites.

Jayme is the winner of:

• a PuSh Festival prize pack that includes a brand new 16GB iPod nano touch, a 2012 4-show PuSh Pass and a PuSh Festival T-Shirt.
• Her photograph will be featured on the PuSh Festival’s high traffic website, PuShing it, the PuSh Festival’s blog and the Festival e-newsletter.
• Her work will be exposed to leaders of the arts and culture community though association with the PuSh Festival.

Artist Bio:

"Photography is one of my favourite hobbies, pairing well with my other loves of traveling and hiking. I started taking pictures with my Dad's Canon AE1 when I was in grade school and have worked my way up to a Nikon D50. Hopefully one day I'll have a Nikon D7100 or Canon G12! I enjoy architecture, construction, form, design, texture and learning about new cultures and ideas. My photos typically involve one of those themes."

Check out her work, click here.

Photo Description:

"The PuSh Festival Photo Contest had many great images to capture the essence of Vancouver and I appreciate that the Festival provided an outlet for artists to display their talents!

The photo that I submitted was taken at Portside Park in Vancouver. The location is particularly interesting to me as my fisheye lens was able to capture the juxtaposition of an industrial and urban setting against the awe-inspiring mountains and water that bounds Vancouver. Growing from a port city to an advanced, knowledge-based economy, Vancouver has developed into a world-class landmark for industry, natural beauty and diversity. I look forward to seeing the continued development of Vancouver and wonder what the view from Portside Park will reveal in years to come.

I look forward for more PuSh Festivals!"

Jayme Lum

More work by Jayme Lum

Check out the other photos

News Release: 2011 PuSh Festival lights up dark winter days

2011-02-07T10:53:00.000-08:00

For immediate release, February 4, 2011

The seventh annual PuSh International Performing Arts Festival took place in Vancouver January 18–February 6, 2011, and proved an artistic, critical and popular success. Executive director Norman Armour said this about the 2011 Festival:

“This year's PuSh Festival has been a quantum leap forward. We set out to reconnect with our loyal patrons, to celebrate the City's 125th Anniversary, to bring back Club PuSh, to re-affirm the role of the Assembly networking event, and to reach out to a broader public. As we close the PuSh Festival's 7th edition, I am reminded of the sense of adventure, inquiry, curiosity and conversation at the heart of PuSh. Our mission and vision were affirmed with increased attendance, unprecedented public and private sector support, a newfound presence in social networking spheres, in print and broadcast media, and an ongoing dialogue with an intelligent and impassioned community of bloggers. Thank you all for making the 2011 PuSh International Performing Arts Festival one of our finest.”

Overview of the 2011 Festival:

• Audience numbers reached over 23,000, increasing more than 20% from the 2010 Festival audience numbers.
• 17 Main Series shows, a mapping symposium, and the triumphant return of Club PuSh and the PuSh Assembly networking event totaled almost 150 performances and events at 11 venues in Vancouver.
• Work was presented from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Poland and Germany.
• PuSh was involved in the commissioning of six different works that were presented during the Festival, and housed seven international artists in residency from London, Berlin and Buenos Aires.
• The Festival was supported by a dedicated roster of over 100 volunteers.
• 21 Downtown Eastside residents were employed in various positions including Box Office and
Front of House with the support of the City of Vancouver’s Great Beginnings Program.

“This year’s festival marked a turning-point for PuSh, with many critical aims accomplished, prime among them the wider propagation of the good news about the many surprising and rejuvenating ways that PuSh lights up our dark winter days. This year’s edition has rooted the festival even more firmly in the city, enabling a loyal and enthusiastic audience to discover powerful and moving shows like 100% Vancouver and City of Dreams, while at the same time opening our eyes wide to alternative forms of performance, like La Marea and PodPlays, and to the riches of the outside world with shows like Floating and Bonanza. The crowded and lively ambience of Club PuSh, meanwhile, was the perfect place to share impressions and opinions ... and to absorb even more of the inspired, off-kilter programming of our curatorial team, not least the hilarious and touching discoveries of flipbook artist Volker Gerling. Bravo to Norman Armour, Sherrie Johnson and the entire PuSh team for the most successful PuSh yet.” - Board President Max Wyman, OC.

The dates for the 2012 PuSh International Performing Arts Festival are set for January 17 to February 5, 2012.

Media Contact: Ellie O’Day, O’Day Productions | 604 731 3339 | ellie@oday.org PuSh International Performing Arts Festival | pushfestival.ca

Spotlight on Antonette Rea, part of the Great Beginnings Initiative

2011-02-02T14:05:00.000-08:00

When Dave Deveau, Project Coordinator of Great Beginnings talked to us about Antonette's talents with words and performance during a PuSh Festival production meeting, I couldn't wait to meet her. Antonette wrote a poem about Podplays, the show that she is currently working on for the PuSh Festival, part of Great Beginnings Initiative. When I met her, she was eager to share her art with us on video....

About the Artist:

Antonette is featured in Sad Mag, Issue 5, article written by Daniel Zomparelli, photograph by Sarah Race. Here are some excerpts from the magazine:

"I'm known for my foul mouth," says Antonette Rea. "And I can tell is like it is, and be really graphic, but I'm just trying to be honest." This sailor-mouthed, trans goddess is notorious for her honesty. Antonette has gone through many struggles in her life, from drugs to homelessness to the sex trade, and now she heals her pain through poetry. Her poem "Free Me from Anxiety," recently published in issue 76 of Geist magazine, recalls her past through slam poetry.

Engaging and apologetic, her work mashes together concerns of poverty, sexuality, gender, discrimination and humour all into one package, and it exemplifies her personality. Just a few minutes with Antonette - in person or with her writing - demands attention. She doesn't smooth over the edges of her past. Her language comes from her personality, which was born from her survival instinct. So her words are rough, but she balances them with a musical quality, like tattoos and pink heels.

"When I was young I was a goddess of cool, because I was so different, with the tattoos and high heels," she says. "I got a lot more attention from most of the trans because of the sleeve tattoos and I was all dolled up." A former resident of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, Antonette's microcelebrity status came from her original style, which also cause a lot of abuse. Begin different on the streets brings forth notoriety in many different ways, but Antonette pulled through and brought poetry along with her. Although Antonette has moved this city, she still manages to keep her diva status with a positive attitude. "Just gimme a mic and a spotlight, the new tranny is in town."

Pick up an issue of Sad Mag for more articles on independent art & culture in Vancouver
Read "Free Me from Anxiety" on Geist Magazine
Find our more about Great Beginnings
Read "Reflections on Great Beginnings" by Dave Deveau, Project Coordinator, Great Beginnings.
More info on Podplays

Reflections on the Great Beginnings Initiative

2011-02-02T12:45:00.000-08:00

By Dave Deveau, Project Coordinator, Great Beginnings

As Project Coordinator of Great Beginnings, this has been a tremendous festival. If at first the name “Great Beginnings” doesn’t muster up much more than Dickensian images, you’re thinking of “Great

Expectations”… Similar, but also quite different. A joint initiative of the city and province, Great Beginnings is a funding program about creating opportunities on the Downtown East Side. What does that mean in the context of the Festival? We have had twenty one DTES residents interns working on the various shows happening down at the Woodward’s building and in Gastown at La Marea. And, yes, this is creating job opportunities, but it is also allowing these residents to flex their artistic muscles – many of them are artists in their own right (painters, poets, actors, storytellers). More than anything, it’s engaging the greater community in the shows – having peers invite them to view shows has become the perfect invitation to engage them in the Festival as a whole. The Iqaluit installation in the Woodward’s Atrium has become a destination in the community – at first because the basketball nets were gone and people were wondering what the bizarre metal cage was, but once they’d experienced the show, people became quite moved. Some of them are originally from the north and have been living on the DTES for much of their lives – it has been a long time since they’ve seen images of the north. Others are shocked by the desolation of the north. Or provoked by the images they see. The five interns we have working on this show could not be more suitable to the public they’re interacting with in this high-traffic space: they know everyone insight, they welcome everyone in sight, and they show tremendous compassion that extends well beyond their job requirements. Come down to the Atrium and meet them yourselves –guaranteed you will get the warmest smile you’ve seen this festival.

Read: Great Beginnings Initiative & the PuSh Festival

Visit: Great Beginnings Webpage

More info on Iqaluit

PuSh Festival's Curatorial Conversation

2011-01-26T17:02:00.000-08:00

Friday, January 28 at 2-3:30pm
Location: SFU Woodward's Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema

Act of Curation is an exploration of what artistic vision is, how it is interpreted and implemented from the perspective of the Push International Performing Arts Festival - a city-wide festival dedicated to presenting contemporary and interdisciplinary works.

What key curatorial considerations and criteria are at play in its selection or commissioning of each festival edition? How does it provoke Vancouver's artistic community? Who is its audience? How much risk is enough? How does it want to evolve in the next few years? How does Vancouver stand up as a creative milieu vis a vis the international context?

These are just a few of the many topics to be discussed.

Please join us this Friday, January 28 at 2pm for this animated discourse featuring:

PuSh Executive Director Norman Armour, Senior Curator Sherrie Johnson and Associate Curator Dani Fecko moderated by SFU Woodward's Director of Cultural Programs, Michael Boucher .
Q&A will follow.

Hard Core Creators Chat

2011-01-25T10:45:00.000-08:00

The Producers of Hard Core Logo: Live and the Celluloid Social Club present

Friday January 28th at 2pm FREE!

at the Firehall Arts Centre, 280 East Cordova

Grab this opportunity to hear some of Canada’s edgiest creators talk about the genesis of Hard Core Logo the film and Hard Core Logo: Live the stage play, and ruminate on the legacy of this iconic Canadian work. Panelists include:

Noel S. Baker: is the script writer of the 1996 feature film Hard Core Logo, directed by Bruce McDonald, that Hard Core Logo: Live is based on. Noel also wrote the live broadcast TV version of American Whiskey Bar which had its first non-live screening at the Celluloid Social Club in 1998.

Joe “Shithead” Keithley: best known as leader of Canada’s most influential punk bank D.O.A. and as the Canadian godfather of punk. He has influenced everyone from Green Day and Sonic Youth to The Offspring and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and recently authored his first book, I Shithead, a life in punk.

Michael Scholar Jr.: his long-running production of The Black Rider won Best Production in three cities (Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary) and was nominated in a fourth (Toronto), and he has spent the last 3 years working on the stage adaptation of Hard Core Logo. He is Artistic Producer of November Theatre.

This not-to-be-missed discussion will be moderated by:

Glen Schaefer: Glen, a witness to the heyday of Punk in Vancouver, is a film writer for The Province and guitarist for the band Twisted Siskel.

Hard Core Creators Chat is absolutely FREE to the public and a great before or after experience to viewing the live show at the PuSh Festival. No RSVP required, just show up at the door. For more info contact Katrina Dunn at Touchstone Theatre, katrina@touchstonetheatre.com (604) 709-9973.

More info about the live show HERE

Walking with Volker Gerling, Portraits in Motion

2011-01-24T14:49:00.000-08:00

by Tim Carlson, Club PuSh curator, Theatre Conspiracy

I went on a mission today with German flipbook artist Volker Gerling to explore the five end-of-the-line Skytrain stops in Vancouver proper. We began at the Millennium line terminus station, VCC Clark, and walked around China Creek Park, which was, 125 years ago, the eastern shore of False Creek. From there we went to the final Vancouver stop on the line at Rupert and walked around the big-box and film studio neighborhood, where Volker had his first encounter with WalMart. The store has everything, it seems, other than flipbooks. We spent far more time, however, at a prop and set dec store across the street. Volker noted a sign reading: "Unattended children will be sold to the circus." It was a half-hour walk uphill to the Joyce-Collingwood station, the final eastern stop on the Expo line. By then it was dark. We decided to hit Waterfront Station and Marine Dr., the southern-most stop on the Canada Line, on another day.

During this three-hour adventure, I got to know a little bit about an artist who makes a life's work out of walking, meeting people, camping and sometimes encountering that perfect subject for a portrait session, capturing 36 rapid-fire frames — the essential number for one of his exquisitely shot flipbooks.

Gerling has walked 3,000 km in Europe. In 2003, he walked from Berlin to Basel, Switzerland, over the course of three months.

He told me he usually walks 20-25km per day for five days, which ordinarily takes him from one town to the next, camping in the forest in the evenings. Then he spends two days in a town or city, talking to people in bars and cafes, looking for subjects, and taking donations for his art and offers of places to crash or camp. Performances at festivals such as PuSh — he brings Portraits in Motion to Club Push on Feb. 3 — constitute a significant part of his livelihood.

"I never take any money with me on my walks," he told me over a few beers on Commercial Dr. "This forces me to talk to people. On my first walk, had 8 Euros with me when I left Berlin, but by the time I got to Leipzig (190km away), I found that I could survive by donations so I gave the 8 Euros to a guy on the street."

Portraits in Motion - Show info
Other Club PuSh shows
Visit Theatre Conspiracy's website

Curatorial Statement - Club PuSh

2011-01-24T12:36:00.000-08:00

by Tim Carlson, Artistic Producer, Theatre Conspiracy & Club PuSh Curator.

Why would Theatre Conspiracy want to be involved in the curation and production of Club PuSh?

Basically, we can’t help ourselves. It’s in our blood. And it’s worked out rather well.

Theatre Conspiracy, and my own career in the theatre, began in clubs with events featuring a lot of politician abuse, comedy sketches, boozy conversation and musical acts such as Joe Shithead, Destroyer, Pink Mountaintops and No Luck Club.

Shaking up a cocktail of short genre-defying performance, comedy, monologue, magic and music acts for an animated, thirsty, flirty and conversational crowd is a sacred thing.

Some of my most memorable theatre experiences have happened in a club:

• Daniel Barrow, Club PuSh 2009: This Winnipeg artist’s singular talent for storytelling and live animation on overhead projector is beautiful, heartfelt, mind blowing. I’m on a mission to make his return to the Club one of the most popular shows at PuSh this year.

• Mike Daisey, Club PuSh 2009: We introduced the top-flight New York monologist to Vancouver audiences with Monopoly and PuSh brought him back in September with a new show, The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs. He now has a lot of fans around here.

• Colin Smith, A General Election Conspiracy, Anza Club, 1996: Colin pulled on a Brian Mulroney mask and a fat suit and we sold audience members an egg for a buck. Sublime. Achieved a remarkable level of audience / artist interactivity. Caused a few bruises. Revenues of $24 before expenses.

The club as an environment for innovative performance has a long history — the Dada events at Zurich’s Cabaret Voltaire beginning 1916 are an obvious example. But Club PuSh curators Norman Armour, Veda Hille and myself believe it also has a glorious future and will we continue to commission new work specifically suited to informal atmospheres. Are we trying to make genre-defiant a genre? Well, here’s what we commissioned this year in addition to new work by Daniel Barrow:

• Volker Gerling, Portraits in Motion: The German artist’s medium is the black & white portrait animated via flipbook. After a few days of walking around Vancouver, Gerling will present a new portrait of our city at 125. It’s fascinating to see artists like Gerling and Barrow adopting old-school media for their performances at a time when video is as common as carbon monoxide. The night will hosted by writer Michael Turner and Victoria’s Meatdraw (“one of the finest carnival exorcism bands in the world”) rounds out the night of local / regional / international talent.

• Nervous System System, Close at Hand: Vancouver’s vibrant comedy-based improv scene is loaded with talent. If you’re a fan, Nervous System System has a fresh new direction to share. With improvs on the themes of death metal, Samuel Beckett and Hall & Oates, Nervous System System performers Tanya Marquardt, Tanya Podlozniuk, Caroline Liffman and Billy Marchenski, aim for rhythm, sustained momentum and a profound examination of mortality — as well as comedy. Hosted by writer / comedian Sarah Bynoe and also featuring magician Bro Gilbert and the smashing rock band The British Columbians, this night will have energy to burn.

• Happy Birthday Teenage City: Veda Hille had a hit at the Club in 2009 with the Craigslist Cantata that she wrote with Bill Richardson. This time out she takes the civic temperature by leading the Vancouver Complaints Choir with songs of complaint, confession and congrats, and invites further comment from writer and comedian Charles Demers, artist Geoffrey Farmer, and singer/songwriters Meryn Cadell and Geoff Berner. And, to get the audience up on the stage — Weekend Leisure Karaoke.

• The Meal by The Lost Gospel Ensemble: Following a set by his band The Beige that wowed the crowd at Club PuSh in 2009, we asked songwriter Rick Maddocks to create something a little special for our stage in 2011. Part of what we talk about when commissioning new work for the club is how we can support artists to keep pushing their work into new territories — something that I’ve always heard in Rick’s music. He proposed an ambitious cycle of songs ranging from funk to gospel to rock and folk that would be theatrical, post-modern take on the Gnostic Gospels, inspired somewhat by Buñuel’s film The Exterminating Angel, and diving deeper into spiritual themes that have evolved throughout his repertoire.

I think we’ve been reasonably wide-ranging in our choices and that this year’s talent will inspire next year’s offerings.

Looking forward to calling Club PuSh home from Jan. 26 to Feb. 5 …

— Tim Carlson, artistic producer, Theatre Conspiracy

More Club PuSh info

RSVP on Facebook

Visit Theatre Conspiracy's website

Curatorial Statement - Terminal City Soundscape

2011-01-21T14:10:00.000-08:00

By David Pay, Artistic Director, Music on Main

Listening to our city

What are the sounds, the sights, the tastes and smells that make Vancouver Vancouver? As the city enters its 125th year, I’ve been reflecting especially on the music that makes Vancouver tick.

Terminal City Soundscape doesn’t set out to be a comprehensive review of the city’s musical history. Rather, it’s a personal reflection on four aesthetic streams that I believe define Vancouver’s music scene: soundscape; interculturality; free improv; and the idea of beauty, all reflected through sound. It’s also about how our leading composers, performers and musical thinkers show us that the local is universal.

Soundscape is about an immersive experience in the acoustic ecology. The term was coined by R. Murray Schafer and began here in Vancouver in the 1970’s. Tonight we’ll hear two of the most important compositions that emerged from this movement: Hildegard Westerkamp’s Kits Beach Soundwalk and Barry Truax’s Riverrun. In between sets, you’ll also hear excerpts from The Vancouver Soundscape Project (1973/1996) and more recent sounds collected by Vincent Andrisani and Nathan Clarkson.

Intercultural music integrates musical philosophies, techniques and instruments from different cultures. With 125 years of multicultural immigration in Vancouver, our city has become a hotbed of intercultural music, with ensembles like the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra, Red Chamber, Orchid Ensemble and Birds of Paradox. Zheng player Mei Han and composer Randy Raine-Ruesch are two of our city’s leaders in this area.

Vancouver is known around the world as a major centre for free improvisation, and cellist Peggy Lee’s performances are the exemplar of how improv can work. What’s free improv for musicians like Peggy? It’s a kind of music making that that engages spontaneity to unlock individual agency and break down hegemonic political and cultural systems.

When we look at the natural beauty of Vancouver, it’s hard not to imagine that being reflected in our arts. Many composers here, including Rodney Sharman and Jocelyn Morlock create music that – to me – deals with the idea of beauty in an almost Keatsian way. Through harmony, melody and even rhythm, these composers write music that is not about being merely pretty, but rather is about ideas and sounds that seize the imagination as beauty and show us a kind of truth. The honesty of musica intima and Ariel Barnes’ performances speak to this kind truth.

Reflecting on what is true to each of us, we often look internally, to our personal experiences. In Hildegard Westerkamp’s “Kits Beach Soundwalk,” the composer invites us to listen to the city and then shows the intimate voices of nature, the body, dreams and imagination. In the interdisciplinary collaboration “All,” Mina Shum, Standing Wave, and six composers reflect on the personal and the local to show us that the microcosm is the macrocosm.

So much art in Vancouver takes this stance of framing a specifically local experience as universal. Perhaps it’s the geographic distance we have from other cities, or perhaps it's because we’re surrounded by water and mountains that keeps us looking and listening to ourselves. But when we do listen locally, we discover a wide wide world that opens up our ears, our hearts, and our minds, to ourselves, and to each other.

Show info
Visit Music on Main's website
RSVP on Facebook

Curatorial Statement - Rouge

2011-01-21T12:09:00.000-08:00

by Norman Armour, Executive Director, PuSh Festival

For years, I have been searching for a work that would, with brutal abandon, cross the lines dividing performance art and what is most commonly referred to as the performing arts.

If I were to find such a work, it would need to garner respect from both performance art camps and those on the performing arts side.

The work would need to be infused with ideas of such daring purity that one could not but sit up incredulously, one's mind slack jawed in disbelief.

On the other side of the line, it would need to be a work where the stagecraft would also be of the highest order. It would need lighting, set and sound designs that were singular and unforgettable. And perhaps, it would need the craziest collection of props you might ever imagine. Heck, they could be all in one dominant colour.

The work might conjure the films of John Cassavetes—their slow, erratic journey to the edges of a human’s contorted tolerance.

It might best if the work had a wonderfully straight-faced, non-pulsed sense of humour. The text? Well, here’s a thought… it could be minimal, maybe even really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really minimal. It would be a human analogued, broken record, decaying over performed time…. at once, always the same, and yet with each repetition, each utterance, something completely different—variations on a theme, so to speak. Could there be such a thing? Maybe just a simple question and answer.

However, whatever the work’s aesthetics, whatever its ideas, and whatever its thematic and material obsession, the work would need to be audacious, I mean truly audacious—to the point of insanity. But it must, must, must be created by an angel of a person.

Now this search for such a work could well take many years. Needless to say, I’d have to be patient. I’d have to “go down a few blind alleys.” I have to not lose track of my sense of need, no matter how far I had wandered from the impetus and origin of my search. My search might well turn desperate at times; yet, I must never lose my sense of possibility. And, at all costs, I should remain steadfast, insistent on taking no prisoners.

I found it.

Rouge.

Now it’s your turn.

Show info
RSVP on Facebook
Read a review
Watch a video

Curatorial Statement - Peter Panties

2011-01-21T11:49:00.000-08:00

by Heather Redfern, Executive Director, The Cultch

When I decide to program the world premiere of a new work the factors that affect that decision are very different than when I am programming a show that has already been produced and that I have seen in the past. I began talking to Neworld Theatre and Leaky Heaven three years ago about the Peter Panties project. I had great faith in the artists and the Cultch has a long history with both companies and I wanted to work with them. In thinking about how the concepts and ideas for the show would fit into the Cultch program I envision it as a holiday show for families, one that might return year after year. This worked as a concept for the producing companies as well until Marcus and Niall began to do some serious development on the script. Marcus brought me videos of he and Niall working together. It was clear that the show was not going to fit into the original curatorial slot that I had hoped; it also became clear that the show would not be ready for the following season (2008/2009) as we had originally planned.

However I was intrigued with the method they were using to create the work, Niall telling the story to the camera and Marcus interviewing him and throwing out lines that the characters might say to create a dialogue for the story. Then Veda and Niall working together, the two of them were composing songs by singing back and forth to each other, and all of it was being recorded on camera. I became fascinated with this process and even though the context of the work within my program has changed, it was certainly no longer a family show and PuSh by then had expressed some interest in co-presenting, I decided to move ahead and program the show in the 2009/2010 season as part of our Cultural Olympiad program; however, that was not to be. Niall was hired to be part of the resident company at the National Arts Centre and there was not enough time to complete the show for that season so we moved it forward a year. Now, here was are ready to see what Peter Panties, after those three years of development, has become.

When I commit to programming a world premiere I am taking a greater risk than when I present a work that has been touring or is being remounted. I am buying into an idea and in this case a methodology of development without knowing what the final product will be. These shows need longer tech time in the theatre, which means they cost more and it almost never happens that the show is completely ready and fully realized in its very first performance. Every show requires further development after it first few performances in front of an audience. But when it works, the thrill of seeing a show being born in on Cultch stage is magical and I can’t wait for the opening night, the world premiere, of Peter Panties.

More show info
Visit the Cultch
RSVP on Facebook

Great Beginnings Initiative & The PuSh Festival

2011-01-19T17:08:00.000-08:00

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the province of BC, the Great beginnings initiative (a project of the city and province) celebrates the history, heritage and culture of Vancouver's first urban areas. Gastown, Chinatown, Japantown and Strathcona - often referred to collectively as the Downtown Eastside - are on the list for improvements. This is a unique opportunity to create a legacy in the area of improved physical, social, and economic conditions.

The PuSh Festival is thrilled to take part in this vital program that enables us to present three dynamic productions based out of the historic Woodward's building. Through Great Beginnings, we have interns working on 100% Vancouver (presented with Theatre Replacement and SFU Woodward's), PodPlays (Neworld Theatre/PTC produced in partnership with CBC Radio One), La Marea (presented with Boca Del Lupo, SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts, Studio 58 at Langara College, and Theatre at UBC) and Iqaluit (presented with SFU Woodward's), a unique installation running every day for the duration of the festival. Without the support this initiative, we wouldn't be able to offer this kind of programming over such a long run.

Visit the Great beginnings page

SFU School for Contemporary Arts

Studio 58, Langara College

Theatre at UBC

Max Wyman O.C. Remarks - 2011 PuSh Festival Opening Gala and Vancouver 125 Launch

2011-01-19T13:21:00.000-08:00

Photo by Kris Krug www.staticphotography.com

Speaking as a recovering politician, I’d like to express my gratitude and admiration to the Mayor and the city for teaming with PuSh in this marvellous event –

it seems hugely appropriate, given the significance of arts and culture to the social texture of this city,

it is perfectly timed, given the fact that Vancouver is one of Canada’s capitals of culture this year,

it suggests that there is a strong awareness, in civic quarters at least, of the need to support a festival of this kind.

And it is particularly fitting, given that PuSh helps define the city’s cultural identity and carries our city’s name around the world.

You and your council and your staff, sir, provide a beacon of enlightenment in dark times.

I’d like to add my special thanks, too, to Vancity, which has come aboard in significant fashion this year.

What we have here is something that I believe is unique in this city – in this country – our very own special treasure.

But PuSh is not much more than half a decade old, and still a bit of an in-crowd secret, and that’s something we need to change – not just for the sake of PuSh, but for the sake of everyone who’s currently not sharing the PuSh experience.

The arts and culture make a significant contribution to the quality of life that we live together.

I don’t mean just economically, though that’s important.

I don’t mean just in terms of developing what they call the creative class – the professionals who give a city and a region its imaginative edge and enlarge its ability to innovate … though that matters as well.

I don’t mean just the way that sharing cultural experiences gives us a better understanding of each other and helps us define ourselves as a community.

I mean all those things. And PuSh makes a significant contribution to our lives in all those ways.

But when I think about why I am so hot for PuSh, it comes down in the end to the personal effect –

the way PuSh has the potential to change me, open my eyes to new ideas, make me question things that I thought I knew …

and, not least, delight me in the most surprising ways.

Here’s another reason to love PuSh: it puts you – us - at the forefront of something quite transformational – a world movement that is encouraging us to reconsider the traditional boundaries between audiences and performers.

PuSh executive director Norman Armour has his finger firmly on the pulse of this new international movement – in fact, the season that’s about to open, with its link to the city’s 125th anniversary through the theme of “cityness” (interpreted as only PuSh knows how), promises to be the most stimulating PuSh yet.

Filled with new explorations of what good work in the performing arts always does – provoke us, engage us, enrage us … change us. Set our souls on fire.

Have your own wonderful time. I know I will. And don’t forget to tell your friends. This really is too good a secret not to share.

Pictures from the Gala
Visit the PuSh Festival's website

Norman Armour Remarks - 2011 PuSh Festival Opening Gala and Vancouver 125 Launch

2011-01-19T13:10:00.000-08:00

Photo by Kris Krug www.staticphotography.com

Hello Vancouver!

Many years ago, I was struggling to figure out how to navigate the question of public funding—who funded what and under what criteria and for what purpose. I’d asked someone at what is now called the City of Vancouver’s Office of Cultural Services what precisely distinguished their mission from other funding agencies at the provincial and federal levels. The answer I was given was pretty straightforward: “We are about place.” I was struck by the suggestiveness of that idea and have never forgotten it.

To be about PLACE…

When I learned a couple years back that 2011 would be the year of Vancouver’s 125th anniversary, I was similarly struck—struck by what such an occasion suggested. This year’s PuSh International Performing Arts Festival is nothing if not about PLACE. Our 125th Anniversary Series, generously supported by Vancity, creatively explores questions at the heart of our collective and individual histories, identities, urban experience, public spaces, and sense of politic.

It’s an honour to launch this year’s PuSh Festival and the 125th anniversary in partnership with the City. I would like to use this occasion to commend Mayor Gregor Robertson, the City’s Councilors, and the remarkable group of individuals at the Office of Cultural Services for their steadfast commitment to ensuring that the arts remain very much at the centre of our civic life.

Now… to carry off a program of work as ambitious as PuSh’s 125th Series is unimaginable without the involvement of both public and private sector supporters. And here, our partnership with Vancity is fitting. Vancity is an institution that is also very much about place—about the economic, social, cultural, environmental, and community wellbeing of this city, it’s residents and their entrepreneurial spirit.

I would like to acknowledge the generous support of SFU Woodward’s, CMHC Granville Island, the Department of Canadian Heritage, the BC Arts Council, the Assembly of British Columbia Arts Councils, the City of Vancouver’s Great Beginnings Program, the Vancouver Foundation, Leon and Thea Koerner Foundation, and the Hamber Foundation. And a big “shout-out” to me&lewis for making our communications and promotions this year one of the most memorable ever.

On that note, I ‘d like to especially thank Stan Douglas for kindly offering a new work of his, “Fan Fight,” to be the 2011 PuSh Festival signature image. (The work depicts a fight among spectators during a hockey game at the Kerrisdale Arena in the late 1940s.)

Thank you Grolsch, Emelle’s, Wilde Horse Canyon Wines, Stanley Park Brewery, Gastown Business Improvement Society and everyone here at 560 for what promises to be a great gala evening. I hope you all have a chance to peruse the 2011 PuSh program guide; you’ll find countless organizations, foreign agencies, consulates and individuals that have helped make this year’s Festival a reality.

If Vancouver is in it’s teenage years, the PuSh Festival is barely out of pre-school. In seven brief years, we have become a much-beloved, signature event with a dedicated team of permanent staff led this year by Kent Gallie (managing director Minna Schendlinger is currently on maternity leave), a savvy group of curators that includes senior curator Sherrie Johnson, associate curator Dani Fecko, Club PuSh curators and Veda Hille and Theatre Conspiracies Tim Carlson, a bevy of contractors, technical, front of house and box office personnel, an army of volunteers, an impassioned board of directors, an exciting new Leaders Council, an engaged and ever-expanding audience, an international profile that is held in high esteem, and a 1.7 million dollar budget to boot. How does one get here?

Well, there are a myriad of reasons. One reason is the generous spirit of collaboration and partnership that characterizes our local arts scene. Another is the enthusiasm and pride that our local media shares with our efforts to brighten up the perennial mid-winter blues with groundbreaking performing arts from around the globe and just around the corner. Thank you Georgia Straight, thank you CTV, thank you Vancouver Is Awesome. And a thank you to all the individual journalists and bloggers from those and other media outlets who are joining us this year in getting the word out on the 2011 PuSh Festival.

Much has been made of the challenges facing our social profit arts sector. Those challenges are real, and at times daunting. And yet, out of such a time certain opportunities can also arise.

All of us here tonight are leaders in our own fashion— leading through the values of open and ethical collaboration, and the ambition of our vision and our goals.

Being together here tonight comes from our desire to engage with one of the most dynamic, inventive, intelligent, resourceful—and fun—contemporary arts scenes to be found anywhere in the world.

The arts in our city needs all of our leadership, involvement and support. The health of our city’s social profit arts sector requires everyone’s investment.

Individuals such as yourself, along with the organizations, institutions, corporate entities and small businesses that you represent, are the key to our future—to the future of our thriving arts community, and indeed our civic life. I encourage you to continue to connect, to contribute, and of course to be a fan!

Have a great time tonight. Have a wonderful 2011 PuSh Festival. Have a look at the city with fresh new eyes and spread it around. Have a stupendous 125th anniversary year. Light a candle, make a wish… we’re having a party!

Pictures from the gala
Visit the PuSh Festival's website

Interview with The Natural Born Chillers

2011-01-17T13:24:00.000-08:00

Like an explosive love affair between electro and rock’n’roll, techno and punk rock, The Natural Born Chillers deliver a high-power sound with a strong visual element. With remixes of top-shelf club hits, their live performance style has echos of DJ stylings paired with dynamic compositions and charismatic vocals. This five piece band from Ostrow Wielkopolski has played the most popular clubs and underground cultural events in Poland.

A special concert presented in conjunction with In the Solitude of Cotton Fields on Saturday, January 22 at 10pm, following the 8pm performance of In the Solitude of Cotton Fields, Performance Works, Granville Island, Tickets only $5, available at the door only after 9:45pm. More info here

How would you classify your music?

Michael Lis / Maciej Matysiak: Classifying our music is a hard task and we wouldn’t really want to take it up. Throughout the years we’ve been involved in many genres, starting from punk, rock, through reggae, dub and electronica to finish with. It’s a mixture of different styles and various musical influences that we were raised on.

However, very often, as an answer to such questions, we simply call our music ELECTRO ROCK’N’ROLL

Your music combines energetic electronics, live instruments, vocals, and a strong visual element. Who are your influences?

Michael L. / Maciej M: We grew up listening to punk rock, mainly British and American, as there were few Polish bands at the time that we could identify with musically. Lyrics of the Polish punk artists were strongly politically intertwined because of the situation within the country (communism, martial law). To be honest, we remember shit from those times, but the music survived on tapes and vinyls. When we were 7, our parents took us to the Jarocin festival, which at the time was the biggest music event in Poland. It was a tremendous experience, comparable with the impact Woodstock had on Westerners. You had the authorities creeping behind every corner, just waiting for a chance to get at the punks with rubber batons. This is how our story with music began.

It all started with punk, rock, first joints, Bob Marley, Aswad and Steel Pulse, reggae festivals followed by guitar ones, then first club parties and suddenly BANG!!! Dance, electronic, club music.

It totally got to us and we started doing some ourselves but with a sound of our own.

ELECTRO ROCK’N’ROLL

Peter and Michael, your father, Jerry, is a member of the famous rock band Big Cyc, formed in the late 80’s, known for their controversial behavior and for exposing Polish politics, economic disproportions, drug addiction and the problems of Polish youth. Do you think that it is important to challenge the status-quo through music?

Michael: Big Cyc started out fighting with the socialistic regime, nowadays it only mocks the current system. When it comes down to me, politics and putting on a fight, then I simply don’t care. I don’t want to waste time on politics, although I’m not completely indifferent towards it. I cast my vote during elections and want to have impact on the current political option. You can use music against politics, I have nothing against it. The same thing is being done by Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine. American politics seem to be brawlier than the Polish one, at least from a global perspective.

Piotrek: I think there’s no need for us to fight anymore… if we don’t feel comfortable about something we can simply tell about it or ignore it… we have choice, a thing that our parents lacked. It’s good to talk about problems that touch us, however, I think they’re relatively small, compared to the ones of Poland from 25-30 years ago, when our father started out.

What are the major trends arising in the Polish punk and rock scene at the moment? And what influences have caused these changes in punk/rock culture?

Michael / Maciej / Wojtek Niemczyk / Piotr: To be frank, there’s no real punk stage in Poland anymore, the one that we used to have. The Polish music scene has undergone globalization and lost its independent character. Punk music lost its ideological foundation and became commercial music. You can still find bands that try to make up ideologies to their music, but it’s pretty contrived most of the time.

You will be touring in North America and South America before returning to Poland, what are your expectations?

Piotrek: We expect thrills, a positive charge of “summer” in the midst of our winter, and most of all good fun, cause we’ve heard that Latin American blood is wild and avid for partying till dawn, just like the Slavonic one.

What made all five of you decide to start the band?

Michael: I can’t do anything else.

Maciej: I’ve always wanted to do it.

Peter: They needed a drummer. (laugh)

Bartek: All of the above mentioned. The only difference is that I can’t play drums, so I play bass.

What advise would you like to share with young musicians that are trying to make it in the punk/rock scene?

All: Punk is dead. Play disco and rock’n’roll. (laugh)

Listen to The Natural Born Chillers on Myspace

Watch them live

More about In the Solitude of Cotton Fields

Hard Core Logo:LIVE Curatorial Statement

2011-01-17T12:50:00.000-08:00

Q and A with Michael Scholar, Jr. - Artistic Producer of November Theatre

1. What does Hardcore mean to you?
To me hardcore means never compromising and being unapologetic. Committing 100% and not backing down. Whether it's hardcore porn that doesn't pussy foot around (so to speak) or hardcore sports fans that paint themselves and scream out their lungs at a game, hardcore means getting behind something full bore. So hardcore punks are folks that throw themselves into the music and the scene with every ounce of their being. It's a way of life, not just a fashion statement. But that doesn't mean you need to have a mohawk to be hardcore punk, you just need to have a punk attitude. I like how Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat and Fugazi describes it; he says, "A hard-shelled Baptist is someone who's relationship with God is so intense they actually don't need to follow - they can smoke and drink and whore around, do anything they want - because that's how hard-shelled they are." So too the hardcore punk is not about following a set of rules, but about believing something in your soul that is individually expressed.

2. How did you first encounter Hard Core Logo? Describe the experience.
I first saw the movie at the Princess Theatre in Edmonton when I was going to the University of Alberta. I sat in the balcony and was blown away by the story, the style, the performances and the music. The ending totally surprised me, and disturbed me for days. Someone I had gone to the film with claimed to have seen the band play in Edmonton on their ill fated reunion tour, which confused me since it was a fictitious film that according to the credits had been shot entirely in BC (but I also know someone who had claimed to have owned the fictitious Spinal Tap album "Shark Sandwich" to seem more cool). That to me is a testament to the spell Bruce McDonald had cast with his film, blurring the line between reality and fiction. Plant enough truths and people will believe your lies. Well I wanted the film to be real. I wanted to be able to buy albums for the band I had just discovered, but at the time there was no soundtrack even available. Only another bit of trickery existed, a fake tribute album with great bands like Fishbone, the Doughboys and the Headstones doing their "favourite" Hard Core Logo songs.

Then walking through the Bonnie Doon Mall I found the book in a sidewalk sale. I didn't even know there was a book. But here was what I was looking for, more info and insight into the band. I devoured the book that afternoon in the parking lot. I literally couldn't put it down. I felt like I was spying on the band, reading their personal thoughts and diary entries, snooping through their receipts and contracts to piece together this story of true, north, strong and free punk rock. The story was of course very similar to the film, but I really enjoyed the differences too. There were sections that I had thought, "why didn't that get put in to the movie?" or "I would love to see that come to life." And I guess that's when the seed got planted, and it's been growing ever since.

3. When and why did you think it should have a life on stage?
I chose to do The Black Rider when I was looking for something fun to do at the Fringe and I turned to my CD collection for inspiration. Years later, as I was looking for a project to follow it up with, I turned to my collection of music, movies and books again. I wanted a project that would be uniquely Canadian, something that could tour and that would rock. Hard Core Logo jumped out at me and kicked me in the balls. By this point the book and film had both become regular parts of my punk diet, and I knew what I had to do: track down Michael Turner and Bruce McDonald. And once I got permission from them, everything started to fall into place.

The book has some monologues that the film either omitted or turned into documentary interviews. I thought these passages were ripe for theatrical staging. In theatre, characters can speak their thoughts aloud without having to explain why. It's just poetry, or an aside. I wanted to marry these sections of the book, to the story of the movie, and finally get to hear the band's songs in their entirety.

As I dove into the world of Hard Core Logo, I knew I had to get Joe "Shithead" Keithley to compose the music. He and DOA served as some poetic inspiration for Michael Turner, so it was only appropriate to ask Joe to conspire with me. And when he said yes I knew the show would have the authenticity I was looking for.

Brad Moss and Theatre Network were also key to the puzzle. I needed a director who could handle the complex episodic staging and the concert aspects of the show. We had worked together on Hedwig and the Angry Inch and we had talked about creating our own Canadian Hedwig, and in a way this is it.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Q and A with punk legend Joe “Shithead” Keithley

1. Why was it important to you to be involved in the stage version of Hard Core Logo?
I think the big thing with Hard Core Logo: LIVE is that there hasn’t been to my knowledge a really good theatrical version of punk in the late70 and 80s, so this was a great opportunity to put my spin on in it, at least song wise.

2. Why did you start playing punk music?
When we first heard about punk in 1976, popular music ranged from disco to Fleetwood Mac. In other words, it was pretty anemic. And all of the sudden we saw punk rock on TV, and we heard a couple records and we went “wow, this actually embodies the real spirit of rock n’ roll, which is like, stick it to the man and cause shit and have a great time while you’re doing it.”

It just seemed to go back to the 1955, ‘56, era before the original rock got sold out and became Elvis Presley and stuff like that, it just had this mean kind of a cantankerous thing to it that reminded us of the original rock n’ roll.

3. As the Godfather of punk, you’ve inspired countless musicians. Who or what inspires you?
Being alive is a great thing. Being able to play in a band and entertain people is also a great thing. I take my inspiration from regular people I meet on the street. It could be anything, there’s no one big thing. I mean, I have idols, like Woody Guthrie and Bob Marley and Johnny Cash - people who have really made a difference with music, of course - but it’s more like you take inspiration from what’s happening today. I don’t really dwell on the past very much. Whatever’s in front of you that day, you deal with it then and do the best you can.

Call out for Bloggers!!

2011-01-13T17:26:00.000-08:00

The 2011 PuSh Festival Opening Night Gala on Monday January 17th at 6:30pm, will be a veritable buffet of creativity spread throughout the many eclectic spaces of the new multi-level Club Five Sixty, the 2011 PuSh Festival Opening Gala will be packed with live music, spontaneous performances and surprise guests.

Featuring live music by Vancouver’s indie prog rock darlings The Zolas, guest DJs, and a number of performances including Theatre Replacement’s Weetube–a piece that uses the publicly posted comments found under popular YouTube videos to highlight the brilliant and the mundane found in the world’s most populated critical discourse, and The Chop’s Last Tango Dance Salon–an intimate installation where audience members share a dance and an interwoven narrative with the performers.

The PuSh Festival is is calling out for Bloggers who would like to participate during the event. We will have a designated area with wireless internet provided at Club Five Sixty along with power outlets. Bring your laptop/smart phone along and tweet/blog/facebook about the event and get a free ticket to the Gala.

The first social media round will happen from 7:30 to 8:30 and the second round will happen from 9:30 to 10:30. You are welcome to enjoy the event in between rounds.

If you are interested in participating, please send an email to PuSh's Outreach Coordinator, Zaira Petruf before Saturday 15th, at 12:00pm. Space is limited!

Questions? zaira@pushfestival.ca

Curatorial Statement - In the Solitude of Cotton Fields

2011-01-11T15:19:00.000-08:00

By Richard Wolfe, Artistic Director, Pi Theatre

When an audience gathers around a theatrical event, the rendezvous can result in an intense connection. People’s ability to recognize common responses to questions framed by artistic expression is one of the elemental experiences that's helped hold humanity together over time.

Bernard-Marie Koltès explores the human need for connectivity in his play In the Solitude of Cotton Fields. The story focuses on two individuals who meet in a liminal space. Even though their contact is fraught with tension, they find they need each other. “Tell me what you want and I'll get it” says the dealer. “Tell me what you've got and I'll tell you what I want” replies the customer. Koltès was at the height of his fame, and four years away from death, when he wrote In the Solitude of Cotton Fields. He died in 1989, at the age of 41, of AIDS related complications in an era when the condition still created pariahs of those who had it.

The show’s text, which has been translated from French into Polish (with English subtitles), has a poetic quality that will be familiar to fans of Quebecois and other French theatre. Director Radoslaw Rychcik’s production uses Koltè’s text as inspiration for his own dynamic theatrical exploration. Rychcik's vision of the play uses verbal and non-verbal language that beats with an adrenaline fueled heart while remaining faithful to the soul of Koltès’ original inquiry. It offers a visceral treatment that moves the play along with extraordinary energy. The performance is brought to life by Wojciech Niemczyk & Tomasz Nosinski from the Stefan Zeromski Theatre of Kielce, Poland. The entire show is backed by The Natural Born Chillers, a band that plays with the angry and desperate force of life itself (check out their solo concert after Saturday's closing night show).

Long known for its extraordinary actors, directors and designers, Polish theatre is currently among the most exciting in the world and director Radoslaw Rychcik is one of its young visionaries. As a company that looks for and supports the most audacious authorial voices in theatre, I'm very pleased that Pi has been able to join with the PuSh Festival to present this production in Vancouver. Shown to great acclaim this year at the TBA Festival in Portland, Oregon and at On The Boards in Seattle, In the Solitude of Cotton Fields is a production not to be missed.

Show info
Visit Pi Theatre
RSVP on Facebook
Watch a trailer
Read a review

Curatorial Statement - La Marea

2011-01-07T11:59:00.000-08:00

By Jay Dodge, Artistic Producer, Boca del Lupo

It seems strange that less than a year has passed since the 2010 Winter Olympics and yet it also seems fitting that 2011 marks Vancouver's 125th anniversary as a city. In the wake of the games we often find ourselves reflecting on notions of "citiness" and asking ourselves how Vancouver fits into the spectrum of remarkable cities throughout the world. One thing that seems clear is that we need to enter into a broader international dialogue and one way of doing this is through meaningful artistic exchange. La Marea and co-productions like it represents a new direction in international collaboration that emphasizes a locally based creative team working in concert with foreign artists to adapt existing projects to a local context and local audiences.

Recreating La Marea in Vancouver represents a convergence of several of Boca del Lupo’s lines of artistic inquiry: new media, site specific, free, outdoor, urban and accessible. When we first heard about this remarkable concept we felt an immediate affinity with the artists involved in its creation as well as an urgent need to collaborate with these kindred spirits from another continent. While the project follows in Boca del Lupo’s tradition of free, outdoor, site specific performance, Mariano Pensotti and his creative team bring a thematically associative and non-sequential method to unfolding narrative, along with a more technology-focused approach to spectacle. This is enormously exciting to us as it encompasses many ideas we have explored separately and brings them together in a single, albeit multifaceted, performance experience.

Crucial to the artistic merit of the project is the creative exchange and dialogue that is taking place between the team from Argentina and the team in Vancouver as we work together to redefine and envision the piece to fit with the personality of our city and its inhabitants. To me, La Marea shines a light into the very heart of our city and is filled with the kind of rich dramatic imagery you might catch in an unexpected glimpse through a private window while walking alone late at night bathed in the light of neon signs reflecting off of rainy pavement.

Visit Boca del Lupo's website
Show info
Read Mariano Pensotti's interview
Read a review
Flip through photos on Flickr

PuSh Festival Photo Contest: What is your Vancouver?

2011-01-06T13:57:00.000-08:00

125 years ago Vancouver was just someone’s idea. 125 years from now, whose idea will Vancouver be?

The PuSh Festival “What is your Vancouver?” photo contest reflects this year’s prevalent theme: the concept of ‘cityness’. 2011 is Vancouver’s 125th anniversary, and is a time to reflect on who we were, who we are now and who we want to be in the future. This is a time of reclaiming, envisioning, planning and reshaping identities. We are interested in the heart of the city, its margins and its intersections. We want to explore how people’s subjective experiences create new interpretations of urbanity that reflect the heterogeneous nature of Vancouver.

The contest calls for anyone, professional and non-professional photographers, to evoke the ethos of Vancouver though a single photograph. The photographs will all be posted on the PuSh Festival’s facebook fan site and will be voted on by the PuSh Festival’s facebook fans. The photo that has the most ‘likes’ is the winner.

Submission deadline: January 20, 2011 at 5pm.

PRIZE

• The winner will receive a PuSh Festival prize pack that includes a brand new 16GB iPod nano touch, a 2012 4-show PuSh Pass and a PuSh Festival T-Shirt.
• The photograph and the photographer’s profile will be featured on the PuSh Festival’s high traffic website, PuShing it, the PuSh Festival’s blog and the Festival e-newsletter.
• The winning photograph and photographer will be exposed to leaders of the arts and culture community though association with the PuSh Festival.

CONTEST CRITERIA

• Anyone can participate, and only one photo per photographer will be accepted.
• Photographs (max file size 1MB) should be submitted to zaira@pushfestival.ca by January 20, 2011 at 2pm with the subject line “PuSh Festival photo contest.”
• Email should include first name, last name, e-mail address, address, phone number and how you found out about the PuSh Festival.
• Voting will start soon after the submission deadline and will end on February 6, 2011 at 2pm.
• The person submitting the photograph must have full copyrights for the work produced (including permission from subjects in the photograph, if applicable).
• By submitting, the photographer accepts that his/her photograph will be utilized for promotional reasons by the PuSh Festival. The photographer will retain copyrights for the work produced.
• Digitally created work/digital alterations are welcome.
• Photographers have the option to submit a short caption about the work and/or themselves, up to a maximum of 50 words. This will be posted alongside the photo.

Questions? Comments?: Please contact PuSh's Outreach Coordinator Zaira Petruf at zaira@pushfestival.ca

Read what other people have to say about PuSh!

2011-01-06T13:46:00.000-08:00

The totally subjective, somewhat random top five performing arts moments of 2010 by Janet Smith, Georgia Straight

Jerome Bel’s The Show Must Go On at the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival
I had more fun at Jérôme Bel’s exuberant, ultracool ode to the soundtrack of our lives than any other production this year. When the pro and nonpro dancers onstage weren’t living it up to some of the best and worst of pop music (Nick Cave on the same bill as Celine Dion?), they had the audience itself singing along and eventually busting moves in the aisle. If you missed this party, you have my sincere condolences

read more...

The Best of Vancouver Theatre in 2010 by Mark Robins GayVancouver.net

Best show to blow away your senses - Nevermore: The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe (Arts Club Theatre Company)

With shades of Tim Burton, Daniel Handler, Edward Gorey and a little Cirque and Seuss thrown in for good measure, this dazzling production almost sent me into convulsions (the good kind).

read more…

The Rich Life, Culture by BC Business

"Vancouver is a tough-to-impress theatre town, making the success of the avant-garde PuSh Festival, now in its seventh year, quite remarkable. This year organizers of the multi-disciplinary performing arts fest have set an even more ambitious agenda, exploring and 'urban experience' theme. The marquee performance La Marea (Jan. 18 to 22), a joint effort of Vancouver's acclaimed outdoor troupe Boca del Lupo and Argentine artist Mariano Pensotti, tackles the subject of the hidden thoughts of strangers. Nine different stories are told in the shop windows and street corners of Water Street between Abbott and Carrall each night"

100% Vancouver - Meet 8%, 91% & 24%

2011-01-06T12:35:00.000-08:00

Name: Sebnem 8%
Gender: Female
Neighbourhood: Grandview-Woodland
Mother Tongue: Turkish
Background: Turkish
Question: Are statistics important to you?
Answer: "Yes, because it gives an idea about majority."

Name: Larry 91%

Gender: Male
Neighbourhood: Dunbar-Southlands / Musqueam
Mother Tongue: həinquaminəm
Background: Musqueam/ First Nations / Chinese
Question: What are you obsessed with?
Answer: "At the moment the revitalization of the Musqueam language."

Name: Justin 24%
Gender: Male
Neighbourhood: Downtown
Mother Tongue: English
Background: Italian/Austrian
Question: What do you see when you look out your kitchen window?
Answer: "Opportunity for advancement. A world that can be hard and competitive. But you can't just stare out the window, you have to go out and get it."

Show info
Curatorial Statement
Meet 69%
Meet 6%, 79% & 29%
Meet 32% & 53%
Meet 71%, 51% & 74%
Meet 59% & 58%
Meet 1%, 22% & 2%

Curatorial Statement: Dances for a Small Stage® 23

2011-01-06T12:02:00.000-08:00

By Julie-anne Saroyan, Artistic Producer for Dances for a Small Stage

Dances for a Small Stage showcases dance in an unconventional venue: a Vancouver Legion with an intimate cocktail lounge/cabaret atmosphere, and a ridiculously small stage. With drinks in hand, our audiences sit back, relax and are engaged by unique, fresh contemporary dance, performed in an exhilarating, hip environment.

After nine years and 23 installments of Dances for a Small Stage, we have become a well-oiled machine. Now, we are starting to mix things up a bit to keep our “small” series fresh. I am very excited about the direction of Dances for a Small Stage 23. For this particular installment, I have invited two of the most skilled character performers in Vancouver to help me curate and host the evening. Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg and Billy Marchenski are amazingly talented performers and have done very successful character work on our Small Stage in the past.

Tara and Billy have, in turn, invited artists to develop their own solo character by using either dance, pantomime, music or physical theatre to develop a piece for the Small Stage. We are very happy to include Kim Tuson, Delia Brett, David Raymond, Tiffany Tregarthen from Out Innerspace and Susie Burppe, based in Toronto. With the exception of Susie Burppe, all of these artists have appeared on our Small Stage in the past. All artists were asked to create a character piece from any era, other than the present. I am extremely interested in how their individual talents will manifest themselves on the Small Stage. This is the first time the artists have been delegated such a task.

I have always found that Small Stage fosters a unique intimacy between the artist and the audience — a challenging engagement for the artists and audiences alike. By experimenting with a “character based” show, we are infusing the series with original, daring and innovative ideas. Don’t worry… for those of you die hard fans out there the format will remain the same; short pieces that you can sink your teeth into! For you newbies out there, I hope you come out and see what you've been missing! So come out and enjoy a drink and watch some fantastic dance!

As always, the most exciting thing for me is that I can hardly wait to see what happens on our Small Stage. The possibilities are endless.

Show information
RSVP on Facebook
Read a review
Visit the Movent website

Mariano Pensotti: Reflections on La Marea

2010-12-29T14:59:00.000-08:00

At night and in real time, moving from the pavement to illuminated windows, from balconies to café terraces, La Marea presents nine different stories—intimate snapshots that bring the zero hundred block of Water Street in historic Gastown to life for the opening of the 2011 PuSh Festival. These fictional scenes are repeated over the course of the evening in shop windows and on street corners, where audience members can observe the characters’ inner thoughts through projected subtitles.

This international co-production with Vancouver's Boca del Lupo, known for their spectacular outdoor productions, features the work of Mariano Pensotti–an Argentinean-born writer and theatre director working mainly in film, video and performance. Mariano is the director of dramatic art at the Instituto Universitario Nacional de Artes in Buenos Aires.

What are the impressions that you got from your brief visit to Vancouver?

It's always difficult to say something meaningful about a place when you have been there for just a few days, but I must say that I found Vancouver a very intriguing city. I'm really looking forward to work there and to have the chance to be more "exposed" to the city and it's people for a longer period of time. On a personal level, it's very curious to present La Marea in Vancouver because the performance was very much influenced by some of the works of local artists such as Stan Douglas and Jeff Wall. Back in 2005 when I presented the play for the very first time in Buenos Aires, I worked a lot with some of Jeff Wall’s pictures as a reference for the aesthetic of the scenes and I was frequently discussing with the team about the concept of "staged pictures". Douglas’s works, especially the "Monodrama" series, were also a strong inspiration for me at that time. The way that these two artists worked with the mixture of tension between reality and fiction in small vignettes was a key point in our reflections of how to develop the project. When I got the invitation from the PuSh Festival to present La Marea in Vancouver I was really surprised, happy, and it felt like a closing cycle. I guess one of the impressions that I first got from Vancouver is that it's a city that contains many different small cities within itself. And at least for me it's a city that feels "strange" in a very good way. Strange in the sense that you cannot summarize it with just one cliché. I also got the feeling that it's a city where ‘representation’ plays an important role, which it's something that I like a lot from a city.

What works, perhaps in other disciplines – writing, music – inspire your own?

My performance work is heavily inspired by visual arts and literature. Georges Perec and Roberto Bolaños are among a group of writers that I usually reference back to. Also XIX century writers are a huge inspiration in my conception of dramaturgy, from Tolstoy to Stendhal. I really like the way those writers worked with the assumption that it was possible to create a work of art that contains virtually everything. The mixture that they developed between private lives, social and historic events and pure imagination is a central point of interest to me as a playwright. Visual artists such as Sophie Calle, Fischli & Weiss, Stan Douglas or Raymond Pettibon have also been an inspiration for several of my projects. Finally there's a diverse list of filmmakers such as Godard, Fassbinder, Resnais and Herzog,that have indirectly influenced my work and are pivotal in the formation of my artistic point of view.

Your works revolve around the idea of the act of witnessing. What motivates your approach to the performing arts?

For some time, I've been very interested in the idea of the inhabitants of a city as voyeurs of ‘the other's’ life. I like to give the audience and the casual passer by the "permission" to openly spy on someone else's life. On one hand, I think that it's interesting when you take the time to really look at the people that surround you in public places because it usually leads to some interesting discoveries. To look at somebody that you don't know and try to imagine how could the life of that person be or what might the thoughts of that person be at the exact moment that you're looking at them is one of the most common everyday creative acts that is accessible to everyone. I'm very interested in systematically exploring that idea. I’m also interested in how you might see your own life and thoughts reflected onto the people you see on the street, and the process of recognition of the self in the other. In a way, it reminds me of the idea of some XIX century writers, such as Balzac, who wanted to explore everyday life as entomologists, as documentarists who research reality using fictional tools. On the other hand, I guess the wish of being someone else or ‘the other’ is very common in contemporary cities. For some reason many of the characters in my stories want to be somebody else and I discovered that a lot of people in real life share that feeling.

La Marea, which will run in January 2011 as part of the PuSh Festival, was presented in a number of cities such as Copenhagen, Norwich, Gerona, Yokohama, Montréal, Québec, Rouen, Dublin, Riga, Berlin, Brussels and Buenos Aires. Did you find differences in the ways that the audience interacted with or reacted to the show?

It's certainly always different. Of course the performance itself changes in each city. First of all, we do an adaptation of the texts of each scene to add some local references and mentions of social/historical events specifically related to each of those cities. The street where we work is also a key point in the performance and it usually influences the way that the audience perceives the work. And I work with local actors, which means that their interpretation of each scene is slightly different in each city. Even if the scenes are the same, the way French or German or Japanese actors represent a couple who spend their last night together because they are going to break up, for example, is different and it's connected to a specific cultural frame. All these factors have a particular impact in the way that the audience interacts or reacts to the show. One interesting point for me is that the performance itself works on a strange borderline because even if the stories were written by me, with my Argentinean background and influences, it's performed by local actors in a very specific local context, sometimes completely different to the original one. That adds a strange effect to the play.

I must say that La Marea is a performance that usually leaves a deep impression on the audience because although it lacks the element of the spectacular, in a conventional sense, its main goal is to change the perception you have about a very ordinary place in your own city that you might have seen thousands of times. The show aims to give you access to a new dimension of the people that surround you in public places.

Somehow La Marea is always a different experience for each spectator. In a way, it's like a live movie: the audience is the camera as they can choose the angle from which they watch each scene- and the editor –as they can choose order of the scenes and the time that they spend on each. In the end, your choices are going to change the kind of experience you have with the performance.

Did you notice any transformations in the piece as you toured from one city to another? Did you find that each city brought out certain qualities of the show more than others?

As I said before, I believe that the performance is going through a constant process of transformation. I think that's one of the most interesting reasons for doing this kind of site specific performance. It is important to notice not only how your fiction changes and modifies reality but also how reality modifies your fiction. I want to produce works that might influence or somehow change the ways that people experience their cities and also that are open to be modified and transformed by those specific places. I don't believe in just "placing" fiction within a real context. I believe in creating tension between reality and fiction.

After so much traveling can you think of the most ridiculous experience that you’ve had while touring with La Marea?

Well… we had a lot of curious experiences touring with this play. You are usually exposed to many unexpected things when you work in a public place, far away from the artistic security of a traditional venue, and playing with the tension between fiction and reality. Thinking about strange situations we experienced while touring I remember that once, in Montréal, somebody called an ambulance because he thought that the scene of the motorcycle accident was a real accident. In Japan, it was extremely difficult to find actors to do the scene of the young couple who kiss each other in the corner because people don't usually kiss each other in public places. In Norwich, I had kidney stones during the auditions with the actors and I ended up in a hospital bed doing the casting surrounded by doctors via a web-cam that connected to my laptop. And in Buenos Aires, in the middle of the show a group of hip teenagers came with their skateboards to see the play and immediately people started to look at them waiting for the subtitles because they thought they were part of the performance…

La Marea appropriates the concepts of public space and challenges its definition by superimposing behaviors that dwell in the private sphere. Why do you think that people find comfort in clearly separating the private from the public?

The separation of the private from the public sphere is always a political and economical conception. It's related to some specific way to organize a society. Globalized capitalism has succeeded in restraining different expressions of public or collective activities. Even if public and private are concepts that you can always trace in different cultures and moments in history, nowadays we have the strongest division between both ideas. In parallel we have an explosion of expressions focused on the exhibition of the private. La Marea is a kind of zoom into private lives but in a public context. The collision between private and public in the performance problematizes that sometimes artificial separation by playing with a blur borderline. We also explore people at the individual level and the subjective history of a place- which includes the particular stories of its inhabitants- and the tension that this creates when juxtaposed with big social and political events. La Marea can be seen as a collective experience in a public place, dealing with private stories, where the audience has the freedom to organize the way that they want their experience to be.

The element of fictionalized realities or fictionalized routines in La Marea reflects the voyeuristic tendencies in all of us. Do you think that access to new technologies, such as the Internet, legitimize and even institutionalize voyeurism? Do you find problems with that?

Of course in the last ten years the issue around being virtually exposed to or enjoying the virtual exposition of somebody else has been quite common. Internet, reality shows, blogs, facebook, some artistic trends, etc. somehow institutionalize voyeurism in diverse forms. I think that sometimes my work plays with the assumption that the audience is now familiar to that kind of experience and I use the idea of the private turned public exhibition but always with a strong focus on fiction. That's why the aspect of La Marea as fictionalized reality for me is just a part of the project, in the end, what counts are the stories that we tell through that specific format or procedure.

Show Information
flickr Images
Read a review
Visit Boca Del Lupo
RSVP on Facebook

Dine Out Vancouver: 3 course meal + a PuSh Show = Ultimate Bliss

2010-12-23T16:19:00.000-08:00

Act I, Eat 1 - The PuSh International Performing Arts Festival & The Irish Heather Gastropub

January 28
Dinner served 6.30pm - please arrive 15 minutes early
Cost: $45 - Includes 3 course meal and show. Beverages, tax and gratuity not included

Presented by Tourism Vancouver, Dine Out Vancouver is a city-wide celebration of food and British Columbia wine and is the largest restaurant promotion of its kind in Canada. Virtually every type of restaurant in the city gets involved, giving you the chance to taste Vancouver's hot restaurant digs, new hit eateries and neighbourhood favourites all for a reasonable prix-fixe price.

The PuSh International Performing Arts Festival pairs the show Bonanza; a unique cinematic portrait of the smallest town in Colorado, to a delicious three course dinner at The Irish Heather Gastropub's acclaimed long table.

Bonanza is a seamless and inventive portrayal of a desolate mining town that once thrived with 6000 inhabitants. Today, more than 100 years later, there are seven permanent residents immersed in their own spirituality and living on a hotbed of accusations, gossip, murder and fear. Dine with friends both new and old and share in experiencing this unique addition to the Dine Out Vancouver event schedule.

Bonanza is presented by the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival and SFU Woodward's, and is supported by 125th Anniversary Series Presenting Sponsor Vancity.

Click here for more information on his event.

Donor Profile: Tanya Marquardt - Patrons Circle Member

2010-12-23T15:40:00.000-08:00

Every year, as January approaches, I become a kid in a candy shop. I start randomly visiting the PuSh website, wondering when I will get the catalogue announcement. I think about all of the beautiful shows I've seen at past festivals and the amazing artists that I have connected with, some who have become dear friends. I think: what will happen this year at the Assembly, at Club PuSh, at one of the soirees? Sometimes the anticipation is almost too much. January in Vancouver is, for me, an artist's Christmas.

Every January I have at least one moment - if not daily moments - during the festival that reaffirm my love of performance and of the artists and creators who make art possible. The people I meet and the shows that I see change me, they challenge me, they cause growth inside my head and my heart. All of this makes me proud to give something back to your festival. PuSh invigorates me and makes me feel more alive. This is the pleasure that art gives, it is a priceless gift, and one that I am so thankful for. And so thank you thank you thank you.

Tanya Marquardt
Theatre & Dance Maker

Become a Patrons Circle Member
Read Tanya's blog
PuSh's Executive Director, Norman Armour chose Tanya as an Emerging Artist during the 2010 Mayor Art's Award. Read the blog

Bonanza & Iqaluit - Curatorial Statement

2010-12-22T16:22:00.000-08:00

by Sherrie Johnson, Senior Curator.

The group Berlin, based in Antwerp, started their project Holocene (current geological period), a series of city portraits, in 2003. The series focuses on four cities and towns: Jerusalem (2004), Iqaluit (2005), Bonanza (2006) and Moscow (2009).

Berlin's work in this series is a celebration of the human spirit and an investigation into the microcosm of human behavior and social interaction. Their unique approach to creation gives audiences a glimpse of how versatile and multi-faceted contemporary art can be interpreted. Berlin's integration of installation art, documentary filmmaking, performance art, community engagement, public participation, investigative research, and design is expansive and all embracing.

At PuSh we have been steadfast in our belief that interdisciplinarity is a defining characteristic of contemporary art practice. Companies like Berlin are shaping the future of creative practice, of new inquiries, of new methods and forms, and leading the way into a twenty first century vision of how we define an artist.

With Vancouver celebrating its 125th Anniversary, inviting Berlin into our city is a way to engage Vancouver citizens in a public discourse on the nature of citizenship, community building and identity.

Both Iqaluit and Bonanza weave together fascinating stories. The beauty of the work lies in the intimacy of the storytelling and the remarkable cinematography. Berlin captures each city through testimonials and chronicles its subject's journeys with honesty and integrity. The crowing achievement is that the artists create these amazing portraits without ever passing judgment.

Bonanza

Iqaluit

100% Vancouver - Meet 69%

2010-12-22T13:01:00.000-08:00

Name: 69% Patricia Morris
Neighbourhood: Downtown East Side
Mother Tongue: English
Background: Caucasian / Jewish
Question: What would you like to ask 100 people?
Answer: "What are your views on the city? What secret treasures of this city do you know?"

When we asked Patricia why did she decide to participate in 100% Vancouver, she replied:

"This time last year I opted out of the Olympics and spent three months in London, England. While there I participated in my own cultural games: you know slaloming museums, queue jumping theatre line-ups, and figure skating on the popup rink outside the Victoria and Albert Museum.

After two months of comings and goings, the city was getting too much for me. I had overstuffed with one famous actor and painter after another. Mark Rylance, Fiona Shaw, Anish Kapoor, Renoir, and others began to meld into each other. Whatever bright culture thing had existed had left. I tossed out the Time Out magazine the weekly Bible to Londoners.

By good fortune I read an article in the free Evening Standard, Wednesday, January 6, 2010 “Get naked on stage (it’s feminism) – FLASH DANCE VOLUNTEERS INVITED TO JOIN CAST IN EMPOWERING SHOW.” I steered my naked ambition to strike a blow for the movement, with one hundred other volunteers in Nic Green’s Trilogy at the Barbican Theatre. Best decision I made this year. It was so much fun. I met fabulous women and challenged myself.

At the beginning of this three-hour piece, I danced for six minutes with one hundred other volunteers on stage nude. At the end over two hundred women in the audience came up on stage, took off their clothes and sang “Jerusalem”.

When I heard about 100% Berlin and now Vancouver, I thought yes I can do this. There is no place like home."

Read Patricia's Blog
Check out Patricia's novel

Show info
Curatorial Statement
Meet 6%, 79% & 29%
Meet 32% & 53%
Meet 71%, 51% & 74%
Meet 59% & 58%
Meet 1%, 22% & 2%

City of Dreams - Curatorial Statement

2010-12-21T14:19:00.000-08:00

by Caleb Johnston, Artistic Director, Urban Crawl

The opportunity to adapt City of Dreams in Vancouver was not to be missed. I began to form a sense of this piece as my conversations with London-director Peter Reder deepened. I gleaned bits of video of the show’s light-filled performance in Singapore set afire by hundreds of tee-candles, and then the tracing of sand set against a styrofoam skyline of Brisbane. These snippets of other places filled my imagination with powerful images. What would such a mapping look like in Vancouver? I was hooked.

Over the past ten years, City of Dreams has traveled widely, and in each setting offered a compelling exploration of the city. The piece is an act of remembering, searching for what survives in memory. In this work, we offer an evocative engagement with Vancouver, with all that enters into our shared imagining of the city. We explore the narratives that surround us, those that lie just beneath the daily traffic that skims the paved surface of the urban landscape, be that reflected in the storefronts of Hastings, the lingering memories of English Bay, or in the glittering lights of Yaletown. What captures your place in the city? A memory? A smell? A chance encounter? What histories lie at the street corner? What hopes and sufferings? City of Dreams delves into this imagined and performed landscape. We come together to not only trace individual lines of inquiry but also to construct a collective, poetic image of Vancouver. Our production is the latest mooring of City of Dreams as it continues its circumnavigation of the globe. It is a moment for us to animate the identity of the city through sounds, images, and objects situated in space. It with the greatest pleasure that I present this work at the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival. It is a testament to the festival’s commitment to innovative practices and its support of transnational collaborations that enrich Vancouver’s dynamic theatre community. Enjoy.

Show info
Facebook event