While you don’t have to look far in the business world to find someone offering a course on “how to find your purpose,” I have noticed that purpose is rarely discussed in the arts world. It’s almost like it’s expected and assumed that everyone knows why they’re an artist.
Though feminism had of course been around for years, it had become a pressing topic for their generation at that time. And as women working in the theatre. “We were trying to establish ourselves as people in an industry that usually looked upon us as less than,” says Martha, “and as adjuncts, and as supporters, and subordinates.”
Pass Over puts audiences in an uncomfortable position, and I think that’s necessary. Sometimes the people who have been comfortable the longest need to be uncomfortable for a change.
Had things gone differently with Soulpepper’s programming, another production entirely might have been in its place this season. And, had things gone differently in Jani’s early years as an artist, she might not have grown into the fierce matriarch of Indigenous theatre that she is.
“There is a deep history between Nelson Mandela and Toronto. It was so important for this exhibit to come to Toronto and for the people here to have a chance to see it, interact with it, and really remember Mandela and what he stood for in terms of equity, equality, and diversity.”
Why am I so concerned with making Blanche palatable to audiences?
“I am the authority on who I am,” proclaimed Walter Borden on a rainy April evening as we discussed identities and how we present ourselves to the world.
I believe in a huge distinction between pressure and stress. One is exciting and passionate and one is toxic.
Whether that was in Montreal or from mentors in Edmonton, I had this image in my mind of this terrible place where people were always mean and dreams went to die.
We all have demons inside of us. We all have those monstrous thoughts, but what is it about our circumstances that allows us to act on them?
“It may be over a hundred years ago when The Cherry Orchard was written and first performed, but there is nothing about it that is passé.”
Internment was a defining collective experience, yet the ways in which we do or do not remember it remain at odds between generations.
Our current massive industry shakedown presents an opportunity—and a responsibility—to revisit and challenge the practices and bedrock values of professional training in this country.
When I reflect on the number of artists I know who suffer from mental health issues, and the unique stressors that come with our profession, the resources available to us and the awareness we have about public services feel meagre and insufficient.
Standing Rock
I was thirteen, living with a Mohawk mom who had somehow taken on my stepfather’s racist opinions, and Canada had just shot an unarmed protester. I changed then.
When you speak, Weyni follows your words like a map, as though she expects you to be profound, as though she believes that the next word you say might hold the key to an elusive treasure.