Whether it's behind-the-scenes footage or prolonged recipe videos, we all have a hankering to know how things are made. What is the recipe for success, the components needed to create a polished end product?
For showgoers and theatre enthusiasts, a glimpse behind the curtain is soon to be offered at the Presentation House Theatre. Its inaugural Creative Residency program has invited a hand-picked selection of artists to create new work and hone their creative skills, all under the watchful eye of North Vancouver locals.
Three artists have been narrowed down from a long list of potentials, with multimedia dance performer Aryo Khakpour and theatre collectives Monster Theatre and happy/accidents to take the initial reins in the two-year minimum residency.
“It was a very challenging process selecting the artists,” said Brian Postalian, Presentation House Theatre’s artistic associate. “A lot of the projects we received, the ideas and the art being proposed were stellar and exceptional, and that was from artists across the board, from dance to music to theatre.”
Postalian said the idea came shortly after the pandemic began when forced closures and shifts in audience behaviour wreaked havoc on the local theatre scene. Theatres across the country are still struggling to attract their audiences back.
“It came from a point of wondering, how can we better serve the artists in the community? We needed a place where they would be encouraged and fostered to develop work,” he said.
The three artists chosen work in various mediums and offer a breadth of diversity, said Postalian, with happy/accidents working on an immersive adaptation of a seminal modern classic play, Monster Theatre an interactive, sleight of hand illusionist spectacle, and Aryo Khakpour offering a historical, interactive multimedia projection.
“We’re not necessarily trying to find the next hit player or the next hit musical, but looking, instead, at how these artists are trying to expand their practise,” said Postalian. “Each of them were proposing things that were outside of what they usually do, and we were excited to be part of something that would help see a new path or a new trajectory of growth for the companies involved.”
For Ryan Gladstone, one third of Monster Theatre, alongside fellow creatives Carly Pokoradi and Tara Travis, it is a relief to be offered creative opportunities on the basis of an initial idea. It takes away the pressure of having to rush a finished product, he said, allowing them the space to craft something of a finer quality.
“One of the hallmarks of Monster Theatre is our ability to go from concept to fully realized production in as little as a few months. That’s something we’re very proud of, but this particular project requires time and patience, and thanks to the residency at PHT, we can do that,” he said. “It feels like a luxury for our team to let the ideas cook as we move through our development.”
With the program running over at least two years, and locals invited to showings and community events throughout that time, theatre-goers will be able to see the acts work out their teething problems and develop scripts in real time.
For Anais West, one part of happy/accidents, community engagement has always been crucial to the creative process. Without that feedback, whether criticism or support, it can be difficult to shape a crowd-pleasing piece.
“It is so important to embed community engagement from the very beginning, in those early seeds of development. To get that understanding of who you are trying to bring in with this piece, and what conversations you are trying to have with the community,” they said.
In the piece the collective will be working on, voices of the trans and queer community play a vital role. To ensure those stories are told accurately, collaboration and communication with that community is key, said happy/accidents artist member Angelica Schwartz.
“It’s been really important that we are engaging with the community as we’re developing this, so they feel seen and heard, and we’re able to have some of those uncomfortable conversations that lead to a bigger, fuller, more authentic, realized piece,” they said.
It will be interesting to witness how the involvement of North Vancouver locals will impact the work of the resident artists, said Postalian, and how that will, in turn, help the creatives taking part blossom as artists.
“By the time the project is complete, folks will be able to watch the finished piece and say, I was there during their very first workshop, and I’ve seen this creation develop over the past two, three, four years,” he said. “At the very least, it will develop a meaningful relationship with the public.”
Mina Kerr-Lazenby is the North Shore News’ Indigenous and civic affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
