[vc_section][vc_row el_id=”laborarium”][vc_column][ut_custom_heading tag=”h3″ align=”center”]Toronto-based Modern Times Stage Company announces The Laborarium:
a two-day experiential learning event bringing together artists, audiences, and scholars interested in reshaping contemporary theatre into a more inclusive space.
[/ut_custom_heading][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn”][Toronto. April 16, 2019] Modern Times Stage Company is pleased to announce the next iteration of the company’s Postmarginal project, and the first opportunity for Vancouver communities to take part.
This two day event will take place on Saturday June 1 & Sunday June 2 at SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts. A reception will be held following Sunday’s formal programming.
The Entry point:
To create in an inclusive manner, we need mental, online, and real-life spaces where the dialogue about identity and artistic freedom can take place in safe, equitable, and respectful ways. The Postmarginal Laborarium series was launched in Montreal in 2018 as a new physical space for rethinking inclusiveness in Canadian theatre.
The Objectives:
How can we build a space where all of our gifts and uniquenesses can inspire creativity?
We seek to collectively discover, test, and propose new work ethics and creative strategies for exploring differences in the rehearsal hall. The specific context of the host city (in this case, Vancouver) is considered through collective intelligence, Indigenous forms of communication, and practical workshops. There are no experts in the room. We are all participants.
The Schedule:
Registered participants will share a broad range of perspectives as they are guided through a series of group conversations, storytellings about intercultural creation experiences, and creation workshops (led by Iranian-Canadian theatre director Soheil Parsa, and esteemed choreographers Karen Jamieson and Henry Daniel).
Lead facilitators for the Vancouver Laborarium are Pawa Haiyupis (Ahousaht First Nation / Victoria), a specialist in Art of Hosting techniques, and Lisa Ndejuru (Montreal), researcher at Concordia University and specialist in resiliency through the arts, in collaboration with Anne-Laure Mathieu, innovation strategist (Montreal), and Modern Times Stage Company (Soheil Parsa, Peter Farbridge, Sue Balint).
The Event in Images:
(drawings by Anne-Laure Mathieu)
The Workshops:
Transformative Movements
Building welcoming rehearsal spaces in which we share our uniquenesses cannot be achieved through intellectual re-positioning alone. Our bodies–the instruments through which we access creativity and through which we are creative–need to be engaged in the process. Led by two seasoned choreographers, Karen Jamieson and Henry Daniel, these two workshops will guide participants through an exploration of physicality and movement that contrasts our preconceptions of ourselves and others. No movement background required. The workshop will recognize all levels of mobility.
Creating through Difference
How do we create with our uniquenesses? What directorial / performance opportunities does it contain? Rather than an appropriative process, can interweaving cultures be an inspiration when it is done with respect and communal care? Celebrated Iranian-Canadian director Soheil Parsa offers a demonstration of the work of Subject and Creation, a laboratory designed by Modern Times to examine the potential of our differences to inspire and challenge the rehearsal process.
Lead facilitators for the Vancouver Laborarium are Pawa Haiyupis (Ahousaht First Nation / Victoria), a specialist in Art of Hosting techniques, and Lisa Ndejuru (Montreal), researcher at Concordia University and specialist in resiliency through the arts, in collaboration with Anne-Laure Mathieu, innovation strategist (Montreal), and Modern Times Stage Company (Soheil Parsa, Peter Farbridge, Sue Balint).
ASL Interpretation will be provided.
Details:Â
Dates: Saturday June 1 & Sunday June 2, 2019
Time: 9am – 5pm daily
Location: School for the Contemporary Arts
SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, 149 W. Hastings St., Vancouver
Reception to follow Sunday’s formal activities
Registration is limited to 60 people.
$60 Institutions | $35 Artsworkers | Free for students, but pre-registration required
Subsidized slots also available
Registration is now open. Please visit https://vanlab.bpt.me
For additional information, or to share your thoughts in advance of this event, please contact Laborarium Producer Sue Balint via [email protected] or by text at 647.216.3974.
Registration is limited to 60 people.
Participants must attend all sessions.
Laborarium participants will gather on the unceded traditional territories of the Coast Salish peoples of the xmkwym (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and SlÃlwta (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.[/vc_column_text][ut_btn button_size=”bklyn-btn-large” button_fluid=”yes” button_hover_shadow=”yes” button_border_radius=”4″ font_weight=”” button_text=”Register” button_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fvanlab.bpt.me%2F||target:%20_blank|” button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_background=”#0099cc” button_text_color_hover=”#f59331″ button_background_hover=”#383434″][vc_column_text]About the Postmarginal Project
Postmarginal is an artistic movement that sees diversity as a creative opportunity for Canadian theatre. All of our differences in cultural backgrounds, physical/mental abilities, and gender identities are a source of artistic expression. We believe there are new discoveries to be made in the exploration of the intercultural creative process. www.postmarginal.ca
Previous Postmarginal events:
Toronto Symposium: April 9-11, 2017
Toronto Subject and Creation Workshop: April 1- 8, 2017
Montreal Laborarium: May 15 & 16, 2018
Montreal Subject and Creation Workshop: Jan – May 2018
Toronto Context Event: RUTAS International Multi-Arts Festival, Oct 6, 2018
Montreal Subject and Creation Workshop: Jan 22 – 25, 2019
About the Facilitators:
Pawa Haiyupis is a member of the Ahousaht First Nation on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. Throughout her career, she has developed a diversity of professional skills from her work experience with First Nations people. Much of Pawa’s work has focused on facilitating dialogues on all aspects of governance, leadership and nation-building. Pawa’s work is focussed on Indigenous governance, developing young leaders, water sovereignty, and climate action. Her approach is rooted in her belief that nation building is a healing journey and she hosts safe enough spaces to explore the difficult questions about nationhood.
Born in Rwanda, Lisa Ndejuru is a daughter of the abega clan. In the 1970s, her family fled to Germany and migrated to turtle island a decade later. Uninvited, they settled on the unceded indigenous territory of the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation, on the Island of Tiohtiá:ke or Montreal. Lisa has served the Rwandan diaspora for over 20 years and aspires to work on « extending the rafters ». She is completing a PhD exploring silences and tensions, stories of trauma and displacement, and arts based approaches to difficult conversations. Her work with storytelling, play and improvised theatre in post-trauma settings aims for individual and collective meaning-making and empowerment in the aftermath of large-scale political violence.
Anne-Laure Mathieu is a Freelance Human Centered Designer and Strategist. She has been working in the cultural non-profit sector, both in Quebec and internationally, for 18 years. From communication and marketing director to international project manager, she has occupied diverse positions in festivals, art organizations, and congresses in the performing arts, cinema, literature, and the social sector. Anne-Laure puts the principles of humanity and meaningfulness at the heart of her work, combining them with her extensive practical knowledge in the event and cultural fields. She works with Design Thinking and collective intelligence tools to help organizations develop their strategy, their culture of innovation and change the way people are interacting and learning from each others.
Modern Times Stage Company was founded in the belief that individual voices, experiences, and backgrounds can knit a common vision and create theatre that expresses the essence of a shared human spirit. As artists we believe that human identity is multi-layered, so our theatrical aesthetics draw from many styles of theatre. Within this diversity, we seek beauty in simplicity and truth in vulnerability. Our process and award-winning productions are rooted in this unique approach, resulting in a timeless, placeless expression of reality. Since 1989, Modern Times has explored stories from across the globe producing adapted, translated and original works for audiences in Canada and internationally.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”” equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”middle”][vc_column][ut_media_slider image_size=”full” slider_type=”carousel” autoplay=”true” hover_color_opacity=”50″ slides=”%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Postmarginal%22%2C%22type%22%3A%22image%22%2C%22image%22%3A%2256453%22%2C%22link_type%22%3A%22none%22%7D%2C%7B%22title%22%3A%22Canada%20Council%22%2C%22type%22%3A%22image%22%2C%22image%22%3A%221248%22%2C%22link_type%22%3A%22none%22%7D%2C%7B%22title%22%3A%22Modern%20Times%20Stage%20Company%22%2C%22type%22%3A%22image%22%2C%22image%22%3A%2256643%22%2C%22link_type%22%3A%22none%22%7D%2C%7B%22title%22%3A%22Heritage%20Canada%22%2C%22type%22%3A%22image%22%2C%22image%22%3A%2256641%22%2C%22link_type%22%3A%22none%22%7D%2C%7B%22title%22%3A%22Toronto%20Arts%20Council%22%2C%22type%22%3A%22image%22%2C%22image%22%3A%2256607%22%2C%22link_type%22%3A%22none%22%7D%5D” autoplay_timeout=”2500″][vc_column_text]This project is funded in part by the Government of Canada.
Ce projet est financé en partie par le gouvernement du Canada.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section]
