One of my big tasks this fall has been to prep for our spring show, A Thousand and One Calgarian Nights. While Col is off working with at-risk youth groups (from which we will cast our Aladdin, Sinbad, Genie, and more) I’m working with a group of my own. Stardale is an Aboriginal Women’s group dedicated to providing support and mentorship for women of all ages, but especially girls. Over the course of the year, I meet weekly with a group of girls, usually about 14 of them aged 10 to 16, teaching them acting, storytelling, and leadership. The Stardale girls will provide the Chorus for May’s show, so we’re going to be spending a lot of time together… and I’m already in love with this special bunch of gals. Incredibly intelligent, deeply empathetic to their peers, and surprisingly hilarious, I’ve already set my expectations high because I know they’ll meet me there!

This week, we were creating fairy tales! Take a look!

If you are like me, on Friday you missed the opportunity to hear Ben Cameron of TED fame give an inspiring talk on the importance of artistic innovation.  Luckily CADA taped the event; you can watch (but I recommend that you listen) to the entire talk at this website, or by clicking the link at the bottom of this post.

Cameron’s talk is challenging in the truest sense of the word.  He wants us to take action, and gives a number of concrete ways other organizations are making positive change to help art become an important part of the everyday lives of those in our community.  I was pleased to see that Verb actually implemented many of these strategies long ago, but it occurs to me that we may not have been terribly diligent about spreading word about these policies.  

So, without further adue, here are:

Five Things You Might (Not) Know About Verb Theatre: 

1. OPEN DOOR POLICY - If you want to observe Verb’s process, we’ll do whatever we can to bring you into our rehearsal room.  The sensitive nature of our work sometimes prevents us from completely unscrewing the hinge from the door, but if you are interested in being in our rehearsal room, we want to encourage you contact us. You may have an educational agenda (artists can learn a lot from watching each other work), or you may simply be a community member interested in getting involved.  Either way, we’re happy to have you!
2. VERB SAP -  What’s a “Verb show,” and how do we pick them?  I’ve been asked in the past if Verb is all about doing theatre for the disenfranchised.  It’s a tricky question to answer, because we tend to be interested in marginalized voices, but I think what’s connotated in the above question is if Verb only works with community groups in a sort of therapeutic role, providing forums for their self expression and voice.  It’s a practice commonly called APPLIED THEATRE.  It’s fair to wonder, given some of the communities we’ve worked with: at-risk youth, homeless Calgarians, Deaf and Hard of Hearing Calgarians, troubled teens, queer artists, and women’s groups.  So, here’s the answer: Applied Theatre is an important part of the way we express our mandate here at Verb, but it is only one way.  Our mandate, which pivots on a focus to engage our community, can also be realized by programming work that is accessible or finding links to our city or province.  When I started Verb, my goal was to create theatre that could be accessible to new theatre goers, but also challenge even the most seasoned theatre goers.  I wanted to create work that speaks for itself; Ie. you won’t be required to read the director’s note in the program to understand any Verb show.  
   The original mandate of Verb was two words: verb sap.  It’s Latin for “enough said.”  So how do I pick the shows I want to produce with Verb?  I ask myself this one question: “If I bring both my artistic mentor and my cattle-ranching dad to this show, will they both find something to chew on?”  If the answer is yes, it’s probably a Verb show.
3. TICKET SALES - Can’t afford theatre?  You can still see one of our shows.  Whenever possible (some limitations apply when we are performing in festivals, conferences, etc.), we set aside a number of tickets for those who want to see a Verb show, but are prevented by financial limitations.  I believe that nobody should be kept out of the theatre by the cost of a ticket.  Email for more details, or stay tuned to the website.
4. KIDS, KIDS, KIDS - Col and I place a lot of importance on creating theatre for youths.  Though we were unable to program a Theatre for Young Audiences performance in our last season due to venue limitations, we have plans to include one in every season to come.  
5. NO, WITH A B - It’s Verb Theatre, not Verve Theatre.  Apparently Verb is a difficult word to understand over the phone.   

Video streaming by Ustream

Col was a rapporteur at the First Annual Calgary Arts Champions Congress today.  At the end of the day, he participated in a panel summing up his thoughts on the day’s discussions.  This is a long talk, but fairly interesting, and you can hear some of the things we think about here at Verb.  

You can listen to other talks from the day here.

Video streaming by Ustream

“I run a theatre company.”

“Huh?”

“I run a theatre company?  Like, live theatre?  I run a company that does that.”

“Oh.  You’re an artsy-fartsy type!”

I think he meant that as a compliment.  It was not his unintentional condescension, however, nor his use of the word “fartsy” to describe the field I’ve devoted years of training and practice to that made me laugh at his remark.  

It was the word “artsy.”  

Running a theatre company is 99% administration, and 1% art.  We suffer through the 99% so we can get to the 1%.  We live for the 1%.  

Today, Col and I had one of our many company meetings.  The dramatic lighting in the room we used is about as artsy as these meetings get. 

Verb’s incredibly creative, inspirational pile of paperwork to get through.

Trials and Triumphs

New theatre companies in the city face many challenges but persevere.

Published July 21, 2011 by Andrew Torry

It’s a question many theatre artists ask themselves at one point early in their career: Do I go where the work is, or do I stay where I am and create my own opportunities? Many emerging artists opt for the former because taking the bull by the horns can be fraught with challenges. But every community needs its artistic pioneers, and it’s because of those trailblazers that Calgary is home to companies like Theatre Calgary, Alberta Theatre Projects and Downstage Theatre. Those spearheads are the reason the city is far from being a cultural wasteland. The initiation of a theatre company demands vision, buoyancy and courage.

Jamie Dunsdon and Mike Unrau are two such architects. Dunsdon founded Verb Theatre in 2008 and is the company’s current co-artistic director. Unrau is the co-artistic director of Theatre Encounter, another relatively new company that showcased its first production in 2007.

Establishing a theatre company often starts when an individual recognizes a need in the community, a gap they believe they can fill. Early theatre pioneers may have blazed the trail, planting a theatre company where there weren’t any to begin with. Those following in their footsteps often refine the trail, helping to make it a rich and varied experience.

Dunsdon started Verb because she thought non-theatregoers found much of the theatre being offered in Calgary to be too esoteric. She wanted to start a company that would make theatre accessible to even those least likely to attend a play. Over time, she admits, the company has incorporated new missions into its mandate, but the original essence remains a guiding principle. Last year, Verb presented a performance featuring actual people who live in poverty.

Unrau saw a different need in Calgary’s theatre community. He saw the opportunity to bring to Calgary a more experimental and edgy performance style. Theatre Encounter presents classic western European literature refashioned and performed with its true essence through provocative language and movement, which Unrau admits can sometimes be controversial.

Both artistic directors set out on their quests eager to accomplish their goals, but their journey has not been without trials.

For Dunsdon, the main challenge is financial.

“Most granting bodies won’t let you apply for at least two years once you are incorporated,” Dunsdon says. “And during that time, you aren’t allowed to apply for individual artist grants either. We’ve had to do a lot of fundraising and we’ve created a lot of partnerships to get through the last two years. A hundred dollars means the world to a small company. A thousand is a dream.”

Unrau says one of his company’s biggest challenges has been finding suitable performance space that is affordable. Theatre Encounter also struggles to sell tickets because they offer very unconventional productions. “People often want to see feel-good comedies,” Unrau says. “Our work challenges convention and social norms, and we feel this is important, so it is taking time to warm people up to seeing something different.”

Those growing pains are often accompanied by small victories along the way. Theatre Encounter is slowly building its audience base despite some initial difficulties. Unrau cites the company’s recent production of Everyman as an example where audiences left the theatre “mesmerized” and speaking highly of the almost entirely movement-based performance that featured only five lines of dialogue.

Dunsdon is walking on air because Sharon Pollock recently received a Betty Mitchell nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical or Comedy for her role in Verb Theatre’s production of Marg Szkaluba (Pissy’s Wife).

“Sharon’s brilliant. This woman, this legend of Canadian theatre, agreed to take part in this little independent show, having never sung before onstage. And she did it! Two hours! At 75 years of age!”

Those leaps forward and small triumphs are what these companies need to raise their profile and buoy themselves to march onward. Unrau hopes Theatre Encounter will one day be performing not just in Calgary, but across Canada and the world, collaborating with other companies devoted to experimental theatre. Dunsdon hopes Verb will blaze the trail for new cultural trends in Calgary.

“I feel like Verb is at the front of something right now, like we’re surfing in front of a wave. Hopefully in 10 years that wave will have come and we’ll be riding in front of the next one.”

GIRLS gone WILDE
Titillating New Calgary Festival Showcases
the Wit of Female Playwrights

CALGARY, AB From the Co-Producer of Raunch, the sold out Calgary-born theatrical sensation exposing the rise of Raunch Feminism in popular culture arrives Girls Gone Wilde a new festival of stimulating theatre showcasing the talents of established and emerging female playwrights from across Canada.

A study conducted in 2006 on The Status of Women in Canadian Theatre estimated that while 59% of Canada s theatre-going audience is female, only 27% of the plays produced in Canada are written by female playwrights. Inspired by Femfest (produced by Sarasvati Theatre in Winnipeg) and The Groundswell Festival (produced by Nightwood Theatre in Toronto), the event will feature eight sizzling staged readings to light up the Calgary stage across two nights. In a country where more and more brilliant female writers are born and made, Girls Gone Wilde will bring these commanding and arresting voices to the forefront of Canadian culture for the first time.

The first ever Girls Gone Wilde features the writing talents of Andrea Beca, Rebecca Wohlgemuth, Debbie Patterson, Jennie Orton, Alice Nelson, Cairn Moore, Jessy Arden and Nicole Schafenacker. Tackling a bevy of topics from friendship to fidelity, and frigidity to female chauvinism, this premiere festival is not to be missed!

Girls Gone Wilde runs April 1st & 2nd, 2011 at the Community Arts Centre on the Currie Barracks (2633 Hochwald Ave SW). Tickets are $8 for General Admission and all profits go to the artists involved. To reserve tickets, call 403.477.8331 or emailgirlsgonewilde@live.ca

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On this World Theatre Day, I could tell you all about the amazing things theatre is capable of… But those of us who do this thing called theatre know why it’s so important.  We have been touched by it, transformed by it at one time or another, and do not need to be persuaded by its power.  We get it.  It’s a kind of magic.

Therefore, in celebration of World Theatre Day, I encourage you to share your love or passion or need for this art with somebody who doesn’t DO this thing we do.  And if you aren’t a theatre-doer, but a theatre-goer, please share your love as well.

You don’t have to use many words.  It doesn’t have to be profound.   Have fun!

Theatre: Because.

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Like this.

Or this

Or this.

Feel free to share your Theatre: Because in the comments section below!

HAPPY WORLD THEATRE DAY!!  Visit the World Theatre Day Blog here.

From Jamie Dunsdon, Co-Aristic Director