Weathering Architechture at Hatch or The Dispensation With Artifice

As I was watching Filiz Klassen's performance/lecture creation Weathering Architecture at Harbourfront Centre on Friday night, I found myself thinking less about the actual content of the piece and drifting into a meditation on what is happening with performance in Toronto right now. Not that the work wasn't enjoyable; it had a lot of elements I really like. What I was thinking about was how often I’ve been seeing these specific elements in performance lately.

There's a kind of work (dare I call it a genre?) that's emerging in Canada right now. I’m not sure yet what to call it, but it has a number of defining characteristics I’ve observed and will now attempt to list in a particularly dry and academic tone:

• Performances are staged as lectures or discussions, rather than narrative works; text is address directly to the audience and the themes that the artists wish to discuss are presented in their pure form, rather than through a story or metaphor
• Performers use their real names, rather than pretending to be other people
• Performers use microphones when speaking, giving a conversational rather than theatrical tone to the work
• Video is used in the performance specifically to show the audience things that need an up-close view, rather than exclusively as a design element
• As the audience filters in, the performers are in the space, talking or setting up the equipment for the performance
• No care is taken to hide the technical elements of the performance; all of the wires and cables are visible and function as a design element, and in some cases are actually used by the performers (i.e. tripping over or getting tangled in them)

If I were to try to sum up all of these characteristics into one thing it would be a Dispensation With Artifice; a sort of end to all the “pretending” that we as theatre artists have been doing for so long. In his 2004 piece Suicide Site Guide to the City Darren O’Donnell talks about his frustration as an actor, constantly having to pretend, when he actually just wants to talk to people about things that matter. Though that show was still performed in a fairly actorly manner, the drive behind it has really started to manifest itself in his later works, and I think we are starting to see it as well in this new kind of performance I’m talking about.

For those of you who attended theatre school, I’m sure you can all still remember that lecture you got in first year, about how theatre requires the “Willing Suspension of Disbelief” on the part of the audience; in order for the show to work, we must put aside our rational conviction that what we are watching is actually just people walking around a space speaking words that were written by someone else. Essentially, we have to pretend that we are not watching people pretend.

I’ve been suffering from a “Willing Suspension of Disbelief” fatigue for while and if this type of work is any indication, other artists are as well. Since 9/11 the way we engage with media has changed dramatically and there is a sense in our culture of people wanting to see things that are “real” even if, like most Reality TV, they are actually quite contrived. So how has that played out in the world of performance? I don’t know if we fully understand yet, but if the way this genre (there’s that word again!) is evolving is any indication, it would suggest a similar movement towards a kind of work that feels “real” as well.

Oh shit! I’m supposed to be talking about Weathering Architecture. So, the performance had things that worked and things that didn’t. It could have used a slightly heavier dramaturgical hand, to cut down sections that were repetitive or just went on too long. I’m genuinely interested in the central issue of the show (the relationship between the citizens and the architecture of the city of Toronto), however I didn’t feel like it was really addressed in a new way. We already know that we have lots of ugly buildings, that the Gardiner Expressway sucks, and that biking in this city requires a pseudo-death wish, however considering the creator of the show is actually trained as an architect, I would have appreciated more solutions to the muck we’ve gotten ourselves into, rather than just pointing out that we’re in it.

Though the content of the show left me wanting more, the visual and sonic aesthetic was stunning. From the all-white blocks that composed Laird MacDonald’s set, to Dan Browne’s video images that were projected on them, to the immersive sound environment created by composer Dan Goldman, the show was a joy to look at and listen to. Chad Dembski brought his characteristic befuddled charm to the performance and was a perfect contrast to creator/performer Filiz Klassen’s serenity. The strongest moment of the piece was the video segment at the end in which the two engaged in a discussion of the ideas Klassen has about material innovations that could be made to the architecture in the city. Her ideas are both revolutionary and achievable and I wish that this had been the starting point for the discussion rather than its ultimate destination.

Though not yet a perfect piece (and the Hatch Series isn’t supposed to be about perfection anyway) Weathering Architecture certainly made for an enjoyable seventy-five minutes of my life. Though I didn’t feel its creators completely succeeded in putting across the message they were trying to, it was still an opportunity for me as an audience member to think about things in a new way. And whether it’s the relationship between architecture and human beings or the aesthetics of new performance, the fact that a show makes me think about something makes it worth seeing and writing about.

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On the subject of "The Future of Canadian Stage Company"...

Received the press release below this afternoon.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 27, 2008

Natasha Mytnowych Appointed Associate Director of Artistic and Audience DevelopmentNatasha Mytnowych Appointed Associate Director of Artistic and Audience Development

Toronto, ON (March 27, 2008) – Martin Bragg, Artistic Producer of The Canadian Stage Company, today announced that Natasha Mytnowych has been appointed Associate Director of Artistic and Audience Development, a newly created position, effective April 1, 2008.

Working in conjunction with the Artistic Producer, the Artistic Director (to be appointed) and the Director of Marketing and Communications, Ms. Mytnowych will be responsible for the Company’s artistic development and audience development strategy, programs and activities. This will include: creating and executing a long-term strategy for the development of artists including managing existing programs and developing new ones; overseeing all play development activity including sourcing scripts, facilitating workshops and organizing public presentations in collaboration with the Artistic Director and Consulting Dramaturg; and developing and executing an audience outreach and education strategy with the support of the Community Relations Manager.

Martin Bragg states, “Natasha is part of the vanguard of a new generation of artists who will ensure that our art form grows and develops. We look forward to a dynamic new era of development for our community of artists and the audiences of the future.”

Ms. Mytnowych is the Founder and Program Director of two of The Canadian Stage Company’s successful artistic development initiatives – BASH! and THE GYMNASIUM.

An award-winning producer, director, playwright and designer, Ms. Mytnowych was awarded the inaugural Mayor’s Arts Award for an Emerging Artist from the Toronto Arts Council Foundation in recognition of her outstanding accomplishments and potential as a director and arts leader. She was also nominated for the Ontario Arts Council’s John Hirsch Award for Emerging Directors and the Canada Council for the Arts’ John Hirsch Award for Emerging Directors.

Ms. Mytnowych has produced, directed and initiated numerous critically-acclaimed theatre and multi-disciplinary projects. She is currently Artistic Director for Company Theatre Crisis, dedicated to developing and producing contemporary works, and Artistic Director for Theatre Revolve, which empowers young women from diverse communities through the creation of live theatre, artistic training, mentorship and leadership development. For three years, she was the Artistic Producer of the Paprika Festival, a training program and festival of new works by artists under 21 at the Tarragon Theatre. She has been the Associate Producer for the AfriCanadian Playwrights Festival, Producer for the 26th Annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards, Artistic Associate for Nightwood Theatre, Associate Festival Director for Nightwood’s Groundswell Festival and Under-21 Associate Director for the Rhubarb! Festival at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. She initiated and facilitated Nightwood’s Emerging Actor Program, was the Assistant Festival Director for the inaugural and second Hysteria: A Festival of Women for Nightwood Theatre/Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, and co-produced and stage managed the Barbadian tour of Lisa Codrington’s Governor General’s Award-nominated play Cast Iron.

She has directed plays for numerous theatre companies in Toronto. Recent directing projects include: The Russian Play at Factory Theatre, a Dora Award-nominated play by Hannah Moscovitch; Gulag: Love Among the Russians/post-democracy/USSR; In Full Light; I Think of You Erendira; and Suzan-Lori Parks’ 365 Plays/365 Days (1st Constant). Upcoming projects include directing post-democracy by Hannah Moscovitch at the Banff Colony (a play recently presented at the Rhubarb! Festival), and assistant directing Mikel Rouse’s Dennis Cleveland for Luminato: Toronto’s Festival of Arts and Creativity. Read more!