Magnetic North: Inside the Industry Series
The Industry Series is an integral part of Magnetic North. It is four days of activities for those who work in Canadian theatre – artists, producers, presenters, managers and agents. Organized by Toronto-based producer Naomi Campbell, the event is designed to bring together creators and presenters to inspire new collaborations. It’s truly a great opportunity for Vancouver-based creators to meet other Canadian theatre artists – we tend to be somewhat isolated out here on the West Coast. And this year, the series is being presented in collaboration with the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT). So there’s a lot going on!
I attended the Industry Series at last year’s edition of Magnetic North in Ottawa. And surprisingly, the best performance I saw wasn't actually one of the festival plays at all – it was a pitch for a new play by Toronto's culturally diverse Cahoots Theatre Projects. In front of the crowd of industry insiders, two Cahoots creators pitched “The Five Vengeances” – it was a hysterical rendition of kung fu fighting complete with SMASH! BANG! KA-POW! sound effects. They were so good that one enthusiastic presenter immediately asked – “How much does it cost to book the pitch?”
Though I doubt anyone can top the Cahoots pitch from last year, the Industry Series producers have chosen eight new companies to strut their stuff. This year's pitching companies includes: 2b theatre company (Halifax), Imago Theatre (Montreal), Nightswimming (Toronto), The Old Trout Puppet Workshop (Calgary), Pleiades Theatre (Toronto), Rough House (Vancouver), Screaming Weenie (Vancouver) and Tara Cheyenne Performance (Vancouver). Each one will have 10 minutes to pitch their new work. These companies hope to open conversations with attendees that will move their projects forward.
In addition to the pitch sessions, the Industry Series will have other activities intended to encourage networking and potential collaborations. There's the infamous speed-dating – where 10 selected presenters and 10 invited artists meet each other for 10 minutes in the course of two hours. (I've offhandedly told friends that I'm going speed-dating – only to have them look at me in horror and say: “What about your boyfriend?”) If you're not invited to go speed-dating, there are lots of opportunities to connect during coffee breaks or when you're enjoying the mini-cruise on False Creek (complete with cocktails). Or for those of you more serious about learning, you can also check out various workshops about hot topics in Canadian theatre. We’ll be talking about succession planning, environmentally responsible theatre creation, closing deals, site-specific work, multidisciplinary collaboration, critics in the theatre community, building your show to tour and much more!
As a relatively new development for Canadian theatre, the Industry Series is an exciting way to encourage connectivity. By bringing together Canadian creators with Canadian presenters, there is a strong push to enable theatre projects to be created in collaboration and/or to have a life beyond their premiere production (through remounts or touring). It also encourages artists from across Canada to see the plays at the Magnetic North Theatre Festival. I am definitely looking forward to participating in this year’s Vancouver version. I expect that in addition to people from across Canada and guests from beyond, there will be a strong representation from Vancouver’s theatre scene. I know that I’ll be at the Industry Series checking it all out…