Last night I watched Nanay, a testimonial play. Staged at Chapel Arts, it is an archival look at Canada's Live-In Caregiver Program (LCP) and its impact on Filipino families. When you arrive, you will be given a clipboard, a pen and a piece of paper which allows you to write down your questions during the performance. It also contains a short survey to complete which is intended to as an information-gathering tool for those who put together this play - namely researchers Geraldine Pratt and Caleb Johnston who are working in collaboration with the Philippine Women Centre of BC.
"Trampoline Hall":http://www.trampolinehall.net/ is a Toronto-based event consisting of lecturers presenting information about subjects that they are not experts in. This does not mean that the subjects are not well researched, however. The lecturers seem to have done varying degrees of preparation, ranging from a few pages of notes to an elaborate power point presentation. After the lectures, the audience had the chance for some Q&A, which could be delightful test of the presenter’s ingenuity.
We couldn't find any photos of Trampoline Hall so here's a picture of a pie from their website!
The last time "Tim Crouch":http://www.newsfromnowhere.net/ came to Vancouver for the "PuSh Festival":http://pushfestival.ca/index.php?mpage=home he stirred my soul about the potential of theatre. On that occasion, he performed two productions: _my arm_ and _an oak tree_ (a piece which famously involved a different local actor every night). To my mind, *ENGLAND* forms a sort of trilogy with those shows. They are not linked by events or characters (well, unless, you think of Crouch as a character, I guess) but rather in the themes they explore. Crouch’s work is about reconfiguring the relationship between performer and audience; between performer and performance;...
ENGLAND: too much money will ruin your heart - and hair; photo: Chris Dorley Brown
*Maryse Zeidler:* who tries to be hip, but in the process just tries too hard and comes across as a flake
*Rachel Scott:* who once was hip, but then moved to Vancouver and has had to start from scratch
Journeying through the performances at this year’s "PuSh Festival":http://pushfestival.ca/index.php is like being invited to a wine tasting where none of the labels are familiar and the genres blur, making it difficult to know what to expect in advance. "Tribal Crackling Wind’s":http://tribalcracklingwind.ca/ piece, *Transmission of the Invisible*, along with Peter Chin’s untitled solo, used a multi-disciplinary approach, incorporating mostly dance and video, to address Cambodia’s horrific past; after reading the description of the work, I was very excited to see these two pieces and although I liked them, I actually went away feeling like the use of many modes...
Transmission of the Invsible; Photo by Cylia von Tiedemann
"Battery Opera’s":http://batteryopera.com/ production event *Lives Were Around Me* is an intimate and startling theatrical experience. Although I have little idea of what happened, I was captivated by every moment.
David McIntosh, Lives Were Around Me, Photo: Amy Pelletier
*Andrew Templeton:* who likes to drink beer, shoot things and watch UFC with the guys
*Michael J Unger:* who drives a pick up, wears a tool belt and likes to watch UFC with Andrew
_Alex Edwards and her mother Susanna Uchatius took in "Siren":http://pushfestival.ca/index.php?mpage=shows&spage=main&id=69#show, the sound installation by UK artist "Ray Lee":http://www.invisible-forces.com/ that was part of this year’s PuSh Festival. Alex shared her thoughts with her mother, who shared them with Norman Armour, Executive Director of PuSh, who in turn shared them with us and now we want to share them with you. You’ll see why._
Siren, Alex Edwards wants more like this, so do we!
*Maryse Zeidler:* who likes to gossip and is not that old!
*Joel DeStefano:* who proves that he’s more than a drunk boyfriend dragged to a dance thing.
