Ready For Launch

-Written by Emma Welham

As I enter the final year in my undergrad degree, my thoughts have been on what to do after I graduate. Many professors say “Make your own work!”, but I will admit that idea always scared me slightly. When the time came, would I know how to create a piece from scratch? Would I be able to cover not only everything on the artistic side of the process but on the production and business side of things as well?

Thankfully, the universe has a way of giving you what you need, and this past May I learned about Sarasvàti Production’s Launchpad Project. Aimed specifically at emerging artists, The Launchpad Project gives artists like me the chance to create our own show over the period of three months; culminating in three performances of the show at their annual FemFest.

Starting in mid-June, myself and eight other incredible emerging artists began workshops with industry professionals in devised theatre, movement, improv, and directing before beginning to cultivate and create material that we would like to put in our show. Now a month into this project, I can easily say that being a part of this initiative is one of the most fun and artistically fulfilling projects I have ever been involved in.

We meet twice a week (soon to become three in mid-August), and create, create, create! Each of our eight members takes turns leading the rehearsals and we have two facilitators in the room in order to keep things running smoothly. Each member of our group comes from a different background both in theatre and in life, and one of my favourite parts of rehearsal are our group discussions, because everyone brings such a unique perspective to the table.

As we approach August our show is starting to take shape as we begin to piece together material previously created and begin to create the structure of our show.

Be sure to follow Sarasvàti Productions on Facebook, Instagram (@sarasvati_wpg) and Twitter to keep up to date with all future The Launchpad Project updates including blog posts and Instagram takeovers! For more information on FemFest 2019, visit our website HERE!

Baking With Grief

How do you grieve and move on after losing someone? It is a challenge for anyone, but even more so for Katherine, especially now that death has moved in as her roommate.

The Grief Box by Alissa Watson won last year’s Bake-Off writing competition; during FemFest 2018. This year, a reading of The Grief Box is part of our FemFest 2019 roster! We asked Watson to share a little bit about the inspiration behind her play…

“Writing The Grief Box has been a weird and wonderful process. The inspiration for the piece came from the sudden death of my mom in the fall of 2017. I have found life convoluted and bizarre in the wake of her passing and it has been my experience that many people struggle to support those who are dealing with loss, even if they are sharing the same experience. In creating this piece, it is important to me to create a community experience; a safe space where the audience can laugh, cry or get angry with or at death. I would love to have everyone leave feeling that they have a slightly better relationship with death; however bizarre it might be.

The piece has evolved extensively since The Switch, that won the Bake-Off last fall. Much to my disappointment, that scene is no longer in this draft of the play. Audiences who are familiar with the scene can consider it a prologue to the reading of The Grief Box they will see this fall. However, the same loveable cast of characters are along for the ride, including death itself.”- Alissa Watson

In addition to acquiring her Bachelor of Music and Education from Brandon University, Alissa has trained in theatre throughout Canada, England and is an alumna of the Professional Training Ensemble at Prairie Theatre Exchange.  She is the co-founder of The Red Nose Diaries (Maple & Sticky’s Amazing Olympic Race, The Polka Dots of Death: The Making of a Supervillain) and is a proud founding member of Winnipeg’s only all-female Bouffon Ensemble, The Talentless Lumps. Selected acting credits include Sense & Sensibility, Harvey (RMTC); Torn Through Time (MTYP); Mission: Munschpossible, Small Things, Magical Mystery Munsch (PTE); and Stripped Down Midsummer Night’s Dream (SIR). Alissa is a member of PTE’s Emerging Playwright’s Unit and is currently adapting the beloved Munsch classic, The Paper Bag Princess for young audiences this winter. In addition, Alissa is a vocalist and percussionist for the sweet and cheeky, Fu Fu Chi Chi Choir.

The reading of The Grief Box will be held Saturday, September 14^th at 2:00PM at The Asper Centre for Theatre and Film. Admission is Pay What You Can and you can book tickets HERE on our website.  You can also check out this year’s edition of the Bake-Off on September 16^th at 6:30pm to vote for a script you would like to see developed for 2020.

Stay tuned for more on what to look forward to during FemFest 2019!

You Get What You Pay For

Coming to FemFest 2019 as part of our touring shows, a POP ART performance of 4inXchange by xLq. This unique performance involves three performers, four audience members and $1,000 cash!

xLq is a POP ART performance duo comprised of Jordan Campbell and Maddie Bautista. Dedicated to radical forms of performance and complicit audience experience – xLq combines ritual, fashion, dance, music, and queer pop aesthetics to question, physicalize, and reimagine our possible futures. Recipient of the Nightswimming 5×25 2017 Commission and winner of the NOW Magazine Audience Choice Award for ​4inXchange – which debuted at SummerWorks 2019, with tour stops at Vancouver’s rEvolver Festival and now our own FemFest.

“Will leave you looking differently at that fiver in your wallet”- NOW Magazine Toronto

Learn all about the xLq team we will be welcoming to Winnipeg for FemFest:

Jordan Campbell (performer-creator, producer) is a queer performance artist, creator and youth workshop facilitator. He is an xLq co-artistic director and performer. Jordan’s solo work is physically based and uses high aesthetics, drag and performance art. His work with youth has focused around those with different learning abilities, including teaching at Purple Carrots Drama Studio. Selected performance credits include: The Youth/Elders Project (Buddies in Bad Times), 72-Person Ball Passing (FFDN), The Stranger (DLT).

Maddie Bautista (performer-creator, producer) is a Bi, Filipina sound designer, theatre creator and performer. Her sound design has been featured in theatres across the country: Luminato, Why Not’s RISER, Aluna Theatre, b current, rEvolver Festival in Vancouver, High Performance Rodeo in Calgary, and more. Recipient of the SummerWorks Spotlight Performance Award 2016, a Dora-nomination for her sound design ​(Eraser, Why Not’s RISER), and fu-GEN Theatre’s inaugural Walk the Walk Commission 2019.

Katherine Walker-Jones (performer-creator) is an artist from Winnipeg who is now based in Toronto. They make theatre and music. Since graduating from Humber Theatre Performance in 2016, they have released two EPs and recorded a forthcoming album with their band Feels Fine. They also collaborate with xLq Pop Art Performance. Recent works with xLq include curating the Trash Sanctuary event series as well as performing at SummerWorks Performance Festival and rEvolver Festival.

4inXchange can only accept four audience members per performance, so reserving your tickets in advance is crucial! The show will use a unique pay-what-you-choose method at the end of the show and only has 16 performances. That means only 64 lucky audience members will get to experience this unique event. For show times and to reserve your tickets, visit our website.

Going to the Dogs!

Actor W.C. Fields famously said never to work with children or animals. Mostly because they steal the show! FemFest disagrees and argues you can’t go wrong with a dog on stage. We are excited to have our first animal on stage for FemFest 2019, but even more exciting is that this particular dog is integrated in to the compelling storytelling of Kim Kilpatrick in Raising Stanley / Life with Tulia.

“Kilpatrick peppers her intimately personal stories with humour and pathos that draws the audience into her world and the diverse personalities of her dogs.” – Brian Carroll (APT613.ca)

When the show played in 2018 at Great Canadian Theatre Centre, it was so popular you couldn’t get tickets for love or money. It has since gone on to be featured at festivals including Toronto Next Stage Festival and the undercurrents festival in Ottawa. Now Winnipeg has a chance to experience it.

In Raising Stanley / Life With Tulia storyteller Kim Kilpatrick, painter Karen Bailey and director Bronwyn Steinberg vividly document the journey from puppy to working guide dog for the blind. Delving into issues of identity, accessibility and canine service, this storytelling show incorporates original paintings through video with audio description and music. The show offers a totally accessible experience for adults and children that both informs and entertains.

Kim Kilpatrick, a blind storyteller, performs stories of life with the four guide dogs she has handled: Gia, Margaret, Gwenny and Tulia. Kilpatrick is a former Paralympian and disability rights activist. As a woman who was born blind, she brings a fresh and unique approach to the art of storytelling.

Karen Bailey, a visual artist, painted Stanley, a puppy she raised for Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind, engaging in a multitude of activities that mirror his future working life. Wall-sized enlargements of Karen’s paintings are projected using video visual effects behind her, with voice-over audio description that integrates seamlessly with Kim’s live storytelling. Part of the show takes place entirely in the dark.

“This play is a joy to watch. It is important to watch. It is a story of trust and partnership between humans and animals. It is a nuanced story by a blind woman about her experiences clear from clichés and filled with funny anecdotes and depictions of loss and challenges…” – Alejandra Vargas García (APT613.ca)

There will be three opportunities to catch the show in Winnipeg from September 15th to 17th. Get you tickets now! It is just one of an array of touring shows and unique productions featured at the festival this year. FemFest 2019: All the World’s a Stage runs from September 14-21 at the Asper Centre for Theatre and Film!