The Toronto Fringe Festival is set to begin, and I had the chance to sit down with one of the creators/performers of one of its shows to talk about collective creation.
Collective creation has always intrigued me. As an art, theatre is about creating, well, collectively. But what happens when you don't have a script in front of you?
Toronto has had a long history of collective creation companies, including George Luscombe's Toronto Workshop Productions, which began in 1958, until 1988. One of the most celebrated collective creation works is The Farm Show, which premiered at Theatre Passe Muraille in 1972.
Fast forward to 2006, and Pancake Productions has embarked on a new venture for this years Toronto Fringe Festival: an undershirt.
I had the chance to chat with Sarah Dineen, one of the creators/performers, and ask her a few questions about the process and what the show is about...besides an article of clothing.
Q: Tell me how the production came about...how was it created?
A: The material came about through group writing and improvisation. However, the world of the play developed by analyzing our surroundings (the environment of Toronto) in comparison to one of the artists home city of Vancouver. For example, smog days are such an intrenched part of daily life in Toronto yet remain a foreign concept to outsiders. In order to create the world of the play, we've heigtened those differences to illustrate our potential environmental future.
Q: What was it like working in an environment of collective work?
A: Challenging. Although some of us are trained in collective creation methodology, we all came to the project with very different working models and familiarity with the form. Our biggest challenge as a group was finding a way to bridge the gap in order to facilitate exploration in various media.
Q: Tell me about the theme or ideas behind the piece.
A: The Earth is close to its death. The environment has grown hostile. Air must be filtered, protection must be worn, our skin has become permanently permeated with filth. Thus, the Dirtied were born. Surrounded by such a world we are left with no choice but to seek solace in the only cleanliness available: a laundromat. How far are you willing to go to protect the only thing you have left?
Q: Have any of you worked in the Fringe before?
A: Dave Deveau and I have worked as House Managers for the Fringe - this will be our third year doing that, although the first to pull double duty - work and play.
Q: What do you hope to get out of your Fringe experience?
A: A chance to have extremely fresh work exposed to an audience and seduce them with our near-nakedness...
an undershirt premieres this Thursday, July 6th and runs until Saturday, July 15th at the Tarragon Theatre Extra Space, and features Dave Deveau, Stephanie Lalor, Cameron Mackenzie, and Sarah Dineen.
A listing of all of the Fringe shows, with showtimes and ticket information can be found on the Fringe Toronto Website.
