Elizabeth Willow, an emerging theatre-maker and past Rumble Student Ambassador, attended our final Living Room of the season. She shares her thoughts on the session with us in this special guest post. Read on for Elizabeth’s take on the risks and rewards of making public theatre about private lives.

Guests at The Living Room making it cozy in Rumble’s office. Photo: Stephen Drover.

Many of us know the feeling: Going to audition after audition, never feeling like any of the work available is quite right for you. No one is telling stories that represent you, compel you, or excite you. What options are left to those of us who feel backed into a corner by the established theatrical enterprises surrounding us? Do we find another path or allow ourselves to sink into despair, knowing that there is nothing else for us but being an artist? A dear friend and director once said to me: “Who cares whether the cart or the horse came first? Fuck it. Let’s be both.”  (more…)

Monday, May 15, 2017, 7pm to 9pm
PL1422, 1422 William Street, Vancouver, BC
FREE admission; no advance registration required

Inside everyone is a story. And sometimes that story ends up onstage as a one-person show!

But what’s the cost of making a play about your own life? What if you’re not a “playwright” but you have a great story to tell? Where do you find the courage to share your personal secrets?

Come hear guest artists Tetsuro Shigematsu (Empire of the Son) and Emelia Symington Fedy (Motherload), along with moderator Pedro Chamale (co-AD of rice & beans theatre), discuss how they each turned personal history into public theatre.

Tetsuro Shigematsu

Tetsuro is an actor, writer, and former CBC radio host. His one-man show Empire of the Son—centred around his relationship with his father—was named the best theatre show of 2015 by the Vancouver Sun. It toured across Canada in 2016, including to the National Arts Centre. His newest show, 1 Hour Photo, will premiere at The Cultch in October 2017.

Emelia Symington Fedy

Emelia is an actor, writer, producer and radio freelancer. She produced and co-wrote Motherload, a dark comedy about contemporary parenting that premiered recently at The Cultch. She co-artistic directs the award winning, internationally touring creation-based theatre company, The Chop with Anita Rochon and curates the popular website tryingtobegood.com. Emelia is also a creative coach, supporting women in doing what they love for a living – sustainably and her most favorite thing to do is live storytelling. Emelia won Gold medal for Best Social Media Personality and Best Radio Host in 2017 and you can find her on insta and twit @EmeliaSF

Pedro Chamale

Pedro Chamale is a playwright, performer and the co-Artistic Director of rice & beans theatre. His solo show, Small Town Hoser Spic, is based on his experience growing up as a person of Hispanic descent in a small-town in Northern BC. Small Town Hoser Spic is part of this year’s Uno Fest in Victoria, BC.

The Living Room is a mixer-slash-mingler-slash-meeting for emerging artists to hear from established artists on topics that are important to our theatre community. Connect, network, and share news in a casual and fun environment. Rumble Theatre invites all artists who self-identify as “emerging” to join us for these fun and stimulating evenings of conversation and community building. Each event centres on a specific theme.

Rumble Theatre is offering a one-day bouffon workshop for actors with Michael Kennard. We will discuss how bouffon differs from other forms of clown or physical theatre, and practice skills to become more flexible in the rehearsal and development process. The day will unfold with dialogue, experimentation, and scene work.

The details:
Monday May 1^st, 2017
10:00 am – 4:30 pm
The Cultch Culture Lab
1895 Venables Street, Vancouver
Participation Fee: $75

The workshop is open to all performers who have experience with bouffon, clown, and/or physical theatre.

To apply, please email a headshot and resume to rumble@rumble.org with the subject heading: “Bouffon Workshop”. Space is limited so please submit early.

We encourage submissions from performers who self-identify as members of under-represented communities.

DEADLINE TO SUBMIT: Thursday, April 20^th, 2017 at 5:00 pm.

Michael Kennard and John Turner as Mump and Smoot. Photo: Ian Jackson.

About Michael Kennard:
Michael is one half of the celebrated Canadian clown duo Mump & Smoot and has created, performed, and toured Mump & Smoot shows across North America since 2008. He regularly teaches clown technique at the Manatoulin Conservatory for Creation and Performance and at the University of Alberta where he is an Associate Professor in the Department of Drama.

The newest Mump & Smoot show, Anything, can be seen at The Cultch (York Theatre) from April 25 – May 6, 2017.

Check out what Elizabeth Willow – emerging theatre-maker and past Rumble Student Ambassador – has to say about our most recent Living Room – Making Theatre With Your Friends.

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If you’ve been working in Theatre for any amount of time, there’s a good chance you’ve run in to the following situation: you’re working on a project with your friends, and you have an argument, a falling out, or you simply struggle to keep your personal relationship healthy alongside your professional one. This was the impetus behind Rumble’s 3rd Living Room of the 16/17 season – “Making Theatre With Your Friends”. The guests that evening were Marcus Youssef of Neworld Theatre and James Long of Theatre Replacement, two friends and artists who created the critically acclaimed piece Winners and Losers together. The discussion was moderated by Chelsea Haberlin of Itsazoo Theatre, who runs said company with her husband. (more…)

Tuesday, February 28, 2017, 7pm to 9pm
PL1422 Studio, 1422 William Street, Vancouver, BC
FREE admission; no advance registration required

**This session was originally scheduled for Monday, February 27. Please note the date change.**

Vancouver’s theatre community has been celebrated for its collaborative nature. We love working with others, and we often find ourselves working with our friends. But what happens when work and friendship mix? How do you keep a friendship healthy when the work is hard, or if your personal relationship is strained? Do friends really make the best colleagues?

At this Living Room session, we’re going to talk to with couple of artists who have put their friendship on the line to make great work together: Marcus Youssef (actor, playwright, and Artistic Director of Neworld Theatre) and James Long (actor, creator, and Artistic Director of Theatre Replacement). Chelsea Haberlin (director, producer, Associate Artistic Director of Neworld Theatre, and co-Artistic Producer of ITSAZOO Productions) will moderate what is sure to be a lively discussion.

James Long

James has been making theatre since 1995 and artistic directs Theatre Replacement with Maiko Yamamoto. He has also taught workshops and classes to established artists across Canada and to students at The University of British Columbia, The University of Regina, Simon Fraser University, Studio 58 and Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts. As a freelance actor and director he has had the pleasure of working with Rumble Productions, Neworld Theatre, Cindy Mochizuki, urban ink, Leaky Heaven Circus, The Chop, The Only Animal, Stan’s Cafe, CBC radio and Electric Company Theatre, among many others. He is a graduate of Simon Fraser University.

James Long and Marcus Youssef in Winners and Losers.

Marcus Youssef

Marcus is the Artistic Director of Neworld Theatre. The ethic and practice of collaboration are central to Marcus’ creative work. His plays, many of which were written or created with friends and colleagues, include: Winners and Losers, Jabber, How Has My Love Affected You?, Ali and Ali and the aXes of Evil and Ali & Ali: The Deportation Hearings, Everyone, Adrift, 3299: Forms in Order, Peter Panties and A Line in the Sand. They have been presented across North America, Australia and Europe, translated into Czech, Flemish, and Italian, and published by Talonbooks and Playwrights Canada Press. He’s received numerous awards for his work, including: Rio-Tinto Alcan Performing Arts, Chalmer’s Canadian Play, Arts Club Silver Commission, Seattle Times Footlight, Vancouver Sun Critics’ Choice Innovation (three times), as well as numerous Jessies (Vancouver), Masques (Montreal) and Doras (Toronto).

Chelsea Haberlin

Chelsea is Co-Artistic Producer and founder of ITSAZOO Productions as well as Associate Artistic Director with Neworld Theatre. Favourite ITSAZOO directing credits include: The Competition is Fierce, Killer Joe (Jessie Richardson Award winner for Outstanding Production), The Flick, Mojo, Chairs: A Parable, Robin Hood, Grimm Tales and Death of a Clown. Other directing projects include The North Plan (Upintheair Theatre), The Dining Room (Western Gold Theatre), Mr. Marmalade (Latchkey Coop), Gruesome Playground Injuries (Pacific Theatre), Glendale (Co-op), Rhinoceros (UBC Masters Thesis project), Featuring Loretta & Criminal Genius (Vancouver Fringe Festival) and Faust is Dead (UBC). She is a three-time Jessie award nominee and the recipient of the Sydney J. Risk award in directing and the Ray Michal award for outstanding body of work by an emerging director.

The Living Room is a mixer-slash-mingler-slash-meeting for emerging artists to hear from established artists on topics that are important to our theatre community. Connect, network, and share news in a casual and fun environment. Rumble Theatre invites all artists who self-identify as “emerging” to join us for these fun and stimulating evenings of conversation and community building. Each event centres on a specific theme.