Ostara: Untrue Stories Live

About the Show

For the third iteration of our Cabaret series, we are honouring the magic of Spring Equinox, “Ostara.” It wakes hibernation and invites re-emergence, rebirth and renewal – paying respects to the daylight, when the sun is exactly above the equator and day and night are in harmonic balance.

The evening will showcase 3 new works in a cabaret format, breaking in between each performance. Amidst the breaks the audience will have the opportunity to: enjoy complimentary food from Melt City Grilled Cheese, engage in Night Market Activities with prizes, shop local painters unique collection and engage in an Art Installation. 

Doors will open at 7:30pm. Show up early to enjoy the festivities. Performances start at 8:00pm.

Featuring

spring creek brook by jk jk (Jenny Larson-Quiñones and khattieQ)

When a mysterious stranger seduces a trapped housewife in spring creek brook, a queer dystopian love story with song, Betty is forced to feed the passions raging within her or die trying.

Dead Drone by The Fox Queen (Dave Mott and Tamara McCarthy)

Dead Drone is a staged reading and presentation of physical scoring devised through a non hierarchical artistic process that follows the path of two penniless scavengers who discover a disabled government drone crashed on the Mountain, swipe it, and bring it to their workshop to reanimate, tap, or recycle to gain its secrets.

7/VII by Kevin Fraser

Set in the mega metropolis of Neo Sao Paulo, 500 years after the first World End. The story follows 7, who is part of a cast called “Maiden” – beings that were lab created [genetically altered] and strictly trained to entertain, soothe and if need be…manipulate. They meet a “peacekeeper” investigating the disappearance of an important, yet corrupt member of the senate, who used to be a client. What unravels through their journey of the deep layers of the Neo Sao Paulo underworld, leads them to their past and ultimately the purpose of their creation.

Covid Safety

This event will take place outdoors under tents, in the parking lot of Progress Lab, rain or shine. Masks are  encouraged but not required, and please be aware of distancing, hand-washing/sanitizing, and the varying personal comfort levels of others around you. Please stay home if you have symptoms of COVID, or have been in contact with others who have contracted COVID. Thank you for helping us keep events live, in-person, and safe.

About the Creators

jk jk is married couple theatre artist Jenny Larson-Quiñones and punk rocker khattieQ. 

The two create queer performance that centers joy and disrupts the status quo. jk jk began working together in 2015 with Salvage Vanguard Theater in Austin, TX. They performed at the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival in Finland (2017) and the Interplay fest in Vancouver (2019). In 2020, their piece Catalina La O Presenta: Now With Me was the Fringe New Play Prize winner. The performance-film of Catalina screened at the OUTsider Festival in February 2022. In 2021, jk jk began developing the play always boy with support from the Canadian Digital Dramaturgy Initiative, NYC’s Workshop Theatre, and the GVTPA’s Digital Connections. In June, Catalina La O will premiere live in Vancouver (more on that soon!) www.jkjklol.org @jenny_khattie_official

Jenny Larson-Quiñones (Writer/Performer) (she/they) is an interdisciplinary performance maker. They served as the Artistic Director of experimental company Salvage Vanguard Theatre in Austin, TX  from 2008-2019. They have had residencies with the Workshop Theatre, New Dramatist, and the Drama League in NYC. They have trained with SITI company and worked with the Rude Mechs as an actor (I’ve Never Been So Happy) and director (From the Pig Pile). They have worked internationally (in Bulgaria, Hungary, Russia) thanks to Center for International Theatre Development and Trust for Mutual Understanding. Their work has shown in Texas, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Bulgaria, Finland, and New York.  

khattieQ (Dramaturge/Performer) (they/she/he) is a performer from Puerto Rico. Co-creator and star of 2020 Fringe New Play Prize winner ‘Catalina La O Presenta: Ahora Conmigo’ which features original music. khattieQ was the guitarist and vocalist for punk band BLXPLTN. khattieQ has played as a professional musician with over twenty bands. Most notably, they toured as drummer for queer femme core band The Tuna Helpers. Professional credits include Denim Doves and Casta for Salvage Vanguard Theater in Austin, TX, Heaven Born Wind at the University of British Columbia and Be-Longing and Cannot Lie to the Stars Who Made Me with frank theatre. 

Dave Mott (Playwright/Director) is a local Vancouver entrepreneur, director, actor, playwright, curator, performance scout, divisor, a curator of the rEvolver Theatre Festival and the co-Artistic Producer and co-founder Upintheair Theatre. Graduating with a BFA from the University of Victoria in the 90’s, his early creations and directorial projects challenged theatrical boundaries by generating performance for non-theatre venues, site installations and pop-ups. In 1999 he founded Upintheair spawning many original works and innovative productions, receiving multiple Jessie Richardson nominations as well as winning for Outstanding Production Small Theatre. He is a permanent staff member at The William Davis Centre at VanArts instructing in direction, acting, play creation, physical theatre, and ensemble building. Since 2020 Dave has begun a new creative collaboration, The Fox Queen, with his co-Artistic Leader Tamara McCarthy. The Fox Queen’s first professional commission, Messages on Doors: Snuneymuxw, a public art and reconciliation theatre workshop was delivered live and online from the Snuneymuxw First Nation in Nov 2021.  Dave is also the co-owner of Brandywine Bartending School, and is a locally respected competitive mixologist, corporate trainer and team builder. He is committed to the creation of new plays, supporting and presenting the work of artists at emergent points of their careers, and mentoring the next generation of performance makers. Dave values truth and reconciliation and the practical deconstruction of hierarchical modes of creation, cultural practices and artistic prestige.

Tamara McCarthy (Dramaturge) is Co-Producer of The Fox Queen [Messages on Doors: Snuneymuxw] and Associate Artistic Producer for Pacific Coast Stage. Her commitment to decolonizing her life and artistic practice has her actively challenging heringrained European model for theatre creation. A multiple Jessie Richardson Award nominated director and actor, Tamara’s recent stage appearances include 2 world premieres: With Glowing Hearts (TheatreOne) and HELLO (Theatre Terrific/ Firehall); Flare Path (Slamming Door); Hidden (itsazoo). Spending a bit more time looking at the stage, recent select directing credits include Love/Sick (Douglas College); The Double Axe Murders (Rusticate/ PHT/ Gateway/ Evergreen). Next up: Performing in Mom’s the Word (Theatre Northwest); Adjudicating North Island Zone Festival (Theatre BC); Mentor Producing Built Different, featuring a fiercely talented group of emerging neurodiverse artists being presented at rEvolver Festival, and Directing Red Riding Hood (ProjectX, Kamloops). Tamara is the proud recipient of the 2021 John Moffat and Larry Lillo Award and Bill Millerd Artist Fund.

Kevin Fraser (Writer/Direction) is a Queer Jamaican (Xaymaca| Land of Wood and Water) born international interdisciplinary artist and Creative Director, currently based on the unceded territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Although his practice has been primarily based in dance and movement arts, Kevin also explores/implements/studies various art mediums to aid in the research and creation of new work such as; Film, Photography, Theatre, Voice, Creative Writing, Fashion, Music, and Media. He has a deep interest in the merging of various art mediums to compel and excavate truths, as well as finding new methods and modalities in which various artforms/mediums intertwine, coexist, and shape new pathways for creation, curiosity, and exploration. His passion is to create work that is inclusive of: BIPOC, LGBTQ-2, WOC, and underserved/underrepresented communities, but also sheds light on the complexities of how colonial power structures have shaped the way we see, encounter, collide, and hold space for one another as; artists, creative collaborators, and diverse human beings with layered complex histories and intersections. Kevin is the founder and director of the interdisciplinary arts and experimental arthouse film production company formally known as IMMIGRANT LESSONS (new name pending), as well as the Co-founder of the Queer arts collective, The Coven. Immigrant Lessons is currently the Company In Residence at Arts Club Theatre, as well, Kevin Fraser is one of this year’s recipients of the Chrystal Dance Award.

Jared Tobias Herring (Core Artist | Actor & Dancer) Calgary-born ( Treaty 7 Territory), Guyanese-Canadian, Jared is a dancer, musician, vocalist, and writer. Jared’s family roots run deep in Calgary’s music scene, spanning genres from reggae and dancehall to jazz to blues and rockabilly. Jared’s original arrangements and songwriting have landed him notoriety amongst Calgary’s music scene. He has played in bands such as Advances for Sled Island and released two Trap and RnB albums with Bow Valley Wolf Pack. After discovering Calgary’s dance community through Dance Montage in 2007, Herring began training at U of C, where he also received an English degree. Since then, he has studied house dance in NYC and breakdancing in Seoul, and has worked with local contemporary choreographers. From 2013-2016, Herring was president of the U of C Hip Hop & Funk Styles club, focused on teaching dance and hosting competitions. Currently Jared dances in a collective: NAPPY dance in Calgary where he teaches house dance and continues to explore a variety of artistic avenues whilst managing Shiki Menya.

Vanessa Yuen (Core Artist | Actor & Dancer) Authentic, vulnerable, inspired; 樂凡 (Van Lefan, she/they) is a Taiwanese multidisciplinary artist who honors music as powerful medicine for healing, connection, transformation, and change. An inquiry into personal and collective experience, her 2022 debut album, “What Holds Us Together” is a sonic journey that synergizes folk, pop, world music, experimental soundscapes and poetry. Together, these stories weave an immersive tapestry of ancestry, identity, ecological reverence and social justice. 樂凡’s performances have moved audiences worldwide, including a 2019 tour of Taiwan and Japan with internationally celebrated roots/soul artist Buckman Coe. Van Lefan shares a voice that transcends culture and language, speaking directly to the heart and spirit. Traversing landscapes of sound, movement, and visual arts, her work is both an invitation to inner exploration and a call to action.

Guilherme Babilônia (Core Artist | Musician & Actor) is a international interdisciplinary artist born and raised in brazil, and currently based on the unceded territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh(Squamish), and Sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Gui’s practice has been primarily based in acting and dance, But he also explores/implements/studies various art mediums such as; Film, Photography, Theatre, Fashion and music. Gui is looking to implement the knowledge that he’s been gathering with his experience in the film industry to explore his own independent film and lens-based film work. He’s been lucky to be a part of projects from studios such as; Netflix, Bright light studios, Freeform, Disney+ and others. Gui is also a Juno award nominee for “ Alaskan Tapes Project” and was also part of the cast from the Emmy award winning “Julie and the phantoms”. His passion now lies in the creation of art that is inclusive and representative of the multitude of communities that remain voiceless. His passion is to work closer and create with other refugees, Immigrants, BIPOC, LGBTQ-2, and underserved/underrepresented communities. He looks to bring untold stories to the light to give hope, dreams and strength to people that deserve to have their voices heard.