Now in its second year, the rEvolver Festival showcases new works by emerging artists from all over Canada during two incredible weeks of theatre performance. As managing artistic producer Daniel Martin explains, this is “not your grandma’s theatre.”
The works featured are relevant and modern, fostering discussion and debate among spectators. Hosted at The Cultch, a gorgeous playhouse in Vancouver, the wonderful atmosphere sets the stage for the rEvolver Festival.
In a city such as Vancouver, art is integrated into everyday life, so what sets the rEvolver Festival apart? As Martin says, a big distinguishing factor is that rEvolver Festival is curated; “There is a performance guarantee,” said Martin, “[it’s] not a lottery system.”
This baseline allows the rEvolver Festival to set high standards for quality, ensuring thought provoking and entertaining pieces are delivered to the audience.
The performers, writers, and directors participating in the rEvolver Festival consist of emerging artists. The reason for this is “partly biographical,” Martin explains, as there were few opportunities to showcase his work when he was a recent graduate of acting school.
Not having “the necessary connections as new artists, we made the opportunity,” Martin says, starting with the Walking Fish Festival. Opportunities such as these, Martin says, are “important, they give young people exposure” allowing them to “nurture their talents, which helps them grow as artists.”
The performers, writers, and directors participating in the rEvolver Festival consist of emerging artists.
Every year, certain topics and styles help to unify the festival, and this year is no exception. Plan to experience lots of music in the various performances, along with an emphasis on creation-based works, instead of the more commonly encountered play-written works. A theme of self discovery runs through the festival, Martin says, as each work has an element that addresses “issues about being in the world.”
“Expect everything EXCEPT the kitchen sink,” says Martin, as performances will not be about “a family working out their issues in their living room.” Instead, the works featured in the rEvolver Festival will be “stories and presentations that only work in a theatre setting.”
This festival accents variety, as Martin says that the “variety of genre[s], variety of style[s], [and] variety of artists” will keep all audience members interested. The rEvolver Festival promises to be a place that offers “opportunities for engagement with the arts.”
Those who like “exciting, relevant, risky” works will love the rEvolver Festival, says Martin. Audience members should expect to witness performances that “push outside comfort levels” and “do new things.” There will also be pirates, for any Blackbeard fans out there.
The artists featured at the rEvolver Festival are those who “are starting to do important work” says Martin. Supporting them, Martin says, allows for a “healthy ecology” of the theatre scene in Vancouver, giving artists continuity in artistic opportunity as they “graduate to the next level.”
Especially relevant to the SFU community are those performances that feature current students and alumni.
Such performances include Caezr: 33 Cuts, featuring SFU theatre program graduate Victoria Lions, and Off Key: An Improvised Musical, which is a collaboration by various SFU graduates. Catch Emily Pearlman, who graduated from SFU’s MFA program in REVISED From The Belly of a Whale, and recent SFU grad Minah Lee in the performance art piece We’ll Need A Piece of Cake Before We Die.
The rEvolver Festival is presented by Upintheair Theatre May 13 to 25 at The Cultch. For more information, visit upintheairtheatre.com.
