It was a warm October night at the Moberly Arts and Cultural Centre (MACC). In the spotlight, the performer poured herself a glass of red wine. She then undressed, piling her clothing and shoes on the table, and took a generous swallow straight from the wine bottle. Closing her eyes, she took a few moments to draw into herself (as if unaware she was half-dressed in front of an audience), sensing her mind and her body. Then she stepped up the microphone.
In an intriguing solo piece, Volume One, Clare Twiddy used a looping station to layer her own expressive and earthy voice. As she sang, her whole body responded in voluminous, and at times spastic, movement. From the song, a contemporary dance phrase was built and sung with abandon while reaching, turning, and diving.
This was the first of six experimental short performances in The Interplay Project, produced by Jane Osborne and Vanessa Goodman of The Contingency Plan. This interdisciplinary “performance lab” was hosted this year for the fourth time at the MACC. It is a multifaceted, fresh, and festive performance in which almost anything can happen. There was a delightful energy in the intimate theatre: before and after the performance, audience members and performers laughed and chatted to a backdrop of ‘80s records.
The performances themselves had little relation to each other. They were an energetic mix of dance, music, painting, theatre, and even woodwork (notably in Chris Wright’s comical attempts to literally construct meaning in Sheer Folly). In the blackouts, I had to mentally reset, banishing all expectation of what might happen next.
In Peril of Combusting Seas, for example, featured three black-clad male performers who rolled, jumped, and crawled across the stage, only pausing to adjust their orange toques. The costume combined with the frantic, almost comical, soundscore reminded me of convicts escaping from prison.
In Performentation, we heard the actress Victoria Lyons repeat herself again and again: “My name is Victoria, I am a middle child, I’m in a new relationship. . .” as her body was manipulated by dancers and painted life-sized in the background. And the minimalist, audience-participation piece, The Trail ended mysteriously, with the dancer Julianne Chapple handing out a personal note to one audience member, who promised to read it at home then throw it away.
The performances called up notions of identity and searching, the role of the artist, and the exchange between writing and performance. The Interplay Project was all at once refreshing, entertaining, and unfinished. It is a great platform for new ideas, and Jane Osborne explained that strong projects often keep evolving to be featured in festivals around Vancouver. The ethos of the event is a spot-on mix of collaboration, innovation, and community, allowing a variety of contemporary artists to take the stage in Vancouver.
