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À toi, pour toujours, ta marie-lou is deeply captivating

By
EIC
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The first thing that struck me as outstanding about Theatre la Seizième’s season opener was the set. With three raised platforms to separate the space, each character was isolated and stood out when they delivered their lines. Marie-Lou sat on the far left in her rocking chair, knitting while watching TV, and her husband, Léopold, sat at his table full of empty beer glasses on the other side. In between them, and a bit lower down, were their two daughters, Manon and Carmen.

Carmen has returned home to visit Manon, and as they revisit their childhood we learn shocking things about their parents’ relationship and their tragic death. Manon is a single, religious woman who is obsessed with their death, and Carmen has become a country singer who wants to forget the past all together.

As the sisters discuss their versions of the past, their parents shout at each other across the stage demonstrating the scenarios that the girls discuss. It isn’t too hard to follow as the four characters speak in quick succession, but I could imagine that if I was relying on the surtitles alone, it might be.

Manon feels the need to mourn her parents’ death and honour their memory, while Carmen thinks it would be better to just let go. The two also argue about which parent was at fault, and it’s very interesting have their interpretations as the audience witnesses Marie-Lou and Léopold launching bitter remarks across the stage and draws their own conclusions as well.

France Perras as Marie-Lou was wonderful as she never missed a stitch while yelling expletives at her husband and defending herself against his own verbal attacks. Joey Lespérance as Léopold was perfectly gruff, cynical, and fed up with his life. Siona Gareau-Brennan was heartbreaking as the anguished Manon, and Julie Trépanier lit up the stage as Carmen.

The structure of this play is a feat of melding past and present while telling a compelling story that meets itself in the middle by the end. Tremblay is an icon of Quebecois theatre, and this work is a powerful story of regret, pain, and loss.

À toi, pour toujours, ta marie-lou is presented by Theatre la Seizieme October 14 to 25. For more information, visit seizieme.ca.

Clan smash the Hardrockers in second victory

By
EIC
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Defensive back Matt Isherwood had four total tackles.

SFU marched to their second victory of the season off of a dominant second half, defeating Great Northwest Athletic Conference rivals, the South Dakota School of Mines  (SDSM) Hardrockers, who are ranked seventh in the conference.

Quarterback Ryan Stanford had his first start in three weeks, as head coach Jacques Chapdelaine started backup Tyler Nickel the last two games. Throwing for 372 yards, and going 28 for 36 on pass attempts, Stanford proved that he is still the team’s go-to quarterback.

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In spite of the end result, the first half exposed some Clan weaknesses, with the team down 31-26 at halftime. Scoring was not an issue, but defensive lapses were.

SFU won the coin toss to start, and elected to receive. However, a fumble gave the ball to the Hardrockers, who promptly opened up the scoring with a touchdown. Although they answered back quickly with a field goal and touchdown for a momentary lead, the Clan never seemed in control.

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The tide began to turn for SFU at the end of the second quarter, as Cole Tudor ran the ball in for a touchdown with 39 seconds left in the half — only down by five points, this play set the tone for SFU’s second half teardown of South Dakota.

The beginning of the second half mirrored the start of the game, but this time in the Clan’s favour: SFU middle linebacker Jordan Herdman sacked Hardrocker quarterback Trenton McKinney, forcing a fumble, which led to a Clan touchdown 1:04 into the half.

With the touchdown, SFU took the lead, at 32-31, which they would keep for the rest of the game. The Clan did not allow the Hardrockers a single point more, shutting them out to a score of 27-0 in the half.

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In the third quarter alone, SFU scored 20 straight points, with wide receiver Lemar Durant taking in the second and third touchdowns of the quarter.

He nearly made it three straight touchdowns at the start of the fourth quarter — catching a 30-yard pass from Stanford — but SFU took a penalty on the play and it did not count.

As a testament to the Clan’s play, Justin Buren made up for the mistake, catching a 35-yard touchdown pass, notching the final points of the game, with the score at 53-31.

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The Hardrockers did not throw in the towel, though, and appeared to be making their way to their first touchdown of the half with 60 yards in a single drive, but Tolbert forced a fumble, which Jordan Herdman recovered, sealing the win.

Jordan Herdman once again led the team in tackles with 12.5, while Tudor and Stephen Spagnuolo led the team in rushing yards with 96 and 86 yards respectively.

One of the highlights of the game was Justin Buren, who replaced injured wide receiver Kyle Kawamoto the previous weekend; he put up a stellar performance, notching 123 receiving yards, and two touchdowns, leading the team.

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“We knew Justin [Buren] was a very capable player in training camp, he just didn’t have a lot of experience, which he is gaining rapidly now,” said Chapdelaine. “The last couple of weeks have been very good for him.”

Chapdelaine attributed much of his team’s second half resurgence to the previous weekend’s loss to Division I Idaho State Bengals.

“We just executed honestly,” he explained. “We played a very tough opponent last week, and although the score did not flatter us, we learned a lot of things in that game that we did not apply in the first half. In the second half, it was important for the guys to apply what we had learned, how we had gotten better.”

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Chapdelaine stressed the need for greater consistency from the team: “We need to be better at understanding the little details of the game. This is not high school football; guys have got to prepare in a way I don’t think they have [. . .] in the past.”

Although their overall record is 2-5, the Clan are now 2-1 in the GNAC, and move to third place in the conference.

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University Briefs

By
EIC
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Student swaps sandwiches for stories

University of Calgary third-year communications student Sam Sawchuk has begun Sandwich for a Story, an initiative where he provides a homeless person with a sandwich in exchange for the story of how they came to live on the streets.

Working with fellow Calgarian Evan Beck, Sawchuk said the stories they’ve heard countered popular stereotypes about homeless people.

“Everyone has a unique story. There are a lot of successful people these days that grew up in harsh environments and I don’t think that the circumstance of being homeless can really dictate where your life could be headed,” Sawchuk said.

With files from The Gauntlet

Queen’s launches support group for sexual assault survivors

A new support group at Queen’s for survivors of sexual assault, called Psycho-Educational Group for Survivors of Sexual Assault (PEGaSUS), is looking to help students cope with their trauma and work towards recovery.

The support group — which is kept to around 10 to 12 students in order to maintain an “intimate” setting — meets every Thursday, but anyone is able to join.

“The primary goal is for students to have a forum where they can be invited to use their voice, express themselves in a safe environment, to break that isolation and to develop [. . .] that sense of empowerment through the collective experience,” said Arig al Shaibah, assistant dean of student affairs and support group chair.

With files from The Journal

ISIS supporter hacks UNBSU website

The University of New Brunswick Student Union website is back online after it was overtaken by an organization supporting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria last Monday night.

A group called Team System DZ hacked the site, along with hundreds others, and posted their organization’s name as well as anti-American rhetoric and the following phrase: “God’s law is in progress. The Islamic nation is coming and god’s law will be applied. You have been warned.” Below the organization’s name on the site read, “i love you isis.”

UNBSU vice president external Nicole Saulnieri said, “We are working with our website provider to protect ourselves from this type of vandalism in the future.”

With files from The Aquinian

Construction begins for Trottier Observatory and Science Courtyard

By
EIC
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You can follow the site’s construction progress on Howard Trottier’s blog, Starry Nights @ SFU.

Construction crews have finally broken ground for the Trottier Observatory, a $4.4 million project on SFU’s Burnaby campus dedicated to engaging the community and its youth in science.

According to Howard Trottier, an SFU professor of physics whose brother and sister-in-law have provided the funding for the project, the observatory and its surroundings are meant to be a “focal point of campus life.”

The building is expected to be completed sometime in February or March 2015.

Trottier, who has worked in the physics department for over 20 years, has been an integral part of the observatory’s development and creation. However, this project is not one man’s work. The original proponents of the observatory imagined its opening alongside of Simon Fraser University back in the 1960s. The idea had bounced around between different professors and community members since then, before finally being set into motion over the past few years.

An integral part of the project expands outside the walls of the observatory itself, something many community members are not yet aware of. The observatory is being built in conjunction with the Science Courtyard, which is meant to benefit everyone in the SFU community and greater area.

The Science Courtyard will include a community table, with room for two more tables to be added later on. These tables will have room for groups of 20, ideal for hosting groups of friends — when weather permits — to enjoy the sights, and perhaps small classes who opt to learn outdoors from time to time.

The area will offer many other astronomy attractions besides the main telescope within the observatory, which will be nestled between the AQ and Strand Hall. There will be two eight-foot tall concrete barriers, creating a sort of tunnel reminiscent of ancient observatories, through which attendees can view the stars. There will be star charts for each of the four seasons on the inside of these barriers, with the smaller and fainter stars etched into its surface, and LED lights illuminating the larger and brighter stars.

There will also be a few smaller telescopes scattered around the site, which people can also use to see the star formations, as well as a sundial.

Another interesting architectural design for the space manifests in the long concrete bench that runs along the entire site, divided into six sections. Each division will put out a faint light representing the electromagnetic spectrum and six of the different elements, and will also be spaced to show the powers of 10. From the atom to the horizon of the atmosphere, the bench will also show the scales of important structures in the universe.

Trottier emphasized that the observatory will be open and inviting to all, within and without of the SFU community on Burnaby Mountain.

Science in Action, for example, is a school program for all young students in the area led by SFU professor of chemistry Sophie Lavieri. With this new observatory, SFU programs such as this will be able to branch out into the province, giving schools the opportunity to enter project contests and win the chance to control the observatory telescope, all virtually from within their own school walls.

For Trottier, the most important part of the observatory is that it will foster a personal connection between students and their universe. “If you’ve experienced science, you feel you are a part of it,” he concluded.

The grand opening of the SFU Trottier Observatory is slotted for sometime in May, but the goal is for the space to be functional as soon as it is completed early this spring.

Whiplash explores the definition of success

By
EIC
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0

What is success? Is it being wealthy? Having a spouse and children? Being highly respected? Or . . .?

Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash is an occasionally invigorating thriller about a jazz drummer who is pushed to his physical and emotional limits by his abusive, unorthodox instructor in order to become the best he can be, at the expense of relationships and everything else in his life. The film presents a young man, Andrew (brilliantly played by Miles Teller), who would do anything to achieve prestige. But is this real success, and does it matter how he gets it?

Mediocrity is profusely encouraged and raw talent isn’t developed into something monumental in Andrew’s society. His father is an unremarkable high school teacher and those in his extended family are praised for their role in a third division college football team. Andrew directly contrasts these characters as he is enrolled in the superlative music school in the United States where the feared and respected Fletcher teaches the studio jazz band. 

Andrew wants to be something special, so he ignores his family, rudely drops a love interest, and doesn’t pursue friendships. He is achieving what many would consider success, but shows no hint that he enjoys his craft or does it for love’s sake. He’s talented and driven, but we are never given a glimpse of him getting fulfillment or happiness from his drumming. Near the end, Andrew is a better and more refined player, but he has also allowed his ego and devotion to his craft destroy the environment and relationships which would have made it worthwhile. Is this success?

Chazelle directs his movie like a thriller, with Andrew’s action (accompanied by sweat and blood) of crashing snares and cymbals to the conductor’s precise tempo overlaid with being screamed at to stay in time. The editing and other stylistic choices are precise and calculated, as the use of handheld cinematography and powerful close-ups of the wickedly talented actors amplify the tension (J.K. Simmons is an explosive scene-stealer as Fletcher). The storytelling diverges from clichés and plays with the archetypal idea of a teacher as a mentor. 

Yet Whiplash does not fully succeed beyond being like a good drum solo; you leave impressed at the artist’s talent and precision, but really there is little to ponder. The director is hitting the skins as hard as he can while keeping an entertaining pace, but forgetting the depth of sound that would have made the film unforgettable. Whiplash lacks profundity and sympathetic characters. We admire Andrew’s skill, but for the most part he’s one dimensional and acts deplorably. I understand that this is the point, but by consequence, Whiplash is about as successful as Andrew.

As I ponder Andrew and what it took for him to achieve prestige and climb above the mediocrity, I can hear that haunting question: what is success? 

SFU Artist in Residence Ricardo Basbaum presents new exhibition

By
EIC
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0

The Production of the Artist as a Collective Conversation, an exhibition by Rio de Janeiro-based artist Ricardo Basbaum — the current Audain Visual Artist in Residence — opened at the Audain Gallery at SFU Woodward’s on October 16. The show will transform over the course of its eight-week installation as audience contributions are added.

Basbaum’s conceptual and participatory art practice asks the audience to consider the nature of what constitutes an artistic experience through his ongoing project (since 1994) titled, Would you like to participate in an artistic experience? As part of this ongoing project, for the duration of this show, and for up to a week at a time, members of the public can sign out a large steel object called NBP (New Bases of Personality). This object resembles an eye, but also calls to mind a large cake pan, or some kind of communal urinal. Basbaum tells audiences, “You can do whatever you want with it. Use it as you like, the way you think is best.”

As members of the public interact with the object over the course of the exhibition, they are invited to upload digital documentation to Basbaum’s website (www.nbp.pro.br). These images will be added to one of the two projection loops in the gallery — one video, the other still images — which are currently displaying documentation of a variety NBP experiences over the object’s 20-year lifespan.

I am currently enrolled in the course Basbaum is teaching  alongside SFU faculty member Sabine Bitter as part of his residency. After seeing what seemed like several dozen images of people sticking their heads, arms, and legs through the NBP, or various participants laying down in it like a human yin yang, I was skeptical of how taking selfies with this cumbersome metal object would be the fulcrum of an ‘artistic experience.’

Along with four other students in the class, I took the object, strapped to a handcart, to a Do the Hustle night at the Astoria for dance lessons — our attempt to slightly subvert nature by inviting the object to take part in an artistic experience. Some of my skepticism dissipated as people, with no prior knowledge of the NBP and its history, wanted to dance with it and get their picture taken with it.

Without having seen any of the documentation of the previous participants, people were sticking their appendages through the hole of the object, and one couple insisted on getting their picture taken in the ‘classic’ human yin yang. One could make the argument that, in the age of social media narcissism, the desire to get your picture taken at an event while doing funny things is the norm, but the people who were interacting with the object were also curious about it. They all seemed genuinely excited when we told them that it was part of an art project.

Another participatory element of the exhibition will be a live event which will take place at the end of this month. Collective Conversation will function as a workshop to create a cooperatively written script, which will result in a live reading and a sound document. The recording of this performance will be added to the exhibition, alongside the previously recorded sound pieces and the corresponding scripts that are already available to check out at the gallery.

The Production of the Artist as a Collective Conversation is at the Audain Gallery until December 13. Collective Conversation will take places at the Audain Gallery on October 29. For more information, visit sfu.ca/galleries.

Improv superheroes save the day at Theatresports

By
EIC
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It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Theatresports’ Superhero Show! Each night, the improv masters of Theatresports entertain audiences at The Improv Centre with a different caper involving a unique superhero created from audience suggestions. For example, the night I was there the hero was the Pecker, a bird whose special ability was spaghetti fingers.

The narrator has a bit of control over the action on stage as he asks for the audience to shout suggestions or signals a scene change for the performers. There is also a basic structure and setting to the show — it’s set in Big City, and the narrator asks the audience specific questions in order to create the tale. Other than that, nothing is scripted, and the performers have to make up a hilarious story on the spot, given only a couple of pieces of information.

I was impressed by the performers’ ability to maintain the continuity of the story, especially when they were switching back and forth between characters and settings so often. Some played up to four characters, all of whom had different accents — I suppose the voices help the actors keep things straight for themselves.

Margaret Nyfors did a great Russian accent during scenes where she was doing yoga in the park. She was also great in scenes where a plumber was fixing up her pipes and she offered him a drink from her bathroom liquor cabinet.

Of course, there is always a villain in a superhero story, and this one was so evil that he had a hummingbird for a thumb. The hummingbirds were the Pecker’s mortal enemies, and the climax was a hilarious scene of birdbrained mayhem.

If you have never seen a Vancouver Theatresports League show, it’s time you did. These improv artists are so talented, and no matter what kind of superhero tale they come up with, it is sure to be a memorable experience.

Tara Travis is one woman, six wives

By
Peak Web
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Unexpected and character-driven, Tara Travis’ performance in the one-woman show Til Death: The Six Wives of Henry VIII portrays a story that has been heard time and time again. However, Travis and director Ryan Gladstone have created a production that uniquely deviates from the original tale.

The play is set during the Tudor Dynasty, specifically the reign of Henry VIII. Henry became the ruler of England at the age of 17 and married his older brother’s widow, Catherine of Aragon that same year. After tiring of her inability to produce a male heir, he became besotted with Anne Boleyn, who was later executed based on accusations of witchcraft.

Still desperate for a male heir, Henry sought the hand of Jane Seymour, who managed to produce a frail and sickly baby boy before dying in childbirth. Next came Anne of Cleves, a marriage which lasted only six months before being annulled. Shortly after, he married Kathryn Howard, Anne Boleyn’s  cousin, whom he executed due to her adultery. His final wife was Catherine Parr, whom he remained wedded to until his death in 1547.

You may initially be concerned that a one-woman show depicting seven historical figures would be a difficult undertaking, but Travis makes it seem effortless. The play veered away from a standard production and brought the characters to life in such a way that it never felt as if one person on the stage wasn’t enough.

After the show, The Peak spoke with Travis, and she explained how she is able to perform all of the different characters. “I spent a lot of time in rehearsal walking around the room, finding [each of the character’s] gait, the way they breathe, and which body part led first. Over time I found their voices [and in time] their faces became more nuanced.”

This was particularly evident in a scene where each of the six wives began to detail their stories and how they came to marry Henry. Each of the wives had her own voice — ranging in different accents from Northern English to German — and each had different physicalities. For instance, Travis played Anne Boleyn as just a decapitated talking head without a body. Her ability to draw the audience in with her facial expressions — which were incredibly strong, and varied with each character — is to be admired.

This is a show that will resonate with audiences, in part due to a strong performance by one-woman show artist Tara Travis, and also due to Ryan Gladstone’s formidable script, which has a killer ending.

Til Death: The Six Wives of Henry VIII was performed by by Monster Theatre Productions October 10 and 11 at the new Surrey City Hall’s Centre Stage.

Separating the art from the artist

By
EIC
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I am a fan of the band Teen Suicide, a lo-fi noise-pop band based in Baltimore, Maryland, comprised of two core members, Sam Ray and Eric Livingston. Unfortunately for me, and many other fans of theirs, they never venture to the west coast to play shows. A while ago, I liked their Facebook page hoping that one day I might find out they were coming to Vancouver.

That day came about a week ago when they announced their west coast tour beginning on October 1, including a Vancouver date. Fans living on the west coast, myself included, were thrilled to receive the news that their dream of seeing Teen Suicide was finally going to come true.

However, the post was strange — no venue was listed for any of the 15 advertised shows. As the concert date approached, and no ticket or venue details were released, I became more concerned. Finally, on October 4, three alleged concerts having passed, Teen Suicide posted this status on their Facebook page: “If anyone still believes it, the tour was a lie. Sorry. Our social media strategist fucked up.”  So it was all just a bad joke. 

Naturally, fans were devastated, or simply annoyed, replying with comments like, “You guys are gonna lose your fan base.” Teen Suicide responded by saying, “Our fans are all idiots, and we hate them.” This comment doesn’t stand alone — their whole page is riddled with mean comments directed at fans.

So, should we all hate Teen Suicide and stop listening to their music? There is a difference between liking a band and liking a band’s music, and I’d almost go so far as to applaud Teen Suicide for creating this ‘asshole persona.’

An artist’s actions should not have any bearing on our judgments of their art. To truly appreciate art, we should appreciate the qualities it has in itself, not the qualities of the author — a separate entity. A lot of people in the world of fandom blur this distinction or even throw it out completely. 

It seems intuitively strange to judge art based on the artist. About a year ago when Woody Allen, a celebrated film director, was accused of pedophilia, his work was put into question. It just seems strange to me that we held Allen’s body of work in such high esteem prior to the accusation, and then suddenly, when we find out that he might have molested Dylan Farrow, the general public started to question his cinematography.

Art should be appreciated independently of the artist, and Teen Suicide should perhaps be commended for their meanness, as it can be seen as a way to try to alienate fans — the bad kind of fan, who is infatuated with Teen Suicide as a band as opposed to their music. Teen Suicide doesn’t want people to like them — they want people to like their music.

On the other hand, maybe Teen Suicide is taking their asshole persona too far. It’s possible that their blatant rudeness towards fans is just another marketing strategy. Their disrespectful conduct is so excessively over the top that it’s caricaturesque. They are creating hype for themselves through playing up the whole ‘pretentious artist’ persona. Maybe they’re just trying to be controversial for the sake of controversy. 

I was never a fan of Teen Suicide as individuals, and I can’t say that I respect them as artists, but what I can say is that I’m a fan of Teen Suicide’s music. Although artists can take care to conduct themselves in a professional manner, I maintain that their actions should not have a bearing on your opinion of their creations.

Crazy Smooth explores the concept of partnering with the music

By
EIC
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0

For most dance styles, the basis of choreography is the human body, but as Bboyizm’s choreographer Yvon ‘Crazy Smooth’ Soglo explains, street dance is different. “For a lot of contact improv and contemporary dance, bodies are the base of the movement — their weight and shape. I quickly realized that for us, the rhythm and the music is the base.”

This realization came out of workshops the company did with Sylvain Lafortune, who has a ballet background and a PhD in partnering. Soglo found analyzing the mechanics of partnering fascinating, and has always wanted to go back to these ideas that he had begun exploring a few years ago. “I never got a chance to get deeper and explore that possibility,” said Soglo.

While creating his new show, he brought Lafortune back and worked with his dancers to explore what partnering means for street dance. “I wanted to create something that has the principles of partnering, but for street dancers. I call it ‘rhythmic contact,’” he said, explaining that the music is their partner, as they make contact with the rhythm.

Bboyizm first performed in Vancouver in 2012 with their impressive, energetic show, IZM. They’re back this month with Music Creates Opportunity, and Soglo said the troupe is excited to be back on the west coast.

“When we premiered IZM, it was our first big theatre piece — you get attached.” Soglo explained that this new show is different in a few ways, as his personal choreographic style is always evolving. “IZM was a little bit of a roller coaster. This one is different in the sense that the music is very different and the pacing is very different. There’s more breathing between acts.”

This show marks the first time the company will have live music, and there are also some new street dance styles featured in Music Creates Opportunity. “IZM was 90 per cent bboying and 10 per cent rocking,” said Soglo. This show includes bboying, lots of rocking, house, and pantsula — a South African street dance style which bgirl Melly Mel will perform. “The vocabulary we’re using is from different dance styles. It comes out in a very interesting way,” said Soglo.

“It’s also different because the company has matured a lot, and I’m happy that’s some of the feedback we’ve been getting.” Soglo feels that this show is a natural growth from their previous work. “If you liked IZM, you don’t lose that aesthetic. You just get more, you get into the dancers a bit more.”

The choreographic process for Music Creates Opportunity has been much more collaborative than Soglo is used to. “Ninety-five per cent of IZM was already in my head,” he said. “I always have the dancers as collaborators. It’s important to see that the dancers are comfortable with the movements, but with this show I was letting the dancers have more input than usual.”

He found himself asking the dancers what they thought or felt about the movements, and there was more of a reciprocal creative process. “The dancers were much more involved, and you see that camaraderie; the coming together.” This dynamic is one of the characteristics of street dance in general. “It’s real emotions and real vibes that we’re sharing.”

Bboyizm’s tagline is ‘Dance to express, not to impress,’ and Soglo explained that this personal philosophy of his has become a part of everything he and his company do. “When I see a dancer doing their thing — when the intentions of that person are pure — I think it’s always impressive. It’s easy to be phony and disguise what you’re doing, but to truly do what I feel and express myself from a place of purity and honesty is different — I think it’s more powerful.”

This pure expression that comes from within is what the dancers of Bboyizm strive for, and it shows in their impressive physical feats and dynamic, smooth moves.

BBoyizm is performing Music Creates Opportunity October 21 to 26 at The Cultch and October 28 at the Surrey Arts Centre. For more information, visit thecultch.com.

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Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

Contact us: [email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society 1965-2024

Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

Contact us:
[email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society 1965-2024