>>PREVIEW
JOHN DOE/JACK RABBIT
Ground Zero Theatre and FireBelly Theatre
Written by Neil Fleming
Directed by Ian Prinsloo
Runs November 10 to 20
Vertigo Studio (Tower Centre)
A co-production between Ground Zero Theatre and FireBelly Theatre, Neil Fleming’s John Doe/Jack Rabbit is a very Canadian play. Directed by former Theatre Calgary artistic director Ian Prinsloo, it combines hockey, the Group of Seven and that mainstay of CanLit, the remote northern wilderness, with a homicidal old lady, to give audiences a comic thriller of crime gone wrong.
With so much going on, it’s no wonder Prinsloo has trouble explaining the play.
"It’s always difficult for me to encapsulate new plays," he says. "It’s only when you get in rehearsal… that you really start to see the story come alive." He does, however, say that the play is very much about isolation and the pushing of boundaries. "All these people reaching different edges, boundaries. Pushing off within themselves," he explains. "That’s what’s fascinating about the characters."
After spending so many years directing traditional theatre, Prinsloo is enjoying the different challenges that working on a new play brings. "When I direct new plays, I don’t really direct," he says. "It’s a facilitation of the story the writer’s trying to give birth to." He explains that his job is much more of a balancing act, of trying to focus on what the playwright needs and what the actors need, while at the same time leaving himself enough room to manoeuvre.
Prinsloo confesses that he is a fanatic about story – when working on any new play, he says, "it has to be first" – and adds that his time at Theatre Calgary only cemented those feelings. "It’s great coming back to (new plays) after being steeped in the dramaturgy of classical theatre."
Although most Calgarians know him only from his eight years at TC, Prinsloo spent many years working on new plays in Toronto, most notably with popular playwright Jason Sherman. Now he hopes that people in Calgary are willing to accept him in that role. Although this is the third new play he has directed for Ground Zero, he knows that it might take some work to re-establish his credentials. "The work I was doing (at TC) got more attention," he says ruefully.
However, Prinsloo realizes that, in his post TC days, he’s also going to have to start seeing himself differently. After returning from trips to Paris and South Africa this summer, he has decided to take a year-long sabbatical, so, after this show, Calgary audiences won’t be seeing much of his work for awhile.
"I have definite ideas and feelings about the way I want my work to evolve," he says. "I wanted to make sure I had enough time this year to really let things settle." And as part of that process, he’s participating in Leadership Calgary, a 10-month program dedicated to developing community leaders. So far, he says, he feels it has been a great way to bring focus to his thoughts.
"Theatre at its best is about community," he says. "How does theatre live up to being part of our community?"
Prinsloo is glad of the opportunity to spend what he calls his "year of reflection" in Calgary and plans to stay in the city for the foreseeable future. "I can’t think of another place in Canada that has this vibe," he says, referring to the city’s burgeoning arts scene.
He hopes that, over the course of the coming year, he’ll figure out what his new role within the scene will be. "My relationship with the community has been so defined in one way for so long, it’s nice being able to be out in the community and sort of redefine that relationship." |
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