IGNITE! FESTIVAL
Sage Theatre
Runs until June 17
Pumphouse Theatres
Kelly Reay, Sage Theatre’s artistic director, is stoked about the upcoming IGNITE! festival, a multidisciplinary theatre arts festival that provides development and production opportunities to emerging professional artists. Modelled on Edmonton’s NEXTfest, IGNITE! aims to do bigger and better what it started last year.
"Last year we kind of jumped in at the deep end," says Reay. "There were five shows, with 40 to 50 artists involved, and it was kind of hard to figure out how we were doing along the way. We had no measuring stick. This year, we do."
As a young and evolving theatre company, Sage has sympathy for the plight of emerging artists in today’s market. Although exposing and developing new artists is not necessarily a stated mandate of Sage Theatre, Reay and fellow founders and festival co-directors Adrienne Smook and Geoffrey Ewert know from experience how tough it can be to get that first toe in the door of public performance.
"We’ve definitely had a bit of a boom in the performing arts scene here in Calgary, which also means that there are lots of new artists coming out here," says Reay. "The downside of that is that there’s a ton of competition, with not a lot of venues, and not a lot of opportunity for new artists to get themselves out there.
"Sage has always worked with a lot of up-and-comers – it’s part of our tradition. IGNITE! is just an extension of that – the core of Sage are young artists ourselves. We know how hard it can be."
In IGNITE!’s second year, it has already grown significantly. There are six new plays, three alternative performance pieces, visual art, live music and a whopping 64 artists benefiting from the intense workshopping process leading up to the festival.
"The biggest thing we’re trying to do is provide better infrastructure and support for the artists this year," says Reay. "We have a better idea what to expect during the process, so we can anticipate better. We’ve got more of a variety of multidisciplinary performance and visual arts represented this year. I’d say that the biggest difference between last year and this year is not better quality, but more variety."
One of Reay’s faves is a "cool, dark little piece" called Beauty Herself is Black, a contemporary adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s play Dark Lady of the Sonnets. Another is Fierce: A Grotesque Burlesque. "That’s a show we’re bringing in from NEXTfest," says Reay. "We’re building a relationship with them, and hopefully this can be the beginning of an exchange between the festivals. Fierce incorporates elements of performance and movement, although it’s hard for me to describe to you because it’s unscripted."
Sage has been able to involve the Alberta Playwrights’ Network, and part of the development process for these emerging artists has been an ongoing script-doctoring workshop with Canadian playwright Sharon Pollock.
"We put a call out in January for submissions," says Reay. "We tried to consider a few elements – the strength of the piece, as well as whether it can incorporate a wide variety of artists (set designers, lighting and sound technicians, stage managers, as well as actors). In the scope of the festival, we wanted to provide many opportunities for both artists and audience."
All in all, Reay has many reasons to be excited about the festival. "This is only our second year, and looking at how much we’ve grown, I really feel this festival is going to take off. If you look at the success of NEXTfest, we really have the opportunity to be that successful as well here in Calgary. Hopefully in a couple of years, IGNITE! will be an established festival that people look forward to attending." |
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