field notes | going outside
Notes from our AD, Kaitlin Williams, about making theatre and creating community.
The thing we do is alive and in-person – but does it need to be inside?
This is what I was thinking about in March 2020, about 10 days into a global pandemic that would go on to decimate our industry. I was unemployed, all future gigs were canceled, and I was sitting on my couch doing the math about the future of our biz. I knew that if we wanted to do our thing safely and in person, we were going to have to go outside. This made me think of my colleague and friend Chelsea Haberlin. We went to theatre school together at the University of Victoria where she, and some others, began a company that specialized in site-specific outdoor theatre. I did a number of shows with them and spent many a happy summer tromping through forests and parks performing to adventurous audiences. Thinking about this, on March 22nd, 2020 I sent Chelsea this email:
Hey Chels,
You’ve likely already thought of this, but this morning I was brainstorming what theatre could look like in the coming weeks/months (years?) and the idea I came up with looks a lot like what we used to do with ITSAZOO.
Could we do micro-performance outside safely? Audience of 10 people (maybe 20) spaced out sitting on the grass in an open area. One or two performers, or maybe a rotating roster of performers, but never more than a few onstage at a time to protect the distance requirement. Makes me think of the hill in QE park where we used to do shows. Maybe the audience could safely rove and different performers would be in different areas of the park?
Anyway, obviously not something to produce today, tomorrow or even in a month…but maybe the summer? If this keeps going like this I think “regular” theatre buildings might feel unsafe for a while, but we may be able to attract some folks outside in a scenario like this?
-K
Chelsea, wisely, wasn’t quite ready to dive into this at the time. But fast-forward a few months and I was in my new position as AD at Pacific Theatre and Chels resurfaced this idea of an outdoor summer show – this time as a co-pro between PT and the company she was AD of, Neworld Theatre. We began talking and planning in September and the idea for Gather: Stories in Nature was born.
The concept art for GATHER – created by Shari-Anne Vis.
In this year of constant uncertainty and shifting plans the only thing I could really hang onto was that PT was going to go outside this summer. I didn’t know much else, but I knew that. It was a relief to have one thing that felt certain and safe.
Chelsea and I each chose an artist to commission for this project, and for me the choice was easy. Shayna Jones is not a stranger to PT: she apprenticed with us in 2013 and gave an award-winning performance in Ruined in 2018. We reconnected this year through PT’s The Makers Collective and she stunned me with her writing and storytelling, even over zoom. I shared the idea of doing theatre in a park this summer and she quickly accepted the commission. Shayna has written an intense, provocative piece that would be perfectly at home at our space at 12th and Hemlock – but it will be magic under the sound of the rustling trees in QE park.
Shayna Jones, half of the performance/playwright team for GATHER. Photo by Kathryn Nickford.
My relationship to land and creation has deepened throughout the pandemic – you? Last spring, when I wasn’t busy sending emails to Chelsea, I got a tiny plot at a community garden a few blocks from my house. This was my first time endeavoring to grow my own food and that experience ended up being truly profound. Digging in the dirt, caring for my seedlings, watching them sprout, sharing tomatoes and kale with neighbours – it felt like a gift and the garden left me in wonder daily. There’s a Thomas Merton quote I love: “Nothing has ever been said about God that hasn’t already been said better by the wind and the pine trees.” That’s it. I really believe that and it certainly deepened this last year when being inside and around people was suddenly life-threatening. On days when my anxiety was getting the best of me a walk in my neighborhood, or some time spent digging in my garden, settled my spirit right away.
So, although it is a first for us, it feels quite natural for Pacific Theatre to be taking a show outdoors. Perhaps a more natural fit than doing digital theatre. As a company we are prized for our intimacy and truthful performances. Though the venue is different, you can still expect that at Gather: Stories in Nature.
It’s funny looking back at that email now and seeing what came of it. Lots of what I was dreaming up in March 2020 has come to fruition in August 2021. We have ended up with a small show, in Queen Elizabeth Park, featuring some remarkable artists. We’re working with old friends and making lots of new ones. We’re poised to announce a (hopeful) return to shows in our alley theatre this fall. Before that though, in this moment, this summer, we’re doing something alive and in person. Hope to see you there.
– Kaitlin
GATHER: STORIES IN NATURE runs Aug 3-14 in Queen Elizabeth Park.
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