First look at week 2 from the curatorial department
January 09, 2014
There’s just so much to look forward to during the 2014 PuSh International Performing Arts Festival! It seems like only yesterday I wrote the week one of PuSh Festival round-up, and already we are only FIVE sleeps away from the 10th Anniversary Gala Performance of Super Night Shot which literally launches the Festival off from the streets of Vancouver and into new territories!
Speaking of new territories, week two of the Festival delves into greater programming depths with the PuSh Assembly. The Assembly offers industry insiders and arts aficionados the opportunity to share best practices, ideas and perspectives throughout the three weeks of the PuSh Festival. Tim Etchells (The Quiet Volume, 2014), one of our artists-in-residence, will present a solo performance of Sight is the Sense that Dying People Tend to Lose First (performed by Jim Fletcher) at the newly renovated Fox Cabaret on Main Street. This one-time only performance is a long free-associating monologue that tumbles comedically from topic to topic, in an attempt to catalogue all that we encounter in the world. Join us for this FREE special event on Monday, January 20, by registering for the event with your Assembly Pass. The next day, Tim Etchells will deliver a keynote talk at the Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema at SFU Woodwards. Unlike all of the other performances the Festival this year, where we’ve either seen the work live or on video, this keynote event is a one-time talk created just for PuSh. I can’t wait for what’s in store!
If that wasn’t enough, week two of the PuSh Assembly then culminates with Desire Lines, a workshop led by Andy Field and Deborah Pearson from Forest Fringe in the UK. Desire Lines is a 2-day workshop that takes place at the Vancouver Art Gallery, focusing on how artistic practice (from a performance and live art perspective) feeds and informs curatorial practice.
On the mainstage, be sure to catch Phil Soltanoff. Seriously, Norman has not stopped talking about this one. For those who want to enhance their L.A. Party/An Evening with William Shatner Asterisk experience with a gastronomic event, ACT 1: EAT 1 is a pairing of the culinary arts and the performing arts with Dine Out Vancouver Festival. You’ll be joined by PuSh artists, insiders and fellow audience members in an intimate group of adventure-seekers at Bitter Tasting Room before the talkback performance on January 22.
If there’s going to be one all-nighter that you pull during PuSh Festival this year, my bet is Friday, January 24. Start your night at Club PuSh for a night of Vancouver drag herstory with Tucked and Plucked (hosted by Isolde N. Barron and Peach Cobblah), then head over to the Vancouver Art Gallery for FUSE, curated by Vanessa Kwan –who is also a part of Swan Song (for Cats) in week three of the Club. And remember, if you are a PuSh passholder or a member of the Vancouver Art Gallery admission is FREE!
Fiona Black has exquisite taste in music and I’d love to see what’s on her iPod playlist. One of her picks at the Festival is programming a late night show at the Club, Ethiopian power trio Krar Collective.
Finally, cap off the week with Ryeberg Live, a curated (and literary) take on You Tube videos. Take Tim Carlson’s word for it.
Sleep in on Monday, then join us for the closing week!
Joyce Rosario, Associate Curator
PuSh International Performing Arts Festival