Podcasts
PuSh Play: New Episodes for 2024
On the stage, in the rehearsal studio, and now: in your podcast library! PuSh Play, our freshly-pressed podcast, is now online. Join Gabrielle Martin, PuSh’s Director of Programming, in conversation with PuSh artists who are pushing boundaries and playing with form.
New episodes weekly, wherever you listen to podcasts!
Season 2
Episode 21: Breakthroughs (2007) | (Jul 23)
Gabrielle chats with Julie-anne Saroyan, co-founder, artistic director and creative producer of Vancouver’s Small Stage, which broke through in the early PuSh Festivals.
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Show Notes
Gabrielle Martin and Julie-anne discuss:
- The origin of Small Stage
- The first few PuSh Festivals and how Small Stage suddenly found a wide audience
- Beginning as a stage manager
- The role of experimentation and the cabaret format
- What it means to be a “Test Kitchen” in performance and production
- How to mix genre and style in dance
- How the formula of Small Stage has evolved and been tinkered with over the years
- Evolution is curation: How Julie-anne has fostered other artists
- The can-do attitude of the PuSh Festival
About Julie-anne Saroyan
The beating heart at the core of Small Stage is the co-founder, artistic director and creative producer, Julie-anne Saroyan.
A visionary leader with a keen eye for emerging talent, her spirit resides at the core of what has made Small Stage an iconic presence for over 20 years.
Saroyan’s artistic practice includes dance, stage and production management, lighting and costume design and digital software, media and design thinking.
More than 20 years after launching, Small Stage has evolved beyond a singular focus on dance to embrace a broader world of performance, visual arts and music and bring it to the public through non-traditional venues.
Small Stage productions blend live and digital platforms to create powerful and innovative mixed-reality performances in the public realm. The work is centred around reducing barriers and elevating dance, music, and performing arts to become more accessible to a broader audience. Simultaneously, Small Stage equips artists with opportunities to extend their reach beyond the limitations of a physical venue by embracing technology and innovation.
Saroyan’s work is recognized for fostering the growth of emerging dance artists and musicians and growing audiences with works in both live and digital realms. She continues investigating new technologies and digital strategies to tell stories and bring people as close to art as possible.
In 2001, Saroyan co-founded Movement Enterprises (MovEnt) and launched the long-running series Dances for a Small Stage in Vancouver. Dances for a Small Stage shows each featured a curated set of 5-7 minute dance performances that showcase a wide variety of styles and genres of dance, presented in non-traditional venues and beer halls better known for punk rock shows than sophisticated modern dance performances.
This innovative approach exposed new audiences to all forms of dance, including Contemporary, Ballet, Urban, Tap, Flamenco, Bhaṅgṛā, Indian Classical, Chinese and Japanese Classical and Contemporary, Scottish Highland, Burlesque and many others. The unique and compelling series was an instant classic, producing over fifty instalments over 20 years in Vancouver, including three shows in Ottawa at the National Arts Centre.
Since launching in 2001, Julie-anne has been the engine that drives the company forward. Her passion for dance and the arts and her deep knowledge of history and culture combine with her ability to coordinate, organize, and inspire others to rally for her cause.
Beyond Dances for a Small Stage, Saroyan has worked with a variety of dance artists and companies, including Ballet BC, Margie Gillis, Emily Molnar and Crystal Pite/Kidd Pivot, whom she toured with Internationally for more than ten years. She also was on Faculty at Simon Fraser University from 2005-2007 as the Production/Stage Management Instructor in the School for the Contemporary Arts.
Saroyan has also worked extensively in Corporate Special Events, creating and producing large-scale awards shows and team-building events in Vancouver and internationally, including Barcelona, Malta & Phoenix and Hawaii. Clients include BP International Engineering Conferences, Nike, Visa International and Buckingham Palace.
In 2014, Saroyan mentored under Farooq Chaudhry in London, UK. His ideas and concepts surrounding the role of the cultural entrepreneur in the dance world are fundamental to Saroyan’s approach.
Saroyan holds a BFA in Dance and Technical Theatre from York University in Toronto and trained at The Banff Centre in 1993 for Dance Stage Management, Executive Lab at Vantage Point in 2015 and New Fundamentals: Leadership for the Creative Ecology at The Banff Centre in 2016.
She is well known for her ability to build capacity for the arts through cross-sectoral collaborations, strategic partnerships, and mutually beneficial alliances.
Her work in the dance sector includes incubating new choreographic work and developing promising artists through uniquely designed workshops, mentorships, and hands-on residencies.
Julie-anne challenges artists to push boundaries and explore new styles and movements. Their dedication and passion are a continual source of inspiration for Saroyan.
Land Acknowledgement
This conversation was recorded on the unceded, stolen and ancestral territories of the Coast Salish Peoples: the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), colonially known as Vancouver.
It is our duty to establish right relations with the people on whose territories we live and work, and with the land itself.
Show Transcript
A complete transcript of this episode will be available soon.
Episode 20: Collaboration and Collision (2006) | (Jul 16)
Gabrielle chats with Sherry J. Yoon and Jay Dodge, Artistic Directors of Boca del Lupo, about their early productions at the PuSh Festival from 2006, and how they’ve witnessed change over the years.
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Full episode coming soon.
Show Notes
Gabrielle Martin, Sherry and Jay discuss:
- Collaboration as a core tenet of creativity
- Collision and confluence of difference
- Norman Armour’s early influence and guidance of the work
- How Vancouver’s performing arts scene was dynamic at the time and has evolved since
- How Boca del Lupo’s 2006 show, “The Perfectionist,” was envisioned and created
- The artistic impetus for Boca’s later shows, such as “My Dad, My Dog”
- The power and importance of international collaboration
- How has the artistic practice evolved over the years, and what has remained consistent?
- What is the right container or shape for the content you want to show?
- How has the cultural context of PuSh changed over the years?
- What makes the PuSh Festival about relationships, not just transactions?
About Boca del Lupo
Led by Artistic Directors Sherry J. Yoon and Jay Dodge.
Sherry J. Yoon is a co-creator and director of the company’s original productions and Jay Dodge’s writing, performances and designs are central in Boca del Lupo’s shows. During the tenure of the pair, the company has received numerous awards including Jessies for Outstanding Design, Outstanding Production, Significant Artistic Achievement and Outstanding Performance; the Critic’s Choice Award for Innovation; and the Alcan Performing Arts Award.
For Boca del Lupo, collaboration is the core tenet of our creativity. Working across cultures and disciplines our productions are energized by the collision and confluence of difference. Since our inception in 1996, our artistic focus has been one that explores cultural hybridity and interdisciplinary through consciously convening artists from diverse backgrounds and giving them voice within the work through our established processes. We also have a well-established track record in touring, a strong level of engagement with our professional arts services organizations and meaningful outreach into the community. We proudly take our place as a theatre company that relentlessly expands creative possibilities through unprecedented innovations and partnerships with a repertoire that includes 60 original creations and unique presentations.
Boca del Lupo has a foundation in theatre but has evolved into a multi-disciplinary company often partnering with artists and organization that are beyond the conventional boundaries of our form and our sector.
About Sherry J. Yoon
Sherry J. Yoon, Artistic Director of Boca del Lupo, is a theatre creator and director with a passion for creating new performances through collaborative pursuits. With Boca del Lupo, Sherry has co-created more than 35 productions, including: Fall Away Home, an intergenerational site-specific production in the forest of Stanley Park; Photog, a large-scale show that toured across Canada and was created with interviews from prominent conflict photographers; and You Are It, as part of the Silver commissions from the Arts Club Theatre that investigates the complex dynamics between female friendships. During Sherry’s tenure, the company has received numerous awards, including the Rio Tinto Alcan Performing Arts Award, and Jessie Awards for Outstanding Production, Design, Actor, Ensemble, as well as the Critic’s Choice Innovation Award. Her productions have toured festivals and venues across Canada, Europe and Mexico. She co-created an online exhibition of Expedition, an iterative collaboration between Boca del Lupo and the Performance Corporation, and working on Net Zero, an interactive theatre installation about climate change that involves the audience charging a battery with a stationary bicycle. She is also a freelance director who has worked at the Richmond Gateway Theatre, Bard on the Beach, the Vancouver International Children’s Festival and at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa Canada.
About Jay Dodge
The Artistic Producer of Boca del Lupo since 2001, Jay Dodge was also part of the founding collective in 1996. During his tenure, the company has won the peer-assessed Alcan Performing Arts Award, and several Jesse Richardson Theatre Awards including seven nominations for the Critic’s Choice Award for Innovation and the Patrick O’Neill Award for best anthology with Plays2Perform@Home. Jay is a passionate set and video designer with Jessie Richardson Awards in both of those categories as well as a published playwright including a contribution to Boca del Lupo’s Red Phone project. His artistry is one of innovation and daring and his one man show, PHOTOG. featured interactive video, stunt rigging and verbatim text, touring to World Stage, Prismatic, Festival Trans Amerique and PuSh. Currently serving on the national board of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres, Jay also has special interest in creative space making including as co-founder of celebrated colocation space PL1422, co-founder of the Granville Island Theatre District, and as project consultant for Video In/Video Out and Left of Main.
Land Acknowledgement
This conversation was recorded on the unceded, stolen and ancestral territories of the Coast Salish Peoples: the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), colonially known as Vancouver.
It is our duty to establish right relations with the people on whose territories we live and work, and with the land itself.
Show Transcript
A complete transcript of this episode will be available soon.
Episode 19: The Beginning of PuSh (Jul 9)
Gabrielle chats about the early beginnings of PuSh with Camyar Chaichian, who helped create one of the shows from the first festival in 2005.
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Gabrielle Martin and Camyar Chaichian (Neworld) talk about:
- Norman Armour’s influence in developing both PuSh and Vancouver’s theatre scene
- The veritable artistic renaissance occurring in Vancouver at the time
- PuSh’s role as a megaphone for local voices and artists, as well as a touchstone that brought international work to the city
- How Camyar’s 2005 show, Crime and Punishment, was created with PuSh alongside from concept to realization
- The artistic struggle of maintaining a core, original vision and how this was always treated as a priority
- How we forget the past at our own peril
- How art, as well as those who make it, must rise from the ashes and create something from nothing
About Camyar Chaichian
Actor, director, writer and producer, born in 1968 in Iran, and raised there and in England and the United States. His family moved to North Vancouver British Columbia in 1980, when he was 11 years old. He graduated from the University of British Columbia (Acting, 1992; M.F.A., 2007), and currently lives in Vancouver.
In 1993 he founded Neworld Theatre in Vancouver which produced the site specific collective Devil Box Cabaret (1999), based on Four Boxes by Iranian author Bahram Beyzaee; and an adaptation of Crime and Punishment by James Fagan Tait; and the cult hit that propelled its own company, The Leaky Heaven Circus (1999-2002). He served as Artistic Producer at Neworld until 2007.
He wrote and performed in I Am Your Spy: A Day In The Life of Mordechai Vanunu with Rumble Theatre. This production toured to Calgary, Montreal, and Toronto in January, 2001. His adaptation of Quest, Trail of Mystic Poets, Rummi and Attar was produced at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre. He co-authored Hurl Hemmhorage and Heal, the Nurses Musical, which toured for the British Columbia Nurses Union.
His other plays include The Adventures of Ali & Ali and the Axes of Evil (Neworld Theatre and Cahoots Theatre Projects 2004) created with Guillermo Verdecchia and Marcus Youssef, published by Talonbooks; The Asylum of the Universe (Neworld Theatre 2003), published in Canadian Theatre Review 116 (Fall 2003); and Ali & Ali: The Deportation Hearings with Verdecchia and Youssef (Neworld 2010).
He returned to Neworld in 2016 for the twentieth anniversary of the theatre with a production entitled “Doost” (which means “friend” in Persian) that combines narrative, music and poetry to express his Sufi faith and its concepts of friendship and community.
In April 2019, his adaptation of Shakespeare’s Richard III, entitled King Richard and His Women, was performed at Seven Tyrants Theatre, with Chai as director and scenographer. As Richard lies dying on the battlefield, he is haunted by the women he has loved, hated, and destroyed.
Camyar Chai has also written two librettos, Rosa and Elijah’s Kite for Tapestry New Opera in Toronto. For the CBC he has written and broadcast sketches and commentaries. He has received a Jessie Richardson Awards for his writing.
As a director, he has worked for New Works, Touchstone Theatre, La Luna Productions and the Solo Collective Theatre. He received The Ray Michael Award for Most Promising New Director in 1999.
As an actor, he has worked for many Canadian companies including Vancouver Playhouse, Arts Club Theatre, Touchstone Theatre, Rumble Productions and Green Thumb Theatre for Young People, as well as appearing in many film and television productions. He has received a Jessie Richardson Award for his acting.
Camyar Chai is currently Program Manager, Community Cultural Development at the City of Richmond.
Land Acknowledgement
This conversation was recorded on the unceded, stolen and ancestral territories of the Coast Salish Peoples: the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), colonially known as Vancouver.
It is our duty to establish right relations with the people on whose territories we live and work, and with the land itself.
Show Transcript
A complete transcript of this episode will be available soon.
Season 1
Episode 18: Rock Climbing and Vertical Dance (Jan 15)
Gabrielle Martin speaks to Inbal Ben Haim, the artist behind PLI (also interviewed in Episode 3) and Julia Taffe of Vancouver’s Aeriosa Dance Society. They chat about the intersection of rock climbing and aerial/vertical dance.
This episode is sponsored by the French Consulate in Vancouver as part of Paris 2024. Sport climbing is one of the new disciplines of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
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See PLI at the 2024 PuSh Festival in-person from Feb 2-3 and online from February 2-4.
Learn more about PLI and buy tickets Learn more about Paris 2024Episode 17: NOMADA (Jan 11)
Gabrielle Martin discusses the upcoming PuSh co-commission, NOMADA, with creator Diana Lopez Soto. NOMADA will be presented at the 2024 PuSh Festival from February 1-3 at the Annex. Gabrielle and Diana discuss how aerial dance contributes to NOMADA’s dramaturgy, the research and development process behind this piece, and how ecology and land can connect to art.
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See NOMADA at the 2024 PuSh Festival from Feb 1-3.
Learn more about the show and buy ticketsEpisode 16: The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes (Jan 8)
Gabrielle Martin chats with Bruce Gladwin, director and co-author of The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes, which will be presented at the 2024 PuSh Festival from February 1-3 at the York Theatre. Gabrielle and Bruce discuss the show’s source and evolution, the need to place obstacles in front of actors, and how a disastrous first showing of the piece led to the show it is today.
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See The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes at the 2024 PuSh Festival from Feb 1-3. Co-presented with Neworld Theatre and The Cultch.
Learn more about the show and buy ticketsEpisode 15: DARKMATTER (Jan 4)
Gabrielle Martin discusses DARKMATTER with co-creator and choreographer Cherish Menzo. The show will be presented at the 2024 PuSh Festival from January 29-31 at the SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts. Gabrielle and Cherish discuss the “chopped and screwed” remix technique, the Black body in the context of post-humanism, and the equal roles of the beauty and the grotesque in the context of this work.
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See DARKMATTER at the 2024 PuSh Festival from Jan 29-31. Co-presented with SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs.
Episode 14: Deciphers (Dec 28)
Gabrielle Martin discusses Deciphers with co-creators Naishi Wang and Jean Abreu. The show will be presented at the 2024 PuSh Festival from January 26-28 at the Scotiabank Dance Centre. Gabrielle, Naishi and Jean dive into the development of this piece and how it was influenced by language and digital technology. They also discuss how their work tackles loneliness, the migrant experience, and the transforming nature of human identity.
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See Deciphers at the 2024 PuSh Festival from Jan 26-28. Co-presented with New Works.
Learn more about the show and buy ticketsEpisode 13: L’Amour telle une cathédrale ensevelie (Dec 21)
In this episode (présenté en français), Guy Régis Jr. sits down with Cory Haas, Artistic Director of Théâtre la Seizième, to talk about L’Amour telle une cathédrale ensevelie.
See L’Amour telle une cathédrale ensevelie Febr 3-4 at the SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts. Co-presented with Théâtre la Seizième and SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs.
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See L’Amour telle une cathédrale ensevelie at the 2024 PuSh Festival from Feb 3-4. Co-presented with Théâtre la Seizième and SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs.
Learn more about the show and buy ticketsEpisode 12: Inheritances (Dec 18)
David Pay, Artistic Director of PuSh partner Music on Main, chats with Adam Tendler about Inheritances, which will be presented from January 24-25. David and Adam discuss the story of Adam’s strange inheritance from his father that inspired the show, how the piece evolved through the work of other composers, and the “true dramatic stakes” of Inheritances.
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See Inheritances at the 2024 PuSh Festival from Jan 24-25. Co-presented with Music on Main.
Learn more about the show and buy ticketsEpisode 11: BLOT (Dec 14)
Gabrielle Martin chats with Vanessa Goodman and Simona Deaconescu about their show, BLOT – Body Line of Thought. They discuss how this unconventional performance developed through installations and iterations, the body as microbiological being, and the role of “bio-friction” in their show.
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See BLOT – Body Line of Thought at the 2024 PuSh Festival from Jan 22-23.
Learn more about the show and buy ticketsEpisode 10: because i love the diversity (this micro attitude, we all have it) (Dec 11)
Listen to Gabrielle Martin in conversation with Rakesh Sukesh about his show, because i love the diversity (this micro-attitude, we all have it), which will be presented from January 22-24. Gabrielle and Rakesh discuss topics including the philosophy of creating and moving through chaos, whether practice can be a source of healing, and the process of coming with an Indian passport to the rest of the world as an artist.
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Read the episode transcript here.
See because i love the diversity (this micro-attitude, we all have it) at the 2024 PuSh Festival from Jan 22-24. Co-presented by Indian Summer Festival and The Cultch.
Learn more about the show and buy ticketsEpisode 9: Same Difference (Dec 7)
Gabrielle Martin chats with project lead David Mesiha and dramaturg Gavan Cheema about their show, Same Difference, which will be presented from January 24-28 at the Roundhouse Performance Centre. They speak to a wide range of topics, including how audiences can best experience this mixed-media performance installation, and whether the fracture of identity can be a positive in art.
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See Same Difference at the 2024 PuSh Festival from Jan 24-28.
Learn more about the show and buy ticketsEpisode 8: Dear Laila (Dec 4)
Gabrielle Martin chats with Basel Zaraa about the installation Dear Laila, which will be presented at the 2024 PuSh Festival from January 20 to February 3. They talk about how this intimate installation uses objects to connect with patrons; how we use art to deal with personal and collective trauma; and how we can show big events as experienced by normal people.
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Read the episode transcript here.
See Dear Laila at the 2024 PuSh Festival from Jan 20-Feb 3. Co-presented by Boca del Lupo and Pandemic Theatre.
Learn more about the show and buy ticketsEpisode 7: asses.masses (Nov 30)
Gabrielle Martin discusses asses.masses with co-creators Patrick Blenkarn and Milton Lim. Their show, a performance that takes the form of a participatory video game, will be at the 2024 PuSh Festival on January 20, 27, and February 3. They talk about their collaboration, the democratization of theatre through participation, and how to make a theatre comfortable for 4+ hours.
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Read the episode transcript here.
See asses.masses at the 2024 PuSh Festival on Jan 20, 27 and Feb 3.
Learn more about the show and buy ticketsEpisode 6: LORENZO (Nov 27)
Gabrielle Martin chats with Ben Target, writer and performer of LORENZO, which will be presented at the 2024 PuSh Festival from January 18-20. They discuss how we treat the concept and theme of loss on stage, how Ben’s work has evolved from Fringe Festivals and standup comedy to his broader theatrical work today, and Ben’s mantra that “Entertainment is the engine, boring an audience is a crime and art must provide hope”.
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Read the episode transcript here.
See LORENZO at the 2024 PuSh Festival from Jan 18-20.
Learn more about the show and buy ticketsEpisode 5: Returns (Nov 23)
Gabrielle Martin chats with Nellie Gossen about her intriguing performative installation Returns at the Dance Centre, which will be part of PuSh and showing for the duration of the 2024 Festival.
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See Returns at the 2024 PuSh Festival from Jan 7-Feb 3. Co-presented with The Dance Centre.
Learn more about the installationEpisode 4: Sound of the Beast (Nov 20)
Gabrielle Martin chats with Donna-Michelle St. Bernard’s new work Sound of the Beast, which will be performed from January 20-23 at the 2024 PuSh Festival. Donna-Michelle shares why people are creating work that looks more like itself and less like each other and her relationship with the people whose stories she’s telling. What is our contribution to the lived reality that we are fictionalizing?
Read the episode transcript here.
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See Sound of the Beast at the 2024 PuSh Festival from Jan 20-23. Co-presented with Vancouver Poetry House, Rumble Theatre, and Pandemic Theatre.
Learn more about the show and buy ticketsEpisode 3: PLI (Nov 16)
Gabrielle Martin chats with Inbal Ben Haim, the Israeli circus artist behind PLI, which will be performed from February 2-3 at the 2024 PuSh Festival. They discuss how Inbal’s work draws connections between the intimate and the spectacular, what defines a work as “circus,” the power and originality of imperfection, and more.
Read the episode transcript here.
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See PLI at the 2024 PuSh Festival in-person from Feb 2-3 and online from February 2-4. Co-presented with Chutzpah! Festival.
Learn more about the show and buy ticketsEpisode 2: The Runner (Nov 13)
Gabrielle Martin chats with Christopher Morris, artistic director of Human Cargo and writer of The Runner. Urgent, visceral and complex, The Runner invites us into a nuanced exploration of our shared humanity and the value of kindness.
Episode 1: Ramanenjana (Nov 9)
A captivating docufiction performance, presented with The Dance Centre and Inner Fish, Ramanenjana is about a dance that made history, when thousands of people in Madagascar danced to drums in the capital city for weeks, as if hallucinating. Co-choreographers Simona Deaconescu and Gaby Saranouffi join Gabrielle to discuss the social role of dance, what is mass dance, and more.
Read the episode transcript here.
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See Ramanenjana at the 2024 PuSh Festival in-person from Jan 19-21 and online Jan 19-Feb 4. Co-presented with The Dance Centre and Inner Fish Performance Co.
Learn about the show and buy tickets2022 Industry Series Panel Discussions
The 2022 PuSh International Performing Arts Festival Industry Series ran from February 2-6, 2022, and included panel and round table discussions, curated pitches, walks with local artists, artist talks and select studio showings. It highlighted touring from an Indigenous perspective, multilingual creation, experiments in concept touring, Indigenous performing arts protocols, and new curatorial perspectives.
Roundtable Discussions
Indigenous Performing Arts Practices: Artistic Processes – What we Carry (With Us)
February 3, 10:00am-12:30pm Round Table Discussion Facilitated by Lindsay Lachance
Indigenous Performing Arts Presenting: Touring from an Indigenous Perspective
February 3, 2:15pm-4:45pm Round Table Discussion Facilitated by Dolina Wehipeihana
Indigenous Performing Arts Protocols: Modeling Right Relations
February 5, 1-3:00pm Round Table Discussion Facilitated by Mique’l Dangeli
Creative Producing with Rob Thomson, Bek Berger, and Anthony Gray
A creative producer sits between the creative process and the operational process in a project, orchestrating ideas, resources, and people to turn the seed of an idea into reality. Creative producers shape how a work is realized, which often impacts how the work is experienced. While it can be a difficult role to define, the Digital Cultures Research Centre (UK) describes it as one that combines attention to detail with an ability to see the big picture and make connections between the two, realizing the vision of a project and making it possible for a creative team to achieve their best. In this panel discussion, Rob Thomson (Full Circle: First Nations Performance and the Talking Stick Festival), Bek Berger (New Theatre Institute of Latvia and International Festival of Contemporary Performance, Homo Novus), and Anthony Gray (Fuel Theatre) share how they got into producing and what they’ve learned along the way. Moderated by Gabrielle Martin (PuSh Festival).
New Curatorial Perspectives; Supporting Artistic Practice
This panel brings together performance curators who are leading initiatives in supporting artistic practice, from establishing co-production networks to creating hubs of exchange; from hosting residencies and taking on production risk to sharing curation, and more. In conversation, these curators will share their perspectives on the role of presenters within the ecosystems of local and international artistic communities. Speakers include Martine Dennewald (Festival TransAmériques, Canada), Quito Tembe (International Contemporary Dance Platform KINANI, Mozambique), Erin Boberg (Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, USA), Daniel Blanga Gubbay (KUNSTENFESTIVALDESARTS, Belgium), and Fernando Zugno (Porto Alegre em Cena, Brazil). Moderated by Gabrielle Martin (PuSh Festival).
Multilingual Creation; its dramaturgy and implications
Moderated by Pedro Chamale of rice & beans theatre, this panel discussion features artists versed in multilingual storytelling. Drawing from rice & beans’ DBLSPKresearch on what is lost and gained in translation, the conversation will examine the relationship between language and culture within performance. Speakers Mayumi Yoshida, Johnny Wu, Howard Dai and Carmela Sison will be joined by Laurence Dauphinais and Nancy Saunders of Aalaapi. Part of the 2022 PuSh program, Aalaapi integrates English, French and Inuktitut in its reflection on the relative importance of speech within cultures. From their unique perspectives, these artists will share their insights on the dramaturgy and implications of multilingual creation.
Process Production and Touring
This panel discussion brings together local, national and international artists who have practice in “concept touring” or performance projects where the final product is a process that tours. Moderated by Ryan Tacata, the conversation will encompass the systems artists have devised to create processes that result in consistent products, even as a given team may be entirely different from locale to locale; where the balance is between allowing locals to input in a way that meaningfully shapes the piece while still maintaining quality control; what the difference is between Process Touring and a franchise; and how to avoid the work becoming formulaic. Speakers include: Milton Lim (Hong Kong Exile, culturecapital), Patrick Blenkarn (Guilty by Association, culturecapital), Lisa Marie DiLiberto (Theatre Direct), Darren O’Donnell (Mammalian Diving Reflex), Nassim Soleimanpour (Nassim Soleimanpour Productions), and Maiko Yamamoto (Theatre Replacement).
PuSh Walks
An innovation for these times of COVID, and an invitation: walk safely with artists through the urban spaces that have given them inspiration. The artists have recorded audio for walks of 1-2 km, with given starting and ending points; armed with a pair of headphones, audiences can journey through the city at a time of their choosing, experiencing the terrain from fresh perspectives.
Think of it as a form of interior urban renewal, with streets, parks, and other stretches of land given new dimensions and imbued with new meanings. It’s a chance to hear the artists’ voices, directly and without mediation; it’s also a way to connect people across time and space, on the common grounds of geography, history, and art.
Latest releases
Sound in Space – A PuSh Walk with Ruby Singh and Gabrielle Martin
Listen in while old friends, interdisciplinary artist and composer Ruby Singh, and PuSh’s director of Programming Gabrielle Martin, stroll around their old East Van stomping grounds at Trout Lake.
The conversation begins with revelations about the youthful duo meeting at a poetry slam; a friendship which extended into adventures in fire dancing at the lost and lamented Illuminares Festival – one of the most popular festivals in Vancouver, until its untimely demise in 2013. This eclectic arts background and love of performing has informed both Singh and Martin’s careers since. As they traverse the muddy path around the lake on this winter walk, Singh talks about his interdisciplinary work, ambi-sonic installations and the inception and evolution of his work Vox.Infold into the compelling and exhilarating sound production it is today.
PuSh Festival presents Vox.Infold from January 20-30 at Lobe Studio.
A Community Evolves: A PuSh Walk with Gabrielle Martin and James Long from Theatre Replacement
In a Brave the weather alongside PuSh’s Gabrielle Martin and Theatre Replacement’s James Long as they defy the elements on a stormy day to take a stroll around historic Strathcona; or have a listen to this fascinating conversation from your sofa, either way, it’s an interesting ride.
Beginning at the Russian Hall, James recounts the backstory behind the Soviet film reels that were discovered in an old closet next to the Russian language classroom which now serves as the Theatre Replacement office and studio. These films, sent between the 1950s and the 70s, are an upbeat promotional campaign for The Soviet Union intended to lure back Russians who had fled Stalin, and they are the inspiration for Theatre Replacement’s newest work, Do you mind if I sit here? Other topics include the gentrification and cultural history of the neighbourhood, explored while walking in some very Vancouver weather.
Listen now on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts. Explore the entire PuSh Walks series.
Credits
For PuSh Festival:
PODCAST PRODUCER Ashley Daniel Foot
More walks
Singing at Sen̓áḵw: An audio walk with Xwechtaal and Claire Love Wilson
Join Squamish cultural leader Xwechtaal (Dennis Joseph) and Scottish-Canadian multidisciplinary artist Claire Love Wilson as they walk and sing together at Sen̓áḵw. This journey brings you to the edge of what is presently known as Kitsilano, on the unceded territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil- Waututh) Nations, where you can listen alongside Claire as Xwechtaal shares stories of the land, his grandfather, and his visions for the future of Sen̓áḵw.
Available on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Listen now on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts. Explore the entire PuSh Walks series.
For PuSh Festival:
AUDIO EDITING Ashley Daniel Foot PRODUCER Ben Lange
Underground Absolute Fiction: a musical wandering between East Van and Poland, memory and fantasy
In a journey that begins on Victoria Drive, Anais West uses story and song to transport you to her mother’s homeland, Poland. From a punk concert in Praga to the bloc apartments of Communist Gdansk, she searches for queer belonging and family history. The through-line is a protest anthem, “Rota,” written by lesbian Polish poet Maria Konopnicka and then re-appropriated through the centuries by revolutionaries, nationalists, and now queer punks.
The songs and narration are part of Underground Absolute Fiction, a docu-fantasy film Anais has been writing and developing with the support of the Canada Council, the BC Arts Council, the frank theatre, Rumble Theatre and the Queer Arts Festival.
View KhattieQ’s website here.
Available on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Listen now on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts. Explore the entire PuSh Walks series.
Credits
Text by Anais West Performed by Anais West and Julia Siedlanowska
Musical credits:
“Przemoc, twoja przemoc”
Vocals: Julia Siedlanowska
Guitar & Back Up Vocals: Sara Vickruck
Keyboard & Back Up Vocals: Claire Love Wilson
Drums & Music Direction: khattieQ
Lyrics by Anais West
Translation by Łukasz Wojtysko
Arrangement by Sara Vickruck
Recording, Mixing and Mastering: Piotr Wieczorek
Adapted by Sara Vickruck, khattieQ, Julia Siedlanowska & Claire Love Wilson
from the folk song “Biedoż moja, biedo,” author unknown.
“Rota”
Sung by Julia Siedlanowska|
Written by Maria Konopnicka
Composed by Feliks Nowowiejski
Audio credits:
- “【4K】Walk in Warsaw – Nowy Swiat and Chmielna Street | Warszawa Spacer | ASMR Street Sound” by Penguin Walk
- “Aresztowanie Margot ze Stop Bzdurom i przemoc policji wobec osób demonstrujących” by Michał Szymanderski-Pastryk
- “Marsz Równości 2019 w Białymstoku – relacja” by B K
- “Old Radio Tuning into AM/FM Stations Sound Effect Free High Quality Sound FX” by Free High Quality Sound FX
For PuSh Festival:
AUDIO EDITING Ashley Daniel Foot PRODUCER Ben Lange
Here, now, and grateful: a walk through Pacific Spirit Regional Park with KhattieQ
“I am here. I am now. I am grateful.” Those soothing words mark the beginning of a journey through Pacific Spirit Park with musician, writer, and self-described “natural-born clown” KhattieQ. As the artist moves through the entrance and into the forest, the ambient wash of traffic noise recedes and the sounds become fewer, softer, and more soothing, neatly complementing her gentle voice. Full of happy musings and punctuated by KhattieQ’s rousing Latinx music, this Walk is perfect for a beautiful late summer day.
View KhattieQ’s website here.
Available on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Listen now on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts. Explore the entire PuSh Walks series.
Credits
Night Walk of Abstraction
Jean Abreu and Naishi Wang are the dance artists behind Deciphers, currently being created as part of the PuSh In Development program supported by CDm2 Lightworks.
Here, they invite you to join them in the “nowhere space” of the digital world, as they walk through their own nighttime spaces (one in London, the other in Toronto) while sharing the third, and most crucial, location with the listener. Set against a backdrop of piano, synth chords, and experimental vocals, this a haunting and moody excursion.
Available on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Listen now on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts. Explore the entire PuSh Walks series.
Credits
CREATORS Jean Abreu & Naishi Wang MUSIC AND SOUNDS Jean Abreu and Naishi Wang AUDIO EDITING Ashley Daniel Foot PRODUCER Ben Lange
DECIPHERS CREDITS Deciphers is a co-production of the National Arts Centre (NAC) Visiting Dance Artist programme a joint initiative of Canada Council for the Arts and NAC, The CanDance Network small scale Creation Fund supported and presented by Montreal Arts Interculturels, The Harbourfront Centre, the National Arts Centre and PuSh Festival.
Ulksen Spirit: a westward walking sonic experience with Jeanette Kotowich
A layered walking experience of land, water, body, histories, futures and Spirit of Ulksen: Squamish place name referring to the Burrard Peninsula, colonially known as Spanish Banks. Allow yourself to be guided by the narration, encompassed in the present moment, witnessing as much of your surroundings as possible, while simultaneously giving over to your imagination.
The sonic environment for this piece was crafted and composed by Matthew Morrish: A tapestry of field recordings, imagined spaces, echoed memories, and rhythms of the earth. Matthew creates visual, sonic, and poetic art with his ongoing Futurhythms project. He also occasionally releases electronic music under the alias Owlform.
Listen now on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts. Explore the entire PuSh Walks series.
About Jeanette Kotowich
Jeanette Kotowich is a Vancouver-based, independent, dance artist and choreographer of mixed Cree/Métis and European ancestry. Jeanette creates work that reflects protocol, ritual, relationship to the natural/spiritual world, and Indigenous futurism. Learn more about Jeanette on her website.
Recently, she sat on PuSh’s Advisory Group, supporting the organization throughout the first phase of its Organizational Review process committed to moving forward with JEDI values.
Credits
FEATURING Jeanette Kotowich IN CONSULTATION WITH Squamish Elder S7aplek (aka. Bob Baker) CREATED FOR the PuSh Festival’s PuSh Walks Series
Finding Delight in Heartbreak: An audio walk with Jesse Del Fierro
Theatre artist Jesse Del Fierro starts their Walk with a powerful acknowledgment and concludes on a note of uplift; in between, there’s a trip down memory lane, a romantic reminiscence, reflections on dealing with adversity, and tips on how to “exist as you are.” Del Fierro speaks to their listener as a close friend would, leaving space for curiosity and offering sympathy, advice, and inspiration.
Inspired by Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmiller and Ep. 692 The Show of Delights by Ira Glass and Bim Adewunmi. Constantly inspired by Natalie Tin Yin Gan, Jenna Rodgers, Jivesh Parasram, Dominique and Emilyn, and Ate Julie & Ate Jacquie.
PuSh Walks is produced by Ben Lange, Audio editing by Ashley Daniel Foot
DTES suite / burials underfoot — a furious journey with Q Lawrence
While traveling from a transit station to the Downtown East Side, Q Lawrence recites their harsh, imagistic, creatively profane poetry and plunges the listener into darkness. Follow the route Q takes in their wheelchair and hear their morbidly beautiful musings, which have the power to disturb, but also to provoke empathetic reflection. This work may be brief, but in its density and suggestive force, it contains volumes.
The following audio might contain content that may be harmful or traumatizing to some audience.
PuSh Walks is produced by Ben Lange, Audio editing by Ashley Daniel Foot
“Of peanuts and screws”, an audio walk with Njo Kong Kie
Njo Kong Kie takes a walk through the streets of Toronto, and invites you to share his journey in a place of your own choosing. The musical accompaniment is drawn from the artist’s own Picnic in the Cemetery,and it’s a delight for the ears. Interspersed with the melodic interludes are Kong Kie’s musings on ideology, interpersonal connections, Kung-Fu flicks, ambition, and more, including the true cost of our smartphones.
Text by Njo Kong Kie except the poem 一颗螺丝掉在地上 “A single screw fell to the ground” by Xu Lizhi, translated into English by Derek Kwan
Music by Njo Kong Kie, performed by Simon Claude, Alexandre Castonguay and Njo Kong Kie
Track details: Moments Cinématiques no 1, Quatrième Confession, Ljubljana, Moments Cinématiques no 11, Sweet, Toujours
Procession to New Town: an audio walk through Vancouver’s Chinatown
Join artists Ralph Escamillan and Kimberley Wong for a stroll through Vancouver’s Chinatown area. While journeying to New Town Bakery & Restaurant, Ralph and Kimberley share personal memories, historical reflections, and thoughts on the diasporic experiences that define the city. Topics include family dynamics and immigration. The walk concludes at the famous eatery, where you too can grab a delicious snack.
Starting point:
Main & Georgia, Vancouver, BC
Featuring: Ralph Escamillan, performance artist, and Kimberley Wong, writer, facilitator, and community organizer.
Accessibility: All crosswalks on this route have ramps.
PuSh Walks is produced by Ben Lange, Audio editing by Ashley Daniel Foot
Graveyards and Gardens: A walk through Mountain View Cemetery and the back alleys of Massachusetts
An adventure with dual destinations, this Walk guides listeners through East Vancouver and Amherst, Massachusetts simultaneously. Artists Caroline Shaw and Vanessa Goodman converse in real-time as they travel through a graveyard and a stretch of local forest. The dialogue is accompanied by ambient sounds—both natural and electronic. There’s a strong spectral tone to the journey(s), with memory and the knowledge of unceded land looming large.
Starting point:
If you are experiencing this walk in Vancouver, please visit Mountain View Cemetery.
If you are in Massachusetts, please take a walk in the forest.
Featuring: Caroline Shaw, composer, voice & violin, and Vanessa Goodman, choreographer
Accessibility: The East Vancouver route goes into the graveyard over a grassy patch and a curb with no ramp but if you enter from 33rd in the middle of the graveyard there is a ramp and the sidewalk turns into a driveway with no gradient adjustment.
PuSh Walks is produced by Ben Lange, Audio editing by Ashley Daniel Foot