Post National
instructions towards a post national future
“There is no core identity, no mainstream in Canada. There are shared values — openness, respect, compassion, willingness to work hard, to be there for each other, to search for equality and justice. Those qualities are what make us the first post-national state.
”
Was our stylish Prime Minister talking politics or truth? Let’s take a look...
post national is a devised performance exploring the possibility of a post-national future. The first half is a kind of message in a bottle: material designed for a group of twelve young volunteers who will perform it without ever having seen it before. Every show the audience will watch twelve different twenty-somethings who have no idea what they are getting into.
The second half is a devised performance by twelve other twenty-somethings who play themselves and tell their own stories (the graduating class of the York Theatre conservatory program in Toronto). All the words they speak onstage are words they have said before in unguarded moments.
In both cases, the show finds ways to dive deeply into the thoughts and experiences of the people who will be shaping our future.
Each group - the authors and the volunteers - will contend in different ways with the idea of borders and identity. Who we are will be laid bare. Questions will be asked:
Where were you born?
Do you think that is a good question to start with?
What question would you start with?
post national is a joint project between Volcano, Deborah Pearson and York University. The team for this project is: writer and dramaturge and Volcano associate artist Deborah Pearson; choreographer and Volcano associate artist Kate Alton; and artistic director Ross Manson. We will work together with our post national Jury of Twelve to determine where Canada stands on the idea of Nation.
VOLUNTEER CALL OUT
Want to get involved? We are looking for volunteer performers!
THE ORiGINAL 12
The 12 initial performer/creators of the project comprise the Fourth Year Acting Conservatory class at the York University Department of Theatre in Toronto. They are a diverse group, with heritage from the Caribbean, Bosnia, Korea, India, Iran, the UK, South Africa and elsewhere but they all, to some extent, identify as Canadian. They are:
Frank Chung
Maggie May Cook
Kathryn Geertsema
Asha James
Laura Mannion
Victoria Mero
Andrea Pavlovic
Sepehr Reybod
Navtej Sandhu
Dewey Stewart
Jess Wareing
Micah Woods
Each performance will feature these original 12 in the piece as well as 12 new performers who have not seen the material beforehand.
Designers:
Set Design: Lydia Connor
Costume Design: Judie Plaza
Lighting Design: Riley Pynn
Sound Design: Cilaine Maurin
Media Design: Alexandra Caprara
Show Details:
Performances take place at the Joseph G. Green Theatre, in the Centre for Film and Theatre at York University. Click here for directions.
Schedule:
- Previews Sunday Nov. 19 & Monday Nov. 20, 7:30 p.m.
- Opening Night Tuesday Nov. 21, 7:30 p.m.
- Performances Wednesday Nov. 22 to Friday Nov. 24, 7:30 p.m.
- Matinees Wednesday Nov. 22 & Friday Nov. 24, 1:00 p.m.
- Closing Saturday Nov 25, 2:00 p.m.
Please note that the performance on November 22nd at 7:30pm will be an ASL performance and the performance on November 23rd at 7:30pm it will be a Relaxed Performance.
Photography by: Dahlia Katz
Retouching by: Aaron Kelly
post national
November 19th - 25th, 2017
Joe Green Theatre, Centre for Film and Theatre, York University
85 York Boulevard, Toronto, Ontario