Go Further to the Left at the Live-In

From October 1 through 31, 2015, DaPoPo Theatre invites the community to gather in an intimate setting for performances, play readings and discussions, skill-share workshops, special events and social times. We value the gathering of artists and audiences in the discovery, experience and creation of theatre and look forward to sharing this festival again with you. 

Further to the Left Manifesto:

We are not Marxists. We are theatre artists who believe that social equality is a good thing. Do we oppose social hierarchies and inequalities? Yes. At least insofar as we believe in creating opportunities for the disadvantaged, the under-waged, and the oppressed. 

DaPoPo believes in cooperation, and mutual respect between art-makers, art-takers, rule-breakers, and foundation-shakers. 

We have organized the Live-In Festival with a sense of community skill-sharing. We embrace the grassroots model of natural and spontaneous community art. We run this Festival without government or big business funding. We rely on the generosity and support of our participants, volunteers, donors, and other community supporters. 

We believe in the power of the people, and the healing potential of shared culture and, well, a live-in festival. 

We invite you to be part of the fun, the work, the play, and help us make this month inclusive, exciting, educational, and whatever else you want it to be. 

Check out our  line-up of events by clicking on one of the following:
Go to Play Reading Series
Go to Late Night Reading Series
Go to Workshops
Go to Performances
Go to Special Events

Also, find out what our super-duper Artists-in-Residence will be up to.

The festival this year is coordinated by Garry Williams with Kristi Anderson and Kim Parkhill. DaPoPo welcomes apprentice Christine Rankin and thanks Trevor Poole for his design contributions.

Williams, with beard

 GARRY WILLIAMS is DaPoPo's Artistic Director. He is the overall coordinator of DaPoPo's Live-In Festival 2015. This year, he will be workshopping a musical about gays in the holocaust, KAMP, with Jamie Bradley, and collaborating with Kristi Anderson & Guillermo Verdecchia on DaPoPo's FEAR Project.

Anderson, in fire light

KRISTI ANDERSON is a long standing member of DaPoPo Theatre. This year's Live-In finds her singing, writing, coordinating, compiling - basically doing what she does best: a little bit of everything. Kristi is busy practising for HITS! or Halifax Indie Theatre Sings and Steph Berntson's Protest Song for Children. 

Parkhill, in mirror

KIM PARKHILL is a long-time core artist of DaPoPo. For this, her seventh Live-in Festival, she's blog-wrestling, spread-sheeting, communicating, number-counting and generally supporting coordination. She looks forward to greeting everyone at the terrific events (all while working on her newest playscript and dreaming of a future creation which may involve many people sitting).

Rankin, with shells

CHRISTINE RANKIN is entering her fourth year of a Combined Honours degree in Theatre Studies & Creative Writing with a Minor in Italian Studies at Dalhousie University. Having grown up as a competitive figure skater, Christine developed a strong love for performance and movement. At university, she has worked on a variety of Dalhousie Theatre Society productions such as pantomimes, Chekhov’s Three Sisters, and Rent: The Musical. Christine is currently working as DTS's 2015-2016 President, as a co-director for Little Women: The Musical, and as the choreographer for Red Riding Hood: The Pantomime. She is extremely grateful and excited for the opportunity of a FSPA apprenticeship at DaPoPo Theatre, and cannot wait to delve into the theatre world through experiential learning and explore the creative process involved in playwriting and directing.

Rusell, with jazz hands

QUINCY RUSSELL is a Halifax-based artist, who, often meagrely supports his artist life-style by cooking. A long-time theatre enthusiast, relatively recent performer, long-time shape shifter, exploring the world of things to do, for whom, cooking has been his most consistent occupation, Quincy is at home when in the kitchen. Enjoying the creativity, and chemistry of cooking and consuming food, his experience cooking has seen him cooking full restaurant fare from a truck, farm-fresh inspired entrees for hundred with volunteers, and hosting 50 seat pop-up restaurant sittings from home, He is excited to merge his experience, and inner Italian Nona's Instincts to feed friends, and his new found ambition for learning and sharing in performance for this years Live-In Festival.

Poole, with kitchen

TREVOR POOLE is a Halifax native who enjoys creating magic and performance art for the theatre  He comes from a background in graphic design and art, and has found another kind of creative family having been invited to design posters and programs for a theatre festival audience for  DaPoPo Theatre. His new play The Line of the Heart will be part of the Late Night Series and he will be one of the Festival's Artists-in-Residence as well.

Pettipas, with longer hair

ASHLEY PETTIPAS graduated this spring from St. Francis Xavier University with first class honours in marketing. She has been involved in her high school plays both on stage and behind the scenes and spent the past two summers with Festival Antigonish Summer Theatre doing public relations and photography. She also volunteers for Theatre Antigonish during the winter season as often as she can – any excuse to spend more time hiding in the wings of the cozy Bauer Theatre. She is a newcomer to DaPoPo and hopes to help spread the word at Live-In this year as she fills the role of Public Relations Coordinator!
http://apshamrockarts.wix.com/apphotography

Thank you!

A gracious and grateful shout out to our sponsors, supporters and collaborators!

 Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre

The Halliburton and Stories
5184 Morris St., Halifax

Theatre Nova Scotia












Playwrights Guild of Canada







Halifax Central Library

Fountain School of Performing Arts

 Halifax Grammar School




1313 Hollis *  The Waiting Room & Kazan Co-op * The Villain's Theatre * Vocalypse * Halifax Theatre for Young People * TheatreSpeak * Transitus * Zuppa Theatre * Taboo Theatre *

Special Events

DaPoPo enjoys a good talk and a good time. This year we run the gamut of special events, from lectures to potlucks to dance parties!

Come and join us! 

Saturday, September 26, 8 pm (Doors open 7:30 pm)
The PARC (Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre) Cabaret
LOCATION: 1313 Hollis Street 

DaPoPo is pleased to co-host this lineup of regional playwrights sharing from their own works. Featuring readings by Wendy Lill, Juanita Peters, Dan Bray, Jamie Bradley, Michael McPhee, Gillian Clarke, Lita Llewelyn, Ryan Griffith and Brian Downey. Food, beverages, and a great time to be had by all. Admission and concessions are by donation (cash only); please join us!

Saturday, October 3, 10:00 am
DaPoPo Sells Out!
LOCATION: TNS Living Room, 2353 Agricola
We work very hard not to betray our principles, so please read that catchy title as a hopeful prediction of the outcome of this SUPER DUPER YARD SALE. We're cleaning out our props and costume store, probably some books and other odds n ends. Bring your gold and silver in exchange for treasure. 

Yummies also available.

 

Saturday, October 3
Doors open at 7:00 pm
The HIT Book 3rd Anniversary Celebration Triumvirate
PANEL DISCUSSION * PERFORMANCE * DANCE PARTY
LOCATION: The Waiting Room, 6040 Almon St.
ADMISSION: $10 per event/ $20 for all three (suggested)

The Halifax Indie Theatre book first came to life in October 2012, born out of a desire for more people to know about the eclectic and vibrant theatre being created on a regular basis in Halifax. Focusing on independent works (often non-venued, professional or semi-professional groups), it is a zine-style brochure produced bi-monthly to help support, promote, and celebrate Haligonian theatre.

A triumvirate of activities to take in: Check out the PANEL DISCUSSION, PERFORMANCE, and DANCE PARTY!!!

 
7:30 PM
Panel Discussion: Selling Art or Selling Out
moderated by HIT Book creator, Colleen MacIsaac
with guests Sharon Pollock, Emmy Alcorn, Tessa Mendel, Kathryn MacLellan, Lee-Anne Poole & Juanita Peters 
Co-sponsored by Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre (PARC)

LOCATION: The Waiting Room, 6040 Almon St.
Reservations strongly recommended
Admission by donation. $10 suggested, cash or cheque at the door
 
9:00 PM
PERFORMANCE: I'm Doing This For You by Haley McGee
LOCATION: The Waiting Room, 6040 Almon St.

Click here for show details. I'm Doing This For You

 

IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING the PERFORMANCE
DANCE PARTY
LOCATION: The Waiting Room, 6040 Almon St.

Raise a glass to the HIT Book's 3rd birthday and help us kick the Live-in Festival into HI GEAR by bustin' out your best moves with your buddies.






Wednesday, October 7, 7:00 - 8:30 pm
All for a Pair of Black and White Shoes: Politics and the Plays of Clifford Odets
A Lecture by Steve Cloutier with scenes performed by DaPoPo Theatre 
LOCATION: Paul O’Regan Hall, Halifax Central Library
Free

We are super excited to have lecturer (and Marxist) extraordinaire, Stephen Cloutier, give a compelling look at the politics of Clifford Odets' oeuvre. Director and critic Harold Clurman called Clifford Odets the most gifted American playwright since Eugene O'Neill. Odets engaged with the social debates of his time. Gaining prominence in the 1930s as a member of the famed Group Theatre, he would eventually be caught up in the paranoia of the McCarthyist Red Scare of the 1950s. From his earliest play about a strike by taxi drivers to his later plays that expose the façade of Hollywood superficiality and hypocrisy, Odets shows the daily struggle between the dreams and desires of the individual and the dehumanizing, conformist demands of Twentieth Century Capitalism. Replete with anecdotes, anathema and actors performing select scenes from Odets plays, this is one not to miss.

Born in Halifax and raised in Sackvegas, Stephen Cloutier received his PhD from the University of Leicester (United Kingdom). He wrote DaPoPo's second ever show ("The Modern World: A Political Love Story") and contributed to "13 Ways at Looking at a Madman". He currently teaches part-time at St. Mary's University.

Monday, October 12, 6:00 pm
Thanksgiving Potluck
SECRET IDYLLIC COUNTRY LOCATION! ;)

A Live-in Tradition, with a TWIST!
We'll bring the turkey, you bring yourself, a plate & cutlery, beverage of choice, plus a dish to share with the gathering. 

RSVP to receive location details and let us know if you have your own transportation, can offer car pool space or need a lift. And we'll figure it out from there! 
Gobble gobble! 

Wednesday, October 21, 6:00 – 7:00 PM
Book Launch: Using the Creative Arts for Transformational Learning by Tessa Mendel
LOCATION: The Company House, Halifax
Open to all: refreshments served
Free

This comprehensive resource offers educators, artists, and community workers an innovative approach to using the creative arts in their work.

“Part memoir, part work-book, part-theory, part exercise-guide, this is a must-read and must-use book for any arts practitioner interested in personal and social change.”
             Rose Adams, Artist and Educator, Foundation Faculty, NSCAD University

“Read this book! Its pages will inspire and guide artists, adult educators, and activists to create meaningful arts-based opportunities for personal and social change.”
           Terri Whetstone, Artist and Executive Director, 4Cs Foundation, Nova Scotia

Workshops

 
Workshop? Why isn't it called playshop? 

Typically fun, lively, challenging and informative, Live-In workshops provide an opportunity to learn or try new skills and to share creatively in a supportive, encouraging setting. 

Whether you're interested in trying something new, continuing your training/education, or just plain curious, you are welcome.

PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED
Space is limited, so register early by emailing dapopolivein@gmail.com
Pre-payment is required to hold your space.
If we fill up, we will take a waiting list. Last year we accommodated almost all wait-list people due to cancellations and/or easing of maximum limits. 

FEES: Admission for workshops is $20 suggested minimum donation. No one will be turned away; larger donations also welcomed. Proceeds go toward facilitator honorariums and festival expenses.

BONUS for Festival Participants: MORNING TRAINING CLASS with Alexis Milligan
Monday – Friday starting Oct. 13, 10:00am – 11:30am 
LOCATION: Halifax Dance
As musicians to their instrument, as the dancer to their plié, great things can come from the simple act of practice. Morning class is a training opportunity designed for all artists at any level to come and practice their craft. These classes may sometimes include hoops, sometimes sound and song, sometimes with dance parties and sometimes with all of these combined...and more.

In partnership with DaPoPo’s Live-In, Transitus opens this class for a PWYC rate during October for anyone participating in/attending two or more Live-In events.

Classes will continue to run into November for those wishing to carry on with the training, with discount class cards available for purchase.

Early October

JUST FOR YOU: a one-on-one session with Sharon Pollock

Co-sponsored by Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre (PARC)

In early October, internationally-renowned playwright Sharon Pollock will meet individually with a maximum of four playwrights in Halifax: the topic of discussion - your play. This workshop is for writers who have a play in hand and are looking for constructive feedback before embarking on the next draft or offering it to a producer.

*Interested playwrights should submit their play electronically to dapopolivein@gmail.com with the subject line JUST FOR YOU prior to Sept. 15, 2015.

Sharon will select four playwrights from the submissions.They will be notified by Sept. 20, 2015

Sunday, October 4, 1 - 5 pm

BOOT CAMP FOR PLAYWRIGHTS with Sharon Pollock

Co-sponsored by Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre (PARC)

If you’re looking for a way to recharge or strengthen your playwriting muscles why not take a four hour leap into quickie exercises, collective imaginings and group dialogue led by playwright Sharon Pollock. The objective: to stimulate your creative urges while offering some hints and tips on creating character, dialogue, plot, structure and spectacle.

Max. 12 participants

Sharon Pollock has worked as an actor, director, playwright, dramaturge, artistic director and administrator, with stage plays produced throughout Canada and abroad. She is the recipient of numerous awards recognizing excellence in drama, including, two Governor General’s Drama Awards (“Blood Relations” and “Doc”) The Canada Australian Literary Award for her body of work, a Japan Foundation Award, The National Theatre School of Canada’s Gascon Thomas Award, and was recently made an Officer of The Order of Canada. Since 2006 she has served as Dramaturg and Librettist with The Atlantic Ballet Company of Canada, most recently on their national touring production of Ghosts of Violence. Pollock has led numerous playwriting and theatre workshops at various institutions, online at Frank Moher’s http//e-script.wa and on a personal mentorship basis. Since 2006, and in addition to her on-going theatre work, she has served as Dramaturg and Librettist with the Atlantic Ballet Company of Canada. www.sharonpollock.com

Saturday, October 17, 2 - 5 pm

SINGING WITH THE WHOLE BODY with Claire Leger 

In this workshop, performers can dive into their own physical experience and start to build connections between their body, voice, and community. Through targeted yoga postures, movement explorations, and gentle singing exercises, we will discover how to unlock and release physical tension that we hold onto as performers, and explore the deep value of community to group singing.

Through explorations in breath and movement, we will look at ways of knowing via individual and collective embodied experience, and the archival abilities of the body and voice to act as wells of material to draw from in the process of performance creation.  The voice and body, in their interconnectivity, act as a depository for memory, trauma, history, and experience. This type of embodied knowing or understanding is central to a performance practice that is initiated first from the relationship between voice and body. 

When viewed holistically, we can consider vocal expression on an important anatomical level. As air moves through the vocal folds, the frequency of the vibration and the resonance of the vocal tract causes sound. The intrinsic nature of vocal sound as vibratory means that its power extends through the entire body, not just the vocal tract. While we are subject to comparable vibrational effects, our awareness of the powerful connection between sound, vibration, and the body is limited, and not taught in a typical musical classroom or choral setting. For singers, it is thus often a process of relearning how to notice the effects of tension on the body and voice before any work can be done to release some of that tension.

All levels of experience and training are welcome. Wear comfortable clothing and bring a yoga mat or beach towel.

Claire Leger is the Co-Artistic Director and Choreographer of Xara Choral Theatre, where she creates original performance works blending choral music, choreography, and theatre. She holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Performance from the University of British Columbia and is a certified 200-hour hatha vinyasa yoga instructor. In 2012 Claire premiered her original chamber choral theatre work “The Record of the Lonely House” in Halifax and British Columbia. Recently in collaboration with the Canadian Chamber Choir, Claire co-created a piece for choir and solo performer, Icarus in the Sea, which has toured Nova Scotia, southern Ontario, and British Columbia. She has taught Yoga for Singers workshops at Podium, Canada’s national choral conference, at Acadia University, and annually at the Nova Scotia Choral Federation’s Adult Choir Camp.

Wednesday, October 21st, 1:30 - 5:30 pm

HUMAN VALUE SYSTEMS with Vijay Padaki

An Open Workshop for Actors and Non-Actors

The workshop will first explore the behavioural science basis of human values and then go on to the relevance of this understanding to real life situations – character building for the actor and relationship building for community members.

Vijay Padaki is a theatre educator based in Bangalore (India). His work in the theatre is greatly enriched by his professional background in the behavioural sciences, especially in the areas of behaviour and social change.  He has found this valuable in helping actors in extending their range. Central to his training methodology is a deeper understanding of oneself, coming to grips with blocks preventing a wider range of exploration in character. Among the innovations in his training methodology is the mix of actors and members of the community in the same training group.

Vijay Padaki comes to Nova Scotia via a collaboration between Tessa Mendel, Debbie Castle (People Development Ltd.), and DaPoPo and will be sharing his wisdom in a number of NS venues during October.

Tuesday, October 27, 6 - 10 pm

IMPROV with Jamie Bradley

Learn from scratch or get a booster shot. Improv is more than just making stuff up. Okay, it's mostly that but there are tips and techniques that can be applied to improv theatre, competitive improv, barprov or getting you out of a jam onstage. Any good improv scene or play is based on the foundations: offers & acceptance, status, character, focus, advancing actions and listening (harder than you think). We'll finish up the class with some shortform and longform scene work.

Jamie began improvising in 1984 with the Halifax Theatresports League. Jamie has performed in international improv festivals and competitions in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal and around the Maritimes. Being awarded a Bronze Medal at the 1988 Olympic Arts Festival and the inaugural Robert Gravel Trophy at the Just For Laughs Festival's Improv Olympics confuses Jamie slightly because all he did was make stuff up. Jamie was also a member of the Improv Knights and a founding member of the legendary improv theatre company, Scriptwreck'd. Jamie has been training improvisors since 1989 and finds that bios use the subject's names far too often.