Her Cooking Smells Like Death | Nicole Charlton Goodbrand (Calgary)
In Her Cooking Smells Like Death, audiences delve into the psyche of Birdie, a middle-aged woman entangled in her husband's mysterious disappearance. This work examines the extremes of human emotions and the grotesque nature of intimacy, revealing the dark complexities of love, loss, and identity.
Credits:
- Creator, Choreographer, and Performer: Nicole Charlton Goodbrand
- Digital and Projection Artist: Derek Demassi
- Dramaturg: Barbara England
- Outside Eye and Mentor: Melissa Monteros
- Voice Recording: Travis Goodbrand
- Understudy: Taylor McLeod
- Special thanks to Davida Monk, Catherine Hayward and Helen Husak
a practice: Misinterpretation (a performance) | Tia Ashley Kushniruk (Edmonton) and Philip Geller (Toronto)
A tirade of sonic innuendo to pop culture, Bouffon about the escapism of being White passing, and ultimately grief through burnout, a practise: Misinterpretation (a performance) unveils the constant fight to be true to yourself even when being White might be the easiest option.
Credits:
- Created by Tia Ashley Kushniruk 亚 女弟 and Philip Geller
- Rehearsal Assistant: Jake W. Hastey
- Sound Design: Philip Geller and Jon Kereliuk
- Lighting Design and Stage Manager: Trent Crosby
- Photographer: Susannah Haight
- Special Thanks: Centre for Indigenous Theatre, Sweet Action Theatre, Nathaniel “Natty” Justanio, Clarke Blair, Joe Rogan, Jonathan Burrows, and SGSDance
Melon Piece | The Biting School, Arash Khakpour (Vancouver)
Melon Piece is a symbolic portrayal of human dilemmas. It is a story about the primal and maturing self in constant transformation. It is a study of our contradictory desires—those we choose to act upon, and the ones we suppress and repress—through different stages of our lives.
The performer unearths embodied memories of love, joy and play to create a distracting playground of desire to drown in. Melon Piece is a living portrait of a man finding himself lost in a world of abundance.
You are born. There's your brain. There, are your memories. It is red. It is a melon.
When life hands you melons... you take them... you...
Credits:
- Performer/Choreographer: Arash Khakpour
- Creative Consultant: Raïna von Waldenburg
- Set Piece Designer: Hamidreza Jadid
- Costume Stylist: Elika Mojtabaei
- Composer: Alex Mah
- Lighting Designer: Jessica Han
- Project support: Aryo Khakpour
- Photographer: Parjad Sharifi
- Special thanks to: Heather Lamoureux, Kelly McInnes, Aryo Khakpour, Debora Gordon, Elham Akbari, Saba Asadi, Carolina Bergonzoni, Faranak Sadeghi, battery opera/David McIntosh, Chu-Lynne Ng, Sally at Sunrise Market.
“If there’s a downside to the work, it’s that it gives us merely a taste of Khakpour’s capacity for compelling, kinetic movement; we’re left hungry for more.” -Gail Johnson