Announcing the Greenhouse Festival at Tarragon Theatre
Tarragon Theatre has announced the first-ever Greenhouse Festival for new work.
Under the guidance of Metcalf Creative Producer Justin Miller, the Greenhouse Festival features four artistic collectives in repertory, debuting new, in-progress works that challenge the boundaries of performance genres and celebrate creative process and evolution. The Greenhouse Festival begins public presentations January 6 – January 15, 2023 with performances, micro-performances and special presentations throughout Tarragon Theatre.
“This season, Tarragon has deepened its commitment in supporting creation in all stages of development, while mutually supporting an intergenerational and wide scope of artistic voices. The Greenhouse is meant to welcome the audience into the depths of new play processes. Our inaugural resident collectives and guest artist presentations are exceptional and highly imaginative, all pushing the boundaries of how art engagement with the public can be experienced. It is the perfect way to start the new year with the theatre!” said Mike Payette, artistic director of Tarragon, in a press release.
“We hope Greenhouse Festival audiences will come explore and get their hands dirty. To see something entirely new. To come together, in the dead of winter, and transform Tarragon into a hothouse of art, expression and innovation,” added Miller.
The artists and artist collectives involved in Greenhouse include:
JANE
Pantheon Projects
With Camille Intson, Nicole Eun-Ju Bell, Bryn Kennedy
Performances:
Jan 6 – 7:00 pm,
Jan 7 – 8:15 pm,
Jan 12 8:15 pm,
Jan 14 – 4:30 pm
JANE is a speculative fiction drama about three college students caught up in a virtual reality deepfake pornography scandal, inspired by growing ethical concerns around digital consent and content regulation.
Benevolence
The Benevolence Collective
With Kevin Matthew Wong, Echo Zhou, Chris Ross-Ewart, Noel Pendawa, Sooji Kim
Performances:
Jan 6 – 8:15 pm,
Jan 7 – 5:45 pm,
Jan 13 – 7:00 pm,
Jan 14 – 7:00 pm
Benevolence examines and celebrates the history of the Hakka (客家) diaspora in Canada, who represent some of the first Chinese in Canada. Intimate, epic, personal, and playful, this solo-performance by Kevin Matthew Wong (Chemical Valley Project) tells the story of the 2000-year migration, and their struggles and triumphs as early Chinese-Canadians.
Emilio’s A Million Chameleons
From Adam Francis Proulx
Performances:
Jan 7 – 4:30 pm,
Jan 8 – 3:00 pm,
Jan 13 – 7:00 pm,
Jan 14 – 7:00 pm
Emilio’s A Million Chameleons is a family-friendly musical spectacular, about embracing what makes you special, and letting that inner sparkle shine.
Mass Exodus
BadFox Performance
With Amelia Blaine, Sienna Singh, Sara Jarvie Clark, Devlin Flynn
Performances:
Jan 7 – 7:00 pm,
Jan 8 – 4:15 pm,
Jan 12 7:00 pm,
Jan 14 – 8:15 pm
Mass Exodus is a non-verbal, sensorial fairy-tale set on a dying planet. Tasked by The Government™ to “be the solution” and save their world, a lone worker wonders: do the animals have other plans?
PLUS:
A SPECIAL PRESENTATION
Jane Miller and Brian Quirt’s These Are The Songs That I Sing When I’m Sad
A Nightswimming Production
Jan 13 – 9:30pm
These Are The Songs That I Sing When I’m Sad is an intimate and joyous performance that explores the songs people turn to when they’re sad, the songs that they play to soothe their blues or lift them up out of the depths. It’s a rare opportunity to hear a superb singer up close and personal, as she delves into the link between deep emotions and the musical elements that make sad songs so addictive.
This special presentation is part of Tarragon’s collaboration with Nightswimming for PURE RESEARCH, bringing an innovative, research-based process back to Toronto after a four-year hiatus and opening up a discourse on play development through dramaturgy.
The Greenhouse Festival takes over Tarragon January 6 – January 14 2023 as part of Tarragon’s 2022/ 23 season.
Tarragon will continue to require masking in the Theatre for the protection of our artists and patrons. You can find the full list of safety measures here.
Aisling Murphy
Aisling is Intermission's senior editor and an award-winning arts journalist with bylines including the Toronto Star, Globe & Mail, CBC Arts, CTV News Toronto, and Maclean's. She likes British playwright Sarah Kane, most songs by Taylor Swift, and her cats, Fig and June. She was a 2024 fellow at the National Critics Institute in Waterford, CT.
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