SummerWorks
iPhoto caption: Production photos courtesy of SummerWorks. Shows, from left to right, top to bottom: Girl's Notes III, SUBJECT TO خضوع, The Movements, Warm up.
REVIEW: This year’s SummerWorks Performance Festival embraced danger — in more ways than one
Several of this year's productions took direct aim at our present moment’s evils: Targets included corporate speaking gigs, rent payments, climate change, global wealth inequality, and the ostracization of horse girls.
iPhoto caption: Image courtesy of SummerWorks.
How SummerWorks confronts a theatre industry steeped in hustle culture
“As far as our sector goes, there’s this idea that how busy you are is a reflection of your values,” says director-dramaturg Harri Thomas. “We also tend to emphasize a person’s career over the body of work they’ve produced. There are certain things that we can do at a community level, particularly when it comes to resource sharing. But we also need to consider the fact that we operate in a scarcity environment where we’re so focused on individual shows that we often neglect the larger ecology.”
From August 3-13, this year’s instalment of SummerWorks showcased a unique collection of productions, works in progress, and community events.
Alan Dilworth is on a journey. An educator who became an actor who became a writer who became a director who became an artistic director, he articulates his relationship to theatre as one of continual discovery.