DaPoPo’s Live-In Festival!
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| Poster by Trevor Poole |
You’ve heard of civil rights
and environmental sit-ins…John and Yoko’s Bed-In…maybe even Architecture 2030’s
Teach-In…what about DaPoPo Theatre’s Live-In? Their Live-In Festival
that is…now in its fifth year!
Every single day in
October, the Halifax independent theatre company has and is hosting a plethora
of engaging experiences at Theatre Nova Scotia’s Living Room, including
performances, workshops, readings and discussions. This year’s theme is “The
Personal is Political.”
Garry Williams, DaPoPo’s artistic director, fills us in
on his alternative theatre troupe-some of whom have made the Living Room their temporary home-and what you can expect for the remainder of
this month’s merrymaking.
AE: When was DaPoPo Theatre created and how would
you describe its distinctive style/mandate?
GW: DaPoPo was created in 2004. We were formed to
be inclusive, experimental and somewhat contrary – contrary, at least, in terms
of the standard commercial model. Instead, we focus on work that genuinely
excites us, and favour artists who are genre-crossing. Our evolving methodology
combines various disciplines including improvisation, physical theatre, singing
and elements of performance art.
AE: What is the significance behind the name
"DaPoPo"?
GW: The name doffs its hat to Dadaism, that
notorious anti-art movement, but also celebrates the idea of theatre that is
poetic, political, poor and popular – in the sense of a People's Theatre. We
also wanted to avoid the (almost mandatory) maritime pun in our name, mostly
because our core members are more urban and international in our focus and
outlook – not to devalue the regional aspect, but to acknowledge a different
experience and upbringing.
AE: What inspired the Live-In Festival?
GW: In its first year, we needed to rent a space
for a production of Christopher Hampton's play "When Did You Last See My
Mother?" We needed rehearsal and performance space for the month. Out of
sheer necessity we scheduled skill sharing workshops and other events to make
revenue that we required to afford the space. It was a very practical decision.
Now, the Live-In has outgrown its original purpose, and become quite a
different thing.
AE: For those involved in running the festival,
what is the experience like? Do you feel like you are indeed living at The
Living Room for an entire month?
GW: Oh, yes. Sometimes we sleep over. This year,
five of us are there more than full-time, each of us wearing may hats:
directing, acting, writing, producing, stage managing. It is extremely intense,
both draining and energizing. We function as a kind of family, for the month,
relationships that spill over into the year.
AE: How do you come up with the whole agenda of
performances, workshops, readings and special events?
GW: This year, our guiding idea is to examine the
personal and the political, and how they intersect. Our intention is always to
share how we live – always making art, our process being as important as our
product. The variety of programming reflects the variety in every stage of our
work. We always try to remain inclusive of established and emerging artists,
and reflect the many approaches artists in this region choose in their
practice.
AE: Anything special/new for this year?
GW: One highlight is our special guest, Sky
Gilbert, here to read from his new play, “Hackerlove”, but also to facilitate a
playwriting workshop and participate in a panel discussion. We have a number of
sold-out workshops, including those facilitated by Ann-Marie Kerr and Alexis
Milligan. We are blown away, and humbled, by the support we are
receiving. Another new development is project-specific partnerships with
organizations such as Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre (PARC), Friends of
the Common, the Mayworks Festival, the Playwrights Guild of Canada and Arts
Nova Scotia, as well as our traditional involvement with Nocturne. These
relationships have made it possible to run a month-long festival, paying the
artists, without provincial or municipal support.
AE: Anything you'd like to add?
GW: The Live-In Festival is almost entirely audience-funded.
It is wonderful to know that those attending every event express their support
through their attendance, but also by their donations. It is important for us
to know that the festival could not happen without their support. There is
simply no better gauge for the value of this festival than its many attendees.
There is still 17 days to go! What
Live-In events will you attend?
http://dapopolivein2013.blogspot.ca/
