Sage Theatre Presents IGNITE! FESTIVAL OF EMERGING ARTISTS

Sage Theatre will support emerging artists again in 2023, as it presents its annual IGNITE! Festival of Emerging Artists. From June 7 -  June 10, 2023 at Pumphouse Theatres, the IGNITE! Festival will provide development, networking and presentation opportunities for Calgary artists. 

IGNITE! is a festival dedicated to supporting, mentoring and presenting early career artists of all disciplines. IGNITE! allows artists to embrace risks in a supportive environment while providing resources, a bridge to the professional arts community, and meaningful opportunities for collaboration and community building with their peers.

“IGNITE! is always full of artists experimenting and exploring, but this year in particular, I'm noticing a lot of creatives are exploring the meanings of place and time,” said Jason Mehmel, Sage Theatre's Artistic Director. “From documenting a relationship over the course of a decade, to speculating where on earth (or space) one might choose to die, to examining how isolating the world became over the last few years, there is a real emphasis on looking at where we are in our lives and how we got here.”

The festival will also include multiple immersive experiences, in which audiences will experience some of what new citizens might feel like when they immigrate to Canada, and explore the modern queer experience through Lithuanian folk dance, remixed and remodelled.

In addition, IGNITE! will present a staged reading of a fairytale work-in-progress, and a musical comedy based on that most obvious of comedic locales... the gym, and Dr. E.P. Scarlett High School drama students will present two projects for the first time outside of the school's walls.

Tales from the Gym by Mark Rivest

Tales from the Gym is a musical comedy that aims to deconstruct common character archetypes found in your local gym. The show uses a character-based revue style to tell its story, with each song focusing on a different character -everyone from “main characters” to gym creeps to “the Boysplainer.” 

Performances:

Wednesday, June 7 at 9:30pm

Thursday, June 8 at 8:15pm

Friday, June 9 at 7pm

Verre Brisé (broken glass in French) by Amanda Iandolo

Verre Brisé is a movement piece that exposes what it is like to feel isolated because of mental illness. This show specifically looks at Body Dysmorphia, and how those suffering must heal by looking inward.

Performances:

Wednesday, June 7 at 8:15pm

Thursday, June 8 at 9:30pm

Saturday, June 10 at 8:15pm

La Vieja Astronauta by Alexandra Contreras 

If a woman could have it her way, where would she choose to die, when she finds her roots and origin in different geographical places?

Performances:

Thursday, June 8 at 7pm

Friday, June 9 at 9:30pm 

forever anyway by Amy Sawka, directed by Kacie Hall

This piece is about forever. And loss. Through time. It documents the change of a relationship over many years, with different actors playing the same two roles, as we cover nearly a decade in an hour.

Performances:

Wednesday, June 7 at 7pm

Thursday, June 8 at 8:15pm

Friday, June 9 at 9:30pm 

Be Vardų, Be Kojų by Brigita Gedgaudas

“Be Vardų, Be Kojų”, meaning 'without names, without legs', is an ongoing dance work exploring queer movement in Lithuanian folk dance. Using glitched 3D modelled representations of Lithuanian folk dance steps as a guide for directing choreographic decisions, “Be Vardų, Be Kojų” is an entirely new folk dance, using the amalgamous forms of 3D models to question the rigidity of gender roles and assignments within Lithuanian language and dance.

Performances:

Thursday, June 8 at 7pm

Friday, June 9 at 9:30pm 

pointless purSUIT by Maddy Faunt and Sarah Vander Ploeg

The stagnant, predictable, routine of the corporate day job -hat does this mean for the everyday artist who wishes to break free and truly express their humanity in these working conditions?

Performances:

Wednesday, June 7 at 8:15pm

Thursday, June 8 at 9:30pm

Saturday, June 10 at 8:15pm

Green Key Directed and Conceived by Saeid Asgarian

A participatory theatre experience that takes the audience on a journey of what it's like to be a refugee.

Performances:

Wednesday, June 7 at 9:30pm

Thursday, June 8 at 7pm

Saturday, June 10 at 8:15pm

Islands Within Ourselves by Fae Rhiannon

One of the most earnest things one can do is reconcile with the past versions of themselves. This performance brings forth all those different 'islands' - the parts of ourselves that we exile and shows them a loving embrace.

Performances:

Wednesday, June 7 at 8:15pm

Thursday, June 8 at 9:30pm

Saturday, June 10 at 8:15pm 

poor recollections by Cali Sproule

poor recollections is a mixture of found text and a collection of self-reflections. This play explores power dynamics, trauma, and healing.

Performances:

Wednesday, June 7 at 8:15pm

Thursday, June 8 at 9:30pm

Saturday, June 10 at 8:15pm 

Silver Spoon by Sage Cannon

Silver Spoon is a coming-of-age story that navigates childhood worries, poverty and family dynamics. This small-scale theatre show follows a young woman and her realizations about her place in the world through everyday encounters. 

Performances:

Wednesday, June 7 at 8:15pm

Thursday, June 8 at 9:30pm

Saturday, June 10 at 8:15pm 

Innocence Astray- A Staged Reading from Third Draft Theatre 

Fairytales are full of colourful and innocent characters, but after the tales are over, what happens to the characters? Innocence is a devised storytelling structure that explores the concept of losing innocence. It may look like a fairytale on the outside,  (as we follow Alice, Peter, and Red Riding Hood), but it truly explores the trials and tribulations of youth colliding with the darker pieces of adulthood. How do we lose ourselves when sexuality tempts us? What happens if we refuse to let go of a time when things were simple, and what happens when the world you know no longer makes sense. We strive to ask the question: What is it to lose your innocence, and who do you become when it's gone? Why do we need to keep a piece of ourselves alive?

Performances:

Friday, June 9 at 7pm

Saturday, June 10 at 7pm 

Dr. E.P. Scarlett High School Projects, Facilitated by Owen Chan & Created by the Students:

The Unkindness of Ghosts

Should we feel responsible in the wake of tragedy? How much can one person do when they themselves are struggling? Have you ever missed the signs? In the hands of director Sylviane Allard, Emily Haley's play, The Unkindness of Ghosts is a brutal social commentary on the role of bystanders in regards to mental health. Set hauntingly to music, moments of open contemporary dance choreographed by Brianna Newman will help pull you into the action of this play and forge a unique, thought-provoking connection with the characters.

The Rabbit, the Water, and the Worms

An abusive father seeks forgiveness from the innermost epithets of his child, wife and mistress as he travels through the process of death.

Performances:

Wednesday, June 7 at 7pm

Friday, June 9 at 8:15pm

Saturday, June 10 at 7pm 

TICKET information: 

Per-show ticket $10

Festival day pass for $25 redeemable for 3 shows

Full festival pass for $60 redeemable for 10 shows

Tickets can be purchased at https://sagetheatre.com/ 

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