2015 Participants
(Apocalyptic, egg frying puppet + Diet Pepsi fuelled travels from Gatineau to merry-ol-England + Dreams of Utopia)
Outer Lace
Attila Cleman and Jodi Essery
Lab Experience
Outer Lace is the wordless tale of Peg, who survives on cracker crumbs and a vigilant belief that, in the face of all evidence to the contrary, there might be someone else left. We began with a very short story, in which the language of haberdashery -- the parlance of the needle and thread -- tells the story of a woman of a certain age who wakes one night to the truth of herself, her body, her then, her now, and her what now?Our goal for the lab was to create a Peg, and a world for her to inhabit. A world the size of a table, but full of her everything. And then to let her live in it for awhile, and see how she could say what she needed to say.She talked to a feathered hatpin and looked for signs of life. She loved and then hated her radio. She set to work. And then she found an egg. Found it, and cooked it, and wolfed it down before it occurred to her to wonder where on Earth it came from.
Later
We intend to keep exploring the world of Peg, the idea of inner apocalypse, and the limits of just how far a puppet with two cobbled and mismatched legs and the prospect of endless alone-ness can take herself.
Atilla Clemann
Jodi Essery
Becoming Richard Griffiths
Madeleine Boyes-Manseau, Antoine Côté Legault, Alexandre Gauthier, & Dillon Orr
Lab Experience
Inspired by Alexandre Gauthier’s true-life quest to become a British actor, we – a uniquely Canadian creation team (or if you’d prefer: a true cluster-fuck of bi-language, bi-cultural and bi-theatrical-tradition-al proportions) - have joined him to make his seemingly impossible dream come true. The ultimate goal for the project is to present the piece in the colonial motherland of Great Britain, giving Alex his brilliant (and long-time anticipated) British stage debut. Exploring the themes of hopes and dreams, Becoming Richard Griffiths, with the help of Kevin Orr’s Theatre 4,669 Creator’s Lab, was able to take it’s first steps.
Later
Now that the project is laced with grownup shoes, there’s no telling were this show will go! Many shapes and sizes are still to be explored. The big question is, will Alexandre stil be in Canada doing a show about his dream? Or will he just do it?
Alexandre Gauthier
Madeleine Boyes Manseau
Antoine Côté Legault
Dillon Orr
ReSet
Sean Devine & Emily Pearlman
Lab Experience
Are human's capable of creating and sustaining Utopia?" We set out to discover what common values we needed order to live in harmony. Turns out, even figuring out shared artistic values is hard. Using that realization we created a presentation that allowed us and the audience to imagine we were about to create a new society (not a commune, not hippy shit... though maybe with acreage and goats) and explore the conflict that though we may want similar things, there is still a disconnect about what we are willing to do in order to achieve those desires
Later
With the support of the Canada Council, the project will continue further development with Horseshoes and Handgrenades.
Emily Pearlman
Sean Devine
We Have No Curtains
Gabrielle Lazarovitz & Brad Long
Lab Experience
This project is still in process.
Paul and Lauren live on the same street. They are educated, articulate and underemployed. They have part-time jobs and zero security. Something terrible has happened on their tiny street. Why didn't they do anything? A cop wants to know.
We are exploring the "precariate" class - the vast swath of humanity that exist two weeks away from financial ruin. The precariate, struggling to look after themselves, cannot care for anyone else. Have we become a society of lone wolves and sole survivors? What happended to caring about your neighbour?
Later
The show became Little Boxes which was produced and performed by Lazarovitz, with Carter Hayden, directed by Adam Paolozza, and presented at undercurrents 2018. It was nominated for a Prix Rideau Award for Outstanding New Work in 2018.
Gabrielle Lazarovitz
Brad Long
2014 Participants
( Carl Jung, Wolfgang Pauli and a visit to Comicon)
Entangled
Jacob Berkowitz
with Todd Duckworth & Chris Ralph
Lab Experience:
Entangled is the imaginative telling of the intense friendship between psychologist Carl Jung and quantum physicist Wolfgang Pauli. Over five years, I'd researched and written a draft script. In conversations with Orr, and subsequent bouts of editing, the script found new voice, energy and--drama. The page-to-stage process with actors Duckworth and Ralph revealed the emotional tension at the play's heart.
Todd Duckworth
Jacob Berkowitz
Chris Ralph
THE DARK SIDE OF CON
By and with Laura Hall & Tania Levy
Laura Hall
Lab Experience
We began with a desire to explore the experiences of women in geek culture with our base inspiration coming from the original dynamic duo: Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. With the help of Kevin and Theatre 4.669 we have taken the classic characters of Holmes and Watson into the world of Comic-Cons and the Deep Web, making them fresh, exciting, engaging and (surprise!) ruthlessly female. Holmes and Watson became experts in cybercultural and cybercriminal behaviour, presenting these (now) women coming from a place of intelligence above all other attributes. What happens when you step into the dark recesses of the Internet? "Come into my parlour, said the Spider to the Fly...."
Tania Levy
2013 Participants
( Vulgar white-trash poetics + A fruit-filled orgy + A fitting for everyone + Sitcom Bacchae)
Fucking Carl
Caroline Yergeau & Louis-Philippe Roy
Lab Experience
Un jour, on se demande : « est-ce qu’on est capable d’écrire? ». Sans creuser plus loin la question, on se lance dans l’aventure. Et Fucking Carl a tranquillement pris forme, grâce à la candeur et l’innocence des premières fois et à l’appui du Theatre 4.669.
Later?
Présentations à Les Fêtes internationales du théâtre (Valleyfield, QC) avril 2014 et au Festival Fringe d'Ottawa juin 2014, avec Théâtre du Trillium 2016 et tournée 2017/18
Caroline Yergeau
Louis-Philippe Roy
(French Language Project)
L'orange
Philippe Landry
with Alexandre Gauthier, Caroline Lefebvre, Lissa Léger & Maureen Smith
Caroline Lefebvre
Lab Experience
To rewrite a fully bilingual play originally created as a 24 hour theatre project about a young man who, unbeknownst to himself and those around him, has the power to seduce those around him when eating oranges. Present the new product in a non-conventional location. Eat oranges.
Later?
Apply finishing touches to play and stop eating oranges for a while.
Phillipe Landry
Lissa Léger
Alexandre Gauthier
Maureen Smith
Bra Jesus
Catherine Boutin, Katie Bunting & Gabrielle Lalonde
Lab Experience
Working as a bra fitter for over five years, I came to realize that women in Canada have no idea what a good fitting bra is, and most don't even know how to properly wear a bra. We are simply not taught about these things; I taught my own mother and grand-mother how to properly put on a bra and what a proper fit looks and feels like. I want to share this knowledge and experience with women across Canada, and building a show about it seems the best way to have the message heard!
I worked with Kevin Orr through the T 4.669 Creator's Lab to start developing ideas for the show and begin the writing process. We collaborated with Gabrielle Lalonde and Katie Bunting and together explored the themes and topics which should or could be incorporated, coming up with some tangible written material with which to pursue the exploration in future lab work.
Catherine Boutin
Katie Bunting
Gabrielle Lalonde
Bankrupt
Stéphanie Turple
with Diego Arvelo, Sarah Finn, Teri Loretto-Valentik & Andy Massingham.
Dramaturgy: Robert Marinier
Lab Experience
In 2012, Stephanie wrote Bankrupt, a comedy exploring the dark side of low finance. Theatre 4.669’s Artistic Director, Kevin Orr, suggested Stephanie translate the text, originally written in French, to English.
Later?
Bankrupt received a 20-hour workshop with Theatre 4.669 in the fall of 2013. An extensive amount of ideas, suggestions and observations came out of the experience. Stephanie, along with director Kevin Orr and dramaturge Robert Marinier, forged ahead with the information gleaned from the workshop to craft a production-ready draft of the script. Bankrupt was given a full Equity presentation by Plosive Productions, in collaboration with Theatre 4.669 as part of the 2014/15 season at the Gladstone Theatre..
Stéphanie Turple
Sarah Finn
Diego Arvelo
Teri Loretto-Valentik
2012 Participants
(Post apocapyptic love-fest + A culinary creation + Neanderthals and The Boss + Watching alone )
For those who hate the human race
Deedee Butters, Scott Irving, Claude Marquis, Rebecca Noelle & Olexandra Pruchnicky (The Peptides) with Nick Di Gaetano
Lab Experience
Using material from their concept albums For Those Who Hate Human Interaction and Love Question Mark, three members of the avant-garde pop band The PepTides set out to craft a musical narrative centring on a conflicted couple as they confront their pre-apocalyptic (Act I) and post-apocalyptic (Act II) world
Later?
The PepTides will be presenting a music-based show called LOVE + HATE at the 2014 Ottawa Fringe Festival, taking their inspiration from some of the “macro” (societal) and “micro” (personal) themes they explored at the lab. In 2015 the show was invited to The Summerworks Festival in Toronto
Bread
Geoff McBride & Karen Balcome (Thunk! Theatre)
Lab Experience
Inspired by a love of baking and challenged to do the "impossible" on stage, we explored the action of baking bread. Afterwards, we wrote, played and answered questions about structure, story and logistics, developing a scene that had us making bread dough with a small audience.
Later?
Bread was re-staged and presented as part of GCTC's 2013 Undercurrents Festival. 140 "friends" made bread with us over 15 performances. Patrons made their dough then returned an hour later to pick up a freshly baked loaf of bread.
Neanderthal
Nick Di Gaetano
with Scott Irving, Deedee Butters, Rebecca Noelle & Olexandra Pruchnicky
Lab Experience
I wanted to explore the format of a "theatrical concert" while also examining the final days of our prehistoric Neanderthal ancestors. Inspired by the blue collar, working class music of Bruce Springsteen I set about creating a piece that would explore the final days of the Neanderthals through the eyes of an everyday, run of the mill tribe member.
Later?
Since then scientists have officially sequenced the entirety of Neanderthal DNA which will give us even more insight in to their lives, lifestyle and cultural make up. The show is sitting on my hard drive waiting for me to be a little less busy so Kevin and I can continue to develop it, making a place where science and theatre and rock n' roll can come gloriously together. Amazingly in 2018 Kevin and Scottie Irving and I are back in development with the show. Stand by.
Nick Di Gaetano
Listen to "Bury our Dead"
Seul
Antoine Coté Legault
avec Alexandre Gauthier
movement: Gabrielle Lalonde
Lab Experience
Inspiré de l'idée qu'on ne sait pas ce que font les gens dans l'intimité lorsqu'ils se retrouvent seuls chez eux, Seul explorait l'influence des états d'âme d'un personnage sur sa perception de l'espace dans lequel il vit. Ainsi, l'évolution de l'homme transformait physiquement son appartement, créant une poésie scénique.
Later?
Le laboratoire Seul n'a pas eu de suite directe, mais son instigateur Antoine Côté Legault a poursuivi son exploration d'un théâtre poétique en créant deux nouveaux spectacles, dont Corps à corps (Fondation pour l'avancement du théâtre francophone au Canada, mars-avril 2014) qui a reçu un accueil favorable.
(French language project)
Antoine Coté Legault
Alexandre Gauthier
Gabrielle Lalonde
2011 Participants
(Pirates + Spiders + DNA)
Much Ado About Feckin' Pirates
Margo MacDonald & Richard Gelinas
Lab Experience
We wanted to explore the possibility of improvised content in a set narrative structure. Using two argumentative pirates as characters, we developed a micro-skeleton and conflict during our time at the lab.
Later?
Much Ado about Feckin' Pirates premiered at the Gladstone Theatre in March 2014, directed by Al Connors and produced by Parry Riposte Productions. In 2015 it was presented at The Toronto Clown Festival and Undercurrents Ottawa
Margo MacDonald
Richard Gelinas
Araignée
Catherin Boutin & Elise Gauthier
Lab Experience
We thought we wanted to work on the physicality to accompany an existing text we had worked on in an exploration workshop. However, Kevin worked with us dramaturgically and Elise ended up writing a new script with the help and support of Catherine. Araignée became a blend of slam poetry meets theatre experiment during the labs.
Later?
Élise and Catherine continued physical explorations with the help of Alix Sideris and Fanny Gilbert-Collet, thanks to an OAC Jets de théâtre grant. They presented a new version as a Carte Blanche at l'Espace René-Provost 2012. L'Araignée was also produced at the 2014 Ottawa Fringe Festival, to sold out audiences and to great critical acclaim. Élise Gauthier was nominated for a Prix Rideau Award for Design (écriture scénique).
(French language project)
Élise Gauthier
Catherine Boutin
We Glow
Brad Long & Emily Pearlman
Lab Experience
Intrigued by a book about the immortal HeLa cell line, Brad and Emily theatrically explored the question “what can your insides tell you about your outsides?” Physical improvisations led to a piece about two characters trying to hear their instincts over the din of other people’s expectations.
Later?
We Glow received a workshop reading in 2012 in Studio Leonard Beaulne.
It was presented site specifically in the University of Ottawa senate room for the Ottawa Fringe 2013. In the summer of 2014 We Glow toured to the Winnipeg and Edmonton Fringe Festivals.
Brad Long
Emily Pearlman