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A Whole Day Just for Theatre?!

A few years ago, in the middle of summer, it happened that three shows I had worked on were up and running at the same time. My mum came all the way from small town Saskatchewan to see all three – a delicate two-hander on the stage at the Waterfront, Shakespeare under the tents in Vanier park, and a fairytale suspended under the Burrard Street Bridge. I will never forget the look on her face when after seeing the last one she turned to me, shook her head, and said, “I wonder what a day at the office looks like for you?”

Well Mum, here’s your chance to find out…

World Theatre Day is being celebrated in a variety of ways by many theatre companies across the world. Ruby Slippers Theatre is celebrating by flinging open the doors of its rehearsal hall and saying, “come see how the magic comes together!” Diane Brown, artistic director and director of the upcoming Life Savers, is inviting anyone who is interested to come in and watch rehearsals on the morning of World Theatre Day – Friday, March 27, 2009. Life Savers features performances from Patti Allan, Kevin McNulty, Mike Wasko, Colleen Wheeler, Deborah Williams, Naomi Wright and many more!

Rehearsals are being held at the Playhouse Production Centre at 127 East Second Avenue from 10am-1pm. Immediately following this session will be the actors’ lunch break and therefore an opportunity to chat with them, and with director Diane Brown.

Come one, come all and help us celebrate theatre with people around the world while seeing what truly goes into moving these pieces “from page to stage.”

I am an apprentice... Bernadette Sweeny

The final issue in our series on mentorship. Feel free to weigh in on thee questions, or anything else that strikes your fancy...

INTERVIEW WITH BERNADETTE SWEENY
FM:What is your experience with/opinions on mentorship?
BS: I was an engineer. I only started in theatre at St Martins' Youth Arts Centre, Melbourne, Australia, and learned everything I knew about theatre through mentorship.

FM: What are the direct benefits of mentoring that you feel cannot be developed via other means?
BS: I have only ever applied for one theatre job in six years, all my work comes through networking. In fact I can trace nearly all of my work back to my very first mentorship at St Martins.

FM: Are there limitations to mentorship?
BS: I think that both the mentor and the mentoree have to [have the] understanding that mistakes will be made. Also the people surrounding must be aware that a mentoring process is in place, and be willing to take part.

FM: Which has greater value – self-initiated or formal mentoring – and why?
BS: I would say that formal mentorships have the greatest benefit. There is a clear indication of what the mentor and mentoree want to gain out of the partnership, there is usually a timeline in place and some sort of structure to the mentorship.

BERNADETTE SWEENEY is stage manager/production manager working with Bluebottle in Melbourne, Australia. She has been touring Back to Back's production of Small Metal Objects around the world for the past 18 months.

I am an apprentice... Heather Redfern

Issue number 6 on mentorships in the theatre:

INTERVIEW WITH HEATHER REDFERN:
FM:What is your experience with/opinions on mentorship?
HR: It is only in the past 25 years we have had educational institutions teaching arts management; many of the current managers – including myself – have not had formal training in the field. We have been self taught or mentored and are now passing that on. Even with formal schooling, mentorship is essential.

FM:What are the direct benefits of mentoring that you feel cannot be developed via other means?
HR: Developing supportive professional relationships is one of the skills that is essential to artists and arts managers.

FM: Are there limitations to mentorship?
HR: It might be possible for a "mentoree" to become dependent on the mentor or to expect the mentor to "do the work" rather than guide the process.

FM: Which has greater value – self-initiated or formal mentoring – and why?
HR: Every mentorship needs to be self-initiated. It is impossible to mentor someone who doesn’t want to be in the situation.

FM: Why are mentorships not more readily available?
HR: Money and time.

HEATHER REDFERN is the Executive Director of The Vancouver East Cultural Centre and currently sits on the board of the Magnetic North Theatre Festival, of which she was a founding member. Before coming to “The Cultch”, she was the Executive Director of the Greater Vancouver Alliance for Arts and Culture and the Artistic Producer for Catalyst Theatre in Edmonton.

I am an apprentice... Conrad Alexandrowicz

Issue number 5 on the subject of mentoring...

INTERVIEW WITH CONRAD ALEXANDROWICZ:
FM: What is your experience with/opinions on mentorship?
CA: My first directing teacher would essentially direct the show through you until he trusted that you were able to make some successful decisions. My actual mentorships (the Shaw Festival director’s mentorship as well as self-initiated mentorship) were so hands-off. I watched

FM: Are there limitations to mentorship?
CA: There’s this weird Canadian fear about getting someone’s hands dirty and getting specific with somebody about what they ought to do.
FM:What are your views on formalized mentorship programs?
CA: I think it’s much more developed in other art forms – I have a feeling that in music it is much more defined how this relationship is supposed to work.
FM: Why are mentorships not more readily available?
CA: It’s a function of marginalization and impoverishment…and operating as a form of entertainment that is secondary to film and television.

FM:What makes a good mentor?
CA: It turns into a battle of egos at a certain point. A really good mentor is someone who knows how to enter into a negotiation with somebody. You have to let someone find their way and, at the same time, be a guide.

Advice to those seeking an apprenticeship?
CA: You have to make it up on your own.

CONRAD ALEXANDROWICZ is a director, writer and choreographer, and the artistic director of Wild Excursions Performance. He teaches movement for actors, and continues his explorations into that mysterious territory where dance and theatre overlap.

I am an apprentice... Tammy Isaacson

Issue number four...

INTERVIEW WITH TAMMY ISAACSON:

FM:What is your experience with/opinions on mentorship?
TI: Prime [at Pi] (mentorship program) came out of looking at the community and what we perceived at the time to be a huge hole in the ecology: how do people actually get their work recognized? This year we will be creating what we’re calling Prime Placements, so we will pair up…for example a set designer with a practical, working assistant.

FM:Are there limitations to mentorship?
TI: The danger might be in people getting taken advantage of.

FM:What has been your experience with less formal, self-initiated individual mentorships?
TI: I was producer of the Fringe and… artists would help each other go across the country with work and developing work. It clearly spawned so many great things.

FM:Does formalized mentorship or self-initiated have greater value and why?
TI: In an ideal world there would be lots of both. In some circles it’s called professional development. It’s all how you cut it.

FM: Do you see variation between apprenticeships in the different sides of theatre (acting versus directing versus design versus admin versus tech, etc)?
TI: There has been no attention to designers at all. There are many more 'artistic' mentorships available. This is considered a common way to get into the industry and learn a craft. It is harder to get a technical mentorship such as that which I had. However, within the industry there is definite belief that hands on training is much more beneficial than university training.

FM:Advice to those seeking an apprenticeship?
TI: Dream big and do a crazy, wild pitch. Inspire someone.

TAMMY ISAACSON has worked in theatre, opera, dance and festivals as a writer, director, administrator and stage manager. She was the General Manager for Pi Theatre for eight seasons and is currently the General Manager of the Alberta Opera touring company.

I am an apprentice... James Long

Issue number three in the series.

INTERVIEW WITH JAMES LONG
FM:What is your experience with/opinions on mentorship?
James Long: We’re constantly collaborating with people outside of our discipline so I would consider those people a mentor… they are bringing in skills we’ve never experienced before: Sarah Chase, Veda Hille. I steal from just about everybody I can.

FM:Are there limitations to mentorship?
JL: So much of [theatre] is instinctual that I think in a mentoring relationship you have to remember your own instincts.

FM:What are your views on formalized mentorship programs?
JL: It happens more in the dance world. In the theatre world from what I understand the mentoring is more geared toward administrative mentoring.

FM:What has been your experience with less formal, self-initiated individual mentorships?
JL: You can be mentored all your life if you take that approach to it.

FM: Which has greater value and why?
JL: It took until I was working professionally to realize the value of the training. I just think it’s easier to understand the practicalities when you are in a practical environment of professional work.

FM: Do you see variation between apprenticeships in the different sides of theatre (acting versus directing versus design versus admin versus tech, etc)?
JL: In the theatre world it seems that the systems in place are geared more toward administrative mentorships as opposed to artistic mentorships.

FM: Advice to those seeking an apprenticeship?
JL: I think it’s just important to ask. I don’t think there’s a lot of companies in this city that have closed their doors officially for rehearsals. When I go to festivals I take the opportunity to go and talk to the creators and say, “OK, what exactly did you get up to?” People love to talk about their work.

JAMES LONG is an artistic director of Theatre Replacement. When he isn't working with TR, he acts, writes and directs with others.

I am an apprentice... Kim Selody

As promised, issue #2 in our series on mentorship. This time:

INTERVIEW WITH KIM SELODY
FM:What is your experience with/opinions on mentorship?
KS: The Canada Council is not mandated to support the training of Artists. [Personally] I mentored under Larry Lillo, as his Assistant while directing The Miser.

FM:What are the direct benefits of mentoring that you feel cannot be developed via other means?
KS: For me, the greatest opportunity mentoring offers is the change to watch someone else make the mistakes.

FM: Are there limitations to mentorship?
KS: Often, mentoring means watching not doing. At some point, the artist needs the opportunity to make their own mistakes.

FM: Why are mentorships not more readily available?
KS: When companies are under resourced, mentoring is often the first thing to go. . . Opportunities vary greatly from province to province

FM: Do you have any suggestions on how to instigate change in current apprenticeship availabilities?
KS: We are discussing what role [the Canada Council] can play in encouraging senior artists to mentor younger artists. Many of the programs focused on youth are for youth engagement and employment, without funds for the mentors.

FM: Advice to those seeking an apprenticeship?
KS: Get to where the action is. Either by an official apprenticeship or mentorship, or by working there in another context.


KIM SELODY is a Program Officer in the theatre section at the Canada Council for the Arts. He has worked across Canada, and internationally as an actor, director, educator, artistic director and writer.

I am an apprentice... Patrick Pennefather

Last year's Flying Monkey was the first time this newsmagazine went online, this time discussing mentorship in the arts. However, lost in the shuffle, it was not seen by many and some great insights went unnoticed. Over the next few days I will print the interviews that took place with a variety of talented theatre artists and hear what they had to say on the question of what the place is for mentorship in the arts...

INTERVIEW WITH PATRICK PENNEFATHER
FM: What is your experience with/opinions on mentorship?
PP: I have mentored students at both college and university level in all aspects of sound design and composition for live theatre. The more on the job training and internship/mentoring, the better the industry.
FM:What are the direct benefits of mentoring that you feel cannot be developed via other means?
PP: Dealing with realworld clients; how to get along with people, leave the ego out of the process. Determining if this is really what you want to do
FM:What are your views on formalized mentorship programs?
PP: All for it as long as the mentored can choose the mentoree. I think this is crucial. The mentored have to do their research too.
FM:What has been your experience with less formal, self-initiated individual mentorships?
PP: In my experience they are more successful. We're talking about stakes though …It comes down to a mentoree's desire to learn and the commitment to work their ass off.
FM:Are there limitations to mentorship?
PP: The biggest limitation is time, always.
FM:Advice to those seeking an apprenticeship?
PP: Connect the job you're interested in to a real live person doing it
FM:Why are mentorships not more readily available?
PP: Time and money. Mentoring is not easy, and is really about teaching someone, imparting your knowledge onto them, and this takes time, effort and energy. The other hurdle is defining the terms of engagement of the mentorship
FM:Do you have any suggestions on how to instigate change in current apprenticeship availabilities?
PP: I think a formal contract between mentoree and mentor is a good idea.

PATRICK PENNEFATHER composes musical curiosities crafting them with climate control and conspicuous chordal centrifuge.

The invisibility factor: Women in Canadian Theatre

During last fall's Making a Scene conference, a session was held on Women in Theatre. The discussion exploded and there wasn't time enough for everyone's voice to be heard, so here's another chance to weigh-in. As columnist Kate Taylor noted, “Canadian theatre…simply cannot afford to ignore half of the available talent.”

In the late 70’s and early 80’s Rina Fratticelli produced a report, "The Status of Women in the Canadian Theatre," proving that women comprised only 10% of the total number of produced playwrights, 13% of the productions’ directors, and 11% of the companies’ artistic directors. The worst offenders for employing women were “The Group of 18” theatres that received “the highest level of Canada Council subsidization.”

YET women form “the vast majority of theatre school graduates as well as the vast majority of amateur (unpaid), volunteer and community theatre workers as well as the majority of theatre-going audiences.

So things have changed now, right? ...right? ....?

In 2004, Equity in Canadian Theatre: The Women’s Initiative created an ad hoc group which, headed by Rebecca Burton, recently released a study. They discovered that women currently account for 28% of the produced playwrights, 34% of the working directors and 33% of the country’s artistic directors.

Better. But moving too slowly.

The study discovered that “the triumvirate of power” – the triangle of artistic director, director, and playwright known as the control nexus of a company – is primarily made up of men, especially in the “big business” theatres. The majority of female ADs head-up smaller, under-resourced and financially unstable companies, and they are often stigmatized and labeled “special interest groups” as a result of their decision to stage plays by women. (While companies with female ADs produce female playwrights 38% of the time on average, companies with male ADs do so only 24% of the time.). Companies run by men hired female directors 24% of the time, whereas companies run by women hired female directors for 55% of their productions.

The “invisibility factor” of women in Canadian theatre means that an unbalanced, biased view of Canada and Canadian culture has been perpetuated; one that fails to represent the diversity of the nation.

Let us not forget that an estimated 59% of Canada’s theatre-going audience is female.

The study proposed several plans for action on this front, but the question the Flying Monkey now asks is, WHAT DO YOU THINK?


*information sourced from PACT survey: Status of Women in Canadian Theatre