MAY 31ST-JUNE 4TH

THE 519 IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SENIOR PRIDE NETWORK &

PRESENT THE YOUTH/ELDERS PROJECT

DON'T MISS THE YOUTH/ELDERS PROJECT - A BRILLIANT COLLABORATION THROUGH AN INTERGENERATIONAL SHARING OF STORIES, MOVEMENT, AND MUSIC THAT EXPLORES & EXPLODES MYTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD, CREATES & CHALLENGES BONDS BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS FROM 20 TO 70, AND REVEALS THE MOVING, ENGAGING, AT TIMES COMICAL STORIES THAT QUEER  YOUTH AND QUEER ELDERS EXPERIENCE IN THEIR LIFETIME

BELOW: GENADY GAVLESHOV & BELLA LARSEN

The 13 member ensemble performed beautifully, with standout moments as Riley Kelk, with the aid of their choir like cast, brought a humourous, heartfelt, and gently reprimanding message about respecting and accepting the pronouns individuals choose to identify by. The song 'they/them' was a wonderful musical interlude performed from the catwalk as the ensemble looked on and supported the narrative Riley sang and self-accompanied on their guitar

Jordan Campbell's virtuoso joyful spoken word rant took the many letters of queer i.d (lgbtq etc etc etc) and turned it into a rapid fire alphabetic ballet of sight and sound that could stand alone as a powerful and engaging piece of video and/or live performance. Campbell's performance was exhilarating and impeccable as he spun the letters into a delightful web of bold identificatory lyricism.

Monica Garrido delivered a serio-comic monologue that powerfully explains what it's like to come out as queer, brown, and Mexican - a triumvirate her mother was not entirely attuned to or eager to embrace. The serious (yet hilariously performed by Garrido) implications of this identity 'crisis' gave spectators a complex and engaging look at the ways in which one can integrate, experience, and then re-tell in standup-comic form/storytelling, the various and complex aspects of queer experience.

Russell Powell, without speaking, traversed the stage as Dolly Parton sang 'I Will Always Love You.' Wearing a simple gown and sensible shoes (a nice low heel) Powell integrated masculinity and femininity seamlessly as he utilized a simple red ribbon and created a poignant homage to the AIDS pandemic.  

Daniel Carter's sensual dinner party dance, placed at the opposite end of a staging narrative that included Genady Gavleshov's mannered and manic table setting, was a clever and provocative juxtaposition of wordless and wonderful allusions to behavioural prowess in unexpected settings.

Leslie Lee Kam gave beautiful and informative impressions of early queer elder movements from the 1970's to the present.

Ty Sloane's ability to combine lively and engaging movement with stories of mixed race identity ("Ojibwe, Irish, Asian, multi-cultural artist") was a strong resonant performance strategy that punctuated the overall performance with a powerful sense of courage and determination in the face of oppressive racist social narratives.

Too numerous to mention in individual detail - Jordan Campbell, Daniel Carter, Brian Cope, Monica Garrido, Genady Gavleshov, RIley Kelk, Bella Larsen, LeZlie Lee Kam, Neila Lem, Lila Pine, Russell Powell, Shauna, Sloan, and Ty Sloane - joined forces to create this queer historic moment of truly challenging and powerful theatre collaboration.

Directed by Evelyn Parry, with Vanessa Dunn and Leelee Davis, the ensemble was skilfully placed in an open arena like setting that gave the piece an overall balance, integrity, and ingenuity that wove varied narratives and distributed them intergenerationally as individual ensemble members shared each others tories. Weaving words and tales that were at times recorded and then intervened upon by the live performance, this technique gave the project a layered tech/textual presence that spoke of the simultaneous division and integration of youth and elder experience, onstage and off.

BELOW: RILEY KELK & NEILA LEM

BELOW: THE FINAL MOVEMENT OF THE PROJECT WAS A 'LONGTABLE" - PIONEERED BY LESBIAN PERFORMANCE & THEATRE PRACTITIONER LOIS WEAVER. THIS SECTION IS A CHALLENGING, AT TIMES TENSE, AND FREQUENTLY JOVIAL IMPROMPTU DISCUSSION WITH THE PERFORMERS, CHANGING EVERY NIGHT, THAT REVEALS THE INCREDIBLE COURAGE AND HONESTY EACH ARITST BRINGS TO THE THE TABLE. 

ON OPENING NIGHT RACIALIZED NARRATIVES ENDED THE SHOW ON WHAT WAS REFERRED TO BY ONE OF THE PARTICIPANTS AS A "DARK MOMENT" THAT WAS BOTH UNSETTLING AND SIGNIFICANT AS IT REVEALED A VALUABLE AND ONGOING LEARNING PROCESS THAY MOVES BEYOND THE WALLS OF THE THEATRE AND ENTERS THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE PERFORMERS AND THE SPECTATORS. 

RUNNING AT BUDDIES IN BAD TIMES THEATRE FROM MAY 31ST - JUNE 4TH