Browsing “Theatre”

Vancouver Is Awesome is a proud media partner of the 2013 PuSh Festival! Throughout the festival the folks who run things will be bringing you intimate features from behind the scenes to the front lines.

On February 2 at Club PuSh, sad sack, by night  dedicated an entire evening to the expression of West Coast melancholy. We caught up with the curator of the evening, Vanessa Kwan, to talk a little bit about the night:

Tell us a little bit about yourself, and this night at Club PuSh that you’re curating entitled sad sack, by night

Hi, I’m Vanessa. I’m an artist with a practice that includes some curatorial work– in the form of performances, exhibitions, and whatnot. I’ve been working on a series of projects loosely called Sad Sack, and they are all about melancholy in the city. It involves an exhibition, some drawings, a monologue about David Bowie, potentially some absinthe, and: THIS NIGHT AT CLUB PUSH!
 

Image: Vanessa Kwan

…READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

Vancouver Is Awesome is a proud media partner of the 2013 PuSh Festival! Throughout the festival the folks who run things will be bringing you intimate features from behind the scenes to the front lines.

PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS FROM WEEK TWO AT PUSH!

Do You See What I Mean? A 2.5 hour blindfolded tour into the streets, storefronts and hidden spaces of Vancouver! Photo by Liesbeth Bernaerts. 

Club PuSh – the social hub of the PuSh Festival. Photo by Riz Herbosa. …READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

Vancouver Is Awesome is a proud media partner of the 2013 PuSh Festival! Throughout the festival the folks who run things will be bringing you intimate features from behind the scenes to the front lines.

All three weekends of the PuSh Festival (Jan 18-20, 25-27 + Feb 1-3) between 12:00PM and 4:00PM, head down to the Vancouver Public Library and check out a human book at Human Library! Choose from titles like “Female Heavy Equipment Mechanic” and “Non-Binary Transgender” and be connected with the person behind the title for an enjoyable and informal conversation designed to challenge prejudice.

We asked a few questions of Zaira Petruf, one of our “human books”:

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your book title

My book title is ‘Refugee‘. I constantly struggle with the images that this word evokes. Try a simple Google Image search of the word ‘refugee’ and you will know what I mean. While it is true, my immigration status for a period of time was ‘refugee’, the life I lead today is not a direct reflection of that period of time. It is more than that; I am more than that.

This is also the case for a lot of other immigrants and refugees or ‘people with accents’ that walk the streets of Vancouver. We have our intricacies and quirks. We can be ‘mainstream’ and ‘alternative’, ‘well-adjusted’ and ‘closed-minded’. We are full of contradictions because we are all people.

…READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

Vancouver Is Awesome is a proud media partner of the 2013 PuSh Festival! Throughout the festival the folks who run things will be bringing you intimate features from behind the scenes to the front lines.

PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS FROM WEEK ONE AT PUSH!

All photos by Festival photographer Tim Matheson

Dan Mangan and CTV’s Mi-Jung Lee host the PuSh Festival Opening Gala

Club PuSh – packed to capacity on Opening Night! …READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

The intersection of local business and cool, innovative cultural stuff helps to keep communities vibrant and engaged. Good news! A local artisan bakery, Terra Breads is supporting the incredible (and unusual) cultural event, Do You See What I Mean? at the 9^th annual PuSh Festival*.

The show is all about removing pre-conceptions and taking the routine of daily life into an unexpected journey of heightened senses and transformed perceptions. The project examines the familiar and collective memories of the body, and questions our connection to the world around us, our connection to others and to ourselves. Imagine what it would be like walking through Chinatown, Strathcona and downtown Vancouver without being able to see it. Imagine only being able to experience neighbourhoods, streets and secret spaces with just sound, smell and touch to guide you. Sound appealing?

As part of the show, spectators (as individuals) are blindfolded, and then taken on a two-and-a-half hour tour of downtown Vancouver neighbourhoods on foot. What’s so fantastic about this show is that it calls on spectators to focus on their other senses — using smell, touch and sound (plus a trained guide) to experience the city in a whole new way. Created by choreographers Martin Chaput and Martial Chazallon of Projet in situ, the show is making its West Coast debut in Vancouver after critically acclaimed productions in Marseille, Lyon, Montreal and Geneva.

In addition to this unique tour of the city, this is the first time the local artisan bakery has made a significant investment in the Vancouver arts community. In the past, Terra Breads has focused (not surprisingly) on supporting food-based charities and causes. But, now Terra Breads is taking it to the next level — and doing it with their eyes wide open. “With the PuSh Festival, we see an incredible opportunity to explore giving back to our city in new ways that reflect our values as a company,” said Michael Lansky, President of Terra Breads. “Our support of Do You See What I Mean? enables us to make a deeper connection to creativity, collaboration and community at every level, and to help share the benefits and enriching experiences that art allows.”
…READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

Vancouver Is Awesome is a proud media partner of the 2013 PuSh Festival! Throughout the festival the folks who run things will be bringing you intimate features from behind the scenes to the front lines.

We asked PuSh Festival Executive Director Norman Armour to give a few recommendations for a wide variety of audiences and this is what he had to say!

WHAT PUSH FESTIVAL SHOW WOULD YOU RECOMMEND FOR…

A newbie to PuSh
Show: Winners and Losers
Why: If this doesn’t grab your interest, mischievous, intellectual hate strings, and make you want more, well then shut the front door.

A couple on their first date
Show: Ballet BC’s Encore
Why: The choice of entertainment will prove you have class, taste and smarts.

…READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>