A puppet, a
balding forty-something man in rumbled suit and tie stands on a stage. A
Spanish guitar strums tranquilly in the background. The audience is silent.
From nowhere a giant arm with clenched fist stretches out above the man,
unbeknownst to him. The music crescendos. Hovering no longer, the fist smashes
down, flattening the puppet’s head. Laughter erupts from the crowd.
Death is
funny. Just one of the many sentiments the Old Trout Puppet Workshop explores
in their celebration of dark comedy and death in Famous Puppet Death Scenes,
showing Thursday, Jan. 31 to Saturday, Feb. 2 at MY Millennium Place as part of
Celebration 2010 and the Cultural Olympiad.
“This must
have been totally devastating to watch,” says another puppet grey haired and
bony with age after watching the fist “reaper.”
“That tiny,
fragile, delicate soul confronted by vast and brutal circumstances. It renders
us helpless and hopeful in the same moment — or do we not see glimmering in him
that self same luminescence that powers our own hearts. These are not mere
blocks of wood that suffer before you. They are your companions.”
The taboo
of death is explored in what critiques have called one of the most original
theatre going experiences anywhere.
“One of the
wildest, wackiest, most inventive ?puppet shows you're ever likely to
see,” wrote The Toronto Star, giving the show four out of four stars.
The Globe
and Mail also gave the troupe four out of four.
“Indelible
visuals... weird and wonderful...?by turns comic, macabre, and sublimely
surreal.”?
The Old
Trout Puppet Workshop will deconstruct the audience’s traumatized psyche so
that death is no longer a tearful, black-suit-and-shoes-wearing tragedy, but
just another part of life’s cycle. They offer a cure for a fear of death
through the staging of famous death scenes culled from the most famous death
scenes in puppet shows, such as Edward’s last meal from The Ballad of Edward
Grue, Dung Beetle’s lament from Flap Flap Flap by Lizzie Fook, and Bipsy’s
mistake from Bipsy and Mumu Go to the Zoo, to name just a few.
Famous
Puppet Death Scenes is only one of more than a dozen events taking place during
Celebration 2010, which is an official participant of the Vancouver 2008
Cultural Olympiad.
For the
next two years, cultural events will be showcased in B.C. and hopefully
extended to the rest of Canada, building and celebrating Canada’s arts, culture
and heritage communities. The Cultural Olympiad will then become the Olympic
Arts Festival in 2010, showcasing cultural events before, during and after the
Games.
In addition
to theatre, Whistler will celebrate the 2008 Cultural Olympiad with film,
photography, outdoor concerts, readings, parades and snow.
Live
outdoor concerts will be staged at 2008 Celebrate Live in Whistler, Feb. 12-17
from 3 to 6 p.m. in Whistler Village. The upbeat outdoor showcase features
Canada’s diverse cultures with artists such as Swarm, Wil Mimnaugh, Bombolesse,
Hey Ocean!, Freeflow, You Say Party! We Say Die!, Paramedic, Cadence Weapon,
Redeye Empire, Maestro Fresh Wes and Bitterly Divine. Admission is free.
The
outdoors continue to be celebrated with The Great Whistler Parade on Feb. 17
where professional artists and community members will parade music, lanterns
and costumes from the Marketplace to Skier’s Plaza. To volunteer, call
Christian at 604-902-2704.
The Only
Animal theatre company also gets outside, building Canada’s first theatre of
snow and ice on Feb. 23 at 8 p.m. at Lost Lake Park. The multi-disciplinary
work called Nix includes theatre artists, glass blowers, composers and
designers. The troupe will share the tale of five survivors building a new
world out of the emptiness of an ice age. Admission is free to rehearsals from
Feb. 21-22. Bring your snowshoes.
Snow
continues to be the star of the celebration at the 2008 Snow Sculpting on
Whistler Mountain showcase, Feb. 27-29. The Canadian National Snow Sculpture
Team, with special guests from Team Alberta, will work outside Roundhouse to
create spectacular snow sculptures. Free viewing with a lift ticket.
The
outdoors moves indoors with the 2008 Out of Bounds: Tales from the Backcountry
competition and exhibit during the month of February at MY Millennium Place.
The launch party kicks it off on Sunday, Feb. 3 at 9:30 p.m. with music from DJ
Mr. Fister. Photographers competing in the photo showdown include Alex Wigley,
Andrew Bradley, Andy Anissimoff, Angela Percival, Anne Price, Bradley Slack,
Brian Hockenstein, Dano Pendygrasse, Dave Smith, Duncan MacKenzie, Eric Berger,
Greg Griffith, Joern Rohde, John Irvine, Jordan Manley, Matt Watkins, Nicolas
Teichrob and Rich Glass. Best in Show will win a trip with Coast Range
Heliskiing. The public can also win a trip by voting for the Best in Show.
Admission is free.
Artists
also strut their stuff with Made in Whistler every weekend in February at the
Fairmont Chateau Whistler. Artisans such as Linda Davies, Lulu Fiedler, Tess
Klein, Borgi Rayen and Ruth Stewart will display their handcrafted works of
jewelry, textile art and pottery every weekend. Free viewing.
The Vicious
Circle gets words off paper and onto the stage at the sixth annual Literary
Leanings storytelling event on Feb. 19 at 8 p.m. at the Path Gallery. More
outrageous than Jerry Springer, six writers get naked on stage with their
pared-down prose. It’s group therapy. Pull up an easy chair and join
storytellers Oni the Haitian Sensation, Ivan E Coyote and Metis-Jewish poet
Gregory Scofield, as well as local tattlers Stephen Vogler, Raj, Lisa
Richardson and Rebecca Wood Barrett as they pass the talking stick. Tickets $10.
Whistler
kids step into the spotlight with the 30-minute documentary Community Now: Made
in Whistler, screening Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m. at MY Millennium Place. The
Whistler Museum production follows mountain bike star Alex Pro into the Air
Dome, tickles the ivories with EMI recording artist Ali Milner, paints with
Tazara Lopes and tears up the mountain with First Nation Snowboard Team members
Logan and Tamara Bikadi. Join the community to learn about how kids think
skiing was invented and what excuses parents use to get out of work on a
20-centimetre powder day. The free event includes a reception of live
entertainment and a student art exhibition.
Other
Celebration 2010 events to look forward to include Squamish Lil’wat Cultural
Centre Tours every Tuesday and Thursday at noon and 1 p.m. at the corner of
Lorimer Road and Blackcomb Way; a Pacific West Coast Symphony concert on Feb.
10 at MY Place; The Glass Menagerie on Feb. 11 at MY Place and Whistler Stories
outdoor film screenings from Feb. 12-16 in Village Square.
For more
information on Celebration 2010, visit www.whistlerartscouncil.com or drop by
MY Millennium Place located across from the Brewhouse.