trace: trans Canada tour Day 7 and 8

January 21, 2015: Day 7 

Delayed for a day....but all okay!

Adrien helps our new travelling companions after sheer ice forces them off road

Adrien, Tristan and "Huey" only made it 100 km today before icy rain made the roads too treacherous to continue. We backtracked to the "Rancheria" motel after our new travelling companions Sunny and Jag slid off the road and ended up in snow bank. It happened right after we had spun out on the ice, so we decided to wait until the roads were in better condition. 

January 22, 2015: day 8

We all set out early and travelled slowly in a U-Haul convoy towards Whitehorse....beautiful!

We arrived safely in Whitehorse with enough time for an afternoon snowshoe before heading out to see a couple of shows at the Pivot Theatre Festival at Nakai Theatre. Tomorrow, we make the long drive to Dawson City.

trace: trans-Canada tour Day 6

January 20, 2015: Day 6

Tristan and Adrien left Muncho Lake in "Huey" this morning and headed for the Liard Hot Springs. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it.... 

Seriously though,  we needed to unwind after navigating some of the "hazards" on this section of the Alaskan Highway. 

We are now in Watson Lake, Yukon spending the night at the Dragon's Den Motel. Tomorrow, we reach Whitehorse!

Republic of Inclusion February 15 event, 1pm at the Theatre Centre in Toronto

http://thisisprogress.ca/2014/11/dramatic-action-the-republic-of-inclusion/

We're pleased to help spread word of this Progress Festival event co-curated by friends Alex Bulmer and Sarah Garton Stanley. 

Alex Bulmer and Sarah Garton Stanley call for a rigorous and provocative discussion about the state of inclusion in our theatre community. A conversation for theatre makers, audiences, leaders, funders, all those in the performance world, and those who are being left out. Progress: it’s about accessing the arts and about the arts being accessible. The Theatre Centre is fully accessible for wheelchair users. The event will also include ASL interpretation, a palantypist, a sighted guide, audio description, and a support worker, and will be live-streamed via SpiderWebShow.ca in partnership with “HowlRound: A commons by and for people who make performance”  

‘Inclusive practice is inherently creative. It affects how we make work, how we communicate , and how we wish to engage an audience. It holds great artistic potential.’ - Alex Bulmer, Co-Curator

‘One of my favourite quotes and a really great working ideal comes from Nina Simon and her work on www.participatorymuseum.org. She says: Harness the mess in support of the excitement. It’s just one of the things I hope to do at The Republic of Inclusion.’ - Jan Derbyshire, Experience Designer

Keynote Speaker – Jess Thom (Performer and Touretteshero Co-Founder)  

Writer, artist and part time superhero, Jess Thom has Tourettes Syndrome and co-founded Touretteshero in 2010, as a creative response to her experience of living with the condition. Jess debuted in Edinburgh with Backstage In Biscuit Land. Having Tourettes makes her neurologically incapable of staying on script, and that’s where the fun begins and the secret of her distinct performance style emerges.

Jess has written for the mainstream and disability press including The Guardian, The Observer and Disability Now. In 2012 she published her first book Welcome to Biscuit Land – A Year In the Life of Touretteshero, with a foreword by Stephen Fry.

In the guise of her superhero alter ego Jess has performed at festivals such as Glastonbury and Shambala. As a visual and participatory artist, Jess has worked as an artist educator and workshop facilitator for Tate, South London Gallery and the Chisenhale Gallery. Jess works collaboratively with communities to create accessible works that explore and communicate wide-ranging experiences.

“I used to think that changing attitudes was a long drawn-out process. Touretteshero’s taught me that it can often be very quick and it often starts with a single conversation. The Republic of Inclusion represents a unique opportunity to discuss disability, creativity and the power of art to create social change.” – Jess Thom 

This Conversation Event is presented through The Collaborations, an English Theatre at Canada’s National Arts Centre initiative.

CURATOR

Alex Bulmer and Sarah Garton Stanley

KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Jess Thom

EXPERIENCE DESIGNER
Jan Derbyshire

REFLECTIVE THINKEREliza Chandler

LANGUAGE
English and ASL

VENUE
Theatre Centre 1115 Queen Street West

SCHEDULE
Sunday February 15, 1:00pm - 5:00pm

1:00pm: Doors Open
1:15pm: Keynote – Jess Thom
2:00pm: Break
2:15pm: Action- Redesigning The Space We Are In -
Jan Derbyshire
3:00pm: Break
3:30pm: Conversation – 3 points of access 1 Long Table
5:00pm: Event Concludes

TICKETS
Free

trace: trans-Canada tour: Day 5

January 19, 2015: Day 5

Adrien and Tristan left Fort St John, British Columbia at 9:00 a.m. as the sun rose, and drove northwest on the Alaskan Highway past Wonowon (at mile One-Oh-One of Alaskan Highway), Pink Mountain, and Fort Nelson. 

We drove through the northern Rockies taking inadequate pictures of the breathtaking mountain ranges, and shaky, unwatchable videos of moose bottoms running away from us. 

trace: trans Canada tour: Day 4

Tour Day 4: January 18, 2015: After spending the night in West Edmonton, Tristan and Adrien continued their journey to the Yukon. In 'Huey', our trusty miniature U-haul, we travelled through the Alberta foothills to Northern British Columbia passing through such places as Grande Prairie and Dawson Creek. On the way we saw two moose and lots of beautiful landscape. We are now officially on the Alaskan Highway, and spending the night in Fort St. John. 

trace: trans Canada tour: Day 2 and 3

Moynan's panoramic shot taken while setting up for trace in Regina

Day 2: Regina: January 16

We were at the Artesian Arts Company in Regina early to start setting up for trace. What a beautiful space this is - thanks to Todd and Andrew for all of their help, in particular for receiving our very heavy road cases early and loading them into the theatre (and thanks to the Regina passersby who voluntarily stopped to help them with this challenge - and to the passersby who stopped to help us load them back into the van at the end of the night ). Tristan left the theatre for a short while this morning to go to CJTR Regina Community Radio where he met the lovely folks (Mikayla, Dylan and Stephanie) at Gender Talk Saskatchewan and was delighted to join them on air for their show. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/GenderTalkSask. 

At 7:30, our audience arrived, and our first show of the tour went off without a hitch.  Thanks Regina for a great start to the tour!

Day 3: Leaving Regina: January 17

Today, Adrien and Tristan woke early to begin the long drive to our next venue. Our miniature u-haul was all packed, and we were ready for an early start....

And, after spending just three hours dealing with the still dead battery we had spent two hours dealing with yesterday, we were finally on the open road headed towards Edmonton....Dawson City, here we come!