Co-Lab 1: In Between

October 20, 2023 | 7:00 PM & 8:00 PM | FREE
Studio T – SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, 149 W. Hastings St., Vancouver

An evening of short collaborative works by performance and lighting design students.

Performed and Designed by: Hermella Araya, Colleen Bayati, Sarah Carter, Albina Dyusenova, Oliver Fusio, Sara van Gaalen, Katie Gherasim, Hailey Gil, Chaucer Gilson, Jae Gonzales, Chenhong Guo, Stephen Hass, Kirsi Jiao, Inkar Julmagambetova, Tina Kardan, Vicky Kwok, Catelyn Lin, Max McLarnon, Angela Peng, Danielle Robertson, Shania Smagh, Mavrik Sun, TJ Tan, Tamara Trbaric, Siqi (Suki) Xu, Jiayi (Jasmine) Yan, Chenli Zhong, and Coco Zhou.

• Emmalena Fredriksson and Kyla Gardiner: Instructors
• Bernice Paet: Stage Manager
• CA170 Students: Technical Crew
  
• Carla Alcantara: Photography
  
• Special Thanks to Emily Neumann, Ben Rogalsky, & Brady Cranfield  

PROGRAM

IN A BLINK OF AN EYE

In a modern tale of unpredictable love, two individuals in the comfort of their own environment are interrupted and connected by circumstances of nature and desire.  

This performance is an exploration of bodies in a space that is in direct work with the environment. Incorporating a mixture of sound that is one with the lighting, It is a combination of live performance, sound, props and light design.  

CREDITS

• Hermella Araya: Performer, Choreographer. 
• Katie Gheraism: Performer, Choreographer
• Albina Dyusenova: Production Design, Lighting Design
• Coco Zhou: Production Design, Lighting Design

BIOGRAPHIES

Katie Gherasim (She/Her) made her debut with The Globe Theatre’s Young Company in the production of Concord Floral and followed that up with The Circle. Katie loves to immerse herself in artistic pursuits on and off the stage; her latest cutting and gluing tiny pieces of paper that result in art, also known as collaging. Katie’s an improv enthusiast, working towards adding more spontaneity within the pieces she creates.  

Albina Dyusenova (She/Her), a Theater Production major, specializes in lighting design for the ‘Cusp’ project. She believes that lighting can tell a unique story and aims to bring the emotions and narratives of ‘Cusp’ to life through creative lighting.  

Hermella Araya (She/Her), who joined the theater department in 2020, has worked in various in-class projects ranging from in-class production to student projects. Hermella is excited to work in an in depth analysis on the work of the body in spaces through her recent project Cusp-”In Between”

Wenwei (Coco) Zhou (She/Her) has been exploring an immersive experience in Theatre Production & Design major; shifting focus points from media art to production and design phases of theater. Coco is striving for creating a peaceful environment for better delivering the messages of a performance.

Bunker  

Bunker is a lighting, sound and movement based performance drawing inspiration from iconic horror franchises. Exploring the mystery of dating apps, the piece is set in quotidian fashion within a typical household. The protagonist actively shields the portrayal of physical objects processing through their mind. Burdening trust to everything shown. Do your best at discovering the story untold.  

CREDITS

• Tina Kardan: Script
• Danielle Robertson: Lighting Design
• Tina Kardan: Assistant Lighting Design
• Max McLarnon: Costumes
• Danielle Robertson & Tina Kardan: Makeup Design
• Max McLarnon: Sound Design
• All: Concept & Direction
• All: Set Design & Props
• Max: Performer
  
• Danielle Robertson & Tina Kardan: Propmasters

BIOGRAPHIES

Danielle Robertson is an interdisciplinary artist exploring connections between movement, nature, and the weird. Based in so-called Vancouver, she studies Theatre Performance + Technology and Geography at Simon Fraser University, where she focuses on collaboration/devising work and incorporating her outside studies.  

Tina Kardan is an Iranian Canadian filmmaker and special effects makeup artist. She is studying Interactive arts and technology and cinema studies at SFU as her second bachelors. She is mostly passionate about storytelling and visual arts.  

Max McLarnon (he/him) is a musical theatre enthusiast stumbling into the contemporary arts world at SFU. He's stoked to present this cinematic attempt at bone chilling horror during this Halloween season. Cheers!

Wake

By QUINTESSENCE

Three things cannot long be hidden: the sun, the moon, the truth. The Earth revolves in orbit, with the sun descending and the moon rising, time seamlessly passes. The truth is, we wake up in what seems like our daily attempt to fight gravity. Wake metaphorically represents one’s sense of consciousness, a more intentional look at the battles of awakening from our sleep and into the break of dawn to start the day. In this movement and light centered piece, we explore these short moments of gratitude, fear and anticipation an individual has upon that short period of waking up from their sleep, Ultimately waking up to absorb the sun's light, to accompany the moon when it gets dark, and to face the truth that lies in our day to day life.  

CREDITS

• Oliver Fusio: Choreography and Stage Director
• Vicky Kwok and Siqi (Suki) Xu: Lighting and Set Designers
• Angela Peng, Mavrik Sun: Movement Artists
• Sara Van Gaalen: Understudy
• Angela Peng, Mavrik Sun: Costumes

BIOGRAPHIES

Angela Peng is a performance artist who lives and studies in Vancouver. Her practice focuses on the body as material for performance, often incorporating other disciplines as well. She perceives performance as a way to tell a story, both hers and others.

Mavrik Sun is an actor and singer from Ontario, Canada currently attending school in Vancouver. Mavrik‘s practice is a focus on movement to create meaning using both metaphors and symbolism to amplify them. Mavrik enjoys collaborating with others to integrate his and their practices into the performance.

Vicky Kwok, a Chinese-Canadian and resident of Richmond BC, is a stage and lighting designer. In addition to her passion for live events, she has an exceptional palette for designs and aesthetics, often inspired by her garden and magnificent nature around her.

Siqi (Suki) Xu, a theatre artist born in China, currently based in Vancouver. Her artistic vision is characterized by imaginative, abstract concepts with a gentle, intricate touch. Her strength in lighting and stage design, marked by a keen sense of color and she fuses them with a meticulous eye for detail.

Born and raised in Tacloban, Philippines, Oliver is a Theatre and performance artist currently based in Vancouver. He is trained in the field of music, specifically in Chorale/Solo singing. In the past year, he explored Hip-Hop Dance/Choreography and developed hip/hop foundations, freestyle, and storytelling through open improvisation.

In Between-TENSION

Within the idea cusp, In Between-TENSION explores the relationship between connective relations of performers, bodies, and rope. Located in the centre of a diamond of space, In Between-TENSION is a duet showing a playful competition of two performers. Maintaining the tension of a rope, performers compete for the upperhand in performative Tug of War.

CREDITS

• TJ Tan, Sarah Carter: Performance / Choreography
• Colleen Bayati: Director
• Colleen Bayati, Michael Zhong: Lighting Direction
• Colleen Bayati: Set Design
• TJ Tan, Sarah Carter, Colleen Bayati: Costume
• Sound source: Squared by Rrose
• Shaquille O’Neal: Motivation/Inspiration

BIOGRAPHIES

TJ Tan (He/Him) is a Performance Artist known for his background in Dance and Theatre. With a decade of experience. TJ is dedicated to improving his works as a performer and strives to make a lasting impact through physical performance. He resides in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Sarah Carter (any pronouns) is a performance artist based out of Vancouver and 100 Mile House. Their main interest in performance lies in exploring the audience-performer relationship, and how a “fourth-wall breaking” concept can be used effectively to invite audience participation and interaction.  

Michael Zhong (He/Him) is a P&D designer from China. In 2017, Michael and his collaborators produced EDM music in Chengdu, China. After signing a contract with Pillz Record Label, Michael officially began exploring stage performances at Trance Music and gradually developed an interest in lighting and visual effects on the stage. After arriving in Vancouver, Michael Zhong became more committed to research in stage lighting and performance design, and continuously began to enhance his knowledge and experience in theatre lighting design.

Born in Vancouver, BC, Colleen Bayati (she/her) is currently finishing her studies in Theatre Production and Film at SFU. She has worked in community and commercial productions such as Strange Joy, Suddenly Slaughter, Cats Jr., and Spring Awakening. She enjoys animation, movement, and colouring. She aspires to expand her skillset and design as she continues her artistic journey.  

Fade

The performance Fade takes its title from the song by Lewis Capaldi, that engulfs feelings of loss, longing, sadness and grief. The performers depict a relationship between two childhood friends who have grown apart over time. While going through the motions and trying to decide whether to step away or power through, both are brought back to their childhood memories. They are reminiscing about their sleepovers where they would build forts and have pillow fights. The material they are clinging onto represents hope and love and the power of nostalgia. When at a crossroads one is unsure whether to clutch onto it or simply let it go.

CREDITS

• Jae Gonzales and Tamara Trbaric: Performance
• Jae Gonzales and Tamara Trbaric: Artistic Vision and Concept
• Kirsi Jiao and Catelyn Lin: Lighting and Set Design
• Jae Gonzales and Tamara Trbaric: Choreography
• Jae Gonzales, Tamara Trbaric, Kirsi Jiao and Catelyn Lin: Costume design
• Lewis Capaldi: Music

BIOGRAPHIES

Tamara Trbaric is a 2nd year Theatre and Performance major who hails from London, Uk and proudly comes from an Eastern European background. She is incredibly passionate about the arts and loves all things performance. When she is not at SFU’s SCA you can find her writing songs in her bedroom.  

Jae Gonzales (he/they) is in his third year of Theatre & Performance studies at SFU’s SCA. He is in love with the idea of sharing stories and aspires to share his stories, and other stories like his, with passion and compassion. He tells these stories through writing, performance, and music.

Kirsi Jiao is a third-year Theatre Production and Design student in the School for the Contemporary Arts at SFU. As a theatre lighting designer for Fade in In Between, she is dedicated to orchestrating changes in lighting that infuse varying levels of emotion into the story of Fade.

Catelyn is in her third-year of Theatre Production and Design in the school for SCA(Contemporary Arts) at SFU. As the sound and lighting designer for Fade in In Between, she is dedicated to anything that combines emotion and lighting with the stage. She loves the quirky and the innovative, by colliding different and complex emotions with the simplest colors. She believes that different lighting effects can completely change the plot as well as the entire stage presentation. Audience insights are unique.

And Then, Things Change

And Then, Things Change is an exploration into the dreamscape where the past and future have the opportunity of meeting. This piece dives into what happens when we reflect on our past selves and look forward to what we may become. Experimenting with poetry and inspiration from the butterfly effect, And Then, Things Change is a piece that looks into the cusp of the present and how we are always in the process of decision making and change. In addition, the past and future are always on the cusp of meeting, but never will. In this piece we dance with that line and find the point where they connect, healing in the present.

CREDITS

• Hailey, Lucas, Inkar, and Sara: Concept & Writing
• Inkar and Sara: Performance
• Hailey: Lighting
• Lucas: Sound Design
• Sound sources: BMTV Meditation and Sleep, Think Make Push, White Noise Box, and Soothing Relaxation on YouTube

BIOGRAPHIES

Hailey Gil (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist born and raised in South Korea, she is currently exploring live performance production, focusing on lighting and set design

Lucas Guo (he/him) was born in China, starting theatre class in high school and now his major is theatre design and production. Theatre is his daily life and also part of his life.

Inkar Julmagambetova (she/her) has over 13 years experience in gymnastics and dancing. Deeply in love with creating anything that reminds her of home and peacefulness, so she can create with the better focus and the idea flow in silence and when completely by herself.

Sara van Gaalen (they/she) is an interdisciplinary artist who has been in Soft Tongues: A Bioacoustic Opera (Jami Reimer, 2023), Over and Over (Tamlin Vetter, Live Acts 2023), Youthless: It’s A Bit Grimm (Place Des Arts, 2021), and more. Sara thanks their loved ones for supporting their artistic endeavours.  

Home Sweet Home

Home Sweet Home is an inspection into the constitution of the stage, repetition, and performative environment in relation to CUSP as both a physical boundary and a metaphorical asymptote. By ringing a doorbell, audience members are invited to participate in a cause and effect performance in which spectators are greeted by and interact with a person on their front porch. With each and every interaction, the performance plays counterpoint against a repetitive action.

• CREDITS
• Chaucer Gilson: Performer / Sound Design
• Stephen Hass: Performer
• Jiayi Yan (Jasmine): Lighting Design
• Shania Smagh: Performer / Dramaturgy

BIOGRAPHIES

Chaucer Gilson is an electroacoustic composer and sound artist currently based out of Vancouver, BC. Outside his primary solo practices, Chaucer’s collaborative work can be heard in an array of artistic disciplines including film, theater, dance, and installation. Chaucer’s current research delves into media archeology and analog playback devices.

Stephen Hass is a second year Theatre & Performance Major studying at SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts, located on the unceded and traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. Stephen’s passion is collaborating with others to bring art to life.

Jiayi Yan, AKA Jasmine, is a theater designer and filmmaker. She was born in China, a country with a rich history and unique culture. Jasmine is not only passionate about the live charm of theater, but also the preserved time and memory in film. Jasmine's mbti is ENFP, that means she is often touched and inspired by the small romantic details of life. Recently, she has begun to experiment with blending the two arts, theater and film, in order to develop her own unique style.

Shania Smagh is a theater-performer and a physicist who makes art through the intersectionalities of the two seemingly contrasting fields. Her research explores the joys of infinitesimal moments that take place in our absurd everyday. She hopes to encourage people to embrace these moments and find a connection to other beings and our collective past.