News from Savannah Walling, Artistic Director

Posted on September 4, 2014September 8, 2014

This last spring and summer 2014 has been a lovely and deeply valued opportunity for both personal and professional journeys.

In April, Terry and I travelled to California, Arizona and southern Utah to visit my American family, my high school boyfriend, and my beloved mentor dance anthropologist Dr. Joann Kealiinohomoku, former director of Cross Cultural Dance Resource Centre in Flagstaff, Arizona.

We also visited our Navajo friends whom we had not seen for almost twenty years. The Navajo Nation is larger than ten of America’s fifty states; it is the largest Native American reservation in the USA. I love the stark beauty, stunning rock formations, and juniper-scented desert air of the Four Corners region, located 5,000 feet above sea level on the Colorado plateau. The American southwest is my birth home and my spiritual home.

We also had the good fortune of a stop-over in old town San Diego, where we joined a wonderful family reunion of the Wong Family from Chinatown’s Modernize Tailors.

This summer I am having a wonderful opportunity to see a series of community plays across Canada:

Chasing the Dream: the Grande Prairie Century Play (directed by Annie Skinner, Grand Prairie, Alberta);
Rising Above: Sunnyside YVC and the 2013 Flood (Trickster Theatre, Calgary, with whom we’ve collaborated on productions over the years);
Tuwitames (a beautifully realized and deeply moving production directed by Jimmy Tait with music direction by Renae Morriseau, produced by Runaway Moon Theatre and the Splatsin Language Centre);
Dances of Resistance (produced by the Aanmitaagzi Collective/Penny Couchie and Sid Bob, North Bay/Nipissing First Nation with support from Jumblies Theatre).

Following my trip to Nipissing, I will visit Toronto a few days to confer with Ruth Howard (Artistic Director, Jumblies Theatre) about our upcoming joint projects (spring 2015), and then head to Lawton, Oklahoma where I will meet my son Montana for a rare family reunion of the Walling clan.

NEWS FROM MAPS & MEMORIES

This spring VMT produced Maps & Memories: 4^th Downtown Eastside Artfare Institute at the Ukrainian Hall, a three day workshop on researching and expressing community stories though oral history and mapping. We wove the institute into goals and themes of VMT’s upcoming Big House and Train of Thought collaborative projects. The popular workshop was very fun, everyone learned and everyone benefited from the contributions of Squamish cultural teacher Wes Nahanee and elder Woodrow (Woody) Morrison, who trained as an oral historian since the age of three). We followed Maps & Memories with three days of creative consultation on The Big House project with the artistic team, cultural consultants and community partners. Over the course of the week we learned a lot more about False Creek and the city’s lost waterways and a deeper understanding of cultural protocols surrounding oral history and the sharing of stories.

UPCOMING NEWS

We are making progress on Vancouver Moving Theatre’s new book, From the Heart of a City: Community Engaged Music and Theatre Productions from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside 2002 – 2013.

The text- and photo-based community arts resource book profiles numerous community-engaged productions produced in the Downtown Eastside since 2002 by Vancouver Moving Theatre, Carnegie Community Centre, Dalannah Bowen, Theatre in the Raw and Savage God; and features numerous by articles by leading community engaged artists that provide insight into the diversity of community engaged practice in our community. The book will be launched at the 7th Canadian Community Play and Arts Symposium and on the Train of Thought VIA Rail tour across Canada.

Bah!Humbug! is back!

Posted on November 21, 2013December 4, 2013

Bah! Humbug! returns for a fourth year featuring Juno-Award Winning musician Jim Byrnes as Ebenezer Scrooge in a new twist.

Reconceived as a tale where Scrooge owns a pawn shop on Hastings Street, this imaginative all-ages production offers a bittersweet twist on a cherished classic that celebrates the transformative power of human redemption. Now more than 150 years old, Dickens’ timeless story remains relevant today, especially in light of parallels between the economic disparities of Victorian London and Vancouver’s DTES. Bah! Humbug! runs for three evening performances from December 12-14, 2013 at 7:30 pm and one matinee on December 14 at 2:00 pm at SFU’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts.

“Each year, the adaptation has different creative twists and turns as we continue to highlight vital issues affecting the DTES. Taking inspiration from Dickens, we’re proud to work in partnership with Vancouver Moving Theatre to benefit a dynamic cultural program in our community” says Michael Boucher, Director, Cultural Programs & Partnerships, SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs.

Commissioned and co-produced by SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs in partnership with Vancouver Moving Theatre with support from SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement, Bah! Humbug! is a benefit for the flagship Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival, which partners each year with forty-plus Downtown Eastside involved community arts and non-arts organizations.

Directed by Max Reimer, Bah! Humbug! features Juno award-winning musician Jim Byrnes, taking on the role of Ebenezer Scrooge for the first time, First Nations actor Margo Kane as the narrator, musician and actor Steve Maddock as Jacob Marley, and gospel and blues singer/actor Tom Pickett as Bob Cratchit. These Vancouver favourites are joined by a cast of professional and DTES community actors. Musical performances are diverse and include pop songs, folk, blues, gospel and industrial rock along with traditional seasonal favourites, directed by Neil Weisensel.

“At the darkest hour of a winter’s night, Scrooge confronts spirits of the past, present and future. Emerging from Coast Salish land buried under city sidewalks, they bring the old pawn broker face to face with memories he cannot bear and relationships he cannot heal,” says Savannah Walling, Artistic Director of Vancouver Moving Theatre, “Dickens’ haunting ghost story is filled with social satire, heartbreak and compassion. We hope that our music filled adaptation shines the light of truth on this old tale and today’s Downtown Eastside.”

Bah! Humbug! runs for four performances only on December 12-14 at 7:30 pm and December 14^th at 2:00 pm at the Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre, SFU’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, 149 West Hastings St. Tickets are $25 (general) and $15 (students/seniors) can be purchased online at www.sfuwoodwards.ca or at the door one hour before showtime. There will be a show preview on December 11 for media, with admittance of the public for a $5 suggested donation.

Media inquiries
Leanne Prain, Marketing and Promotions, SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs
T: 778-782-9223 | E: lyp2@sfu.ca www.sfuwoodwards.ca

Upcoming for 2013

Posted on February 12, 2013August 17, 2014

Vancouver Moving Theatre is currently working on five community engaged projects:

THE BIG HOUSE is a theatrical performative feast that celebrates the neighbourhood’s founding cultures, weaving together music, story sharing, hands-on art-making and feasting traditions of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. This spring April 2013 we will offer workshops on “The Art of Hospitality” and try out two work-in-progress prototypes of The Big House in partnerships with the folks at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden and the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House. Co-produced in association with Toronto’s Jumblies Theatre, the project brings together producer Terry Hunter, artistic director Savannah Walling, designer Ruth Howard, musician Beverly Dobrinsky and culinary artist Rosemary Georgeson. The premiere of the production/event will be held in May 2014 at a yet to be determined location in the Downtown Eastside.

Theatrical-performative feast, Arts for All Institute: Oppen-Arts, Oppenheimer Park, November 2010. Photo courtesy Keith Martin.

BREAD AND SALT is a music, dance and oral history tribute to the historic and current Ukrainian Canadian community of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. A collaboration between Vancouver Moving Theatre, Beverly Dobrinsky (singer, composer and musical director) and the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians, Bread and Salt will take place at the Ukrainian Hall (805 East Pender Street) during the 2013 Heart of the City Festival in an event commemorating the 85^th anniversary of Vancouver’s Association of United Ukrainian Canadians.

TRAIN OF THOUGHT: Vancouver Moving Theatre is pleased to be joining the coast-to-coast creative multi-community journey: Train of Thought, produced by Jumblies Theatre and cross-country partners including Vancouver Moving Theatre. Timed to coincide with The Big House, the innovative networking project will link and develop community arts initiatives through an evolving dialogic journey across Canada by train with at least eight stops along the way, connecting with fellow Canadian community artists engaged on projects for, about and celebrating their communities. The train leaves in May 2014 right after the final presentation of The Big House!

THE V6A PROJECT is a community arts legacy project: a celebratory history and resource of community engaged theatre and music productions and projects created with, for about the Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside from 2002 to 2012 by Vancouver Moving Theatre, the Carnegie Community Centre, DGB Productions, Savage God, Theatre in the Raw and in partnerships with Enderby, B.C.’s Runaway Moon Theatre and Toronto’s Jumblies Theatre. The resource features a 180 page book, a slide show, a website and a visual display. Please visit heartbook.vancouvermovingtheatre.com to view the nine productions featured in the resource package. Our new book – From the Heart of a City: Community Engaged Theatre Productions from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside 2002-2012 – will be ready for distribution soon. As of the writing of this post, the visual display is on display at the Carnegie Community Centre gallery on the third floor. Call 604-665-2220 and ask for the Carnegie administration office to see if the display is still up.

BAH! HUMBUG!: Victorian England meets Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside in a bittersweet twist on the cherished classic that celebrates the transformative power of human redemption. Commissioned and co-produced by SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs in partnership with Vancouver Moving Theatre, the East End adaptation of the Charles Dickens holiday favorite, “A Christmas Carol”, benefits the Downtown Eastside Heart of the Festival and community arts in the Downtown Eastside. (December 2013, Fei & Milton Wong Theatre).

We hope to see you at one of these events and/or our anniversary celebrations.

As always,

Terry Hunter
Executive Director
11 February 2013

Terry and Savannah Receive Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal

Posted on February 12, 2013February 12, 2013

The founders of Vancouver Moving Theatre, Terry Hunter (Executive Director) and Savannah Walling (Artistic Director) were recently honoured for their contributions to Canadian culture with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. Presenting the awards in the Heritage Hall at a ceremony on 23 January 2013 were Libby Davies, MP, Vancouver East, with Jennie Kwan, MLA, Vancouver-Mount Pleasant and Shane Simpson, MLA, Vancouver-Hastings.

Elaine Carol (Miscellaneous Productions), Savannah Walling, Libby Davies MP, Terry Hunter

Terry and Savannah were recognized for “producing innovative arts events, which involve people from the Downtown Eastside in telling their stories through their company Vancouver Moving Theatre. They involve residents in the creation, development and production of cultural events, educational program and community festivals….Through their work, residents and visitors alike come to see the value, history and strength of this diverse community.” (Awards Program Guide)

Terry and Savannah were thrilled and honoured to be joined at the award ceremony by family members Mary Hunter (mother) and Dr. Robert Hunter (brother); their nominator Dr. Frank Harris; Vancouver Moving Theatre Board of Directors Ann McDonell (President), John Atkin (Secretary) and Renae Morriseau (Member-at-Large); nomination supporters Michael Clague, James Johnston and Rika Uto; and Downtown Eastside performer Stephen Lytton.

RCMP officer, Michael Clague, John Atkin, Terry Hunter, James Johnstone, Mary Hunter (front), Savannah Walling, Frank Harris (back), Steven Lytton (front), Ann McDonell, RCMP officer

Congrats to the other thirty-four recipients from Vancouver East who received the award, including among others friends and colleagues Elaine Carol (Miscellaneous Productions), James Crescenzo (drama teacher, Templeton High School), Melva Forsberg (artist, business owner), Marlene George (Seniors & Cultural Sharing Programmer, Carnegie Community Centre); Bruce MacDonald (historian/author), Kevin McNulty (actor), Jane Newton-Moss (Breakfast Program, Strathcona Community Centre), Bill Sample (musician, composer, musical director), Ron Suzuki (programmer, Strathcona Community Centre), Richard Tetrault (artist), Joe Wai (architect), Larry Wong (historian/writer) and Ellen Woodsworth (community organizer).

We are also delighted by the recognition of community advocates Nathan Allen (manager of Pigeon Park Savings Credit Union); Dr. Alan Bates (head coach of the Portland FC Homeless Street soccer team); Katrina Pacey (litigation director at Pivot Legal Society); Charlie Quan (a champion who fought for justice and redress from the unjust Chinese Exclusion Act) and Alex Tam (a beloved Downtown Eastside pharmacist).

RCMP officer, Terry Hunter, Jenny Kwan MLA, Elaine Carol. Richard Tetrault, Savannah Walling

Bah! Humbug! returns

Posted on November 28, 2012February 5, 2013

Bah! Humbug! 2012 – A Woodward’s Seasonal Tradition!

December 15, 2012 | 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM
$20 general | $10 student/seniors

Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre
Goldcorp Centre for the Arts

BUY TICKETS

Directed by Max Reimer

Starring Jay Brazeau, Jim Byrnes & Margo Kane

Featuring over 20 popular & seasonal songs, an audience sing-a-long, seasonal refreshments, and an organic turkey draw!

A contemporary adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Bah! Humbug! parallels the economic disparities between Victorian England and Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Reconceived as a reading and musical event where Scrooge owns a pawn shop on Hastings Street, this presentation includes community actors working alongside professional actors from the city. This imaginative production offers a new twist on a cherished classic that celebrates the transformative power of human redemption.

A Woodward’s tradition, each year the family-friendly adapation contains new twists and turns while highlighting the vital issues affecting Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

Directed by Max Reimer, Bah! Humbug! features award-winning actor Jay Brazeau as Ebenezer Scrooge, First Nations actor Margo Kane as the narrator, Juno-award winning musician and actor Jim Byrnes as Jacob Marley, and gospel and blues/singer Tom Pickett as Bob Cratchit. Musical performances are diverse and include pop songs, folk, blues, gospel, and industrial rock along with traditional seasonal favourites. This truly is a version of A Christmas Carol like you’ve never experienced before.

A witty, heart-filled production!
–Megan Harris

A fantastic way to get into the spirit of the season!
–Diane Roberts, urban ink

.. one sweet humbug… becoming an annual favourite… a made-in-Vancouver Christmas Carol… Brazeau is a great humbugging Scrooge…Don’t miss it…..
-Jo Ledingham, Vancouver Courier

Terry and Savannah win 2009 Mayor’s Award (Community Art)

Posted on November 19, 2009February 5, 2013

Announcement: Vancouver Moving Theatre Society’s Terry Hunter and Savannah Walling receive 2009 Mayor’s Award (Community Art)

Dear Friends and Colleagues:
On behalf of the Board of Directors of Vancouver Moving Theatre Society I am pleased to extend congratulations to Vancouver Moving Theatre’s Executive Director Terry Hunter and Artistic Director Savannah Walling as recipients of the 2009 Mayor’s Award (Community Arts).

The presentation ceremony, hosted by broadcaster and author Bill Richardson, was held Monday November 16th with Mayor Gregor Robertson paying tribute to the recipients at a reception at the Museum of Vancouver.

The honour follows two recent awards presented last to year (2008) to Vancouver Moving Theatre and its Executive and Artistic Directors: the City of Vancouver Cultural Harmony Award (Vancouver Moving Theatre), and the British Columbia Community Achievement Award (Terry Hunter and Savannah Walling).

Each Mayor’s Arts Award honouree is invited to select an ‘emerging artist’ in their discipline who demonstrates the promise of the next generation, and the emerging artist shares the Award and the cash prize of $5,000.

Terry and Savannah were delighted to choose Rosemary Georgeson, the Aboriginal Community Director for Vancouver-based urban ink productions. Rosemary worked as a Community Outreach Worker on In the Heart of a City: The Downtown Eastside Community Play (Vancouver Moving Theatre/Carnegie Community Centre, 2003) and was co-writer of We’re All In This Together: The Shadows Project- Addiction and Recovery (Vancouver Moving Theatre with urban ink and the Carnegie and Roundhouse Community Centres 2007).

Ironically, this award comes at a time of major draconian cutbacks in provincial arts and community funding, an impact which will severely impact the innovative work of Vancouver Moving Theatre/Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival, and other arts and non arts based community social profit organizations across British Columbia. To find out more about these cutbacks and what you can to lobby for the reinstatement of provincial funding to social profit organizations please visit www.stopbcartscuts.ca.

Sincerely,

Ann McDonell, President

Vancouver Moving Theatre Society

www.vancouvermovingtheatre.com

www.heartofthecityfestival.com

Heart of the City Festival 09

Posted on January 10, 2009March 10, 2009

The 2008 Festival was very successful and we are now working on the 2009 Festival which is scheduled for Wed. Oct 29 – to Sunday Nov. 8 2009. Program events for the 2009 Festival will be posted by mid October 2009 at the latest.

Looking forward to seeing you at the festival!

Terry Hunter
Artistic Producer, DTES Heart of the City Festival