Dying to be Heard: Edmonton’s Wrecking Ball focusing on the current political climate through theatre

    Under the looming shadow of 2008’s Federal Election, ten cities across Canada staged simultaneous theatrical events, complete with new and intensely political plays, music and discussion. These theatrical events are known as Wrecking Balls. The Wrecking Ball began in 2004 in Toronto, as a means of a addressing both the excess of the theatre in our politics and the lack of politics in our theatre. They are often held when the political atmosphere in Canada, or elsewhere in the world, is at it’s most uneasy, such as during the G20 summit. Just before election time, the Wrecking Ball goes national.

   This coming Monday, April 25, the Alberta Avenue Theatre will host Wrecking Ball 12, as part of a national event taking place in six other cities across Canada. The closer we come to Election Day, the louder the artists must be if they want to be heard. Edmonton’s Wrecking Ball event will feature new work by local playwright Marty Chan, playwright-performer Chris Craddock and Mostly Water Theatre Company, as well as performances by hip-hop group Politic Live, hip-hop artist A.O.K, singer-songwriter Dale Ladoucer, film screenings by Highwire Films and much more. Admission is pay-what-you-can, and all proceeds will go to the Actor’s Fund of Canada.

  What is the importance of the Wrecking Ball to Edmonton? Obviously, it asks us to get involved in the politics that shape our country, our province and thus, our city. It is incredibly important for artists, no matter where they are in their careers, to advocate on behalf of the arts in their cities. The Wrecking Ball gives us both an opportunity to debate the most current political issues, and a chance to draw attention to the role the arts play in politics. It offers local artists a venue where we, as a community, can discuss the future of the arts in Edmonton, Alberta and Canada. We can also compare party platforms to see which party supports not just the arts, but our personal values as well.

    This year especially, the Wrecking Ball is a reminder of the power of democracy. Extensive news coverage on the political strife in Egypt and Libya has demonstrated how much these countries not only need, but also desire democracy. We live in Edmonton – in Canada, “glorious and free.” Not voting - not exercising our democratic right - is an insult to those brave people on the other side of the globe, who have subjected themselves to violence and put their lives at risk in the pursuit of democracy.

Anyone can make their voice heard; they just have to shout loud enough.

Wrecking Ball 12 is Monday, April 25, 2011 at the Alberta Avenue Theatre (9030 118 Avenue). Doors open at 7:30 pm and performances start at 8 pm. Admission is Pay-What-You-Can. 

Experimenting with Edmonton

First of all, I would like to thank Erika for putting out the call to continue blogging about Edmonton. I look forward to writing alongside fellow students who have such a diverse range of backgrounds and views on the city. I decided that for my first post I would try to put into words my thoughts about what I want to accomplish, as well as the thinking behind it.

The direction I want to take my investigations of Edmonton is highly influenced by the work of Gilles Deleuze, whose philosophy calls for radical experimentation. It’s only through experimentation that you can begin to understand the intensive processes of an object, which lies in opposition to merely observing external characteristics. For example, say that there is a chair in front of you, whose form and colour you perceive, but it isn’t until you move it--in my case I prefer to kick things--that you begin to understand the potential becomings (changes) of the chair. This isn’t to say that I want to kick Edmonton, but more so kick-start it in hopes of seeing how it functions in a more stressed / intensive state.

But how can I go about this? Honestly, on an individual level this task seems fairly daunting, especially if you rule out the idea of running down Jasper Avenue naked during rush hour, or yelling in a library. So in my attempt to avoid jail time and the loving glares of annoyed library patrons, I want to call on the literature from and about the city: fiction, non-fiction, creative non-fiction--everything--maybe even tourism pamphlets! And through these sources I want to see how Edmonton can be deterritorialized (how its habits can change) through events both internal and external to it.

With that said, I see myself examining Edmonton in primarily two different ways:

1. Looking at how large external events influence the city (e.g. A Federal Election)

2. Looking at how literature can bring a deeper understanding of Edmonton.

Through these two activities I hope to plot a map of Edmonton’s potential changes/becomings so that an image of a future-Edmonton or a city-to-come may be brought to light. Hopefully the rest of my posts will be more exploratory in nature, but I think this was a good place to start. Lastly, if you have any any ideas, suggestions, or corrections please feel free to comment.

Spring: Time for Change!

Dear Readers,

Spring is a time for change - mostly, at the moment, the end of the University semester. This blog is moving on beyond the course that it originated in, and beyond its original author (me). You may have noticed some new writers popping up on the sidebar over the past week or so - that's because Journal Edmonton is expanding to a multi-author platform. I held a meeting today with my new team, and am thrilled to be working with such an amazing group.

Already, we have taken the plunge and purchased a domain name, so this site is now our very own: www.journaledmonton.com. Of course, the old ".blogspot" URL will still redirect. Also, we're on twitter! Follow us @journaledmonton for all the latest.

Watch for more changes over the next weeks as we ramp up a new and improved Journal Edmonton, and as we go through this process, feel free to give feedback on what we're doing well or poorly!

Thank you for your continued readership,

Erika Luckert

Snowman with a Message

MAURY SAYS YOU 'R' NOT THE FATHER

I ran into this fellow the other day, and, noting the puddle beside him, wanted to capture his message before he reached a watery fate. Not that I know much about what his message is - I don't know Maury, nor do I have any idea who "you" might be. But I love things like this because they make me want to know. And, perhaps even more than that, they make me want to invent a story by way of explanation. I guess I approach the city that way sometimes. Make up stories to render the mundane, well, more.

But this snowman is far from mundane. What kind of story do YOU think he has to tell?