Theatre Terrific
Formation | 1985 |
---|---|
Type | Theatre group |
Purpose | Disability theatre |
Location |
|
Website | www |
Theatre Terrific, also known as the Theatre Terrific Society, is a Canadian disability theatre company based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is western Canada's oldest disability theatre company.[1]
History[]
In 1984, Connie Hargrave began to conceive of a theatre company focussed on disabled performers.[2]: 68 Theatre Terrific was officially founded in 1985 and was one of Canada's first mixed-ability theatre companies.[3] At this time, Sue Lister was hired as an instructor. Their first show, a musical revue by Leonard Angel titled Dancing on the Head of a Pin with a Mouse in my Pocket, was performed at the 1986 Vancouver Fringe Festival.[2]: 68
Theatre Terrific launched their outreach program, Direct Access, in 1987. The program was a student-focussed performance group whose ensemble members had graduated from Lister's training program. In 1988, Theatre Terrific launched a touring group composed of both abled and disabled actors. They toured across the province of British Columbia, performing at schools.[2]: 70–72
In the early 1990s, Theatre Terrific began to receive international attention.[2]: 87 They official gained membership with the Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance in 1992.[2]: 73
In 1994, the company appointed its first official artistic director: Jamie Norris.[2]: 74 Sue Lister left Theatre Terrific in 1995.[2]: 73 Norris left in 1998 and was replaced by co-artistic directors Elaine Avila and Trevor Found. Avila and Found focussed on artistic education before resigning in 2000.[2]: 74 In 2001, Liesl Lafferty became Theatre Terrific's artistic director. The company had not been active for over one year preceding Lafferty's appointment. She resigned in November 2004.[4]
Susanna Uchatius became artistic director in 2005, at which point the company shifted away from explicitly disability-centred themes.[5] As artistic director, Uchatius has produced some of her own plays, including Hello in 2019, which focussed on the untold story of Arthur Miller's son, Daniel.[6]
Artistic directors[]
- Jamie Norris (1994–1998)
- Elaine Avila and Trevor Found (1998–2000)
- Liesl Lafferty (2001–2004)
- Susanna Uchatius (2005–present)
Production history[]
- Dancing on the Head of a Pin with a Mouse in my Pocket by Leonard Angel (1986)[2]: 68
- One on One (1988)[2]: 71
- Syllabub by Kico Gonzalez-Risso (touring 1991)[2]: 71
- Good-Looking Friends by John Lazarus (touring 1992)[2]: 71
- Breeding Doubts by Sandra Ferens (1995)[2]: 68
- Scraping the Surface by Lyle Victor Albert (1996)[2]: 68
- Ring of Fire by Margaret Hollingsworth (touring 1996)[2]: 71
- Step Right Up by Elaine Avila and Trevor Found (1999)[2]: 75
- Spiralling Within by Siobhan McCarthy (2003)[2]: 79
- Jumpin' Jack by Lyle Victor Albert (2004)[7]
- Error of Eros' Arrows (2004)[2]: 81
- Ugly (2005)[2]: 81
- slowrunning (2006)[2]: 81
- Workin' (2007)[2]: 81
- doGs by Susanna Uchatius in collaboration with the cast (2007)[8]
- The Glass Box (2008)[2]: 82
- The Secret Son (2009)[2]: 82
- dirty white by Susanna Uchatius (2010)[9]
- I Love Mondays by Susanna Uchatius (2015)[10]
- The Ridiculous Darkness by Wolfram Lotz - with Alley Theatre and Neworld Theatre (2017)[11]
- Hello by Susanna Uchatius (2019)[6]
- Digital Fracture: VOICES (2020)[12]
- WINDOWS (2021 - online production)[13]
Awards[]
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1994 | Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards | Special Award for "Distinctive Mandate" | n/a | Won | [2]: 66 | |
Outstanding Script for Young Audiences | Good-Looking Friends | Nominated | for John Lazarus | |||
1995 | Outstanding Script | Breeding Doubts | Nominated | [2]: 73 | ||
Outstanding Ensemble Performance | Nominated | |||||
1996 | Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Lead Role | Scraping the Surface | Nominated | for Lyle Victor Albert | ||
Outstanding Play or Musical | Nominated | |||||
2020 | Outstanding Sound Design or Original Composition - Small Theatre | Hello | Nominated | for Angelo Moroni | [14] |
Notable performers[]
- Jan Derbyshire (doGs - 2007)[8]
References[]
- ^ Johnston, Kirsty (2014). "Out of the Box: Comedy in Disability Theatre by Canadian Women". In Dickson, Peter; Higgins, Anne; St. Pierre, Paul Matthew; Solomon, Diana; Zwagerman, Sean (eds.). Women and Comedy: History, Theory, Practice. p. 150. ISBN 9781611476446 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Johnston, Kirsty (2012). "Theatre Terrific". Stage Turns : Canadian Disability Theatre. McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN 9780773539945.
- ^ Kuppers, Petra (2017). Theatre and Disability. MacMillan Education. p. 35. ISBN 9781137605726 – via Google Books.
- ^ Lafferty, Liesl (2005). "Stage Ability: A Terrific Theatre Experience". Canadian Theatre Review (122): 65–66. ISSN 0315-0836.
- ^ McAskill, Ashley (September 2016). ""Come and see Our Art of Being Real": Disabling Inspirational Porn and Rearticulating Affective Productivities". Theatre Research in Canada. 37 (2): 201–216. ISSN 1196-1198.
- ^ a b Derdeyn, Stuart (2019-03-22). "Theatre Terrific says Hello to a hidden history of Arthur Miller's family". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
- ^ Oliver, Kathleen (2004-11-25). "Jumpin' Jack". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
- ^ a b Oliver, Kathleen (2007-05-09). "doGs". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
- ^ Hui, Stephen (2010-04-21). "Theatre Terrific's dirty white at the Cultch's Vancity Culture Lab". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
- ^ "17 things to do in Metro Vancouver on Thursday, April 16". The Georgia Straight. 2015-04-15. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
- ^ Oliver, Kathleen (2017-09-13). "Fall arts preview 2017 theatre critics' picks: The fun in dysfunction takes to the stage". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
- ^ "Vancouver Fringe announces programming for third mini-festival". The Georgia Straight. 2020-10-15. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
- ^ Wild, Stephi (2021-08-27). "Theatre Terrific Will Present WINDOWS Beginning Next Month". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
- ^ "Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards nominations unveiled amid stage closures, with shows like Kuroko, Noises Off, and Coriolanus leading the way". The Georgia Straight. 2020-06-08. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
- Disability theatre
- Organizations based in Vancouver
- Theatre in Vancouver
- Theatre companies in British Columbia
- 1985 establishments in Canada