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Canada PQ'15 - Shared [private] Space

The Canada PQ'15 exhibition concept is a quintessentially human experience: the outhouse. Ten outhouses will be installed within a baroque-period ballroom at the Clam-Gallas Palace. Each outhouse, showcasing a single production, will become a private theater for an individual viewer. The act of juxtaposing the rough outhouses within the highly finished room aims to provoke curiosity and comment with humor on the political position of the theater designers and their work in Canada.

The architecture of the outhouse is also a reflection on Canadian identity. ‘Garrison mentality’ is an idea first proposed by prominent scholar Northrop Fry and further elaborated by the author Margaret Atwood as a deep and unrelenting fear of the emptiness of the Canadian landscape. The Canadian psyche is one where walls are built – both physical and psychological - to isolate and protect the individual. The outhouse is a unique form of shelter and is, in a sense, a garrison built for a single person; at once a source of shelter and of isolation. The theater, however, as a shared space – ‘the last human venue’ – is celebrated most often for bringing people together. But by shifting the context of scenography from its traditional public setting to the supremely private confines of an outhouse, this installation seeks to explore scenography in the context of the last private human venue.

Selected Designs

A jury made up of prominent Canadian designers Astrid Janson, Teresa Przybylski and Allan Stichbury selected the work for the PQ'15 presentation. The Jury’s choice was largely based on innovation: looking forward to the future of Canadian theater and designs that really mirror the Prague Quadrennial’s vision of celebrating “the Designer in the heart of the scene”. The Jury has selected nine projects representing the breadth of scenographic work across the design disciplines of set, costume, lighting, sound and projection design. Their selection highlights the incredible range of styles and practices. The jury has also chosen to celebrate excellence and theatricality in a broad range of scales, from major festival stages to fringe-style productions, and to be inclusive of artists at all stages of their careers.

Exhibiting artists / ateliers

• Michael Gianfrancesco


Specialization: set designer, costume designer, scenographer
Education: Concordia University
Collaboration with theatres: Shaw Festival, Stratford Festival, The National Ballet of Canada, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal, Canadian Opera Company, Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Citadel Theatre, Young People’s Theatre, Canadian Stage, Tarragon Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille, Queen of Puddings Music Theatre, Opera Philadelphia, Grand Theatre, Ross Petty Productions, Studio 180, Against the Grain Theatre, Royal Conservatory of Music, Acting Up Stage, Obsidian Theatre, Segal Centre, Neptune Theatre, Opera Ontario, Pleiades Theatre, Theatre Aquarius,
Awards: Virginia and Myrtle Cooper award in costume design (Ontario Arts Foundation); Brian Jackson award, Tyrone Guthrie award (Stratford Festival).
Additional information: In addition to designing for Canada’s major festival stages, Stratford and Shaw, Michael has designed for dance theatre and opera at the National Ballet of Canada, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, the COC and the major regional theatres in Canada.

'Peter Hinton'

Exhibiting works

• autor předlohy/book by: Joe Masteroff, hudba/music by: John Kander, verše/lyrics by: Fred Eb: (Cabaret (Set Design)), (Shaw Festival, Festival Theatre), 2014, Director: Peter Hinton, hudební režisér/musical director: Paul Sportelli, choreograf/choreographer: Denise Clarke, scénický designér/set designer: Michael Gianfrancesco, výtvarnice kostýmů/costume designer: Judith Bowden, světelný designér/lighting designer: Bonnie Beecher, zvukový designér/sound designer: John Lott, obsazení/cast: David Ball, Tess Benger, Kenton Blythe, Benedict Campbell, Jeremy Carver-James, Kristi Frank, Kyle Golemba, Kaylee Harwood, Aaron Hastelow, Deborah Hay, Lorne Kennedy, Corrine Koslo, Billy Lake, Julain Molnar, Gray Powell, Kiera Sangster, Travis Seetoo, Jonathan Tan, Jacqueline Thair, Jay Turvey, Jenny L. Wright Identification of exhibit: model , sketch, photo
  Comments: The intention of this design was to allow the dark, glamorous, glittering world of the cabaret, and the real and intimate spaces of Fraulein Schneider’s tenement apartments to exist in one environment. Constructivist architecture, with its open, skeletal forms and dynamic angles allowed us to build a structure that made this theatrically possible.
• Lorenzo Savoini

, Thornhill
Specialization: teacher, set designer, costume designer, lighting designer
Education: MFA, University of British Columbia, Soulpepper Academy
Collaboration with theatres: Soulpepper Theatre, Stratford Festival, Theatre Calgary, Citadel Theatre, Tarragon Theatre, Buddies in Bad Times, Globe Theatre, and The Belfry.
Teaching activities: Soulpepper Academy
Awards: Multiple Dora Mavor Moore Awards
Additional information: He is a multi-awardwinning designer who has contributed to eight seasons with Soulpepper Theatre, six seasons with the Stratford Festival, and regional and independent theatre companies across Canada.

'Albert Schultz'

Exhibiting works

• Vern Thiessen: (Of Human Bondage (Set & Lighting Design)), Soulpepper Theatre Company, Baillie Theatre 2014, Director: Albert Schultz, scénický a světelný designér/set & lighting designer: Lorenzo Savoini, kostýmní výtvarnice/costume designer: Erika Conner, skladatel a zvukový designér/ composer & sound designer: Mike Ross, obsazení/cast: Courtney Ch'ng Lancaster, Dan Chameroy, Oliver Dennis, Raquel Duffy, John Jarvis, Thorpe Athelney, Richard Lam, Jeff Lillico, Michelle Monteith, Gregory Prest, Paolo Santalucia, Sarah Wilson Identification of exhibit: model , sketch, photo, object
  Comments: Phillip Carrey rises on an elevator to the center of a reflective red floor. He will be bound over the course of the production by the red floor under his feet and nine large industrial light fixtures above that would descend to further establish his metaphorical imprisonment. This is essentially what we knew going into the rehearsal process...
• Snezanna Pesic

, Belgrade, Serbia
Specialization: set designer, costume designer, lighting designer, painter , fashion designer, puppet designer, scenographer
Education: BFA University of Belgrade, Serbia,  MFA University of Alberta
Collaboration with theatres: Odyssey Theatre, Obsedian Theatre, Ghost River Theatre, and Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, The Banff Centre
Awards: Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding Lighting Design:  ONE
Additional information: Originally from Belgrade, Serbia, now based in Toronto, Snezana works across Canada as a set, costume and lighting designer for theatre, dance and opera. Snezana works across the spectrum from independent to large regional theatre environments.

'Eric Rose'

Exhibiting works

• Jason Carnew: (One (Production Design)), Ghost River Theatre, Pumphouse Theatre 2010, Director: Eric Rose, scénografie/production designer: Snezana Pesic, zvukový designér/sound designer: Matthew Waddell, obsazení/cast:  Amber Borotsik, Cole Humeny, Kristi Hansen, Keith Wyatt Identification of exhibit: sketch, costume, mask, photo, object, video
  Comments: ONE follows Philistine, a bibliophile, as she journeys through the underworld in search of her lover.  A series of images and visual experiences take her beyond the living world and into the strange and all-consuming world of the dead. This play is a combination of a performance and movement piece featuring storytelling which is heavily based on design.
• T. Erin Gruber


Specialization: set designer, costume designer, lighting designer, media artist, scenographer
Education: BFA University of Alberta
Additional information: Erin’s scenographic work is particularly interested in the development of independent collective theatre creations and to question and expand the boundaries of the projected media's role in theatre.

'Stefan Dzeparoski'

Exhibiting works

• Stefan Dzeparoski: (Delete (Production Design)), Canadian Centre for Theatre Creation, Timms Centre Second Playing Space 2012, Director: Stefan Dzeparoski, hudební režisér/musical director:  Paul Sportelli, projekce a scénografie/projected media and production designer: T. Erin Gruber, designér interaktivního videa/interactive video designer: Joel Adria, zvukový designér/sound designer: Matthew Skopyk, obsazení/cast:  Nancy MacAlear, Kris Joseph, Photo or Video Recording Credit:  Mel Geary Identification of exhibit: model , sketch, video
  Comments: To convey Konstantin’s state - trapped within the digital web of his own mind – we created a purely ‘digital’ space.  A truly immersive experience, DELETE sought to expand the boundaries of the projected media’s role onstage and to open the minds of the theater creators and audience to the power design can have in telling a story and embodying a character.
• Bretta Gerecke

, Vancouver
Specialization: set designer, costume designer, lighting designer, scenographer
Education: MFA, University of Alberta
Awards: Bretta is the recipient of over twenty Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Awards, Jessie Richardson Awards and Betty Mitchel Awards for Set, Costume and Lighting Design. Also: Enbridge Award for Best Emerging Artist ,  Global Women of Vision Award , Edmonton's Top 40 Under 40, and short-listed twice for the Siminovitch Prize
Additional information: She works in both theatre and opera and is the resident designer at Catalyst Theatre, where she has designed award-winning world premieres that have toured to Great Britain, Australia, the US and across Canada.

'Jonathan Christenson'

Exhibiting works

• Jonathan Christenson: (Nevermore – The lmaginary Life & Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe (Production Design)), Catalyst Theatre 2009, Director: Jonathan Christenson, produkční designér/production designer:  Bretta Gerecke, zvukový designér/sound designer: Wade Staples, Lighting Design Associate: Kerem Cetinel, obsazení/cast:  Sheldon Elter, Ryan Parker, Garett Ross, Beth Graham, Vanesa Sabourin, Shannon Blanchett Identification of exhibit: sketch, photo, video
  Comments: We began the process by looking at silhouettes of Poe’s era, then an exploded line, shape and form. The materials used to build the costumes were cheap and readily available; something we did at Catalyst first out of necessity, then later by choice. The guiding aesthetic was that of daydreams and nightmares. We wanted to evoke a life-size storybook.
• Eo Sharp

, Toronto
Specialization: set designer, costume designer, scenographer
Education: National Theatre School of Canada, BFA University of Toronto
Collaboration with theatres: Sin 4 Productions, The Other Theatre, Festival TransAmerique, the Stratford Festival
Additional information: Eo is a designer whose practice spans fringe theatre to the main stages of the Stratford Festival. She has developed a reputation for highly imaginative designs created out of as close to nothing as possible.

'Peter Hinton'

Exhibiting works

• A. P. Čechov/Anton Chekov, adaptace/adaptation by: Peter Hinton: (The Seagull (Set & Costume Design)), The Alvin and Lenore Segal Centre for the Performing Arts, The Segal Centre 2014, Director: Peter Hinton, scénická a kostýmní výtvarnice/set & costume designer:  Eo Sharp, světelný designér/lighting designer:  Robert Thomson, zvukový designér/sound designer: Dmitri Marine, obsazení/cast: Krista Colosimo, Patrick Costello, Shannon Currie, Diane D'Aquila, Danielle Desormeaux, Marcel Jeannin, Patrick McManus, Lucy Peacock, Michel Perron, Andrew Shaver Identification of exhibit: sketch, photo, object
  Comments: We wanted to strip the Seagull of the nostalgic and sentimental spectrum through which we now view Chekov’s plays and to imbue the text with a contemporary ordinariness. By filling the set with the mundane paraphernalia of everyday life, we hoped to contemplate the nature of the banal, as well as the purpose of art.
• Sheree Tams

, Caerphilly, South Wales, UK
Specialization: author, set designer, costume designer, scenographer
Education: Ontario College of Design, George Brown College, Motley London UK
Additional information: Sheree has current focus in devised theatre and site-specific events. Sheree is also an accomplished writer; her stories have been published in national newspapers, magazines and blogs.

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Exhibiting works

• kolektivní spolupráce/created by the company, text/text development: Gary Kirkham: (Last 15 Seconds (Costume & Co-Set Design)), MT Space 0 scénický design/set design:  Sheree Tams, William Chesney, kostýmní výtvarnice/costume design:  Sheree Tams, světelná designérka/lighting design: Jennifer Jiminez, scénografie/projection design: Rob Ring, hudba/music: Nick Storring, dále účinkují/colaborative performers:  Tervor Copp, Pam Patel, Nada humsi, Anne Marie Donovand, Allan K. Sapp Identification of exhibit: sketch, costume, photo
  Comments: The community of Kitchener Ontario has one of the largest percentages of immigrant populations in Canada. Some members of the community had lost loved ones in this tragic suicide bombing that took place at a wedding in a hotel in Amman Jordan in 2005. This was the seed for the idea of pursuing this subject.
• Troy Hourie

, Calgary
Specialization: set designer, costume designer, lighting designer, sound designer, media artist, scenographer, sound artist, visual artist
Disciplines: installation artist
Education: MA Scenography, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, MFA University of Massachusetts, BFA University of Manitoba
Collaboration with theatres: the Glimmerglass Festival, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Classical Theatre of Harlem, Juilliard, the Sarasota Opera, Artscape Gibralter, and ARTErra, Portugal.
Awards: AUDELCO award Ford Foundation Artist Grant
Additional information: In his busy career, he has designed over 275 productions for various off-Broadway, regional and opera companies across the USA, Canada and internationally.

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Exhibiting works

• Troy Hourie: (Escape to Beira, Casa da Maravihla (Installation Scenography)), (ARTErra ), 2014
  Comments: Scenographic Presence Performs
  I worked every day inside the glass gallery where my process was on display for all the village to observe. The scenographer became the performer and audience. These studies culminated in an immersive installation that took the spectator on a journey to rediscover their community through the eyes of a scenographer.
  
• Wade Staples

, Edmonton
Specialization: theatre technician, sound designer
Disciplines: multimedia designer, systems consultant, production manager, sound engineer, pyro technician
Education: MacEwan University
Collaboration with theatres: Catalyst Theatre, the Stratford Festival, The River City Shakespeare Festival, The Arden Theatre, The Citadel Theatre
Teaching activities: MacEwan University
Awards: Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award for Sound Design, Nevermore
Additional information: Wade is a freelance artist. Wade has been a core member of the creative team at Catalyst Theatre since 2001.

'Jonathan Christenson'

Exhibiting works

• Jonathan Christenson: (Nevermore – The lmaginary Life & Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe (Sound Design)), Catalyst Theatre 2009, Director: Jonathan Christenson, scénografka/production designer: Bretta Gerecke, zvukový designér/sound Designer: Wade Staples, spolupráce na světelném designu/lighting design associate: Kerem Cetinel, obsazení/cast: Sheldon Elter, Ryan Parker, Garett Ross, Beth Graham, Vanesa Sabourin, Shannon Blanchett Identification of exhibit: puppet, others, Audio Files
  Comments: The sound design was conceived to heighten the storybook aspect of the production and to envelop the audience within each venue. The lyrical integration of music, spoken word, ambient sound and sound effects serves to evoke mood and spirit, and to draw the listener along through the shifting rhythms and characters of Poe’s life.
• Erin MacKlem


Specialization: actor, author, set designer, costume designer
Education: BFA University of Victoria
Collaboration with theatres: Theatre Scam, Caravan Farm Theatre, Prairie Theatre Exchange, Belfry Theatre, Suddenly Dance, and Pacific Opera.  
Additional information: Erin often explores site-specific work and theatre for small audiences in small spaces. Erin is also a writer and the Artistic Associate/Outreach Coordinator for Victoria’s Belfry Theatre.

'Gina Wilkinson'

Exhibiting works

• adaptace/adapted by: Jeffrey Hatcher, autor novely/from the novella by: Henry James: (Turn of the Screw (Costume Design)), Belfry Theatre 2008, Director: Gina Wilkinson, scénický a světelný design/set & lighting designer: Patrick Du Wors, kostýmní výtvarnice/costumer designer: Erin MacKlem, zvukový design/sound designer: Brian Linds, obsazení/cast: Sara Topham & Graeme Somerville Identification of exhibit: sketch, costume, photo
  Comments: The costumes were designed in black against a black set. This technique worked to allow for secret entrances and sudden disappearances. The sharpness of the characters and the danger inherent within the story was emphasized though various construction details such as the Governess’ bodice and the Man’s collar and cuff details.
• Brian Linds

, Regina
Specialization: actor, sound designer
Collaboration with theatres: Touchstone Theatre, Western Canada Theatre Company, Chemainus Theatre Festival, The Firehall Arts Centre, Studio 58, Blue Bridge Rep Theatre, and the Vancouver Arts Club Theatre, The Electric Company’s
Additional information: Brian is both an actor and a sound designer who works primarily in Western Canada. His designs for The Electric Company’s production of No Exit and toured extensively. His design for Broken Sex Doll is currently on tour.

'Gina Wilkinson'

Exhibiting works

• adaptace/adapted by: Jeffrey Hatcher, autor novely/from the novella by: Henry James: (Turn of the Screw (Sound Design)), Belfry Theatre 2008, Director: Gina Wilkinson, scénický a světelný designér/set & lighting designer: Patrick Du Wors, kostýmní výtvarnice/costumer designer: Erin MacKlem, zvukový designér/sound designer:  Brian Linds, obsazení/cast: Sara Topham & Graeme Somerville Identification of exhibit: others, Audio Files
  Comments: The Turn of The Screw sound design was a response to the horrors embedded within the play and sought to reach the audience through a hybrid of a naturalistic period and abstract modern sounds.
• Joel Adria

, Peterborough
Specialization: lighting designer, sound designer, media artist, scenographer
Education: BFA University of Alberta
Additional information: Joel describes himself as an interactive media designer. Joel innovates with technology to support artistic vision by building narratives through projected media and interactive audio-visual experiences.

'Stefan Dzeparoski'

Exhibiting works

• Stefan Dzeparoski : (Delete (Interactive Media Design)), Canadian Centre for Theatre Creation, Timms Centre Second Playing Space 2012, Director: Stefan Dzeparoski, hudební režie/musical firector: Paul Sportelli, mediální projektový a produkční designér/ projected media and production designer: T. Erin Gruber, designér interaktivního videa/interactive video designer: Joel Adria, zvukový designér/sound designer: Matthew Skopyk, obsazení/cast:  Nancy MacAlear, Kris Joseph, fotograf a autor videozáznamu/photo or video recording credit:  Mel Geary Identification of exhibit: video
  Comments: As an interactive video designer my tools are rarely traditional; rather they are discovered through experimentation and interconnection between technologies.  Delete was an investigation into the ways in which an interactive system could empower the performer and enhance the dynamics of the video environment to better achieve dramatic meaning.