Breathe
Breathe: A new audio-visual installation in Development by Anju Singh and Sammy Chien.
Co-produced with Chimerik 似不像.
Did I Just Say That?
Dare to Dream aria from Did I Just Say That?, featuring mezzo soprano Emma Parkinson, soprano Sodam Lee, and pianist Perri Lo. Music video produced by re:Naissance Opera.
Read moreL-R: Soprano Eva Tavares as Cecilia, and Canadian-Asian Mezzo-Soprano Emma Parkinson as Gabriella in
Did I Just Say That?
David Smukler Voice Workshops
Since 2006, Visceral Visions has offered workshops and mini-intensives with master voice teacher, David Smukler, for Vancouver-area performers, directors, teachers, business leaders, and other professionals. Participants in our most recent mini-intensives in April 2018 commented on their experiences:
David’s workshop was fantastic. In just five evenings I walked away not only with specific and immediately applicable tools for any actor (film, TV, stage, voice over, radio) but also with a better understanding of how to explore further on my own. I’m particularly excited about the discovery of new ways to figure out the right questions to ask of a text or scene, and my relationship to it through breath. - TN
David's passion for the voice and body is infectious. I value every opportunity to work with him. A master teacher, he is able to meet the actors where they are in their journey, and to personalize his teachings, so that you walk away feeling empowered, curious, and better connected to your voice. Most importantly, he plants the seeds of curiosity, a supportive foundation for an actor to begin exploration of authentic voice, or to come back for fine-tuning and further growth. - QN
Sign up to receive updates about future workshops with David in Vancouver.
Read moreUntitled Kissinger Project
Written by Valerie Sing Turner
Christopher Hitchens, the celebrated author and journalist, devoted more than 140 pages of arguments, references and sources in The Trial of Henry Kissinger to support his belief that Kissinger should be prosecuted “for war crimes, for crimes against humanity and for offences against common or customary or international law, including conspiracy to commit murder, kidnap and torture.”
Confessions of the Other Woman
Written by Valerie Sing Turner
Read more…for experimental theatre and dance lovers, this independent show is not to be missed…Turner’s debut as a playwright [is] an incredible feat considering the complexity of the show’s topic and her atypical approach in dealing with such a controversial theme…brilliantly explored… - 11 Stations Blog
Them and Us
Written by Deborah Gkashugi Asiimwe
Visceral Visions was proud to be one of 14 local companies presenting short plays about climate change as part of Climate Change Theatrical Action Vancouver.
Read moreIn the Shadow of the Mountains
Synopsis: It’s 1988. Three generations of a family gather to discuss what to do about Esther, a Chinese-Canadian WWII veteran, as they can no longer ignore her growing dementia. She keeps talking to Victor, her beloved brother, whose death she blames on the Japanese when he served in the Pacific arena during World War II. Her husband George, an Indigenous WWII veteran, was Victor’s best friend; they had all joined up full of dreams and adventure. Their son, Gary, arrives with his white wife and their daughter Lucy. Things are already tense when estranged eldest daughter Nancy shows up with husband Ken and their two daughters – who have never met Esther and George because Ken is Japanese-Canadian and Esther refuses to acknowledge his existence. But the real fireworks begin when Prime Minister Brian Mulroney announces his plan to apologize to the Japanese Canadians who were interned during WWII. In the Shadow of the Mountains ponders the true meaning of reconciliation when the weight of Canadian history threatens to tear us apart.
2024 Development Workshop + Staged Reading
Back row, L-R: Cande Andrade, Donna Yamamoto, Ronin Wong, Sarah Kelley, David Geary, Justin Neal, Ray Koh, Daryl Cloran | Front row, L-R: April Starr Land, Yumi Ogawa, Lissa Neptuno, Valerie Sing Turner, Kim Villagante, Sunny Chen, Chengyan Boon, Anju Singh
Headlined by a fabulous and entirely BIPOC cast – David Geary, Donna Yamamoto*, Justin Neal, Kim Villagante, Lissa Neptuno*, Ray Koh, Ronin Wong*, Sarah Kelley*, Sunny (Daydream) Chen*, Yumi Ogawa* – Visceral Visions presented a staged reading of Valerie's latest draft at Progress Lab on July 28, 2024, following a workshop process that included a series of Design Jam explorations with Anju Singh (composer/sound design), Cande Andrade (projection design), and Chengyan Boon (set/lighting design). We also want to acknowledge Ray Thunderchild* for his contributions as actor to the first few days of our workshop process, as well as:
Valerie Sing Turner* - Playwright/Director
April Starr Land* - Stage Manager
Jessica Schacht - Dramaturg
Paige Louter - Producer
Daryl Cloran - Directing Mentor
Xwechtaal (Dennis Joseph) - Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) Elder/Cultural Consultant
Catherine Clement - Community Historian (Chinese Canadians during WWII)
Sherri Kajiwara - Director | Curator, Nikkei National Museum
Maiko Behr - Japanese Cultural Consultant
We are grateful to Jessica Mann Gutteridge and Holly Karpuik, who generously hosted the design work in residency at the Norman & Annette Rothstein Theatre; and to Janice Beley for taking such good care of us during the text workshopping sessions at SFU Woodward's. We also want to thank the Canada Council and BC Arts Council, without whose funding support this workshop would not have been possible, as well as acknowledge Théâtre la Seizième for providing some gear and materials.
* The participation of these Artists is arranged by permission of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association under the provisions of the Dance Opera Theatre Policy (DOT).
Read moreThe Road Forward
Created and directed by Marie Clements
Read more...three magnificent divas--[Jennifer] Kreisberg, Cheri Maracle, and Michelle St. John...combined fierceness and vocal power [to] quite literally "take [our] words away" (to paraphrase the song...)...a powerful experience...
Peter Dickinson - Performance, Place and Politics
The Malaysia Hotel
Written by Laurie Fyffe
Read more"...fascinating little one-act work...a nuanced descent into all kinds of dark corners...simply brilliant..." - Vancouver Sun
"...searing, almost embarrassingly fascinating...unprecedented collaboration with the CBC..."- The Courier
CultureBrew.Art
CULTUREBREW.ART IS OPEN!
ARE YOU AN INDIGENOUS OR RACIALIZED ARTIST? CultureBrew.Art (CBA) welcomes creators, writers, performers, directors, filmmakers, composers, choreographers, and design/technical/production professionals who work in the performing, literary, and media arts, and who self-identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour). Join now to set up your artist profile by adding your artistic disciplines, marketable skills, portfolio items (audio, video, and images), and other information that will ensure that organizations and freelance producers (Engagers) can easily find you for opportunities, gigs, and other work. Once you’ve published your profile, you can browse the profiles of other BIPOC artists, and connect with them through our private and secure internal messaging system! Membership is only $25/year, with bursaries available upon request to those facing financial barriers.
You can also find opportunities, whether calls for artists, job positions, funding and award notices, and professional development listings, including CBA’s own free Chat & Chew series, a facilitated online BIPOC-only space that focuses on a different topic each month!
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR BIPOC ARTISTS? With hundreds of BIPOC artist profiles in CBA, and more Indigenous and racialized artists creating new profiles from across Canada, our very affordable subscription rates accommodate individuals and companies of all sizes, with a 15% discount for non-profits. So whether you’re an arts & culture organization, festival, school or post-secondary institution looking for guest artists or faculty, community or social service agency wanting artists to work with refugees, newcomers, or queer or non-binary youth of colour, advertising or government agency, media outlet or independent producer, a monthly or annual subscription provides access to robust database search capabilities, the ability to post unlimited opportunity listings on our site, and direct messaging to artists of interest.
If you’re not ready to subscribe, you can still post opportunities for a $25 fee per posting.
SIGN UP NOW!
ABOUT CULTUREBREW.ART
CultureBrew.Art (CBA) is a digital platform that promotes and fosters intersectional interculturalism throughout the literary, performing, and media arts sectors – and beyond! Its central feature is a national searchable database of Indigenous and racialized artists, to which theatres, dance and opera companies, film/TV casting directors, indie directors/producers, schools and post-secondary training programs, social service agencies, ad agencies, media outlets, and governmental agencies may access as subscribers.
A powerful tool for building a more inclusive arts sector that more authentically reflects Canada by promoting Indigenous and racialized artists, CBA aims to increase hiring opportunities for BIPOC artists, and foster intercultural connection, community, and artistic collaboration. CBA is searchable by gender, racial/ethnic heritage – Indigenous, African, East Asian, Latinx, South Asian, SWANA (SouthWest Asia/North Africa), mixed ethnic heritage – artistic disciplines, location, keyword, and other fields.
Based on input from accessibility testers as well as artist and engager feedback, we are constantly making improvements and updates to CultureBrew.Art to increase user-friendliness and accessibility, and improve ease of navigation.
Key members of our team include Co-Director & Creative Lead, Valerie Sing Turner, and Co-Director & Technical Lead, Anju Singh.
It's been said that farmers don't grow crops; they create the essential conditions for crops to grow. CBA will be a vital tool to break systemic divides, disrupt institutionalized structures, and create conditions under which BIPOC artists – and by extension, the wider Canadian arts ecology – can thrive. We are therefore grateful for support from: