Great news, excellent artists of Halifax! The “festival of phenomenal solo performances” is back — yes Solo-icious will be revived next month! From their press release:
“July 3rd and 4th, SOLO-ICIOUS…will present Halifax audiences with artists from across conventional performance disciplines (dance, theatre, music) and from not-so-conventional ones (spoken word, photography, culinary arts). Solo-icious celebrates the performative in any kind of solo work by offering a platform to showcase individual talent. […] making for a dynamic, eclectic tasting menu of artistry.
Founding Artistic Director…Sebastien Heins has turned over the reins to the new festival curator Keelin Jack. A multifaceted theatre artist, Keelin brings to the table a rich experience with traditional and nontraditional theatrical performance, and a deep appreciation for Halifax’s talent[…] Keelin will be working with producers Alanna Griffin and Clare Waque in organizing the festival.”
On Sunday morning, Halifax theatre-hustler and incoming festival curator Keelin Jack squeezed in a business-brunch with me to talk about her new position with Solo-icious. Jack has seen and enjoyed the festival in its past two incarnations, finding it “a really interesting way to look at performance.” She believes in the simplicity of the single performer, “but at the same time, watching one person can be incredibly complex.”
Under Jack, the festival will continue exploring artistry vs. ‘performing arts’, and bridging these two forms. It is the non-traditional element of Solo-icious that captivates Jack — “I’m excited to be asking, ‘what is the performance element of cooking? Or bar-tending? Or any other thing you don’t necessarily ‘perform,’ but that could become a solo performance?”
If necessary, Jack will be part of contextualizing these non-traditional performances into 15-minute theatrical events. “Some acts may be good to go and just need a little water to grow their piece into a performance, and some people may need more support, so we’ll get digging the soil.”
She goes on to explain, “we’re not asking people to make up new stuff, but to use the skills and abilities they already have, or pieces already made. So it’s not a new work festival. Although — especially in the case of non-traditional pieces, contextualizing them as performance is part of a development — discovering how it becomes theatrical.”
One of Jack’s passions that led her to Solo-icious will be finding and drawing connections between each isolated performer; “It’s a great opportunity for a big variety of artists to see each other’s work. The solo voice has a lot of power to bring people together and we want the artists to feel a sense of collaboration.” She adds, “it’s not explicitly political, but its mere existence is a political act.”
“I’m excited that an incredible diversity of performers will be witnessing things they wouldn’t normally see.” Jack mentions previous Solo-icious performer, chef Dennis Johnson — “the audience that comes to see Dennis make pad thai also got to hear poetry written by people deeply engaged in activist circles — it’s an interesting cross-over for the audience, and a really welcoming format to get people experiencing something they haven’t seen before.”
Instead of a call for submissions, Solo-icious is putting out a ‘call for referrals.’
“One of the things that was important and interesting about the previous curating process was finding people and asking them to partake – it gives artists something different than the model we’re used to. It may grab a different kind of artist, too — someone who wouldn’t necessarily respond to a submission call. And the referral preserves a kind of specialness. Artists are so used to the hurdle of grants and calls, spending time wondering ‘am I going to get it’ — we pick ourselves up from that all the time… I think there is something special about being referred to or asked to do a festival.”
This referral process will be entwined with Jack extending invitations to artists she wants to showcase, using her knowledge of a variety of communities she’s participated in. Her roots are in the theatre-world and as a recently crowned co-artistic director of ForeRunner Theatre, she is a huge advocate for new plays in our city. However Jack is excited and eager to branch out into different forms of performance, and bring Halifax’s most skilled and varied together — “I could easily make a show with 15 of my friends that would be very entertaining, but I also want to showcase artists I haven’t seen. The referrals are a way to access people and communities I don’t have a direct connection to, or to the places I may not think of right away.”
Solo-icious will be produced by beloved Bus Stop manager Clare Waque & wunderkind producer Alanna Griffin.
“It’s funny, for the curator of a solo festival I like a hivemind,” Jack muses. “With Clare and Alanna as producers and me as curator — there’s artistry in what we’re all doing and I appreciate what they bring to the table.
“Clare’s focus is more internal, dealing with The Bus Stop. Alanna is doing more press, and organization — she’s very driven and smart. A great accent colour to my abstract quality.”
In terms of what might change with a new curator, Jack remains open to “new things arising for the festival. But the idea is to work from the really excellent foundation that exists already […] What the festival will become — that’s all in process. The missing link is going to be the performers.”
Jack is feeling optimistic in her new role as festival curator. “It’s exciting to celebrate excellence in individual achievement.
“Now is a pretty good time to be forced to have a positive outlook on arts in the city. Things have been so depressing as an artist. To be forced to look at the best in everyone in the city is a relief.”
An invitation
Who inspires you? We want you our audience and our friends to help us find Halifax’s most excellent. We are looking for individuals who create work that deserves a spotlight. Have someone who comes to mind? Email [email protected] with your Hali-favourites.
Solo-icious will manifest July 3rd & 4th at the Bus Stop Theatre, 2203 Gottingen Street.
Photo of Keelin by Clare Waque at the best dang theatre bar in town (see above for address).
