This project is a series of fairy tales reinterpreted from a queer perspective and illustrated through shadow projections. It is a re-reading of well known folk and fairy tales that have undertones of queerness, mental health and sexuality that have been intentionally or otherwise suppressed in the versions we know. The form of the installations are large light boxes which project an intricate paper-cut tableau of images relating to the story. The folk style of papercut art is a powerful contrast to the sometimes morbid, raunchy and eerie subtext which these stories contain– themes which the illustrations will be heavily focused on.

Kristine White is a multidisciplinary artist working primarily in the realms of puppetry, installation and performance. Kristine’s work is often driven by explorations of myth, folklore and symbology, creating visual metaphors that often result in immersive and site-specific installations and performances.

CONTENT WARNINGS

Nudity, Violence, Sexual Content, Rape and/or Sexual Assault

To purchase pieces from the Mad Fairy Tales series, please contact paulina_wiszowata@workmanarts.com for more info.

Images of the Mad Fairy Tales installation in Re:Building Resilience:

Photos by Henry Chang

Breathe expresses a journey from spark to growth to breakdown to acceptance. The piece includes a mix of Breakin’, Popping and House dance styles with a focus on Breakin’. This piece is inspired by Breakin’ culture, the artist’s power-infused dance style and his experience battling with anxiety. Breathe is a journey into the height of success and the depth of anxiety. We live in a world filled with high expectations from self and others. Breathe lets audiences know that it’s okay not to feel okay. Breathe highlights Breakin’ as an art form with depth, character and history stemming from the roots of lived experience. Accepting who we are. One day at a time. One breath after another. BREATHE.

Michael ‘Piecez’ Prosserman has been Breakin’ since 1999. Piecez has taught, competed, judged and performed for hundreds of audiences from Asia to Europe to the Canadian Arctic. By high school, he was accepted into Cirque Du Soleil and featured in the motion picture Honey. Piecez is the founder of a grassroots movement that uses hip hop to improve youth mental health called Unity Charity. Piecez is a best-selling author of the new book Building Unity, a university instructor and a mental health advocate. In his solo Breathe, Piecez shares his experiences with mental illness in a leadership role.

CONTENT WARNINGS

Strobe Light

Michael ‘Piecez’ Prosserman and guests will be participating in two virtual Q&A’s:

Saturday, October 17, 8 PM
“Breathe: a dance production + conversation on Mental Health + Community” 

Wednesday, October 21, 6 PM
“Breathe: a dance production + conversation on Mental Health + Work” 

The Bridge is a one-woman play that will be staged in front of a live audience. One night, a young indigenous woman is confessing her struggles as she sits on a bridge overlooking a ravine. Her memories come back to life in the evening wind. Kara comes face to face with her addiction, depression and loss of identity.

Pesch Nepoose is a Cree multidisciplinary artist from Edmonton, Alberta, currently residing in Toronto, Ontario. She graduated her fourth and final year at the Centre for Indigenous Theatre in May, 2019. Pesch has many skills and experience as an actor, writer, dancer, singer and stage manager. As a full time actor, she has been a part of many projects including the film By These Presents with Ange Loft, also acting in the short film Hunger which premiered at the ImagineNative Film Festival 2019. Pesch enjoys working with Clay and Paper Theatre, Jumblies Theatre, the Encounters collective and many others.  While attending C.I.T. she formed a collective with her two classmates and created the play S.O.S. Saving Our Sovereignty, which was part of the Paprika Festival and Weesageechak Begins to Dance Festival. Pesch was in the Paprika Festival again as a solo artist writing her one woman show currently titled The Bridge. She plans to continue the play with Nightwood Theater’s Write from the Hip program.

CONTENT WARNINGS

Adult Language, Suicide

Queen Latifah Give Me Strength centers around a woman’s struggle with her identity and her expectations of being disregarded and ignored by the medical industry. Queen Latifah Give Me Strength depicts the frustration, isolation and raving madness that comes with being a Black woman who must rely on medical professionals to stay alive. After an anxiety-filled evening watching the classic 90s film, Set It Off, featuring Queen Latifah, the main character is faced with her strange connection to the celebrity. In a search for answers about her health, she turns to the icon she had once forsaken. Previous version partially developed during Emerging Creators Unit 2020 at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre.

Rochelle R (She/They) is a Canadian-Caribbean multidisciplinary theatre artist, writer, producer and advocate for Black, Queer, Mentally Ill/Disabled communities. Rochelle is passionate about promoting and developing opportunities for Black Artists and encouraging difficult conversations about intersectionality. Rochelle holds a BA in English and Theatre Studies from the University of Guelph and continues to pursue additional training within the GTA and Peel regions. Select companies and programs include b current (Playwriting) bcHUB, Buddies in Bad Times (Play Creation) Emerging Creator’s Unit, Nightwood’s Young Innovator’s Program (Arts Administration/Producing), PIECE OF MINE Arts, dance immersion’s Legacy Leaders Program and more.

CONTENT WARNING

Mature Language, Violence, Loud Sound 

Prose In Therapy is a convergence of free form poetics and imitated therapy. This work is meant to break down the formality of medical procedures through the use of atypical document format aesthetics. The intimate and thought-provoking language used is accompanied by somewhat childish drawings that play on the somatic realities of mortality. Prose In Therapy addresses the delicate situation of being a patient in mental health recovery while verging into themes of honesty, sexuality and economic frustration. The cartoon drawings found on each page of Prose In Therapy were made in collaboration with local sketch artist Michael Vuong. These poems were all read to audiences at Toronto open-mic events including local venues Shab-e She’r and Art Bar.

Moncef Mounir was born in Rabat, Morocco. He is a poet, visual artist and the director of Quaker Kid Productions (QKP), a print media outfit with various collaborative chapbook and zine works. He has spent a decade as a skilled labourer across the City of Toronto and works as a legal assistant after receiving his P1 paralegal’s license. Moncef operates 20scene.com, a blog-style venue to expose his live music editorial zines while also releasing QKP print media works. Moncef has spent over 7 years in mental health recovery and has 4 years abstinence from drugs and alcohol as of September 2020.

CONTENT WARNING

Mature Language, Sexual Content, Suicide

This artist has an item in the RWM swag bag to go with their piece in the exhibition. All ticket holders will be invited to receive RWM swag bags available for free curbside pickup during festival hours.

Images of the Prose in Therapy installation in Re:Building Resilience:

Photos by Henry Chang

Mountain Duets is a ceremony illustrated through dance, music and multimedia. We follow an individual that falls into a chaotic haze, losing sight of balance and stillness. This solo mover is a symbol of both our independent and collective consciousness. They are a representation of all we go through on micro and macro scales; a testament to the cycles of the building, tearing down and rebuilding of humanity. From the dark place, the soloist calls upon the ancestors and wisdom of Turtle Island to journey together through traditional teachings, reminding us of our deeply rooted strength, resilience and reciprocity to each other and to Mother Earth.

Winnipeg-born Sophie Dow is an emerging dance and music artist, inspired by interdisciplinary collaboration and her Métis-Assiniboine and settler roots. An avid adventurer, Sophie has a passion for busking, yoga and traveling on top of holding a specialized honours degree in Dance Performance and Choreography from York University. Currently Sophie is part of the Paprika Festival’s Indigenous Arts Program, preparing for adelheid’s re:research and is an Artistic Associate of Chimera Dance Theatre. She writes music, performs and busks regularly throughout Ontario with her band The Honeycomb Flyers and is a practicing licensed Holistic Practitioner of Traditional Thai Massage.

CONTENT WARNING

Fog/Haze, Loud Sound

Images of the Mountain Duets performance in Re:Building Resilience:

Photos by Henry Chang