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Aimee Poulin is the artistic producer at the Toronto-based Crane Creations Theatre Company. They love to create plays which make people think. Plays which encourage discussion in a way film and TV cannot. In this second part of our interview, Aimee speaks about the current projects of Crane Creations. The importance of thought and debate. The difficulties of being able to make a living in theatre in Canada. And about how artists can shape society with their visions and creativity.
I work with the Crane Creations Theatre Company. I love the diverse range and meaningfulness of our productions.
At Crane Creations we do a puppetry festival, for example. I’ve helped with that.
We are the presenter of that festival. We hire artists to then put on their shows.
We also have a puppetry show called Mirror. It is a cute little show with animals that find a mirror in the forest. Each of them thinks it’s their own picture.
It’s a piece about perspectives. About trying to understand that other people can see the world differently than you.
I play a character in Mirror. And I’m involved in working on the puppets for the show.
We are also putting on an interactive, live streamed 360 degree production of Terror, by Ferdinand von Schirach. Ours is the Canadian premiere of this play.
It’s an interactive courtroom drama where the audience gets to be the jury in a trial. They vote on the verdict in the end. It is the audience who can decide on “guilty” or “not guilty.’ And based on their decision, there are two different endings to the play.
Our director Andreja chose to produce this play for several reasons. First, it works quite well with Covid restrictions because it’s set in the courtroom. No one needs to touch each other.
Second, the nature of the play is quite serious. We ask the audience to be engaged and vote. It forces them to really listen in a profound way like television or a movie could never catch their attention.
Third, this play is perfect for the divided state of the world, as it invites the audience to analyze a moral dilemma.
As such, Terror explores an external problem, not related directly to current events. But, at the same time, the subject matter relates enough to interest people. Whilst letting them feel comfortable to debate about these moral issues.
In many theatres, where this play was performed, the audience stayed afterwards and continued to discuss and debate.
Especially in our situation right now with the pandemic and all the moral questions arising from it, it is important to debate. Our show allows people to debate with each other about something in a rational and calm manner. This is very valuable.
Terror is amazingly well written. The playwright is a lawyer who worked for twenty years in court rooms and then started writing.
The piece is of course also very theatrical. But the arguments that each side uses are well crafted. The audience is pulled to both sides. Which makes their decision harder in the end.
The case discussed in the play is that of a fighter pilot named Lars who has shot down a commercial airplane. The plane had been hijacked. With 164 people on board. The hijackers were headed on a collision course to a stadium with 70’000 spectators. Lars shot the plane down. However, at the time he hadn’t received the order to shoot yet. He made the decision himself.
This play is about perspective again. About truth. How much value can you put on individual lives? How do you weigh these lives against each other? Is it even possible to do that? What is morally right?
Ferdinand von Schirach managed to construct and craft this in a great, non-patronizing way.
I have also worked on the summer training program for young emerging artists in Canada. The program I had initially taken part in as well. Applications are open for all young artists across Canada.
This element of my job focuses more on the business side of the industry.
There are some shocking statistics as to how low salaries are for theatre artists in Canada. Low in comparison to other countries. And often well below the poverty line.
My friend Andreja has told me about the system in Slovenia. Of course, you can’t really generalize and compare. But it seems their government actually allocates a smaller percentage of their budget to the arts as we do in Canada.
Nevertheless, the artists in Slovenia are paid much better. They have continuous work, more stability, longer contracts, and are able to create a life in theatre.
Here in Canada, the life and work situation for an artist is volatile and inconsistent, despite a larger budget towards the arts.
With our summer training program, we hope to share our experiences with young artists who are just graduating. We hope to be able to give them good pointers. To show them what has helped us set foot in the industry.
Ideally, we can protect them from having to spend years to find out for themselves how to make a living with their profession.
The francophone side of Canada seems to have a better understanding of how funding for the arts should be used. Coming from Montreal to Toronto, I can see a difference.
In Montreal, I learned from other theatre artists who had different backgrounds within our craft. Mask and mime for example, or different acting techniques.
It was empowering and I felt as if we had more time to process and develop what we were learning. You could say, our artistic life felt fuller and more rounded.
Then, coming to Toronto everything was very fast. Which is very useful to learn as well. But, for me, two worlds clashed. Suddenly there was a constant rush: Go! Create! Produce! Provide. Everything moved very fast.
Toronto is expensive. So, there is a need to have things done quickly and well. You have to always think ten steps ahead. Because, ultimately, to survive, you have to be ten steps ahead.
Unfortunately, I think this constant effort takes away from the creative process.
The vast majority of productions I have seen are for three to five weeks of rehearsals (max eight weeks). Then you do the show for a short time.
This is such a brief period of time you can maybe enjoy the first two weeks of rehearsals. Then you already have to look for the next job, for auditions, and worry about what to do next.
You try to do a great job, be fully present. But twenty-five percent of your brain is thinking, “This will be done soon, and I’ll have to have another job lined up.”
A certain type of artist can work very well in this kind of environment. But I don’t think it’s necessarily fair if the work environment only fits for one type of creative personality.
And even if it fits for someone, it’s not fair for them to only be employed for 2 months at a time.For women it can be especially difficult if there is no support for maternity leave, etc.
There are, of course, pros and cons to everything. But certainly, things are not being set up in a way that allows people to really take the time to create.
Furthermore, they loose time to expand their mind and be creative on the side.
Artists have always been forward thinkers. They have dedicated a lot of their time to learning how the world works. To build and expand on that and see possibilities as to what the future could be like.
Now, with how stretched thin artists get, it’s impossible to be thinking about these things. It has become difficult to find the mental space to grow and expand your mind. To reshape old ideas and shape new ones.
In our age and time, I would say it is the technological minds who are leading the world with knowledge. Not the artists.
In North America there has definitely been a shift towards technology. This is where new visions are being forged.
There is creativity and artistry in technology as well. But there is a definite shift. And there is a consequence to that shift.
As a society, we need to understand that the arts are an essential part of our lives. Just as important and essential as developing new technologies.
Balance is key.
Official Website Crane Creations Theatre Company
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Liam Klenk was born in Central Europe and has since lived on four continents. Liam has always been engaged in creative pursuits, ranging from photography and graphic design, to writing short stories and poetry, to working in theatre and shows. In 2016, Liam published his first book and memoir, 'Paralian'.
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