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At Cradle Of Creativity In Cape Town

Next May, several Canadians will be travelling to Cape Town to participate at the event Cradle of Creativity, which will gather the World Congress and the International ASSITEJ Festival as well as the ITYARN (International Theatre for Young Audiences Research Network). It will be the first time that the ASSITEJ Congress takes place in Africa.

ASSITEJ Canada’s Board members, Stephen Colella, President (Young People’s Theatre), Pierre Tremblay, Vice President, (Théâtres Unis Enfance Jeunesse) and Pierre-Paul Savoie (PPS Danse) will officially be representing Canada at the Congress.

In addition to supporting an official representation of ASSITEJ Canada in Cape Town, the Canada Council for the Arts (CCA) provides financial support for the participation of several Canadian artists. These include: Sabrina Baran (L’Illusion, Théâtre de marionnettes), Sandra Laronde (Red Sky Performance), Mieko Ouchi (Concrete Theatre), Kim Selody (Presentation House Theatre) and Sherry Yoon (Boca del Lupo Theatre).

Three shows featuring Canadian artists received support from the CCA and will be presented at the International Festival: from Montreal, Gretel et Hansel by Le Carrousel, compagnie de théâtre; from Toronto, Transhumance inspired by Les Moutons by Corpus and Patrice Balbina’s Chance Encounter with the End of the World, an international coproduction of three European theatre companies, Pilot Theatre (UK), Teatro O Bando (Portugal), Teatro Stabile d’Innovazione (Italy), an Australian company, Australian Theatre for Young People, and two Canadian companies, DynamO Théâtre (Montreal) and Presentation House Theatre (North Vancouver).

Dave Deveau, author and performer, was selected to participate in a residency during the Cradle of Creativity event as part of the ASSITEJ Next Generation Program. Author Suzanne Lebeau and Nikki Loach (Quest Theatre) will also be present in Cape Town.

Thus, it is 25 Canadians who will officially participate in the events. We will be eager to collect their impressions upon their return.