Marcel Stewart, Theatre Ecology & Structure

April 20 - THEATRE ECOLOGY & STRUCTURE with Marcel Stewart 

About the Workshop: 

Time to demystify a career in the arts! This workshop will expose you to a new era of theatre and storytelling, offering engaging options on how to work within an ever-evolving theatrical landscape in Canada. What are the stories we are telling?  Who are our stories for? Once we know, how do we involve them, make them feel, and include them in our theatre? 

In the Artists Words: 

"What's the future of theatre? Is it enough to just chill in a dark room at the Royal Alex, watching a play for two hours, when our phones give us a gateway to the world? Storytelling isn't confined to the stage anymore. It's evolving – from TikTok to audio plays, to immersive experiences in unexpected places. We need to think deeply about every aspect: our spaces, audiences, and communities. How do we blend traditional and innovative storytelling methods? Our relationship with our performance spaces and their histories, especially on land that isn't ours, is crucial. How do we craft stories that acknowledge this context? As artists, it's vital to connect with each other, our audiences, and our surroundings. Who are our stories for, and once we know, how do we involve them, make them feel, and include them in our theatre? It's about understanding and engagement in this new era of storytelling." -Marcel Stewart

About the Artist:

Marcel Stewart is the Artistic Director of bcurrent Performing Arts and the Director of Artistic Outreach for SpiderWebShow Performance. Together with Adrienne Wong and Michael Wheeler, he curates FOLDA, an annual festival of live digital art in Kingston, ON. Marcel was the Outreach Director at Suitcase in Point for three years, co-founding the Nest Artist Residency and Electric Innovations.

As an artist, Marcel has worked with theatre companies nationwide and internationally. In his work, Marcel investigates telling stories that connect artists and audiences to a cultural and ancestral past, while also imagining a future without borders or boundaries. Marcel is passionate about crafting narratives that focus on joy as a form of resistance against the prevailing colonial narratives that have shaped the Black Canadian experience. He uses digital technologies to expand this work's reach, bringing collaborators in remotely and taking the work out to a wider public. He’s interested in finding non-traditional ways to build community through performances and storytelling that are interactive and welcoming.

When Marcel is not creating theatre, he is an arts educator who has facilitated programming for community youth groups, professional actors, and students in university, high school, and elementary. He has taught classes at the National Theatre School of Canada, Brock University, and Sheridan College. His major project, Windrush (or Gone to See a Man About a Dog), is a coming-of-age story that platforms binaural sound to explore Caribbean folklore, grief, and home.
www.bcurrent.ca www.folda.ca


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