A new group has formed in Powell River with ambitious ideas of relevant, insightful, high quality local theatre and with the experience, talent and drive to make it happen.
Raven’s Call Theatre is a collection of three transplanted artists who recently landed in Powell River with a mind to start a professional quality theatre group. Imtiaz Taj, Zoe Ludski and Joel Benson have a vast range of theatrical experience and see Powell River as the ideal location for an upstart theatre company.
A perceived strong need for professional quality theatre in Powell River drives the group. It plans to work with the theatre groups that already exist in town but sees a niche that is open and can be filled. The artists refer to their style of theatre as “serious theatre,” which doesn’t mean they don’t do comedy or that only heavy topics and issues will be covered. It means they take their craft seriously and will provide Powell River with polished, relevant theatre.
“We’re all interested in performing theatre that is reflective of life right now,” said Benson. “That’s when theatre has been the most resonating through the ages, when it is truly reflective of what’s going on and challenges boundaries.”
Writing and performing theatre that is not only relevant to modern issues but to Powell River itself is the ambition of the group. The artists want their art to engage with the community and provide a medium through which to explore what is relevant. The group has been studying the Cultural Master Plan for Powell River and has been looking at what resources already exist and how it can fit in and bring its own form of theatre to the table.
The three work well together because they bring different talents and points of view to the company. Taj is both the business and part of the artistic brains behind the group. Originally from Pakistan, he studied theatre and economics in the United States and has since then directed, performed and designed for hundreds of shows there and in Canada. Benson is originally from Alberta and has a background in acting, physical theatre and singing. He has been based out of Toronto for many years but has worked in theatre throughout North America. Ludski has a wide-ranging background including radio journalism, web design, acting, sound design, writing and other technical and artistic aspects of theatre.
Taj moved to Powell River about three years ago interested in starting a theatre group in the area. He knew Benson’s father Richard and talked to him about the idea. Benson was living in Toronto at the time but decided to move to Powell River in November of 2010. Ludski arrived in town in January of this year to complete the trio. Three years after Taj’s first idea the group is now eager to start and is working on a business plan, rehearsing scenes, developing connections and looking for funding.
Taj describes theatre as the ultimate art because it incorporates so many other types of art and aspects of production together into one powerful medium. It’s visual, but it’s also an audio medium. It incorporates dialogue, sound effects and music. It must be both written and performed. It requires lighting, staging, costumes and sets.
“You bring everything and make a nice living picture on the stage for the audience to see,” said Taj. “In theatre you can use any skill set and the things you learn from theatre you can use with any other thing in the world.”
The concept of ensemble theatre is also highly relevant to the group, meaning theatre where everyone involved learns multiple aspects of production and has a hand in every facet of the work. In this sense an actor isn’t purely an actor; he or she might also help out with sound design or lighting and would have a voice in every decision. With this model the investment of everybody involved in a production becomes high and the quality of the work follows suit. It also goes toward promoting a sense of community and ownership within the company.
“There is no separation between technician and actor. We are artists,” said Ludski. “We are building a story together and whatever your skill is you’re lending it to storytelling and it’s storytelling in multiple mediums and each one brings its own beautiful highlight to the story.”
The group is hosting a Variety Sunday at 7 pm on April 10 at the Powell River Community Resource Centre. The night will be a showcase of what the group has been working on, including some scenes, storytelling and music. Taj said the night is planned as a handshake with the community, for the artists to introduce themselves, let people know what Raven’s Call is all about and to meet the community and listen to what input they have into what they would like to get out of local theatre.
“Everything I’ve ever been to has been super well supported and the feedback that people give is open, generous and I’m always astounded,” said Benson. “Coming from a place like Toronto that has, yes, tonnes and tonnes of choices and things to go out and do, it’s so divided that you might get six people show up to an event. The intimacy and the generosity shown here...I just see it as the perfect sounding board for relevant topics.”
Hosting workshops of a high quality for the community is one of the main goals of the group. It does not consider itself “community theatre” but the artists want to have members of the community become involved who are interested in learning about various aspects of stage production, including acting, to professional standards. They plan to bring in professionals of all types to host the workshops and hope those who take the workshops will go on to work with them and become involved in the theatre group.
The group plans on having its first full show ready to perform for September. Ideally it plans to do four shows per year, along with hosting Variety Sundays once a month. Interested readers can visit the Raven’s Call Theatre Facebook page for updates.
