By Jillian Follert
To the average person, a piece of footwear, a newspaper headline and an excerpt from a play don’t add up to much.
But in the hands of Ottawa Theatre Challenge participants, these items become the inspiration for an exciting original drama.
The challenge was started two years ago by a group of actors from a Company of Fools, who are known for their unique Shakespeare performances.
“They were looking for a way to foster connections in the theatre community while having fun at the same time,” says Scott Florence, artistic director for the Fools.
The rules of the challenge are simple. All the participating groups meet and are given three inspirational items. They have 48 hours to create a five-minute piece of theatre based on the items, before reconvening to perform their work for a panel of judges.
Described as an “orgy of creation” on the Company of Fools Web site, this type of spontaneous theatre is in sharp contrast to the formal performances most of the groups are used to.
The 11 companies that participated in this year’s challenge recently performed their works at the NAC’s Fourth Stage, where judges from the theatre community decided on a winner.
All proceeds from this year’s event went to Alternative Learning Styles and Outlooks, a family literacy program. In addition to bragging rights, each year the winning company takes home a highly coveted trophy in the form of a rubber chicken.
This year the Fools shared hosting duties with the Third Wall Theatre Company, last year’s rubber chicken recipients.
James Richardson, Artistic Director for Third Wall, says in addition to uniting local performers, the challenge promotes the growing diversity of Ottawa’s theatre scene.
“Theatre in Ottawa is undergoing a shift right now, the professionalism is improving and we are seeing so much diversity,” he says. “Each group is carving out a niche for themselves.”
According to Richardson, this year’s participants reflected the full range of Ottawa’s diverse scene, from the traditional to the unconventional.
For those who like their theatre a little crazy, the Fools have been bringing Shakespeare to life with comedy for thirteen years.
“We are a very bizarre company that uses a physical theatre approach,” explains Florence referring to the slapstick, clown costumes and Xena the Warrior Princess concepts that have been incorporated into recent performances.
If your tastes lean more to the conventional, Third Wall specializes in performing time-honoured plays like “The Seagull.”
“We do the classics, the great masterpieces,” explains Richardson. “All the well known stories of the world.”
Plays in English, French and soon sign language are the trademark of Productions Nemesis, a new company dedicated to bilingual drama and getting young people involved in theatre.
President Arianne Matte, says they were excited to take part in the theatre challenge for the first time.
“I was intrigued by the idea that we could perform in French and bring our own style to the event,” she says. “We were excited to be adding some francophone flavour.”
Other participating companies with unique mandates included: Vintage Stock Theatre, which performs pieces based on the history of Ottawa; Orpheus Musical Theatre Society, which does all musicals and Act Out Theatre, which focuses on works exploring gay and lesbian culture.
Florence says a lack of small theatre venues in Ottawa means groups like these are often overshadowed by big stages like the NAC and GCTC.
“So much really cool theatre happens in Ottawa without a lot of fanfare,” he says. “Events like this demonstrate that we have a plethora of theatre groups.”
The challenge has attracted large audiences in past years so Richardson says he was not surprised by this year’s excellent turn out.
“The audiences love the event because this kind of spontaneous theatre is so much fun,” he says. “It’s crazy and out there, it’s quick and dirty and a lot of the time it’s brilliant.”