The Delta Stageworks artist collective presented Then & Now, Pandemic Life Stories – a multimedia staged reading, at Genesis Theatre, Ladner, BC in November 2021.
The show featured 10 community and professional theatre-makers and traced the ups and downs, the highs and lows of the lockdown life we’d been living through since March 2020. Audiences embraced the show and told us about the huge sense of shared identity they felt with the stories we told.
That was THEN.
NOW, with an award from the Canada Council to delve into the on-going experience of pandemic life in our community, we are putting together an online series of short videos that tell the story of this epic three year journey that has changed all our lives. With new interviews and filmed material, these mini-episodes will be grab-and-go on the Delta Stageworks You Tube Channel. Stay tuned for more info!
Heirlooms & Baggage (My Mother’s Story)
From a series of writing and devised theatre workshops held over the past year, a new Delta Stageworks theatrical project has emerged, Heirlooms & Baggage (My Mother’s Story), created by members of the community and several Stageworks artist associates working collaboratively. The writing process has been led by Marilyn Norry (mymothersstory.org) while the devised theatre work was led by Cory Haas to eventually present our workshop production of the piece at KinVillage Community Centre in February 2023. This artistic offering received a very positive response from the community!
The show involves the life stories of the actor/collaborators’ mothers – the triumphs and the tribulations – told in a visual storytelling technique that combines group movement, spoken text, and photographic images.
The show embraces a commitment to foster diversity and inclusivity in our community; creating space for diverse voices and lived experiences. Plans for a full production are currently in the works.
LORD DON’T WANT ME, DEVIL WON’T TAKE ME
Delta Stageworks’ newest storytelling project about life in Delta in the 1920s is scheduled to go into development in the winter of 2023-2024. This arts-based community development project involves professional artists working together with community members and groups in a process called devised theatre.
With the support of Delta Archives we gather historical documents, newspapers, letters and photographs to explore stories that are often lost or marginalized in traditional histories of Delta.
For this project, Delta Stageworks has partnered with the Delta Heritage Society to provide public workshops, opportunities for youth engagement and a place for diverse community groups to network and shares stories with Delta audiences. Visit the Delta Heritage Society website: https://www.deltaheritagesociety.ca