Theatre Encounter
All content copyright © Theatre Encounter 2011.
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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"The core of the theatre is an encounter." [Grotowski] "It must have searing physical and oral impact." [Artaud]
Cruel. Happy. Challenge.
Theatre Encounter’s mandate is to create expressive alternative productions of theatre’s classic works with a focus on physical explorations and textual interpretations. Theatre Encounter enhances community development by artistic and social means through the essence of quintessential theatre.
By reinventing classic texts through a modern Canadian perspective, with a strong emphasis on provocative language and embodying movement, Theatre Encounter offers Calgarians an alternative to the mainstream view of classic dramatic literature.
Salutations,
Welcome to Theatre Encounter.
Approaching art through a performance medium (regardless of the other artistic mediums and multi-media facets that it encompasses) starts with the question of whether we want to tell a story or not. The creation is then able to have focus, which opens it up to style. The experimentation within specific styles is what allows for the discovery of exciting creation, and staves off banality and the trite. What Theatre Encounter insists on from their performers is full commitment to the implementation of the style at hand; this is very demanding work, which comes from full internalization before the aesthetic, and attempts to push the performer to their limits.
The result edges them into a critical state of awareness that offers the viewer a dynamic connection that inanimate creations lack; as one’s body relates to another body on intellectual, emotional, visceral and energetic levels; the viewer and the viewed are engaged in a relationship that bring livened responses and transformations.
Thus, the theatre becomes an engagement of individuals in a collective dynamic, and through the art of the actor, the relationship between audience and actor is the source of creativity and embodiment. The actor’s body becomes a dynamic relationship which reciprocates verbal or non-verbal messages and provides an opportunity for performers and audience members to integrate a totality of physical and mental reactions into their awareness. Moments more 'real' than others can be experienced.
In order for the performer to reach this unrestriction, a framework must be used in which the diversity of experience can be experimented within. We at Theatre Encounter believe that literature’s classic works, and a contemporary approach through style, are the perfect avenues for this inquiry; time-tested structures create a trusted code in which a contained modality of artistic and personal research is created.
Theatre Encounter produces a creative environment where a performer can be vulnerable and therefore open to this experiment, so their best work can be harnessed for the greater good of the group. The expulsion of this committed and imaginative work flows through the classic texts emblazoned throughout the ages.
We hope you will be as excited as the team here at Theatre Encounter about this season, as we strive to fully engage you with our art. As theatre theorist Antonin Artaud said, “we are not appealing to the audience’s minds or senses, but to their whole existence. To theirs and ours.”
Regards,
Michael Fenton & Mike Unrau
Co-Artistic Directors
P.S. Please click here to learn more about how we approach our work.
Our MANDATE
©2010. Photo by Mark Unrau Photography.
Our VISION
Theatre Encounter’s vision is to create a world-class experimental theatre company and artistic & social research environment by reinventing the traditional into the contemporary, in order to push the cutting edge of artistic and social boundaries.
Click here to learn more about our mission and what we do.
classic theatre calgary
experimental theatre calgary
physical theatre calgary
Theatre Encounter is Calgary's highly experimental physical theatre company.
Alternative. Classic. Theatre.
"Well, clearly I am not in the position of offering you a publishable commentary but off the record, it was pure genius. It's a bit far advanced for a Calgary audience but at the same time not. I felt really privileged to have been able to have a theatre experience that was that rich on so many levels right here in this city."
About QuestWhat people are saying about Theatre Encounter's productions.
"Amazing acting, well written, simple but powerful." About Quest
"I was not expecting an abstract play such as this. I found it exhilarating and wasn't sure what was next. I admire the approach."
About Quest
"A year ago I saw your production of Everyman and had one of the most intense and visceral reactions to an experience in a theatre that I have ever had. I was angry, excited, I thought I was frustrated at the work... I wrote a long letter to you in the lobby ... I realized the other day that that production was one of the best things I have ever seen."
About Everyman
"Definitely unconventional. Frightening. Exhilerating. Unique."
About Everyman"Different from any show I've seen before."
About Everyman
"Very physical exploration of concept. Performers fully committed. Music and sound amazing."
About Everyman
"Stunning. The physical expression drove the intensity. I am an actor, this is wonderful work."
About Medea
"The show was nothing of what I expected, the set, costumes and directing were beyond fantastic ... thank you."
About Medea
"The intensity and stamina of all of the actors was amazing. Very creative."
About Medea
