IGNITE! Festival of Emerging Artists

“ARMONIA” is a queer passionate and Latin love story. It is also the name of the Piano academy where Jacinta, a piano teacher, and Marina, a housewife, fall unexpectedly in love. Learning piano is the vehicle that allows for building this relationship, and the play takes place in Caracas. The music sometimes comes from the piano, while others manifest as Latin rhythms, such as salsa, tango and Venezuelan waltz. One of these women is sensitive to people’s energy, while the other is sensitive to vibrations emanated from music. These two women create a bond at a soul level, exposing their vulnerability in their encounters, which are driven by music, energy, vibrations, breathing, touching, and perceptions.

Artist(s):

• Geraldine Fuenmayor

Sam is a struggling and isolated person, trapped in an abusive cycle they strive to break free and build a happier life for themselves. Sadly, with the help of their therapist, Sam soon learns that if they want to get better they can’t settle for just any kind of change.

Artist(s):

• Stephen Brooks

Through autobiographical storytelling, both comic and dramatic, ‘Happy Traumaversary!’ reflects on the prevalence of rape culture and the impact of trauma on body & mind. How survivors of sexual violence struggle and how we can recover. How being heard and acknowledged can be healing. It touches upon the horror of watching the person who hurt and abused you continue to be welcomed into what should be and would otherwise be safe spaces; their presence rendering them unsafe. The piece explores the difference in violence committed by men against women and the violence of women committing these acts against other women; both by committing the violence themselves AND by exposing fellow women to the violence of men for their own gain. It asks us to look at how we can possibly learn to navigate the jagged edges of that complex path — maybe even finding a way to laugh along the way.

Artist(s):

• Emily Parkhouse

Lily is a first generation Chinese Canadian trying to find balance between caring for her immediate family and her aging parents and in-laws. She struggles between living up to traditional gender roles and expectations while juggling her desire to move up the career ladder. Can a woman of color have it all in a corporate world?

Artist(s):

• Catherine Law

Immortal is a one-woman show in which the ghost of Sappho finds herself trapped in The Field Of Mourning, a plane in the underworld reserved for the critically brokenhearted. After learning the vast majority of her poetry has been burned, Sappho laments over what little remains of her work. Finding herself ensnared in the words she once wrote, her only hope of “moving on” from her grief relies on disentangling a story that has been frequently co-opted by homophobia and patriarchy.

Sappho, of course, responds to the bastardization of her story the same way anyone would: with anger. After all, anger is merely a facet of love–of one’s desire to ferociously defend everything and everyone they hold dear. Enraged, she asserts her true identity by overthrowing the heteronormative mistranslations of her poems and unapologetically proclaiming her lesbianism. In doing so, she validates the rage of all Queer Women who have faced ostracization and erasure.

From the ashes of what has been lost, Sappho invokes Queer Joy, proving it is possible to rebuild–and thus reclaim wholeness–from what has been broken.

Artist(s):

• Jason Cabuenos
• Jade Francesca Bartlett

Amira is the central figure in this family-centered piece. Alongside her mother, she initiates a much needed family meeting to address ongoing tensions. Before the full family confrontation takes place, the audience follows Amira through a series of two-person scenes. These vignettes pair her with individual family members, revealing key dynamics, personal histories, and relationships that shape the family as a whole.

Through these interactions, we gain insight into the personalities, conflicts, and connections within the family. By the time everyone gathers, the emotional groundwork has been laid for a conversation that could finally bring clarity – or further complication.

Artist(s):

• Isra