Downstage Announces 2022/2023 Season Featuring a World Premiere and More

Downstage has announced their exciting 2022/2023 season that will use comedy to explore themes of gender, self-acceptance and fat phobia, and will launch this October with Gender? I Hardly Know Them co-created and performed by Elena Belyea and Sydney Campbell. This will be followed by the World Premiere of The F Word, produced by Downstage in association with Theatre Calgary and presented by Alberta Theatre Projects. Co-creators and performers, Keshia Cheesman and Bianca Miranda confront diet culture and the intersection of fatness with race in this playfully political pop-art piece. A Festival of New Works will conclude the company's playfully evocative season.

"Comedies are taking prominence all season at Downstage! I love how Gender? I Hardly Know Them and The F Word use a variety of theatrical modalities to entice audiences into topics that can be uncomfortable to discuss. Ideas around gender and fatness are changing rapidly in our society, yet so many people have a hard time discussing these important subject matters. These plays experiment with humour as a way to celebrate a multiplicity of lived experiences. They are fresh, fun and full of playful possibility," said Clare Preuss, Downstage's Artistic Director.

"We are so thrilled about our ground-breaking collaboration between Alberta Theatre Projects and Theatre Calgary for the world premiere of The F Word! It's such a joy to work with these iconic Calgary companies who also happen to be our neighbours in Arts Commons. Coming together to share this playfully poignant play speaks to our collective commitment to make theatre that can be both entertaining and life changing."

Gender? Hardly Know Them: October 12 - October 16, 2022

Tiny Bear Jaws Production presented by Downstage

Motel Theatre, Arts Commons

Co-Created and Performed by Elena Belyea and Sydney Campbell

Gender is dead, welcome to the funeral. A fast-paced, joyfully provocative queer sketch show straight from the heart of the God-fearing, gun-toting, beef-loving Alberta prairies. Gender? I Hardly Know Them is a joyfully provocative queer sketch troupe, founded by Elena Eli Belyea, writer of Smoke which saw its World Premier at Downstage in 2019, and Sydney Campbell.

Drawing from their experiences of growing up gay, hot, and short in Edmonton, LGBTQ+ comedians Campbell and Belyea are out to queer the world, one denim punchline at a time.

Founded in 2015, Tiny Bear Jaws is an agile, femme and queer-run cross-Canadian theatre company that proudly produces innovative, provocative, and engaging new works. They love experimenting with technology and uncovering new ways for design and story to influence each other during new play development processes.

More Information: https://www.tinybearjaws.com/gender-i-hardly-know-them

The F Word: February 9 - February 19, 2023

World Premiere Presented by Alberta Theatre Projects

A Downstage Production in Association with Theatre Calgary

Martha Cohen Theatre, Arts Commons

Co-created and Performed by Keshia Cheesman and Bianca Miranda

FAT. How does that word make you feel? Society tells us to deflect, avoid and distance

ourselves from FAT. We're in the midst of a revolution to unearth the deeply ingrained shame, blame and fear associated with fatness. Fairytales, lectures, dance, and song are infused with wild whimsy in The F Word. Creator-performers Keshia Cheesman and Bianca Miranda explore their friendship as two fat women on a journey to self-acceptance and fat liberation. They confront fatphobia, diet culture, and the intersection of fatness with race in this powerful, playfully political pop-art piece.

We are standing in the power of FAT. Go, grow, glow. Take up space.

Stage It: May 11 - May 14, 2023

Festival of New Works Presented by Downstage
Motel Theatre, Arts Commons

Downstage is excited to share a festival of new plays live in Motel Theatre as well as other digital and live performance offerings on site at Arts Commons in the spring of 2023. Downstage will work all season wth four emerging producer-creators who will have the chance to showcase their theatrical offerings at the Stage It festival. Stay tuned for the full lineup of local, national and International Artists!

TICKET information: downstage.ca | 403.294.7459

Downstage is an award-winning Calgary-based theatre company dedicated to producing plays that create meaningful conversation around social issues. Their plays provoke vibrant dialogue between Calgarians, both informally and through nightly post-performance discussions. For more information on Downstage, please visit www.downstage.ca.

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