Tarragon Theatre Announces The Inaugural GREENHOUSE FESTIVAL

Mike Payette Artistic Director of Tarragon Theatre and Managing Director Andrea Vagianos have announced the first-ever Greenhouse Festival, a festival of new work developed and incubated at Tarragon Theatre.

Under the guidance of Metcalf Creative Producer Justin Miller, the Greenhouse Festival features four artistic collectives in repertory, debuting new, in-progress works that challenge the boundaries of performance genres and celebrate creative process and evolution. The Greenhouse Festival begins public presentations January 6 - January 15, 2023 with performances, micro-performances and special presentations throughout Tarragon Theatre.

The Greenhouse Festival is a process-led residency program, focused on growing vibrant, theatrical ideas and facilitating exchange between artists and audience. Audiences are encouraged to come and explore new parts of Tarragon as a space, as they explore new works from the celebrated creatives in residence for Greenhouse Festival.

An incredible number of applications, over 150, were received from applicants to the inaugural festival, and a selection of four collectives were chosen. Residencies began in August 2023, with Greenhouse residents receiving support to explore and develop new works, culminating in public presentations of their works-in-progress in January 2023, and concluding their residencies in February 2023.

"This season, Tarragon has deepened its commitment to supporting creation in all stages of development, while mutually supporting an intergenerational and wide scope of artistic voices. The Greenhouse is meant to welcome the audience into the depths of new play processes. Our inaugural resident collectives and guest artist presentations are exceptional and highly imaginative, all pushing the boundaries of how art engagement with the public can be experienced. It is the perfect way to start the new year with the theatre!" explains Mike Payette, Artistic Director, Tarragon Theatre.

"The Greenhouse Festival invites audiences to get their hands dirty. To see something entirely new. To come together, in the dead of winter, and transform Tarragon into a hothouse of art, expression and innovation," notes Justin Miller, Metcalf Creative Producer.

Greenhouse includes:

JANE
Pantheon Projects

With Camille Intson, Nicole Eun-Ju Bell, Bryn Kennedy

Performances:
Jan 6 - 7:00 pm,
Jan 7 - 8:15 pm,
Jan 12 8:15 pm,
Jan 14 - 4:30 pm

JANE is a speculative fiction drama about three college students caught up in a virtual reality deepfake pornography scandal, inspired by growing ethical concerns around digital consent and content regulation.

[More about Pantheon Projects] Pantheon Projects is an award-winning, queer, feminist, and new generation performance collective. Their work defies traditional theatrical form, by foregrounding emerging technology, new media, and projection-design into live performance.

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Benevolence
The Benevolence Collective

With Kevin Matthew Wong, Echo Zhou, Chris Ross-Ewart, Noel Pendawa, Sooji Kim

Performances:
Jan 6 - 8:15 pm,
Jan 7 - 5:45 pm,
Jan 13 - 7:00 pm,
Jan 14 - 7:00 pm

Benevolence examines and celebrates the history of the Hakka (客家) diaspora in Canada, who represent some of the first Chinese in Canada. Intimate, epic, personal, and playful, this solo-performance by Kevin Matthew Wong (Chemical Valley Project) tells the story of the 2000-year migration, and their struggles and triumphs as early Chinese-Canadians.

[More about Benevolence Collective] The Benevolence Collective seeks to interrogate, expand, and complicate representations of Chinese-Canadians. Centering design and audience connection in their storytelling, the Benevolence Collective seeks to provide audiences with new ways to think about their own journeys and relationships to Canada.

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Emilio's A Million Chameleons
From Adam Francis Proulx

Performances:
Jan 7 - 4:30 pm,
Jan 8 - 3:00 pm,
Jan 13 - 7:00 pm,
Jan 14 - 7:00 pm

Emilio's A Million Chameleons is a family-friendly musical spectacular, about embracing what makes you special, and letting that inner sparkle shine.

[More about Adam Francis Proulx] Multi-award-winning puppeteer Adam F Proulx (THE FAMILY CROW: A Murder Mystery; BAKER'S DOZEN: 12 Angry Puppets)has been experimenting with all things sparkle, sequin and glitter in his puppet building for a few years now, and continues to explore how else these materials can be used in a theatrical setting.

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Mass Exodus
BadFox Performance

With Amelia Blaine, Sienna Singh, Sara Jarvie Clark, Devin Flynn

Performances:
Jan 7 - 7:00 pm,
Jan 8 - 4:15 pm,
Jan 12 7:00 pm,
Jan 14 - 8:15 pm

Mass Exodus is a non-verbal, sensorial fairy-tale set on a dying planet. Tasked by The Government to "be the solution" and save their world, a lone worker wonders: do the animals have other plans?

[More about BadFox Performance] BadFox Performance creates multi-disciplinary work using shadow puppetry, overhead projectors, movement, original composition and sound design to create immersive, sensory experiences.

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PLUS:
A SPECIAL PRESENTATION

Jane Miller and Brian Quirt's These Are The Songs That I Sing When I'm Sad
A Nightswimming Production
Jan 13 - 9:30pm

These Are The Songs That I Sing When I'm Sad is an intimate and joyous performance that explores the songs people turn to when they're sad, the songs that they play to soothe their blues or lift them up out of the depths. It's a rare opportunity to hear a superb singer up close and personal, as she delves into the link between deep emotions and the musical elements that make sad songs so addictive.

This special presentation is part of Tarragon's collaboration with Nightswimming for PURE RESEARCH, bringing innovative research-based process back to Toronto after a four-year hiatus and opening up a discourse on play development through dramaturgy.

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The Greenhouse Festival will also feature a series of micro-performances. An assortment of audience friendly engagements featured in Tarragon's WorkSpace, audiences will be invited to join in artist-led activities with an unexpected variety of poetry, music, games and more!

Join the festival for the day and catch all the action. The Greenhouse Festival takes over Tarragon January 6 - January 14 2023, a part of Tarragon's 2022/ 23 season.

Tarragon will continue to require masking in the Theatre for the protection of our artists and patrons. You can find the full list of safety measures here.

Tickets for the Festival can be purchased for individual performances or through a Festival Pass online from tickets.tarragontheatre.com or by phone at 416-531-1827.
Festival Pass: $35 - Provides unlimited access to both weeks of the Greenhouse Festival, including Greenhouse Resident sharings, Special Presentations and micro-performances.
Single-show tickets: $12 Contact the box office for more information.

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