FOLDA — Kingston Theatre Alliance

From the mischievous grins on the show’s poster to the “may not be suitable for children” warning, The MaryRobin Show makes its intentions very clear: this is going to be fun. And it is!  Created by Deaf artists Elizabeth Morris and Hayley Hudson, The MaryRobin Show is a lively combination of sketch comedy, visual storytelling, and improv. Morris and Hudson are longtime collaborators through Deaf Spirit Theatre, a company they […]

There is no better place to begin building the foundation for radical change than in the dirt. Kinnomics by Iman Datoo opened on Friday, June 6 as an exhibit co-presented by the Festival of Live Digital Art (FOLDA) and the Agnes Etherington Art Centre. The exhibit opens the Agnes’ offsite space at 207 Stuart Street and explores how an organism or an artwork embedded in one ecosystem can find kinship […]

The boundaries between digital art and live performance are blurred in Peerless Productions’ Reflections and Refractions. Presented as part of the Festival of Live Digital Art (FOLDA), the show brings together sound, light, movement, and digital design in a thought-provoking production. Arriving at the Isabel Bader Centre, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I knew it wouldn’t be traditional. That’s part of the FOLDA promise: to offer “what’s […]

Imagine this: you walk into a room and see ten objects laid out in front of you. A wallet, a medallion box, two remote controls, a Father’s Day card, a photo book, a radio, a stack of papers, an empty milk jug, and a cell phone. Carefully and strategically placed by Scenic Designer Helen Yung, you know each of these items holds the memories of a person, but you don’t know who exactly. Soon, you will find that the owner of these belongings is Brian Lewis, an unhoused veteran who is the father of Cole Lewis, the co-creator and performer of 2021. Lewis, along with Co-creator and Performer Patrick Belnkarn will guide you through the video game version of the very real story that is the last two weeks of Brian Lewis’s life. Exploring themes of  parenthood, the effects of war, ethics in artificial intelligence (AI), and terminal illness, 2021 is a show that can connect with people from all walks of life.

How do Black Caribbean men say ‘I love you’? Or perhaps a better question is, how do they show it? This curiosity is what sparked Marcel Stewart’s inspiration for creating WindRush. Also playing the character Basil, Stewart pieces together a realistic and gripping story about a Jamaican man experiencing loss, grief, friendships, and siblinghood.

The cardinal rules of theatre: sit still, don’t chitchat, and make sure your phone is on silent and put away. Adrienne Wong chooses to challenge these conventions, exploring our relationships with our devices through audience participation. 

The 2024 Festival of Live Digital Art (FOLDA), produced by SpiderWebShowPerformance, took place from June 13-15. In this section (catch Part One here!), I take a deep dive into SmartSmart, an interactive performance by Adrienne Wong that was staged at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts. In my previous review of FOLDA 2024, I mentioned that the festival promotes innovation, creativity, and reflection, and SmartSmart very much embodies these values.

Where can you catch a groovy concert, talk to a multimedia AI interface, and take in a 360-degree film in a dome, all in one weekend? FOLDA, of course!  The Festival of Live Digital Art (FOLDA), produced by SpiderWebShowPerformance, promotes live digital art with the hopes of empowering communities, creating connections, and inspiring critique. The 2024 festival took place from June 13-15, and I was fortunate to have the opportunity […]

Kingston’s annual Festival of Live Digital Arts (FOLDA) is once again on the horizon (and no, that is not a pun directed at HORIZON 360°—a film in this year’s lineup). As a hectic week is underway for the team and busy schedules abound in summer months, I conducted an eight-question email interview with Co-Curator Michael Wheeler about an intensive run alongside FOLDA in partnership with Ingenuity Labs: The StartUp. This […]

The theatre is dark. A single video game controller sits under a spotlight in front of a projector screen. With no rules, and in no established order, audience members take turns leaving their seats and approaching the stage. One at a time, these brave players take control of asses.masses. Over several hours, a story of revolution, carnage, reincarnation, and collective care unfolds.  Presented by the Festival of Live Digital Arts […]

How would you feel if someone invaded your home—a place meant for comfort and security? Home is a solo performance starring Beau Dixon, performed at the Isabel Bader Centre and was a part of the Festival of Live Digital Art (FOLDA). In Home, Beau Dixon recalls his personal experience of a home invasion and how it changed him. He describes and recreates important moments of his life, but we are […]

Imagine being in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb dropped. Now imagine having no way to hear it. Scored in Silence is an excellent solo show, starring Deaf performer, Chisato Minamimura, and was performed as part of the Festival of Live Digital Art (FOLDA) at the Isabel Bader Centre. The performance recounts World War II and the effects of the atomic bomb on Japan, but more specifically how it affected the […]

Ways of Being was an interactive performance for two different groups of audience, in two different cities simultaneously. Returning to Kingston as a part of FOLDA 2022, the work transformed me into both the performer and audience, spectator and entertainer. And as someone interested in the human condition, Ways of Being gave me the space to explore and understand, “How do we become the people we are at any given moment? […]