When I was first considering my role as TD Incubator for the 2025/26 season, I had drawn out a full plan of what I wanted to accomplish. I had lofty plans to explore the themes of connection, collaboration and community. This was before we started rehearsals, mind you. I had a plan. A very good plan, that I quickly scrapped as I realized, artists do these things naturally. The themes were already present. Connection, collaboration and community emerged from the artists of TD Amplify: EPISODE ONE within the practice of our shared process, and I am still sitting in awe of it, honestly.
TD Incubator artists Sierra Oszust, SHY FRiEND, and Murmur Theatre, led by Rita Rebetskaya and Polina Kaulio with actors Nikhat Saheb, Warren Sulatycky, Maxim Vinogradov and Grace Fedorchuk, were incredible. Every one of these collaborators brought themselves to the stage as authentic, fully realized, and yet continually emerging artists. The performance on January 16 at the Engineered Air Theatre as a part of the High Performance Rodeo was beautifully captured with words by Jess Arcand at Reverie-Online.
It is brave to be in community with strangers, to create something from nothing, to show up at each rehearsal not yet knowing what the thing is until the very last moment, to trust those of us who asked for it. Myself, director Steven Conde and stage manager Emily Parkhouse, witnessed countless acts of bravery that perhaps measured singularly, may have seemed only small acts of courage. Yet seen as a whole, these acts expressed an individual and collective Hero’s Journey come to fruition on stage. That’s the beauty of being privy to the creative collaborative process behind the curtain.
Our stage manager, Emily Parkhouse, begins our first rehearsals with “we are humans before we are artists.” Though I believe the statement is obviously true, I find myself sitting with resistance every time Emily invokes it. I hold my identity so tightly around me that I sometimes think it’s all I have. But it is imperative in the beginning stages of collaboration.
But I am also reminded of my conversation with Dean Bareham, a teaching artist for Werklund Centre and the artistic director and co-founder of Green Fools Theatre. You can find our conversation here. Bareham told me he teaches “to build better humans.” It’s a powerful statement that speaks to multiple truths; we are humans before artists, and yet it is through our art that we can become better humans.
A theatre practice that has been brought into our TD Amplify rehearsals is a room agreement. Though a common practice in many collaborative artistic practices, it’s not common in all rooms, though I dearly wish it were. It’s a beautiful conversation and living document that guides those creating together in the room. As the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association outlines:
A room agreement can be an effective way to build trust within your group. As a set of values that everyone agrees to uphold as you work together, the agreement provides a common framework for what you collectively consider to be a safe and respectful workplace and serves as a tool for communication, as well as helping to resolve any conflicts that may arise. Creating a room agreement can be a rewarding experience that sets the tone for everyone going forward.
Collectively, TD Amplify: EPISODE ONE artists invoked a variety of considerations for the group that not only set the tone but truly crafted a space that held the magic and challenges of creative collaboration. Our room agreement included:
- All opinions are heard and respected
- Everyone is free to express themselves
- Openness, honesty and flexibility
- Compassion and clear communication
- Respect boundaries, both physical and emotional
- Give grace and space for accessibility needs
- Grace for not knowing
- Trust the process
This room agreement was the fertile ground which facilitated the process, the practice and the performance of the group. And as we start rehearsals now for TD Amplify: EPISODE TWO, featuring the band (un)decided, dancer Gisele Ardosa, and actor and storyteller Matthew Mooney, we dive into exploring a new room agreement that includes:
- Instant forgiveness of self and others
- Respect each other’s comfort levels and don’t make assumptions
- Stay open-minded, play and have fun
- Extinguish the flames before they burn down the whole room
- Clarity is kindness, vulnerability is courage
- Be precise and intentional of what you say and to whom
Beautiful, no? Though we are not even halfway through the TD Incubator program, the experience as Fellow has blossomed within me a deeper trust for my collaborators, for myself and for an agreed upon process. I now understand, I’m not the Incubator Fellow to help artists make good art or become a better person. It’s about allowing and supporting the process to unfold through agreed intention. Because the process and the practice of the process, I believe, will set us free. It will prove to us that we can absolutely create what we want in our lives and the world around us.
All photos by Jarrett Edmund
