INTERSTELLAR ELDER
badass grandma in space
Directed by Kathleen Greenfield
Written and performed by Ingrid Hansen
choreographed by Britt small
dramaturgy by Emma Zabloski
Puppetry Coach Mike Petersen
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★★★★★ "Equal parts absurd and profoundly human." - The Star Phoenix |
TOUR DATES |
For Adults & Youth Age 10 + 75 minutes, no intermission ~ Object Puppetry ~ Physical Comedy |
Meet Kitt, fierce lone geriatric astronaut adrift in a spaceship carrying cryogenically frozen
human cargo. Her mission: protect the last of humankind.
SYNOPSIS
In this show’s futuristic scenario, North American Prime Minister Justin Bieber attempts to end world hunger by deforesting the continent to plant thousands of acres of genetically-modified swiss chard. This Superfood grows awry, taking over the entire planet and choking out all other forms of life. The last surviving humans are cryogenically frozen and shot into earth orbit, waiting for Earth to heal so that they may return home and begin a new civilization. On board the spaceship there is only one person left awake: the geriatric custodian and sole caretaker of the ship’s frozen ‘human cargo.’
"If you don’t mind being cryogenically frozen for an hour or so, Interstellar Elder could be the most satisfying, creative, uproarious and surprising experience you have at this year’s festival.
Ingrid Hansen stars as Kitt, the “space custodian” aboard a ship containing the last remaining humans, all cryogenically frozen until Earth can become habitable again. There’s good reason for the planet’s demise but this, like many things in the play, is better left unspoiled.
"Alone, apart from the voice of the onboard computer Mandy, Kitt keeps herself occupied and amused, but longs for her former home. A montage capturing her Groundhog Day-like existence, from age 31 to age 96, is executed brilliantly. It’s immensely funny and often heartbreaking to watch as loneliness compels Kitt to do increasingly odd things.
"Hansen is the founder of SNAFU Dance Theatre, so it’s no surprise that her physicality is impeccable. She also does incredible things with her face, voice, a few simple props and clever audience interaction. As an audience member, even as part of her frozen human cargo, you really feel like you go through something with her. There are many good shows at the festival this year, but Interstellar Elder is in its own stratosphere. From its hilarious opening scene, to its triumphant and totally one-of-a-kind conclusion, Hansen offers a fully realized vision that is equal parts absurd and profoundly human."
★★★★★ - The Star Phoenix
“You will inevitably ROAR WITH LAUGHTER, but what you might not see coming is the IMMENSE HEART AND POWERFUL IMAGERY behind the performance. Ingrid hits another home run with this brilliant piece of physical theatre. The use of the audience and the way this play is set will forever change the way you see theatre and its possibilities...as each audience member truly feels like an important part of the narrative.” - Montreal Theatre Hub
“Tremendous demonstration of creative genius. While both shows are very funny, they are never dumb and have considerable pathos.” - Montreal Rampage
“Literally just 75 minutes of her being a GENIUS OF PHYSICAL COMEDY (with some poignant moments of vulnerability and heartbreak thrown in because that’s how geniuses roll).”
- Entertainment World
“An amazingly versatile physical comedian with a knack for bringing inanimate objects to life. She’s also come up with what may well be the best ending in the history of the Fringe.”
- The Montreal Gazette
MEET THE ARTISTS
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Kathleen Greenfield is dedicated to collective creation, the development of new work and community involvement. Her interests and experience are in site-specific outdoor performance, puppetry, folk stories, and community activism. She holds a BFA in Theatre from the University of Victoria and studied at the Banff Puppet Theatre Intensive in 2012. In 2013, she joined SNAFU Dance Theatre as Co-Artistic Director. She has directed the premiere productions of many new works including The Hunt Workshop (Impulse), Little Orange Man (SNAFU), Kitt & Jane (SNAFU), I Have Seen Beautiful Jim Key (Intrepid Theatre), The Shoes (Humble Wonder Theatre) and Bullfrog Lullaby (head through painting). In 2015, she co-directed the smash-hit-remount of Lieutenant Nun, a site-specific spectacle where the audience moves through an old battlement, pageant style. Kathleen also teaches play building to kids ranging from 3 to 13 at Kate Rubin Theatre and Drama @ SKAM Studios and George Jay Elementary. In 2013, Kathleen joined the artistic team at William Head Prison as a facilitator, workshop leader, assistant director, projection designer, writer and performer for Time Waits for No One: A Prison Play(2014) and HERE: A Captive Odyssey (2015) alongside a team of residents and fellow artists. In 2016, she directed and devised Sleeping Giants with the men at William Head on Stage (WHoS).
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Ingrid Hansen co-founded SNAFU in 2006. Raised by gregarious Danish parents and fueled by a love for talking with strangers, Ingrid likes to push polite Canadian boundaries with great mutual respect and humour. She has created and performed original work with SNAFU at events curated by The Belfry Theatre, the Next Stage Festival, the Gabriola Theatre Festival, the SummerWorks Festival, The Great Canadian Theatre Centre, The Centaur Theatre, the PUSH Festival, and others. Outside of SNAFU, she has performed with Corpus Theatre, Story Theatre, Theatre Direct, The Quickening, Theatre SKAM, Shakespeare in the Ruff, Architect Theatre, Atomic Vaudeville, and Suddenly Dance Theatre. For the past seven years, Ingrid has built an ongoing collaboration with the inmates at the prison theatre company William Head on Stage, which operates inside a federal prison near Victoria, BC. She spent four summers performing as a lead puppeteer and voice actor on the children’s television series Tiga Talk on APTN. She has toured across the country performing her solo show Little Orange Man at festivals and schools, and worked as a designer on the Dora-Award-Winning Ride the Cyclone with Atomic Vaudeville. Ingrid loves to teach students of all backgrounds, and has taught theatre workshops for children, adults, actors, dancers, puppeteers, and prison inmates.
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Britt Small studied at LaMama's Director's Intensive in Italy and has trained in various physical theatre forms. She completed her MFA in Directing at the University of Victoria with a production of Sophocles' Electra. She is the artistic producer of company Atomic Vaudeville.
Nationally and internationally, Britt has directed Janet Munsil's Circus Fire and The Ugly Duchess, Jacob Richmond's The Qualities of Zero, Ride the Cyclone and Legoland, The Fantasticks and True West for Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre, A Midsummer Night's Dreamfor the GVSF, Castle in the Sky for Castlereigh, The Rocky Horror Show, numerous new Fringe Festival plays and Firebugs at the William Head prison. Her work as a director has received several national awards as well as 9 Jessie nominations for My Chernobyl at the Gateway and the Belfry. Britt recently performed as Ben Affleck in Matt and Ben and as Harpo in Animal Crackers. atomicvaudeville.com |
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Emma Zabloski is a theatre maker, arts educator, and youth worker. She had the pleasure of working with SNAFU in 2016 on Sleeping Giants, a collaborative creation with inmates at William Head Institution in Victoria, BC. This experience opened Emma's eyes to the power of theatre for personal and community healing, learning, and transformation. She is excited to continue exploring intersections between her creative practice and community work. Emma is the Artistic Director of Zopyra Theatre which specializes in playful, intimate, interactive, and site-specific performance. Her original creations have appeared at the Belfry Theatre, SKAMpede, UnoFest, Gabriola Theatre Festival, and on the Fringe circuit. Emma holds a BA in Theatre from the University of Ottawa and has trained with the Ottawa Stilt Union, One Yellow Rabbit’s Summer Lab, and the Grotowski Work Centre in Poland.
She’s a mean stilt-walker, improvised quilter, and flamenco dancer. Olé! www.zopyratheatre.com |
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Mike Petersen’s career began on Jim Henson’s Fraggle Rock in 1984. Since then he has performed around the world with such companies as Mermaid Theatre, Neptune Theatre, Festival Antigonish, Kaleidoscope Theatre, the Edinburgh Puppet Company, Poland’s Teatr Arlekin, and Theatre Beyond Words. Film and television credits include Fraggle Rock, Labyrinth, Emily of New Moon, and the award-winning pre-school series The Mighty Jungle. Mike created and performed in As You Puppet at YPT, and played host “Papageno” in a series of classical music concerts for children called Music & Truffles. He recently completed 65 episodes of Toopy & Binoo Vroom Vroom Zoom airing now on TreeHouse, and he is a proud member of the Dora Award winning ensemble performing in Old Man and the River with Theatre Direct. As a teacher of puppetry Mike has worked alongside Graham Whitehead at Mermaid Theatre, Allen MacInnis at YPT, Lynda Hill at Theatre Direct, Seanna Kennedy and Bruce Dow at Lower Ossington Theatre, and Christine Brubaker, director of the world premier of Wilde Tales now playing at Shaw Festival.
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Sonia Vaillant was born in Ottawa and grew up on the road. She comes from a background in community programming, stage management, and technical theatre. Prior to theatre she planned and executed large-scale conferences for high school students and worked as an arts programmer with Easter Seals Canada. Sonia is currently a freelance producer of audio, web, and theatrical content. She is the Artistic Producer of Scapegoat Collective - a Toronto-based indie theatre company specializing in bold original productions that explore what makes us human. Notable credits include Hangman (Scapegoat Collective, Producer); Musical of Musicals: the Musical! (Mirvish, Assistant Stage Manager); Visitations (The Mission Business, Stage Manager), The Baram & Snieckus Podcast (National Theatre of the World/Apollo Studios, Producer); Chasse-Galerie (Soulpepper with Kabin & Storefront Theatre, Production Manager & Associate Producer).
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