This is the first blog in a series of Artist Responses to Paprika’s 22/23 Hot Topics series. In this post, Generator’s Creative Director: Programming Michael Caldwell provides a personal response to the ‘With Care’ online conversation.
At Generator, we’ve had a long and fruitful history in partnership with Paprika, as our missions, our programming, and our ways-of-working have consistently aligned to consider what support looks like for artists and producers in the early stages of their careers.
‘Care’ is a big topic, and it seems to be on everyone’s minds and in everyone’s hearts within our diverse communities of artistic practice, especially in the context of the current state of world affairs.
I was unable to attend Paprika’s Hot Topic live session on November 30th, though I was able to view (and now respond to) the recorded version on their Facebook page.
The opening title card brought forward a question, as a prompt for response in the chat room, while we awaited the start of the session… what do you need to feel safe and comfortable in the creative process? Within my own work as a creator and as a facilitator, I’ve been moving further and further away from the idea of ‘comfort’ and leaning into working within discomfort, so my curiosity was already piqued with where this discussion might go…
A screenshot from the Paprika Hot Topic opening screen
This online session featured multi-hyphenate artists, Yolanda Bonnell and Katey Wattam in conversation with Paprika’s Community Programming Producer, Cheyenne Scott. In her welcome and introduction, Cheyenne spoke about her relationship to care, as a seed for this conversation, suggesting that it is easy (and I would personally say, ‘in fashion’) to speak about why care is important, but that it is vital and necessary to talk about how we can implement care into our processes. I was excited to hear this, and so curious about the tangibles that might come forward.
To begin, Cheyenne brought forward a series of story posts from Yolanda’s Instagram page, as source material for, and as a springboard into, the conversation. For me, the two sentences that really struck me -
“You have to actually WANT to do this work.”
“Care as a base shouldn’t be a radical act.”
Wow.
Much of the initial conversation really focused on the idea of unlearning what we’ve been taught. Yolanda cited the culture of always saying ‘yes’, working overtime and not sleeping, and suffering for our art, as outdated and harmful dogmas that require conscious unlearning. And within this, there is an inherent ableism; “because the system works for some, it must work for everyone”. This false assumption does not value everyone’s lived and living experience, and leads to a version of theatre in which only certain privileged individuals are able to practice.
Next, there was a conversation about rehearsal spaces and processes and how they can be caring ones. For me, many of the offerings were (and mostly have been, in the course of my work in Tkaronto) related to time; carving out more time before, during and after rehearsals for care. Yolanda brought forward a recent creative process in which they checked in with all of the artists, before rehearsals even began, to ask questions about the ways that they like to work, and how the room could feel safer and more supported. Katey spoke about a 2-3 day ‘getting to know you’ moment at the beginning of the rehearsal process, to co-create a contract of care for the space. Shorter work days or weeks, check-ins and check-outs, adjusting work hours, and daily rituals, were all mentioned as essential considerations…
Within this notion of added time (and labor) to our rehearsals, a more nuanced and supportive conversation is required with our granting bodies, our institutional spaces, and all those with real or perceived power, to truly support our individual efforts to prioritize care in our creative practices.
A wellness table was perhaps the most tangible offering from this session, and certainly something that I intend to bring forward in my own rehearsal processes. By carving out a space where folx can ask for what they want and need, the table begins to be populated with snacks, vitamins, blankets, mats, stickers, fidget toys, lotions… anything that enhances the overall well being of the individuals in the room. And as Yolanda shared, the wellness table is different for every project, as it changes with the different people in each room.
Screen shot: Cheyenne Scott (top left), Katey Wattam (top right), Yolanda Bonnell (bottom).
Katey spoke about learnings along her path towards a masters degree in social work, with a focus on Indigenous trauma. I was particularly taken by the idea of a window of tolerance, a range of capacity for an individual’s mind, body, and nervous system. When something triggers us, and we become disregulated in a space, how do we stay rooted and become grounded, and how do we relate with others to speak about disregulation, and move towards repair? Katey referred to this empowering work as ‘a cognitive life raft’ - tapping into the sensing, feeling, and thinking self to arrive at a common vocabulary, to create and share more tools for how to remain in the circle within conflict.
“It’s wild what our bodies go through!” says Yolanda, in reference to what we ask of ourselves in performance, and I absolutely agree. We so often ask ourselves to inhabit characters and imagine situations, to tell stories that are incredibly challenging and complex. Through the rehearsal process, Katey believes that it’s important for each individual’s window of tolerance to expand; to build up personal tolerance over time and increase the capacity for holding a specific story.
I truly believe that it is impossible to create a ‘safe space’ where everyone is safe, 100% of the time. When I step outside my door each morning, I encounter different people with different perspectives and I experience discomfort. There is an inherent risk within my engagement with the world around me. This is the same in any rehearsal room, especially when we move into new spaces with new people, all with their own histories and beliefs and opinions and ways-of-working. Cheyenne summarized it best when she said, “Be willing to adjust your plans and be willing to adapt and sacrifice!” There’s a poignant truth in this, even for those of us who are working within constructs of care. The work demands listening; it requires responsiveness and it may even require saving the rehearsal of that scene for tomorrow, while the room attends to community care today.
At the end of the session, Cheyenne brought forward one final question… “What is your last bit of advice, or tips and tricks, for engaging in this work?”
Yolanda: “Honour yourself as a human being that exists in this world, over anything else. You are part of a living, breathing ecosystem, and you deserve care and rest.”
Katey: “There’s no such thing as a ‘difficult’ person, only people with difficult behaviours, and those difficult behaviours point to a need that is not being met. Next time, consider what need is not being met, as this might become an opening for repair.”
Cheyenne: “Transparency. More consciousness and awareness about what people can expect; more communication and preparation. Prepare the expectations in advance. And if you are not receiving the information, know that you can ask for what you want and ask for what you need.”
A truly thoughtful and affecting ending to a very whole session about care.
Paprika Festival is a youth-led professional performing arts organization, which runs year-round professional training and mentorship programs that culminate in a performing arts festival of new work by young artists.
Paprika’s Hot Topics series is presented with support from Why Not Theatre.
