Erased

by Coleen Shirin MacPherson

WORLD PREMIERE | An Open Heart Surgery Theatre production in partnership with Theatre Passe Muraille

Graphic design by Emily Jung
Photo by Simone Matheson
Pictured: Ericka Leobrera

Written by Coleen Shirin MacPherson and developed by Open Heart Surgery Theatre with a star-cast and creative team, Erased draws us into a greeting card factory in a post-climate collapse world, where workers are forced to meet a quota, making ridiculous greeting cards while trying to survive within the machinery that controls and erases them. This tremendous 11 cast member physical theatre piece speaks to our addiction to production in late-capitalism and is a call to look deeper into the state of our planet and the structures that have entrapped us.

A surreal marriage of absurdism, dark comedy, political theatre and poetry, Erased explores how the kindling of a soft revolution turns to flame, igniting the spirit of resistance that keeps it alive.

Show Dates

Nov. 21st – 30th, 2024

Running Time: 90 min

Location

Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson Ave. | Mainspace

Tickets

Pay-What-You-Can-Afford

$15 | $40 | $65

If you would like information on the topics or themes in our productions, or to determine the suggested age for attending a performance, please reach out to our Box Office staff at 416.504.7529 or by email at info@passemuraille.on.ca. 

Relaxed Environment: The full run of Erased will be a relaxed performance. For more information visit our Relaxed Environment page. Peer Support available on Saturday November 23 at 7:30pm and Sunday November 24 at 2pm. 

Erased Access Guide

Mask Mandatory: 

  • Saturday November 23rd at 7:30pm 
  • Wednesday November 27th at 7:30pm
  • The use of bright, sudden flashing, lights directed toward the audience and flickering lights and blackouts.
  • The use of live, sudden and amplified sounds including but not limited to yelling, singing and radio static.
  • Surprising and sudden entrances and exits by performers.
  • The use of fake blood, charcoal dust and minimal haze.
  • Descriptions of death, torture and violence toward workers organizing and animals.
  • References to grief, loss, climate change, and climate grief and to women and Trans people as “disappeared.”
  • Mention of genocide.

Led by the Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance at York University, these post-show events will feature moderated conversations with guest speakers on the play’s central themes, followed by a wider audience discussion. Food will be provided.

Sunday November 24th – Climate Grief and Embodied Theatre

In Erased, we are thrust into a future world of total ecological collapse; however, it is clear that the reality the characters are facing reflect the intense challenges facing us today. In keeping with the play’s engagement with absurdism and physical theatre, embodiment has been a key mode of exploration within our work. We invite audiences to discuss the links between climate grief, theatrical expression, and the importance of holding joy.

PRESENTERS:

  • Sasha Singer-Wilson (she/her) is a Tkaronto based multidisciplinary artist of Ashkenazi Jewish and European descent who works in performance, theatre-making, research, writing, music, and facilitation. Sasha’s work explores climate justice, land connection, ritual, intergenerational relationships, and the voice.

  • Magdalena Kazubowski-Houston is an anthropologist, performance theorist, and theatre director. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Theatre, Dance & Performance at York University. Her research focuses on performance ethnography, arts-based research, storytelling, autofiction, aging, migration, disability, and climate emotions.

  • Alix Sideris (she/they) is originally from Tiohtiá:ke/Montréal and presently living in Tkaronto/ Toronto, Alix works across Canada as an artist invested in embodiment, mind/body connection, and creative investigation. They are a movement director, intimacy coordinator/choreographer, actor, writer, director, facilitator in many arts education institutions, a meditation leader, and life-doula.

Saturday November 30th – Systems, Action and Sustainable Design

What does action look like within climate collapse? How, as citizen-artists, do we react with ethical and ecological foresight to the systems that shape the world we’re in? We invite audiences to think about our roles and responsibilities in the current moment. What does it mean to uphold sustainable design practices? How can the theatre serve as a place to imagine and practice possible futures?

PRESENTERS:

  • Nick Blais designs across Canada in all manner of discipline and venue: from theatres, parks, abandoned buildings, schools, storefronts, living rooms and concert halls. Nick has received Dora Mavor Moore awards in Toronto for both set and lighting design, nominated for the Virginia Myrtle Cooper award in costume design, and various other awards and nominations across the country.

  • Ian Garrett is a designer, producer, educator, and researcher in the field of sustainability in arts and culture. He is the director of the Centre for Sustainable Practice in the Arts; producer for Toasterlab, a mixed reality performance collective and media production company; and Associate Professor of Ecological Design for Performance at York University. He has a research and performance design practice focused on ecology and accessible mixed reality technologies.

  • Jay Havens is a 2Spirit multi-media artist, educator, and collaborator of Haudenosaunee Kanien’keha:ka and Scottish-Canadian ancestry. They are a scenographer with 20 years experience in site-specific design and scenography for professional stage companies, collaborative murals and gallery installations or public artwork. Several of Jay’s sculptures can be found in the permanent collections at the New York State Museum and they are a professor in the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Waterloo. 

  • Michelle Tracey is a scenographer based in Toronto, Ontario working in the fields of theatre, opera, film and events in between. Michelle earned her BFA in theatre production and design from York University, and completed the Soulpepper Academy specializing in scenography. Michelle is a trained wardrobe technician and has constructed costumes for numerous professional productions.

Digital Program

Credits

Written and Directed by
Coleen Shirin MacPherson
 
Movement Direction by
Alix Sideris
 
Composition and Musical
Direction by
Amy Nostbakken
 
Sound Design by
Richard Feren
 
Set and Lighting Design by
Nick Blais
 
Head of Props by
Michelle Kwan
 
Props Building by
Elisia Evans

Dramaturgy and Movement Contributions by
Ericka Leobrera
Assistant Lighting Design by
Bharat N. Vyas
 
Costume Design by
Jung A Im 
 
Wardrobe Assistance by
Francheska Libao
 
Dramaturgical Consultant
Rosamund Small
 
Stage Management by
*Tara Mohan 
 
Backstage Assistance by
Sarah Kaufmann
 
Producer for Open Heart Surgery Theatre
Ulla Laidlaw
 
Production Management by 
Lee Widerick
Producing Intern & Production Coordination by
Callan Forrester
 
Performer – Margie
*Nancy McAlear
 
Performer – Grace
*Sochi Fried
 
Performer – Oliver
*Rose Tuong
 
Performer – René
*Kat Khan
 
The Disappeared
Zina Ahmed (she/her)
Dylan Carter (ze/hir, he/him)
jenna geen (she/they)
Melissa Kiley (she/her)
Emma Ly (she/her)
Zoe Magirias
Jobina Sitoh 司徒加恩

* The participation of these Artists are arranged by permission of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association under the provisions of the Dance•Opera•Theatre Policy.

Production Sponsors

This work is made possible by the support of the Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Post-Show Talk Circle Partners

The Post-Show Talk Circle events on November 24th and 30th are hosted in partnership with York University’s School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design and The Centre for the Sustainable Practice in the Arts.

Logo for York University's School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design.

Logo for The Centre for the Sustainable Practice in the Arts (CSPA)