dossier: Cathy Gordon for HAMMER / Summerworks

As the year chugs impressively forward, with no immediate end in its tunnel-esque sight, new relationships are building, strengthening and changing from what they once were. As one of the new Associate Directors of hub14, I’ve recently had the pleasure to spend time with the lovely Cathy Gordon, an artist who wears her heart on her sleeve and whose passion is easily admirable. You can see she’s always analyzing and, because of this, what she brings to a conversation, or piece of art, is truly unique. I had the pleasure to catch HAMMER earlier this year, when it had a showing in May at hub14, but somehow dropped the ball in getting a dossier built around it.

This time around, however, not only have I appealed to Cathy for a dossier, I’m also going to be rather involved in the logistics of this incarnation as HAMMER is now being co-presented by Summerworks and hub14. And! As a bonus to this, because hub14 is going through a large change at the moment, with the old team of artistic directors moving out (Cathy being one of them) and us moving in, each of the five new ADs are going to be introducing HAMMER with a short, 10-minute piece of their own! Not only do you get to see this provocative piece of art from an integral member of hub14’s history, but you also get to see what the new guard is capable of! This is, if you can’t tell, really exciting to me (I haven’t even seen what my fellow cohort is capable of yet).

Alright, straight to it.

dossier # 19:

Who are we talking to?

Cathy Gordon

What drew you down this path? (to theatre, to wherever the hell you are in life)

Since I was a child I’ve been writing, directing and performing. I went to Canterbury School of the Arts for performance + then York University for Playwriting & Directing.

What is your earliest memory of realizing, yep, this is what I’m going to do with my life?

Playing with my dolls and realizing that I wanted to do many things with my life and as an actor, I could live all those lives within my one lifetime.

Why HAMMER?

In recent years, I’ve been doing a lot of different kind of performance (relational work, community work, installation work) and I wanted to get back “into the studio” – to create a piece with a more traditional actor / audience relationship. The quality of HAMMER is in line with some performances I had done years earlier as part of the annual Parkdale Project Read fundraiser. HAMMER in particular was inspired by reading the news one day in December 2012 and being struck by the level of violence against women that was making headlines across the globe. I was compelled to address this within my own family’s history of abuse.

What kind of atmosphere do you intend to set up, or can someone expect while attending HAMMER?

Well, people have said that it’s intense & compelling even if they are unsure of everything that is happening. On this version I’m working on clarifying certain moments while trying to avoid a whole lot of explaining. It’s true that I’m a pretty intense person but I’m also quite funny.

You’ve toured and performed in many festivals over the years. What is your favourite thing about bringing your work to a new audience?

Each audience has a collective boundary, I like to discover that boundary and really test it. I try to create a space that is charged with the energy of every single person in that room. However, I’m the one that is putting myself in a vulnerable position, and by trusting the audience to respect that, I hope to give people a real opportunity to invest in the experience without ever forcing anyone to do anything they don’t want to do.

What is your favourite memory from a past Summerworks experience? Or, what is your favourite memory from HAMMER’s development and production?

Chad Dembski has been my outside eye both in Montreal and this past May. He is the best. I’ve known & worked with Chad since the 1990’s and it was wonderful to reconnect with him (especially because I don’t see him as much since he moved to Montreal.)

Describe HAMMER in three adjectives, a phrase, or with sound.

Ok, I’ll take a line from video:

“Here is place where we pretend we are pretending but, really, we are telling the truth: our subjective truths”.

Do you have anything else you’d like to share? Photos, videos, links, posters, stories, wishes?

Here are some photos from rehearsal & the May production… I’m afraid I didn’t get any proper photographs, I just grabbed some images from the video.

And the schedule of opening acts for HAMMER are as follows:

Aug 8: Kate Nankervis

Aug 9: Coman Poon

Aug 14: Aria Evans (dance films)

Aug 15: Andrew Gaboury

Aug 16: Marie France Forcier

130 Tales: 51 through 60

The steep ascent to the halfway point of this project has past-me slowing down a little bit. The incline seems to be getting to me, as past-me tends a bit more towards the theoretical, the not-quite-cohesive, the just plain uninspired. I can clearly tell most of these were written on transit either to or from work. I’d say most of the entries in this decade are terrible but… yeah, no, most of the entries in this decade are terrible, in my present opinion.

There are a few gems, though. I like the image Number 52 sets up; there’s something sweet and sad about it.

Number 56 is probably my favourite out of the bunch except for the last sentence! Totally unnecessary! It would have been much stronger if it ended, “That’s why his tongue kept moving in and around.” Don’t add another character, past-me. Not yet. Not when you’ve just set up such an interesting initial one. Especially not if second character is just an observer. So boring!

Number 59 is clunky, but has some potential.

And I think I do actually enjoy Number 60: it’s a basic story we can all figure out afterward it ends; it’s an easy-in to a much larger adventure.

All the rest, though, terrible.

130 Tales

# 51 – 60

51. My wheels grew corners. Now all I can do is moan and whine like everyone else.

52. Their only time together is on the train; their laughter’s born so deep you’d never know there wasn’t a Christmas tree.

53. The ancient streets; his eyes resting on crystals and it’s all he can do to keep his heart from breaking his ribs.

54. He’s studying the unknown; a query into the collective soul: cars driving two by two, feet matching rhythms. What is instinct?

55. When she realised she could do anything, nothing remained sacred. So she went on a journey through forest and hill.

56. His teeth felt wrong: all squares and triangles. That’s why his tongue kept moving in and around. I’m sure he was self-conscious.

57. “What do I know? I am the story of a man in transit. That’s what I’ll write. But I can’t promise an end or anything.”

58. Cold hands grab my ribs as I stare at the night-covered smoke caressing the sky.

59. His ringed hand swirls the finger of scotch. His head leans forward, “But what can you do for me?”

60. The mountain seems so far away. Her face illuminated as she huddles, typing in the dimly lit villa: ‘8am – overcome fear.’

Past Decades:

Numbers 1 through 10

Numbers 11 through 20

Numbers 21 through 30

Numbers 31 through 40

Numbers 41 through 50

good news for totem.

As I make my way through a couple classes at Volcano’s 2013 Conservatory I am pleased to receive some good news concerning my recent trip to Hamilton with my new solo show totem.: The View (Hamilton’s version of NOW!) called totem. “one of the hidden gems of The Hamilton Fringe 2013.” I had an amazing time in Hamilton; meeting some lovely people; getting this show on its feet after only 5 in-depth rehearsals; adapting the show to the gorgeous James North Studio Gallery; being right in the middle of one of the craziest storms I’ve experienced in the past few years; and performing totem. 8 times in about 50 hours. Even though my houses weren’t necessarily packed (i.e. “hidden gem”) I took the time I had in Hamilton to tell a story that I deeply care about to anyone that wanted to listen.

This review from The View, posted below, reassures me that I wasn’t the only one who had a good time during this amazing little escape to Hamilton.

Thanks to everyone who came out to see the premiere of totem. ~ if you missed it, there will probably be some extra opportunities to check it out very soon. Stay tuned!

Totem.

Written and starring Andrew Gaboury from Toronto, Totem tells the story about a man caught between what he has and what he wants. Gaboury uses his seemingly boundless energy to convey to the audience the inner struggle of a young man being seduced by a beautiful smile on the beach. Gaboury is an actor that deserves major kudos for his performance. As with many smaller shows, there are times where your audience may consist of just a handful of people. Having a small audience did not dampen his show in any way shape or form. This young actor showed his experience and passion for the art as he gave a performance as if hundreds of people were in the room. Totem was one of the hidden gems of The Hamilton Fringe 2013. V (DW)

130 Tales: 41 through 50

This decade surprised me with its consistency; most of these entries remind of paintings. They are not necessarily active in terms of action. Instead, they are active in description, mostly painting a person, a glimpse of wonderment. the beginning of character. At the end of the tales I find myself wanting to follow them, as if each of these characters were on a streetcar, or subway train, and each entry is an offer to follow them, to see where they are going, to see what awaits them at the next stop.

The one that stays with me the most in this decade is Number 49. I’m reminded of a long exposure shot of cars driving through an intersection and then rewarded by a bit of sweetness at the end. I also love the simplicity of Ethel in Number 41. I have a very clear picture of Ethel in my mind, even though I didn’t write any physical description of her. I hope she’s as vibrant to you as she is to me.

—

130 Tales

# 41 – 50

41. Ethel walked by the window with the glass chandelier every day. Mostly she’d act uninterested, but not today. Today she’ll stare.

42. Pen touches paper; its voice remains mute. He feels confined; his thoughts unable to find life outside his immediate surroundings.

43. I can hear a beast within the cave. Standing near the entrance the wind pushes me softly. My ears straining. It is the only sound.

44. What’s his secret? He has a genuine smile. Blue eyes as white and bright as a child’s with a body as old and bent as the truth.

45. Horrified of air and what it carries they prefer to swim through channels of mind. They prefer to breathe life, why anything less?

46. Deep creases dress his cheeks. At a quick glance they could be mistaken for scars, a disfigured face, but he enjoys their safety.

47. The ghost of a woman, dressed in blue, stands in the middle of the street as I stare out the glass. But her proportions are wrong.

48. He stares at the names of destinations: each one new, foreign. For each name he creates a world. For each world he plans a trip.

49. He doesn’t even see them anymore. They are nothing but blurs, streaks curling all around him. How can he – when she’s there?

50. Amidst the swirling lights and laughing people sits a figure stained red and white, blue and green. His hand paints the air.