Fundraiser: SILENT HORROR FILM NIGHT

Bust out your 1920s outfits, give it a spooky twist, and get ready for a unique multidisciplinary evening of films, music, improv and much more! 

Saturday, October 26
The Old Fire Hall
Doors @ 7:30pm
Tickets $30

Discover short horror silent films from the early 1900s while kick-ass musicians Andy Slade, and Olivier Clements improvize a live soundtrack and as top notch improv actors make up the dialogue before your eyes.  

The amazing Tara Kolla will be outfitting our 1920s horror photobooth with spooky props! We will be serving tasty drinks! You can win prizes from many local businesses including flights from Air North! 

Open Pit Theatre has a TON of exciting projects coming down the pipe - including Look Up at Pivot, and our first international tour (details coming soon!!).

We will be presenting excerpts from the following silent films:

THE HOUSE OF GHOSTS (1906)by segundo de chomón

La Maison ensorcelée also known as The Witch House) is a 1906 French trick film directed by Segundo de Chomón. The film features stop-motion animation and is considered one of the earliest cinematic depictions of a haunted house premise. Two men and a woman stop at a small house in the woods. Inside, they experience numerous instances of paranormal activity, including disappearing furniture; a stereotypical ghost; movement of cutlery and food on their own; ball lightning; unexplained tilting of the entire home; and a grotesque being with claw-like fingers that attempts to eat the trio.

THE WOLFMAN (1941) by Curt Siodmak

The title character has had a great deal of influence on Hollywood's depictions of the legend of the werewolf. The film is the second Universal Pictures werewolf film, preceded six years earlier by the less commercially successful Werewolf of London (1935).

After this movie's success, Lon Chaney Jr. would reprise his role as "The Wolf Man" in four sequels, beginning with Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man in 1943.

THE CABINET OF DR.CALIGARI (1920) BY Robert Wiene

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Arguably the first horror film. Considered the quintessential work of German Expressionist cinema, tells the story of an insane hypnotist who uses a somnambulist to commit murders. Themes include irrational authority (preluding the Nazi Party), the destabilized contrast between sanity and insanity, the subjective perception of reality, and the duality of human nature. Features a dark and twisted visual style, with sharp-pointed forms, oblique and curving structures and landscapes that lean and twist in unusual angles. 

THE MAN WHO LAUGHS (1928) by Paul Leni

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An adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel of the same name (also wrote The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Les Misérables). A melodrama, at times even a swashbuckler, but so steeped in Expressionistic gloom that it plays like a horror film. Plot centres around Gwynplaine, the son of an English nobleman who has offended the king. The monarch sentences his father to death and calls upon a surgeon to disfigure the boys face into a permanent grin, “to laugh forever at his fool of a father." His wide and mirthless grin inspired the Joker character in the original Batman comic book series. 

THANK YOU to our main event sponsor: Jazz Yukon
And to our Make a Plane Game sponsor: AirNorth

This event is a fundraiser for our mighty theatre company! We've got some REALLY exciting projects coming up and could definately use a hand making them happen.

SOLD OUT - Look Up - Test Performances

Look Up is a series of short stories for audiences who are laying horizontal. It combines live storytelling with visual art that is projected on the ceiling, and is accompanied by a foley soundscape.

Open Pit Theatre has been working away developing this brand new performance medium and we are excited to share these brand new pieces with an audience for the first time! These are intimate test performances that will showcase our work in progress and inform the future of the project. Join us on this exciting adventure. Anything could happen!

Evening shows are for adults.

Saturday 3pm performance is catered specifically to families, recommended ages 3-8 years old.

WHEN?

May 5th at 6:30pm & 8pm

May 6th at 3pm & 6:00pm

WHERE?

At a secret studio space, downtown Whitehorse!

TICKETS? Yes please, right over here.

What to expect at a Look Up event

  • We will present two short pieces (approximately 10 minutes each)

  • You will be asked to lie on your back, on a yoga mat. You are welcome to BYOYM (Bring Your Own Yoga Mat) but we will also have some at the venue.

  • There will be the opportunity to share your thoughts after the performances, if you choose to.

Creative team

Geneviève Doyon - Creator, Playwright, Performer

Virginie Hamel - Visual Design, Performer

Olivier de Colombel - Sound Design

Jessica Hickman - Outside Eye

Open Pit Theatre would like to thank the Yukon Government’s ArtsFund for supporting this crucial phase of development for Look Up.

FUNDRAISER: 1920s Silent Film Night!

Bust out your 1920's outfits, and get ready for a unique multidisciplinary evening of films, music and more!

  • Discover brilliant silent films from the early 1900s while kick-ass musicians (Andrea McColeman, Lonnie Powell & Dave Haddock) improvise a live soundtrack before your eyes.

  • Catch some amazing photos in our 1920s photo-booth!

  • We will be serving tasty 20s-inspired drinks!

  • You can win prizes from many local businesses including an Air North flight!

  • All proceeds will go towards touring Radio Silence and the development of our new show Look Up!

Saturday, November 19th

The Old Fire Hall

Doors @ 7:30pm // Entertainment @ 8:00pm

Tickets $25 // 19+


AUDITIONS! (Whitehorse)

Open Pit Theatre is holding in-person auditions in Whitehorse (Kwanlin Dün First Nation / Ta'an Kwäch'än Council) to hire a puppeteer and mask performer for our upcoming world premiere and touring production of Radio Silence. 

At this time, we are accepting submissions for our Whitehorse auditions, which will take place on Saturday, November 6.

Radio Silence is a wordless, full-face mask and puppetry show written by Jessica Hickman and Geneviève Doyon in collaboration with the Wonderheads. The story centers around two sisters, Ruth & Poppy, who grew up in Dawson City on Trondek Hwech’in territory in the 1920s. After the death of their father, they drifted apart, and are now reunited twenty years later as a mother and a bush pilot. Radio Silence is a whimsical aviation show that ignites the female power within, reminds us of our connection to the land around us, and deepens our appreciation of those we love.  Click HERE for more details about the show.

What is the gig?

Radio Silence will be premiering in Whitehorse as part of the Yukon Art Centre’s 2021-2022 season.  Following the premiere, we will be touring the show to three rural Yukon communities; Dawson City, Haines Junction, and Carcross.  To conclude this contract, Radio Silence will be performed in Victoria, BC at the Metro Theatre.

You must be available for the following dates:

  • Victoria mask & puppetry training TBC: April 12 - 15, 2022 (specific days/times TBC)

  • Whitehorse Rehearsals & Tech: April 19 – May 11, 2022 

  • Whitehorse Premiere: May 12 – 15, 2022 

  • Yukon Tour: May 17 – 25, 2022 

  • Victoria Tech & Run TBC: June 8 – 12, 2022 

Artists will be paid the Equity D.O.T minimum fees of $761/week, and where applicable will be provided travel, accommodation and per diems. Equity and non-Equity artists are welcome to apply.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking to cast one puppeteer/mask performer whose point of origin is either Victoria, BC or Whitehorse, YT.  This role can be played by any gender, but the performer must be comfortable wearing a male-presenting mask and performing as a male-presenting character.  No direct experience in puppetry or mask is required.  Physical performers who are comfortable with non-verbal storytelling are encouraged to apply. 

Please note we will be prioritizing indigenous artists and artists of colour for this role, but all are welcome to submit. Only those selected will be invited to audition. 

Radio Silence will be touring Canada over the next few years. The ideal candidate is someone who is interested and available to tour, plus is willing to contribute with duties such as loading, unloading, set up, and strike.

How do you apply?

Please send a cover letter, resume, and photograph to info@openp.it

If you are not able to write a letter/resume or do not have a photograph, please still apply! Instead, just send us an email explaining a bit about yourself. 

If you are available for the rehearsal and production dates, but not the audition (for example, you are from Victoria or Whitehorse but not currently living there) please still apply and indicate so in your letter. 

We are not accepting video submissions at this time, but we may request a video for unique situations.    

Deadline to apply: Monday, November 1, 2021 by midnight.

Photographs by Erik Pinkerton.


JOB POSTING: Production Manager!

Project Description

Open Pit Theatre, in collaboration with The Wonderheads, has created an original, wordless, mask and puppetry show called Radio Silence.  The show is written by Open Pit Theatre’s co-Artistic Directors, Jessica Hickman and Geneviève Doyon, and centers around two sisters, Ruth & Poppy, who grew up in Dawson City on Trondek Hwech’in territory in the 1920s. After the death of their father, they drifted apart, and are now reunited twenty years later as a mother and a bush pilot. 

The world premiere of Radio Silence is being presented by The Yukon Art Centre, from May 12-15, 2022 at The Old Fire Hall, followed by a Yukon community tour. 

Summary of Contract Position

Reporting to the co-Executive Producers (Jessica Hickman and Geneviève Doyon) and working closely with the Creative Team, the Production Manager is a self-motivated, organized individual with leadership skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities.  The Production Manager is a key member of the planning team, and serves as the central point of contact with all artists, the Creative Team, and the Technical Team.  

Duties of the Production Manager include but are not limited to:

  • Creating and managing an overall Pre-Production Work Plan that includes contracts, bookings, sponsorship goals, marketing implementation, and creative team deadlines

  • Scheduling and leading production meetings; tracking action items/deadlines, and delegating with all key team members: Directors, Designers, SM, Tech Director, Writers etc.

  • Leading communication with the presenter regarding venue details, and MOU contract specifications.

  • Assisting Yukon Arts Centre on tour logistics to three Yukon communities

  • Acting as central point of contact and facilitating smooth communication between all departments; co-Executive Producers, Board of Directors, Creative Team, Stage Manager, and Technical Director

  • Working with the co-Executive Producers, and board of directors to implement Open Pit Theatre’s Anti-Racism and Anti-Discrimination Policy

  • Booking and communicating with photographers and videographers

Sponsorship

  • Developing a sponsorship plan

  • Communication with board of directors regarding sponsorship assistance 

  • Drafting sponsorship letters and print media

  • Approaching and confirming in-kind and cash sponsors

  • Tracking sponsorships within budget

Budget Management Assistance

  • Working with the co-Executive Producer to ensure that the production remains within the allocated budget. Duties will include:

    • Creating a payment schedule

    • Updating and balancing the Master Budget

    • Inputting expenses into the General Ledger

    • Ensuring we have all receipts and invoices on file

Artist Liasoning

  • Drafting Letters of Agreement (LOA) for all artists involved in the production

  • Coordinating all travel, hotel, hospitality, and transport requirements for artists, creative and technical team members

  • Arranging airport pick up and drop offs

  • Working with Jessica to ensure that all artists are paid as per the payment schedule

Qualifications/Required Skills

  • Experience and/or education in theatre management

  • Experience in scheduling arts production based projects

  • Strong financial experience including management of large project budgets

  • Experience with developing and executing a sponsorship campaign

  • An understanding of current production and technical practices within theatre/performing arts including sound, lighting, and projection

  • Knowledge of MS Word, Excel, and Drive

  • Experience booking flights, accommodation, and artist liasoning

  • Strong interpersonal and communication skills with a commitment to collaboration

  • A sense of humour and ability to roll with sudden changes is an asset

Contract Details

Contract Period: November 15, 2021 - June 1, 2022

Estimated Hours: 170 hours.

Contract Rate: $5000 flat fee, paid in 3 instalments

  • December 15, 2021 = $1000 (25-30 hours)

  • March 1, 2022 = $2000 (50-60 hours)

  • June 1, 2022 = $2000 (70-80 hours)

Application Process

 To apply please submit a resume and cover letter clearly outlining your relevant experience to info@openp.it

Deadline to apply is  November 1, 2021 at 5:00pm

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to send us an email.  We would be happy to talk more about the position and/or project if that is helpful.  It is going to be a very exciting project, and we are looking forward to building our team! 

AUDITIONS! (Victoria)

Open Pit Theatre is holding in-person auditions in Victoria (Lekwungen / W̱SÁNEĆ nations) and Whitehorse (Kwanlin Dün First Nation / Ta'an Kwäch'än Council) to hire a puppeteer and mask performer for our upcoming world premiere and touring production of Radio Silence. 

At this time, we are accepting submissions for our Victoria auditions, which will take place on Saturday, October 30th. Whitehorse auditions will take place early November.

Radio Silence is a wordless, full-face mask and puppetry show written by Jessica Hickman and Geneviève Doyon in collaboration with the Wonderheads. The story centers around two sisters, Ruth & Poppy, who grew up in Dawson City on Trondek Hwech’in territory in the 1920s. After the death of their father, they drifted apart, and are now reunited twenty years later as a mother and a bush pilot. Radio Silence is a whimsical aviation show that ignites the female power within, reminds us of our connection to the land around us, and deepens our appreciation of those we love.  Click HERE for more details about the show.

What is the gig?

Radio Silence will be premiering in Whitehorse as part of the Yukon Art Centre’s 2021-2022 season.  Following the premiere, we will be touring the show to three rural Yukon communities; Dawson City, Haines Junction, and Carcross.  To conclude this contract, Radio Silence will be performed in Victoria, BC at the Metro Theatre.

You must be available for the following dates:

  • Victoria mask & puppetry training: April 12 - 15, 2022 (specific days/times TBC)

  • Whitehorse Rehearsals & Tech: April 19 – May 11, 2022 

  • Whitehorse Premiere: May 12 – 15, 2022 

  • Yukon Tour: May 17 – 25, 2022 

  • Victoria Tech & Run: June 8 – 12, 2022 

Artists will be paid the Equity D.O.T minimum fees of $761/week, and where applicable will be provided travel, accommodation and per diems. Equity and non-Equity artists are welcome to apply.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking to cast one puppeteer/mask performer whose point of origin is either Victoria, BC or Whitehorse, YT.  This role can be played by any gender, but the performer must be comfortable wearing a male-presenting mask and performing as a male-presenting character.  No direct experience in puppetry or mask is required.  Physical performers who are comfortable with non-verbal storytelling are encouraged to apply. 

Please note we will be prioritizing indigenous artists and artists of colour for this role, but all are welcome to submit. Only those selected will be invited to audition. 

Radio Silence will be touring Canada over the next few years. The ideal candidate is someone who is interested and available to tour, plus is willing to contribute with duties such as loading, unloading, set up, and strike.

How do you apply?

Please send a cover letter, resume, and photograph to info@openp.it

If you are not able to write a letter/resume or do not have a photograph, please still apply! Instead, just send us an email explaining a bit about yourself. 

If you are available for the rehearsal and production dates, but not the audition (for example, you are from Victoria or Whitehorse but not currently living there) please still apply and indicate so in your letter. 

We are not accepting video submissions at this time, but we may request a video for unique situations.    

Deadline to apply: Friday, October 22, 2021 by midnight.

Photographs by Erik Pinkerton.


Workshop Presentation

We are looking for your feedback! Join us for a public sharing of what Open Pit Theatre and Wonderheads have been cooking up for y'all. Our two companies have been developing a brand new mask and puppetry show set in Dawson City. The show will premiere in spring 2022 as part of the Yukon Arts Centre's season and will tour the territory. This showing of work in progress will be a sneak peak into what the production will be!

September 1, 2021
Doors at 6:30pm // Start time 7pm sharp
Old Fire Hall - Whitehorse
By donation
Followed by Q & A

Attendance is very limited due to Covid-19 - please send an email to genevieve@openp.it to reserve your spot.

Co-creators: Jessica Hickman, Kate Braidwood, Andrew Phoenix and Geneviève Doyon
Additional performer: Brian Fidler

Huge thanks to Yukon Government, Great Yukon Summer, Canada Council for the Arts and the Yukon Arts Centre for making this event possible.

We're excited to share our progress with you!

Join us at our open rehearsals!

Are you in Whitehorse?

Interested in observing how a mask and puppetry show is made?

Join us at The Old Fire Hall on Tuesday, August 24th from 1:30-3:30pm!

This open rehearsal will be a chance for you to take a peek! You can come in and out of the space anytime between 1:30pm and 3:30pm on Aug 24th, there will be seats set up 2m apart from each other. If all the seats are full, we ask that you wait outside for someone to leave before entering the space. We will go about our business and rehearse away! This is to observe a devising process from within, not a Q and A.

We hope to see you there!

ONLINE WORKSHOP: Behind the Mask

BEHIND THE MASK:Kate Braidwood shares her step-by-step mask making process!

DATE: Tuesday, May 18, 2021

TIME: 7-8:30pm Pacific Daylight Time

LOCATION: Online

Have you ever wanted to learn how to make a mask?

Join us for an online demonstration with mask-making wizard Kate Braidwood of the WONDERHEADS!

Kate will be taking us through a step-by-step overview of her process as she demonstrates what techniques and materials she uses to create her masterpieces. This is a unique opportunity to learn tips and tricks from one of Canada’s best mask makers!

Please note, participants will not be physically making a mask during the workshop. Kate will be outlining her step-by-step process, and providing a material list. You will be given all the information you need to start making your own mask in the future!

Zoom

This workshop will be held on Zoom and an invite to join the workshop meeting will be sent to you via email on the day of the workshop.

Pricing

We know things are tight right now, but we want you to have access to this unique opportunity. Please pick the price point that works best for you.

$15 • $20 • $25 • $30

Space in this digital workshop is limited to ensure the best experience for our participants. There is not a waitlist for this workshop as it is first-come, first-serve. A credit card is required to register.

All workshop sales are final - no refunds at this time.

Questions

If you have any questions, concerns, or financial barriers please email Jessica at jessica@openp.it and she will be happy to assist.

Why this workshop?

Photo by Andrew Barrett Photography

Photo by Andrew Barrett Photography

Open Pit Theatre and the WONDERHEADS are currently co-creating a brand new mask and puppetry show! The show is set to premiere at The Yukon Art Centre in May 2022. To see more photographs, and hear about the development of the show CLICK HERE.

Who is Kate?

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Kate Braidwood, WONDERHEADS Co-Founding Artistic Director, is an actor, deviser, sound designer, director and mask maker. She has performed nationally and internationally, and her masks are used in WONDERHEADS’ own work as well as on stages and in classrooms around the world. Kate holds a BFA in Acting from the University of Victoria and an MFA in Ensemble Based Physical Theatre from Dell’Arte International where she trained as an actor-creator, studying the development of original, physically driven work created in ensemble. It was at Dell’Arte that her passion for mask was truly ignited and developed, during which time she trained in the Italian form of Commedia Dell’Arte, studied mask performance with Joan Schirle and Ronlin Foreman, studied mask design with Bruce Marrs and worked with Berlin-based mask company Familie Flöz. In 2009 she teamed up with fellow Dell’Arte graduate, Andrew Phoenix, to create the WONDERHEADS and has been busy touring their work since that time. Kate was named a 2015 Oregon Arts Commission Fellow, an initiative designed to recognize the achievements of outstanding Oregon artists.

A Time-Lapse Video of Kate Making a Mask!

TOUR: Busted Up at the SPARK Festival!

Photo by Alistair Maitland Photography

Photo by Alistair Maitland Photography

Open Pit Theatre is very excited to announce that Busted Up: A Yukon Story will be making it’s southern debut in Victoria, BC at the SPARK Festival from March 10 - 14, 2020!

By Geneviève Doyon
Directed by Jessica Hickman
Original Music by Brooke Maxwell

Busted Up: A Yukon Story is set in Canada’s far north; home of 35,000 people, 200,000 caribou, 14 different First Nations and the beautiful midnight sun.

Six actors portray over 30 real-life Yukon characters who throughout the play share their stories of colonialism, natural resource extraction, racial discrimination and a deep love of the wild. The interactions of these characters evolve around relationships between indigenous people and settlers, the growing immigrant population, and the fast-paced changes Canada’s north is experiencing.

Open Pit Theatre spent 3 years developing Busted Up: A Yukon Story as part of The Yukon Verbatim Project, which consisted of gathering over 60 interviews from eight Yukon communities including Whitehorse.  The words you will hear are the exact words as transcribed during the interviews without any alterations or additions.  Each of the real-life characters featured in the play was consulted, invited to readings/shows, and ultimately gifted Open Pit Theatre the use of their words for this play.

Busted Up: A Yukon Story is approximately 70 minutes with no intermission.

Cast – Joel D. Montgrand, Kaitlyn Yott, Brenda Barnes, Caleb Gordon, Christine Quintana, and Lisa Goebel

Creative Team
DIRECTOR, CO-CREATOR, & TOUR PRODUCER – Jessica Hickman
CO-CREATOR, PLAYWRIGHT – Geneviève Doyon
COMPOSER & SOUND DESIGNER – Brooke Maxwell
SET DESIGNER – Michel Gignac
COSTUME DESIGNER – Rosie Stuckless
LIGHTING DESIGNER – Brad Trenaman
STAGE MANAGER- Becca Jorgensen

RADIO SILENCE Development

Open Pit Theatre has joined forces with the WONDERHEADS to bring you a brand new northern mask and puppetry show called Radio Silence.

Here are a few shots of our lead characters Ruth & Poppy!

Photographs by Andrew Barrett. Masks by Kate Braidwood.

We have been developing the show since 2019 and here are a few early shots of our progress…

Last August, team WONDER-PIT completed our final development phase in Whitehorse. We spent three weeks participating in an @YAC residency at The Old Fire Hall, which concluded in an invited workshop presentation of the show.

Set design by Andrew Phoenix, photographs by Erik Pinkerton.

Stay tuned for more updates as we prepare for the world premiere, and tour of Radio Silence!

Thank you to Canada Council for the Arts, Arts Fund, and The Yukon Art Centre for their support of this project.

Open Pit Theatre is based in Whitehorse, Yukon on the traditional territories of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation, and the Ta'an Kwäch'än Council. We are honoured to devise, rehearse, and perform on these lands.