The Montreal G.L.B.T. International Theatre Festival

Thursday, October 28 to Sunday, November 7, 2004.

Speech by: Davyn Ryall, Artistic Director Village Scene Productions & Festival Coordinator

Presented at Station C 1450 Ste-Catherine est. Friday, July 2nd 18h – 20h

Hello, welcome everyone and thank you for coming this evening. My name is
Davyn Ryall andI am the Artistic Director of Village Scene Productions.

A few years ago our fledgling company was created with a vision to produce new work and to promote new talent. Focusing on material of a diverse nature and on raw creativity it is our goal to improve the image of our community by utilizing the art of drama to transcend boundaries, inform and demystify our ‘Queer Culture’ for a general theatre going public. While being valuable entertainment, artistic integrity is never sacrificed to bring the message to the stage.

I am privileged to work with some very innovative writers, performers and directors and have come to learn the value and true meaning of collaboration. Without the support of each other in the theatre community most of the written words will remain on paper and never be brought to the eyes and ears of an eager audience. The collaborative process is what defines us and is what the true essence of theatre is today.

Having participated numerous times in performing arts events like the Fringe, Le festival de théâtre amateur de Montréal and the American National Theatre Festival, I came to appreciate very quickly the growing need for professional exchange and mutual encouragement. So whether you are a designer, a playwright, a performer, a musician or a director; oh and yes, even a theatre critic, we are all part of that audience waiting for new fresh talent, a voice in the dark to be lit up, seen and heard.

Well the wait is not going to be for much longer for the Community here in Montreal because this fall we will all unite to celebrate the performing arts and original authentic Queer writing with the inaugural 1st edition of the annual Montreal G.L.B.T. Int’l. Theatre Festival. And, if you need a definition of G.L.B.T. well, it isn’t a sandwich at McDonalds. But if you look around the neighborhood I’m sure you’ll see some tasty examples that will clarify the mystery for you.

While we’re on that topic though, let me just clarify something for you now … No you do not have to be Gay, a Lesbian, Bi-sexual, or Transgender to participate in any way with this event, nor does it mean that you are if you do. It is still very sad that we have to specify that. It has been the most frequently asked question since I launched this event on February 23rd. It is all about the written word. The content and the subject references dictate whether or not a production will be accepted into the festival. Our company has produced four productions in two years and we do not discriminate, we’re all about diversity. As a professional company, as far as we know, two thirds of our talent that we have cast has not been Gay at all. What counts is the talent and the willingness to learn and contribute.

But, it also goes to prove even more why this event is so necessary, and why the time is ripe for it. Now more than ever we are seeing ourselves, that is the G.L.B.T. community members, represented in the media, on T.V. and in advertisements. The corporate world has decided that the Queer Market Share is growing and worthy of their attention as they come out of the closet of homophobia.

So if we are ripe for the picking for them, then so should they be equally ripe for the giving. Without major sponsorship of community events like this festival, there will be no art, there will be no produced playwrights and there will be no valuable entertainment to demystify for the general public. Having just had our Canada Council grant refused; and also the Journées de la Culture de Québec declining our submission for the ScripTease event to promote the work of the participating artists September 25th, proves that we cannot depend on our government for assistance. The Queer Tax dollar is not being equally redistributed into the community and neither are those of the artists. So whether it comes from our local businesses, or from outside of our immediate community, sponsorship will be paramount in being the successful instrument to bringing our festival and your art to the hearts and minds of the audience.

On that note let me take a moment to thank our partners who are helping us bring you this years’ 1st edition of the festival. I would like to thank the staff at Le Mystique Club for helping us with our initial launch on April 3rd with the Queer Quickies event and all of the participants that helped to make that event such a success. I wish to thank the Bar Le Tube for allowing us to use their space for the ScripTease event this coming September 25th at 20h. The Chambre de Commerce for getting the word out and particularly to Louis-Alain Robitaille for his recommendations. Fugues magazine for all of there consulting support, and encouragement, particularly Yves Lafontaine. To the team at Q.D.F. And to all of the media, Eileen and Jarmila at ToBe, Amy at the Mirror, Alain at R.G., Richard at Hour, and C.K.U.T. radio: Estelle, John, Chris, and Colleen.

When I first started to create the concept of this event I had to think of where and when it would be held. Two years of researching both the G.L.B.T. and the local theatre events calendars helped to decide when it would be best to hold the festival. I also took a hard look at space where we could expand as the festival grows without having to relocate every year. When making public the concept of this festival, the major issue was to find a location and a partner that shared a similar philosophy with V.S.P. and a vision of what this event could become.

After much deliberation I am very happy to announce that the Montreal G.L.B.T. Int’l. Theatre Festival will be held at Station C. Thanks to the owner M. Yves Becker and the management for their belief in our project and their support in making it happen. We are looking forward to a long and fruitful involvement in developing this event together. This is the only all G.L.B.T. themed event to take place within the Village and we are proud to bring it to you.

However, as partners we have to look out for the best interests of each other. And, as with all successful relationships, compromise and good communications are essential. It was necessary for V.S.P. to adjust the dates of the event in order to accommodate the needs of our partner. So it will now take place one week prior to that previously announced … Thursday, October 28 to Sunday, November 7 2004. This will coincide with the Halloween weekend events in the community and we anticipate that this will only help bring more attention to the festival.

All of our efforts over the past months have been put on bringing attention to the festival and we have had some success. On February 23rd when I officially announced the festival for 2005 on CKUT Queer Corps we received six international submissions that same day. A decision had been made prior to the announcement that we would focus on developing the local market this year, from the media, to the audience, to the participants, and only invite one out of Province company. We received 3 times the amount of submissions that we first anticipated we would get making it necessary to expand the event from the original five to eleven days. And the quality was for the most part surprisingly good. We also wanted to ensure a balance of both English and French language plays, so a jury was assigned the task of evaluating the local company submissions.

The evaluating process was divided into two groups, English and French, and two jurists from each group evaluated the submissions that we had received by May 14th. They were asked to give a literal analysis of the play from a technical writing point of view. Also, to evaluate the production feasibility within the realm of the festival and to judge the entertainment value from a general audience perspective. All of the plays had to be between 30 and 120 minutes, have some relevance to the G.L.B.T. lifestyle and touch in some way the element of time to fit in with the theme of ‘Then and Now’.

The volunteer jury selected by V.S.P. consisted of professionals in related fields of literature and theatre production:

The Montreal G.L.B.T. Int’l. Theatre Festival - 2004

EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR SELECTION COMMITTEE JURY

1) The submission package: Did the candidate submit all of the required information in order to make a fare and equal evaluation of the material.

2) The support of the production: Does the candidate have sufficient past production experience and or an established support group.

3) Is this original material or published and does the candidate have the rights to produce. Has this material been previously produced, if so how often and how recently?

4) Is there an entertainment appeal to the general theatre public?

5) Does the subject matter have some reference directly or indirectly to the G.L.B.T. lifestyle?

6) Does the material relate to the theme of this years’ festival ‘Now and Then’.

7) Is this a work that has been reviewed previously by a professional dramaturge? If so when and by whom? What was the result if applicable?

8) Is this production feasible to mount within the restrictions outlined by the Festival?

9) When compared with the other submissions received how does this material rank overall.

10) Does this material have a certain edge, appeal to a particular group or market that would make it stand out if produced in the Festival?Copies of the jurists’ bios are available upon request. I wish to thank the members of the jury for a job well done and for giving us their time and sharing their knowledge making this evaluating process much easier. The final selection was made by V.S.P. based on the outcome of these evaluations.

While I am on the topic of volunteers, I would like to take a moment to personally thank all those who have given so freely of their time to help getting this project off the ground so far. Starting with a man who not so long ago had a normal quiet life until he joined our task force where he was responsible for coordinating the evaluation process and the jury and he did a great job; our volunteer coordinator M. Alain Quilliam. I also want to thank our ‘Hostess’ Miss Gina (Brent Schaus) forbeing here. And I wish to mention our translation team: Julie, Joelle, Ralph, Olivier, Tommy and especially Van for translating this speech. Thanks to Mario Bolduc for his guidance and to Gary Anthony for his inspiration. Finally, thank you to my partners David and Ricky for keeping up with my bright ideas.

Now I know that by now you are anxiously awaiting and expecting to find out who is in the festival. And I am going to do just that . . . right after I tell you all about the agenda of events leading up to the festival:

Now the moment that you have all waited so patiently for … is coming soon . . .

But first for your entertainment pleasure a little number by Miss Gina. Just kidding!

Out of the fifteen plays submitted by local companies, 9 met with the selection criteria outlined by the organizers. Their plays have been evaluated by the members of our esteemed jury and their productions have been reviewed by V.S.P. Three to four presentations will be awarded to each selected entry in the festival. I am going to mention two categories of acceptance :

1) Official entry and 2) Invited entry.

If the name of your play or your company is not mentioned, it does not mean that it is not a good play or production. It means that within the realm of this festival it was not as feasable to mount the production when compared against the other submissions recieved. However, if for whatever reason one of the selected entries does not fullfil their obligations or chooses to withdraw from the festival, then you could still find yourself with a possible entry spot. So stay on stand-by.

The following are the 9 official entries in the 2004 Montreal G.L.B.T. Int’l Theatre Festival :

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff of Station C for their hospitality this evening. Please stay around and meet with the companies and playwrites and encourage them in this new production adventure that they are about to embark on. Remember to support theatre, buy a ticket to a show! Thanks for coming and we’ll see all of you back here in October !