Peter Hinton and Odile Gakire Katese in a joint Industry Series/Magnetic Encounters event

This year we hosted the first ever joint Magnetic North/PACT Industry Series. Planned in collaboration with the Professional Association of Canadian Theatre's staff and in consultation with the Industry Series Advisory Committee, this year's event was unprecedented in scope and scale. Bridging the full second week of the festival, the range of activities and opportunities for networking were both relentless and compelling. Complimenting key note speaker Richard Laermer and special guests Odile Gakire Katese of Rwanda (Festival Arts Azimut) and Ramón Griffero of Chile (Teatro A Mil) were 15 break-out sessions, and the ever entertaining artist pitch sessions and new this year presenter pitches. The week was rounded out with speed dating (one-on-one meetings between artists and presenters), and true keeners fit in a rain soaked cruise on False Creek, the BC Touring Council's open meeting and a visit to Vancouver's beautiful Performing Arts Lodge. A minor concentration on presenting gave some focus to our activities, and the ensuing discussions were both fruitful and provocative.  And then of course there were the shows - the very heart of the matter - providing essential theatrical context for the entire proceedings.

The amalgamation of the festival's industry activities and PACT's annual general meeting meant record attendance: 97 industry series delegates, 148 PACT members, 61 students through the Compass Points student symposium and 125 participating artists, made for a critical mass of 431 Canadian theatre professionals representing past, present and future. Special thanks to Kirsty Munro, whose tireless work made the whole thing possible, and for the fantastic technical support of Jonathan Ryder, Jeremy Barker and DK.

The Magnetic Encounters series in Vancouver this year was our best ever. The artists involved shared their stories and secrets about the creation of their shows; they made us laugh and gasp at their journeys to success and inspired us with their generous and tenacious spirits as Canadian artists. 

Some highlights were…

Gordon Pinsent and Roberta Beiser

Celebrity Speaker, and the ever-charming Gordon Pinsent, recounted his first days on live network television in Winnipeg and how he forgot his lines. Then with humility and wit he unfolded stories that have since made up his 50-year career. The near-capacity audience listening to him was reminded that they were in the presence of one of our great legends.  Sandra Oh’s genuine and heartfelt conversation with host Marcus Youssef attracted a large crowd and afterward she spoke personally with many audience members about her experiences. Anosh Irani read from his novel about Bombay, intoxicating our closing night audience with his prose and vivid humour.

Sarah Stanley, Tea with the Artists

Once again, Sarah Stanley’s Tea with the Artists drew us in with intimate conversations about the making the Festival shows.  The [boxhead] boys told us about their show’s technical carnival, about their nudity on stage and what performing with a box on their head was like. Ross Manson of Goodnessbrought anecdotes of years of theatre creation and spoke about his upcoming dream project about the West’s relationship with Africa.

The wildcard Lunchtime Series included brilliant theatre doyennes who have formed much of the foundation of this country’s theatre scene. Joy Coghill shared a breathtaking story about the first production of The Ecstasy of Rita Joe and how when the curtain came down and the actors were long gone the audience sat in silence, moved to tears.  And the innovative Robert Gardiner shared his brilliance with new projection lighting technology that is changing the face of theatre design.

The Encounters Series audience was made up of artists from around the country and the world, theatre aficionados and newcomers, students from theatre schools and Universities all across the country.  Our dedicated audience returned daily for deeper insights behind the scenes.  All in all, there were 10 thrilling days of encounters making this year a very rich Festival experience.

There is no way that the Magnetic North Theatre Festival could have been so successful without the help of our volunteers, putting in over 2000 hours over the course of the festival – that’s equivalent to a full time job for an entire year!

It was heartwarming and amazing to see so many volunteers selflessly contribute their time and energy to the festival--often on very short notice—as well as go above and beyond the call of duty to ensure everything went smoothly. 

Magnetic North volunteers served as amazing ambassadors to our festival and Vancouver. We received many compliments from staff, artists, national and international delegates and patrons on the helpfulness and positive attitude of our orange-shirted volunteers. Volunteers are the backbone of this festival - people who give of their time, talent and energy to support this unique Canadian contemporary theatre festival.

On behalf of everyone at Magnetic North, thank you!