Theatre Conspiracy

About

Mandate

Theatre Conspiracy taps the crosscurrents of international culture, society and politics to create, interpret and translate theatre works that speak beyond borders by:

• creating original work that speaks to international themes;
• interpreting the work of acclaimed contemporary, international playwrights;
• exploring contemporary world drama in translation;
• curating and producing events where audiences mix with local, national and international performers

Theatre Conspiracy has "an eye on the world." We tap the cross-currents of an international city and connect local audiences with the world-wide theatre conversation, whether written as a sophisticated drama, gut-busting comedy or blood-drenched tragedy. We bridge Canada to international theatre by often producing the Canadian premiere of some major international plays.

Mission

Theatre Conspiracy is committed to enhancing a rich dialogue between our city, the province and the international community. We are committed to working with other arts organizations and community leaders to achieve artistic excellence, engage audiences, raise the profile of theatre and share resources.

Up to now

Theatre Conspiracy was co-founded by Richard Wolfe and Tim Carlson, incorporated in 1995 and is a registered charity. We are backed by a large membership and a board of directors interested in both local and international culture.

Some accomplishments include:

• The Canadian premiere of four stellar productions from New Yorker Will Eno's Pulitzer-nominated Thom Pain (based on nothing) to UK dramatist Jez Butterworth's hilarious rock n roll show, Mojo.
• The North American premiere of Nobel laureate Gao Xingjian's Fugitives
• The world premiere of Tim Carlson's dystopian thriller, Omniscience. Now translated into several international productions
• The new readings series Envoys: Contemporary World Drama in Translation, a free series of translated readings to Vancouver's diverse audience.
• Produced nearly two-dozen different cabarets, music events and art openings.
• Founding member and guiding force in the See Seven marketing initiative for Vancouver independent theatre.
• Participated in Progress Lab's groundbreaking theatre installation events HIVE and HIVE2 (2008, Magnetic North Theatre Festival)
• Co-curated and co-produced the performance platform Club PuSh at the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival in 2009

Who we are

Tim Carlson - Artistic Producer

Tim is the artistic producer of Theatre Conspiracy in Vancouver, B.C. He led Conspiracy’s creation of Live From the Bush of Ghosts, inspired by Nigerian author Amos Tutuola’s novel and the Brian Eno/David Byrne recording, presented at the 2009 PuSh International Performing Arts Festival in Vancouver. He is also developing the newsroom comedy A Liar’s Guide to Non-fiction as an artist-in-residence at the Vancouver Playhouse and is serving as dramaturge in the development of Best Before, a new work by Berlin-based company Rimini Protokoll, to be presented as part of the PuSh Festival in Vancouver in 2010. Conspiracy’s premiere production of Omniscience was nominated for six Jessie Richardson theatre awards in 2005, including best production. Omniscience was published by Talonbooks in spring 2007 and in German translation in Theater der Zeit’s anthology, Dialog. The translation received a staged reading at Berlin’s Maxim Gorki Theatre in 2006 and was produced by Theater Magdeburg in Oct. ’07. The play premiered in the U.S. at Stage Left in Chicago in April 2008 and a Portuguese-language translation was produced by Novo Grupo de Teatro in Lisbon in June 2008. The Theatre Conspiracy production of Tim’s most recent play, Diplomacy, premiered at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre in November 2006. It was published by Talonbooks in 2009. He is also the author of the one-act newsroom comedies Night Desk (2001) and The Chronicle has Hart (2000). His short comedy The Reinvention of Minister Thorne is included in the Brave New Play Rites anthology (Anvil Press, 2006). A new one-act play, And this is this one, was recently produced by the Walking Fish Festival in Vancouver. As an arts writer and editor Carlson has worked on staff at the Vancouver Sun and Halifax Daily News and has also written regularly for the Georgia Straight, Globe and Mail and Vancouver Review, a cultural quarterly. He taught writing in Simon Fraser University’s Summer Publishing workshop for the past three years. Carlson was born in Edmonton, Alberta and grew up on a cattle ranch near Medicine Hat. He holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia, earned a journalism degree at University of King’s College, Halifax, and an BA in English from the University of Regina. Carlson is a member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada and the Playwrights Theatre Centre in Vancouver.

 

GasHeart Theatre - Resident company

 

Quinn Harris

Quinn is co-developing and directing the GasHeart / Conspiracy translation and production of Heiner Müller's Macbeth: nach Shakespeare.

She is a recent graduate of the BFA Theatre Program at the University of Victoria with a specialization in directing. Her favourite UVic projects include directing her fellow students in Eight Men Speak, the Festival of Innovative and New Drama, and Heiner Müller’s Hamletmachine. She also directed Oedipus Butchers the Classics and Ladies Night at the last two Walking Fish Festivals and was Assistant Instructor for Carousel Theatre's Teen Shakespeare Program summer production of As You Like It.  In 2008, Quinn co-founded GasHeart Theatre, and directed the company’s first production, The Mechanical Bride, at the Victoria and Vancouver Fringe Festivals. She will direct a production of the company's namesake play, the Dada classic The Gas Heart, at the 2009 Vancouver Fringe.

 

 

 

 

James Foy

James is co-developing and directing the GasHeart / Conspiracy translation and production of Heiner Müller's Macbeth: nach Shakespeare. As Conspiracy artistic associate, he is also managing the company's office.

He is a recent graduate of the University of British Columbia with a degree in Theatre Design and Production. Selected past credits include Production Management for Seussical: the Musical (Carousel Theatre), The Hobbit (Carousel Theatre), Gravity (Urban Ink Productions), and The Odyssey (Carousel Theatre); Technical Direction for Stupidity and Live from a Bush of Ghosts (Theatre Conspiracy), and Frankie and Johnny in La Clair de La Lune (UBC Theatre). James has been nominated for a Jessie Award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement in Theatre for Young Audiences and has also jointly received two Jessie awards for Outstanding Production in Theatre for Young Audiences for Seussical: the Musical and The Odyssey. In 2008, James co-founded GasHeart Theatre, and directed the company’s first production, The Mechanical Bride, at the Victoria and Vancouver Fringe Festivals. He is co-creating a production of the company's namesake play, the Dada classic The Gas Heart, at the 2009 Vancouver Fringe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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