The Georgia Straight - Urban Living - May 2, 2019

MAY 2 - 9 / 2019 | FREE

Volume 53 | Number 2676

CARL HART

Adult talk on drugs

BALLET BC

Bennathan returns

TASHA HUBBARD

Filmmaker’s quest for justice

LADY LAMB Makes peace with the past

Urban Living Geometric pots by Vancouver’s Mind the Minimal are sleek holders for this spring’s popular succulents; plus, Mount Pleasant’s monumental transition, and more

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LIBBY DAVIES

4 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MAY 2 – 9 / 2019

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MAY 2 – 9 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 5

CONTENTS

May 2-9 / 2019

16 COVER

Succulents find a stylish spot inside the home, with concrete containers by Mind the Minimal.

By Janet Smith Cover photo by Stephanie Keung

9

BOOKS

Former MP and Vancouver city councillor Libby Davies has written a book about her life as a political activist.

By Travis Lupick

23 ARTS

Choreographer Serge Bennathan has watched Ballet BC grow over the years, and he’s back with new energy.

By Janet Smith

32 MOVIES

A tragic death and the treatment of Prairie First Nations inspired filmmaker Tasha Hubbard’s DOXA fest entry.

By Charlie Smith

MAY 2019

EAT DRINK LOCAL

35 MUSIC

Lady Lamb finds light in the darkness amid the shape-shifting songs of Even in the Tremor.

By Mike Usinger

e Start Here 24 THE BOTTLE 10 CANNABIS 31 CONFESSIONS 19 FOOD 13 HOROSCOPES 24 I SAW YOU 34 MOVIE REVIEWS 7 NEWS 14 REAL ESTATE 39 SAVAGE LOVE 12 STYLE 12 TECHNOLOGY

e Online TOP 5

e Listings 30 ARTS 37 MUSIC

Vancouver’s News and Entertainment Weekly Volume 53 | Number 2676 1635 West Broadway, Vancouver, B.C. V6J 1W9 T: 604.730.7000 F: 604.730.7010 E: gs.info@straight.com straight.com

May is Buy BC: EAT DRINK LOCAL month at participating restaurants across BC. Visit nearby restaurants and enjoy enticing menus inspired by locally-sourced food and drink. We have it so good in BC – eat it all up and support local restaurants, growers and producers!

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1 2 3 4 5

Iconic Wu-Tang Clan is latest Vancouver jazz fest headlining act Gallery Café and Catering to close at Vancouver Art Gallery.

Tech firm Hootsuite lets go of dozens of Vancouver employees.

Teenager seriously injured after being hit by truck in East Van. Go get drunk: racial slur alleged in humanrights complaint.

GeorgiaStraight @GeorgiaStraight @GeorgiaStraight

The Georgia Straight is published every Thursday by the Vancouver Free Press Publishing Corp. Copies are distributed free every week throughout Vancouver, Burnaby, North and West Vancouver, New Westminster, and Richmond. International Standard Serial Number ISSN 0709-8995. Subscription rates in Canada $182.00/52 issues (includes GST), $92.00/26 issues (includes GST); United States $379.00/52 issues, $205.00/26 issues; foreign $715.00/52 issues, $365.00/26 issues. Contact 604-730-7087 if you wish to distribute free copies of the Georgia Straight at your place of business. Entire contents copyright © 2019 Vancouver Free Press, Best Of Vancouver, Bov And Golden Plates Are Trade-Marks Of Vancouver Free Press Publishing Corp. SUBMISSIONS The Straight accepts no responsibility for, and will not necessarily respond to, any submitted materials. All submissions should be addressed to contact@straight.com.

Canadian Publications Mail Agreement #40009178, return undeliverable Canadian addresses to The Georgia Straight, 1635 West Broadway, Vancouver, B.C, V6J 1W9

6 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MAY 2 – 9 / 2019

This is what people are reading this week on Straight.com.

NEWS

Takei praises progressive Canada

T

by Craig Takeuchi

wo recent major Canadian acts of inclusion paid tribute to groups that have historically struggled to overcome exclusion and discrimination.

On April 23, the Royal Canadian Mint released a commemorative coin, featuring artwork by Vancouver artist Joe Average, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality in Canada.

The next day, Canada Post held a special event at the Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre in Burnaby to unveil a new stamp to honour the historic Vancouver Asahi, an amateur baseball team of Japanese Canadians who rose to become champions across the Pacific Northwest until the Second World War internment forced the team to disband.

In addition to the last surviving member of the Vancouver Asahi, 97-year-old Koichi Kaye Kaminishi, Hollywood star and Japanese-American LGBT activist George Takei attended the event and, in conversation with the Georgia Straight, called it a “historic moment”.

Takei, famous for portraying Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek, is in Vancouver filming the TV series The Terror: Infamy, an anthology historical horror series focusing this season on the Japanese-American internment.

Although he underwent internment as a five-year-old who was removed from Los Angeles to a barbed-wire camp “in the swamps of Arkansas”, he feels that Japanese Canadians experienced more hardship.

“We’ve been filming here since January, and I now know, and I have tremendous, profound respect for the survival, strength, and resilience of Japanese Canadians,” he said.

Takei had previously taken a tour of Vancouver’s former Japantown district in the Downtown Eastside

Actor George Takei with Koichi Kaye Kaminishi. Photo by Craig Takeuchi

I have tremendous, profound respect for the…resilience of Japanese Canadians.

– George Takei

on March 11 to learn more about Japanese-Canadian history.

What was different between the Japanese-Canadian and JapaneseAmerican internment was that Japanese Americans were allowed to return to the Pacific coast after the war ended in 1945. In contrast, full restrictions on Japanese Canadians weren’t lifted until 1949.

However, what has especially convinced Takei that Japanese Canadians had it worse during the internment is the climate. But it wasn’t the oft-reviled and infamous Vancouver rains that were the focus of his

concern—he cited the frigid weather in Vancouver this past winter.

“I could not take that cold—it was bone-chilling to the core,” he said.

“They told me that this is the mild part of Canada.”

When the Straight informed Takei about the commemorative LGBT coin, he expressed surprise. He noted how in the U.S., LGBT communities will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots at Greenwich Village’s Stonewall Inn in June 1969 that are credited as giving rise to the LGBT–rights movement in the U.S. In the U.S., decriminalization of same-sex sexual activity began in Illinois in 1962 and continued on a state-by-state basis until—believe it or not—2003.

“You Canadians are way ahead of us,” he said. “Bravo to Canada because…ours was much later than that.”

In Canada, same-sex marriage was legally recognized nationwide in 2005, but not nationally stateside until 2015.

Marriage equality was a particularly pivotal issue for Takei—one that put him in opposition to another Hollywood star and changed his life.

“In 2005, the California state legislature, both the senate and the assembly, passed the marriage-equality bill,” he explained. “However, it needed one more signature: our governor, who happened to be Arnold Schwarzenegger, and his base is the conservative right. And, playing to his base, he vetoed it. And that got me so angry that that’s the year that I came out for the first time in my life.”

Since that time, Takei has been a vocal proponent of LGBT rights and has also spoken out on numerous other social issues. His internment experiences also inspired the musical Allegiance, which premiered in 2012 and had a Broadway run from 2015 to 2016. g

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NEWS

Ignorance about drugs is costing lives, Hart says

by Travis Lupick

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DRUG USE FOR GROWN UPS Carl Hart, neuropsychopharmacologist at Columbia University, will explore the myths and social forces that shape our views on drugs and drug policy. He plans to provide evidence-based recommendations to enhance the pleasure adults seek from drug use, and strip away the misinformation and harmful practices that drive our ongoing drug crises.

Commentary by Caitlin Shane (Pivot Legal Society). Moderated by Garth Mullins (Crackdown podcast).

Tickets are FREE I More info at pwias.ubc.ca/events

8 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MAY 2 – 9 / 2019

C

Columbia University’s Carl Hart says Vancouver shaped his views on drug policy.

arl Hart has a novel idea for his upcoming visit to Vancouver: he wants to have an adult conversation about drugs.

“Our current way of dealing with drugs—banning them, for the most part—has forced a lot of responsible adults into the closet…and impacted their civil liberties,” the New York author and neuroscientist told the Georgia Straight by phone.

“If people weren’t in the closet about their drug use, people would have better information like don’t mix opioids with certain types of sedatives, and make sure the opioids you get are tested for purity and adulterants….That’s not happening, as a result of our current approach.”

Hart, chair of Columbia University’s department of psychology, explained that society generally forbids public discourse about illicit drugs that doesn’t begin with the premise that drugs are bad and therefore should never be consumed for enjoyment. That precludes conversations about how drugs can be used in ways that are relatively safe, Hart continued. The result is a situation where many people who use drugs lack knowledge that could one day save their life.

“Alcohol is a really potentially dangerous drug, but we manage to live with this drug,” Hart said.

“We’ve taught people how to do it; we regulate the unit doses that can be put in each sort of package, and we do all of these things that enhance the safety of alcohol.

“The same sorts of thing can be done with something like heroin, something like MDMA, and other drugs,” he maintained.

Hart will discuss how this can come about as part of the UBC Wall Exchange lecture series at the Vogue Theatre on May 23. With a cheeky title, “Drug Use for Grownups”, he’ll be joined on-stage by Caitlin Shane, a lawyer with Vancouver’s Pivot Legal Society, and Garth Mullins, host of the Downtown Eastside podcast Crackdown.

Hart said Vancouver is a special place for him. He’s visited many times and has followed the city’s expansion of supervised-injection services and other harm-reduction programs. It was also Vancouver that helped shape his current views on drug-policy reform, Hart revealed.

He recounted a 2013 visit he made in support of his breakthrough book, High Price: A Neuroscientist’s Journey of Self-Discovery That Challenges Everything You Know About Drugs and Society.

“There was a guy, a long-time activist, and I was going on about decriminalizing drugs, like, ‘I think we should decriminalize drugs,’ ” Hart recounted.

Decriminalization would involve removing criminal penalties for personal possession. The activist— former Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users president Dean Wilson, the Straight learned—argued that this wouldn’t go far enough. Wilson told Hart that what’s required to end the drug war is legalization and regulation.

alk TOF THE WEEK CLARIZZA Singson-Dagatan, a human-rights defender in the Philippines, will deliver a talk about the situation in her country. She is visiting Vancouver as part of a tour leading to the launch of the Canadian chapter of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines on May 11 and 12 in Ottawa.

Singson-Dagatan is from the island of Negros, where 14 farmers were killed in police and military operations on March 30 this year. The event, “From the Front Lines: Resisting Dictatorship and State Terror in the Philippines”, will be held at SFU Harbour Centre (515 West Hastings Street) on Saturday (May 4), starting at 6:30 p.m. g

“He said, politely, who was I to decide whether he could have access to drugs?” Hart continued. “And he was right. Who gave me the right to decide what this adult can have? That changed my perspective.”

The book Hart had travelled with to Vancouver, High Price, expresses his support for decriminalization. In part thanks to Wilson and that 2013 exchange, Hart said his forthcoming book advocates for full legalization and regulation.

There is growing belief that the war on drugs is a failure. One reason why is the opioid epidemic.

There were an estimated 72,000 fatal overdoses across the United States in 2017, up from 64,000 the previous year and 52,000 dead in 2015. In Canada, opioids alone kill roughly 4,000 people every year.

Hart said misconceptions about why people take hard drugs are obstructing effective responses to North America’s significant increase in overdose deaths.

“Addiction has little to do with the drug itself,” Hart said. He explained that if addiction were only caused by the substance, North America’s most common response to addiction— punishment—might have some positive effect. “But addiction itself has more to do with psychosocial issues,” Hart said. “Punishment does not work on those factors.”

Once this is understood, Hart continued, conversations around the opioid epidemic can move on to initiatives that, unlike punishment, stand a realistic chance of saving lives.

“Make drug-checking facilities available to people,” he suggested.

“You could make heroin available and figure out how to regulate that.

And until you do that, you should have drug-checking and teach people about the different forms of fentanyl.…I guarantee you, you will decrease the number of drug-related deaths. That’s really simple.” g Carl Hart is scheduled to speak in Vancouver as part of the UBC Wall Exchange lecture series on May 23 at the Vogue Theatre.

BOOKS

Davies memoir offers a master class in activism

by Travis Lupick

W

ith a lifetime agitating for social change—as an activist, city councillor, and member of Parliament representing Vancouver East—Libby Davies has more than a few good stories to share.

In 1989, for example, she stood on the beach at Spanish Banks and spotted the USS Independence anchored in the water before her. The massive aircraft carrier had nuclear weapons onboard, and Davies wanted to call attention to their presence in Vancouver.

“The famous Greenpeace zodiacs ferried about twenty swimmers to the middle of the Burrard Inlet, and we jumped into the very cold water and began our swim,” she writes in Outside In: A Political Memoir. “The uppermost deck, an overhang where aircraft could land, was a giant shadow that blocked the sky. Every time I lifted my head for a breath I could hear the insults the sailors hurled at us from above.”

The book, scheduled for release on Tuesday (May 7), stands as a master class in activism and an invaluable guide to navigating the crossroads of advocacy, politics, and public policy.

“They so often collide and are misunderstood,” Davies tells the Straight at a café on East Hastings Street. “It’s like ships passing in the night. And so I wanted the book to be about activism, but also about how you make the political world…more accessible to people. How you bring about change, how you work on difficult issues that are not considered mainstream, and how you make progress.”

She emphasizes that activists can compromise on policy without compromising their principles.

“If we don’t use every opportunity and every tool we have to make the system work for us, we’re actually giving up our power,” Davies adds.

“It’s all about how you can move forward with your agenda by understanding the environment you are in and sometimes making those difficult choices.”

Outside In also includes peeks behind the curtain in Ottawa, where, Davies reveals, life was not always glamorous and, at first, quite intimidating.

“My room on the second floor came unfurnished,” she writes about her first address in the nation’s capital. “I had a mattress on the floor, a pair of sheets from Zellers, and no personal effects.

That reflected my state of mind; I was feeling lost, with serious doubts about being in Ottawa as an MP. “And so began my new job,” she continues in the book. “I felt lonely and sad but seized with the issue of stopping the criminalization of people who use drugs, which underlay the startling number of drug overdoses and the intolerably high rates of HIV infection.”

The year that Davies was first elected as an MP, 1997, those twin health crises killed hundreds of her constituents. How to get the federal government’s attention was a learning experience for the federal rookie, Davies recounts.

“The very first day, when I was walking down the hall from the House of Commons to the Senate to hear the speech from the throne, [I was] thinking, ‘What the fuck am I doing here?’ ” she tells the Straight.

“If I was going to get anywhere, I had to make allies, I had to win people over, and I had to figure out how the heck it worked.”

Davies says she’s learned many lessons from both sides of the negotiating table.

“It’s about the relationship,” she emphasizes. “Getting your foot in the door and finding how you can work with someone to begin that process of education, understanding, and getting change on the inside through that relationship.”

Davies also warns activists about a few mistakes she’s observed over the years.

“Sometimes people will dump all this stuff on you and they won’t actually ask you to do anything,” she says. “I wanted to reach across the table, shake them, and say, ‘Look, you’re doing it all wrong!’ And sometimes I actually did.”

Davies says she is still applying these lessons to work that remains unfinished today. On sex workers’ rights, for example—a topic that receives quite a bit of space in Outside In—Davies says reforms must reflect the insight of those affected by the policies in question.

“Listen to the people who have experience and who know what change needs to happen,” she says.

The year Davies retired from

If we don’t use every opportunity and every tool…we’re actually giving up our power.

– Libby Davies

federal politics, 2015, the NDP saw its presence in Parliament reduced from 103 seats to 44. Davies points to the party’s campaign position on cannabis as indicative of how the loss occurred. While Justin Trudeau’s Liberals promised full legalization and regulation, the NDP settled on decriminalization, a policy that only goes halfway to legalization, falling short of the sort of real action that it became clear the electorate desired.

“We acted cautiously and too late,” Davies writes in Outside In. “The same with climate change, and natural resource management, including pipelines. We started on the right path and then somewhere along the way let ourselves limp along—becoming cautious and careful when people wanted boldness. As often happens in federal politics, we became focused on ‘managing’ what was perceived as a difficult issue…rather than simply doing the right thing.”

“It felt like we’d lost our way,” Davies adds today. “We’d lost that kind of organic, gut connection with people.”

She says the NDP is rebuilding, and returning to its roots. “It’s about organizing,” she explains. “It can’t just be about an electoral machine.

You can’t just connect with people and say, ‘We need money.’ It has to be about this history that we have as organizers, as a movement.” g Libby Davies is scheduled to speak in Vancouver as part of a book launch for Outside In on May 22 at the Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema in the SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts.

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VANCOUVER

Hempire builds cannabis community

by Piper Courtenay

I

t’s hard to imagine that a tiny indie game hub tucked into the heart of Gastown—with just 30 “hemployees”—is responsible for a product beloved by millions of pocket gamers the world over. That is, until you step into the headquarters. Lining the walls of LBC Studios are intricate art, handwritten letters, and smiley selfies, much of which has been submitted by fans crediting the company’s inaugural product—a weed-themed game— with helping them overcome depression and isolation.

“I can’t believe some of the stories I hear from our players. It’s overwhelming,” says CEO Solon Bucholtz while touring a Georgia Straight reporter around the studio.

“We set out to make the world’s best cannabis game but have managed to create a huge social platform for the community inside of the world’s best cannabis game.”

In 2016, cofounders Bucholtz and Dennis Molloy launched Hempire, a smartphone simulation emulating the challenges and triumphs of a budding legal-cannabis industry. The goal of the game, which has now hit 10 million downloads, is to restore economic stability to a player’s city by cultivating, harvesting, and trading pot.

After mastering the grow process, players can crossbreed genetically accurate cultivars, run dispensaries, compete in the Hempire Cup, and renovate grow-ops.

After Hempire’s global launch in 2017, the international cannabis community was quick to adopt the game as a social sharing platform, which Bucholtz credits to the buzzing in-game forum.

Laura Hampson, a 55-year-old Vancouver Island resident, is a quintessential example of how Hempire is more than a tech solution to pass time. Two years ago, her wife, Lindsey, suggested she check out the “new hemp game”, and she has since become an integral part of its network.

“I first liked it because the story line breaks away from that stigma of everybody being airheads and instead discusses things like it [cannabis] being used for pain control,” Hampson says on the phone.

Throughout the game, players are tasked with cultivating for the likes of Cousin Kim—a character who struggles with PTSD and requires medical-grade products of a certain potency and terpene profile to assuage her condition.

Hampson finds these elements relatable, as she also uses the plant to manage “chronic sensitivity syndrome”. The painful condition affects the nervous system, keeping her housebound for much of her daily life, but the game meant a tangible connection to like-minded consumers and newfound friends in the Hempire team.

NORTH VANCOUVER

Initially, we wanted to create the world’s best cannabis game. I think we did that.

– Solon Bucholtz

“I tried to commit suicide two years ago, and at that point I was just trying to figure out what to do to keep going,” she says. “I sent in a drawing of what I was doing in the game, and Jaymee [Mak, Hempire’s community manager] responded with great enthusiasm. She told me to keep at it. She gave me hope…and you don’t often hear of that: a game or computer company involved with their users in that way.”

She credits Hempire’s team with helping her through the dark time in her life and says the gesture won her loyalty. Now not only does Hampson submit her artwork to the company’s biweekly art competitions, she builds props inspired by in-game artifacts in her free time.

“She’s one of our most dedicated players,” Bucholtz says. “She volunteered at our booth at 4/20 last year and sat there with us all day. This year, she made in-game items and delivered it to our office,” he says, showing off several of Hampson’s plasticine figurines and papier-mâché props.

“The lifeblood of Hempire are these really active players who were not just talking about the game but taking bong rips together, sharing photos, spending time getting to know one another,” says Mak, the individual responsible for managing

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the vast in-game population.

Mak says threads in the Hempire café—the online forum—can hit up to 30,000 active users daily. “The forum is part of what makes the game so huge, especially in regions that have not reached legalization yet. People who use cannabis can’t make these types of friendships in public, necessarily. And the Internet can be a scary place because it’s very easy for an employer to search your activity. But no one is really searching in a hidden in-game forum.”

Mak knew immediately after coming aboard at LBC that the key to unifying the game’s rapidly expanding community was to empower its thread leaders: volunteer moderators taking it upon themselves to help other players. She has since enlisted “10 to 20 people” to a team she calls “the Mod Squad”.

The commitment requires an indepth understanding of the game’s code of ethics and rules, and about 10 hours of work per week.

“At first, it was just a great way to pass the time, but once I got into the café and started interacting with the people in there, I fell in love with the community,” says Jessica Krites, one of Hempire’s American moderators. Krites, who has played for more than a year, logs 600 to 900 “MQs” a month, moving and quarantining content in the forums.

“I’ve never kept a game on my phone for more than a week and a half, so this has clearly really stuck with me. And I think it’s because the people I meet, and the team I’ve built, are just so great.…My team has grown really close.”

In light of Hempire’s success, Bucholtz says, LBC is committed to creating more content to unite the cannabis community.

“Initially, we wanted to create the world’s best cannabis game. I think we did that. Now we want to be the category leader in cannabis games overall,” says Bucholtz, who then slyly teases a second game is set to launch at the end of this year. g

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Fanatical Hempire players have sent photos, art, and letters to LBC Studios, which is the Gastown company that created the game. Photo by Piper Courtenay

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NEWS

STYLE

WealthBar aims to cut investment fees Army & Navy celebrates centenary beyond shoes

A

by Kate Wilson

s the percentage of household debt rises to near-record levels in the country, many Canadians owe far more money than they make. But despite this alarming fact, few take the time to better understand how to grow their savings.

That reticence, though, isn’t entirely their fault. For a long time, average Canadians have been barred from efficiently increasing their wealth because of limited investment capital. High-quality investments have traditionally been reserved for the very rich, with those sporting modest incomes shunned by advisers in favour of high-net-worth clients.

With the rise of financial-technology solutions, though, that’s starting to change. A number of platforms have begun to emerge across the country, targeting everyone from millennials with a few dollars in their pocket to families looking to boost their income.

One of the first on the Canadian scene was Vancouver-based WealthBar. “We wanted to democratize the way that the wealthy save money,�

Tea Nicola, CEO and cofounder of the company, tells the Georgia Straight.

Prior to the establishment of companies like WealthBar, the average Canadian looking to invest would typically go into a bank and buy an expensive mutual fund. In Nicola’s view, the fees are so high that they eat considerably into any returns, and good quality funds require people to put in thousands of dollars as a minimum—which many don’t have. “I said, ‘Let’s go out with a simple offer online,’ � she continues. “[We can] reduce the overhead, reduce the fees, simplify the process, and put people in the right investment. The goal was to make sure that regardless of whether you had $1,000 or $1 million, it

B

by Tammy Kwan

WealthBar CEO Tea Nicola says Canadians can save money by bypassing banks.

[investing] should work the same way. And I knew that this industry worked that way. It just required a little bit of innovation and creativity and marketing to make people aware that they could do it.�

WealthBar has been able to flourish because of its savvy use of technology, courtesy of its cofounders’ backgrounds. Both Tea Nicola and Chris Nicola—a husband-and-wife team— have extensive experience in both the tech-startup and finance worlds and boast backing from John Nicola, father of Chris and chairman and CEO of Nicola Wealth Management, a company that handles assets and private investment for some of Canada’s most affluent families. Combining that know-how, WealthBar was one of the first companies in the country to automate setting up accounts online without requiring a face-to-face meeting. It also boasts a unique algorithm used to determine an individual’s tolerance for risk when picking investments, and it rebalances portfolios automatically.

As a result, WealthBar is able to offer some of the lowest fees in the investing game. “The technology increases the efficiency of the adviser to the point where I can reduce the fees,� Tea Nicola says.

“An average adviser at the calibre that my advisers are can effectively manage between 150 and 300 families, and that’s it. So in order to get advisers to grow their business, they have to move upmarket and sometimes leave smaller accounts behind them. So by giving them efficiencies in the process, and by building technologies that helps them do certain manual processes, we’re able to scale the advisers to 10 times.

So WealthBar advisers manage 3,000 sales, not 300.�

In her view, the biggest mistake that Canadians make in failing to grow their money is assuming that the bank is the best place to do so. “If you’re a consumer and you need to buy something, imagine going to The Bay for everything.

The Bay is a great store, but it doesn’t have everything, and it doesn’t have the best of everything.

You want to do your research first.

Going to the bank is like that.

They’re great, but they’re all one brand, so there’s definitely product bias at the bank—RBC is not going to sell you a CIBC fund. “We can’t be influenced by marketing or commissions or anything like that,� she continues. “We have to be accountable directly to the client.� g

CBG, Sam Edelman, Vince Camuto, Chuck Taylor, Steve Madden, Calvin Klein, and Puma: those are just some of the brand names on hand as Army & Navy (various locations) gears up for its legendary shoe sale, Wednesday to Sunday (May 1 to 5).

The century-old department store’s annual footwear event has been running for seven decades, with an impressive inventory this year that boasts more than 20,000 pairs of markdown shoes priced between $4.99 and $59.99. “This year, our target for our shoe event is very inexpensive pricing. Most shoes will be under $40,� Silvio Urbani, Army & Navy’s shoe buyer, explained to the Straight in an interview. “Because of the 100th birthday, this year’s shoe sale pricing will be even more competitive than previous years.�

This means those who love a good heel will find deals like classic canvas TOMS for $19, Sam Edelman wedge espadrilles for $39, tall Aldo boots for $19, and Calvin Klein flat loafers for $34. A variety of shoe styles will be stocked on shelves, including but not limited to knee-high leather boots, runners, ballet flats, flip-flops, mules, heels, and sneakers.

Urbani knows how much excitement the annual event generates, and works hard to find in-season product for a good value. It takes 12 months to plan and execute the store’s blowout sale. “Every year is different, every buying season is different,� said Urbani. “I always follow whatever is the trend, and then find the product that will give our customers the best value.�

Besides shoes, shoppers will also

The city’s most famous shoe sale runs until Sunday. Photo by Tammy Kwan

find in-store birthday deals on fashion apparel, workwear, camping supplies, and home goods. One-dollar women’s tank tops, $2 fedora hats, and $9 puffer jackets will be available.

Not many local companies can boast a centenary milestone, which makes Army & Navy’s president and CEO, Jacqui Cohen, even more proud and grateful. According to Cohen, the success of her family-run business’s shoe sale, which is able to draw hundreds of people to line-up outside its doors before 8 a.m., comes down to one simple factor. “Price, price, and price,� she told the Straight in an interview at the Vancouver outlet. “It’s all about the deal, and we have an amazing selection.�

With ever-changing buying practices, Army & Navy’s boss emphasizes the importance of attracting younger patrons in order to maintain a stable clientele and prosperous business. “Getting millennials through the doors is my focus, because if you get old in any business, eventually you’re going to go down,� said Cohen. g

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MAY 2 TO 8, 2019

by Rose Marcus

et ready for a next wave.

A new moon in Taurus sets the weekend up as a worthwhile adventure. This new moon also sets the tone through the next full moon (two weeks from now).

Whether it is the hockey game or something else in play, Sunday could set the future on its course in some definitive, perhaps overriding or springboard way. Mars in Gemini in opposition/Jupiter retrograde in Sagittarius is a trendsetting and tractiongaining influence. Once it hits go, we’ll see a good run out of it. Mars can put a fresh spin on the idea, conversation, or opportunity. Aim for a second chance; take another shot at it; or go for something new. More than one viable option can be up for consideration. Don’t know which way to go? Pause until the best choice or candidate becomes obvious. Spontaneity can deliver, but Mars/Jupiter is also an impetuous combination. Don’t bank on an assumption, opinion, or secondhand information. Get your facts straight.

Outside of a couple of tough spots, the week ahead is ripe for the picking.

On Monday, Mercury begins a twoweek stint in Taurus. By Wednesday, Mercury conjoins Uranus in Taurus.

Expect a lively go regarding money, the markets, politics, social trends, and news. Sun/Neptune keeps the creative end of things going strong too. Both Mercury/Uranus and Sun/ Neptune hold an element of the unexpected. Overall, Wednesday and the first half of Thursday dish up ripe opportunity. Tuesday can be a tough go, to start. Venus/Saturn sets up a hurdle or a battle to face. Extra strain or work is in the mix. Next Thursday, Venus hits big gains with Jupiter and Pluto.

A

ARIES

March 20–April 20

feel it like a second wave or as a fresh springboard. Either way, Saturday’s new moon enhances prospects. The extra responsibility, work, risk, or investment will prove worth it in both immediate and long-range terms.

F

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More to explore, to know, and to be gained; Saturday’s new moon colours it in for you in some substantial way. Mars/Jupiter can trigger another go around, second wind, second chance, or something altogether fresh on Sunday. Mercury enters Taurus on Monday, but an undercurrent of uncertainty, edginess, or excitability continues through midweek. Wednesday is especially opportune for connecting and creating.

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20 VICTORIA DAY

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LIBRA

September 23–October 23

Sunday’s Mars/Jupiter opposition can put you on the go in more ways than one. While this mobilizing and trendsetting transit sparks great potential, there is a propensity to go too far, to say or assume too much, or to value one person’s input over another. Through Tuesday, Venus/Saturn keeps it real/ makes you work for it. Wednesday, Mercury/Uranus strikes fresh flint.

Seize opportunity.

H

04 SEASON OPENER

SCORPIO

October 23–November 22

Saturday’s new moon is infused with lucrative potential, this regarding money matters, your social/ career ambitions, and matters of heart.

Sunday’s Mars/Jupiter opposition gets the ball rolling on your investments, perhaps in some added, double-up, domino, or air-clearing way. Pressure builds through Tuesday morning.

Once Venus breaks through the barrier, you’re off to the races. Mercury/ Uranus, a strike-flint combo, sets the high bar for Wednesday.

Finishing up in Aries and starting the new week in Taurus, Mercury keeps action going strong and the incentive in ample supply. Good for a second wave, a second chance, SAGITTARIUS or taking a fresh shot at it, Mars in November 22–December 21 Gemini gains even more traction as Sunday’s Mars/Jupiter opof Sunday. Tuesday onward, Venus in Aries makes the investment worth position puts more into play, signifiyour while. First thing Wednesday is cantly so. It can be worth it to revisit the idea, resume the project or disespecially opportune. cussion, spend more on it, or give it TAURUS another try. Even if you aim for a reApril 20–May 21 peat, it is never the same twice. TuesSaturday’s new moon sets day, Venus/Saturn removes what’s better-than-average creative potential in the way. Building to Wednesday, into play for the next two weeks. Mars Mercury/Uranus sparks something is on a ramp-it-up on Sunday. Watch worthwhile. for an idea, conversation, or someCAPRICORN thing more to set wheels in motion.

December 21–January 20 Starting Monday, Mercury into TaurSaturday’s new moon sets us also supplies fresh fuel. Venus adds pressure on Tuesday. One thing hinges you onto an especially fertile/lucrative on another. Wednesday/Thursday, in- two-week cycle. Sunday, Mars/Jupiter exposes, instigates, or dials up more. stincts and spontaneity net a payoff.

Through Tuesday morning, Venus/ GEMINI Saturn can pile on extra pressure, but May 21–June 21 once you have dealt with it, you’re onto Game on! Mars in Gemini a fast track. Wednesday, the day and in opposition to Jupiter retrograde the news are good, even exciting. Merpumps it up as of Sunday. You aren’t cury/Uranus sparks a great idea or oplikely to skip a beat with this tran- portunity. Synchronicity delivers. sit. Expect something new or next to AQUARIUS overtake you. While Venus/Saturn January 20–February 18 continues to build a certain amount of The next couple of weeks are pressure through Tuesday, Mercury— freshly into Taurus and conjunct Ura- infused with great prospects. As of nus early Wednesday—keeps it edgy, Sunday, Mars/Jupiter gets it/you up exciting, and exceptionally opportune. and running. A trendsetting transit, it’s the beginning of much more to CANCER come. Requiring effort through TuesJune 21–July 22 day morning, Venus/Saturn keeps Saturday’s new moon fa- you working on it, for it, or through vours going in a new direction. If you it. Wednesday, a stroke of genius/ are uncertain what your best play is, quick on the ball makes your day. simply keep in observation mode.

PISCES The stars will take the guesswork out February 18–March 20 of it for you. Sunday, Mars/Jupiter Is it worth it? Go by feel; can light a spark or a fuse, perhaps unexpectedly so. Monday/Tuesday, you’ll know soon enough. Saturday’s Venus/Saturn moves you past the new moon and Sunday’s Mars/Jupiter hard part. Wednesday/Thursday, go make the moment add up. Put it out there and you are likely to get a good for it! Say “yes” to the extra. response. Make the investment; the LEO return will be worthwhile. To TuesJuly 22–August 23 day, Venus/Saturn keeps the pressure Did last week get the ball on. Wednesday, jump on it fast! g rolling on something major? This next week will continue along a Book a reading or sign up for Rose’s free similar yet different track. You can monthly newsletter at rosemarcus.com/.

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REAL ESTATE Tax shift barely wins council’s support

M

by Carlito Pablo

S UM M E R CA M PS

Please recycle this newspaper.

ore taxes are headed the way of Vancouver homeowners. The city is giving business properties a $15.8-million tax break and transferring that onto residential payers.

The amount represents a twopercent tax shift approved by council April 29 in a close (6-5) vote.

Paul Sullivan is a partner with Burgess, Cawley, Sullivan and Associates Ltd., a commercial-real-estate appraisal company.

According to Sullivan, the shift means $40 in additional taxes in 2019 for owners of homes worth $1 million. For business properties with the same value, this means about $160 less in taxes.

“It’s four times different because the commercial tax rates are four times higher,” Sullivan explained in a phone interview with the Georgia Straight.

For Sullivan, the shift, which will be spread over three years starting in 2019, is about “fairness in taxation”.

According to him, many people may not realize that business subsidizes the residential tax base in the city.

The property-tax expert noted that for every dollar of city services, residential-property owners pay only 70 cents. In contrast, business properties pay $1.88 for every dollar of services they consume.

He described the shift as “good management” of a situation wherein residential properties are growing at a rate of 28 to 1 compared to business properties. “You can imagine if you’re growing the residential base at a ratio of 28 to 1 over commercial, you’re rapidly increasing the subsidy on the commercial properties,” Sullivan said.

According to the city, the tax shift will provide relief to businessproperty owners.

Coun. Melissa De Genova was one

Coun. Lisa Dominato claims that the tax shift will help mom and pop shops.

of the five who voted against the shift.

The others were Mayor Kennedy Stewart and councillors Christine Boyle, Colleen Hardwick, and Jean Swanson.

“That doesn’t mean that I voted against supporting small businesses,” De Genova told the Straight in a phone interview.

De Genova said there are other ways of reducing the tax burden on businesses without pitting them against homeowners. One example she cited is for the city to work with the province to modify the business-property class so multinational companies pay higher taxes. Revenues can be passed on to help local businesses.

De Genova also warned of unintended consequences, like how tenants may be affected by the shift.

In a letter to city hall, advocacy group LandlordBC reminded Mayor Stewart and council that purpose-built rental buildings are classified as residential for property-tax purposes.

“We are facing a rental housing crisis, and if this proposed tax shift were to proceed it would place further undue cost pressure on rental housing providers and contribute significantly to the affordability and supply challenges across the City,” the group’s

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City staff recommended against a shift, as this lowers taxes for all commercial properties, whether or not they need relief. “This means that Walmart is going to see a reduction in their tax, and residential homeowners are going to see an increase in their tax,” De Genova said.

With the shift, the residential tax share will be 55.9 percent, with the commercial slice at 44.1 percent.

Coun. Lisa Dominato voted in favour of the shift, as did Rebecca Bligh, Adriane Carr, Pete Fry, Sarah Kirby-Yung, and Michael Wiebe.

According to Dominato, it was about helping the mom-and-pop stores. “This tax shift provides that needed relief to our small-business community,” she told the Straight by phone. “Ninety-eight percent of the businesses we have in the city are actually small businesses, and so we felt it was really important to support small businesses. What I’ve heard from residents is they value their small businesses, and so, you know, that was what really informed my perspective.”

Dominato also said that the measure ties into a raft of six so-called big moves to deal with climate change approved by council at the same April 29 meeting. According to her, local independent businesses are important in the development of a walkable city, as people will not need to have a car to drive to big-box stores.

A city staff report explained that the city can reduce its greenhousegas emissions by 153,000 tonnes per year by making it easier for people to get to daily destinations like shops and services.

“We want to have a thriving local economy,” Dominato said. “People want to have jobs here. They want to be able to live and work here.” g

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Pollock Clinics treat ED beyond a pill (This article is sponsored by Pollock Clinics.)

T

he vast majority of men over 40 don’t like to talk about impotence. When guys get together over a beer or to watch football or hockey, you’ll almost never hear this come up.

But studies confirm, that in any crowd, it’s likely that half the men over 40 have experienced some form of erectile dysfunction, according to Dr. Neil Pollock, medical director and founder of Pollock Clinics in Vancouver and New Westminster.

“It’s a very common condition, that we want to destigmatize and help people feel comfortable talking about,” Dr. Pollock explains. “There are studies showing that people with a healthier and happier sex life tend to live longer. We have effective treatment options to ensure that they and their partners don’t have to suffer in silence.”

Pollock Clinics is a brand people can trust, with 25 years of experience and performing more than 5,000 circumcisions and vasectomies each year. More than 1,000 doctors refer their patients to Pollock Clinics.

There are three forms of erectile dysfunction treatments available at the clinic. One approach involves injecting platelet-rich plasma (PRP), which is a virtually painless process to promote better blood flow to erectile tissue and enhance sensitivity.

Created from the patient’s own blood, PRP treatment is commonly used in orthopedics, plastic surgery, and sports medicine. Studies have shown that this penile injection contains several different growth factors that can stimulate the healing of erectile tissue and is a safe and effective option for penile rejuvenation and improvement of erectile function.

The second modality, ED Shockwave Therapy, also promotes regeneration of blood vessels in the penile shaft. That, like PRP, leads to longer and more satisfying erections and it’s accomplished by

Pollock Clinics sex therapist Tom Foster and physicians Neil Pollock and Roozbeh Ahmadi tackle impotence from all angles.

directing painless energy waves into the shaft of the penis.

Thirdly, Pollock Clinics has a certified sex therapist, Tom Foster, to deal with psychogenic issues that might be affecting a man’s sexual health. Foster provides strategies to get a patient’s mind working with him instead of against him in a sexual encounter.

One of the physicians, Dr. Roozbeh Ahmadi, is a family doctor who has a special interest in men’s sexual health.

He’s trained at the Steinberg Urology Centre in Montreal for shockwave therapy and platelet rich plasma therapy for ED, with further education and learning from leaders in the field, including those at Men’s Health Boston.

He says there are many factors that can contribute to erectile dysfunction, including high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, diabetes, sleep apnea, and other conditions such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease.

“At Pollock Clinics, we practise regenerative, innovative treatment modalities to target the root cause of the problem and not simply treat the symptoms of erectile dysfunction,” Dr. Ahmadi emphasizes.

As an example, he points out that a pill like Viagra will only temporarily open up blood vessels. Moreover, medications sometimes have undesirable side effects, including headaches, nasal congestion, and visual changes that are difficult to tolerate.

ED Shockwave Therapy and PRP treatment, on the other hand, have been shown to improve the quality of erections by enhancing and increasing the blood flow to the erectile tissue, offering a longer lasting desired outcome.

He acknowledges that lifestyle factors—such as smoking or obesity— can contribute to erectile dysfunction. And he’s not shy about letting patients know the role that regular

Erectile dysfunction is a common and treatable condition.

exercise and a healthy diet can play in overcoming this condition.

In addition he explains that if there are blood flow problems causing impotence, this could be an indication of other serious health problems. This is not only of concern to men, but also their loved ones.

To illustrate his point, he discloses that the arteries bringing blood to the penis that cause erections, are about two millimetres in diameter. The arteries that feed the heart muscle (coronary arteries), on the other hand, are about four millimetres in diameter. So if the arteries in the penis are impaired, there’s a chance that the arteries to the heart could also require medical attention.

This is especially of concern if erectile dysfunction exists alongside risk factors for coronary artery disease, such as elevated blood pressure, elevated cholesterol level, and diabetes.

“Those are all good enough reason for them to be seeing a cardiologist,” Dr. Ahmadi says.

Dr. Ahmadi and Dr. Pollock are proud of the role that their Shock Wave Therapy and PRP injections are having in advancing the treatment of erectile dysfunction.

Not coincidentally, Pollock Clinics has rewritten the script for other penile treatments and are the largest provider of circumcisions and No- Scalpel No -Needle Vasectomy procedures in the Lower Mainland and province.

In addition, Pollock Clinics performs penile frenulectomy and frenuplastomy procedures to alleviate pain created by a tight band of tissue on the underside of the penis.

For all these procedures, patients will be glad to know they do not need a doctor’s referral to receive treatment. And of course, everything discussed is strictly confidential.

Dr. Pollock is perhaps best known, however, for inventing the Pollock Technique to perform virtually painless circumcisions, without stitches, under local anaesthetic. It takes less than 10 minutes for adults and only 60 seconds for newborns.

This has given Dr. Pollock tremendous credibility and created demand for his expertise and lectures to physicians in England, Turkey, China, Rwanda, and the United States.

He has also organized and delivered humanitarian medical treatment, performing circumcisions to reduce the transmission of HIV. In addition, he’s taught head surgeons in Africa and Haiti.

“Our goal is to continue helping men in the field of sexual medicine,” Dr. Pollock says. “At Pollock Clinics, we now have a keen interest as well, in assisting men who are struggling with erectile dysfunction.”

Contact the Pollock Clinics for a confidential, complimentary initial visit at 604-717-6200. Pollock Clinics are located at 1101–805 West Broadway in Vancouver at 304–625 Fifth Avenue in New Westminster. Visit the website at www.pollockclinics.com.

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URBAN LIVING

Geometric pots make succulents pop

by Janet Smith

O

n a straightforward level, succulents are droughtresistant plants that store water in their leaves. But the increasingly popular décor accents are also stunning examples of the repeating patterns of nature: look at the almost mathematical precision of the echeveria’s spiralling rosettes, or the crocodile-like “teeth” along the short-leaved aloe’s zigzagging green spikes.

Plants this geometric require a certain kind of pot to be Pinterest-perfect.

Enter Vancouverite Stephanie Keung’s Mind the Minimal, a line of sleek, handcrafted concrete containers that seem custom-made for succulents.

“Succulents are very cute and collectible and pair well with our planters, because they’re just as cute and collectible,” the artisan, who hand-paints the little vessels, tells the Straight over her cellphone. “I’ve always had an admiration for geometric design. The simple shape [of succulents] expresses the beautiful clean line, and obviously that pairs well with my minimal aesthetic.”

Take her smooth, geodesic-spherelike Dode design, in a raw concrete or muted metallic gold, rose gold, or silver hand finish. “It’s a super statement piece, and because of the facet sides on there, it has a different colour or shade at different angles of light,” Keung says.

More sci-fi is her Teardrop planter, a sort of upended diamond shape with facet sides and a pointy top, the spikes of a little succulent poking out from the circular hole in its front.

(It too comes in raw, gold, rose gold, and silver hues; prices are about $28 across the board.)

For a splash of colour, check out her more artful new Abstract series, minimalistic raw-concrete cubes

Succulents

TIP SHEET

Different types of succulents have a lot in common: they store water in their leaves and they don’t need a lot of hydration. But they come in just about every imaginable shape and size, from plants that look straight out of an alien sci-fi-scape to serene pastel rosettes. Here is a primer. c ECHEVERIA Instantly recognizable for their rosette leaf patterns, they come in a range of aesthetically pleasing hues, from a powdery lavender to lime or silver green. Our favourites are the Black Prince variety, with its deep blackviolet foliage.

Mind the Minimal’s concrete planters come in sleek shapes that mix and match. For succulents, add a bottom layer of rocks for drainage. Photo by Stephanie Keung

splashed with teal-blue, coral-pink, and white stripes, dots, and semicircles. “That uses more colour and brush techniques with no particular pattern, where every time I paint a new design I kind of just follow through with how I’m feeling that day, and the lines and shapes just kind of come out,” she says.

For Keung, the containers, which are carefully hand-poured into moulds and then sanded, painted, and sealed, are the perfect meld of her lifelong passion for art and her long-time fascination with concrete. Her dad was a contractor, and she remembers being taken by the material when she was young. “One job I had to do was help my dad pave concrete, and I remember sweeping the concrete back and forth,

16 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MAY 2 – 9 / 2019

trying to smooth it out and trying to make it look perfect,” she recalls.

You could say she has a similar enthusiasm for succulents. Among the easy-to-care-for plants, her favourite is definitely the zebra plant, a type of haworthia with little striped spikes.

“It’s super light- and drought-tolerant, and it’s definitely the best one to start with if it’s your first time caring for a succulent,” she advises.

Whichever species you choose, you’ll need to put a layer of small drainage rocks along the bottom of the pot, then soil to surround the roots of the plants. Keung recommends a top layer of rocks—little white ones are sleek—for a finished look and to modulate the watering.

The key, with succulents, is good

c HENS AND CHICKS A type of sempervivum, these tiny rosettes (shown here) are so named because of the cute, globe-shaped “babies” that spread from the “mother”. They grow well in rock gardens, but they’re just as happy sprouting from a container inside.

We like them in burgundy-green hues.

c SEDUM While you might have bigger versions of sedum outdoors in your garden, there are countless indoor-friendly types that bring eye-catching texture and colour to a room. Our hands-down favourite is the evocatively named jellybean plant, with its adorable redtipped, shiny, rounded leaves.

c HAWORTHIA Spiky and dark green, these easy-care plants are often covered with cool stripes or dots; the self-explanatory “zebra” variety is one of the most popular. g

drainage and how much you hydrate them. Many are used to desert climates, after all. “We always recommend that the less water the better, because in Vancouver we don’t actually have enough hot weather for them to absorb quick enough,” Keung says. “So I recommend, for spring and summer, every two weeks, and in the winter, every three weeks to a month.”

As for where to put your succulent containers, they look great bunched in threes on office desks or coffee

tables. But Keung’s favourite setup is the trendy new “shelfie”—a shelf with perfectly lined-up little plants, different varieties in different containers, but all with the same clean-lined aesthetic. Check out @mindtheminimal’s Instagram for inspiration.

And you can find Keung, her planters, and other objects she’s made at Got Craft? this weekend (Saturday and Sunday [May 4 and 5] at the Maritime Labour Centre); otherwise, Mind the Minimal is on Etsy. g

URBAN LIVING Art-inspired rugs can jazz up homes

T

by Tammy Kwan

hey say simple things can make big changes, and that’s exactly the case with rugs and indoor spaces.

Art-inspired rugs are the latest trend, particularly ones that feature abstract and street-style designs. Curate an exhibit in your living room with one of these creatively designed pieces that showcase everything from subtle patterns to loud statements.

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that Swedish furniture giant IKEA rolls out a limited-edition rug collection designed by world-renowned artists. Creative forces from around the globe have teamed up with the home-goods emporium for its annual art collaboration, producing eight contemporary and eye-pleasing rugs that will be available for purchase via a lottery system at three Canadian IKEA locations on Saturday (May 4), including Coquitlam (1000 Lougheed Highway). Coveted carpets include a wool-based, Persian-style piece labelled with “Keep Off” by Louis Vuitton men’s creative director and Off-White founder Virgil Abloh; a furry and fun design by Japanese artist Misaki Kawai that was inspired by the world’s big cats; and a busy black-and-white creation that depicts a doodle of hectic life by Brooklyn-based artist Noah Lyon.

Prices for the in-demand rugs range from $199 to $499, if you’re lucky enough to get your hands on one.

MULTICOLOUR STACK Add some character to your décor with a rug that would make any art collector jealous. Moe’s Home Collection (1728 Glen Drive) has a large inventory of comfy floor art, and we have our eyes set on one of its multicolour options. The Geometrix ($909)

Clockwise from left: the Geometrix is at Moe’s Home Collection; Virgil Abloh’s “Keep Off” rug can be found at IKEA; and the Ankara rug is available at BoConcept.

wool rug features rectangular Tetris blocks in bright, solid hues like olive green, cornflower blue, red velvet, and black. With pieces stacked on top of each other with uneven edges and off-balance symmetry, the design feels like it came straight from the Vancouver Art Gallery.

NATURE CALLS It’s no secret that

Vancouverites love the great outdoors, so it makes sense for city dwellers to choose interior décor with nods to nature. BoConcept (1275 West 6th Avenue) carries sleek and contemporary home furniture, and its Ankara rug ($629) lives up to the Fairview establishment’s modern theme. The circular rug, a blend of wool and viscose, features free-flowing lines with matte and shiny materials.

It gives off an African-safari vibe, which means every time you see the rug in your home you’ll feel like you’re in the Serengeti.

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3-D CUBES Rugs can really make the

personality of a home pop. If you’re looking for one that will leave an impression, check out the unique Cube rug ($2,590) from Inspiration Furniture (1275 West 6th Avenue). Designed by Natuzzi Italia and made in Italy using plant-based silky material, it features cubic patterns that give it a three-dimensional look. Characterized by monochrome colours that help create a geometric effect, it’s definitely a rug that expresses art through shape and hues. Stare at it too long and you may find yourself getting a tad dizzy. g

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URBAN LIVING

Mount Pleasant sees a building boom

M

by Charlie Smith

any Vancouverites don’t give a lot of thought to the Mount Pleasant Industrial Area, but it’s in the midst of a monumental transition. The city’s manager of transportation, Lon LaClaire, told the Straight by phone that a building boom is being fuelled by several factors.

They include the creation of a new Emily Carr University of Art + Design campus east of Main Street.

That’s in addition to the proposed extension of the Millennium Line to the campus and from there to Main and Broadway and then to Cambie Street. There have also been zoning amendments in the area bounded by Broadway, Cambie Street, 2nd Avenue, and Main Street to allow for more employment, particularly in the tech sector.

“We have a ton of office development that is under construction or planned,” LaClaire said. “There’s a lot of proposals in the area.”

To cite one example, Cressey Developments is building a 10-storey office building at 425 West 6th Avenue.

Meanwhile, the city has received a rezoning application for the addition of more than 3,000 square feet at 1775 Quebec Street. And this summer a residential home builder, Alabaster Group, is opening private offices and shared workspaces called Pavilion Cowork at 22 East 5th Avenue. This

We’re preserving a functional vehicle network for the neighbourhood as it densifies – Lon LaClaire

This rendering shows Pavilion Cowork’s meeting room, which will be part of the Alabaster Group’s upscale job space that opens on East 5th Avenue this summer.

address is also Saje Natural Wellness’s new head office.

Pavilion Cowork’s managing director, Yosh Kasahara, told the Straight by phone that his company is not creating typical coworking space with flexible seating and open workspaces, though there’s a bit of that. Instead, they are elegantly designed workplaces for professionals—including lawyers and accountants—who want to be near growing businesses in the area.

“We have a focus on private offices,” Kasahara said. “A membership at Pavilion Cowork gets you exclusive use to one of these private

offices, which can accommodate anywhere from three to six people.”

There’s also a shared reception area, a very large and open staff lounge, and meeting rooms.

“The intention of Pavilion Cowork is that the interior design feels like a boutique hotel from New York or London, as opposed to a traditional office,” he explained. “That’s why we call Pavilion Cowork ‘your new HQ’.

It allows everyone to have a sense of their own headquarters.”

It’s in the heart of what’s been dubbed “Mount Pixel”. This refers to the growing digital-media sector anchored by Hootsuite, which was in the

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news at the end of April after laying off dozens of employees.

Kasahara said that low office vacancy rates and high rents downtown are driving more companies to the Mount Pleasant Industrial Area.

The building boom is stimulated by the previous city council’s bylaw changes, which expanded the definitions of office activities in the district to include digital entertainment, informationcommunication technology, financial institutions, health care, and healthenhancement centres.

Another game changer, according to LaClaire, is MEC’s new flagship store at the corner of Quebec Street and 2nd Avenue.

LaClaire revealed that the city is

nearing the end of a transportationplanning process that will make it easier for southbound vehicle traffic on Main Street to turn left onto 3rd, 4th, and 6th avenues. This will enhance the district’s appeal as a work destination.

Currently, Yukon Street and 7th Avenue serve as “collectors” of vehicle traffic. LaClaire said that Manitoba Street will serve that function in a north-south direction because it leads into the Olympic Village, enabling traffic to be diverted off bikeways, including Ontario Street.

“We can then go kind of aggressive on the vehicle reductions on those streets because we’re preserving a functional vehicle network for the neighbourhood as it densifies,” LaClaire said.

It’s the latest chapter in the history of Mount Pleasant. It was once a rich hinterland for First Nations, who shared the area with deer, elk, bears, and beavers. In the 1890s, it developed as a single-family neighbourhood before gradually being transformed to industrial use, beginning in the 1940s. More recently, it became home to craft breweries. The latest iteration, Mount Pixel, is now taking shape.

“We saw an opportunity with all of these businesses moving in here and the face of employment changing in Mount Pleasant,” Kasahara said. g

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s a child, Zoe Peled loved having burgers from fastfood joints, and meat was one of her favourite foods.

Now she’s a champion of plant-based eating and is a driving force behind several upcoming vegan-related events in Vancouver.

The founder of the Vancouver Vegan Resource Centre says that when she was 12, her family of four became vegetarians after her older sister brought home information from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). During the ensuing few years, Peled began researching other animal industries, such as dairy. This December, she’ll celebrate 10 years of veganism.

Her passion for plant-based living has extended beyond what’s on her plate. Peled, who has a background in marketing and PR, is committed to raising awareness of vegan living and to getting more people thinking about their food choices—in a supportive, nonjudgmental way.

The Vancouver Vegan Resource Centre, launched last fall, is an inclusive community where those who are in the process of becoming vegan or are curious about it can easily access information, including the chance to talk to others at different stages of the journey.

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“I wanted a place where nonvegans could come and vegans could come and where folks at all points in between could get information and ask questions face to face in a space where all those people felt accepted,” Peled says in a phone interview.

“When people are making a major shift to veganism for the first time, it can be quite intimidating.

“When it comes to veganism, there’s no perfect time line; it might happen overnight for some people or it might happen over a couple of months,” she says. “Either of those are brilliant, because they’re both leading to the same outcome.”

The VVRC currently operates in a pop-up form, with future dates to be announced. Meantime, Peled is involved in several other veganismrelated projects.

One of them is the Spring Fling Zero Waste Dinner. Taking place Thursday (May 2), the evening is a collaboration of multiple local

see page 24

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22 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MAY 2 – 9 / 2019

arts

Bennathan taps new energy at Ballet BC

by Janet Smith

F

rench and English are mixing fluidly in the Ballet BC studio as Vancouver choreographer Serge Bennathan throws himself enthusiastically into the mass of moving dancers. “Okay, fort.

Voilà… Nice!” the Normandy-born, Paris-trained artist exclaims as he moves amid a dozen panting bodies extending and leaning off axis, reeling and plunging to the ground. “Be careful you don’t make it a phrase; it’s moment by moment by moment.

Move! Move! Et move!”

By now, Ballet BC speaks his language. Bennathan has choreographed for the company since way back in 1989, before he left town in 1990 for a 16-year stint directing Toronto’s Dancemakers. And, yes, before some of the dancers in the studio today were even born. Since then, even as he’s launched his own smaller-scale company here, Les Productions Figlio, he’s been back a couple of times, seeing the troupe in various stages as it has evolved, in the most recent decade under artistic director and former Ballet BC dancer Emily Molnar.

“It’s quite fantastic to have such a relationship with a company,” he marvels, sitting on a break in a nearby empty studio in the Scotiabank Dance Centre. “This company has always had beautiful artists,” he adds, pointing to names like Crystal Pite, “but right now, I have to say the company is quite spectacular. I like their diversity, but that they make sense together. That’s something I cherish.

“What I like in general is where the dancers are able to remain with their uniqueness,” elaborates Bennathan, “but there is an inner awareness that makes them make sense together. Sometimes a company will have beautiful dancers, but they don’t have this thing. So I feel blessed. And it’s not all the time that you are given 12 dancers to work with. It is a beautiful gift.”

Bennathan’s latest work will premiere as part of the company’s new show Program 3, playing a poetic contrast to the work of Israeli heavyweights Ohad Naharin (in a remount of his famous Minus 16) and Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar, whose club-

Ballet BC dancers Emily Chessa and Anna Bekirova push into dance that demands resilience. Photo by Michael Slobodian

Arts TIP SHEET

d THE SHOW (May 3 to 19 at the Emily Carr University of Art + Design) It’s an art lover’s dream, and for two weeks it’s the largest art gallery in the city: a massive exhibit of every imaginable medium being used by more than 300 graduating students—the culmination of years of study.

We’re talking giant, mind-blowing installations; thought-provoking paintings, photographs, and sculptures; and even film and animation. Best of all, the public gets a behind-the-scenes look inside the facility’s shiny new $122-million building on East 1st Avenue. The night to hit is Friday (May 3), when DJs and food trucks liven up the site, and there will be four themed lounges at a sprawling show that has surprises around every corner.

Set aside some time to do it right.

d THE GREAT LEAP (To May 19 at the Goldcorp Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre) The title is apt—not just for this borderjumping story of basketball in Beijing and beyond, but for the exciting team giving extra momentum to this play by rising playwright Lauren Yee (of the fun, fantastical King of the Yees). Meg Roe directs, Alessandro Juliani provides the score, Chimerik provides the multimedia projections, and Jiovanni Sy and Milton Lim star in this story of Chinese coach Wen Chang and a kid with mad B-ball skills from San Francisco’s Chinatown. Think Hoop Dreams meets Tiananmen Square, and you’ll get somewhere close to its comedic, multilayered mashup of underdog sports, international diplomacy, and family drama. g

Right now, I have to say the company is quite spectacular.

– choreographer Serge Bennathan

last nine months preparing for his latest stint at Ballet BC by reading poetry—especially that of ChineseFrench writer and academic François Cheng. He realized the theme emerging in so much of what he studied was resilience.

His mind full of inspiration, he then laid down the books to come into rehearsals. beat-driven Bedroom Folk is making than ever; he admits he’s hit some “I read all this and then I go into its North American premiere. kind of creative “bliss” here. the studio and the choreography For the veteran Bennathan, his An avid painter and poet himself, comes fast,” he explains. “That’s bework is flowing quicker and easier Bennathan reveals that he spent the cause all that I read is in my flesh and

my muscles. So in the studio, I don’t have to spend three hours finding the movement. It’s there.” For the most part, the books that inspire him stay on his shelf at home. “I don’t want the dancers to know the poem or where I got it,” he says. “The purpose is so everybody finds their own poetry in the movement.”

In his own Productions Figlio pieces, and his most recent work at Ballet BC in 2011, Bennathan has found himself more and more interested in exploring what he calls the “energy that makes you move”.

In the rehearsal studio for this asyet-unnamed premiere, he pushes the dancers to let go and tap some inner force—to move, as he says, “moment by moment”.

Dancers are reaching, lunging toward the ground, and bending down on their kneepads. In a room this small, it’s clear to see these toned athletes are working extremely hard.

“It’s very tiring when you have to get out of a situation and push into the next,” admits Bennathan, who is setting the piece to an electroacoustic score by long-time collaborator Bertrand Chénier. “It means constant presence—not anticipating the phrase that is coming. That’s why you have to be a guide for the dancers, that’s why you have to be resilient. And where do you as an artist find that resilience?”

His latest approach, something he’s dubbed a “rougher artistry”, comes into relief in the studio during a moment when the dancers crowd together and flail their hands wildly above their heads. He’s pushing them to make it more instinctive, more “avide”—which roughly translates as “greedy”, “eager”, and “grasping”.

“It might sound terrible to say, as a choreographer, but I don’t need them to have all the arms in the same place,” he confides later. “But I do need them to have the essence of the energy of the movement, and then it will make sense.” From the looks of things so far, they understand exactly what he means. g Ballet BC presents Program 3 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre next Thursday to Saturday (May 9 to 11).

Bach Choir rides Current’s River of Light

by Alexander Varty

T

he view from composer Brian Current’s workspace is, well, limited. “I’ve got the laundry right next to me, so it’s really glamorous,” he says of his current working conditions, on the line from his Toronto basement. And yet these tight quarters have just produced an extraordinarily expansive work of choral music, The River of Light, which will be premiered by the Vancouver Bach Choir this Friday, as part of the Vancouver Opera Festival.

Current’s seven-part oratorio is both sonically and conceptually ambitious. Not only does it call for the combined forces of the Bach Choir, the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, the Sarabande Chamber Choir, and a children’s chorus, it draws on texts that derive from six different religious traditions, as well as the secular poetry of Christian Bök. And for its composer, it represents both his own search for his place in the cosmos and his belief, in this time of rampant divisiveness, that all spiritual traditions are essentially one.

“Because I don’t really have a religious background, I’ve been trying to create a kind of spirituality on my own through music,” Current explains. “And so, in a way, I’m borrowing little bits of religious traditions from my friends—these writers in different communities who have more of a base, who kind of grew up in a more centred religious environment.”

I’m borrowing little bits of religious traditions from my friends...

–composer Brian Current

Of late, Current’s own sense of spirituality in music has been expressed in compositions that use “very high partials, very high overtones” to create a shimmering sense of wonder.

“It’s coming across as some kind of picture of heaven,” he says, “as a place that’s infinitely Brian Current’s big new choral work, The River of bright and infinitely dense.”

Light, will debut at the Vancouver Opera Festival.

That’s in line with all of the spiritual traditions The River of Light touches on—including Hindu, Current when he was dipping into one of the core Muslim, Jewish, Chinese, and Indigenous texts of Christian mysticism. beliefs—although the parallels first occurred to “I’m not someone who sits around reading

Dante—I wish I was—but I came across a passage in the Divine Comedy that’s about when the traveller goes to the very centre of heaven and sees what he describes as ‘light in the form of a river, radiant as gold’,” he explains. “That really described the music that I’d been hearing and envisioning.…And it turned out that all of us, we have this fascination with transfiguration into light, no matter where we come from or who we pray to. This is what unites us, so in a way we’re all part of the river of light.

“So that’s part of it, too,” he continues. “I believe that music can bring people together. You get to a point in your life where you don’t want to do your art to kind of impress others, to get grants and win prizes and things like that; you’d rather use it for something good. You’re trying to make an impact and bring people together—and I think that’s what the big oratorios of the past did. So if Canada is going to have a big oratorio, which I think it should—we’re a country that is able to produce large works like this—then it should resemble the demographics of our cities, and bring different traditions together through something that is common to them all.” g The Vancouver Bach Choir and Vancouver Opera Festival present The River of Light at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Friday (May 3).

MAY 2 – 9 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 23

DRINK

Wines for pairing with market finds

T

by Kurtis Kolt

his weekend, we turn the corner onto a new season of Vancouver Farmers Markets. Two of the big ones, Trout Lake and Kitsilano, are now open for business, with the West End, Mount Pleasant, and other editions following suit in coming weeks.

While we’re still early in the year, it’s certainly far from slim pickings; this week, let’s look at some fare that should be bountiful among the stalls.

We’ll keep things local in our glasses, of course, and share British Columbian wines to complement each.

hummus, capers, and a splash of that caper water. All of that salty goodness coupled with the bitterness of the greens calls for a wine with a little

rink D OF THE WEEK

ASPARAGUS

Is there a surer sign of spring? Bright and citrusy, with green herbal notes, whether fresh-plucked from the ground or studded through a risotto with white wine, butter, and peas, I always love the pop of freshness offered by asparagus. Rather than contrasting flavours with a wine choice, I prefer to dovetail alongside those citrusy, herbal components. I’m thinking Lock & Worth Sauvignon Blanc Sémillon 2018 (Okanagan Valley, B.C.; $20 on the winery website), which is clean as a whistle, echoes those flavours, and always has Okanagan sunshine beaming across the palate.

KALE

Sure, we get kale any time of year, but we love the nutrient-dense, hearty green, and springtime won’t slow us down, right? As ubiquitous as it is on local restaurant menus and on many a home table, the kale caesar salad is still a favourite of mine. The heartiness, tanginess, and light briny aspects offer a cavalcade of flavours whether we go traditional with a creamy, anchovy-loaded dressing or an easy vegan route with a mix of

ADDING TO the list of things

we love about spring and summer, besides stunning sunsets and happier people, is the fact that the warm weather calls for sangria. The Sandbar’s easy-to-make crowd pleaser adds a celebratory note to the seasons’ sunny days.

THE SANDBAR SIGNATURE SANGRIA 3 oz red wine 2 oz orange juice ½ oz triple sec ¼ oz peach schnapps ½ oz freshly squeezed lime juice 1 ½ oz ginger ale 1 orange slice 1 lemon slice 1 lime slice Muddle fruit in a shaker. Add wine, liquor, and juice. Shake well, pour in a glass, top with ginger ale, and stir.

by Gail Johnson

fruitiness to round it all out. I recently tried a sample of 50th Parallel Estate Winery’s Pinot Noir Rosé 2018 (Okanagan Valley, B.C.; $22 on the winery website), dizzy with huckleberries, raspberries, Bing cherries, and lime.

RADISHES

Oh, how I love the simple deliciousness of roasted radishes drenched in butter, then finished off with a pinch of flaky sea salt. With their peppery nature, we need a charismatic wine that will envelop that touch of heat and still hit the buttery richness without overwhelming things.

Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars Reserve Pinot Gris 2016 (Okanagan Valley, B.C.; $27.90 on the winery website) is just being released this month (and likely to sell out quickly).

Guava and nectarine on the nose lead to blood orange, apricots, and a nice little bit of lemon rind on the palate.

It’s medium-bodied, with a light kiss of honey, which adds a charming touch of cheer on the finish.

SPINACH

Let’s do away with a fresh-spinach salad, instead sautéing it up with some local bacon and mushrooms—earthy, meaty, salty, and a touch decadent. A lighter red would suit things well. O’Rourke’s Peak Cellars is one of British Columbia’s newest wineries, located in Lake Country at the northern edge of the Okanagan Valley. Up there, it’s more of a cool-climate winegrowing region—climatically, it sits around where Marlborough, New Zealand, is—so Pinot Noir vines are known to find themselves quite comfortable. O’Rourke’s Peak Cellars Pinot Noir 2016 (Okanagan Valley, B.C.; $35 on the winery website) is

a shining example of all the things we love about cool-climate Pinot.

Lively red fruit like raspberries and Rainier cherries, a few plums, and a light smattering of tannins keeping everything in place make for a jubilant take on a noble variety.

BEEF, LAMB, AND OTHER CARNIVORE FARE

Barbecues are likely to be fired up on a regular basis during the next few months, and with the richer red meats placed on the grill will come an increased desire for hearty red wines. The folks from Blasted Church in Okanagan Falls have a new label that recently stopped me in my tracks. Dubbed “Nectar of the Gods” (Okanagan Valley, B.C.; $55 on the winery website), the wine is meant to be their opulent and shiny jewel in the crown. Although it’s a Bordeaux-styled blend, it doesn’t follow the “Cabernet Sauvignon– Merlot–Cabernet Franc with a small splash each of Malbec and Petit Verdot” route most locals take when inspired by the classic region. Here we have Petit Verdot front and centre at 49 percent of the mix. The dark and brooding berry-fruit-laden grape makes for a bold and showy burst on the palate, with Cabernet Sauvignon carrying the middle, bringing roasted red bell pepper, black currants, and sage; then Côte Noir (a.k.a. Malbec) dives into home plate with blackberry jam and a plume of fresh sage. After 17 months in French oak, the wine went unfined and unfiltered into bottle, ready to rock your summer—or those in the next few years.

All these wines are also available locally in private wine stores for a few bucks more than winery-direct. g

Zoe Peled founded the Vancouver Vegan Resource Centre. Photo by Tosha Lobsinger

from page 19

ventures: Urban Leaf Plant-Based Foods, Vancouver’s first vegan catering company; Soil, a vegan restaurant run by Karen McAthy of Blue Heron Creamery; Peace People Project, which promotes veganism through activism and apparel; and Eat the Dishes, a zero-waste vegan food stand that is creating edible vessels for the soiree. Say Hello Sweets, which makes nondairy ice cream, will also be participating.

Another forthcoming vegan event is Mother’s Day Brunch and Paint, with food by Urban Leaf. And on June 9, Peled is assisting with Animal Rights Day—a first for Vancouver. The event is uniting two campaigns: the March to Close Down All Slaughterhouses and Anonymous for the Voiceless. The former is a global effort that began in France in 2012.

The latter is the name of a streetactivist group that has been making waves worldwide by placing installation-style video or TV screens in public places with actual footage from animal industries.

“More than ever, folks want to know where their food is coming from, who is being affected, and who is being harmed and dying for it,” Peled says. g

> Go on-line to read hundreds of I Saw You posts or to respond to a message < BEAUTIFUL BLONDE YVR SKYTRAIN LATE SUNDAY NIGHT

r

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: APRIL 28, 2019 WHERE: YVR SkyTrain

Late night Sunday SkyTrain from YVR. You were naturally beautiful in a way I don’t often see.

Black jeans and sneakers. You wrapped a scarf around your shoulders on the platform. You were travelling with another woman with a t-shirt with what looked like ying and yang fish on it. Wanted to say more to you than just “King Edward station” and before I could you got off at Broadway and ran for a cab.

DARK HAIR GREEN TOP

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THE SHOW May 4–19, 2019 M–F 10am–8pm S–Su 10am–6pm Opening Friday, May 3, 5–10pm

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: APRIL 29, 2019 WHERE: Fir & Broadway You, working your second shift. Me, in search for a specific (rumoured) piece of wall art which we couldn't find.

Eventually the place became to busy to ask you for your number. Would love to grab coffee with you sometime.

SAFEWAY PARKING LOT - SUNDAY

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: APRIL 28, 2019 WHERE: New West

Dark bearded, handsome. Saw you walking to your car. In your car pulling away you asked‚ "what?" :) I said you looked like my older brother. You said really! ( again a big smile ) By then I was red faced, you drove away.

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VOLBEAT/GODSMACK CONCERT ABBOTSFORD

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: APRIL 26, 2019 WHERE: Abbotsford Centre Kept looking over at your beautiful smile at the Volbeat/ Godsmack concert last night (04/26/2019) you took my hand when it was done and said let’s go for a drink. I lost you in the crowd with my buddies and didn’t know where we were going. Still wanna get that drink?

STRAWBERRIES!

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: APRIL 28, 2019 WHERE: Donalds on Hastings You, with your blonde hair tied in a ponytail, were holding a big to-go coffee cup in line at Donalds waiting to buy a butt load of strawberries. I was in the line next to you with curly dark brown hair wearing a blue hoodie and red shoes, sadly without strawberries. As I looked up from eyeing my soon to be delicious steak I noticed you smiling at me. You caught me off guard and when I tried to smile back, it probably looked like a smirk. I think you’re really cute and would love to meet up sometime so I could give you a proper smile... and maybe share a strawberry or 2 :)

AIR CANADA FLIGHT GODDESS

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: APRIL 4, 2019 WHERE: Air Canada Flight to LAX We were seated together on our way to Los Angeles. It was great conversation throughout the majority of the flight and at one point, I loaned you my phone charger, rather than having you dig through your massive carry on bag to find yours. I really wanted to ask you for your phone number, but you can never be sure if someone would be offended and I didn’t want the rest of the trip to be awkward. Now I’m kicking myself for not asking. I tried making as much eye contact as possible and it seemed as though you were reciprocating. You’re absolutely STUNNING and I’d love to take you for coffee.

MAPLE & BROADWAY

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: APRIL 15, 2019 WHERE: Maple & Broadway Last week when passing, you asked me a question. I'm worried that I offended you or you thought I was rude. Not intended! Hopefully, I see your friendly smile in the neighbourhood again.

MET AT THE PACIFIC CINEMATHEQUE

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: APRIL 21, 2019 WHERE: Pacific Cinematheque We sat next to each other at a Jackie Chan double feature.

We had a nice chat before the movies and during intermission. To say that you made a positive impression would be a real understatement. After the movies were over, I asked if you’d like to go for coffee sometime and you asked for my email address. Haven’t heard from you. Hope you haven’t changed your mind.

OMG, I CUT YOU OFF!!!

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: APRIL 26, 2019 WHERE: Driving on Pacific Ave. I'm the red head who cut you off super badly by accident on Pacific after you so kindly let me into your lane. You rolled your window down like a gentleman and smiled but I was so mortified... I froze and looked down. You waved goodbye when we drove separate ways.

Let's meet under less dangerous circumstances!

BLACK MOTORBIKES RIDING DOWN 12TH

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: APRIL 25, 2019 WHERE: 12th Ave

We rode and chatted down 12th Ave. Hit me up if you want to ride longer. You: black Honda. Me: black Ducati. I like your style. Rubber side down ;)

LINDA CALL ANDREW

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: MARCH 14, 2019 WHERE: Fountainhead Pub We met briefly at The Fountainhead, a while back, you playing darts and me chatting with a friend. You came over to say goodbye and I said I hoped I'd see you again and you said I would, but we haven't. Hope you see this and get in touch.

Visit straight.com to post your FREE I Saw You _ 24 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MAY 2 – 9 / 2019

ARTS

Nassim takes playwright out into world

Once confined to Iran, Nassim Soleimanpour can now travel with his new experimental play

T

by Janet Smith

heatre artist Nassim Soleimanpour’s life has taken a dramatic turn since he wrote his first play. For several years, he was not allowed to leave his homeland of Iran and had to follow the progress of his hit solo show White Rabbit Red Rabbit entirely by Internet. Since then, he’s moved to Berlin, and he travels around the world performing his works so frequently that he rarely gets back to Germany. In November alone he visited eight countries, with stops in China, Japan, and Belgium.

“I’m not really sure where is home anymore,” the good-natured artist says with a laugh over the phone while on a brief stop back in the German capital. “The life as a writer is so different than life as a performer.

When I was writing, I would walk my dog, then go to the library, and I used to complain about staring at my computer all the time. Such a roller coaster my life has been! I sometimes think, ‘I’m making it up!’ ” Soleimanpour’s experiences do sound like the stuff of fiction. The artist is coming here to appear in his new work, Nassim. But to understand it, you must first go back to White Rabbit Red Rabbit. Rewind to 2010, when the frustrated writer, blocked from leaving Iran because he refused military service, devised a play that could travel the world without him. Here was his trick: each night a different actor would perform the script without seeing it first. In the ensuing years, stars from F. Murray Abraham and Ken Loach to Whoopi Goldberg and Brian Dennehy stepped into the role, telling his stories fresh each evening.

Rabbit was translated into more than 20 languages. And every time it was staged, a front-row seat would symbolically stay empty for him.

But his fortunes turned—sort of.

When he went for a health checkup in 2012, he discovered he was exempt from Iran’s military service due to a condition affecting the sight in his left eye. That meant he could get a passport and travel to see Rabbit for the first time in 2013, in Brisbane.

Then, a few years ago, the playwright decided it was time for him to interact with someone on-stage— and finally travel with his work.

For Nassim, Soleimanpour appears in the two-hander, but the actor he performs with is not allowed to meet him at all before the show.

As usual, the person is handed the sealed script blind, at the beginning of the play, and it’s opened and projected on a screen behind him or her, where the audience can read it too.

“I write all these instructions for producers—which is kind of funny because I’m not good at following instructions myself!” he says and laughs. “Initially, they would hide me, and very often the actors would say, ‘Am I going to meet Nassim?’

The answer is always, ‘Sorry, I cannot tell you anything.’ And then they start to read from this live projected screen.”

He loves putting the actor, so

“If you live a more normal life, if you have the luxury of coming from a more privileged part of the world, you say, ‘If he has not been arrested then he has to be able to perform,’ ” says the artist, who can travel freely back to his home country but has Encountering new never been invited to do his work things: that’s the there, though he’s unclear whether it’s because he’s not allowed, or bebeauty of life. cause his work is too experimental.

– Nassim Soleimanpour “It’s very sad and confusing and I honestly don’t know why. But of course I would love to.”

And so the twists of Soleimanpour’s life come to another paradox, opposite from where his incredible story started: yearning not to travel In Nassim, Nassim Soleimanpour interacts with another actor—but that actor is a stranger and has never seen the script, which is projected, until the night of the show. learn words in dozens of languages with his work abroad, but dreaming to travel to perform Nassim in of taking it home. g adept at making people laugh and Senklip Harvey, Allan Morgan, and different countries. But there’s one cry, on the same footing as his audi- Emelia Symington Fedy.) place he’s never been able to stage Nassim is at the Cultch Historic Theatre ence; he likes to play with the idea It’s been quite a journey for his work: in Iran, in his native from Tuesday (May 7) to May 19. Blank is at the Progress Lab until Saturday (May 4). that the viewers are able to discover Soleimanpour, who has had to Farsi tongue. the script at the same time, and even laugh when there are slight mistakes. The son of a novelist, he also enjoys showing the audience the beauty of the text. “Apart from my beautiful wife, probably the written page is the sexiest thing on the planet,” he asserts.

Like Soleimanpour’s other works, Nassim creates a rush and spontaneity he has always felt gets lost on-stage.

“That’s something I miss in live theatre: something that is fresh. It becomes stale with theatre when you do it again and again and again,” he says. “I like to meet new people, I like reading a new book, and tasting a new food. Encountering new things: that’s the beauty of life. That’s when I met my wife and fell in love, that’s when I met my dog and fell in love, and that’s when I met Berlin and fell in love.”

Meeting new people is something he’s been able to do a lot now, with Nassim, whether it’s breakfast or a night out at a Persian restaurant with the actor he’s connected with on-stage. “It’s a luxury to go country to country and see how actors are treated,” he says. “We laugh a lot and share personal stories and food. A lot of actors cry at the end of the show.”

At Vancouver’s Cultch Historic Theatre, he’ll meet people like Pippa Mackie, Marcus Youssef, Tetsuro Shigematsu, and Maiko Yamamoto, who are bravely stepping into the role. Opening night features Carmen Aguirre, who also opened Elbow Theatre’s production of White Rabbit Red Rabbit at the same venue in 2012. Running in the days before Nassim opens, in a Rumble Theatre and Aurora Nova production at the Progress Lab, is his Blank—another formally inventive play that lets the audience fill in literal blanks left open in the script

by Soleimanpour. Here again, each night or matinee features a different performer who, like the audience, interacts with the gap-filled script for the first time (though Soleimanpour doesn’t appear in it). (The lineup there includes Dave Deveau as his alter ego Peach Cobblah, Kim

Velvet. PJ Salvage. Tarte. Heartloom Stark.

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MAY 2 – 9 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 25

ARTS

Rewire tackles issues facing youths

S

by Alexander Varty

exual assault, the housing crisis, online bullying, environmental devastation— the stresses facing young people today are the focus of the Some Assembly Arts Society’s new play, Rewire. But so are the skills needed to overcome or at least mitigate those concerns, which the young cast members—none of whom are professionals, and some of whom are first-time actors—will learn while creating the show with director Valerie Methot and other support staff.

The adults are also getting an education, as Methot readily admits in a telephone interview from her East Vancouver office. “If there’s anything that I’ve learned by working on this production,” she says with a laugh, “it’s that if we want to be able to function, we have to be open to rewiring our brain to deal with whatever’s going on.”

Although Methot had an idea, based on her conversations with youths, that the topic of stress would be at Rewire’s core, looking into what her cast thought about it yielded some surprises. “Some of them said that stress is good in their lives,” she says. “They were looking at it in terms of, you know, it’s a motivator, and it’s exciting.” For the most part, however, her actors—mostly sourced through the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre’s youth programs—were more concerned with its negative impact on their lives. Developing the script involved one-on-one conversations between Methot and the teens, and during these, the director says, a number of topics kept recurring, including grief, poverty, and fear.

“Conversations about grief, about losing a loved one or a family member who has died, and not quite knowing how to process that” were

Program 3 May 9 10 11 Choreography Sharon Eyal & Gai Behar Bedroom Folk Serge Bennathan New Work Ohad Naharin Minus 16

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26 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MAY 2 – 9 / 2019

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Following sold out performances in London and Tel Aviv

Rylan Adriano, Fox Hunt, Charles Campbell, and Josh Kennedy are among the young cast members of Some Assembly Arts Society’s new play. Photo by Emily Cooper

important, she says. “There’s also the topic of poverty, not knowing where the food is going to come from.

And then the third big stressor that really had an impact was sexual assault. And in this time of the #MeToo movement, it’s really interesting to address this, especially with young people.…Although there’s a bit of a red flag and a concern, too. Do we really want to go there?”

In the end, Methot and the cast felt they had to, although they’ve decided not to tell their own stories.

“I view theatre as a safe art form for raising awareness around issues facing young people, and I don’t want the young people to be acting out their own trauma,” she explains. But by embodying others, they’ll learn empathy and understanding—skills that will serve them well in whatever stressful situations the future holds.

“Through the collaborative writing process,” she says, “the youth learn how to communicate in a group setting, so that they are being mindful about what they are saying

and empathetic towards the people who are opening up about vulnerable topics.” They’ll also get to show off more than their acting, writing, and listening abilities; two cast members, for instance, will contribute original songs to the live soundtrack.

Between the songs, the stories, and the pointedly low-budget staging—a cardboard box stands in for one character’s cramped basement apartment—Rewire aims to convey a realistic sense of the issues, while sparking the desire for change in cast, crew, and audience alike. “It’s a really interesting visceral experience for the audience, and a very thoughtful experience, and it’s going to really make them move forward in their thinking.…It’s like, ‘Okay, everybody, we need to face, head on, what is happening in our society, and we need to make a positive change about it.’ ” g The Some Assembly Arts Society presents Rewire at the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre on Friday and Saturday (May 3 and 4).

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MAY 2 – 9 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 27

ARTS

LeBlanc and Elektra travel to Acadia and beyond

by Alexander Varty

S

uzie LeBlanc has good advice for classically trained singers wishing to delve into the folk repertoire: just be yourself.

Of course, that might be easier if you, like LeBlanc, are an early-music specialist, and Acadian.

By virtue of her birth, the New Brunswick native has access to a lively repertoire of folk songs from the Maritime provinces, even if that’s material she ignored while becoming a top interpreter of baroque music on the international stage. Once she decided to examine her musical roots, however, LeBlanc quickly found that her training allowed her to tease out the threads that connect Acadian music to 16th- and 17th-century Europe—threads that she’ll explore in concert with Elektra Women’s Choir this weekend.

On the line from her home in Montreal, where she’s nursing a cold, LeBlanc happily explains how rough-hewn Acadian songs and elegant court music can easily exist side by side.

“Most of these Acadian tunes originate in medieval or Renaissance times, and they come to Suzie LeBlanc is both an early-music specialist and us from France,” she says. “And while the courtly an Acadian, which will help in her Elektra concert. entertainment at that time was very, very decorative music—and you need to have amazing vir- the street, songs for when people were drinking tuosity to sing it well—they also had songs from together. So, obviously, if I’m doing a little dance

28 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MAY 2 – 9 / 2019

song from the baroque era, I’m going to sing it in a more simple way, and that doesn’t change very much when I go to the folk repertoire, because I just decided I would sing the Acadian material in my own voice, the way I am, and not try to change my singing. I don’t tend to do it with guitars and things like that; I don’t do a modern version. I do mostly a baroque version of early Acadian songs.”

LeBlanc is no stranger to modernism, however, as her concert with Elektra will prove. In addition to her set of Acadian songs, in which she’ll be accompanied by fiddler David Greenberg, and a song by Henry Purcell, she’ll be featured in two settings of 20th-century poet Elizabeth Bishop’s words by Elektra pianist and composer in residence Stephen Smith.

One poem, “I Am in Need of Music”, gives the program its title, and has already been set by several composers—including Toronto’s Christos Hatzis, whose choral version will also be heard. “Invitation to Marianne Moore”, on the other hand, has never been set before, and LeBlanc has an idea why.

“It’s a wonderful, wonderful poem, but it’s also a very long-winded poem, with lots of words,” she says, laughing. “Usually, composers

tend to take something that’s a little bit shorter to set to music. It doesn’t mean that the piece is super long; it’s just that it’s wordy. But I actually look forward to getting my teeth into that one, as soon as my throat can sing again!”

In addition to her research into Acadian traditional music, LeBlanc has also become something of a Bishop scholar, and is looking forward to the impending publication of the Massachusetts-born, Nova Scotia–raised poet’s correspondence with Moore.

“She was at Vassar when they met, so she was maybe 18 or 19 and Marianne Moore was in her late 40s—47 or 48, I think,” she notes. “And they ended up with this friendship and exchanged lots of letters. In the letters, I remember reading somewhere that Moore said: ‘I’d love to take you out to concerts. Brahms, you know.

Do you like Brahms? Should we go?’ So they’re sharing a lot of things about art and exhibitions and poetry, but also about music. So I look forward to that piece. It’s a brave choice— and it’s really a fun poem.” g Elektra Women’s Choir presents I Am in Need of Music at Shaughnessy Heights United Church on Saturday (May 4).

ARTS

Extreme dark and light alternate at fest

S OME A S SE

MBLY THEATRE COMPANY INVITES YOU

TO

AND OPEN YOUR MIND

Robert Pomakov has a devlishly good time in the Vancouver Opera Festival’s broody new Faust. Photo by Tim Matheson

MUSIC FAUST

By Charles Gounod. A Vancouver Opera Festival production. At the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Saturday, April 27. Continues May 2 and 5

d THE VANCOUVER OPERA Festival’s new Faust is a darker-thanusual affair, a broody piece that, on opening night, was a dramatic contrast to the spring sunshine, patio bar, and giant inflated “VOF” letters on the plaza just outside the theatre.

And to think Charles Gounod’s work is often thought of as comic opera. Not here. A big part of the effect comes from Olivier Landreville’s austere dark-grey set (borrowed from L’Opéra de Montréal). An ominous series of floor-to-ceiling, monolithic bookcases that form Faust’s opening library scene cleverly turn to become alleyways and, by the end, prison walls enclosing the doomed. Gerald King’s shadowy lighting adds to the sinister feel, and the early scenes’ touch of red is a nod to the hell that awaits.

But this all-Canadian-cast Faust, helmed by François Racine, also finds its depth in the music and acting—most notably in Marguerite, sung by stellar Vancouver-bred soprano and crowd favourite Simone Osborne. In the opera, loosely based on Goethe’s classic play, Marguerite can sometimes come across as a naive ditz. After Faust promises his soul to the devil, Méphistophélès helps Faust seduce the pious young woman, impregnate her, and then cast her aside. But here, as Gounod probably intended, she’s the very centre of the churning moral conflict; unlike Faust, who easily sells his soul, she fights Méphistophélès’s advances to the bitter end. Even her descent into madness avoids hysteria, and becomes a rational new form of war against Satan.

The tone is set from the very beginning, with conductor Jonathan Darlington leading a sublime, deeply felt overture that teases out every nuance of light and dark from the orchestra, all with the f luidity of spring water.

The opening scene, of Faust bemoaning his loss of youth, is strong too, tenor David Pomeroy a roiling mass of despondence and anger. When bass Robert Pomakov’s Méphistophélès

arrives, throwing a long, Nosferatulike shadow across the room from the doorway, things really get rolling—and the powerhouse duo brings resonant life to the duet “À moi les plaisirs”.

Pomakov has evil fun here, becoming much more than a dapper caricature and bringing a real physicality to the role, leaping on tables to scare the bejesus out of villagers, and ingratiating himself to Faust. (“At your service,” he hisses.) Osborne brings emotional depth, torment, and passion to her arias, her rich soprano opening beautifully into the role.

At the helm, Racine makes some bold choices, especially in the second act. Standout moments include a chiaroscuro crowd, pointing in judgment as Marguerite walks the gauntlet with her illegitimate bundle of joy; hooded figures stalking her in a darkened church; and a truly chilling scene where a shard of moonlight catches the blade Marguerite, maniacal and trembling, wields over her baby. While Faust’s final walk to eternal damnation is a bit anticlimactic here, Marguerite’s final, strong moment transcends religion and its literal ideas of heaven and hell.

Previous productions of Faust have given audiences more eye candy, as when director Nicholas Muni staged a boldly surreal version in 2006. Here, the grey set can feel oppressive and unrelenting over three hours plus—despite the fact it’s a conceptual marvel; even Marguerite’s garden, usually a bloom-filled oasis, feels bleak.

But few Fausts we’ve seen in Vancouver over the years have offered up music this profoundly performed or characterizations this intense.

by Janet Smith

LA CENERENTOLA

By Gioacchino Rossini. A Vancouver Opera Festival production. At the Vancouver Playhouse on Saturday, April 27. Continues to May 12

d YOU WOULD HAVE to be in a pretty miserable mood not to enjoy the Vancouver Opera Festival’s La Cenerentola (Cinderella), a production that manages to be polished and cartoonish at the same time.

The mix is best illustrated in the clever sets and costumes from Portland Opera: pops of vivid blue, green, and pink play against serene

grey and white, and 2-D chandeliers and ink-drawn curtains give it all a storybook feel.

But the acting and singing also hit the right mix, with all-out clowning next to killer coloratura.

Gioacchino Rossini’s Cinderella story allows for full-blown farce.

And he’s made enough twists to the well-known fairy tale, adding multiple layers of mistaken identity, to keep things fresh; even the glass slipper is gone, replaced by a diamond bracelet. Most importantly, director Rachel Peake and title-role soprano Simone McIntosh assert Cenerentola as strong and principled.

Still, what really drives things here is the Looney Tunes physicality, most outlandishly in the case of the greedy stepfather, Don Magnifico. Peter McGillivray, so memorable as Petrovich in The Overcoat—A Musical Tailoring last spring, is a bewigged buffo here, making the most out of every moment. Just watch him crawl on all fours across the dining table to suck up to the prince, or throw a tantrum when he doesn’t get what he wants.

Rubber-faced stepsisters Clorinda and Tisbe (Nicole Joanne Brooks and Gena van Oosten, both strong singers from the Young Artists Program at VO) don’t disappoint either, whether they’re descending into slapping fights or preening in two mirrors at centre stage.

This is bubble-light stuff, but the singing features serious fireworks.

Rossini plays endlessly and inventively with the trios and quartets of layered vocals in both acts, and McIntosh’s mezzo soprano sails into some dazzling acrobatics for the famously punishing final aria, “Non più mesta”. As it speeds up like a roller coaster, the perilous runs and trills come at her faster and faster, and she rides the impossible range with volume yet sweetness. As the prince, Don Ramiro, Charles Sy shows off a bright and flowing bel canto tenor, setting off his own pyrotechnics early in Act 2.

This is hyperenergized opera for both the connoisseur and the newbie—a fun introduction to the art form for kids, or at least those who can sit for more than a couple of hours. It’s fast and entertaining stuff—and just might make you believe, if not in fairy tales, then in the power of music and laughter to lift your spirits.

MAY 1-4, 2019 WEDNESDAY MAY 1, 11:00AM & 1:30PM THURSDAY MAY 2, 11:00AM & 1:30PM FRIDAY MAY 3, 7:30PM SATURDAY MAY 4, 7:30PM RESERVATIONS

www.someassembly.ca 604-684-8807

LOCATION

The Roundhouse at Pacific & Davie www.roundhouse.ca | 604-713-1800 Please Note: REWIRE is a bold must-see of truth, comedy, original music and spectacular visuals. Content includes grieving, poverty and non-graphic dialogue about the issues of sexual assault. REWIRE speaks to youth and adults.

by Janet Smith

MAY 2 – 9 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 29

ARTS LISTINGS ONGOING BED & BREAKFAST The Arts Club Theatre Company presents Mark Crawford’s comedy about being out and finding home. To May 4, Granville Island Stage. From $29.

DEAD PEOPLE’S THINGS Zee Zee Theatre’s darkly comedic play about a millennial who inherits a house and all of its contents after her estranged hoarder aunt commits suicide.

To May 5, Studio 16. From $28.

THE GREAT LEAP The Arts Club Theatre Company presents Lauren Yee’s play, a jump shot across borders. To May 19, Goldcorp Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre. From $29.

IGNITE! Vancouver’s largest youth-driven arts festival. To May 4, The Cultch. Youth tickets $2.

THRONE AND GAMES—THE LAST LAUGH Improvised Game of Thrones parody. To Jun 15, The Improv Centre. From $10.75.

THIRD ANNUAL VANCOUVER OPERA FESTIVAL Nine days of voice, music, theatre and visual arts. To May 5, various Vancouver venues.

FAUST Jonathan Darlington conducts the Vancouver Opera Orchestra and Chorus in Gounod’s opera. To May 5, Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

LA CENERENTOLA Vancouver Opera presents Rossini’s masterpiece. To May 11, Vancouver Playhouse.

THE SEA Slamming Door Artist Collective presents Edward Bond’s comedy. Apr 30– May 19, Jericho Arts Centre. $18-29.

MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY AT UBC aIN A DIFFERENT LIGHT: REFLECTING ON NORTHWEST COAST ART to summer 2020 aSHAKEUP: PRESERVING WHAT WE VALUE to Sep 1 MUSEUM OF VANCOUVER aWILD THINGS: THE POWER OF NATURE IN OUR LIVES to Sep 30 aHAIDA NOW: A VISUAL FEAST OF

INNOVATION AND TRADITION to Dec 1, 2019 aTHERE IS TRUTH HERE to Dec 31 VANCOUVER ART GALLERY aFRENCH MODERNS: MONET TO MATISSE, 1850–1950 to May 20 aAFFINITIES: CANADIAN ARTISTS AND FRANCE to May 20 aDISPLACEMENT to Jun 9 aMOWRY BADEN to Jun 9 aMOVING STILL: PERFORMATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY IN INDIA to Sep 2 aVIEWS OF THE COLLECTION: THE STREET to Nov 17 CONTEMPORARY ART GALLERY aDEANNA BOWEN | A HARLEM NOCTURNE to Jun 16 THE POLYGON aSK _WX _WÚ7MESH NATION BASKETBALL: PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALANA PATERSON to May 12

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1 REWIRE Multimedia theatre production in which a group of youths tackle root causes of stress, including poverty, grief, and sexual assault. May 1-4, Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre. By donation.

THURSDAY, MAY 2 HEATHER McDONALD Host of the comedy podcast Juicy Scoop with Heather McDonald.

May 2, York Theatre. $35.

DUETS COMEDY Comedy of relationships and awkward moments. May 2-18, Deep Cove Shaw Theatre. $25/23.

SPOTLIGHT ON COMPOSER BRIAN CURRENT Soprano Caitlin Wood, pianist Tina Chang, and the Standing Wave Ensemble.

May 2, 5 pm, CBC Studio 700.

ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST Stage 43 Theatrical Society presents the classic mental-institution drama. May 2-11, Evergreen Cultural Centre. $24/19.

TALENT TIME: THE SITCOM EPISODE Comedy/variety/talk show and live sitcom taping.

May 2, 8-10:15 pm, Rio Theatre. $12/14.

FRIDAY, MAY 3 MEPHISTO’S WALTZ The Bergmann Piano Duo plays works by Ravel and Liszt. May 3, 5 pm, CBC Studio 700.

TMP IMPROV PRESENTS: LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE Charity TMP Improv show benefiting KidSport BC. May 3, 7-9 pm, The Red Gate Revue Stage. $10.

THE RIVER OF LIGHT World premiere of a large-scale work for chorus, soloists, and orchestra, conceived and composed by Brian Current. May 3, 7:30 pm, Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

VAMP Supernatural musical burlesque. May 3, 8 pm; May 4, 8 pm; May 5, 7:30 pm; May 8, 7:30 pm; May 9, 7:30 pm; May 17, 8 pm; May 18, 8 pm; May 10, 8 pm; May 12, 7:30 pm; May 15, 7:30 pm, Performance Works. $29-35.

WOMEN ON MUSIC: FOUR VOICES Four diverse women music artists talk art, life. May 3, 8-10 pm, Vancouver Community College Theatre. Free.

TEEN ANGST NIGHT A comedy show of embarrassing teenage notebooks. May 3, 8-10 pm, Fox Cabaret. $10/15.

SATURDAY, MAY 4 POTTERY SALE Pottery made by over 50 potters. May 4, 10 am–4 pm, Aberthau House.

SHARI ULRICH IN DISCUSSION WITH CBC’S SHERYL MacKAY Ulrich talks about career and women in music biz. May 4, 3 pm, Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre. Free.

CAG CURATORIAL TOUR WITH NIGEL PRINCE Join CAG’s Nigel Prince for a guided tour of the current exhibitions. May 4, 3 pm, Contemporary Art Gallery. Free.

ROMANTIC FAIRY TALES Chamber music inspired by fairy tales and fables. May 4, 5 pm, CBC Studio 700. $35.

CHAMPAGNE AND SCHUMANN Music in the Morning presents a fundraising gala with Ensemble Midtvest. May 4, 6:30-8:30 pm, Vancouver Academy of Music. $175.

THOSE GUYS SPRING COMEDY SHOW A night of improv comedy and music with Alex Parra and Andrew Job. May 4, 7-9 pm, PAL Theatre. $15/18.

CELEBRATE UNCLE BO Tap Dance Day event honouring Bill “Bojangles” Robinson.

May 4, 7-9:30 pm, Vancouver Tap Dance Society. PWYC. I AM IN NEED OF MUSIC Elektra Women’s Choir collaborates with soprano Suzie LeBlanc. May 4, 7:30 pm, Shaughnessy Heights United Church. Tix $15-$35.

THE RAINBOW BAND PRESENTS: RADICAL TIMES! LGBT concert band plays songs

by Samuel Barber, Michael Legrand, and Stan Kenton. May 4, 7:30-9:30 pm, Vancouver Community College. $15.

REGENERATION- A PTP SHOWCASE Flamenco Rosario’s year-end dance showcase.

May 4, 8 pm, The Cultch. $28/35.

THE MOTHER OF ALL COMEDY SHOWS Standup comedy by Janice Bannister, Katrina Bennett, Monique Bellamy, Colleen Brow, Erin Jeffery, Sarah Susswein, and Tania Taylor.

May 4, 8-10 pm, Anvil Centre. $22.

COMMUNICATING DOORS A dominatrix from the future is summoned to witness a man’s confession to murder. May 4-25, 8 pm, Metro Theatre. $25/22.

THE COMIC STRIP Standup comedy by Ari Matti, Levi McCachen, and headliner Katie-Ellen Humphries. May 4, 9 pm, Tyrant Studios. $18.

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Arts

HOT TICKET

BRAMWELL RETURNS WITH LOUIS LORTIE (May 3,

4, and 5 at the Orpheum) Maestro Bramwell Tovey is back in town this weekend for a big piano event: the VSO music director emeritus will be at the podium to team up with Canadian keyboard legend Louis Lortie (shown here). They’ll take on Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-Flat Major, a piece that will find the Montreal-born master taking you from the playful to the serene.

Elsewhere on the program are two more gorgeous classics: Claude Debussy’s poetic Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, and the lush music from Act 2 of Tchaikovsky’s ballet Sleeping Beauty. g

8pm Friday, May 10, 2019 Shaughnessy Heights United Church

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Vancouver Chamber Choir Jon Washburn, conductor Vancouver Youth Choir Carrie Tennant, conductor

Rosanne Cash Mari Boine DakhaBrakha Flamenco Legends: The Paco de Lucía Project NOV 16 Orquesta Akokán FEB 29 We Shall Overcome: A Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. MAR 8 Dianne Reeves: Beleza Brazil APR 4 La Santa Cecilia APR 18 Kalabanté: Afrique en Cirque SEP 28 OCT 5 OCT 19 NOV 2

Highlighting winners of the 14th Young Composers’ Competition, the Vancouver Chamber Choir and Vancouver Youth Choir also celebrate the wonderful combination of Youth & Music with pieces by Tavener, Rutter, Sandström and Washburn. There will be four newly-commissioned pieces from young professionals.

If you love music and believe in young people, this concert will warm your heart!

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SODA FOUNTAIN Comedians perform sketches, character bits, and standup at a show hosted by Graeme Achurch and Nathan Hare. May 4, 10 pm, Little Mountain Gallery. $12.

JOKES N TOKES COMEDY Comedian Andrew Packer hosts a night of weed-oriented standup. May 5, 8 pm, Cannabis Culture Headquarters. $10.

SUNDAY, MAY 5

MONDAY, MAY 6

VIVA ESPANA The New Westminster Symphony presents classical music from Spain.

May 5, 2 pm, Massey Theatre. By donation.

CONCERTS CAFĂ&#x2030; CLASSICO LCMS alumni Roland Gjernes (cello) and Paul Williamson (piano) perform works by Brahms and Prokofiev. May 5, 2:30 pm, Langley Community Music School. $10-20.

CAG EXHIBITION TOUR IN SPANISH Join Valentina Acevedo Montilla for a tour of the current exhibitions in Spanish. May 5, 3 pm, Contemporary Art Gallery. Free.

VANCOUVER ORATORIO SOCIETY YOUTH SINGERS Fifteen singers perform a spring concert under conductor Kemuel Wong. May 5, 7:30 pm, Kerrisdale Presbyterian Church. Free.

THEATRE BC NORTH SHORE ZONE FESTIVAL OF PLAYS Plays include Hidden in This Picture, Ten Tips for a Collapsed Uterus, The Shape of a Girl, Little Voices, and Almost, Maine. May 6-11, 8 pm, Presentation House Theatre. $20/18.

TUESDAY, MAY 7 TOP TALENT SHOWCASE Vancouver comics develop their craft. May 7, 21, 8 pm, Yuk Yukâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Comedy Club. $10.

NASSIM New play explores the mystery of faith-based healing and the consequences of life-changing transformation. May 7-19, 8 pm, Cultch Historic Theatre. Tix $24.

MAGIC UNICORN ISLAND An apocalyptic tale of horrific proportions as part of the Hunch Festival. May 9, 8 pm, The Red Gate Revue Stage. $25/20.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 8 STORY STORY LIE: FIGHT CLUB Near-impossible stories that seem too questionable to be true. May 8, 7-9 pm, Rio Theatre. $10/12.

ANNE MARIE DROSSO & MEGAN WILLIAMS Presentations by author Drosso and marketing strategist Williams. May 8, 7-9 pm, BC Alliance for Arts + Culture. $10.

ENTER LAUGHING Theatre In the Raw presents the comedy by Joseph Stein. May 8-19, 8-2 pm, Studio 16. $25/22.

FRIDAY, MAY 10 FUSE: GESTURES Event merges visual art, music, and performance. May 10, 7:30 pm, Vancouver Art Gallery. $29/15.

DIGITAL SANCTUARY: SHOWCASE + ART RAVE FOR CYBER HARM REDUCTION A futurist themed multidisciplinary art party.

May 10, 7:30 pm, The Pace. $35.

THURSDAY, MAY 9 JAMES AND THE GIANT CIRCUS PEACH CircusWest presents a theatrical creation inspired by Roald Dahlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s book. May 9-12, PNE Gardens. $16-24.

VETTA PRESENTS: TAKE 5 Vetta presents Mozartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Clarinet Quintet and Schubertâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cello Quintet. May 9, 2 pm; May 10, 7:30 pm; May 12, 2 pm, West Point Grey United Church. $20-25.

ART WORLD EXPO Event features over 100 artists, vendors, music, body painting, silent and live auctions, and food trucks. May 10, 7:30-11:45 pm, Science World. $40.

BUTT KAPINSKI A tour de force of character comedy and clowning as part of the Hunch Festival. May 10, 8 pm, The Red Gate Revue Stage. $25/20.

VANCOUVER CHAMBER CHOIR: YOUTH & MUSIC 2019â&#x20AC;&#x201D;MUSICâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S FUTURE Program includes works by Tavener, Rutter, Sandstrom, and Washburn. May 10, 8 pm, Shaughnessy Heights United Church. $29-33.

C/4 CANADIAN CHORAL COMPOSITION COMPETITION Meet the composers, hear their works performed for the very first time, and participate in a discussion led by artistic director Erick Lichte. May 10, 8 pm, Orpheum Annex. Tix $35.

SWEET RELEASE Hip-hop comedy concert.

May 10, 10-11:30 pm, Little Mountain Gallery . $15/20.

ARTS LISTINGS are a public service provided free of charge. Submit events online using the event-submission form at straight. com/AddEvent. Events that donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make it into the paper due to space constraints will appear on the website.

The Georgia Straight Confessions, an outlet for submitting revelations about your private livesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;or for the voyeurs among us who want to read what other people have disclosed.

2019/20 SEASON Scan to confess Monkey bread Some cute girl called me â&#x20AC;&#x153;Monkey Breadâ&#x20AC;? and I googled it.

Wow! Had no idea that stuff actually exists. Lolz

No Pot For You Ok, marijuana has been legalized now since October and yet there are still ignorant people out there that are fully against it and treat people who use cannabis as if they are criminals performing an illegal activity. Get with it and leave well enough alone, I say.

Music does NOT belong on the SEAWALL Hello World! Hey, you going for a bike ride, rollerblade, skateboard or even a run? STOP blasting your crappy music from a loudspeaker for everyone to hear, there is not a single thing I can think of that is more offensive than... (conâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t @straight.com)

This might be lame I love my cat so much. He makes my day better immediately, every time I see him. He came from a shelter and I often wonder why someone would give him away because he is so lovely. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m grateful that they did, because now I have this little animal purring next to me, filling my heart with joy.

Time off Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m gonna take time off from work soon. But Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not planning on taking a huge extravagant vacation somewhere out of the country to New York, Maui or Mexico. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m just going to travel locally and mellow out.

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DOXA

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Pillaging FB for Postings From Home

W

by Adrian Mack

S P E C I A L L I V E P R E S E N TAT I O N SAT MAY 4

7:30 PM VANCITY

Postings from Home Kelly O’Brien

Kelly O’Brien has taken the collective sharing of one’s personal life on social media combined it with the tradition of a family slideshow to create an emotionally affecting live performance. From the wonders and challenges of motherhood to anxious thoughts about the future during a time of environmental crisis, Postings From Home unearths the poetry found within the everyday.

HOMEGROWN HIGHLIGHTS SAT MAY 4 SUN MAY 12

7 PM SFU 4:45 PM VANCITY

WED MAY 8 SUN MAY 12

12 PM VANCITY 8 PM CINE

ith the exception of your racist uncle, it seems that we all have some kind of allergy to Facebook. Even filmmaker Kelly O’Brien admits to a strong ambivalence, after repurposing some 10 years of her own activity on the socialmedia platform into the acclaimed live show Postings From Home.

“I know Facebook is awful,” she writes in a pre-interview email to the Georgia Straight. “I should really shut down my account, but it keeps me making things. Huge dilemma.”

“It was never really premeditated.

It was an experiment and it was out of desperation,” O’Brien later says during a call from Toronto. “I was stuck at home with kids, I’d finished my MFA, and I couldn’t make another film because I didn’t have the time. I think I just started it out of a way to make some meaning out of my life, out of what was going on.”

Thus, O’Brien’s family snapshots, videos, and musings went from Facebook feed to evolving art project, with a heavy emphasis on the wit and wisdom of siblings Emma (15), Teddy (12), and Willow (7). She’s mounted Postings From Home eight times since its debut in 2016, reshaping the performance each time.

The creative restlessness is deeply wired. A native of North Van, O’Brien moved east in the late ’80s for college, cocreated Toronto’s Splice This! festival of 8mm film in the ’90s, and made “little diary films” as a side project to her professional work in TV. “And when I became a mom,” she says, “I just couldn’t go back. When Teddy was born I for sure couldn’t do that work anymore.”

Featuring children Emma, Teddy, and Willow, Toronto filmmaker Kelly O’Brien repurposed 10 years of thoughtful Facebook posts into an acclaimed live show.

Teddy is O’Brien’s second child, and it was his arrival that locked the young mother into a rigid caregiving role, but also prompted the magnum DIY opus that brings her, courtesy of the DOXA Documentary Film Festival, to the Vancity Theatre on Saturday (May 4). She speaks of “a political purpose” behind the project.

“With Teddy I have a son with severe disabilities, and you never see kids like him on Facebook, really, or hear stories about that,” she explains.

“This is not your sunny, perfect family, by any means, but there is a lot of joy, and a lot of beauty.”

There’s certainly something rousing about O’Brien’s gambit here, short-circuiting the most hideous model of surveillance capitalism into an intimate performance piece.

And while O’Brien is mindful of her own ethics—particularly in the case of eldest daughter Emma, naturally

confronting her own feelings about privacy and public persona out here in meatspace—a side benefit is that the entire family has graduated from subject to participant.

“It sounds kinda lame but everyone is so busy in their day-to-day lives, so now after school I make Willow tell Teddy about her day, and I film it. Otherwise, she might never engage with him, so it’s become this way that we spend time together.”

Contra the much vaunted “connectivity” that Mark Zuckerberg dribbles on about, Postings From Home is authentically creating bonds in O’Brien’s family, in her digital “community”, and inside the walls of a theatre. She used to hand-process 16mm film; now she transforms the digital into analogue, reportedly moving her audience to tears in the process. For us, this poses no dilemma, huge or otherwise. g

Colten Boushie doc takes the stand

by Charlie Smith

Candice

Standing on the Line

Director Sheona McDonald explores the life and career of Candice Vadala (aka Candida Royalle), known to many as the “godmother of feminist porn.”

A thoughtful and empathetic portrait of gay athletes in Canada and the battles they’ve waged.

Sheona McDonald

SUN MAY 5 TUE MAY 7

Paul Émile D’Entremont

8:30 PM VANCITY 2:30 PM VANCITY

THU MAY 9

7 PM MOV

How to Bee

Toad People

Filmmaker Naomi Mark returns home to the Yukon to learn the craft of beekeeping from her father after he is diagnosed with critical health problems.

Toad People sheds light on how climate change and human interference are impacting Western toads, and the inspiring community-led movement to save this endangered species.

MON MAY 6 SUN MAY 12

FRI MAY 10 SUN MAY 12

Naomi Mark

Isabelle Groc and Mike McKinlay

7 PM VANCITY 3:45 PM CINE

9:15 PM VANCITY 3 PM VANCITY

Illusions of Control

Who Let The Dogs Out?

Shot across five different countries, this expansive essay introduces us to five courageous women, each reflecting on crisis and resilience in the face of ecological instability.

Drawing on the popular radio hit by the flash-in-the-pan group Baha Men, Brent Hodge’s humourous film challenges accepted notions of authorship and creative ownership.

Shannon Walsh

Brent Hodge

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32 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MAY 2 – 9 / 2019

T

he death of a young Cree man in August 2016 was like a flaming car crash along Canada’s pothole-filled road to reconciliation. Colten Boushie was only 22 when he was shot in the back of the head by a Saskatchewan farmer, Gerald Stanley, after a group of his friends drove onto Stanley’s property while Boushie was asleep in the back seat. In the wake of the killing, social media starkly illustrated the cultural divide between outraged Canadians who saw Boushie as a helpless victim and those who shouted their support for the gun-toting landowner.

“Everyone I knew was deeply affected by it,” recalled Peepeekisis First Nation filmmaker Tasha Hubbard on the line from her home in Edmonton. “It was all we were talking about, right? So I was going to write a blog.”

Then, on the day of Boushie’s funeral, her father called to say his wife was really upset because Boushie was her nephew. They wanted to visit Hubbard just to get away. After they arrived and Hubbard informed them that she was going to write about Boushie’s death, the couple had another idea.

“They said, ‘You should make a film. You’re a filmmaker. This is going to be an important story,’ ” said Hubbard, who is also a University of Alberta associate professor. “We all felt that.”

That was the origin of nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up, a compelling documentary about the death of Boushie—and Stanley’s controversial acquittal on a second-degree-murder charge in 2018. Hubbard captures the grief of Boushie’s family members, including his mother, Debbie Baptiste, as they describe how their home was practically invaded by Mounties. One officer was curious to know if Baptiste had alcohol on her breath. The film shows the profound impact that racist comments on social media had on Boushie’s cousin, Jade Tootoosis. It reveals the hopes that Saskatchewan’s Indigenous community placed in the justice system, even after any potential First Nations jurors were vetoed by Stanley’s defence team.

The documentary, which premiered at Hot Docs in Toronto, also highlights many aspects of Boushie’s personality, including his childhood love of science. Viewers learn about the narrative presented in court by Stanley’s legal team. And it emphasizes the Boushie family’s steadfast resolve to seek a royal commission on structural racism in the justice system—going all the way to the United Nations.

“Indigenous people speak out about these things and they’re often met by denial or justification or minimizing,” Hubbard said. “It’s tough to take because what’s at stake here are our children. What’s at stake here is what does our future look like?”

But Hubbard didn’t want nîpawistamâsowin: We Will

Seen here with her grandfather, Tasha Hubbard was urged by family to make nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up.

Stand Up to simply focus on the Boushie family. Rather, she places Boushie’s story in the context of the appalling historical oppression of Saskatchewan’s Indigenous people. This entailed an exploration of colonizers’ use of hunger as a weapon, the 1885 hangings of eight Indigenous men at Battleford, and the role of the North West Mounted Police in imposing control over the region.

Some of these scenes are depicted through animation, which Hubbard felt was a gentler way to convey a “very hard history”.

She hopes nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up speaks to young Indigenous people, including her son and nephew. They appear in several parts of the film, most notably in an emotional scene in the RCMP Heritage Centre archives in Regina.

“How do I explain the way that our history has been that’s not overwhelming for a child?” Hubbard said.

“Most of Canada also has never really learned this before.…I wanted it to be truthful.”

What makes this film unique is how Hubbard integrates her own story as an Indigenous woman raised in a white home and as a single mom who has also reconciled with her birth family. She brings forward the voices of her white adoptive grandfather and her Indigenous father while never losing sight of the future for Indigenous kids.

“I just felt that I wanted to be honest about how this was affecting all of us who live in the Prairies,” Hubbard said. g nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up screens at the DOXA Documentary Film Festival at the SFU Woodward’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts next Wednesday (May 8) and at the Vancity Theatre next Thursday (May 9).

DOXA

The time has come to let the docs out

D

iscover who really let the dogs out when the DOXA Documentary Film Festival kicks off its 18th year on Thursday (May 2). We’ll continue reviewing some of the more notable titles over the fest’s 11 days, and a few of the obscurities, too. Go to Straight.com for updates, or www.doxafestival.ca/ for information on this year’s wide range of programs and special presentations.

CALL ME INTERN (New Zealand) It’s no secret that the unpaid internship has emerged as a new mutant standard of labour exploitation in the 21st century. This doc doesn’t quite get to grips with the subject, which is complicated by class divides and then confused further—as we see more than once here— by the widespread cultural fiction that “experience” is some sort of actual currency. A framing device in which filmmaker Leo David Hyde poses as a homeless intern at the UN is underdeveloped, but does at least reveal the kind of doublethink they’re capable of in Geneva. More affecting are the stories of African-Americans Kyle (who really does end up homeless, thank you Warner Music Group) and Marisa, who encounters harassment along with the standard penury in her work for—wait for it—Obama’s reelection campaign. But even here, an amazing opportunity to examine the function of identity politics inside the meat grinder of neoliberalism goes largely unfulfilled. Vancity, May 6 (noon)

by Adrian Mack DIVE: RITUALS IN WATER (Iceland)

This isn’t the most information-dense of movies, given its 72-minute running time, but every one of those minutes is a joy. Based on little more than a hunch, Snorri Magnusson began water-training babies in 1990, using techniques that are common now— softly blow on their face and then dunk!—but with a sense of fun and a gift for connection that is anything but. Here, we spend an entire film in the company of Magnusson and his gleeful (and insanely cute) students, along with their frequently amazed parents. If it’s accepted now that every fresh human instinctively holds its breath when submerged (and loves it), Magnusson has confounded the experts by routinely getting infants under four months to stand upright.

He then holds them aloft, like little emperor babies. It’s only one way that Magnusson upturns contemporary thoughts on early development. He’s an odd and utterly unself-conscious man, an identical twin who fathered identical twins—though the movie seems only faintly interested in that.

Tellingly, it’s an American couple who are most trepidatious about his “methods”, while a young Icelandic mother has no time for the self-contradicting advice of the professionals.

Vancity, May 8 (4:15 p.m.); Cinematheque, May 12 (noon) by AM

GODS OF MOLENBEEK (Finland) Six-year-old best friends Amine and Aatos wander through Belgium’s poverty-afflicted Molenbeek district in this crisp and absorbing doc from Reetta Huhtanen. They dress like superheroes and mummies, play soccer, ponder the nature of black holes, and, rather delightfully, talk, talk, and then talk some more. They also encounter security forces and demonstrations against ISIS in a district made notorious by the media as a den of extremism. This child’s-eye view of the world has the ring of truth, even as your mind races with questions about the artifice on display, especially given Aatos’s recurrent questions to his Muslim friend about God. The film’s heart is in the right place, but this one contrivance feels like a small betrayal of trust when everything else here celebrates the sheer guilelessness of its splendid little subjects. Cinematheque, May 5 (3:45 p.m.) and 11 (9 p.m.) by AM

Kyle Grant lands a nightmare unpaid job with Warner Music Group in Call Me Intern.

ONE CHILD NATION (China/U.S.) The world knows about China’s one-child policy, its deceptively simple drive from 1979 to 2015 to stave off what was widely accepted as a population crisis. But director Nanfu Wang, now an American citizen and new mother, travels back to her home country to dig into the uncomfortable—no, harrowing—details of what that edict actually meant, starting with her own family and village in Jiangxi province. The personal quest begins with interviews with her mother, who contemplated abandonment, and an aunt whose female newborn was left out in a basket to die of exposure. It leads to interviews with the town administrator who dragged women to sterilizations and demolished the homes of those who broke the rules, and to the midwifenurses who were celebrated as heroes by the People’s Party after helping with thousands of forced full-term abortions. The road winds further, into the

propaganda posters and folk arts used to enforce the one-child message, to even wider blame: sinister proof that China’s nationally owned orphanages were buying abandoned and stateseized babies to feed a lucrative western-adoption market. Along the way, Wang and codirector Jialing Zhang expose the human suffering paid for what was a questionable experiment in the first place. In bold and damning terms, they’ve created a shocking portrait of the power of mass indoctrination— and the kind of collective amnesia that can set in in just four short years. Vancity, May 11 (4 p.m.), SFU Woodward’s, May 12 (noon) by Janet Smith TOXIC BEAUTY (Canada)

With its mountain of evidence, Toxic Beauty will send you digging through your medicine cabinets, makeup bags, and shower caddies to pore over labels.

The documentary reveals the dangerous chemicals that fill personal

products, but as one of a small army of medical experts says here, “This is not just, like, a light topic and ‘Oh, makeup: let’s look beautiful.’ ” By the end of the hard-hitting, wide-ranging exposé, you’ll understand the fuller implications of words you already know—phthalates, parabens, endocrine disruptors. Director Phyllis Ellis makes sure to start with the human suffering tied to the chemicals, speaking to cancer survivors who detail the horrors they’ve endured (say, Stage 3 ovarian cancer at 49). What follows is a fast-edited stream of interviews with epidemiologists, scientists, surgeons, environmental activists, lawyers, and politicians. A lot of them centre around the historic class-action lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson by women with ovarian cancer who used talc (or as you might refer to it hereafter, “hydrated magnesium silicate”).

Archival footage, animated graphics, and clips from commercials relentlessly pushing beauty and “freshness” offset information overload. What becomes clear is not only the fact that

“

most of our makeup, shampoo, and other gunk contains toxic chemicals, but that nobody’s regulating this stuff.

Vancity, May 7 (noon), Cinematheque, May 8 (6 p.m.) by JS WHO LET THE DOGS OUT? (Canada)

You know “Who Let the Dogs Out?”, because everyone on the planet does, and you might not think you care much about the story behind the Baha Men’s 2000 hit single. Ben Sisto, on the other hand, spent eight years of his life obsessively investigating the authorship of the song, which has been the subject of various lawsuits and out-of-court settlements. In this hourlong doc from Vancouver’s own Brent Hodge (A Brony Tale, Freaks and Geeks), Sisto asks some pretty profound questions about creativity, ownership, and where ideas come from in the first place. In the end, we may never know who let the dogs out, but it turns out there’s more to the question than you might have thought. Vancity, May 10 (9:15 p.m.) and 12 (3 p.m.) by John Lucas

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MAY 2 – 9 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 33

MOVIES

A Satanic panic over church and state REVIEWS HAIL SATAN?

A documentary by Penny Lane.

Rated 14A

d THE QUESTION mark in the title here is less about devotional doubt than it is a satirical eyebrow raised at the role of religion in modern politics.

At the centre of this satire is the Satanic Temple, mostly devoted to thumbing its collective snout at authority in general and religious hypocrites in particular. In the past five years, this bewitching band—based in Salem, Massachusetts, no less—has chipped away at Christian hegemony by asking for equal time at legislatures

and town councils that routinely include godly invocations. Most famously, they’ve taken on the nutters of the Westboro Baptist Church and challenged legal institutions displaying the Ten Commandments—contradicting the separation of church and state built into the U.S. Constitution.

Written and directed by Penny Lane (her real name), the cleverly assembled doc includes a brief overview of the relatively recent infiltration of religion into public life, at the behest of Billy Graham and other Cold War fundamentalists. The Satanic Temple believes this (“One nation, under God” didn’t statue of Baphomet should fix things. enter the Pledge of Allegiance until 1954.) We also get a taste of Anton from the Playboy era. He cannily LaVey (born Howard Levey), an oc- mixed nudity and nonconformity cultist and relentless self-promoter with antichristish nose-tweaking—a

pattern followed by Lucien Greaves, a pseudonym for the Satanic Temple founder, who has a bad eye and sharp tongue, as evidenced with a lot of screen time here.

Greaves studied neuroscience at Harvard, with a specialty in falsememory syndrome, and his own history with abuse survivors suggests conflicted motives. We get his take on the Satanic Panic of the 1980s, when Jimmy Swaggart (first cousin of Jerry Lee Lewis, lest we forget) and others attempted to tie weird crimes to society’s more liberating directions and, as SNL’s Church Lady would put it, “I don’t know… Satan?”

The Temple members we meet here certainly represent a wide crosssection of lifestyle proclivities, but

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34 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MAY 2 – 9 / 2019

almost all manifest positive beliefs in society-building, through clothing, book, and food drives, and even adopt-a-highway programs, which include picking up trash with pitchforks.

The Temple itself, given taxexempt status just last month, has been riven by some conf licts, with Greaves kicking out spokeswoman Jex Blackmore for veering towards violent sensationalism.

But this isn’t explored in depth.

There’s more time spent with the construction of an eight-foot statue of Baphomet, a satanic stand-in who has yet to stand in any public spaces. We see the statue righteously opposed by an Arkansas preacher turned politician named Jason Rapert. That’s his real name, and it fits well with his dedication to Christian monuments and to denying women basic reproduction and adoption rights. Whatever happens next in America, the devil’s got his work cut out for him.

by Ken Eisner

RED JOAN

Starring Judi Dench. Rated PG

d NEAR THE START of this pleasantly old-fashioned spy story, a prim young physics student slips into blood-red heels left behind by a more glamorous coed and, for a moment, she’s not in Cambridge anymore.

Young Joan (Sophie Cookson, of the Kingsman movies) doesn’t quite dream of flying over the rainbow. She just wants to break into the all-male science world of 1938.

Then she meets Russian-born Sonya (Czech Tereza Srbova), of the aforementioned ruby slippers, and Sonya’s cousin Leo (Tom Hughes), a touslehaired bad boy with espionage eyes.

With Spain in f lames and another world war looming, the cousins want to help their home country in the worst way. They get their chance when Joan graduates to a top-secret program rivalling the Manhattan Project to develop a bigger bang for the Allies. She’s not hot on their Soviet sympathies, but we know she’ll divulge some atomic secrets, because the very first scene tells us Joan (or Cookson) will eventually morph into Dame Judi Dench and get arrested, in 2000, for her retroactive sins.

Perhaps because she’s busy bossing James Bond around, Dench isn’t on-screen that much. But since you need a national treasure to sell a small-scale period piece like this, screenwriter Lindsay Shapero and director Trevor Nunn (better known for his Shakespeare work on-stage) fashion all their back story around the arrest. This setup makes Britain’s longesthidden Cold War snitch tell her story to what seem like ordinary police, whose station-house questions seem more expository than MI-6–ish. “Is that when you first met your husband?” for example, as opposed to “How exactly did you get those damned schematics out of the country?”

Red Joan is based loosely on the real-life Melita Norwood (now, there’s a spy name), a secretary, not a scientist, and a staunch Communist who didn’t need romantic entanglements to prompt her betrayal. Instead, the filmmakers hang nonsaint Joan’s whole character arc on her apparent need to see nuclear technology shared equally—pretty flimsy, philosophically, and even thinner from a storytelling angle. If Nunn and Shapero were going to change almost everything about their subject, they could have come up with a lot twistier shit than this. Though handsomely staged and shot, the movie lacks urgency and thrills, and while the actors are adequate, they all seem strangely enervated by the task of pretending to be people they are not.

by Ken Eisner

music

Lady Lamb finds light in the darkness

I

by Mike Usinger

f Lady Lamb has learned anything during her nearly 30 years on planet Earth, it’s that life is often hard—which is why it’s good there’s always music to turn to.

When it gets to be too much, you reach for Sufjan Stevens’s “No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross”, and its devastating midsong exclamation “Fuck me, I’m falling apart.” Or you remind yourself you’re not alone with the Fiery Furnaces’ “Rub-Alcohol Blues”, and the lines “Peace on earth I cannot find/The only thing I surely own/Is a worried and troubled mind.”

A dedicated fan of both those acts, the singer born Aly Spaltro understands the benefits of embracing art—musical or otherwise—during the dark times. That’s something she does masterfully on her triumphant third and latest full-length, Even in the Tremor, which sets intricate and evocative wordplay to gold-star artpop arrangements.

“I’m the type of person who fixates on things and kind of gets lost in my thoughts and daydreams,” says Spaltro, speaking on her cellphone from a Salt Lake City tour stop. “I grapple with my fair share of anxiety—nothing too extreme, but anxiety often at a low level where, if I’m focused too much on the future, I start to spin out. In those moments I naturally end up turning to music.”

During the writing of Even in the Tremor, the singer-guitarist channelled her innermost fears, doubts, and nagging worries into something positive, the result being one of the early great records of 2019. Establishing Spaltro as someone who deserves to be sitting at the same lunch table as giants like St. Vincent, Lykke Li, and Sufjan Stevens, the album is thrillingly about taking chances.

When the singer began approaching producers with fully fleshed-out demos, she was told that she needed to rethink her arrangements, probably because the songs tend to veer off in all sorts of unconventional directions. Eventually choosing to work with Erin Tonkon (David Bowie’s Blackstar), Spaltro held tight to her vision, and it’s the little quirks that make the songs so great. Witness the

Music

TIP SHEET

c BELTANE BACCHANALIA (May 2 at the Rickshaw) Last time we checked, Beltane and Bacchanalia were two separate things, neither of which is observed on May 2. But the poster for this gig features a dude with antlers, and we know a pagan rager when we see one.

Lady Lamb (born Aly Spaltro) uses her songwriting as a means of dealing with anxiety and refocusing on positive things.

way that “Deep Love” starts out as an acoustic-folk number and dramatically shifts key at the 3:07 mark to sound like something from Sundaymorning church service in Harlem.

Or the way “Even in the Tremor” morphs from downbeat, bass-driven chillwave to a guitar-flared, incandescent indie rocker.

As evidenced by that title track’s lines “The future kills the present if I let it/The past will kill the present if I let it,” Spaltro managed the difficult task of coming up with lyrics that are as simple and straightforward as they are meaningful and profound.

Work through enough shit in your life, and you’ll eventually come to the realization that the only way to stay sane in this messed-up world is to root yourself firmly in the present.

“I made a conscious choice with this album to scribble down all the moments where I was feeling anxiety,” she says, “but then also to think about where I am in my life right now. I’m going to be 30 this summer, and I’m in a very different place than I was when I was writing songs at 22 years old. So my goal now, when I’m feeling anxiety, is to try and make the choice to pull myself out of it in real time—to remember to be

I’m the type of person who fixates on things and gets lost in my thoughts and daydreams.

– Aly Spaltro

grateful and really think about all the things that matter to me. So the conscious goal was to take that headspace of anxiety and to try and flip it and essentially fix my own problems sonically. I could let lyrics begin nihilistically, or being in fear, and then rewire things into something positive by the end of the song.”

The idea of finding light in the darkness is indeed something that bleeds through on Even in the Tremor. Spaltro covers a lot of ground on the album’s 11 tracks, finding unconditional love

amid soaring strings in “Little Flaws”, and turning the lines “I don’t wanna be afraid of myself anymore” into an uplifting mantra in the joyously bassbombed “Strange Maneuvers”.

At the same time, Spaltro shows that she hasn’t lost the knack for highly detailed storytelling that’s coloured her back catalogue. She’s at her observant best in “Young Disciple”, which deals with her parents going all-in on religion (right down to the kiddie-pool baptism) when she was a child. That song in many ways sets the tone for Even in the Tremor.

To judge by autobiographical lines like “When I was five, my mama told me that one day we’re all gonna die/Of all places, it was in a fast food joint at night/That left me with a bad taste in my mouth and a knack for existential spinning out,” Spaltro went through some shit as a child that would make it easy for her to be eternally pissed at her parents in adulthood. But she’s accepted that the past can’t be changed, and because of that the best way to move forward in life is to accept things. If being able to show empathy, as Spaltro does in “Young Disciple”, becomes part of the deal, all the better.

c DIZZY (May 3 at the Biltmore) If sad songs have some mysterious healing power, the members of this Oshawabased indie mope-pop quartet should be given honorary medical degrees. Come prepared for tears. c THE BOOM BOOMS (May 3 at the Commodore) There’s a lot of competition, but the Boom Booms might actually be Vancouver’s favourite band. Find out why when the ever-eclectic group plays Vancouver’s favourite music venue.

“Like I say in my song, my parents were the same age then as I am now, so I get it better now,” she says. “It’s about trying to have that empathy for what my parents were going through when they were 30 years old with three small children. They were both from Maine and they were living in the desert in the southwest and trying to make friends and find a community.

“They tried to find that through religion,” she continues. “It was kind of a phase in my parents’ life where they were really just looking for a sense of belonging. In that excitement, they made, for lack of a better word, some minor mistakes, but nobody’s perfect.”

With Even in the Tremor, though, Spaltro has at least come close. g Lady Lamb plays the Biltmore Cabaret on Thursday (May 2).

Dizzy singer embraces her sensitivity d LOOKING AT where Katie Munshaw came from and where she is today, one can make a case that she’s used to straddling wildly disparate worlds. Growing up in Oshawa, Ontario, she was all-in on sports as a kid, playing rep hockey and excelling at lacrosse and swimming.

Today, she’s the frontwoman of the winningly atmospheric, decidedly downtempo quartet Dizzy, whose debut album, Baby Teeth, touches on everything from golden high-school memories to suburban ennui.

So is Munshaw a hypercompetitive jock who’s using her God-given drive to make her music-business dreams come true? Or is she a person with a sensitive side who, more than once during her childhood, found herself wondering what she was doing sitting in locker rooms with kids convinced that winning isn’t everything—it’s the only thing?

She allows that she’s at a point in her life where maybe the artist has truly won out.

“I think I’m a pretty sensitive person—it’s pretty easy to get me teary,” Munshaw says from a Hamilton tour stop. “I get a lot of that from my dad.

Although he was a huge jock and a goon on the ice, he wrote poetry,

The Oshawa, Ontario–based Dizzy has racked up millions of streams on Spotify and won a Juno for alternative album of the year. Photo by Calm Elliott Armstrong

and I think that’s where I get the sensitive side from. But I also feel that everyone’s emotions are so not linear. That whole record is a really good example of that.”

Munshaw and her bandmates— brothers Charlie, Alex, and Mackenzie Spencer—have enjoyed something of a charmed life since coming together as a band. Munshaw and Charlie started playing music together in Grade 9. Eventually, the singer and drummer got serious with the addition of Alex and Mackenzie

on guitar and bass.

After flirting with the idea of acting, Munshaw was in school for journalism when Dizzy began playing around Toronto. One of the band’s earliest gigs caught the attention of Royal Mountain Records, the label cofounded by Hollarado’s Menno Versteeg. The appeal was obvious, with Munshaw’s seductively cool, almost jazzy delivery (think Fiona Apple or Portishead’s Beth Gibbons) married to a strain of lush, highly textured dream-pop mastered by U.K. icons

like Bat for Lashes and Goldfrapp.

Almost overnight, journalism was off the table, Baby Teeth was recorded, and good things started to happen for Dizzy. To date, the band’s racked up millions of streams on Spotify, walked away with a Juno for alternative album of the year, and committed to touring the world, so that day jobs are now a memory.

The rapid rise has been, Munshaw says, surreal. “A lot of the songs were written after high school, which is weird, and weird to have to play every night,” she says. “But we’re writing for a new record now.”

And while it’s too early to say what direction Dizzy will head in, based on initial returns, Munshaw continues to embrace her sensitive side.

“I think one of the biggest changes from Baby Teeth and these new songs will also be that I’m not in Oshawa all the time,” she says, “when I’m missing my family and my friends in Washington one night and Philadelphia the next and then the U.K. the next week. There’s this whole world that’s so different from being at home, and then there’s also the other side of it where you’re sad and you miss your family, so here’s some alcohol every single night. It’s this question of ‘Do

I like myself on the road?’

“A lot of time musicians are these sensitive or introverted people, and I feel like I’m one of them. And then you go on-stage and feel self-conscious and worry about what people are thinking about you. You’re putting a lot of selfworth into a career where people are judging you and whether they like you and your thoughts. That’s something I’ve struggled with a lot.”

by Mike Usinger

Dizzy plays the Biltmore Cabaret on Friday (May 3).

FEST GOT CONSTANTINOPLE AND DUO BELEM TOGETHER d LIKE MANY of the best intercultural collaborations, it happened at a festival. Or at least that’s how Kiya Tabassian describes the first meeting between his Montreal-based duo Constantinople and Belgium’s Didier Laloy and Kathy Adam, who perform as Duo Belem. The two pairings were performing separately at a festival in France, saw the possibility for common ground, and then met up to see if they were truly compatible.

“By the end of our residency, we see next page

MAY 2 – 9 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 35

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Constantinople and Duo Belem fuse Turkish, Persian, and European music styles.

from previous page

almost had a full program composed,” Tabassian says, calling the Straight on his cellphone just before a Constantinople/Duo Belem show in Laval, Quebec. “The four of us, we were very much excited and really going deeply into the sounds.”

On the surface, the combination of forces is not necessarily a natural one. Tabassian plays setar, a Persian lute with a high, mandolinlike sound; his partner in the Constantinople duo, Turkish-born Didem Başar, plays kanun, a Middle Eastern plucked zither. In Duo Belem, Laloy plays button accordion, while Adam plays cello. The instruments, like the people who play them, come from two very different worlds—but, as Tabassian explains, they’ve proven strangely complementary.

“Part of the colours of cello and accordion, and the quality of their sound, is that they make sustained notes, which we cannot do with our instruments, setar and kanun,” he says. “The registers are different too: they go much lower than our instruments. The setar has a very strong projection of the sound, but at the same time it’s a plucked instrument, so I can roll a note but I cannot have the same sustained note as the accordion or the cello can produce.”

While Tabassian is delighted that plucked instruments, bowed strings, and the bellows-driven accordion can come together in a unified way, there are other reasons why the collaboration works. “We have the same kind of

approach to our compositions—lots of details, lots of things that change textures, and lots of listening to each other, also,” he notes. “We try to create a meeting point, a meeting place between not only our four instruments, but who we are as musicians playing those four instruments.”

In practice, the collaborative quartet’s sound is unusually rich and diverse, including elements of chamber-music precision, folkloric vitality, and improvisation. The overall effect is generally Mediterranean, but with an element of time travel: the group can sound utterly contemporary one moment, and almost medieval the next. The underlying message, perhaps, is that Turkish, Persian, and European music share a common heritage—and that’s a good idea to put forward during a time of intercultural suspicion and strife.

“I think that we have a message that goes back to the idea of being human beings and making music,” Tabassian says. “As human beings, how can we dialogue with one another, coming from different traditions, different parts of the world?

We have this message to deliver, and I think the audience will get it very easily without us putting words on it.

In the way the audience will feel the music at these concerts, and the way the music will touch them, the message is there.”

by Alexander Varty

Constantinople and Duo Belem play the Red Gate Revue Stage on Saturday (May 4).

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36 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MAY 2 – 9 / 2019

CONCERTS JUST ANNOUNCED LES Ă&#x2030;CHOS DU PACIFIQUE Les Ă&#x2030;chos du Pacifique choir celebrate Spring with a selection of foot stomping tunes, old and new, from across Canada. Performed in English and French, you will hear â&#x20AC;&#x153;A la Claire Fontaineâ&#x20AC;?, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fogartyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Coveâ&#x20AC;?, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mon Paysâ&#x20AC;?, â&#x20AC;&#x2030;â&#x20AC;&#x153;Squid Jigginâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Groundâ&#x20AC;?, a new version of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Un Canadian Errantâ&#x20AC;? arranged by Ron Smail, and more! Join us! May 11, 7:30-8:45 pm, St Laurence Anglican Church. $15/10.

THE KINGSTON TRIO Influential folk group plays two nights. May 21-22, Blue Frog Studios. $54.

KIEFER SUTHERLAND Jul 10, 8:30 pm, Commodore Ballroom. Tix on sale May 1, 10 am, $39.50/four-packs $140.

DEERHUNTER Rock band from Atlanta, with guest Cate Le Bon. Jul 15, 9 pm, Commodore Ballroom. Tix on sale May 3, 10 am, $35.

GRANDSON Canadian alt-rock singer-songwriter. Sep 4, 9 pm, Venue. Tix on sale May 3, 10 am, $22.50.

K.FLAY Alternative hip-hop artist from Illinois.

Sep 9, 7:30 pm, Commodore Ballroom. Tix on sale May 3, 10 am, $35.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1 NICK WATERHOUSE Southern California rocker, with guest Ben Pirani. May 1, Biltmore Cabaret.

QUARTETO NUEVO Western classics, eastern European folk, Latin, and jazz. May 1-3, 7:30 pm, Kay Meek Arts Centre. $38.

PHIL DWYER TRIO Local jazz saxophonist performs with bassist Conrad Good and drummer Joe Poole. May 1, 8 pm, Frankieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jazz Club. $15.

Music

other marginalized genders. May 4, 5 pm; May 5, 6 pm, The Pace. $20-40.

IONNALEE Solo project of audiovisual act iamamiwhoamiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creator and frontperson Jonna Lee, with guests Allie X. May 4, 7 pm, Venue. $29/35.

BIG JOHN BATES: NOIRCHESTRA Local film-noir-inspired Americana band, with guests Shiloh Lindsey and the Van Rays. May 4, 8 pm, Railway Stage and Beer CafĂŠ. $12.

HENRY JAMISON Alt-folk singer-songwriter from Vermont performs tunes from latest album Gloria Duplex. May 4, 8 pm, Fox Cabaret. $15.

PACIFIQUE EN CHANSON Francophone showcase features Autoheart, Brigitte Desjardins, Françoise Thibault, and the Stranger Brew Band. May 4, 8-10 pm, Waterfront Theatre. $15.

TREVOR WHITRIDGE QUINTET Dance to music by the Trevor Whitridge Quintet May 4, 8-11:55 pm, Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre. $15.

TIP SHEET

c BELTANE BACCHANALIA (May 2 at the Rickshaw) Last time we checked, Beltane and Bacchanalia were two separate things, neither of which is observed on May 2. But the poster for this gig features a dude with antlers, and we know a pagan rager when we see one. c THE BOOM BOOMS (May 3 at the Commodore) Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lot of competition, but the Boom Booms might actually be Vancouverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favourite band. Find out why when the ever-eclectic group plays Vancouverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favourite music venue.

SUNDAY, MAY 5

RIVAL SONS Bluesy modern rockers. May 4, Vogue Theatre.

TELEKINESIS Indie-rock/power-pop singer-songwriter, with guests Sontalk. May 4, Biltmore Cabaret.

GLITTER BALL Music festival fronted exclusively by women and those who identify with

SUMMER KICK OFF PARTY Ardent Tribe performs R&B, top 40, and worldbeat music.

May 5, 3:30 pm, Fairview Pub. $10.

ROYAL OAK Acoustic showcase with guests Belcarra and Bridgeworks. May 5, 7:30 pm, Railway Stage and Beer CafĂŠ. $10/13.

JON BRYANT Dream-pop singer-songwriter from Halifax. May 5, 8 pm, Biltmore Cabaret. $15.

MUSIC LISTINGS

MONDAY, MAY 6

THURSDAY, MAY 9

LA DISPUTE Post-hardcore band from Grand Rapids, Michigan. May 6, Vogue. $22.50.

BAD SUNS American alt-rock quartet. May 6, 8 pm, Venue. $20.

KT TUNSTALL Grammy-nominated singersongwriter from Scotland. May 6, 8 pm, Imperial Vancouver. $35.

THE ORIGINAL JAM SESSION FOR PAUL LEAHY IN NO FUN CITY 2019 A No Fun concert of, about, and for Paul Leahy. May 6, 8:30 pm, Princeton Pub & Grill. Free.

TUESDAY, MAY 7 WAND Psych-rock band from L.A., with guests Wayst. May 7, Biltmore Cabaret. $17.

CORY GALLANT AND THE RED DIRT POSSE Canadian country artists, with guests Taylor-Rae and the Backseat Drivers. May 7, 7:30 pm, Railway Stage and Beer CafĂŠ. $10/13.

EZRA FURMAN Indie-rock singer-songwriter from the States. May 7, 8 pm, WISE Hall. $17.50.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 8 PHILOSOPHER KINGS Nineties pop band from Ontario. May 8, 9 pm, Imperial Vancouver. $30.

FM-84 Eighties-inspired cinematic synthpop. May 9, Biltmore Cabaret. $19.99.

CARMEN IN NEW YORK All 12 movements of Bizetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s orchestral suite reimagined for modern jazz orchestra. May 9, 8 pm, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. $20/17.

SHANNON SHAW Vocalist, bassist, and founder of Shannon & the Clams. May 9, 9 pm, Fox Cabaret. $15.

THE TEA PARTY Canadian power trio. May 9-10, 9 pm, Commodore Ballroom. Tix $45.

FRIDAY, MAY 10 FILTHY FRIENDS American rock supergroup fronted by Corin Tucker (of Sleater-Kinney) and guitarist Peter Buck (ex-R.E.M.), with guests Eyelids. May 10, Rickshaw Theatre.

VANCOUVER LOW FREQUENCY FESTIVAL Experimental electronic instrument performances. May 10-12, Red Gate Main. $10-20.

COVER YOUR FRIENDS Musical friends cover each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s songs. May 10, 8:30 am, WISE Hall. $20/25.

BRUNO MAJOR R&B singer-songwriter from London, England. May 10, 9 pm, Imperial Vancouver. $18.

MUSIC LISTINGS are a public service provided free of charge. Submit events online using the event-submission form at straight. com/AddEvent.

THURSDAY, MAY 2 EPIK HIGH Alternative hip-hop group from Seoul, South Korea, play two shows. May 2-3, Vogue Theatre.

SOULTRAX 4TET Local quartet performs R&B, blues, jazz, and pop. May 2, 7 pm, Blue Martini Jazz Cafe. No cover.

ALEC BENJAMIN American singer-songwriter. May 2, 8 pm, St. James Hall. $20.

LADY LAMB Indie-rock singer-songwriter from the States. May 2, 8:30 pm, Biltmore Cabaret. Tix $16.

(67

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FRIDAY, MAY 3 DIZZY Indie-pop band from Oshawa, Ontario.

May 3, Biltmore Cabaret. $14.99.

DANCE FOR EQUALITY T Riley & the Bourbon Rebels and Co. B perform at a benefit for the Equality Effect. May 3, 7:30 pm, The Oddfellows Hall. $20.

WEEN TRIBUTE NIGHT Three local acts perform the music of Ween. May 3, 8 pm, Patâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pub & Brewhouse. $10.

DIANE LINESâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; JUMP! Pianist-vocalist Lines and her band perform jump blues. May 3, 8-10 pm, Bez Arts Hub. $34.

HORNBY BLUES Performances by CĂŠcile Doo-KinguĂŠ, Tim Williams, Paul Pigat, and Michael Jerome-Browne. May 3, 8-10:30 pm, St. James Hall. $28/24.

THE BOOM BOOMS Indie-soul band from Vancouver. May 3, 9:30 pm, Commodore Ballroom. $24.50.

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TALK MEN OFF GET TALKED OFF 38 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT MAY 2 – 9 / 2019

SAVAGE LOVE

Quickies on kink, breakups, and more

by Dan Savage

b I’VE BEEN with my boyfriend for a few months. Prior to dating, I was clear with him that I would need to open our relationship at some point.

He initially hesitated to respond, but then agreed we could do that when the time came. That time has come much quicker than I anticipated, but I feel like he’ll renege on his end of things because of many comments he’s made recently—comments like not understanding or liking nonmonogamy and how “his woman” sleeping around is a deal breaker. Is this a DTMFA situation?

b THIS IS another request for a kinky neologism. How about those of us who like the idea of our significant other having sex with somebody else but who aren’t into full-on cuckoldstyle humiliation? Cuckold implies a level of subordination that just isn’t my thing, and “hotwifi ng”, besides sounding incredibly sleazy, assumes that it’s a couple that is opposite-sex and married, and the guy is only interested in watching. Can you or the hive mind solve this problem?

- Specified Open Relationship Early

think the term hotwifing is inherently heterosexist, as there are gay men and straight women out there into “hothusbanding”. (They get off on sharing their hot spouses with others, aren’t necessarily interested in getting with anyone else themselves, and don’t, à la cuckolds, get off on humiliation.) But if that term doesn’t appeal to you, CINO, there’s already an alternative: stags (a man who may or may not be dominant who likes to share his partner and may or may not participate) and vixens (a woman who may or may not be submissive who enjoys having sex with others in front of her partner and may or may not share them with others too).

Early on, you let your boyfriend know that openness “at some point” was your price of admission—the price he’d have to pay to be with you— and now he’s letting you know that monogamy is his price of admission.

What’s going on here? Well, sometimes Person A tells Person B what Person A knows Person B wants to hear regarding Topic X in the hopes that Person B will feel differently about Topic X after the passage of time or after Person B has made a large emotional investment in Person A. In many cases, Person A has the best intentions—by which I mean, Person A isn’t being consciously manipulative but, rather, Person A sincerely hopes Person B will come to feel differently about Topic X or that they, Person A themselves, will.

But considering how little time has passed, SORE—it hasn’t even been three months, and he’s saying shitty/ judgy things to you about nonmonogamy and sexist/controlling things about “his woman”—it seems clear that your boyfriend wasn’t being sincere, he was being manipulative.

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Seeing as you probably don’t want diabetes or rectal cancer, and since pinworms aren’t for sale at your local bait shop, ITCH, you could try scrubbing your ass with harsh soaps, which is what the Mayo Clinic urges people who don’t want itchy anuses to avoid.

(I reverse-engineered their advice for you. You’re welcome.) Good luck, and please don’t write back to let us know how you’re progressing, okay?

I don’t

b I’VE EXPERIENCED anal itching in the past, and I’m not ashamed to say I enjoyed it. It felt so insanely good to satisfy that itching inside. I can fi nd lots of information about relieving anal itching, but I can’t find anything about inducing it for pleasure.

- Into Tormenting Clean Heinie According to the Mayo Clinic, keeping

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No! You did her a favour! I knew nothing about classical music before I fell in love with someone who’s passionate about classical music. I know a lot about it now and I actually enjoy it—but I didn’t get there in three months. My husband didn’t follow the news closely until he fell in love with a news junkie. Now he’s a daily reader of the and the New York Times and the Washington Post—but he didn’t get there in three months.

The more time we spent together, the more interest we took in each other’s interests. There’s a lesson in here for you somewhere, DT, but I’m going to let you tease it out—because you’re curious and smart, right? g

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b I’M A COLLEGE prof. Several female students have confided in me they’re having trouble finding guys. (They’re not hitting on me—and even if they were, no way am I dating a student.)

These girls are smart, nice, interesting, and usually obese. You and I both know that in this imperfect world, many (most?) people place importance on looks. But how do I tell them that? A straight, single, male professor telling a female student, even gently, that dropping 20 pounds might help her dating prospects is extremely risky.

b I AM A 24-year-old pansexual trans woman, and I feel sexually broken.

Hormones have made it nearly impossible for me to top a partner. I’m able to do it once in a while, but not as much or as reliably as I would like.

Additionally, hormones have messed up my digestive system and made - Professionally Risky Observation bottoming difficult. I’m also relatively Flummoxes sexually inexperienced, which means I’m enthusiastic about oral but not very good at it. This leaves me feeling Oh my god. Keep your mouth shut.

First, because it’s an asshole thing like I bring nothing to the table.

- Horny But Sex Is Thorny to say—never mind the professional risk—and, second, because it’s not Getting good at oral—like getting true. (Welcome to America, PROF, good at anything—takes a little prac- where most people are overweight or tice. Let your prospective partners obese and most people are partnered know you’re relatively inexperienced, or married.) The likelier culprit here and you’ll be far likelier to wind up (besides a skewed sample size and in bed with patient and supportive confirmation bias) is the scarcity of people who will let you practise on available male partners. Women now them. As for bottoming: hopefully, significantly outnumber men on colyour guts will settle down in time. As lege campuses: “Where men once for topping, well, lots of women use went to college in proportions far strap-on dildos for penetration. Hav- higher than women—58 percent to ing a strap-on at the ready and act- 42 percent as recently as the 1970s— ively seeking out partners who don’t the ratio has now almost exactly regard strap-on sex as a consolation reversed,” Jon Marcus wrote in the prize (or a fail) will allow you to ex- Atlantic. Graduating will probably periment with penetration without do more to improve their romantic the pressure of having to produce or prospects than dropping 20 pounds. sustain an erection. You can switch back and forth between your dick and b I RECENTLY BROKE up with a girl the dildo as needed, and being able because she didn’t know what plate

- Cuck In Name Only

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40 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MAY 2 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 9 / 2019