ARTS

ARTS Gateway pioneers new ways to reach theatre lovers

by Charlie Smith

Gateway Theatre’s artistic and community producer, Jasmine Chen (above), works alongside the company’s director of artistic programs, Barbara Tomasic. Photo by Denise Grant.

It has been a tradition in the arts world for one visionary person to serve as an organization’s creative leader. Artistic directors routinely become the most visible public symbols of a cultural organization. As a result, they are often the focal point for fundraising campaigns.

Gateway Theatre in Richmond also embraced that model, most recently with Jovanni Sy. He was a visionary creative thinker who served as its artistic director from 2014 to 2019. But when Sy stepped down at the end of February 2019, Gateway decided to do something different.

It appointed two people to play major creative roles. Theatre director, actor, and educator Barbara Tomasic was named director of artistic programs. And actor, dancer, and director Jasmine Chen—a former artist in residence—became the new artistic and community producer.

“This is a position that has never existed before at Gateway,” Chen told the Straight by phone. “And it was created very much in response to the new direction that Gateway is going in.”

Collective leadership is not unprecedented in the arts world. To cite one example, Shakespeare in the Ruff in Toronto recently announced that it has appointed five “leaders”.

“We’re seeing this more and more across the country—shared leadership models,” Chen said. “We need to have more voices involved in order for our institutions to better reflect our community.”

Chen noted that she and Tomasic applied together to lead Gateway’s artistic programming because they recognized that Richmond is very diverse and multilingual. And that meant great effort needed to be focused on creating new relationships and forging community partnerships.

As the interim producer, Tomasic created a 2019-20 season of plays that were entirely directed by women. The pandemic provided an opportunity for Tomasic and Chen to ponder the best ways to enhance the bonds between Gateway Theatre and Richmond residents.

They asked themselves if the community really wanted a traditional seasonal model when audiences could not enter the theatre.

“We quickly decided, okay, nobody needs another Zoom reading,” Chen said.

So they went about creating safe spaces where people could feel supported.

As one example, Gateway Theatre developed a Hallows’ Eve paper theatre kit, complete with multilingual instructions, to encourage young people to create their own play. It resulted from families saying they were experiencing “screen fatigue”.

“They were really craving something that was tangible,” Chen said.

In January, Gateway unveiled a video by Johnny Wu, a Canadian artist of Taiwanese ancestry, delving into the relationships between a son and his family. It was presented in Mandarin with English subtitles.

“As a child of the East Asian diaspora,” Wu says in the video, “I saw the same toxic relationship I have with my parents emerge in how I, and those who share the same cultural identity as me, negotiated being in Canada.”

Wu’s provocative video was part of a national initiative known as the Transformations Project. To engage the community, its release was followed by a Facebook discussion hosted by Chen, who also speaks Mandarin.

For Lunar New Year, artist Annie Katsura Rollins led Chinese shadow puppetry workshops online. Then in May, comedian, self-described mad activist, and playwright JD Derbyshire hosted on online mental-health meet-up.

This summer, there’s another project that includes community engagement.

Visual artist Carmen Chan was commissioned to paint a giant mural on the theatre’s western wall, facing Gilbert Road. But rather than having Chan simply proceed, Gateway created a YouTube video encouraging community input in advance.

“We want to know: how do the arts enrich your life?” Chan says in the video. “What does community mean to you? How do you want to feel when you look at this mural?”

In the same video, Tomasic points out that more than 35,000 people pass through Gateway’s doors in a normal year. That includes not only people who view plays, dance recitals, or a Chinese opera performance but also those who attend the Gateway Academy theatre classes for young people between the ages of 6 and 18.

Tomasic also says in the video that the stage is really a blank canvas. “What brings it to life is our community.”

Chen’s parents speak four languages, and she places a high priority on promoting greater understanding between English and Mandarin speakers in Richmond.

That was reflected in a piece she created when she was the artist in residence. Titled The Gateway Language Exchange Game Show, it brought people together in a fun way to bridge cultural gaps.

“Language doesn’t have to be a barrier,” Chen said. “With a little bit of effort, we can come to understand each other and have empathy for each other.” g

Some Assembly Theatre Company presents

Wednesday June 30, 4pm, 2021 Thursday July 8, 7pm, 2021 Sunday July 11, 3pm, 2021

written and directed by Valerie Methot with RHYTAG youth writers/actors/musicians Raylen Adriano, Hiraeth Campbell, Fox Hunt, Mitch Broome, Ciara Wilkinson, Skylar Walker & Fiona Jenkins production team Susan Bertoia, Allen Morrison, Matt Clarke, Flick Harrison, Chantele Fry, Jeremy Baxter, Nik McLaren, Anna Talbot, Tina Biello, Lauren Preissl, Latisha Wadhams, Sophie Labrie, Brogan Ho, Jessica Han, Duane Murrin, Patrick Graham, Arianna Brewer, Joe Baker, Ron MacGillivray, Stephen Fisk,

someassembly.ca more info: info@ someassembly.ca | 604-684-8807 Support the youth and reserve your seats now! This show is FREE and needs to be seen!

Be inspired by the compassion and strong caring community in BREAKWATER. Show Length: 55 min. Community Dialogue: 20 min.