Broadleaf Theatre comprised of UofT’s student talent brings environmental consciousness to center stage
There is nothing more inspiring than seeing UofT students take their school-based initiatives into the “real world.” University allows students the time and space to invent and create, as people are surrounded by hundreds of peers engaged with similar interests also wishing to make some sort of socially positive impression on our often troubling world.
A student initiative that embodies this ideal student practice is Broadleaf Theatre, founded in 2014 by UofT drama students Nathaniel Rose and Kevin Matthew Wong. The company “creates devised works based on Canadian perspectives on local, national, and global environmental issues.” Impressively, all the content—including music, script, characters, and more—is original and written by members of the company, which comprises mostly UofT students.
In 2014, The Broadleaf Plays, their debut show, took place at the UofT Drama Festival, winning the President’s Award for Best Production and the Viewer’s Choice Award.
The Strand sat down with co-creator Kevin Matthew Wong and outreach coordinator Mirka Loiselle to discuss the mandate of Broadleaf Theatre, the future of the company, and the creative process of composing these topically important plays.
The Strand: Firstly, can you discuss why you decided to focus on environmental issues?
Broadleaf Theatre [Wong]: Nate and I have been working with environmental groups for sometime. In acting class the stories we were telling were not deep-seated in our hearts, and the works we study in class are not typically about Canadian issues that resonate with modern-day audiences. The creator of Toronto350, Bill McKibben, says there is no leader in the environmental movement, and that’s why it works. It’s a great point and we bring that practice into our company—collaboration is central.
TS: Can you discuss the interesting intersection of drama and politics? In this sense, the politics focuses on the environment. How effective is drama to promote an issue, or at least to get the dialogue going?
BT: Firstly, what is different with us, is that typical theatre creators often ask, “Is this going to be a good show and will audiences like the show?” For our theatre, it goes beyond that…we ask, “Will [the audience] enjoy the content? Does it speak to them?” It’s difficult to measure the impact of what we’re creating and putting out there. For example, if someone cries during the show, is that a measurable impact? We ask ourselves, what are the long-term effects and the short-term effects?
In terms of short-term, it’s immediacy and making these topics engaging and relatable, which we do through humour, [that matter]. Also, the sheer fact that we exist and are engaging with other theatre artists, letting them know we are here and involved with environmental issues, is great.
Regarding long-term effects, it’s ultimately making people aware of issues they didn’t know before. In our Broadleaf show, one scene is based off a true story of a boy in Sarnia, where there was a petrochemical leak which caused the boy to contract leukemia, resulting in his death. These issues are happening a short car ride away and no one knows about it.
TS: What are some other issues?
BT: There are so many; the boil water advisory [on] Indigenous reserves, the huge dam breaks in Brazil that leaked toxic sludge into the Atlantic Ocean. We do try and focus most of the issues within Canada, as it can really bring these problems closer to home for the audience. It’s also important to provoke and enrage the audience, but in a positive way…we don’t want to make them out to be the enemy. It’s difficult turning the mirror on people and [showing them] they are both part of the problem and solution.
TS: Is it difficult to strike a balance between artistic expression and pure dramatic dialogue with a political or environmental agenda that needs to be conveyed?
BT: When you stray away from naturalistic theatre, you get new structures for new narratives and it opens people up to experiencing different things. For The Broadleaf Plays, we engaged with an environmental issue every few minutes, as each scene covered a different topic. So if you didn’t enjoy one of the mini-plays, then you could enjoy the next one, or find that one thing that interests you, which could slowly lead to more engagement. We also like to have a little bit of whimsy and play. In theatre training they say “Take a moment to play,” and we believe the audience should also have that sense of freedom.
TS: Can you discuss UofT’s role in the creation of Broadleaf Theatre?
BT: We would not exist without the generous, inviting, and ambitious types of students here. If people hadn’t taken a risk on me or given me the opportunity to direct, I would not be in this position now. As a company we are very indebted to UofT, and we want to include the informed and intelligent community of UofT in our company. Also, the academic environment of UofT allows for a different type of audience and participants, meaning we can really compose content on an intellectual level.
TS: There was a lot of success with The Broadleaf Plays at the UofT Drama Fest. What do you think this says about the current, younger audiences—is there a difference with older vs. younger audiences?—and the readiness that is there for not only new, innovative theatre, but also theatre particularly on environmental issues?
BT: The Drama Fest was a good place to start the shows. The drama coalition looks for theatre that pushes the boundaries, and we’re very aware that our material resonates with the younger generation of students; it’s theatre for millennials. But we do also have a concern or pressure about modern day audiences. A very small percentage of Torontonians see theatre regularly, and it’s our obligation as an indie theatre company to be that one company you will see every one or five years. So it’s important we grab our audience from the get-go, to provide content that speaks to your intelligence and makes an engaging and impactful experience in order to support independent companies. We can see people are considering plays about environmental issues on their own accord, but it is a slow process.
Often, people think theatre is comprised of individuals wanting to be stars, but the theatre scene is different than this public perception. In the theatre community, we rely very heavily on collaboration and support, which is a nice parallel observation to make about the environmental movement—it does something very similar.
Please check out Broadleaf’s next production, which will be at the Fringe Festival June 29-July 10, 2016. You can also browse their Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, and website at: http://www.broadleaftheatre.com/
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