Ghost River Theatre Announces Departure of Producer Andrew G. Cooper

Ghost River Theatre’s Staff and Board of Directors announce the departure of Producer Andrew G. Cooper. Andrew has spent two and a half years with the company and will be leaving to continue his work as the Artistic Producer of Jupiter Theatre full-time.

Outgoing Producer Andrew G. Cooper

The Board has enjoyed working alongside Andrew for the last few years and appreciates their immense contributions to the success of Ghost River. Andrew has blown us away with their presence, talent, and creativity and we look forward to seeing Andrew’s future work.  

Coming to Calgary from Kamloops, Andrew joined Ghost River Theatre in January 2020 and has brought an amazing amount of skill in grant writing, time management, critical thinking, and care to Ghost River Theatre. Andrew helped introduce the Artists-in-Residence program, managed the company’s workshops, and, of course, brought in their amazing work ethic and beautiful ideas on a daily basis.

“Working with Ghost River Theatre has really been a dream come true,” says Andrew G. Cooper, GRT’s outgoing Producer. “When I relocated to Calgary, I had the goal of working with a theatre company that excited me and aligned with my values. I found that and more with GRT. I’m truly going to miss working with Eric Rose and Kate Stadel at this wonderful company and am so grateful for all that I’ve learned while we worked together. Ghost River makes excellent art and I’m very excited to see what they produce in the future. I wish the company, board, and team all the best in the coming seasons.”

Kate Stadel, GRT’s Executive Producer, comments, “I am really going to miss Andrew and their positive vibes and creative solutions to how we operate. Their two and a half years were incredibly valuable and I am excited for them to make a big dent on the Calgary cultural landscape.” 

Incoming Producer Christy Offer

Kate is happy to announce that Christy Offer will be joining the team in September of 2022. Christy has done amazing work helping prairie theatre companies in touring and has worked with Arts Commons and Chan Centre. We’re looking forward to bringing her knowledge and experience in theatre and producing to our company. Marina Buston, who has been working with Ghost River Theatre for the past year, will be stepping into the role of Interim Producer until Christy joins us full time in the fall.

Ghost River Theatre wishes Andrew all the best with their future endeavors and can’t wait to see all the amazing creations Andrew brings to Calgary and beyond.

Call for Vocalists and Musicians for The Great Alberta Sound Bath Experience

GHOST RIVER THEATRE IS SEEKING VOCALISTS AND MUSICIANS
FOR THE GREAT ALBERTA SOUND BATH EXPERIENCE

Ghost River Theatre is seeking collaborators for The Great Alberta Sound Bath Experience, a sonically driven, meditative ritual to cleanse and shed the profound impacts of the pandemic. It will be a musically-driven sensory experience that draws upon local geography for inspiration. The project is created in collaboration with Kris Demeanor and seeking vocalists and musicians to join our team to help bring this new sensory experience to life. 

At this time, we’re open to different skill sets in the realm of music. We’re looking for a strong musical aptitude and a willingness to experiment with different instrumentation, sounds, and vocal styles. 

Our preferences are people who possess:

a) an expansive vocal range with a strong sense of harmonics

b) any instrument other than guitar (a bonus would be a stringed instrument such as violin or cello, also basic knowledge of keyboard/piano is a plus)

c) interest and/or experience in music, theatre, and collaboration. 

SUBMISSION INFORMATION

To submit your interest, please email Andrew G. Cooper at producer@ghostrivertheatre.com with the subject line “SOUND BATH SUBMISSION.” Those selected for an audition will receive instructions on live and/or video submissions.

Collaborators will be paid a weekly workshop fee for their work on the production. We are seeking submissions from Calgary-based artists or artists that have secured accommodation in the Calgary area. Accommodations and travel will not be provided. 

Interested parties should submit the following:

a) A resume/CV

b) A headshot/photo

c) A brief cover letter explaining their background in music and/or their focuses as a vocalist/musician and interest in the project.   

DEADLINE TO SUBMIT

March 18, 2022 at 5:00 pm MST

WORKSHOP DATES/LOCATION

April 4 - 17, 2022, Calgary, AB

WHAT IS A SOUND BATH?

A sound bath is a meditative experience where those in attendance are “bathed” in sound waves. These waves are produced by various sources, including healing instruments such as gongs, singing bowls, percussion, chimes, rattles, tuning forks, and even the human voice itself. The music doesn’t have a catchy melody or rhythm like you’d experience at a rock concert or symphony, but instead is a carefully selected wash of instrument and voice with notable resonance and overtones.

ABOUT GHOST RIVER THEATRE
Led by Artistic Director Eric Rose and Executive Director Kate Stadel, GRT is an award-winning devised theatre company that creates, develops and mounts original productions through a significant investment in imaginative research and development. We make our work in a rigorous, supportive collaborative-creation environment that recognizes and utilises the unique abilities of all participants, premiering our work in Calgary and then touring it nationally and internationally. Our work embraces a hybrid of high tech visual spectacle with low-fi theatrical magic. 

Ghost River Theatre encourages submissions from diverse artists of all backgrounds, regardless of race, color, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, sexual orientation, sex, or gender identity. 

Ghost River Theatre would like to recognize the following lands in which we have been able to create, work and play on: Ghost River Theatre calls Treaty 7 Territory our home base, which is the traditional territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy which includes the Kainai, Siksika and Piikani Nations, Tsuu T'ina (Dene) Nation and the Stoney/Nakoda Nation which include the Bearspaw, Chiniki, Wesley Nations and the Metis Nation Region 3.

The 35//50 Initiative Update

As part of our response to The 35//50 Initiative in September 2020 we outlined eight steps we were currently taking and were committing to in the future. 

As the company and staff continue to grow, we are committed to actively supporting anti-racism and anti-oppression (ARAO) and work against systems of oppression. The following are steps we are currently taking and are committing to in the future.

Here is an update on the steps and initiatives we outlined last year:

PAST AND ONGOING STEPS

1. Our residency program, Ghost River Theatre’s Artists-in-Residence (Air) was launched last season. Our first participant, Janelle Cooper who leads the only Black female led Theatre Company in Alberta, Ellipsis Tree Collective, joined us last season. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic the project was postponed and is now scheduled to debut as part of Black History Month in February 2022. Regarding this program, Janelle Cooper says, “GRT has provided immeasurable support and mentorship in recent months, and this next extension of their expertise in an industry and community that we have needed to fight for space in for so long is valuable and necessary.”

2. We changed the title of our former HR committee to the “Organizational Performance” and added a focus on anti-racism and anti-oppression work within our company. As a company, we felt that the title of “HR Committee” lacked human connection and understanding from an organizational standpoint. We wanted to be able to review and change performance from all aspects of the company and this new focus encourages us to work beyond how we have in the past.

3. We actively recruited more IBPOC and female board members. We are still seeking non-binary and Indigenous people to join the board with the recruitment goal of having them in place by the end of the 2021/22 season. Our current Board of Directors is 58.3% female and non-binary and 33.3% IBPOC.

4. We have reviewed and updated our Values Statement and our Code of Conduct to reflect our growing education and awareness. We will continue to do this on a regular basis as we learn and grow in the future. We have also created a new Strategic Plan for the company and all three of these documents are being audited by Bakau Consulting, a third-party consulting company, through the lens of equity, diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility.

5. We have continued anti-racism and anti-oppression training for all staff and have begun training for board members in 2021. Both staff and board members are engaged in ongoing anti-racism workshops and paid consultations, including the Fundamentals of Anti-Oppression Workshop offered by Bakau Consulting. We have also added ARAO discussions in our weekly staff meetings.

6. For our latest season, which ran from July 2020 to June 2021, we tracked self-identifying BIPOC, female, and non-binary members of our company for all shows, workshops, intensives, and events. Last year, we committed to making this information public. For this period, 50.70% of people identified as female or non-binary and 32.39% identified as BIPOC.

As mentioned above, Ghost River Theatre’s Company Values have been reviewed, audited and updated. They now read, “Collaboration is both process and purpose. Devised material can only arise out of a commingling of minds. Accordingly, a plurality of perspectives is integral: the more diverse the ensemble, the richer and more reflective the output.”  We practice this wholeheartedly and will continue working with this philosophy at all levels of our organization. We’ve also included a newly phrased value that states, “Every person who engages with GRT in any way has a right to a safe and equitable environment that is free from any form of harassment, racism, or oppression. Our work here is never done, and we will continue to be active listeners in our communities, as well as partake in workshops, learning opportunities, and events to help us work toward a more equitable workplace and community.”

We are committed to taking action by moving forward mindfully, sustainably, and with compassion. If you have any questions or would like more details on any of these steps, please get in touch with Kate Stadel at ed@ghostrivertheatre.com.