New play revisits old skeletons

Premiering on Thursday, The Suspension of Wait won’t be your average theatre-going experience.
The play, presented at Les Ateliers Rose-De-Lima, which was once a train depot, is an interdisciplinary work. The production is the collective creation of a group of Concordia grads, and is directed by theatre assistant professor Cathia Pagotto. involving dancers, actors, musicians and visual artists.
“The space becomes a character, you don’t want to mask it,” said Pagotto. “Found spaces can’t be hidden.”
Wait is being staged by fledgling company Landed2, founded by Pagotto, scenographer Amy Keith and theatre design faculty member John Wilson. The company aims to produce innovative work by letting concepts be every piece’s catalyst and by employing interdisciplinary and interactive forms of art. Instead of being motivated by text and literary expression, Landed2 is more inspired by the visual expression of an idea.
Wait deals with immigration and relocation, so visual representation was chosen as the ideal method of telling the story and sharing a concept.
In regards to working collectively, Landed2 faces the challenge of working its way through the nebulous creative process. Pagotto thinks it’s ultimately about trust – everyone involved must trust each other to ultimately “get there” – wherever “there” is. Casting also becomes an issue, as there were no defined roles to cast going into the project. Pagotto simply took each person’s personality into consideration, choosing to work with artists that interested her.
“If you work with interesting artists with personal practices, it will be an interesting show,” she said.
Accordingly, Wait’s script reads more like an instruction manual as opposed to an Arthur Miller or Samuel Beckett drama.
“We now have a script at the end of the process, with drawings and directions. I suppose the script could be published,” she elaborated. “You don’t write in emotions, you just explain the action and what’s going on technically in the space.”
The Suspension of Wait runs Nov. 20, 21, 22, 23, 27, 28 and 29 at 8:00 p.m. There will be a question/answer period with the artists after the show on Nov. 28. For more information, visit www.landed2.org.