The World Premiere of a New Play Written & Directed by Valerie Methot in collaboration with Diverse Metro Vancouver Youth (Vancouver, B.C.) – With a surreal artistic edge, THE WAIT LIST EXPERIMENT promotes access to optimism for a post-pandemic future.
Eight youth who are on wait lists to see therapists have been recommended for an experimental pandemic peer support program, which takes place in the eye of somewhere unknown. Their journey has been long and full of unexpected experiences which force them to face, work through, and finally embrace their fears.
Watch: THE WAIT LIST EXPERIMENT
Created by diverse Metro Vancouver youth with playwright and director Valerie Methot, and several industry professionals, this timely theatre piece stems from conversations with youth who say the pressure to imagine their future during a pandemic is challenging – especially when trying to manage and cope with everyday fears and struggles. With a focus on mental health and addiction, THE WAIT LIST EXPERIMENT draws on various art forms for inspiration including comedy, drama, original music, movement, mask work, and visual design.
Credits for THE WAIT LIST EXPERIMENT
Playwright/Director/ Set Designer/Sound Designer: Valerie Methot
Youth Writers/Actors/Musicians/Designers: Hiraeth Campbell, Fox Hunt, Mitch Broome, Ciara Wilkinson, Nghi Nguyen, Ayden Ramzan, Lily Truesdell, Fiona Jenkins, Isobel Galsworthy, Tiffany Adams, Ari Brewer
Video Designer: Sally Zori
Set Designer/Visual Artist: Duane Murrin
Set Designer/Visual Artist: Joe Baker
Original Music Composer/Performer/Sound Designer: Patrick Graham
Choreographer/Physical Dramaturg: Susan Bertoia
Script Consultants/Acting Coaches/Mentors: Tina Biello, Allen Morrison, Lauren Preissl, Sophie Labrie, Ljudmila Petrovic, Brogan Ho, Matt Clarke
Costume Designers: Nik McLaren, Anna Talbot
Stage Managers: Mandy Huang, Chantele Fry
Music Mentor/Singer/Songwriter: Sophie Labrie
Indigenous Cultural Expression Mentor: Lauren Preissl
Expressive Arts Support: Heather McCrae
Mask Designers: Nik McLaren, Susan Bertoia
Musicians/Mentors: Stephen Fisk, Alison Jenkins
Technical Director/Lighting Designer: Jeremy Baxter
Lighting Designer: Jessica Han
Script Research: Youth from Pacific Community Resources Society-East Van Education Centre; Lord Roberts Elementary; Britannia Secondary PAC STORM
Photographer: Gaetan Nerincx
Social Media Assistant/Q&A Facilitator: Brogan Ho
Props Design Assistants/Mask Painters: Tikvah Wilkinson, Tiffany Adams, Lily Truesdell, Joe Baker, Nghi Nguyen, Isobel Galsworthy
Community partners and supporters: Roundhouse, Vancouver Coastal Health, Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, Ministry of Children and Family Development, City of Vancouver, BC Arts Council, Province of British Columbia, Canada Council for the Arts, CLICK Foundation, Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, Grosvenor, Porte Cares, Methotical Productions, Sarah McLachlan School of Music, Scene Ideas Inc., Vancouver School Board and various private donors.
