Wellington Oracle

-By Heather Marie Scheerschmidt

“To make the best possible show, the work has to be rigorous, it has to have attention to detail, and it has to have a desire for excellence.” We’re sitting in Emily Pearlman’s living room and Nicolas Di Gaetano is talking about the idea of do-it-yourself (DIY) theatre. “Even if it is fucking DIY punk kids putting on a show where they do all the lights themselves, it still has to be excellent…you have to put your best foot forward even if your best foot only cost $300.”

MiCasa, the theatre company Nick and Emily formed in January, is part of a renewed cultural interest in DIY art forms. DIY is about controlling the means of production, producing independently and, well, learning to do things yourself. The roots of DIY are punk, which is why there is often something edgy or avante garde about DIY art. And punk has an important influence on the kind of work Emily and Nick do together as MiCasa.  “I play a lot of instruments, and I love being in bands…I want to run a theatre company like a band” Nick laughs, “not only is it hip and cool but it’s the only way I know how to do things!”

So how did Nicolas Di Gaetano and Emily Pearlman form MiCasa Theatre? ”Patrick Gauthier introduced me to Nick,” Emily tells me, “and then we had an art date.” They met and had a discussion about devised theatre, a form of collaborative creation that interests both of them. Where traditional theatre is text based with a high regard for the playwright, devised theatre is more about images and symbols and it comes out of physical theatre and improvisation.

“We had a beer and we yelled at each other” is how Nick describes their first meeting.  And not surprisingly, this is how they knew they wanted to work together. They were clearly both excited about the potential for producing DIY theatre in Ottawa. And they were different enough as artists that those tensions could serve to make their work more interesting.  ”Nick comes from making work as a performer, where as I come at it more as a writer or director,” Emily explains. ”I’m really good at seeing moments,” Nick adds, “and I think Emily is much better at the bigger picture.”

The punk DIY aesthetic includes an appreciation for found objects. “It’s really important to me that theatre is not wasteful. That’s why I’m interested in found objects” Emily says. “It’s like taking all these things, and these different ideas, mashing them all together and then saying ‘here, I made this out of stuff I found’.” It is clear Nick and Emily share a inherent curiousity about the world around them. As Nick puts it, “you have to be curious enough about something in order to engage with it.” Making theatre, for Emily and Nick, is about taking what interests them, in the world, in life, and then finding a way to bring those passions to the stage.”When I work with Emily,” Nic says, “we try whatever the other wants to do, and at the end of the day, best idea wins.”

As a young company, MiCasa is also about building a supportive artistic community around them. Their scene includes artists like Patrick Gauthier and Catriona Leger, and while each will take on specific roles for a particular production (Pat Gauthier directed “Countries Shaped Like Stars”, Catriona Leger directed “Inclement Weather”) they all contribute to every project, and work to build the kind of theatre that interests them. As Emily puts it, “you’re always looking for people who are like-minded, but who have different skills.” ”We have a great team” Nick adds, “Patrick is awesome to work with – I love with working with Patrick, I love working with Catriona…we don’t all think the same but we all want the best for the show; no one pulls any punches when we’re working.”

MiCasa has already made a noticeable impression on the theatre scene in Ottawa. “Countries Shaped Like Stars” and “Inclement Weather, their first productions, were hits at the Ottawa Fringe Festival this past June. “Countries Shaped Like Stars” sold out and the show won the award for “Best Overall Production”. And yet, the Ottawa Fringe was an experiment as far as Nick and Emily were concerned. “We had no idea if anyone would like that show” Nick says in reference to “Countries”.  ”You never know what people will love,” Emily shrugs, “you have to make the show that you want to make and maybe people will like it and maybe they won’t.”

What seems to resonate with audiences is the simplicity of “Countries” and its emotional vulnerability. “Countries Shaped Like Stars” tells the story of Gwendolyn Magnificent and Bartholomew Spectacular. It’s about friendship and love and how people connect with one another. It has elements of fantasy and humour, and includes live music and original songs. Live music definitely adds an element of fun, but is also what helps to convey vulnerability. “There’s something very personal about us when we sing” Nick explains. According to Emily, “Countries” is about “the spaces between people, that insurmountable distance.” And to explore the idea of distance, they decided to physically place people close together and perform in small, intimate spaces with alley seating.

“Countries Shaped Like Stars” has been performed in living rooms, cafes and a small bar. For the upcoming run at the Irving Greenberg Studio Theatre, the production will be enhanced with some professional design work. Lynn Cox as lighting designer and Sarah Waghorn as costume and prop designer, are helping to adapt “Countries” for a black box theatre space.  “What we’re trying to do is get at the show we want to present, so we can do the show justice, and working with Lynn on that has been really helpful” says Nick.  The challenge for Sarah Waghorn is to help establish the world of the play and yet keep the ‘found’ aesthetic.  “Sarah is just going to tweak it and she’s the perfect person for the job” says Emily.

The trick for this remount is to preserve the magic of this DIY production. “I’m scared as hell to redevelop “Countries Shaped Like Stars” and put it back up” Nick sighs, “it was so loved when we did it, and then to say, we want to make it better; and we know it needs to get better, we’re really worried that someone is going to say ‘you lost something along the way’.” “The relationship to the audience is the most important thing,” Emily continues, ” this show is a delight to perform because for whatever reason it turns people into children…to have a whole bunch of people, making their four-year old face, it’s a beautiful thing to see.”

“Countries Shaped Like Stars” is part of a double bill that includes “Inclement Weather”, Nicolas Di Gaetano’s solo clown show that has been re-worked with the help of director Catriona Leger. “I feel like its really fucking good. I’m really proud of that show” Nick says of “Inclement Weather”. “I’m really proud of the emotional journey of the show…I get really misty when I think of it.”

MiCasa Theatre is a company with a healthy respect for the imagination. By leaving room for the imagination in their work, they inspire in their audience a sense of child-like wonder. Emily Pearlman sums it up best: “I want to make work that allows people to feel possibility and lightness and to feel a sense of the power of their own imagination. The potential of theatre is for the audience to complete the images for you. I want audiences to have the chance to exercise their imagination and fill in the bits that we leave intentionally open for them.”

“Countries Shaped Like Stars” and “Inclement Weather” are on at the Irving Greenberg Studio Theatre from Dec. 2 – 5. For more information and to buy tickets check  MiCasa Theatre’s website.

-Photo credit  MiCasa Theatre