We’re thrilled Double Time is back at the festival this year for the second year in a row! It’s truly a delightfully fun and refreshing event curated and produced by Katie Ewald. We’re proud to welcome 12 local and national artists to Guelph to collaborate through this performance- check them out here! Katie has generously shared some thoughts about this project:
GD: What are you most excited about telling the audience about your work?
Katie: I am excited to share with everyone the amazing artists who have agreed to be a part of this experiment! As the curator, I invest a lot of time in conversations with the human behind the artist, getting to know their needs, desires and edges. I do my best to create a sense of freedom for each artist balanced by the sense of being held. I hope that the public will enjoy the energy of the individuals, as well as the result of mixing them into random pairs and above all, the small community we are building for that night! The people who have agreed to grace us with their artistry this year are truly inspiring to me.
GD: What has been your biggest takeaway from the rehearsal process so far?
Katie: As a curator and producer, I cut my teeth with 6 iterations of Short&Sweet (Guelph/Sackville Editions) which meant I spent many hours talking with artists, making connections, and listening to their passions. With that behind me, I wanted to make something new that has the fun and casual atmosphere of Short&Sweet but could develop an even deeper sense of community. With last year’s first iteration of Double Time we had so much fun, richness and beauty in its glorious spontaneity. This year is on the same track: the 12 artists guided by Lesley Greco (the workshop facilitator) is creating a sense of shared language and experience – something that we will open up and share with you! They will share their short works (2-5 minutes) made in only one 2-hour rehearsal (!!) TWICE (with an intermission in between) so that we can see how things change, stay the same, grow and change us. We will spend a little more time “listening” to the artists’ work and with the fun and casual energy of a cabaret will celebrate that we can be together!
GD: What do you hope the audience will take away from your work?
Katie: I hope that audiences will have fun and also get the feeling they got to see something ‘behind the curtain’ of the mysterious artistic process. After being a working artist for over 20 years I still don’t really understand how we do what we do and THAT is magical. I hope there is a sense of play and joy as well as an opening to what is emerging. That we throw away our expectations and meet what is present.
Double Time is Saturday, June 3 at 8 PM at Royal City Mission. See you there! Plus, stick around for the After-Party Lounge!