Every evening as the sun sets, performers Jessica Gabriel and Chloe Ziner watch an airborne stream of crows flying to their gathering place, a crow roost near the border of Vancouver and Burnaby where the two live.
“I always wonder what they talk about when they get together,” said Ziner. “One of the things that makes them so interesting to me is that they are planners and problem solvers, just like humans.”
Gabriel and Ziner studied crows for months to understand the movements and develop a story about it, Caws and Effect. This critically acclaimed shadow theatre comes to the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons Feb. 20 to 22.
Gabriel graduated from Chatelech Secondary School in 1998 and left the Coast to study in the fine arts program at the University of British Columbia, earning a painting degree.
“They sure don’t teach you how to make money as an artist in university,” she recalls, so she returned to the Coast to regroup. She met musician Chloe Ziner in 2003 and they immediately began making art together as Mind of a Snail Puppet Theatre. Now they are creating and performing full time.
Fans might remember them at the Asian New Moon Festival in Gibsons, showing pieces they created especially for the festival for which they earned great support from the community.
Puppets have a reputation of being just for kids, the puppeteers point out. In reality, it’s a sophisticated art form that spans a huge range of techniques all over the world. They are inspired by the community of contemporary puppeteers who are making interesting and innovative object-based theatre.
This forthcoming shadow theatre incorporates a cinematic element. The screen they will use is large — they employ film techniques and layer images using overhead projectors to show detailed scenes and characters, orchestrated by themselves acting the crow parts. No words are spoken, but a musical soundtrack is integrated, drawing on Ziner’s background.
Caws and Effect debuted at the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival in July last year, selling out all seven shows and winning the Patrons’ Pick Award. CBC, upon reviewing it for the Fringe called it, “a gorgeous and wondrous work of art.” Another reviewer wrote, “mesmerizing.”
At Vancouver’s Fringe Festival it had another sold-out run and won Pick of the Fringe. The show was also performed for the Northwest Regional Puppeteers of America Festival in Victoria. This original show has definitely been the highlight of the women’s year.
Caws and Effect is great for adults and also for kids seven plus. It runs Feb. 20 and 21 at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday, Feb. 22 at 2 p.m. at the Heritage Playhouse. Tickets are $15 adults, $12 kids available online: http://caws.brownpapertickets.com or from Laedeli Gifts & Cards at Sunnycrest Mall, MELOmania in Roberts Creek and at the door depending on availability.
