Place des Arts: Do You Understand Me Now? Guest Curated by Karter Masuhara

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Cost: $23.70
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Using recordings and projections alongside live performance, the piece is presented in three languages: French, Japanese, and English.

In the work, Karter attempts to hold conversations with their two grandmothers — one Japanese and one French-Canadian — by speaking in their mother tongues despite not being fluent in either. Through these imagined dialogues, the performer tries to explain their identity as a trans/non-binary person.

Karter Masuhara (they/them) is a trans/non-binary artist, producer, and arts manager based in Burnaby on the occupied xʷməθkʷə ̓yəm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱ wú7mesh (Squamish), səlil̓ wətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and kʷikʷəƛ̓ əm (Kwikwetlem) territories. As an artist they have written and directed an award-winning short film, Where to Piss, and self-produced their own play, Before They Cut Down Our Tree, which was presented at the 2023 Vancouver Fringe Festival.

This piece was made in collaboration with Amélia Simmard, Davey Samuel Calderon and June Fukumura.

Amélia Simmard -French Consultant and Voice Actor: is a French-Canadian filmmaker and interdisciplinary artist based in so-called Vancouver. They have written and directed short films, amongst other visual art (traditional and digital) and short-form theatre projects. Their work has been featured in Vancouver Island Short Film Festival and Local Sightings Film Festival. As an emerging theatre-maker, they have co-written, directed and performed in Cracking The Nonbinary Code as part of Ignite! Festival 2023 and are developing their piece Cornouillère through labs and residencies. In their practice, Amélia explores themes of queerness, linguistic identity and interpersonal conflict through metaphors based in memory, nostalgia and the fantastical.

Davey Samuel Calderon – Director/Dramaturg: (he/they/siya) is a director, performer, writer, producer, drag artist, dramaturg and settler on the ancestral, traditional and stolen lands of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. He is the Co-Founder of New(to)Town Collective, a theatre collective centered on continuous performance practice, exploration, and creating experimental devised works (2014 – 2024). His work has been on various stages (Big Queer Filipino Karaoke Night! [Vancouver Fringe 2018, Evergreen Cultural Centre 2022] & BQFKN! ONLINE [rEvolver Festival 2023]) and is a leader in the Canadian dramaturgy sector (on the publishing committee for Playwrights Canada Press). Currently, he is Playwrights Theatre Centre’s Artistic Producer and Dramaturg, select dramaturgy credits include: God’s A Drag by Jessica Lemes Da Silva, The Frontliners by Zahida Rahemtulla, Before They Cut Down Our Tree by Karter Masuhara, and It Lives in my Bedroom by Mily Mumford.

June Fukumura – Japanese Consultant and Voice Actor: is a multidisciplinary, nisei (second-generation) Japanese-Canadian theatre artist based on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations (Vancouver). She is the Co-Artistic Director of Popcorn Galaxies, an experimental company creating site-responsive and site-specific works that re-enchant the everyday. Since 2013, the company has produced over twelve works presented across Canada. Her practice spans acting (theatre/film/TV/voice), clown and bouffon, puppetry, directing, dramaturgy, devising, and writing. She works as a Japanese language coach and cultural consultant. She has collaborated with companies including Stratford Festival, Theatre Calgary, Arts Club Theatre, Theatre Replacement, and Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre.

August Winter – Producer
August is a queer, trans artist known for their role in Sarah Polley’s Oscar winning film Women Talking, as well as their role as a series regular in CTV’s Mary Kills People. They can be seen in their upcoming role in Orphan Black: Echoes. August most recently produced, wrote and directed their short film Dark Room (funded by Creative BC), and is currently in development for the feature film length version (funded by the Canada Council for the Arts). August also has experience producing a vertical climbing series for The Hive, Vancouver. In addition, they have experience producing several short films, as well as in-person community events, which has resulted in August being sought out for producing roles in a variety of mediums. August also works as a story editor and dramaturg, and has recently worked on queer/ trans emerging choreographer Tavia Christina’s new piece STSISG as a script consultant. August is the director of programming for Spindle Films Mentorship Program, an organization that supports transgender, non-binary and gender diverse filmmakers in Canada. August is anchored by creating community with other queer and trans artists and welcomes all possibilities of collaboration.

Bernice Paet – Stage Manager
Bernice is a stage manager and interdisciplinary artist who creates performance works building on her curiosities in collage art, light, and video projection. Moved by the love she finds around her, and in other cases, has lost, her works often pull from her lived experiences, exploring themes such as mental health, identity, and the complex web of human relations. Since completing Simon Fraser University’s Theatre Production & Design program, her stage management credits include: it is for when you meet me (Hold On Let Go), The Frontliners (Appr. SM | vAct), God’s a Drag (ASM | PTC/Vancouver Fringe Festival), East Side Story (Project Limelight Society), and Soft Tongues: a bioacoustic opera (rEvolver Festival).

June Hsu – Projection Designer
June (she/her) is a Taiwanese-Canadian interdisciplinary sound and video designer. Born and raised in Vancouver, Canada –the unceded territories of the xwməθkwəy̓ əm, Skwxwú7mesh, and Səl̓ílwətaɬ Nations, June has been surrounded by the colourful sounds and sights from the cities to the mountains; sparking an interest in exploring the interrelations between sounds and visuals and their unique personalities. She is a graduate of Simon Fraser University’s BFA Theatre Production and Design program and of Douglas College’s Stagecraft and Event Technology program. Some of her works include: The Flying Dutchman (Vancouver Opera | Assistant Projection Designer), I Fear Love (Fringe Festival | Projection Designer), The Tremors 2027 Application – Karter Masuhara Frontliners (vAct | Sound Designer), People Like Vince (Green Thumb | Projection Designer), Faye’s Room (Glitch Theatre | Projection Designer), Concord Floral (Douglas College), and Canadian Psycho (vAct | Sound Designer).

Christian Ching – TD/Lighting
Christian Ching is a queer scenographer, lighting designer, and production manager with a love for design and nature. She is a graduate of Simon Fraser University with a double degree in Theatre Production and Design and in the Biological Sciences. Originally from the Philippines, she is currently based in the unceded Coast Salish territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations (also known as Vancouver). Her practice aims to revolve around playful collaboration and a focus on the environmental aspects of storytelling. In her free time, she likes to write and run RPGs, draw, and make music.

Cindy Kao – Sound Designer
Cindy is a Taiwanese actor / sound artist, (Ketegalan and Siraya Nations) based in Vancouver (Squamish, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh Nations) Cindy’s interdisciplinary works include starring in A Family Act presented by Whistler Film Festival (Jury Award Winner), Music on Main feature, New York Electroacoustic Music Festival as Sapphire Haze with duo partner Aysha Dulong, Music Composition and Instrumentalist for Happy Valley-馬照跑 舞照跳 by Derek Chan, Sound Design for Peace Country by Pedro Chamale. Cindy is recently composed for The Baking show: The Play as part of Sapphire Haze.
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