Over a year into the pandemic, the Calgary Performing Arts community is still holding on through grit and resilience (at it has always been tasked with, now mandated) and there have been a fistful of real, staged performances produced. I have been privileged to be a co-producer in one production, and documented nearly a dozen more.

In a normal year, I am already one of the few people in the audience on ‘shoot thru day.’ My clients give me a wide berth in the theatre; allowing me to run around, make noise, and click the shutter an average of 3000 times during a show. I document shows like a photojournalist, always hunting for the next shot, while creating cinematically-influenced visuals. I like to think I’m adding a layer to the marketing.

But the audiences are still at home, and theatres are no longer primarily set up for guests: Production equipment where production equipment does not usually live, and cables running in all directions connected to video streaming equipment. More-so now, but outside of the production team I am frequently the only other person in the room - an actual Audience of One™.

To celebrate the resilience of this community and the sheer testament of will and love of the craft, I wanted to share with you some of my favourite photos and stories from the performances at the University of Calgary School of Creative and Performing Arts, the only company I work with that produced staged work in 2021 so far, and whose creative solutions to mandated distancing continuously blew me away.

A heart-wrenching piece of poetry recited in four parts, shadow-play putting screens between actors, and implied interactions through careful blocking. The creative potential being put to the test at this school is truly remarkable. Kudos to you, SCPA.

Zoo Story, by Edward Albee directed by Nicholas Wang