For three nights only St. Paul’s Eastern United Church will be taken over by the hottest indie theatre artists in the city!

What is SubDevision?

SubDevision is a celebration of devised, site-specific theatre.  Live performances will take place in and around a massive party that unites independent artists and audience members in an immersive experience.  Making indie theatre cool and accessible to Ottawa’s audiences, SubDevision features eight unique and concurrent performances specifically created for different subdivided spaces all within one alternative venue – St. Paul’s Eastern United Church 473 Cumberland  Along with  dj’s and a licensed bar, this is the theatrical event of the season and not to be missed!

How Does the event work?

Each ten-minute performance is unique in that it will be created with an individual performance space in mind – a kitchen, a closet, an elevator, even that little nook under the stairs... Every piece is intimate and reflects the individual identity of the company that creates it.  Each show plays over and over, over the course of the night so that audiences have the opportunity to take part in as many performances as they wish.  SubDevision puts choice into the audience’s hands – see all eight shows or one piece again and again, hang back at the bar for a spell and compare experiences with audience members of like or differing minds, arrive and depart whenever you like – you set your own schedule and create your own experience.

Who should go?

SubDevision aims to reach and unit an audience that appreciates theatrical innovation and wants to be challenged beyond the traditional boundaries that separate audience from artists.

Who are these independent companies of whom you speak?

Eight of the most exciting indie theatre companies in the city!  MiCasa Theatre, Ottawa Stilt Union, Gruppo Rubato, Skeleton Key Theatre, Deluxe Hot Sauce, Two Little Birds (in association with STO Union), Counterpoint and May Can Theatre.

More About the Companies:

• MiCasa Theatre – hot off their recent success of Live From the Belly of a Whale and a national tour of Countries Shaped Like Stars, Ottawa’s dynamic duo brings you HIDE.  In this piece created for the Sanctuary Anti-Chamber (a storage closet), a classy beast sets out to find its skin. Part audio walking tour, part game of hide and seek. No guns please.  Mi Casa is thrilled to use SubDevision as a playground to explore pre-recorded stories, dioramas and the evocation of an absent protagonist.

• Ottawa Stilt Union – Kleo's Wake has been created for the Front Lounge and provides the rare chance to experience stilts and acrobatics and accordion music in a very very intimate setting!  A circus troupe holds a wake for a deceased member of their company.  Join us in commemorating the life of Kleo, a great stilter, gone but not forgotten.

• Gruppo Rubato – Rideau Award nominated director Patrick Gauthier and Tania Levy bring La fin de fins.  This piece, performed in an elevator, asks the question: “What if the space between light and shadow was measured in laughter?:

• Skeleton Key Theatre – Rideau Award nominated actors Kate Smith and Katie Bunting perform She Hath Done What She Could - Good things come to those who wait... and exorcise vigorously.  This piece, designed to take place after sunset, will be performed from 9:30-11:00PM in the Sanctuary. 

• Deluxe Hot Sauce - First Dusk, Last Light explores the search for sanctuary in a modern world.  This performance in the Sanctuary is designed to celebrate the setting sun.  Between the hours of 7:30 and 8:30 only!

• Counterpoint Players - Occupy Me will take place in an antechamber.

Yoga for activists - an introduction to full body protest (all levels welcome - stretch your mind at your own pace).

• Two Little Birds - in association with STO Union, Two Little Birds brings you Conversations with Strangers, created for the St. Paul’s United kitchen, because everyone knows the best party is always in the kitchen!
  
  
• May Can Theatre – The team that made their debut with the acclaimed Sounds from the Turtle Shell, Ottawa’s newest indie company has been chosen by the SubDevision team to be mentored in their creation pursuits.  Deciding What Is is their outdoor offering, created for the front steps of St. Paul’s United – see how “two boys discover how ideas in your imagination can affect reality and the decisions you make.”