Bird. BC buds comes out with something fresh By Julia Siedlanowska ednesday I was honoured to sit down with director Sarah Dixon of the budding Rebel Haunt Theatre Company. Having recently showcased her work at the BC Buds festival (having little to do with the BC Bud we automatically think of), I thought it would be fitting to interview her as one of the new faces coming up in the local theatre industry. How long have you been creating theatre? Sarah Dixon: I have been involved in theatre in many different capacities, as an actor, audience member, director, and writer, from very early on; probably from elementary school. I wrote a play in elementary school. So since I was very young it’s been a part of my conscious and subconscious world. What is your philosophy behind your work? SD: I am human, we are all human, and there is something so amazing about what that is. One of the best ways to explore that and honour it is through theatre. It sort of allows us to understand the poetry and madness and magic of all that it is to be human. And I can’t forget the stories, the connective quality of stories, the ability that stories have to connect us, and to connect us to ourselves. Could you describe your work for me? SD :(Deep sigh) Ooh... It’s funny because it’s hard for me to totally define and I’m always reticent to define. I don’t think that should be the job of the artist. I find it limits me. In terms of what my work contains is that it tends to be highly isual/ physical with black box style and specific. And very poetic text. I also nsemble work. I insist on a -of collaboration. I don’t want a 10 Try our New Grab N Go Deli for Lunch! Discount cannot be combined with any other offers. Cut Out This Ad for 10% OFFI bunch of puppets, I want engaged creative beings. I guess the only other thing that I should include is the micro-epic aspect. In my original creations I work really hard on illuminating and expanding on the small moments in life, and exploring the vastness of them. My pieces tend to be half an hour or under. How did Rebel Haunt Theatre start? SD: Like what happens with the main moments in life, I was faced with the opportunity for change and I had to make a decision about how I wanted to continue being an artist and what form that was going to take. And I decided I was going to continue being a theatre artist. The best way for me to do that at this point and time is to create a theatre company. What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced being a new company? SD: One of them is that (laughs) I don’t know very much about the whole business side of things and all the formalities. Because I never went to school for that and I don’t have that kind of background, it all has to come from my life experience and intuitive sense. Another one is my sort of lack of connection to any existing theatre community out there. So I don’t have a lot of what you would call professional support, or mentors who are actually working in the field. You automatically have a lot more confidence if you have that. I’ve always been sort of the underdog. The general learning curve of taking everything on and having to grow with it very quickly as things come up (is a challenge). Could you comment on your dedication to working with youth? SD: At this point that’s who I’m choosing to work with. I think it’s important that they have the opportunity to present art to the community that is different from a school project. I think that they have something to offer the world at that level and have all kinds of lovely things to say. And I’m inspired by youth. What are your upcoming projects? SD: We have Entschuldigung Inside/ Out, we just performed that in Vancouver and will be performing again for Port Moody in five different site specific locations. That will be in September for the Port Moody Festival of the Arts. Prior to that, in July, we will be performing “Hometown” from the 7-10" at the Port Moody Museum.