Artwork by Jay White
Online June 2022
on now
The Refrain: getting in sync with the world is an investigation into the ideas that inform the work of Fight With a Stick. Using voice and sound we investigate our interconnections with the world around us and how collaboration with the other-than-human works. Each episode will explore one or more approaches, including philosophies such as assemblage theory, Object Oriented Ontology, post humanism, anthropology beyond the human, neuroscience, traditional cultures, resurgent cultures, new forestry, biology, and more.
Episode 1, Thinking with the Forest, connects the work of Montreal-based anthropologist Eduardo Kohn, and his careful exploration of the question ‘what is a self, and do plants and animals have one?’, to our own approach to collaborative creation with all the 'selves' around us. The episode also draws heavily on the work of political theorist Jane Bennett and her book Vibrant Matter, and the work of forest ecologist Suzanne Simard.
PODCAST: The Refrain: getting in sync with the world
Online Now
Now Showing
Part classic animation, part David Lynch and part indescribable, Now Showing is a 10 minute surrealistic trip. Shehzar Abro, a transplant from Karachi, tries to understand North American culture by entering the world of the musical Oklahoma! — as an animated avatar!
In Binaural Audio by composer James Maxwell: Headphones recommended!
Inspired by our 2018/19 stage production Oh What a Beautiful Morning! In collaboration with composer James Maxwell, artistic director Alex Lazaridis, and assistant animator Raquel Sardina.
in development
What's it like to be a bat? A rock? A potted plant? An automatic rifle? Another person? What does a storm think when it thinks of you? How do we plan for our disappearance?
Trans: Experiments in Living is a narrative that expands our sense of identity and self.
The first development phase takes place summer 2022. Trans is being created for a digital video format.
Trans: Experiments in Living
Migration
A contemplative journey for this time of many passings, many transitions and many becomings. A sacrifice for the good of one and the good of all. Come light a candle.
Migration is a collaboration between Fight With a Stick and Tomoyo Ihaya — inspired by Tomoyo's visual art and her series devoted to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. In Migration the two-dimensional is brought to life in three-dimensional space.
ON STAGE: Closed April 2, 2022, at the Russian Hall in Vancouver.
Collaborators: Tomoyo Ihaya (visual artist), Alex Lazaridis (director), James Maxwell (sound design), Delia Brett (choreographer-performer), Paula Viitanen (Set design and TD), Jamie Sweeney (Light design), Hin Hilary Leung (performer), Taiga Chiba (carpentry), Sooyeon Goo (assistant to Tomoyo), Mona Lisa Ali (video animation), Parjad Sharifi (contributor), Diego Romero (contributor). Special thanks to EDAM dance.
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Artwork by Jay White
Both Sides of the Great Divide
Nikita Carter is a transgender artist of great renown — musician, composer, educator, Artistic Director — and is a consultant for Trans:Experiments in Living. Fight With a Stick is thrilled to have her on board and to support her upcoming book Both Sides of the Great Divide, published by the inspiring Transgender Publications.
See Nikita's latest music video release (Fall 2021):
click here!
