Work-in-progress presentations
Friday May 3 and Saturday May 4 at 7:30 PM
West Village Theatre, 2007 10th Ave SW, Calgary
Tickets by donation A Visual Vernacular Performance
Marrying provocative imagery with profound narratives, A World Without Them explores extinction through a series of original vignettes performed in visual vernacular. Landon Krentz's unique perspective and Eric Rose's highly visceral aesthetic will carry both Deaf and hearing audiences into a stunning realm of visual vernacular and visual story performance.
A World Without Them
Conceived & Created by Landon Krentz and Eric Rose
in collaboration with
Lighting Designer Alexandra Prichard
Percussionist Orlando Retana Porras
Performed by Landon Krentz
Directed by Eric Rose
Phase One Development Workshop Produced by Landon Krentz and Ghost River Theatre in association with Inside Out Theatre.
Thank you to Canada Council for the Arts for its support.
WHAT IS VISUAL VERNACULAR?
Visual Vernacular is a unique physical theatre technique, with elements of poetry and mime, primarily performed by Deaf artists. This powerful storytelling style combines strong movement, and iconic (A)SL signs, with gestures and facial expressions, to capture the world in all its visual complexity.
Cinematic effects are a key feature of performances, such as creating long shots or zoom, playing with fast or slow motion, and panoramic views. Role shifting is another way to play with storytelling. An artist can use movement to morph into different characters, or even objects, to help build a story. By combining these techniques, artists create a highly visually exciting and accessible way to enhance storytelling.
LANDON KRENTZ
Landon Krentz is a Deaf performing artist from Saskatchewan, Canada. He discovered his love for theatrelater in life when he learned sign language. He quickly became a prominent figure in Canadian arts, trying out different forms like ASL opera, visual stories with music, and plays in both ASL and English.
Krentz is known for his unique performances that combine physicality, visual language, and sign language. He wanted to go beyond just relying on ASL interpretation, which often gives only a partial experience. As a Deaf artist who's fluent in both American Sign Language (ASL) and English, Krentz is the Artistic Director and an ASL performer for theatre. He's all about bringing Deaf and hearing audiences together in his art.
His efforts were recognized when he received the Award of Merit for Inclusion and Access in 2018 from the Western Institute of Deaf and Hard of Hearing, now Wavefront Communication Access Centre.
In 2018, Krentz teamed up with Deaf West Theatre to create "Awakening Deaf Theatre in Canada." This project aimed to bring Deaf artists from across the country together to work on an ASL musical based on "Spring Awakening," a Broadway show. The project united Deaf artists from almost all provinces.
Krentz has worked on a Deaf-led ASL Opera based in Vancouver, BC. He's both the playwright and performer, and the opera explores Deaf culture, queerness, and the human experience using sign language's rhythmic beauty. Krentz's accomplishments also include his play "100 Years of Darkness." This play, produced by Inside Out Theatre, tells the story of Deaf students in the 1880s who were subjected to cruel experiments trying to erase their language and culture. The play sheds light on the effects of banning sign language.
He's not stopping there. Krentz is currently developing two more projects: "The Confidence of a Deaf Queer Human," created with the Soulpepper Academy, and an adaptation of "The Little Prince" for Deaf theatre. His journey continues to shape the arts and bring Deaf experiences to the forefront.