A Manifesto:
11 conversation starters for Small Wooden Shoe
1_There is no such thing as a clean start.
Start from the mess and move towards something.
Something that might be called truth.
2_Nothing is ruled out. Nothing ruled in. Not everything goes.
3_Waking up is evidence of hope. Artwork even more so.
4_It’s worth thinking about.
5_There is good and bad fun. Good fun is essential.
6_When doing something strange, it is best to be relaxed.
7_Lying is another word for imagination.
The pursuit of the truth does not exclude lying, it requires it.
8_Not being able to do something is no excuse not to. How else will we learn?
9_The separation of emotion, body and intellect is destroying the world.
10_Have something to say. It’s possible to change your mind later.
11_What ever we do here tonight, we do it on purpose.
Written by Jacob Zimmer. 04/07/06 (with thanks to Ame Henderson, Chad Dembski, Jacob Wren)
About us
sabotage , noun, French, from sabot – ... 3b : deliberate subversion
sabot - French, noun - a small wooden shoe.
Artistic Director: Jacob Zimmer
Artistic Producer: Erika Hennebury
Founded in 2001 by Jacob Zimmer in Halifax, Small Wooden Shoe is a theatre company now based in Toronto.
Small Wooden Shoe engages with the world around us in a curiously critical manner while maintaining the need to perform – to step up and to entertain. By being direct, honest and genial we hope to ease or transform the possible alienation between performers and audience. We do this in an attempt to find ways to ease or transform the possible alienation of contemporary living.
We believe theatre is a useful process to think-through, fesel-out and change-up important social, historical, political and other everyday issues.
Believing that developing a sound artistic practice shouldn’t limit us to one performance style or genre, we have made political agit-prop (Delayed Knee Jerk Reactions, 2001), hard-boiled live-to-air radio (The Mysterious Death of WB, 2002), Chekhov adaptations (The Orchard, 2002), multi-media solo shows (No Secrets, 2003) and durational task based performances (Mostly Just Doing the Saturday Crossword, 2006). We have also created on-line think tanks, public meetings, teaching workshops, keynote lectures and publications, all of which we consider to be part of the same larger project that is Small Wooden Shoe.
Small Wooden Shoe performances are created in collaboration, led by Jacob Zimmer. Jacob brings the conceptual framework and starting points to the collaborators and the show is the result of the responses to his propositions and his response to those responses. This creative feedback-loop expands the work beyond the possibilities of a single maker, with all participants having a personal investment in the work, while maintaining a distinct and rigorous artistic vision that identifies the work as a Small Wooden Shoe production.
We envision a local, national and international conversation about the world and about performance. Our participation is maintained through travelling and meeting: essential ways of extending the reach of the company and our projects work while also engendering vital feedback and inspiration.
so delighted to find the qwerty anthem up! what a beautiful full circle humanizing of the show and this machine i am on. a little freaky, too which is never bad. (and i can hear chris stanton laughing!)
Just came from our first rehearsal at Hub 14. What a great space - warm yet neutral; a good place for making stuff. Also:
UnSpun FUNRAZOR! Fri, Nov 3 @ Clinton’s Tavern
(693 Bloor St W, E. of Christie Station)
$10, Doors at 8:30 pm
featuring
SUNPARLOUR PLAYERS / DINKUS / THE REMAINDERS / Silent Auction / and more!
UnSpun Theatre presents November 27 – December 16, 2006
Young Centre for the Performing Arts
(55 Mill St, Bldg 49, Distillery District)
more info: www.unspuntheatre.com
