The Mirror program

Meridian Arts Centre

The Mirror

Gravity & Other Myths February 15-18, 2024

Photo credit: Andy Phillipson

TO Live would like to acknowledge Tkaronto, which is a Mohawk word meaning the place in the water where the trees are standing.

We live and work on the traditional territory of Haudenosaunee-speaking nations, including the Huron-Wendat, Seneca, and Mohawk. Haudenosauneespeaking nations have been here since time immemorial, and were more recently joined by the Mississaugas of the Credit.

This place has many Indigenous ports, including where the Humber and Rouge rivers meet other waterways such as Lake Ontario. Ancient longhouses— typical Haudenosaunee housing structures—have been found along both these rivers and in the north of Toronto near modern-day York University. This territory is covered by the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement between the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations) Confederacy and the Anishnaabe (Ojibwe) and allied nations to peaceably share and care for the lands and the relationships around the Great Lakes.

What this means is that by living and working here, we all have a responsibility to the environment and to each other, to treat each other and the environment with peace and respect. This means we have responsibilities to honour, renew, and consistently uphold the values and relationships outlined in the ancient agreements.

Today, Toronto is home to Indigenous peoples and settlers from around the world. Let us all come together in an atmosphere of respect and peace to do good work together with good minds. Let’s start building stronger and healthier relationships with each other and the spaces we inhabit in Tkaronto, Ontari:io, Kanata.

Let’s hold our minds together in kindness.

Nia:wen. Thank you. © Dawn Maracle

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Photo by igorparusnikov

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Welcome letter from TO Live TO Live welcomes Gravity & Other Myths to Toronto. These inspiring artists have traveled over 10,000 miles from their home in Australia to bring their bone-jarring physicality and extraordinary acrobatic precision to Toronto audiences.

Contemporary circus is gaining in popularity all around the world.

Companies like Gravity & Other Myths and their artists are working in exciting cross-artform collaborations, pushing the boundaries of their technique and challenging preconceptions about what circus can be. The Mirror is an extraordinary example of what we can expect from the world’s best circus artists today. It tackles important questions about the meaning of authenticity in an era dominated by screens and self-promotion and does so with curiosity and fearlessness. As we navigate a world of constant entertainment, this thought-provoking production prompts us to ponder where entertainment ends and art begins.

We are presenting The Mirror in the Lyric Theatre, a venue that is unique in design and brimming with theatrical possibility. This theatre is only one of the four superb spaces in Meridian Arts Centre. This venue is one of the jewels in Toronto’s cultural landscape and we look forward to sharing many future presentations here with you.

Thank you for joining us and for being a vital part of the vibrant arts community in Toronto.

Clyde Wagner President & CEO TO Live

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Josephine Ridge Vice President of Programming TO Live

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About Gravity & Other Myths Gravity & Other Myths is a circus company with roots in Adelaide, Australia. They utilize an honest approach to performance to create work with a focus on human connection and acrobatic virtuosity. Through this, they hope to maintain an exceptional and diverse artistic program. After forming 2009 as a group of young Adelaide artists with a passion for circus and physical theatre, they’ve spent the past 13 years growing steadily and creating six critically acclaimed main stage works.

Artistic approach Their work strives to nurture human connection while challenging the genre of circus through conceptual sophistication and acrobatic virtuosity. They employ an honest approach to performance, illuminating the complexities of humanity through genuinity, humour and physical prowess.

Their predominantly ensemble driven creative process encourages our artists to engage deeply with the work they are inhabiting and allows true investment in and commitment to the company's core values.

As a leader of contemporary circus in Australia, they feel it is their responsibility to continue to challenge circus as an artform.

Photo credit: Andy Phillipson 5

The Mirror Intoxicating. Intimate. Incredible.

The Mirror, brought to you by internationally acclaimed contemporary circus company, Gravity & Other Myths, invites you on a mind-blowing journey of selfdiscovery that touches the core of human experience. It is both a nod to the extremes people will go to to please others and a reflection on the hidden parts of ourselves that make us unique.

Beautiful. Quirky. Explosive.

In a powerful spectacle of jaw-dropping acrobatics, nostalgic song, and cutting-edge technology, The Mirror pushes the limits of the human body’s capabilities. It attempts to peel back our layers of self-image, exposing both the nourishing and sinister aspects of modern life that shape us daily. Do you like what you see?

Pure entertainment. Bent humour. Visually striking.

Helpmann award-winning composer / director duo Ekrem Pheonix and Darcy Grant combine forces with the infectious charm of the Gravity & Other Myths ensemble to bring you a space for entertainment, escape, and reflection during these times of personal and political introspection.

Welcome to The Mirror, a place of illusion, indulgence, unlikely reflection, and the physically improbable.

Photo credit: Andy Phillipson 6

A note from Gravity & Other Myths The Mirror is our attempt as a company to make popular, nourishing work that develops audiences toward art.

As an ageing acrobat and artist, I’ve always been deeply interested in the tensions and differences that exist between art and entertainment, the way that audiences and artists value each other and the value we place on our external versus internal selves. The world is full of examples of inaccessible art by brilliantly incomprehensible masters, hedonistic entertainment that forces itself upon you and everything in between. At GOM, we have a live conversation about how to build work that can temper the often hard line between these worlds and powerfully reflect on how we see ourselves in the equation. Vanity and pride are key drivers for how we determine ourselves and our identities. Some ugly, some beautiful, and some that are both at the same time. Daily we are bombarded by messages to be more than we are and to doubt our flawed but ultimately beautiful selves.

The Mirror is a piece of acrobatic theatre that examines a sense of self from both a performer and audience perspective. A not-so-silent agreement that we are here to satisfy each other’s needs. To appreciate and be appreciated. To validate and be validated. It’s an unpacking of entertainment.

Our hope was in some ways to explore the irony of modern life, where we have access to everything all at once, except maybe the time to reflect on our place in it all, while also providing the fun and escapism that modern life demands.

I hope you like what you see in The Mirror.

Darcy Grant Director

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The Mirror Director Darcy Grant Associate director Jascha Boyce Set and lighting designer Matt Adey Associate designer Lachlan Binns Composer Ekrem Eli Phoenix Sound design Mik La Vage Costume designer Renate Henschke Ensemble Jordan Hart, Hamish McCourty, Lewis Rankin, Isabel Estrella, Emily Gare, Megan Giesbrecht, Joshua Strachan, Maya Tregonning, Megan Drury

About today’s performance:

Their performance will run 75 minutes with no intermission. If we can help accommodate you during your visit, please speak with our "front of house" team. Haze and some strobe effects are used during the performance. In most scenes, the cast wear revealing clothing.

This event is suitable for audiences 15 years and older and not recommended for anyone younger than eight years old. For your safety, we ask that you keep the aisles and doorways clear. We request that you refrain from taking flash photography, videography, or audio recordings of the production.

Photo credit: Andy Phillipson 8

Darcy Grant

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Darcy Grant’s journey as an artist has encompassed training, teaching, and touring at the forefront of new Circus, gracing some of the world’s most esteemed venues. With a background as a classically trained acrobat and an accomplished fine art photographer, Darcy thrives at the juncture where theatre, dance, circus, and visual art converge. Over the past three decades, Darcy has transformed his passion for bodies, space, light, and music into a thriving career within Australia’s arts scene. His visual sensibility lays the foundation for his show creations.

Hailing from remote far north Queensland, Darcy’s path led him through community and youth circus, culminating in his pivotal role as a founding member of the internationally renowned company Circa. There, he dedicated 12 impactful years to captivating audiences. In 2017, Darcy received a commission from the Adelaide International Arts Festival to direct Backbone by Gravity & Other Myths. The production premiered to five-star reviews and heartfelt standing ovations, earning three Helpmann Award nominations, including recognition for best choreography and best new Australian Work. This marked the onset of Darcy’s directorial journey with GOM, guiding the creation of two additional MFI-commissioned works: Out Of Chaos, which garnered the Helpmann Award for best physical theatre production, and The Pulse, lauded as GOM’s most ambitious endeavor to date. The Pulse was the recipient of three International Circus Awards including best design, best choreography, and best new work, and has just returned from a sold-out world tour in 2023 with over 60 artists on the road.

Currently, Darcy is the artistic director for Gravity & Other Myths, making indispensable contributions within the team’s creative and managerial operations.

Ekrem EliPheonix

Born in Istanbul, Ekrem has been living, studying, and working in Australia since 2005. Coming from a Bulgarian family of teachers, Ekram grew up in a home that valued and nurtured the arts and creativity. After studying a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, he continued on to undertake a graduate degree, followed by a PhD in music at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Ekrem’s career highlights as a musician include his composition for an independent theatre play called Vigil in 2009, and winning the outstanding new singer award at the Balkan Youth Music Festival in Istanbul in 2005.

While music has always been his passion, Ekrem’s interest in circus was first sparked back in Istanbul through Saturday morning circus broadcasts when he was growing up, but it was his first rehearsal with GOM in 2019 that really consolidated Ekrem’s love for circus and changed his practice as a composer. Invited to join GOM for their performance of Out of Chaos, this changed everything for Ekram, who was about to give up on his career as a musician. He now composes music for the company and loves reimagining what music can be and what it can do for contemporary circus.

Lewie Rankin

Lewis has been active since a young age, participating in sports and developing a love for the outdoors. He discovered contemporary dance later in life and received training at Adelaide Centre for the Arts. After graduating, Lewis performed with notable companies like Shaun Parker & Company and Leigh Warren & Dancers. His recent discovery and passion for circus and acrobatics have led him to combine and evolve these art forms.

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Maya Tregonning Raised in western Australia, Maya deviated from her family’s scientific path and pursued her studies at the National Institute of Circus Arts in Melbourne.

Specializing in aerial ladder, group acrobatics, and foot-juggling, Maya has toured the world with 10 incredible circus companies. When not performing, Maya dedicates her time to teaching social circus and community classes, recognizing the educational and inspirational power of circus.

Em Gare

Emily is a well-versed acrobat with over 10 years of experience in circus. Originally from New Zealand, she has been adopted as an Australian acrobat since moving to Melbourne in 2015. Throughout her career, she has performed with various companies worldwide, including Circus Smirkus, Circus Oz, and Gravity & Other Myths.

Besides being an acrobat, Emily enjoys exploring and savouring a good coffee.

Megan Giesbrecht Megan’s passion for sports acrobatics began at the young age of three. She competed on the national and international stage for 10 years before shifting her focus to academic pursuits. However, her love for acrobatics led her to coaching children, reigniting her connection with the sport.

After earning a degree in exercise biology from UC Davis, Megan chose to leave academia behind and pursue her interest in teaching sports acro while caring for her new baby daughter. Despite enjoying teaching, Megan’s own movement goals remained unfinished. Packed with ambition, she embarked on a new circus career, working as a hand-to-hand flyer for four years before joining Gravity & Other Myths in 2020.

Josh Strachan

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Since childhood, Joshua has embraced physicality, enjoying gymnastics and youth circus. This passion led him to pursue a bachelor’s degree in circus at the National Institute of Circus Arts, where he was offered a contract with Gravity & Other Myths. He joined the company in early 2018, performing in over 25 countries across various GOM shows. As a small base, a dense flier, and an all-around middle, Joshua brings versatility to the team.

Megan Drury

Meg is an actor, dramaturg, and director, currently based between Australia and the U.K. Her extensive theatre performance credits include roles in productions of Benefactors, The Gods The Gods The Gods, A Midnight Visit, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Ruben Guthrie, Swallow, and many more. Meg has also worked as a co-director, assistant director, creative associate, and dramaturg for various theatrical productions. Her screen performances include feature films, television series, and short films, earning her awards nominations and accolades. The Mirror is Meg’s first production with Gravity & Other Myths.

Jordan Hart

Jordan discovered circus at age 21 after watching A Simple Space at the 2014 Adelaide Fringe Festival. His sporty background fuelled a desire to learn something new and push his boundaries, leading him to the South Australian Circus Centre. With a strong desire to play and explore, Jordan made a career out of circus, working with various companies like Wildhouse Circus, Outside The Lines Circus, and Casus.

Hamish McCourty

Hailing from Adelaide, Hamish is an acrobat and music producer. His acrobatic journey started with Cirkidz at the age of eight, and he later founded his own company, Time in Space Circus. Touring internationally with Circa, Hamish specializes in pair and group acrobatics, tumbling, trampoline, and playing piano with someone on his head. Outside of circus, he enjoys producing, bouldering, dancing, and relaxing in the sun.

Issy Estrella

Isabel is a contemporary dance artist based in Naarm/ Melbourne, with a practice focused on investigated physicality and highly considered movement vocabularies. After completing full-time training at the New Zealand School of Dance, she worked on various dance and physical theatre projects in Australia and New Zealand. Highlights include performances for Legs on the Wall, DanceBites, and Movement of the Human.

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TO Live donor listing We gratefully acknowledge the generosity of our Friends of TO Live community through donations to TO Live and the TO Live Foundation.

1R32 Foundation 2608701 Ontario Inc. Jocelyne Achat & Kenneth Maclean Patricia Alps Shirley Arnold Arts Capital John & Claudine Bailey Bashirat Balogun Barbara Basta Eva Bednar Sandra Bellisario Bruce Bennett Shira Bernholtz Eleanor Bothwell Elspeth Bowler Stephanie Canarte Doris Chan Dr. Donette Chin-Loy Chang Wendy Chong Lesley Clark Diana Cockburn Judith C. Cole Bob Collins Leona Cotoia Cheryl Cottle Jacqueline Cushnie Ashley D'Andrea Lori DeGraw Suzanne Denis Anne Dumais Maame Adjoa Duncan Karen Ebanks Penelope Evans Alicia Excell Leah Faieta Shirley Farr Mary Ann Farrell Matt Farrell Shiming Fei Alan Feller David Fiske

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TO Live staff and board Board of directors Lori DeGraw Chair Councillor Lily Cheng Vice Chair Councillor Chris Moise Councillor Paula Fletcher Paul Bernards Myriam Gafarou Kevin Garland Mustafa Humayun Owais Lightwala Gave Lindo Dawn Maracle Kathleen Sharpe Gillian Smith Executive management Clyde Wagner President & CEO Isabel Vicente Menanno Director of the Office of the CEO & Board Relations Special projects Leslie Lester Vice President of STLC Redevelopment Carolyn Tso Senior Manager, Capital Fundraising Development Sandra Bellisario Vice President of Philanthropy & Sponsorship Madeleine Skoggard Director of Philanthropy & Sponsorship Nikita Patel Senior Manager, Corporate Partnerships & Sponsorships Kirsten Hering Senior Manager, Corporate Partnerships & Sponsorships (contract) Finance and administration William Milne Vice President of Finance & Administration Hayde Boccia 21

Director of Finance Michael Johnson Controller Sabrina Li Senior Financial Manager Paul Gagnon Client Settlement Services Manager Dorian Barton Client Settlement Services Manager Gladys Torres Payroll Manager Lucy Huang Payroll Specialist Nelum Dissanayake Payroll Coordinate Nooshin Ashraf-Zadeh Fiona Liu Fiona Wan Accounting Assistant Charles Mayne Office Clerk Information technology David McCracken Director of Information Technology Michael Cadiz IT Support Technician Chahat Khandhar Systems Administrator Scott Spence IT Coordinator Human resources Michelle Carter Vice President of Human Resources & Organizational Culture Mohamed Othman Director of Human Resources Melissa Creighton Human Resources Generalist Marketing and communications Jeff Rohrer Vice President of Marketing & Communications Stephanie Canarte Director of Marketing Grant Ramsay Media Relations Officer Stephen Crooks Senior Digital Marketing Manager Vanessa Grant Senior Content Marketing Manager Lauren Finateri Marketing Manager, Promotions & Partnerships Emma Forhan Creative Content Producer Shaun Lee Graphic Designer Jaya Arora Social Media & Web Content

Coordinator Joshua DeFreitas Marketing Specialist Box office Tom Kerr Director of Ticketing Services Sandie Chui Manager of Ticket Services Fran Holywell Liz Bragg Box Office Manager Thomas Quinlan Holly Merkur-Dance Annaijah Dacres Alexander Jackson Box Office Assistant Manager Clayton Batson Jennifer Norman Zen Peterson Brittney Channer Michelle Cruz Box Office Duty Manager Operations Matthew Farrell Vice President of Operations Edward Delavari Director of Capital Projects Luke Belfontaine Senior Project Manager BahramAghakhan Zane Elliott Nerin Carvalho Project Manager Patron and Event Services Sean Tasson Director of patron and event services Lynn Frenette Tara Hitchman Lina Welch Tracey Fyfe Patron Services Manager Natalie Ireland Senior Manager, Events Yuki Daloste Event Manager Robin Gaunt Assistant Patron Services Manager Peter Harabaras Andrew Muirhead Kizzie St Clair Maria Waslenko Fiona Alexander Corrine Engelbrecht Hugo Ares-Gonzalez Bruna Pisani Patron Services Duty Manager Andrew Fong Executive Chef Juliana Fay

Senior Manager, Food & Beverage Services Arturo Muralla Jai Bittles Sous Chef Facilities Abiodun Ojekunle Director of Facilities Jarryd Fish Facilities Manager Evan Ramdin Chief Building Operator Robert MacLean Building Operator Ryan Nerona Junior Building Operator Omar Nurse Stage Door Security Supervisor Colin Dyble Henry Fernandes Margreta Kristiansen Pema Lakshey Mohammed Shaikh Tushar Somani Mohuddin Memon Reza Moradi Sangay Lhamo Stage Door Security Mohamed Zuhair Maintenance Supervisor Ahmed Akinpelu Roger Alves Robert Bischoff Himal KC Mizrak Mohemed Catherine Patrick Rosalina Silva Rosa Victoria Mizrak Mohamed Maintenance Vivian Hije Maintenance (housekeeping) Roderick Padasdao Building Operator Marciano Ramos Jr. Building Operator Ehsan Rahman Jr. Building Operator John Vickery Housekeeping Supervisor Rhowen Jane Bunda Michael Kim Elliott Lewis Mabel Liwag Ian Romero Adam Sikora Lauren Smith Alicia Surujbally Justin O’Hare Karrie Smith Housekeeping Matthew Pannell Eduardo Costales

Handyperson Programming Josephine Ridge Vice President of Programming Max Rubino Director of Programming Ariana Shaw Sascha Cole Senior Producer Kafi Pierre Shannon Murtagh Producer John Kiggins Programming Manager Nathan Sartore Programming & Accessibility Coordinator Courtney Voyce Bookings Manager Martina Strautins Alex Whitehead Bookings Coordinator Scott North Director Corporate & Private Events Michaela Aguirre Social Media Specialist

Assistant Carpenter Zsolt Kota Assistant Sound Operator Michael Farkas Assistant Electrician – AV Jason Urbanowicz Assistant Electrician

Communities and outreach Tasneem Vahanvaty Director of Communities & Outreach Dani De Angelis Communities & Outreach Coordinator

IATSE Local 822 Susan Batchelor Wardrobe Head, Bluma Appel Theatre

Production Kristopher Dell Director of Production Zoe Carpenter Senior Production Manager Anthony (TJ) Shamata Senior Production Manager Bruce Bennett Senior Manager, Theatre Systems and Special Projects Chris Carlton Paul McKenna Armand Baksh-Zarate Susanne Lankin Kristopher Weber Production Manager Emma Pressello Production Coordinator

St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts stage crew IATSE Local 58 Wes Allen Head of Properties, Bluma Appel Theatre Jay Blencowe Head Carpenter, Bluma Appel Theatre Giulia D’Amanzo Head Electrician, Bluma Appel Theatre Benn Hough Head Technician, Jane Mallet Theatre Keijo Makela Head Sound Technician, Bluma Appel Theatre

Meridian Arts Centre stage crew IATSE Local 58 Aaron Dell Head Technician, George Weston Recital Hall Patrick Hales Assistant Head Technician, George Weston Recital Hall Grant Primeau Head Technician, Greenwin Theatre Duncan Morgan Head Technician, Studio Theatre Ian Parker, Head Technician Lyric Theatre

Meridian Hall stage crew IATSE Local 58 Richard Karwat Head Electrician Steve McLean Head Carpenter Marcus Sirman Head of Properties David Baer 22

Gravity & Other Myths supporters Commissioned by Chamäleon Theatre and The Sydney Opera House.

Gravity & Other Myths is supported as an organisation by Arts South Australia.

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Gravity and Other Myths Staff List Board of directors Jacob Randell Jascha Boyce Elliot Zoerner Martin Schreiber Lachlan Binns Artistic director Darcy Grant Operations manager Belinda Respondeck

Finance manager Jacob Randell Marketing manager Lachlan Binns Production/rehearsal manager Martin Schreiber International agent Aurora Nova - Wolfgang Hoffmann, Claudius Bensch

Creative producer Jascha Boyce

Photo credit: Andy Phillipson 24

#ArtsStartHere, and it begins with you.

The TO Live Foundation is committed to creating a future where art engages and inspires all Torontonians. A future where all the creative voices of our diverse communities are heard and celebrated. A future where artists have the support they need to experiment and grow.

Visit tolivefoundation.com to learn more about how our Foundation is committed to building a better city through the arts.