Funded by the Canada Council for the Arts’ Digital Strategy Fund (CCA), and led by digital designer Beth Kates, the Digital Alchemy Creation Lab is designed to expand digital literacy for playwrights and dramaturgs in Canada.
The Digital Alchemy Creation Lab examines the state of digital creation tools and digital dramaturgy. The goal of this initiative is to explore the contributions of these emerging practices to the evolution of theatre-making across the country, while building the skills and knowledge base of playwrights, dramaturgs and other theatre-makers.
The [MODULES], a series of hands-on workshops provide artists exposure to available and emerging technologies (like projection design tools, Virtual Reality tools, etc), and strategies to integrate them into the creation processes of playwriting, directing, and dramaturgy of new and existing works. This knowledge-building and dissemination project will travel across the country engaging with theatre-makers in each location who will be chosen by the core partners. At the conclusion of the [MODULES], the Digital Alchemy Creation Lab will launch an open-source website that will disseminate the conversations, tools, and results from each [MODULE] to the larger theatre and performance community in Canada, as well as generate a networking platform.
DACL works in association with Toasterlab Mixed Reality Performance Atelier and The Blyth Festival
Beth Kates is an award-winning theatrical Lighting, Set, Costume and Projection Designer, and project consultant. She is the co-Creative Director/Designer of Playground Studios a design firm she started with partner Ben Chaisson that is dedicated to creating new spaces, re-inventing the use of traditional and non-traditional theatre spaces, as well as producing original work and offering a full spectrum of design and project management services. Beth has also taught lectured internationally and across Canada at most of the universities and other major training institutions, including The National Theatre School and The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.
Canada Council for the Arts’ Digital Strategy Fund encourages an overall approach that helps support Canadian artists, groups and arts organizations in understanding the digital world, engaging with it, and responding to the cultural and social changes it produces. Between 2017 and 2021, the Canada Council will invest $88.5M through this Fund.