draft89 Theate Collective

The Mandate
draft89 creates original interdisciplinary Canadian theatre in a collaborative environment. Every show contributes to the learning of new skills and to the growth of the artists. Every production provides a forum for new and emerging artists to hone their skills, pursue new interests, and fuel their passion for art. The collective members are multi-talented artists able to play a variety of roles within the company. draft89’s events and workshops showcase Canadian artistic talent in an array of mediums. draft89 intends to make independent theatre more visible and increase patronage of the arts.
Draft89 was founded in 2003 in Vancouver, BC, and moved to Toronto in 2004.

The Name
F. Scott Fitzgerald, the subject of our 2002/2003 production Tragic Eccentrics, claimed that he would write between 70 and 150 drafts of each of his novels. This is a staggering body of work which represents not just a concern for the goal, but also for the process. It represents a lifetime of commitment to constantly improving one’s craft. What did the 89th draft of The Great Gatsby look like? Like every one of our productions, we hope. A considerable leap forward from the last one, and only a hint of what is to come.

Does Theatre Still Matter?
Once, live theatre was the only way to communicate the same story to large numbers of people. Today it is possible to watch a work of fiction performed on a handheld device while riding on the bus. Film and television have enormous budgets, and even a modest production can reach millions of people. Against these odds, ordinary theatre just isn’t good enough. To remain relevant, we must excel in areas where film and television cannot compete.
What happens in the story before the first line of dialog? If I look back over my shoulder, what is going on behind me? In the world of pre-recorded drama, these questions don’t even make sense. In the world of interdisciplinary theatre, they are opportunities to create an experience that is impossible anywhere else, for any amount of money.

Interdisciplinary Theatre
Does theatre have boundaries? When does a play become a musical? A dance? An installation? At draft89, we view all these distinctions as meaningless. Each of our productions strives to put our audience at the heart of an experience. FOE (2006) put them in a living art gallery. John/Yoko Bed Piece (2009) put them in a Montreal hotel room for one famous week. Islands (2011) will put them five hundred years in the future and halfway around the world. To make these experiences truly immersive, actors and dialog are rarely enough. This is where live music, video, dance, and visual art come in.

At draft89, the merging of multiple art forms to create an immersive experience is a core principle. It is also how we measure our success: when we can honestly say of each of our productions, “You just have to be there.”