Daniel MacIvor thinks going to the theatre is a little bit weird.
And that’s a surprise, seeing the playwright-director-actor is one of Canada’s top theatre talents.
On Wednesday, MacIvor delivers a keynote address titled WTF? (or What’s Theatre For?) at Victoria’s Uno Fest.
His talk will, in part, examine the purpose and attraction of theatre in modern society.
“It’s really an odd thing, if you consider we gather in groups and sit in the dark silence. And another group gets up on a raised platform and proceeds to create make-believe situations that might be potentially from our lives.
“It’s a pretty bizarre form of entertainment,” MacIvor said.
A widely admired figure in the Canadian theatre scene, the 54-year-old is the recipient of a Governor-General’s Award and the $100,000 Siminovitch Prize, the country’s richest theatre award.
The Belfry Theatre has staged several of MacIvor’s plays, including On It and The Best Brothers.
In his keynote speech at the Metro Theatre, MacIvor will reflect on his life in theatre.
He says one thing that propelled him toward a career in acting and playwriting was his grandmother’s death when he was in Grade 5. He recalls viewing her in an open casket.
“I recognized immediately that there was something gone. My grandmother was absent. My grandmother was there, but something was gone,” he said.
MacIvor believes there’s a parallel between that formative experience and what he looks for in theatre. He seeks a “message of life” in the art form. And he suspects he’s not alone.
“I think that’s why many of us [create theatre]. And I think that’s why many of us go,” MacIvor said.
He’ll also dispense practical advice for aspiring playwrights.
During an early collaboration with Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre, where he served as writer-in-residence, MacIvor says, he tried to become what he thought the theatre company wanted.
“I was trying to reposition myself as the kind of writer that Tarragon at the time was looking for. I was trying to land somewhere between Judith Thompson and David French.”
It wasn’t a natural fit. It took MacIvor years to realize that his best work resulted from following his own instincts.
“If I had that bit of information sooner, I would have saved myself a bit of grief,” he said.
During his visit to Victoria, MacIvor will embark on another project. He’ll workshop a new theatre piece he’s developing with Daniel Brooks, another award-winning Canadian actor, director and playwright.
If all goes well, MacIvor hopes to mount the work, It Could Have Been Worse, at next year’s Uno Fest.
The play is inspired by several traumatic events MacIvor endured in 2016. These included a relationship breakup and the death of Iris Turcott, his beloved dramaturge.
“I had this mantra: It could have been worse.’ But at a certain point, how much worse could it be? Like … my death?” he said with a chuckle.
Daniel MacIvor will give his 70-minute talk WTF? (or What’s Theatre For?) at the Metro Theatre on Wednesday at 8 p.m. It will be followed by a question-and-answer session. Tickets are $25.
