Archive for the 'Performance' Category

OTL brings three shows to the Buffalo infringement festival!

Tuesday, July 17th, 2012

The 8th annual Buffalo infringement festival runs from July 26 – August 5, 2012, and this year Optative Theatrical Laboratories (OTL) will be in attendance for the entire duration! The Buffalo infringement festival is a both world leader in grassroots arts management and the largest arts festival in Western New York. This year, OTL will be presenting three […]

Festival Wars: 2012 Montreal infringement festival in context

Friday, June 22nd, 2012

Montreal’s summer festival season is heating up like never before! At play this year are two very different types of festival. The first is the typical Montreal staple: carefully stage-managed and highly corporate “festivals” that promote different brands, such as the F1 or Just For Laughs Festival. The second, joining in this year, is the festival of […]

A funeral for Montreal’s heritage, culture and Lower Main National Historic Site (May 27, 2012, at 3pm)

Sunday, April 15th, 2012

  A funeral for will be held on the Lower Main, beginning in front of Cafe Cleopatra, on Sunday, May 27th at 3pm. It’s being planned by artists, heritage activists and community stakeholders to lament the loss of unique part of Montreal’s heritage and culture. The dramatic funeral is in response to a cultural disaster that has been unfolding on the Lower Main over the […]

Occupy Movement puts Theatre Activism in the spotlight!

Monday, December 12th, 2011

Occupy Wall Street has put theatre activism into the spotlight like never before. Conceptualized by Vancouver-based Adbusters Magazine, the Occupy Movement kicked off on September 17 by taking over New York City’s Zuccotti Park, near Wall Street in Manhattan. The initial encampment consisted of a small tent-city, including everything from kitchens to libraries to performances spaces […]

Haunted Mountain: a Hallowe’en Walking Tour on Mount Royal

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011

This Hallowe’en, horror-expert Donovan King is pleased to offer Haunted Mountain, a spooky walking tour up the slopes of Mount Royal.

Red Light District Walking Tour (Sunday, September 4, at Noon)

Tuesday, August 30th, 2011

After hailing victory in the battle for Cafe Cleopatre, Burlesque queen Velma Candyass and cultural worker Donovan King are putting Montreal’s Red Light District firmly back on the map! As a cultural war unfolds in The Main National Historic Site between artists and developers, King and Candyass are working on behalf of the living culture, history, and […]

OTL offers seven infringement festival projects!

Thursday, June 9th, 2011

Optative Theatrical Laboratories is proud to announce seven unique theatrical projects for the 2011 Montreal infringement festival. Traditional favourites like Car Stories will appear alongside Red Light District and Greening Montreal walking tours (including an ecological picnic), a birthday party to celebrate Cultural Resistance, a screening of our new film “Global Invisible Theatre”, plus a new theatre experiment […]

Jane’s Walks by OTL on May 8th – Montreal Red Light District and Greening the Plateau & Quartier des Spectacles

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011

Optative Theatrical Laboratories, forever exploring cultural issues related to social justice, is pleased to team up with Montreal’s Urban Ecology Center for the 2011 edition of Jane’s Walk. Celebrating “walkable neighbourhoods, urban literacy, cities planned for and by people,” Jane’s Walk advocates the ideas and legacy of urbanist Jane Jacobs by encouraging people to explore their neighbourhoods and […]

ELECTION: Artists demand leadership in protecting The Main National Historic Site

Sunday, April 3rd, 2011

A Canadian federal election has been called and never before have Montreal artists in the Quartier des Specatcles been so politically engaged and mobilized. A cultural war of unprecedented proportions is under way in the new Entertainment district, pitting an alliance corporate developers and the Mayor of Montreal against local artists,  heritage activists, and the […]

Artists hail victory in battle for Café Cleopatra!

Tuesday, March 15th, 2011

Artists are crying “Victory” in the Quartier des Spectacles after winning a David vs. Goliath battle that pitted powerful corporate interests against local artists at the Café Cleopatra, a popular burlesque venue and centre for alternative arts. Café Cleopatra hails from another era and symbolizes the city’s once thriving Red Light District. Situated within “The […]