Breaking ground in 2009, Theatre Provocateur's raison-d’être is to present live one-act dramas to audiences throughout Ontario, on various social issues that affect individuals, families and the community. The purpose of these plays is to educate, raise consciousness and move people to action, and and give voice to people affected by the issues presented. Theatre Provocateur's ultimate vision is to provide an audience experience that will both provoke, shake up, tear down status quo and lead people to changing attitudes and behaviour.

For Robin Rundle Drake, Creative Director, this company represents a collision between two personal passions: the arts and mental health. She is a recognized professional in the mental health field, an area that she has worked in a variety of capacities for over twenty-five years (nurse, manager, educator and now advocate). She is also a recognized artist in the London community (actor, writer, director). Theatre Provocateur will offer audiences opportunities to engage and experience the arts in new ways. This is innovative work of high artistic merit that has the potential to impact the lives of people in our community

Theatre Provocateur will create and produce artistically sound original plays that can be enjoyed by any theatre audience, but that can also be used for education and discussion in mental health and other settings. like hospitals, advocacy groups and education institutions. The plays will be used as  powerful catalytic tools to engage audiences in authentic dialogue post-presentation about important issues that impact many people (for example: mental illness, homelessness, sexual abuse, elder abuse, poverty, palliation).

The company has produced two shows to date. The Shattered Years produced  in collaboration with community partners involved in the “Stop Elder Abuse and Neglect” project focuses on elder abuse. The play is performed and then a facilitated conversation follows it. Beyond the benefits of shared dialogue, the discovery of what help is available, and how to access it creates value to a post performance discussion and has significant potential to impact communities and individuals. The Shattered Years was publicly ‘workshopped’ in London in October of 2009. and presented at the annual Geriatric Medicine Refresher Day in May of 2010.

The second production, A Few Prozaks Short of a Hap-P Meal© "started as a conversation last August with Robin Rundle Drake, and  quickly turned
into eight months of rehearsal and the creation of this play about Mental Illness.
The process of its creation is important, in that we took the lived experience of the
participants and some submitted work and then refined and refined until we had what
I called a “bit.” Then you take the bits and string them together and presto chango we
have the play.
The play is about the absurdity, the frustration, the joy and the pain experienced by
people who live with mental illness. Many are deeply personal to the cast and their
bravery and the bravery of those who deal with these issues every day needs not only
to be acknowledged but sung from the mountain to the valley. Sadly in Canada we are
way behind almost every western nation when it comes to working with and supporting
those with a mental illness. That’s 1 in 5 Canadians by the way. We need to move on
this with as much commitment as we have done with breast cancer. I hope our work
helps to shed some light about why".
Sean Quigley. Director.

A Few Prozaks Short of a Hap-P Meal© was collectively created over the course of many months of hard work and play. It was important for us to bring in many perspectives and voices through the ‘bits’ people are entertained with onstage. To do this with integrity and truth there had to be some lived experience with the material. We’ve been to these places - either ourselves, through word-of-mouth, with friends or families, or in the mental health system.

With these two productions under Theatre Provocateur’s belt  it will be possible to begin to broaden its mandate to include engaging and utilizing the talents of local people throughvarious activities (writing, acting, technical work)  who have had direct experiences with the social issues presented on stage.

In 2011, Theatre Provocateur collaborated with other community partners to jointly produce plays being used to facilitate learning and change.

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Robin Rundle Drake has been engaged in the theatre scene both in London and the surrounding region for many years as an actor. She recently received a special adjudicator's award for first-time directing at the 2009 London One Act Festival. Past credits include Channel Surfing's Sex with Strangers in 2009, Nelly, in Theatre Nemesis’s 2008 London Fringe Festival production of Wuthering Heights, Therèse,  Passionfool’s production of Les Belles Soeurs, Mrs. Peacock in Clue - The Musical for Simply Theatre. In recent years she has engaged in directing, and writing. Her first play, Clean Up Time received several award nominations in the London One Act Festival in 2007.

Hear Robin talk about Theatre Provocateur May 7th at 12:00pm and 6:00pm EST on an interview with Kelly MacDonald on Soundprint which is a national broadcast service available on cable, on satellite and online.

http://www.voiceprintcanada.com/component/option,com_mtree/task,listcats/cat_id,278/Itemid,68/
 

Premier presentation from Theatre Provocateur reviewed in Beat Magazine October 24, 2009

The Shattered Years — A drama about Elder Abuse
Written by Donald D'Haene

Presented by Theatre Provocateur
Hosted by Project S.E.N.I.O.R.
Directed by Robin Rundle Drake
Performed by Ruth Korchuk, Kathleen Morrison, John Pacheco, Don Reid, Lucy Williams
LHSC’s Holdsworth Auditorium
273 Hill St.
Oct. 22
***/4
Theatre Provocateur’s raison d'être is to present live one-act dramas to audiences throughout Ontario on various social issues that affect its communities.
Their premiere of a workshop about elder abuse and neglect was held in a difficult-to-find auditorium. I have no doubt the next production will be easier to find with contact numbers, explicit directions and signs visible from the road. Nevertheless, it certainly was worth the effort once I located the inconspicuous spot as Theatre Provocateur’s play The Shattered Years by Michael Hennessy     was better acted than some productions I’ve experienced in state-of-the-art theatres!
Director Robin Rundle Drake was well served by a cast of old pros. Lucy Williams and Don Reid hit all the right notes as two elderly family members abused by their respective caretakers. Ruth Korchuck, fresh off her comedic performance in London Community Player’s Plaza Suite, performed a very different role – this time a daughter who even with the “best intentions” causes her father distress. John Pacheco and Kathleen Morrison were also effective in their roles as an abusive son-in-law and daughter respectively.
The program for the event states, “Drama is a powerful catalytic tool to engage audiences in authentic dialogue about important issues that impact many people.” It is the authenticity of the dialogue and situations that most recommends The Shattered Years.
After the event, Gill Villanueva, a family consultant with London Police Services and Patrick Fleming, a social worker at London Health Sciences Centre who works with the elderly population, facilitated a post-performance discussion. Both are involved in Project SENIOR (Stop Elder Neglect in our Region) and members of its subcommittees: the Steering Committee, The Multi-Disciplinary Action Team, and the Committee on Abuse and Neglect of the Elderly (CANE). They sought feedback which no doubt will prove invaluable as they plan to have further public performances at conferences, senior empowerment days, and for students and the general public. Meanwhile, they are seeking funding and sponsorship to be able to do that in sustainable ways to keep the project moving forward.
It’s often said, it takes a village to raise a child. The Shattered Years points out that village also needs to care for its elderly.
Contact Robin Rundle Drake for more information at robin@rundledrake.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and/or visit http://www.police.london.ca/d.aspx?s=/Community/Safety_Awareness/Project_SENIOR.htm
Donald D’Haene is editor of The Beat Online. He is PR Consultant for PS Your Cat is Dead, playing at McManus Dec 2-5 and Producer of Nine – The Musical, playing the Palace Theatre Mar. 18-27.
[Photo above: Gill Villanueva facilating post-show discussion; Right: Lucy Willams and Kathleen Morrison; Photos by Donald D'Haene]

See reviews for A Few Prozaks Short of a Hap-P Meal© online at www.londonfringe.ca or www.beatmagazine.ca or www.theatreprovocateur.ca
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Your Life As Art

The Three Aspects of Creating

The mechanics of the creative process include things like 'how do you think about your end results'; how do you know where you are in relationship to those results, and how do you develop strategic and tactical plans in order to accomplish them.

The orientation

You may know the mechanics of the creative process and yet still not be able to accomplish the results you want over time – you may still end up in an oscillating pattern. Its is important to know something about the orientation of the creative process in order to be able to successfully apply the mechanics of the creative process in your life.

The spirit

By looking deeply within yourself you can discover what really matters to you – those things that are the source of why you create.

'The third dimension of the creative process concerns the deeper aspects of the human being. Often this realm is thought of as the domain of philosophy, metaphysics or religion. But there is another lens through which to view this aspect of human makeup, one without the limitations of beliefs, dogma, creed, doctrine, or conviction. This lens explores without an idea of what one might find. This true exploration can open the door to the deepest source of the creative process. For your life to be art, you cannot ignore your own depth, your own reservoir of vitality. Through the creative process, your true spirit and essence is expressed throughout your life. When you are in touch with this spirit, you are transformed in many ways. It impacts your life direction, your understanding of what's important to you, and your quality of life. It can be a platform from which to stand, a touchstone for deepest values and highest aspirations, a source of inner strength, and a fountainhead for amazing intrinsic generative energy.'

From 'Your Life as Art' by Robert Fritz

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http://www.soundprint.org/