After a five year hiatus, subDevision—Ottawa’s coolest site-specific theatre festival experience—is back. From Oct. 2–4, swing by the Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG) for all things performance, collaboration and community.
“Its first iteration was in 2012, and it was started by a large collective of artists—all theatre artists at that time—who were just looking for a way of bringing new and experimental work in a shared producing platform,” says Caity Smyck, a collective member of subDevision.
“Independent producing is extremely difficult,” says Smyck. “Going at it with a larger collective makes it more feasible.”
While the last iteration of subDevision was in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the collective from organising another one, until now. And seeing as subDevision uses various spaces to explore different aspects of performance and theatre, Smyck says that the OAG is the perfect location for their comeback.
“Our goal that emerged when we started looking at bringing subDevision back was that we wanted to make this iteration as interdisciplinary as possible,” says Smyck. “So having it in a space that is a very public space and a very transient space, was really exciting.”
subDevision banner. Photo provided.
Smyck also works as the artistic director of Skeleton Key Theatre and is the co-artistic director of Levity Theatre, which speaks to the collaborative nature of subDevision.
“That’s part of the agreement of being part of subDevision,” they say. “You’re not just creating something, you’re also there to make sure that the event is as successful as it can be.”
Smyck also says that it has been difficult trying to navigate the artistic space after the COVID-19 lockdowns. There has been a gap that artists have experienced in the performance world, which presents many obstacles for independent artists in the city.
“One of the great things about subDevision is the fact that it is a shared producing model,” says Smyck. “You’re not in it alone, you’re in it with other artists—maybe not necessarily in your own creation, but in getting your creation in front of an audience.”
Ultimately, Smyck hopes that audiences leave with a good story.
“The point is to provide a unique experience where folks get to come in, have a party and see some experimental, fun, unique work in odd spaces that they’ve never seen before,” they say. “And inevitable, with all of those components, I think it has the potential to create a good story and a good memory for someone.”
The subDevision Theatre Festival will take place at the Ottawa Art Gallery from Oct. 2–4. Doors open at 7pm, with performances starting at 7:30pm until 10:30pm. Tickets are pay-what-you-decide starting at $10 and can be purchased online. For more information about subDevision, you can visit their Facebook page or their Instagram.
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