THEATRE
What: SKAMpede
Where: Various locations, including the Galloping Goose Regional Trail and Songhees Walkway
When: Friday to Sunday
Tickets: Pay What You Can ($10 suggested donation)
Information: skam.ca
SKAMpede contends with multiple factors each year — the majority of which are weather-related.
But when things coalesce as they should for Theatre SKAM’s annual outdoor performing arts festival, the run of performances spread throughout the Inner Harbour and along the Galloping Goose Regional Trail becomes a living, breathing entity unto itself.
SKAMpede sold out its run of shows last summer — one of the few arts and culture events to do so during the pandemic. “We were extremely lucky in that we were able to keep doing SKAMpede during COVID,” said co-producer Branden Sugden. ”It’s one of the unexpected benefits of doing a totally outdoor theatre festival.”
The festival is still being improved more than a decade after it premièred, which has contributed to its enduring popularity. Last year, organizers re-jigged the walking and bikes routes on which attendees travelled to each performance, a small but meaningful move that upped SKAMpede’s fluidity. Instead of travelling as a group by bike or on foot to their respective performance, patrons met at the venue and ventured afterward back to a central hub, where further performances were staged.
That gave the festival a greater sense of community. “We’ve been able to learn as things went along,” Sugden said.
SKAMpede is offering multiple separately ticketed pay-what-you-can performances through the weekend as part of the festival’s 14th edition. In 2021, organizers required guests to pre-book, so Theatre SKAM had an idea of how many were attending. The festival has returned to its previous format for this weekend, which allows attendees to show up unannounced at each site. Admission is by donation, with $10 being suggested as a reasonable entry fee.
Three separate tours are available, each with different shows, on the Galloping Goose Regional Trail and Songhees Walkway and in Millennium Square Park. The hub is stationed at Selkirk Green Park.
“Something that we found was nice last year was having the tours lead to the hub as opposed to leaving through the hub. It allows people who don’t have an opportunity to see all the tours understand what happened on the other ones, and share in the stories they encountered on the trip afterwards.”
Theatre SKAM has invited artists from across the country to appear at the festival, the first time since 2019 it has been able to do so. Montreal choreographer Thomas Duret of Baobab - Création multidisciplinaire and Banff-based actor-writer-performer Reneltta Arlukare among the out-of-province guests. They will join a roster of primarily local performers, including ones from SNAFU, Reverse Puppet Productions, Fear No Opera, Atomic Vaudeville and the Embrace Arts Foundation.
Sugden has high hopes for SKAMpede, now that the province has fully opened up. “People are finally feeling comfortable to come back out and go to the number of events that they are used to. People have had to relearn how to go to festivals and that sort of thing.”
