Online Press Kit

Sarah Conn and Allison O’Connor – Trophy

Presented by Public Energy Performing Arts

Witness stories of life-changing moments of transformation in this pop up living installation at Fleming Park, built around stories by people from our community. Audience members move through at their own pace from tent to tent listening to stories that capture turning points in our lives. The light-filled tents become temporary beacons to a world in changing times, before they vanish off into the night.

Media Release

Click here to view the Trophy Media release

Contact

Eva Fisher, Administrator and Marketing Director

Phone: 705-745-1788 / Email: admin@publicenergy.ca

Photos

Video Trailer

STO TROPHY – English Version from McMillan on Vimeo.

Headshots

Sarah Conn

Allison O’Connor

Artist Bios

Sarah Conn produces award-winning theatre and live art projects, often collaborating with people outside the theatre world. Trophy has been presented at major festivals in Canada and beyond, including the Dublin Fringe Festival and has empowered more than 2,000 people to share stories of transformation and change. Sarah is Artistic Associate for the National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund and received the 2016 Siminovitch Protégé Prize in Directing.

Allison O’Connor is an Ottawa-based sculpture and installation artist, and social art practitioner. Her artistic practice encompasses immersive and interactive installations that prompt viewers to consider the power of their actions or inactions on the environment. She has a body of work rooted in ecology, which includes sculptures made of natural materials, as well as the management and study of honey bees.

WHAT IS PUBLIC ENERGY PERFORMING ARTS?

Public Energy presents a season of contemporary dance, theatre and interdisciplinary performance, while hosting workshops, talks and professional development opportunities for local artists. Public Energy Performing Arts supports the creation, touring, and presentation of innovative contemporary performing arts. PE is dedicated to providing inclusive spaces where risk-taking artists and diverse audiences meet.  Our vision is to be a cultural catalyst which inspires and empowers people through performance.

WHO ARE WE?

BILL KIMBALL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Since graduating from Trent University in 1980 with a degree in Cultural Studies, Bill Kimball has been involved in many aspects of the Peterborough arts community, particularly in the areas of contemporary dance and theatre. He has contributed to the creation of live performance spaces in Peterborough, beginning with City Stage, a performance space operated by Artspace in the early 1980’s and continuing to the present with various renovations and improvements to the Market Hall. In 1994, Bill created a nationally recognized dance presenting program called Peterborough New Dance, and later expanded the mandate to theatre and other forms of performance while changing the name to Public Energy, a name which reflects his desire for the arts to be integrated into public life as much as possible. Bill is currently the Artistic Producer at Public Energy.

VICTORIA MOHR-BLAKENEY, PERFORMANCE CURATOR & ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

Victoria Mohr-Blakeney is a curator and writer with a focus on curating contemporary dance and performance. She has curated/ co-curated performance work in gallery, theatre, and site-specific settings including Harbourfront Centre, CB Gallery, Edward Day Gallery, Artspace, Art Gallery of Ontario, The Citadel, George Brown School of Design, Scotiabank Studio Theatre, Nuit Blanche, and Artsweek Peterborough. Victoria has worked alongside Bridget Moser, Ame Henderson, Peggy Baker Dance Projects, and Dance Collection Danse. She holds an MFA in Criticism and Curatorial Practice from OCAD University. She has published work in Kapsula Magazine, The Dance Current, Toronto Standard, Volume, Peterborough This Week, and the Literary Review of Canada. Victoria is the recipient of the 2015 President’s Medal in Criticism and Curatorial Practice from OCAD University. She has presented her research on performance in Canada, India, and New Zealand.

EVA FISHER, ADMINISTRATOR & MARKETING DIRECTOR

Eva Fisher is Public Energy’s Administrator and Marketing Director. She also works as a food columnist for kawarthaNOW.com. She comes to us with a love of performance first fostered in the role of “Jamie at 6” in the 4th Line Theatre’s 1993 production of The Moodie Traill. Nowadays she is more comfortable in front of a spreadsheet than an audience. Eva has honed her management and event production skills through her role as General Manager of Kawartha Country Wines and the Kawartha Store. She holds a BScH in Earth Systems Science with a minor in English from Queen’s University.

PEYTON LE BARR, ARTISTIC PRODUCTION INTERN (Metcalf Foundation Performing Arts Internship )

Peyton joins us as our Artistic Production Intern, a position made possible by the Metcalf Foundation Performing Arts Internship.  Peyton is a theatre artist with a background in performance and independent production.  Following a decade long career as a professional actor both in Canada and across the UK, Peyton became the co-producer of Spiel Players, a Toronto based theatre collective.    Peyton has been a guest artist instructor at Humber College and in 2016 she was identified as an emerging female leader in the arts, receiving an apprenticeship in artistic direction through the Ontario Trillium Foundation.  Peyton is particularly interested in physical theatre, immersive performance, and site-specific works.  She is also a passionate activist, using her artistic voice as a platform for social awareness and change.  Peyton has a BFA in Acting from the University of Windsor and an MFA from East 15 Acting School in England.  We are happy to welcome her to the PE team!

PATTI SHAUGHNESSY, GUEST CURATOR/ARTS & COMMUNITY CONSULTANT

Patti Shaughnessy is a proud activist, actor, director, and artistic producer of a range of theatre and multi-arts projects over the past decade. With an academic background in Indigenous Studies at Trent University (Peterborough) and formal theater training from the Centre for Indigenous Theatre (Toronto), Patti is co-founder of the O’Kaadenigan Wiingashk Collective (OKW) – a Peterborough-based Indigenous arts collective that has presented and organized workshops and master classes with several internationally acclaimed Indigenous artists as part of an annual Ode’min Giizis (Strawberry Moon) Festival (2008-2012). International theatre directing credits include, Ananna A/S (Casa Matriz); Rosa Marie-p tiquartikkaluarnera (The Occupation of Heather Rose); and Arnatsialaat, The Rez Sisters – all part of Patti’s work over the past 5 years as director, instructor, and tour leader for the National Theatre of Greenland. Patti will be making her Canadian directing debut with Drew Hayden Taylor’s play, Cottagers and Indians, commissioned by Tarragon Theatre. Hailing from the great nation of the Mchi Saagiig Anishnaabe of Curve Lake First Nation #35, Patti is also born 5^th generation Irish. Patti currently lives part-time in Douro-Dummer township, where she rejuvenates and creates at her ancestral home and research laboratory.