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Rumble Theatre presents Tremors: a one-of-a-kind festival/theater party featuring emerging directors, stage managers, designers, technicians, and actors under the guidance of local theatre professionals. Each night, three shows (Trainspotting, This is War, and The 4th Graders Present an Unnamed Love-Suicide) are performed simultaneously in different spaces inside East Vancouver’s Russian Hall.

When the shows are over, the audience and actors get together for a big after-show party which will include (depending on the night) slam poetry, a drag show, burlesque, or live music. It’s the Fringe meets HIVE – with a twist, plus three bars.

This new model for Tremors is a natural progression of Rumble’s commitment to emerging talent. In 2007, Rumble created the Tremors Festival, originally a two-week run of plays created by emerging companies. The new evolution of Tremors focuses on providing mentorship to individual emerging artists rather than emerging companies, and throwing a great party.

Rumble selects scripts, recruits emerging artists as actors, directors, designers, stage managers and technicians, and then assigns them discipline-specific mentors from the professional theatre community to offer them guidance and advice through the process. This way, young artists are given the freedom to create and practice their craft without the burden of producing their own work.

Professional mentors for 2014’s Tremors will include Carmen Alatorre, Sasa Brown, Lois Dawson, Stephen Drover, Bob Frazer, Troy Slocum, Jovanni Sy, Conor Moore, and Heidi Wilkinson. 

This year, Tremors will also feature three exciting BC premieres. This is War by Hannah Moscovitch (very recently nominated for the Sminiovitch Prize in Theatre, Canada’s biggest theatre award) revolves around four young Canadian soldiers and their experiences in Afghanistan. The play won the Trillium Book Award in June, the first time a Trillium has been awarded to a piece of dramatic literature. 

Harry Gibson’s Trainspotting is adapted from the celebrated novel by Irvine Welsh made popular by the 1996 film starring Ewan McGregor. The play brings us to the underground world of a group of twentysomethings in Edinburgh. It’s a fast-paced, gritty, filthy poetic and darkly hilarious look at the underbelly of youthful dreams gone awry. 

The 4th Graders Present an Unnamed Love-Suicide, by Chicago playwright and director Sean Graney, is an odd, autobiographical work concerning adolescent turmoil, bullies, eating disorders, and alienation. What follows is a story of love, betrayal, and revenge worthy of the Greeks.

Rumble Theatre presents Tremors

Dates: November 12 to 15, 8 pm
Venue: The Russian Hall, 600 Campbell Avenue, Vancouver
Trainspotting (Downstairs), This is War (Upstairs), and The 4th Graders Present an Unnamed Love-Suicide (Main Hall)
Note: All three shows take place simultaneously; attendees will be able to see one show per night
Tickets: $15; available online

About Rumble Theatre
Rumble produces contemporary plays from the Canadian and world repertoire, commissions and produces new Canadian adaptations of outstanding stories, and fosters meaningful interactions between emerging and established artists. For over two decades, Rumble Theatre has served as a vital member of the Vancouver theatre community. The company has produced over 30 critically acclaimed shows, including 20 world premieres, and has received numerous honours, including 41 Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards nominations.

Visit Rumble Theatre online for more info.