Introducing… The World’s First Psychedelic Talk Opera

Email: vegabard@gmail.com   Phone number: 250.475.0477 (work)   Your Location: Victoria, B.C.   Company or Affiliation: 2 Dope Boys in a Cadillac / Achievers Agency   Website: http://johnnymacrae.com/2-dope-boys-in-a-cadillac/   Other contact info: Twitter: @avecigrec / Facebook: Shayne Avec I Grec   Your Awesome Shit: The Anthropocalypse is Nigh... and 2 Dope Boys in a Cadillac are out to spread the word in the form of what we understand to be the world's first psychedelic talk opera – blending together elements of improv, theatre and spoken word to create a dynamic interactive experience for the advertised End Times. Presented from a patented mix of clinical observations, half truths and semi-fictions, The Anthropocalypse will tell of humanity's wildly destructive tendencies seen through the eyes of two young men who've only just begun to experience it, having been forced to flee their idyllic rural community in British Columbia's fabled Cadillac Mountains – from which they still carry armloads of hope and compassion. The Anthropocalypse is a 60-minute show drawing from 120 minutes of material, allowing the show to maintain a live performance dynamic, while still fitting into the structure set forth by the theatrical narrative – creating an ever-evolving show that works with its audience to reach a collective endpoint – climaxing with feelings of community and hope. Material for The Anthropocalypse will be complete by spring of 2012, allowing for a summer of workshopping, and a debut at the 2012 Victoria Fringe Festival.   Your Bio: I am a spoken word performer and community arts organizer who has lived in Victoria for the past seven years and have worked extensively within the poetry and music communities. In addition to multiple local performances and national tours I've been an independent promoter ( pedestrian ! productions / Achievers Agency ), a venue booking agent ( solstice café ), an artistic director ( Tongues of Fire / Solstice Festival for the Folk ), a vice-chair of Spoken Word Canada (SPOCAN), a member of the 2005 Victoria Poetry Slam Team, and the coach of the 2007 Victoria Poetry Slam Team. Since attending the Spoken Word Program at The Banff Centre in spring of 2010, I have been working closely with Vancouver-based poet Johnny MacRae, as 2 Dope Boys in a Cadillac, toward our shared vision of creating the world's first psychedelic talk opera. In the past year, we've toured a preview show, called The Anthropocalypse is Nigh... (Prelude to a Psychedelic Talk Opera) , across Canada and select U.S. locations – a show which has provided the backbone to a more fully envisioned finished product.   Anything else you think we should know: Our present operational budget to see The Anthropocalypse onstage at the 2012 Victoria Fringe Festival is approximately $1800, which breaks down as follows:

• $550 – Application fee for Victoria Fringe Festival
• $750 – Accommodations for a 10-day writing retreat on Mayne Island
• $300 – Print promotion for The Anthropocalypse during it's run at the Victoria Fringe Festival
• $200 – Website registration and creation

At present we have $500 earmarked toward our application fee to ensure our entrance in next year's Fringe, while the writing retreat on Mayne Island should prove a critical junction in the project's creation, as we both presently live in different cities. The ability to hold 10 days of intensive creation and rehearsal time on an island located in the geographic centre between us will facilitate the fullest potential of the show being actualized as early as possible, which in turn will allow us to workshop it toward being one of the most memorable poetic/theatrical experiences the audience will have experienced. Print promotion for the show will begin in late spring, or early summer, through the dissemination of collectable informational cards featuring characters and other aspects of the play. These cards will feature a full-bleed photo or art piece on the front, with information and poetry excerpts specific to that card on the back – as well as a link to the website (being built over the spring), which will feature further information, video and art relevant to The Anthropocalypse . Any profits made during the show's debut run will be directly put back into the show, seeding our finances to tour the show through the North American Fringe circuit in 2013 – less our buy-in to be judges during a future Awesome Shit Club session.