One Yellow Rabbit reimagines beautifulyoungartists

Meet the original beautifulyoungartist, Christopher Duthie. One Yellow Rabbit had the pleasure of working with Christopher when the beautifulyoungartists program was first developed as part of an internship in partnership with the University of Calgary and supported by John Lefevbre. Christopher continues to hone his rich artistic practice of acting, playwriting, and education through mentorship with One Yellow Rabbit this spring.

This three-week performance residency gives four of Calgary's young performance artists real-life stage experience as well as a chance to try new things in a supportive atmosphere. This is the first step in a newly envisioned beautifulyoungartists program which will kick off in the fall with eight young artists.

THE NEED FOR MENTORSHIP
From a motley group of young theatre kids in the 80s, to one of the most well-established theatre companies in Calgary, One Yellow Rabbit has quite the reputation. They’ve never shied away from difficult subjects - nudity, controversary, or absurdity - and the High Performance Rodeo has become a beloved institution within our community.

What may be less familiar to the average theatre lover is that One Yellow Rabbit has been mentoring hopeful young theatre professionals for almost as long as they’ve been performing on stage. As a smaller city, our community is all too familiar with the unfortunate reality of seeing our best talent move to larger urban centres such as Toronto and Vancouver. Rather than train a larger group of young artists over the summer who might then be forced to leave the city to find regular employment, One Yellow Rabbti is looking to shift their focus to a smaller group of young acting professionals who would become a paid resident artist ensemble.

This passion for mentorship stems from the very roots of their initiation into the world of theatre. Along with cofounders Blake Brooker, Andy Curtis, and Michael Green, Denise Clark jumped into the business without a great deal of theatre training and certainly no mentorship from their older peers.

“You're always thinking, ‘I want to make something amazing’ but actually making it is really hard. You want to give young artists the confidence and tools to build their house strong. You don't want to be building it out of straw,” says Denise.

Denise and the Rabbits learned these lessons through trial and error, which may sound like a solid learning process, but that’s not what Denise would have preferred.

“As a young artist it was something that I longed for,” says Denise. “A more senior artist to just open up and share with me. They didn't have to love me, they just had to share and be generous with their knowledge.”

It was this desire that led to the first forays into mentorship by the Rabbits, the genuine wish to share creative ideas and be better for it. Now, nearly 30 years later, Denise Clarke has written the book on this work, literally (https://calgaryherald.com/entertainment/local-arts/theatre-rule-breaker-denise-clarke-offers-a-guidebook-for-creating-performance-theatre). The One Yellow Rabbit Summer Intensive Lab has been running for 23 years, and the beautifulyoungartists program celebrated its sixth year this spring.

So why change these programs now?

“There have been years that applicants were down, mainly because there were so many mentorship programs across Canada now. And then on the beautifulyoungartists side of things, there was starting to be this question around performance opportunity,” says Denise. “The fine-tuned skill that these artists were now capable of begged the question, both internally and externally, ‘Are we giving them enough?’”

It was this train of thought that lead to a reimaging of both the Summer Intensive Lab and beautifulyoungartists program into something new that would not only support training and growth, but also keep this amazing young talent in Calgary.

ENTER THE NEW GUY
Kunji Ikeda has been involved with the beautitfulyoungartists program in various capacities for eleven years. He has trained extensively with Denise Clarke and his fearless political works have delved into the subjects of Japanese Canadian internment with Sansei: The Storyteller, and toxic masculinity with The Golden Penis. He is also Artistic Director of Cloudsway Dance Theatre and has the distinction of being named 2015 Emerging Artist by Calgary Arts Development Authority.

Following in Denise’s footsteps on both the mentorship and performance side of One Yellow Rabbit, Kunji feels that he’s more than ready to take the reins on this new (and also old) program.

“Early on I was able to have a small leadership role. I could run some rehearsals when Denise was engaged doing other beautiful things,” says Kunji, referring to the previous incarnations of the Summer Intensive Lab and beautifulyoungartists. “Seeing the power of it, and seeing me and my peers get better through this process - it was really an additive method of working.”

Under Kunji’s directorship, the new program will strive for a mix of 50/50 BIPOC artists, including both new and more experienced performers. For Kunji and Denise, it’s less important that the artists be fresh out of school, but more that they be the perfect blend of creative energy and passion to benefit each other, as well as contribute to the work that they will bring to the stage.

“Over the years under Denise’s leadership I've seen the care and the tenacity but also the fierce and the gentleness of the room,” says Kunji. “I’m excited to continue that tradition.”

You will be able to see more from One Yellow Rabbit’s beautifulyoungartists once the program launches this fall with the full complement of eight artists. To keep up to date on what’s new with One Yellow Rabbit, you can tune into their Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.