Beauty and the Beast: My Life
2025, Niall McNeil Productions, The Cultch, Vancouver, Canada
Part fantasy, part reality, with huge dollops of whimsy.
Niall McNeil’s Beauty and The Beast: My Life transports audiences into a vibrant realm that references Disney and Cocteau but charts its own unique narrative path through Niall’s experiences and multi-faceted art practice.
With this world premiere, Niall, who identifies as an artist with Down Syndrome, is making his directorial debut and creating the story. He has assembled an incredible team of collaborators and performers, including: Veda Hille, Billy Marchenski, Sophia Wolfe, Kate Franklin, and Peter Anderson—who have come together to centre Niall’s unique approach to art-making.
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/1070508308
Interview with Niall McNeil: https://vimeo.com/1070490846
Set and prop design by Paula Viitanen Aldazosa
Lighting Design by Itai Erdal
Costumes by Christine Reimer
Sound Design by Mishelle Cuttler
Multitides – a site collaborative tidal walk
2024, Vines Art Festival, Vancouver, Canada
An excerpt of an ongoing artistic research taking place at the šxʷsyiΦəm (Musqueam) / Ḵweḵw7úpay̓ (Squamish) intertidal zone, also known as Spanish Banks. The tidal walk began at a site-responsive installation, leading into the intertidal zone – a frontier emerging and disappearing between the urban and the natural world.
Sound link: https://elliotvaughan.com/tides/
Event link: https://www.vinesartsociety.com/events/multitides
Collaborators: Paula Viitanen, Juan Aldazosa, Liz Wurzinger, Elliot Vaughan
Slip Slap Trip Wack
2024, Leaky Heaven Performance, Vancouver, Canada
The family-friendly work brings to life the imaginative worlds of 5–12-year-olds, in a unique collaboration between the artists of Leaky Heaven and youth who live near the studio at the Russian Hall. The performance seats audience members on a 360-degree rotating device, which allows them to both watch and volunteer to perform in the sketches.
Event link: https://leakyheaven.com/project/slip-slap-trip-wack/
Trailer:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ggIspAtIfM
Created by: 18 Children & Josh Hite, Steve Hill, Nancy Tam, Dave Biddle, Lois Anderson, Paula Viitanen, Marion Jacobs, Juan Aldazosa, Avery Chapman, Val Christianson, Marita Michaelis, Justine A. Chambers. Katayoon Yousefbigloo, Vanessa Mercedes Figueroa
To the Girls Who Think They Are Along
2023, The Finnish National Theatre, Helsinki, Finland
Event link: https://www.kansallisteatteri.fi/esitys/tytoille-jotka-ajattelevat-olevansa-yksin#performances
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