By Meghan Power
What makes Fire Exit unique is that for the last two decades they’ve offered audiences the opportunity to experience theatre that explores stories of transformation and redemption through a faith-based lens. Val believes, “everyone is on a spiritual journey and Fire Exit offers a safe space for audiences and artists to explore questions like, why are we here? What happens when our time here is done? These are universal questions that we, as humans, have asked since time immemorial.”
Right around the beginning of the pandemic, Val attended a stage reading of Clem Martini’s award-winning play, Cantata: Rumours of My Crazy, Useless Life. “I remember it so vividly because we were all masked and sitting 6-feet apart and starting to see public happenings be cancelled and shut down. But this play was so powerful, that even just as a stage reading, people were crying — that’s the power of words.” Martini’s play is a dramatization and fictionalization of his experience as a caregiver for a brother with schizophrenia and a mother developing dementia. The family undergoes much stress as the delicate balance of caregiving unravels. From organizing home care to eventually finding long-term care, the Berenger family strains to navigate an unforgiving system and experiences that haunt the dignity of all involved. The play has a cast of four, but includes what can be described as a fifth character, the marimba, which develops musically with the story.
“That stage reading stuck with me and I knew that it was a play that would deeply resonate with our audience. However, any theatre production with more than two actors is considered a big production and can be expensive to produce.” Funding from Calgary Arts Development (CADA) through their Project Development Grant for Organizations helped Fire Exit to hire four actors and a marimba player. The funding also helped with additional marketing, which Val feels paid off with one of their shows selling out. “Having access to these funds helped us to expand our audience base and engage actors that we normally wouldn’t have been able to afford.”
“I am deeply grateful to CADA and other Alberta arts organizations for supporting arts and culture in our communities. I think storytellers are the most influential people in our culture right now. Sharing these stories on stage gives audiences a way of processing and digesting our common experiences as humans. We need organizations like CADA to continue supporting and resourcing art. I’m deeply in love with the Alberta arts community and our audiences and how we are growing and expanding — I’m excited for what’s on the horizon.”