“Three years in development, bravely conceived and executed, Carmen #YesAllWomen stands as a testament to the courage of its creators. A difficult piece. A shout of rage. A scream. A plea. Viau and company have forged a devastating work.”
– Opera Going Toronto 2019
“This really is a genre defying show. The use of live video is completely new. …everybody has at least two views of the action; the real and at least one projection, giving a sort of multi viewpoint augmented reality. I found this very effective. Definitely worth a look. It’s very cool.”
– Operaramblings 2019
Created by
Alaina Viau
Re-composed and Arranged by
Samuel Bisson
Electronic composition by
SlowPitchSound
Libretto by
Alaina Viau and Monica Pearce
As an ambitious and strong willed women, Carmen, who works as a bartender, is working towards owning her own establishment. John Anderson is a PTSD war vet who is homeless on the streets of Toronto. He finds hope in Carmen who he becomes obsessed with. Carmen navigates a patriarchal society and is ultimately overtaken by John’s possessive jealously, which leads to her untimely death.
Although Carmen is her own strong independent woman, our history, stories and perspectives as women have been told through the lens of a patriarchal society on the backdrop of sexism and internalized misogyny.
A contemporary look at the normalization of harassment that women face everyday, these elements feed the culture that continuously makes women victims for being themselves. In Carmen #YesAllWomen, Loose Tea strives to give the opportunity for Carmen’s story to be told through her eyes, as a strong independent woman striving and achieving within a patriarchal society and the dangers that she faces simply for doing that.
Cast
Carmen
Erica Iris
John
Keith Klassen
Michaela
Beth Hagerman
Maximillian
Bradley Christensen
Zander and Carmen’s Friend
Keenan Viau
Franky
Erin Stone
Mercedes
Zoe Clark
Drunk Guy
Brock Johnson
Lilly Preston
Ramona Carmelly
Other Bar People
Carl Lyons & Patrick Scanlon
Land Acknowledgement
Joanna Diindiisikwe Simmons
Artistic Team
Music Director
Scott Christian
Director & Production Design
Alaina Viau
Sound Design
SlowPitchSound
Videographers
Stephen Bell & Ryan Harper
Costume Design
Maureen Russell
Stage Management
Laura Krause
Cellos
Samuel Bisson and Amahl Arulanandam