BPA students during rehearsal for Qualia – Kirk Chantraine photo
Preview–Qualia PuSh Festival Vancouver
– by Christine Redmond/photos by Kirk Chantraine
The fresh faces of Canada’s newly formed Bachelor of Performing Arts (BPA) program made their collective debut at this year’s PuSh Festival in Vancouver with their production Qualia. (There are two final performances Saturday, Feb 2, at 4 and 8 p.m. More details below.)
Created by the BPA student ensemble Centre of A Tangle (CoAT), the show focuses on the concept of humanity in a digital age. In Qualia, a new strain of human has evolved. This generation experiences life and reacts to stimuli in wildly different ways to us.
The small group of these abnormals are being contained and researched to better understand the cause of their disorder – a disorder that may be spreading. A group of potential investors are touring the research facility to view the strange behaviours of the detainees. What could possibly go wrong?
The disorder’s various symptoms are called qualia, a term borrowed from philosophy to refer to “individual instances of subjective, conscious experience,” according to Wikipedia. How does it feel to see red, smell a rose, feel pain, hear thunder? Do we perceive reality or merely an interpretation our mind has created? What is experience?
See Qualia Feb. 2 at Progress Lab 1422, 1422 William Street, Vancouver. For more info, visit: pushfestival.ca/shows/qualia/.
BPA students during rehearsal for Qualia. Kirk Chantraine photo
BPA students during rehearsal for Qualia – Kirk Chantraine photo
BPA students during rehearsal for Qualia – Kirk Chantraine photo
To learn about the BPA program, which is offered offered jointly by Capilano University, Douglas Collage, Langara and Vancouver Community College, visit capilanou.ca/bpa or email bpa@capilanou.ca.
