May 13-18, 2024 | Historic Theatre & Vancity Culture Lab

May 13-20, 2024 | HISTORIC THEATRE & VANCITY CULTURE LAB

IGNITE!

Odyssey: Opening Party, Zero Gravity, Luminosity, Meteor Shower and Super Nova: The Big Finale

The Cultch’s Youth Panel are thrilled to announce that this year’s IGNITE! Festival will be taking over The Cultch’s Historic Theatre— with youth-led programming and new work by local emerging playwrights and multidisciplinary artists— from May 13-18, 2024. This will be IGNITE!’s 23rd Anniversary of in-person events.

IGNITE! is an eclectic festival that celebrates excellence in emerging arts and that is curated entirely by members of the Youth Panel at The Cultch. It features theatre performers, filmmakers, writers, poets, dancers, musicians, visual artists, multidisciplinary artists and more — all aged 13-30 — as well as participants from The Cultch mentorship programs. Celebrating its 23rd Anniversary, the festival also includes the production of two One Act Plays by local emerging playwrights and a Visual Arts exhibition. Each of the main festival nights offer a diverse spread of performances in a variety-show style under a theme; this year IGNITE! is going spatial to celebrate the voices of rising stars!

IGNITE! Odyssey
May 13, 2024 
Vancouver Culture Lab
8:00PM

Join us for our secret-ish Festival Kick-Off night! Witness a cosmic collision of visual art and the written word. Featuring the works of a visual artist and a poet in IGNITE!’s first ever commissioned gallery exhibition! Our opening night will also feature an inter(stellar) live music set by Kitty Prozac and the frank theatre’s Telling it Bent cohort to blast us off into IGNITE! 2024.

IGNITE! Zero Gravity
May 15, 2024
Historic Theatre
8:00PM

East Van, we have liftoff! IGNITE! has crossed through the stratosphere and entered orbit. Float between hilarity, tragedy, and everything in between in this evening dedicated to celebrating the written word. Stand-up comics Savannah Erasmus and Ariane Anantaputri will turn your world upside down with their witty insights into life as an up-and-coming artist and growing up as a third-culture kid. Closing the night we will welcome two one-act plays: Daughters by Simran Sethi, and And I Thee, Who Lov’st Nothing by Amaruuk Bose. From complicated intergenerational grapples between elderly parents and their recently divorced child to the sobering realization that perhaps summoning demons to deal with high school mean girls isn’t the best idea. Our first night is set to start you on a beautiful journey full of inspiring and exciting pieces!

IGNITE! Luminosity
May 16, 2024 
Historic Theatre
8:00PM

The stars have aligned and IGNITE! is shining bright to bring you Luminosity! Bask in the glow of our two multidisciplinary acts; Dora Prieto’s Sleepless Poems and To The Other Side by Pedro Augusto Meza, as they bring you intimate explorations of love and loss through the blending of melody, spoken word, and projection art. Deeply moving and yet so inviting, these pieces will ignite a light in you. Followed by the eclectic, energetic and constantly moving melodies of Haleluya Hailu, whose indie pop rhythms and heavenly vocals will transport you through the cosmos. Last but certainly not least, prepare to immerse yourself in the beautiful melodies and heartfelt lyrics of Maite Garnica, a singer songwriter who will mesmerize you with her blend of Argentine rock, folk, and Latin elements with her four-piece band featuring Maite on vocals and keyboard, Nadim Woolgar on classic guitar, Ricardo Hardy on bass, and Alex Hernández on drums.

IGNITE! Meteor Shower
May 17, 2024
Historic Theatre
8:00PM

Fiery comets streaking through the atmosphere, illuminating the night sky — catch a glimpse of this celestial wonder, IGNITE! Meteor Shower. We’re starting off the evening with the IGNITE! Short Film Program; five delightfully out-of-this-world flicks by Carlo Marchet, Abby Ridd, Pablo García García, Momoko Hosokawa, and Patricio Cartas. Closing the night we have an explosive double bill featuring the Franco-Anglo fusions of garage/indie rock by Blue Rivera and a local singer songwriter. 

IGNITE! Super Nova: The Big Finale
May 18, 2024
Historic Theatre
8:00PM

A powerful cataclysm of Queer Joy: it’s the Big Finale! We could not be more excited to end our 2024 run with a celebration of some of the most amazing emerging queer artists from the local scene. With an incredibly exciting lineup of drag and voguing performers including Karlie Hart, Theo Rhetical, and closing with the intergalactic experimentations of producer and rapper HINI. You cannot miss this explosion of talent, creativity and innovation!

BUY TICKETS
FESTIVAL PASS
Showtimes & Dates

Odyssey: Opening Party
May 13, 2024 at 8PM

Zero Gravity
May 15, 2024 at 8PM

Luminosity
May 16, 2024 at 8PM

Meteor Shower
May 17, 2024 at 8PM

Super Nova: The Big Finale
May 18, 2024 at 8PM

Doors at 7:00pm
Show at 8:00pm

Ticket Info

IGNITE! Festival Pass: $40 on sale soon

Tickets are sold on a sliding scale:
Discounted: $15
Standard: $18
Supplementary: $21

Content Forecasts

IGNITE! Odyssey:  Strong language including profanity, derogatory remarks and sexual innuendo. Mature themes including depictions of workplace harassment, discrimination, toxic masculinity, grief, isolation, transphobia, interpersonal violence and inappropriate behaviour.

IGNITE! Zero Gravity: Coarse language; themes of racism and substance abuse.

IGNITE! Luminosity: Haze, sudden light changes and an immersive sound design with grumbles, low frequencies and whisper/voices resembling sound. Depictions of grief from the loss of a young person.

IGNITE! Meteor Shower: Coarse language and portrayals of mild violence.

IGNITE! Super Nova: Flashing lights, haze and coarse language.

Box office info

1895 Venables St.
604-251-1363
[email protected]

Mon to Fri: 12–6PM, Sat 12-4
and 1 hour prior to all performances