Youth-Driven Arts Festival
IGNITE! 2022
Amplify Emerging Voices
IGNITE! is an eclectic festival, programmed and curated entirely by members of the Youth Panel at The Cultch. It features theatre performers, filmmakers, writers, poets, dancers, musicians, VR and visual artists — all aged 13-30 — as well as participants from The Cultch mentorship programs. Celebrating its 21st Anniversary, the festival also includes the production of three new One Act Plays by local emerging playwrights and a VR and Visual Arts exhibition.
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— from May 18th to May 22nd 2022. This will be IGNITE!’s 20th Anniversary of in-person events.
Each of the main festival nights offer a diverse spread of performances in a variety-show style under a theme; from Dew Drops and Summer Daze to Lightning Strikes. Performances this year include short plays, monologues, spoken word and poetry, live music, original contemporary dance, experimental cinema, among many others. In addition, we will have a VR-stand and lobby activations every night of the festival, so make sure to come early!
604-251-1363
boxoffice@thecultch.com
Hours:
Mon to Fri: 12PM-4PM
and 1 hour prior to all performances
TICKET
INFO
Tickets to IGNITE! are pay what you can
Help to support Western Canada’s largest youth-run arts festival!
DAY 1— BLOOMING DAISIES
MAY 18 | 7:30PM
HISTORIC THEATRE
Sofia Battiston and Cassie Lan; Image by Erik Zennstrom
Join us in our festival kick-off night! A chance to revel in new beginnings and hope through adversity with our Short Film Program, one act play Lifecycle by Madeline Montgomery, and a dance section including solo artist Simone Goldsmith and the Youth in Motion Senior Company.
Runtime: 100 minutes
Content Warnings: Simone Goldsmith section contains themes related to death. LifeCycle contains explicit language.
DAY 2—DEW DROPS
MAY 19 | 7:30PM
HISTORIC THEATRE
Madison Isolina; Image by Ashley Ross
The sound and comfort of a rainy day, Dew Drops will be a spectacular night full of wonder with the sweet sounds of Tough Sell, Argel MDR and the world-premiere of the one-act play The Better to Love you With by Madison Isolina.
Runtime: 100 minutes
Content Warnings: Performance by Tough Sell contains mentions of mental health and strong language.
DAY 3—SUMMER DAZE
MAY 20 | 7:30PM
HISTORIC THEATRE
Amphibious; Image by Kyra Fay
Warmth, fiery energy, the reckless abandon of a never-ending summer. Poetry and music come together tonight with Dayshade, Amphibious, Fairything, and ICY GAZE.
Runtime: 100 minutes
Content Warnings: Performance by Fairything contains mentions of gender dysphoria.
DAY 4—LIGHTNING STRIKES
MAY 21 | 7:30PM
HISTORIC THEATRE
Brody Halfe, Zac Daniels, Christian Abt and Liam Wilkins; Image by Tl’ítl’alqtéle Danielle Guerrero @danielle.guerrero
A night of excitement and dancing! Lightning strikes with a rocking double-fill featuring Rio’s Revenge and Bingo Switch and a food-forward Short Film Program by mim collective and participants.
Runtime: 100 minutes
Content Warnings: Performance by Bingo Switch contains loud music and bright lights.
DAY 5–SPLASH
MAY 22 | 7:30PM
HISTORIC THEATRE
Telling it Bent; Graphic by Katie So
Come say farewell to IGNITE! with a bang. Listen to amazing monologues, poetry and movement explorations with the Telling it Bent cohort, celebrate our last one-act play, Year of the Frog by Garvin Chan and get ready to say goodbye to IGNITE! with a surprise performance.
Runtime: 100 minutes
Content Warnings: Performance by Telling it Bent contains themes of Violence, Death, Grief, Transphobia, Mental Health, Racism, Sexism and Misogyny. Year of the Frog contains violence (allusions to 2014 Hong Kong protests; blood is briefly shown in projections), strong language in English and Cantonese, and depictions of death. Drag Show includes bright lights.
IGNITE! Art Exhibition
MAY 11-29
Available in-person at The Cultch Gallery or online
Visual Arts, VR Explorations
