The Presentation Series is a curated performance series that brings multidisciplinary contemporary performance to local audiences.
Ranging from participatory theatrical experiences to cutting-edge contemporary dance works, the Series pushes us forward, together.
Entre Chien et Loup
James Gnam / Plastic Orchid Factory
Thursday, November 5 | 7pm
The Greenhouse (1411 Quadra St)
$40, $25, $20, $10
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Entre Chien et Loup names the fragile hour when the world slips out of certainty. It is twilight — the gloaming — when light thins, colours drain into blue and grey, and the contours of things begin to blur.
Between dog and wolf lies a space of transformation, where the known and unknown coexist; where safety and danger, intimacy and distance, the domestic and the feral share the same ground.
In this collaboration, choreographer and performer James Gnam, composer and sound artist Scott Morgan, lighting designer James Proudfoot and media artist Eric Chad explore a shared landscape of perception and transformation. Together, they create a shifting perceptual terrain where the boundaries between presence and absence, form and atmosphere, body and environment remain fluid.
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James Gnam (he/him) is a choreographer and performer whose practice moves between dance, improvisation, design and technology. As co-artistic director of Plastic Orchid Factory, he creates performance environments that use the body as a place from which to investigate perception, memory, relationship and the unstable boundaries between the familiar and unknown.
Plastic Orchid Factory is a Vancouver-based artist-run performance company working at the intersection of choreography, design and technology. Founded by James Gnam and Natalie LeFebvre Gnam, POF creates interdisciplinary works and supports spaces for experimentation, bringing bodies, ideas and artistic practices together in unexpected ways.
plasticorchidfactory.ca
Choreography & Performance: James Gnam
Rehearsal Director: Natalie Lefebvre Gnam
Composer & Sound Artist: Scott Morgan / loscil
Lighting Designer: James Proudfoot
Media Artist: Eric Chad
Technical Direction & Media Integration: Daniel O’Shea
Photography: David Cooper
Produced by: Plastic Orchid Factory -
Duration
45 minutes
Sumiko in Nature: Concept to Realization
June Fukumura
Thursday, November 12 & Friday, November 13 | 7pm
Intrepid Studio (2-1609 Blanshard St)
$40, $25, $20, $10
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Acclaimed Vancouver comedy artist June Fukumura brings you Sumiko in Nature: Concept to Realization, a satirical solo performance about art and capitalism. At its centre is Gloria Fukomachi, the Artistic Director of Staged Revolution, who guides audiences through the high-stakes game of public arts funding in her Grant Writing 101 workshop. Gloria promises to reveal the secrets to funding success by using playwright June Fukumura's real-life grant application as a teaching tool.
But the workshop quickly spirals into a meta-theatrical fever dream that unleashes a play within a grant within a play. Absurdity, charm and humour collide in this cutting satire about art and money that borrows more than a little from the Survivor genre you may know: the landscape is different, the stakes are just as high. Sumiko in Nature: Concept to Realization peels back the polished language of bureaucracy to expose the paradox of thriving and surviving as an artist.
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June Fukumura (she/her) is a multidisciplinary theatre artist from Vancouver. She is an actor for theatre and film, clown/bouffon, puppeteer, dramaturg, and writer. Winner of the 2019 Vancouver Pick of the Fringe for her solo show, My Name is SUMIKO and winner of the 2025 Jessie Richardson Award - Outstanding Performance Ensemble for Little Onion Puppet Co.’s Otosan.
IG @june.fukumura
www.junefukumura.com
www.stagedrevolution.org
Creative TeamJune Fukumura - Writer/Performer
Karen Hines - Director
Tetsuro Shigematsu - Dramaturg
Paige Louter - Producer
Phil Miguel - Technical Director
Sapphire Haze (Cindy Kao and Aysha Dulong) - Composer/Sound Designer
Andie Lloyd - Projection Designer
Alexandra Caprara - Lighting Designer
V West - Accessibility Consultant
Daniel O'Shea - Photographer/VideographerTouring Team
Andie Lloyd - Tour Operator
Paige Louter - Tour Production Manager -
Duration
65 minutesAge Limit
19+Content Note:
References to anti-Asian racism; mimed depictions of a suicide attempt and physical injury; a real photo of physical injury; and mature subject matter (19+).
Cobalt
Shion Skye Carter
Thursday, November 19 & Friday, November 20 | 7pm
Open Space (510 Fort St)
$40, $25, $20, $10
presented in a Double Bill
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Cobalt, choreographed and performed by Shion Skye Carter, reflects on the colour’s boldness and lusciousness, evoking feelings craved in a queer body at odds with the rigid expectations of a Japanese upbringing: a body they constantly scrutinize and critique, and doesn’t always feel like home. The work traverses through a condensed life span: from birth, a childhood in Japan, a tense adolescence, to an envisioned elderly future embodying a gentle provocativeness. Moving through time, Carter oscillates between portraits of self, attempting to succeed at the impossible task of existing at multiple ages, and multiple identities, all in one moment.
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Shion Skye Carter (they/she) is a choreographer from Gifu, Japan, based in Vancouver, BC. Through a movement language of sensitive intensity and a choreographic practice of embodied calligraphy, Shion's work invokes memory as heirloom, dance as respite, and performance as imperfect artifact. They've performed across Canada, Berlin, and Paris, with ‘Cobalt’ shortlisted for the 2027 Bloom International Dance Prize (Sadler's Wells, London UK).
IG @shionskye
www.shionskyecarter.com
Creation/performance: Shion Skye Carter
Music: Jo Hirabayashi -
Duration
40 minutesContent Note
Partial nudity, however the performer is facing away from the audience during this portion.
Fruit/Seed/Bear
Kerri Flannigan
Thursday, November 19 & Friday, November 20 | 7pm
Open Space (510 Fort St)
$40, $25, $20, $10
presented in a Double Bill
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Fruit/Seed/Bear is a multi-media animation that shares a story of queer family-making. Through interviews and conversations with Oren, Kerri, and Brett, the film explores their perspectives as friends, partners, and "sperm donor", as they navigate the tender, awkward, and intimate journey of a DIY pregnancy together.
Fruit/Seed/Bear is grounded in a portrayal of - and homage to - queer traditions and histories, redefining roles, word of mouth networks and wisdom, trailblazers, and an ever-evolving understanding of what it means to be family.
This story is a love letter between Brett, Kerri, and Oren. It covers the grief, joy, and banalities of trying to conceive, motivations to be a donor, the imperfection of language, experiences of trans and non-binary gender identities in the fertility and pregnancy spheres, mason jars of sperm, mental health, and their relationships with one another.
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Kerri Flannigan (they/she) is an interdisciplinary artist based on Lekwungen and W̱SÁNEĆ Territories (Victoria), who experiments with deeply researched storytelling that collages drawing, video, print, and performance. With a background in DIY animation and zines, Flannigan creates frameworks that connect the personal to wider historical and cultural spheres of context.
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Duration
40 mins.Practical Information
For ages 14+Content Note
Frank discussion of sexual acts, pregnancy, mental health
Work-In-Progress:
at the end of time
Amber Downie-Back, Sarah Rose Mercer & Angus Steele-Gaffney
Sunday, November 8 | 2pm
Intrepid Studio (2-1609 Blanshard St)
PWYC
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at the end of time (working title) is a sculptural live performance that investigates thresholds and in-between spaces. Through the lens of the artists’ lived experiences, the work explores themes of care, tenderness, illness and mortality, with focus on the spaces and materials that accompany these processes.
Performers and audience encounter porous and transitory objects and tense muscle memories of rest and restlessness. Durational movement scores shaped by stillness and collapse accompany a combination of movement, live sound, video projection, and sculpture. The performance challenges audiences to be slow, to embrace tension, and to consider the body as a site sculpted by cycles of care and collapse. ‘at the end of time’ explores and questions the systems that touch death, pain and care.
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Amber Downie-Back (they/she) is an interdisciplinary artist based on unceded lək̓ wəŋən territories. Amber’s work includes movement, video, projection, sculpture and other installation media and reflects their lived experience with chronic illness. They were a recipient of the 2023 Chrystal Dance Prize.
IG @a_downieback
www.amberdownieback.comAngus Steele-Gaffney (he/him) is an interdisciplinary artist of settler heritage grateful to live and work in Lekwungen Territory. Angus works with sound, music, and new media art technologies to create responsive audiovisual works.
IG @angussteelegaffney
www.angusgaffney.comSarah Rose Mercer (she/they) is a dance artist based in Vancouver, BC, on the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Working across in-person and digital performance, her films have screened nationally and internationally at festivals in Sweden and Toronto.
IG @sarahrosemercer
rosedanceartist.wordpress.com[ after arts collective ] is an interdisciplinary arts group made up of artists living across so-called Canada and beyond. Working with contemporary dance, projection, sculpture, sound and installation media, they are interested in pursuing their curiosities in collaborative and process-focused contexts.
IG @_afterarts_
www.amberdownieback.com/at-the-end-of-time/Amber Downie-Back - Creator & Performer: installation, movement, video
Sarah Rose Mercer - Creator & Performer: installation, movement
Angus Steele-Gaffney - Creator & Performer: installation, sound, video
Scout Heckel - Dramaturg
Luca Papini - Photography/Videography -
Duration
40 to 50 minutesAge Limit
May not be suitable for children.Content Note
Themes of grief, illness, mortality, medical systems; sculptures that may resemble hospital equipment (ie. IV bags); and clothed but bodysuit and sports bras that are nude coloured.Special Thanks
Scout Heckel
Work-In-Progress:
Peek Show 19
Saturday, November 14 | 7pm
Intrepid Studio (2-1609 Blanshard St)
PWYC
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After 10 years, we’re preparing to transform Peek Show into a new model. But before we do, we’re going to have one last hurrah of the Peek Show you know and love! Join us on November 14, 2026
Peek Show is an informal and exciting experience between artists and patrons, all discovering new stories and worlds for the first time. Peek Show showcases new works from provincial performing artists, from text, to dance, to somewhere in-between.
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Broken Rhythms - Bite & Breath
Jane Bee - The Seven Essential Items You Will Need For Your Journey
Kiley Verbowski - Where I’ve Been
MBP Studios: a Miguel J Barrera Company - R-Evolucion on my mind
Timetheft Theatre - Diana Undead
tony adams - ppl plzr
Venus Moon Theatre - The Eggsperience: Class in Session
Verso Dance Collective - All time is unredeemable
More info on artists and projects can be found at www.impulsetheatre.ca/peek-show
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Content Note
We understand the precarious and risky place new work can occupy, especially personal material. We ask artists to consider Content and Accessibility Notes in advance of the performance. Impulse Theatre is attempting to create a safe space for both audience and artist to take risks, and requires transparency between its artists and audiences to ensure that each is supported.
New work is untested, and audiences and artists take a degree of risk in attending when the participating artists may have not discovered how their content may impact artists.Artist-Provided
Contents Notes:R-Evolucion on my mind - Discussion of white supremacy, systemic racism, colonization, genocide (specifically in SWANA/Gaza), and religious fundamentalism.
Diana Undead - Description of car crash and death.
Sensory Note:
All time is unredeemable - Possibility of yelling or screaming.
Duration
Each group gets up-to 7 minutes and we have 8 groups. There will be one intermission.
Box Office Information
Ticketing
Advanced tickets & registration for all festival events are online through Eventbrite.
Tickets will also be available at the door via cash or card, dependent on ticket availability.
While Workshops can be purchased at the door, advanced registration is preferred.
Mainstage Tickets
Impulse offers four ticket types for our mainstage presentations:
Solidarity Ticket: $40.00
Intended for those who are able to contribute a little extra to help support our other price points, and/or those who wish to share additional support for Impulse Theatre!
Regular Ticket: $25.00
Our standard ticket price.
Reduced Ticket: $20.00
Intended for students, seniors, and those who traditionally qualify for a reduced rate.
Accessible Ticket: $10.00
Intended for those who self identify as living with barriers. We don’t want money to be an issue!
Work-In-Progress
Our Work-In-Progress Series has a Pay-What-You-Can (PWYC) model. Due to the limits of our ticketing system, advanced sales are sliding scale in increments of $5. At the door we will accept any amount in cash or on card.
Eventbrite & “Incorrect” Showtimes
Due to BC’s decision to remain in Daylight Savings Time, Eventbrite may display incorrect showtimes for our events. We imagine this will be fixed as soon as we pass November 1st. Please refer to the copy of the event or on our website for correct showtimes.
Contact
If you have any questions or having any issues with our Eventbrite, you can leave a message for an Impulse representative by:
email at info@impulsetheatre.ca
text or voicemail at (778) 654-1013
One of our team will return your message as soon as they can.