I love the smell of gasoline

Overhead projection meets performative research essay meets personal narrative as Claren attempts to reconcile her Alberta oil-industry roots with the current environmental emergency. The project was born of a frustration with divisive Canadian politics, rampant hypocrisy, and a lack of team spirit when facing impending doom. It unpacks some of the forces that drive global warming and Western alienation in a personal account of what it is to live in a modern, capitalist environment, be a self-serving organism, and also care about the earth and fellow creature kind. What does it really mean to sacrifice and to survive? How can we harness our agency and responsibility in a global crisis?

October 16, 2021 at 7:00 PM

About the artist

Claren Grosz (she/her) is a Toronto based theatre and visual artist. She is also the Artistic Director of Pencil Kit Productions, a company dedicated to generating new work. Her theatre practice focuses on physical, visually compelling work and collaborative, alternative theatre making processes. She is the recipient of the 2018 Ken MacDougall Emerging Director Award and the 2015 My Entertainment World Outstanding Direction (Small Theatre) Award. Selected credits: Director/Producer, CHICHO (PKP/Theatre Passe Muraille, 2019); Co-Creator/Producer/Director, Shadow Girls (PKP, 2018); Director/Producer, The Hungriest Woman in the World (PKP 2017); Director, The Tenth Muse (Filament Incubator 2017); Director, Thirteen Hands (Alumnae, 2017); Director/Producer, Persephone (PKP, Fringe 2016); Director, Macbeth (Wolf Manor Theatre, 2015). Upcoming: Producer, White Muscle Daddy (PKP in residency at Buddies in Bad Times); Producer, The Effeminates (PKP); Producer/Assistant-Director, CHICHO the short film (PKP, M+A Productions)

Emily Jung is an artist based in Toronto/Ontario. As a 1.5 generation Korean immigrant, her works are attempts to capture the subliminal space between the spirit and the artist. She is also an arts worker who has been working in cultural organizations such as the Toronto International Festival of Authors and Theatre Passe Muraille with a keen interest in Canadian cultural policy, labour in the arts sector, and community centric fundraising. She spends most of her spare time taking naps.

Jay Northcott (they/them) is a multidisciplinary artist; director, playwright, burlesque dancer, and producer. Jay works to decolonize their art and practice with storytelling, movement, and gesture to create a foundation for their work.They continue to grow and make it their mission to unlift projects that put BIPOC Queer artists in the spotlight. They create and develop communities that are run by and for racialized and queer artist. Their goals: to make you cry and piss yourself at the same time, they want to bleed, break, grind, make money, fuck, fight and blow some shit up. With their Post-Britney2007/Hyperpop Aesthetic, Jay develops techniques and experiences that questions: Why theatre is still relevant. Credits include: The Parasite (Rhubarb Festival), Premium Content (Major Matt Mason, High Performance Rodeo), Blacktop Sky (Obsidian Thearte), Passover (Obsidian Theatre, AD), Scarlet Letter (Theatre Calgary, AD), Iphigenia and the Furies (Saga Collectif, AD), Cows (Theatre Junction).

Taylor Young (they/them) is a Toronto-based Stage Manager and Production Manager, originally from Calgary, AB. They hold a BFA from Ryerson University in Performance Production with a minor in Curatorial Studies. They are currently the Production Coordinator & Assistant Stage Manager for Toronto Dance Theatre’s 2020/2021 Season. Some of their favourite past projects include: Stage Manager, hollow mountain, Rock Bottom Movement (Wildside 2020); Assistant Stage Manager, RING, Toronto Dance Theatre (2019); Assistant Stage Manager, Fall for Dance North, Ryerson Theatre (2019); Apprentice Stage Manager, Hand to God, Coal Mine Theatre (2019); Assistant Production Manager, Mary’s Wedding, Solo Productions (2019); Stage Manager, MANICPIXIEDREAMGIRLS, Rock Bottom Movement (Kitchener 2019).