The Capitol Theatre welcomes writer, director and performer Avi Phillips to its Homegrown Season of local artist productions to poke fun at the artistic challenges of the last two years with his new show, Coronartists: Creating Art in a Pandemic.
When the spread of COVID-19 forced artistic venues and events to close or cancel, how did artists express themselves and connect with audiences? Drawing from his personal experiences as an artist, and inspired by the tenacity of the arts community, Phillips weaves the stories of artists from different disciplines as they adapt to the loss of their performance outlets.
Throughout the fast-paced, uproarious show, Phillips deftly breathes life into a handful of colourful characters through wordless scenes scored with recorded music, mixed in with some live music and dialogue. While Phillips’ previous work produced at the Capitol was an adaptation of Alice in Wonderland for the annual Christmas Pantomime in 2017, Coronartists is suited for a more mature audience. “The life and struggles of an artist are raw, so this show reflects that,” Phillips says. “Plus, it’s fun to be a little more overt with the naughty parts that would be less appropriate for the family friendly Pantomime.”
The opportunity to perform again at the Capitol Theatre has been a blessing for Phillips, but he found himself experiencing many of the same effects from the pandemic that he sought to parody in his show. His original performance date was booked for a year earlier, but Phillips didn’t pull the show together in time. “Like everyone, I was just drained from the first year of the pandemic, and I wasn’t in a position to put on a show. I’ve since had to reinvigorate my passion to create, and recondition my body to commit to the demands of a one-man show.”
Coronartists: Creating Art in a Pandemic is playing at the Capitol Theatre on April 14 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $12.75 for students, and can be purchased at the Capitol box office, or online at https://tickets.capitoltheatre.ca/TheatreManager/95/tmEvent/tmEvent1546.html.