A black and white photo of a white skinned man with short-cropped dark hair and a light beard wearing a dark long sleeved T-shirt.

Simon

Peter Farbridge, CAEA, UDA

Status: Full-time

Research areas: ethical relationality, intercultural theatre, marginalized artists, diversity

Contact information

Email:

peter.farbridge@concordia.ca

Website:

Postmarginal

CV:

View Peter Farbridge's CV

Biography

Peter Farbridge - Actor/Writer/Producer/Teacher

Peter is a theatre actor and creator working in Montreal. As founding member and co-artistic director of the Modern Times Stage Company from 1989 to 2022, Peter appeared in many of the productions, including the title roles of Macbeth and Hamlet. He has earned several Toronto Dora awards for his work with the company. Among that work, Peter has co-translated and adapted the plays of several Iranian artists with Soheil Parsa, and served as co-writer or co-deviser on several new theatrical productions, including Hallaj (2009) and Forgiveness (2014). In 2017 Peter was nominated for a Meta Award for his performance in Progress! for Infinitheatre. He has recently completed an MA in Anthropology and Theatre and is joining the faculty of Concordia University as Artist-in-Residence this Fall. He also collaborates with Postmarginal: Inclusive Theatre Practice, a project that he initiated while at Modern Times, which seeks to encourage hybridity of theatre practice through exploring the perspectives of marginalized artists.

A headshot of a man in dark clothes with red hair and a beard beside a 50s style microphone

Teaching activities

Ethical Relationality of Rehearsal Practice

COURSE OBJECTIVES

This project-based course is a small studio production that explores the creative potential of an performer’s total cultural resources, which could be informed by their ethnocultural background, relationship to gender, physical disability or neurodiversity. Using Ōta Shōgo’s Mizu No Eki (The Water Station) as a backdrop for devised exploration and experimentation, we will investigate how our personal histories, and in particular our relationships with our identities, can contribute to and influence our creative instincts. Our theatrical approach will be psychophysical: we will explore aspects of Viewpoints, Pre-expressivity, and Biomechanics as practices to ground and strengthen our stage presence. We will also create individual monologue and scene work as preparatory material to inspire the characters in The Water Station. The course will culminate in a slow tempo and silent performance that includes solo, small-group, and ensemble moments. Overall, the project offers an opportunity to create an ethical approach to rehearsal practice specific to our experience as a group, and organized around a deep exploration of our creative resources, along with nuanced pathways of relation beyond traditional identity categories.

About the play

Mizu no eki (The Water Station) is a silent play devised by celebrated Japanese dramaturg/director, Ōta Shōgo. In his company, Tenkei Gekijō, (Theatre of Transformation, 1968-1988) Shōgo developed an artistic aesthetic he called the Theatre of Divestiture which explores emptiness of space, silence and slowness. His focus on “being” instead of “doing” highlights human fragility and an existentialist human perspective. In the play, eighteen travelers make separate stops at a water fountain and continue their way. The play speaks about displacement, loneliness, and the desire for connection. Premiering in 1981, “The Water Station” played more than 200 times in 24 cities around the world.

Artistic performances

PETER FARBRIDGE – Theatre - Acting

SELECTED THEATRE (40 total productions in English and French)

2021 Camille dir. A. Bouchard Ensemble Au délà du visuel

2018 Contre la suite… dir. J.F. Boisvenue Ensemble Le bruit, la nuit

2017 bloom dir. Soheil Parsa Gerontion Modern Times, Toronto

2016 Thirst dir. Soheil Parsa Ensemble Modern Times, Toronto

2015 Progress! dir. Guy Sprung #1 Infinitheatre, Montreal

2014 Forgiveness dir. Soheil Parsa As Cast Modern Times, Denmark

2014 Forgiveness dir. Soheil Parsa As Cast Times, Toronto

2011 Hallaj dir. Soheil Parsa Hallaj Modern Times, Toronto

2009 Hallaj dir. Soheil Parsa Hallaj Modern Times, Toronto

2008 Waiting for Godot dir. Soheil Parsa Vladimir Modern Times, Toronto

2006 bloom dir. Soheil Parsa As Cast Modern Times, Toronto

2005 Macbeth dir. Soheil Parsa Macbeth Modern Times, Toronto

2004 L’Alchemist dir. G. de Andrea Englishman Rideau Vert, Montreal

2004 La nuit de temps choreo. H. Rémy Dancer Lamadeo, Rouen, France

2002 The Chairs, dir. Soheil Parsa Old Man Modern Times, Toronto

2000 Aurash Soheil Parsa King Modern Times, Toronto/Iran

1999 Hamlet dir. Soheil Parsa Hamlet Modern Times, Toronto

1998 Anthony & Cleopatra dir. Alex. Marin Octavius Centaur, Montreal

1995 Macbeth dir. Soheil Parsa Macbeth Modern Times, Toronto

1994 La Bête dir. John Prince Centaur, Montreal

1990 Stratford Festival As Cast Various Stratford Festival, Stratford

1989 The Conquest, dir. Soheil Parsa Sufi Modern Times, Toronto