THE WORST THING I COULD BE (IS HAPPY)

65 minutes. 4 performers.

Phase one of The Worst Thing I Could Be (Is Happy) was presented in November 2017 as part of Theatre Junction Grand’s TJ Lab Program in Calgary, AB.

Phase two was presented in February 2018 as part of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre's 39th Rhubarb Festival in Toronto, ON.

Phase three was a workshop production in April 2019 at the Diving Bell Social Club in Montreal, QC.
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WORLD PREMIERE of THE WORST THING I COULD BE (IS HAPPY)
RUNNING MAY 1-9, 2020

don’t worry, be happy. / be worried, don’t happy.

The Worst Thing I Could Be (Is Happy), May 1-9, 2020 at The Theatre Centre’s BMO Incubator, is presented as part of RISER Project, a collaborative producing model presented by Why Not Theatre with the generous support of RBC Foundation, TD Bank Group, and the Government of Canada.

Philip, Tori, Ira, and Elena just want to be happy. They also recognize the ways this pursuit furthers systemic inequality and causes unprecedented environmental destruction. But Philip, Tori, Ira and Elena still want to be happy… Using live-streams, projections, and onstage experiments, this cross-Canadian collaboration is a spontaneous investigation of grief, technology, and the things people do to be happy at any cost. 

The Worst Thing I Could Be (Is Happy) is presented as part of RISER Project, a collaborative producing model presented by Why Not Theatre with the generous support of RBC Foundation, TD Bank Group, and the Government of Canada.

ARTISTIC TEAM
Elena Eli Belyea - Co-creator, producer, performer (Edmonton)
Ira Doré - Co-creator, performer, choreographer (Calgary)
Tori Morrison - Co-creator, producer, performer, video and sound design (Halifax)
Philp Nozuka – Co-creator, performer, video and sound design (Toronto)
Tanya Rintoul - Director, facilitator, dramaturgical support (Toronto)
Alison Yanota - Costume and prop design, dramaturgical support (Edmonton)
Rebecca Durocher - Technical Director, dramaturgical support (Montreal)
Mel Hague – Outside Eye, dramaturgical support (Toronto)
Kole Durnford – Emerging Artist Mentee / Outside Eye (Edmonton)
Additional dramaturgical support by Mel Hague, Laurel Green, Tedi Tafel, Andrea Donaldson, Gianna Vacirca

For RISER Project 2020:
Production Management by Crystal Lee Chettiar
Publicity by Damien Nelson (Want & Able Arts Consulting)
Produced by Tom Arthur Davis

PAST AUDIENCE FEEDBACK “THE WORST THING I COULD BE (IS HAPPY)”
“The aches and anxieties of a generation, bound together by an optimistic, compassionate energy.”
- Nick Carpenter, Playwright
“An overwhelming world where everything is FUN and ON SALE and GOOD for you or BAD or BOTH.”
- Audience member
“The absurdity of seeking happiness in a world that is crumbling.”
-  Audience member

Get your tickets now at https://whynot.theatre/work/riser/ Tickets are available based on Theatre Why Not’s Pay-What-You-Choose pricing model for $12, $20, $35, $60.

Archival photos by Dahlia Katz.