PuSh International Performing Arts Festival
The PuSh International Performing Arts Festival is produced over three weeks each winter on the unceded and traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ first nations, primarily in the territory that was the seasonal and ancestral village of K’emk’emeláy, colloquially known as Vancouver, British Columbia.
The Festival, held in January and February each year in the lower mainland remains a place for audiences to encounter work that is innovative and surprising, for artists to showcase for an international audience and for new work to emerge.
The Festival showcases international, Canadian and local artists.
Administration
PuSh has a collaborative leadership team: Gabrielle Martin is the Artistic Director and Annie Clarke is the Managing Director. Full Festival staff is listed on their .Past Festivals
2003 Foundation
The PuSh Festival was co-founded in 2003 by Katrina Dunn of Touchstone Theatre and Norman Armour of Rumble Productions.2005 PuSh Festival
In 2005, the organization of the Festival was formalized with the creation of a formal board of directors and advisors and by being registered as a charitable organization.There were 9 productions included in the inaugural 2005 PuSh International Performing Arts Festival:
| The Bacchae - an electronic opera | Screaming Weenie Production | Vancouver, CA |
| Crime and Punishment | Neworld Theatre | Vancouver, CA |
| The Empty Orchestra | Theatre Replacement | Vancouver, CA |
| Dances for a Small Stage IX | MovEnt | Vancouver, CA |
| The Trigger | Touchstone Theatre | Vancouver, CA |
| Final Viewing | Radix Theatre | Vancouver, CA |
| Frank | Nigel Charnock + Company | London, UK |
| Say Nothing | Ridiculusmus | London, UK |
| The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets | November Theatre | Edmonton, CA |
2006 PuSh Festival
There were 14 productions included in the 2006 PuSh International Performing Arts Festival:| The Perfectionist | Boca del Lupo | Vancouver |
| Sexual Practices of the Japanese | Theatre Replacement | Vancouver |
| Nunavut | Kronos Quartet with Tanya Tagaq | San Francisco, USA/Bilbao, Spain |
| Famous Puppet Death Scenes | The Old Trout Puppet Workshop | Calgary, CA |
| Tempting Providence | Theatre Newfoundland Labrador | Corner Brook, CA |
| Compilation | Lynda Gaudreau/Compagnie De Brune | Montreal, CA |
| 5AM | Pigeons International | Montreal, CA |
| Dances for a Small Stage XII | MovEnt | Vancouver, CA |
| Dreams | Eye of Newt | Vancouver, CA |
| Studies in Motion: The Hauntings of Eadweard Muybridge | Electric Company Theatre | Vancouver, CA |
| Thom Pain | Western Theatre Conspiracy | Vancouver, CA |
| Absence and Presence | Andrew Dawson | London, UK |
| Sisters, Such Devoted Sisters | Out of Joint | London, UK |
| Six Miniature Tragedies | Jean-Paul Wenzel | Paris, FR |
2007 PuSh Festival
There were 25 productions at the 2007 PuSh International Performing Arts Festival:| Skydive | Realwheels | Vancouver, CA |
| Bioboxes: Artifacting Human Experience | Theatre Replacement | Vancouver, CA |
| Copper Thunderbird | urban ink/National Arts Centre | Vancouver, CA/Ottawa, CA |
| Brutalis | Dame de Pic/Karine Ponties | Brussels, Belgium |
| Aalst | Victoria | Ghent, Belgium |
| Famous Puppet Death Scenes | The Old Trout Puppet Workshop | Calgary, CA |
| Revisited | 2b theatre company | Halifax, CA |
| Attack #15 | L'Action Terroriste Socialement Acceptable | Montreal, CA |
| Howie le Rookie | Théâtre de la Manufacture | Montreal, CA |
| Dances for a Small Stage 15 | MovEnt | Vancouver, CA |
| Projections | CABINET Interdisciplinary Collaborations | Vancouver, CA |
| La belle et la bête | Eye of Newt | Vancouver, CA |
| Symphony at the Roundhouse: All the World's a Stage | Vancouver Symphony | Vancouver, CA |
| this riot life and Field Study | Veda Hille | Vancouver, CA |
| Beggars Would Ride | Wild Excursions Performance | Vancouver, CA |
| Rage | Green Thumb Theatre | Vancouver, CA |
| Killing Caesar | Rubicon Collective | Vancouver, CA |
| dog eat dog | The Only Animal | Vancouver, CA |
| Occupation 1: The Molecules/Michael Vincent | Western Front | Vancouver, CA/New York, USA/Oakland, USA |
| my arm | News from Nowhere Theatre/Tim Crouch | Brighton, UK |
| an oak tree | News from Nowhere Theatre/Tim Crouch | Brighton, UK |
| Scarface | Eddie Ladd | Cardiff, UK |
| Exquisite Pain | Forced Entertainment | Sheffield, UK |
| Quizoola! | Forced Entertainment | Sheffield, UK |
| Sonata for Violin and Turntables | Daniel Bernard Roumain w/ DJ Scientific | New York, USA |
2008 PuSh Festival
The 2008 PuSh Festival had over 23,000 attendees. Visiting presenters from across Canada and around the world were in attendance for the PuSh Assembly networking event to view performances, network, and experience the Festival.There were productions at the 2008 PuSh International Performing Arts Festival:
| Haircuts by Children | Mammalian Diving Reflex | Toronto, CA |
| small metal objects | Back to Back Theatre | Geelong, AU |
| Dual Eclipse: Orchestras of Two Worlds | Turning Point Ensemble/Gamelan Gita Asmara | Vancouver, CA |
| My Dad, My Dog | Boca del Lupo | Vancouver, CA |
| Clark and I Somewhere in Connecticut | Rumble Productions/Theatre Replacement | Vancouver, CA |
| My Name Is Rachel Corrie | neworldtheatre/Teesri Duniya Theatre | Vancouver, CA/Montreal, CA |
| No Holds Bar | South Asian Arts | Vancouver, CA/San Francisco, USA/Seattle, USA |
| The Misfit | South Asian Arts/Pull' it Out Theatre | Vancouver, CA/Toronto, CA |
| 46 Circus Acts in 45 Minutes | Circa | Brisbane, AU |
| The Space Between | Circa | Brisbane, AU |
| The Four Horsemen Project | Volcano | Toronto, CA |
| Dances for a Small Stage 18 | MovEnt | Vancouver, CA |
| The General | Eye of Newt | Vancouver, CA |
| Faun Fables | Western Front Society | Vancouver, CA |
| Palace Grand | Electric Company | Vancouver, CA |
| Old Goriot | Western Gold Theatre/Theatre at UBC | Vancouver, CA |
| Août-un repas à la campagne | Théâtre la Seizième/A Théâtre de la Manufacture | Vancouver, CA/Montreal, CA |
| fever: Shakespeare Sonnets in Voice, Dance and Music | Nigel Charnock, Michael Riessler, Virus String Quartet | UK/Germany |
| Hey Girl! | Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio | Cesena, IT |
| Instructions for Modern Living | Duncan Sarkies and Nic McGowan | Wellington, NZ |
| Glow | Chunky Move | Melbourne, AU |
| Frankenstein | Catalyst Theatre | Edmonton, CA |
| The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets | November Theatre | Edmonton, CA/Vancouver, CA |
2009 PuSh Festival
The 2009 PuSh Festival took place from January 20 to February 8, and offered works from across Canada, England, Japan and New Zealand. A total of 136 performances took place at 16 venues across the city and the attendance was more than 24,000.There were 40 productions in the 2009 PuSh International Performing Arts Festival:
2010 PuSh Festival
There were 14 productions in the 2010 PuSh International Performing Arts Festival:| China | William Yang | Sydney, AU |
| Clark and I Somewhere in Connecticut | Rumble Productions/Theatre Replacement | Vancouver, CA |
| The Edward Curtis Project | Marie Clements/Rita Leistner | Galiano Island, CA/Toronto, CA |
| The Passion of Joan of Arc | Eye of Newt | Vancouver, CA |
| Best Before | Helgard Haug + Stefan Kaegi, Rimini Protokoll | Berlin, Germany/Vancouver, CA |
| Jerk | Gisèle Vienne/Dennis Cooper/Jonathan Capdevielle | Grenoble, FR/Paris, FR |
| The Show Must Go On | Jérôme Bel | Paris, FR/Vancouver, CA |
| KAMP | Hotel Modern | Rotterdam, NL |
| White Cabin | Akhe Theatre | St. Petersburg, RU |
| Sō Percussion plays Steve Reich and David Lang | Sō Percussion | Brooklyn, USA |
| Sonic Genome | Anthony Braxton | Middletown, USA |
| The Passion Project | Reid Farrington | New York, USA |
| Poetics: a ballet brut | Nature Theater of Oklahoma | New York, USA |
| Nevermore: The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe | Catalyst Theatre | Edmonton, CA |