About Catapult

THE CATAPULT FESTIVAL was born out of Convergence Theatre’s desire to support Toronto-based artists in the presentation of their early work by giving them a platform and an audience, with the larger goal of helping them further launch their work into the world so that it might have more life.

Catapult aims to foster connections between artists and audience, as well as help make industry professionals aware of the work, including artistic leaders who may be interested in presenting or partnering with the artists in the future.

Artistic Statement

From Convergence co-curators, Julie Tepperman & Aaron Willis:

New plays can take a long time to make. While creating our own work is central to what we do, we also want to be able to offer support for other artists in their own endeavours. We intend for CATAPULT to become a regular event, in an effort to provide a showcase for local artists in unique environments. For the first year – our grand experiment – we’ve reached out to three women whose work we love and admire. Next time around there will be a formal call for submissions, with a special interest in hearing from artists who may be new or less known to us, from a variety of diverse backgrounds and live performance styles. In the meantime, we welcome invitations to see new work.

The lineup...

In May 2019, Convergence Theatre launched the inaugural CATAPULT FESTIVAL a “pop-up” showcase of three solo shows by three of Toronto’s favourite female theatre artists: Tracey Hoyt, Melody A. Johnson, and Ali Joy Richardson.

The Festival ran from May 9-12 at The Centre for Spiritual Living, in the heart of Leslieville.

Soul Prints
Improvised by Tracey Hoyt · Directed by Hannah Spear

What does a photograph reveal about the soul of the subject? What about the person who took it? Soul Prints seeks to answer these questions, as actor/improviser Tracey Hoyt discovers and embodies images from her audience, and explores how we're all connected: spectator and performer, photographer and subject.

Person of Interest
Written & Performed by Melody A. Johnson, Directed by Rick Roberts

Typecast as a “housebound loser”, this is the mostly true story of an actor driven to the brink by neighbours from Hell. Person of Interest is simple storytelling that will strike a chord with anyone who has ever lived, loved, and battled with neighbour.

Roxy
Written & Performed by Ali Joy Richardson, Directed by Neil Silcox

Meet Roxy Roberts: Motivational Speaker/Self Defence coach. She’s professional, she’s unorthodox, and she’s here to HELP! This is Tony Robbins, meets your aunt who sent you terrifying chain-emails of safety tips, meets the 6-foot-tall girl who’s never been asked to dance. Roxy is a battle cry for anyone who checks over their shoulder while walking alone at night...and this battle cry comes with a PowerPoint.