Archive for the 'Culture-jams' Category

Occupy Movement puts Theatre Activism in the spotlight!

Monday, December 12th, 2011

Occupy Wall Street has put theatre activism into the spotlight like never before. Conceptualized by Vancouver-based Adbusters Magazine, the Occupy Movement kicked off on September 17 by taking over New York City’s Zuccotti Park, near Wall Street in Manhattan. The initial encampment consisted of a small tent-city, including everything from kitchens to libraries to performances spaces [...]

Fringe Festival censors artists and blocks random people from entering a public park (VIDEO)

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011

Last Sunday, St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival security prevented local artists associated with the Infringement Festival from entering a public park, which was temporarily privatized, on the grounds that they didn’t pay to be there. Security chief Ace Lopes also denied entry to anyone in the vicinity who seemed remotely associated with Donovan King, regardless of [...]

OTL offers seven infringement festival projects!

Thursday, June 9th, 2011

Optative Theatrical Laboratories is proud to announce seven unique theatrical projects for the 2011 Montreal infringement festival. Traditional favourites like Car Stories will appear alongside Red Light District and Greening Montreal walking tours (including an ecological picnic), a birthday party to celebrate Cultural Resistance, a screening of our new film “Global Invisible Theatre”, plus a new theatre experiment [...]

Infringement season is upon us! Collaborators welcome!

Tuesday, February 8th, 2011

The infringement season is upon us, and it is looking to be a red letter year for the global network of festivals!  With four unique infringement festivals on offer in both Canada and the USA, it is going to be a great summer for both infringers, new and old, and audiences seeking daring and authentic arts! The [...]

DIE-IN to protest Laser Ads in “The Main” national historic site (Buy Nothing Day 2010)

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

Laser Ads are the latest form of invasive visual pollution staining our urban environments, and they are proliferating all over Montreal, like mushrooms after a rainfall. Not only can these laser ads be projected onto buildings, creating entirely new gigantic corporate billboards with the flick of a switch, but they are also starting to appear at [...]

Artists still waiting for box office cash – 10 years after being kicked out of the Fringe!

Sunday, June 20th, 2010

This month marks the 10th anniversary of OTL’s infamous CAR STORIES show getting ejected from the St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival, and already the media are taking note of this disturbing milestone. The story is one of the most recounted in Montreal’s anglophone theatre community – it is the story of unethical corporate interests steamrolling artists at what [...]

Dumpster Dive Art Drive is seeking artists for infringement festival!

Saturday, May 29th, 2010

UPDATE (June 22) After a successful opening vernissge, the Dumpster Dive Art Drive has been on display in an undisclosed alleyway for the public to enjoy. One jogger who stumbled upon the opening said, “Thanks! You just made my day!” between chugs of red wine served to him in a brown paper bag. The great [...]

Is Prince Charles too sexy for YouTube?

Sunday, May 9th, 2010

A few months ago, the OTL in solidarity with the coalition of artists trying to prevent the destruction of artistic venues on the lower Main produced a video appeal to Prince Charles. Burlesque dancers asked the Prince, a noted heritage buff, if he would do something to stop Café Cleopatre from being replaced by an office tower.

Infiltrators needed: agents in town on Saturday, November 7th

Friday, September 25th, 2009

We feel that this is a blatant attempt at discrimination and scapegoating. After all, these supposed aliens aren’t evil. They aren’t harming anyone. They’re just trying to get by and aren’t even a drain. They eat the food that the rest of us throw away or don’t even consider to be food in the first place as this photo suggests

Coppertone Jammed at Mainfest

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

From May 28th – 31st the Société de Développement du Boulevard Saint-Laurent (SDBSL) hosted a four day party known as the Mainfest. Despite bad weather reports, the sun shone radiantly throughout most of the festival. This was wonderful for local merchants, musicians, performers, and pedestrians who converged at the Mainfest to participate in a multitude [...]