An Interview with Don't Look Down About Their Upcoming Show "Never Swim Alone"
This December 1st-3rd, our friends at Don't Look Down Theatre Company will be producing Never Swim Alone, written by Daniel MacIvor. Read on for more about the company and their upcoming show!
Art by Ali Carroll
1. Hey guys! Tell us about Don't Look Down Theatre Company.
Don’t Look Down was founded in the fall of 2015 by Fanshawe College graduates Daniel Entz, Ryan James, and Cedric Martin. Originally under the name James MartEntz, the company had a simple goal: create something that matters. We didn’t know what we exactly wanted to write, but we knew about the Fringe Festival, so we applied to the Montreal Fringe. We won the lottery, but there was a catch: we didn’t have a play. From this came our first production, Rose of Youth. Since our conception, we’ve come a long way, eventually changing our perception of what our company could be capable of. We decided to re-brand and restructure, setting ourselves up with the intention of running multiple shows a year, and continuing our goal of creating productions that matter to us.
2. And of course, Purple Glow Mag's favourite question: Where does the name come from?
“Don’t Look Down” is an homage to our first original play; Rose of Youth. In it, the character Jimmy gives the advice, “Don’t Look Down,” to his friend Simon, who is stuck in a tree. Later in the play we see each character find the advice to apply to many difficult situations they face, helping them be brave and motivate themselves to continue in difficult situations.
Without over-complicating the name, to us the name represents where we are, and where we want to get to. Just like with climbing a tree, the easiest way to climb is to look where you want to go, and not to give up when it gets tough. It’s always important to remember where we came from, but also to build on the progress we have made.
3. This summer, Don't Look Down performed in the London and Toronto Fringe Festivals. How was your experience with that?
We had two original shows, one for each festival. The first play was Local Man Ruins Everything, performed at the London Fringe, and we brought Not Good to Toronto. The experience overall was incredible because we had the opportunity to be rehearsing in repertory. We were performing Local Man Ruins Everything at the same time as rehearsals for Not Good. We had a turn around time of 3 weeks to get Not Good ready for Toronto. It was exactly what our company needed. We thrive when we have pressure put on us. When we were all in school for Theatre we would be in school during the day, then all evening we would be rehearsing for our Grad shows. This past summer put us back under that kind of pressure, and it felt more familiar than overwhelming.
One of the best aspects of Fringe is that the audience is open to trying new things. Audiences almost expect that whatever show you are doing is your original work. This allows us to put ourselves out there as artists, and know that we will have a least some kind of audience. Fringe is great in that it allows so many artists to create work, but it can be tough for a small, unknown theatre company. Don’t Look Down was 1 of 150 companies in Toronto Fringe this past July. Sometimes voices and shows get lost in the sheer volume.
(left to right) Tyshia Drake, Ryan James, Cedric Martin, and Keagan Heathers
4. This December 1-3, Don't Look Down is producing Never Swim Alone by Daniel MacIvor. Tell us more about it.
Never Swim Alone has been a show that Don’t Look Down has been hoping to perform for a long time. Company members Cedric and Daniel had read and performed small scenes from this play back in high school, and it resonated as a clever and poignant piece. Never Swim Alone deals with themes of masculinity and competition, of what it means to be a child and an adult, as well as focusing on how relationships can change.
This production is Don’t Look Down’s 4th show since founding the company in late 2015, and 3rd show in 2017. We chose to perform this show in particular because it was written by a prominent Canadian playwright, allowing us to both try our hand at a well known play that we didn’t write, and start representing Canadian playwrights. As a company, we hope to continue sharing great Canadian work. Using a play known in the Canadian theatre scene, we hope we can build up our audience base in Toronto to a point of performing lesser-known plays, or original work, as well as more well-known plays.
5. Who should come see your show? What can the audience expect?
We are recommending this show to anyone above the age of 13. This show will lend itself well to adults specifically, as the show has a strong relationship with being an adult in a professional environment, and how that can affect you. More than business, however, this show is about relationships, what time does to friendships, and how we deal with loss.
Audiences should expect laughter, as MacIvor’s work always layers it’s serious themes between clever comedic banter. All true comedy is rooted in truth, and sometimes the funniest moments come out of the darkest truths we can offer.
6. Purple Glow Mag loves to promote and discuss the Toronto arts world. What has been your general experience in the Toronto theatre scene?
When we were in school in London Ontario we put an emphasis on seeing as much theatre as we possibly could. Since moving to Toronto, we have been amazed and saddened by how much theatre there is in the city. In London we saw almost every show that happened in the city in any given month. In Toronto it’s not possible for us to do that, which can be disappointing! Of course, this is only a positive thing for the casual theatre patron. Having a thriving theatre scene creates more exposure and potential opportunity, giving us hope for the future of the arts scene, and our own place in it.
(left to right) Keagan Heathers, Tyshia Drake, Ryan James, and Cedric Martin
7. Finally, what does the future hold for Don't Look Down?
Today, looking forward, the future is very bright for Don’t Look Down. In our short 2 years we have created 3 brand new plays, and are working on our 4th production. We have already had some conversations of trying our hand at Shakespeare, taking our shows on an Ontario Tour, and expanding into short films. We always have original productions in the works, of course! After this show we will spend some time working on the administrative parts of our company, so in the early new year we will make some announcements about our upcoming projects. Things like what the 2018 season holds for theatre productions, audition casting calls, and any news about our company itself. We definitely aren’t leaving anytime soon, and audiences can look forward to many new creations in the near future!