SKAMpede, now in it’s 17th year, is an annual professionally curated outdoor performance festival. It is fun for the whole family, providing engaging live entertainment for the many communities of Victoria. This year’s festival, running from July 11th to 13th, will feature ten 10-minute works presented by local performers as well as artists from across the country, juried by professional artists from our community.

Audiences can choose between different tours consisting of five shows each as well as a choice between cyclist or pedestrian tours. At the festival, patrons depart in groups of fifteen from specific launch points. On each tour, audiences watch original works of comedy, music, dance, theatre, poetry, and other artistic practices.

Tours run simultaneously and continue throughout the course of the weekend, so that our hardcore patrons can get a chance to see every performance SKAMpede has to offer.

1. Review the tour options listed below.
2. Select which tour(s) you want to see.
3. Click “BOOK NOW” button. Choose what tour you want to attend.
4. Select which date/time slot you want to go on the tour, and, in the case of the Central Tour, whether you want to do a cycling or pedestrian tour.
5. Select how many tickets you wish to purchase.
6. Head to the donation screen and select how much you wish to donate for your tickets. We are operating on a Pay What You Can ticket model, with a suggested price of $10 per person for each tour ticket or $20 in total per family.
7. Your tour ticket(s) will be emailed to you. Show up to the launch point location listed on your ticket at the showtime you choose. Please bring your digital or physical ticket so we can scan it and then you’re in! We look forward to seeing you enjoy the show!

Tour times for Saturday & Sunday

Selkirk Tour:

• 12:00 – 1:00 PM
• 12:20 – 1:20 PM
• 12:40 – 1:40 PM
• 1:00 – 2:00 PM
• 2:00 – 3:00 PM
• 2:20 – 3:20 PM
• 2:40 – 3:40 PM
• 3:00 – 4:00 PM
• 4:00 – 5:00 PM
• 4:20 – 5:20 PM
• 4:40 – 5:40 PM
• 5:00 – 6:00 PM

Launch point: Selkirk Green Park
Tour time: 55 min.
Trail Distance: 250 m.

Site 1 – Isaac Rufus’ “Fashioned Sound Body”

The Fashioned Sound Body is a live performance weaving music and dance together through the use of e-textiles. The performance involves hand woven textiles with embedded electronics to sense contact and pressure in the performance. Isaac Rufus Rosen-Purcell, the musician and creator of the suit, and Isabelle Kirouac, dancer and choreographer, create a feedback of sound inspiring movement and then movement creating sound resulting in a 10-minute tapestry of music and dance.

Site 2 – iuvenis Productions’ “Spin the Bottle”

Avery is throwing her first high school boy-girl party and has invited the whole school. But when only four people show up, they have to make do. Tempers rise, secrets are revealed, and awkward flirting is abound. This coming of age story gives us a peek at the awkwardness of early (queer) love, friendship, and growing up.

Site 3 – Alexandra Dodd’s “And Thus the Wind Takes It”

The Concerned Citizens Brigade invites you to a brief rendezvous to discuss the recent opening of a brand-new outdoor umbrella stand. Amelia Whittenborg (heiress to her father’s award winning outdoor raincoat stand empire), Dillon Dalton (overeager first-year business student), Carrie Kracken (your local crazy conspiracy lady), and Ernie Arnold (the old man everyone loves to hate) all have strong opinions regarding this new venture. Certainly you must have the same! If not…ah…there’ll be problems. Something simply must be done! Who will be speaking at this meeting, you ask? Well, it all depends on the weather.

Site 4 – Plastik Chaskilla’s “Uno, dos, trees”

Three creatures fill the role of creating new life from death. They replant, they transplant, they explant. But a plant has its needs to grow roots. And even more if it’s not exactly a plant… Barbolosa and other unfamiliar beings are born and they will try to adapt to this new life, overcoming what the nature brings. Unsquirrels? Outsects? Dewind? What comes first, roots or branches? Chicken or egg?

Site 5 – Bragi Theatre’s “Vorvox and Zorzox Visit Earth”

As the final stop on their honeymoon, Zorzox and Vorvox, a pair of reformed Annihilators from the Andromeda galaxy, visit Earth—a planet that they are big fans of but fundamentally misunderstand. While insisting that they are completely indistinguishable from normal humans (despite their gleaming neck-dishes), the pair recruit the audience to help them stage all of the key tourist experiences of the Pale Blue Dot. Audiences are sure to laugh, sigh, and look at the absurdity of life on this planet with fresh eyes after Vorvox and Zorzox Visit Earth.

Launch point: 860 Central Spur Rd (at The Goose)
Tour time: Approx. 1 hour.
Trail Distance: 750 m.

Site 1 – Jenn Goodwin’s “If I Should Stumble”

Exploring women’s labour, overwhelm, rage and resilience, this movement installation uses the public space as stage, nemesis, obstacle and accomplishment and in its expression of falling as dancers unpack the resiliency and challenges of women in day-to-day life. In this performance, Goodwin is particularly interested in personal power, solidarity, the tender cracks in ones’ confidence, and pure grit. The work is performed to the powerful song Uja by Tanya Tagaq.

Site 2 – Jennifer McLeish-Lewis’ “Art Market”

Get ready to experience an exhilarating music and dance piece out of the hatchback of the artist’s Toyota Prius. This is your chance to browse, haggle, and purchase exclusive macro-movements directly from the artists. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or simply a fan of the arts, there’s something here for everyone.

This is more than just a flea market—it’s the future of performance art, sold right out of the boot!

Site 3 – The Clown Collective’s “A lovely family picnic”

A simple clown named Sticky wonders the wild grass in search of someone special to share a picnic with. The sparks will fly with someone and they’ll share a lovely moment together and maybe one thing will lead to another….

Site 4 – Vocal Components’ “The Ballad of One-Eyed Mike”

A tale of history and strange happenings in the land of the midnight sun- The Ballad of One-Eyed Mike is two shows wrapped together. First half is a look at the Bard of the Yukons life and history in Victoria, second is a dramatic reading of his classic poem of the same name. Entertainment and education rolled into one who could ask for more?

Site 5 – Burger & Briggs’ “The Two Body Problem”

How do we bridge the gap between what we feel and what we say? How does our body shape our words, and how do our words shape our body? The Two Body Problem blends together improvised movement, dance, poetry, and scene work. Using audience-shared memories, the piece explores empathy and the many ways we strive to understand and be understood.

Burger & Briggs is an improvisational duo devoted to the art of presence. Their work lives between movement, emotion, and play. At its core, their work is an invitation: to listen, to speak, to feel, and to share.

NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN PERFORMANCES

SKAMpede is a festival in Victoria of new short works by top performers who have been selected through a formal submission process. Each of the shows are different and the range of performances encompasses spoken word, dance, story telling and much more!  The local performers have all worked as professional artists, including at Craigdarroch Castle, Atomic Vaudeville, The Belfry Theatre and Butchart Gardens. SKAMartists are paid for their work.

See our past lineups here.