head - smashed - in buffalo jump

Tara Beagan as "Andrea"
Chris Hanratty as "Bear"
Kate Hewlett as "Thea"
Christopher Stanton as "Dušan"

Created by Tara Beagan,
Brendan Gall, Chris Hanratty,
Kate Hewlett, and Christopher Stanton

Directed by Brendan Gall

Technical Direction &
Stage Management by Patrick Beagan

Photography by Lisa Stanton

Version One performed July 2005
at The Factory Studio Theatre (Toronto, ON)
as part of the Toronto Fringe Festival.

* * * * 1/2
"Performed by a quartet as polished and familiar with itself
as any cast in town."
(Eye Weekly)

"There's lots of talent on display, both in the insightful script
and in the committed performances."
(Now Magazine)

One of the "TOP TEN BEST BETS" of the Fringe!!!
(The Toronto Star and The Globe & Mail)

"When we are wrapped in fear and darkness, we sometimes ask the monster into our bed..."

Michelle can no longer stand up beneath the weight of the world. She retreats inside her apartment in downtown Toronto, safely watching the outside world from her window. Michelle's downstairs neighbour Dennis gets her groceries, keeps her company when she needs it, and longs to give her his devoted love. His love for her grows bitter when she begs of him an impossible favour - "...that girl. That one. I want to meet her. I need you to bring her to me."

Andrea has been a regular at the pawn shop across the street for months. Michelle has watched her, studied her to know all she can from where she sits. She is captivated by the little she has seen of Andrea, and fills in the holes with the fantasy she desires. Michelle trades the love she could have with Dennis for the love of a woman she has invented.

Across the street sits a man alone. Pawn shop owner Dušan - a new Canadian, a hard worker, a lonely soul planted in the heart of the desperate city shuffle. Inside his tiny shop, in the brief moments of peace he can steal from the day, he tapes a video to - "the perfect woman - you I have not met." Dušan dreams of sending the tape into the world and finding his companion. Together, they would travel across the Canada he has fallen in love with - the Canada he has seen in the brochures.

Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is a collectively created work. UnSpun's creative team began developing the piece in January 2005, using a variety of techniques including improvisation, found images/text, musical composition, and written assignments. Each member of the company played each of the main characters at various points throughout the rehearsal process. The July 2005 performance marks Phase One of the ongoing development of Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump.