The Quick is dedicated to serving as a creative incubator – providing space for artists around the world to focus on the creation of new work, while simultaneously connecting those artists with our community through dialogues that allow the artist to gain insight from the audience experience and to provide educational offerings that help our audiences engage about the art form. Through making long-term investments in the creative process, the Quick is helping artists sustain and share their work on a nationally recognized platform.

Frédérick Gravel

August 27 – September 9, 2018

Quick Center audiences were blown away by the humor, humanity, and raw energy that Frédérick Gravel and his company of dancers and musicians offered in the fall of 2017, so we have invited him back as he further investigates what it means to be human. As choreographer, lighting designer, and musician, his unique perspective will be shared in a new solo piece with live music accompaniment. During the two weeks that he’ll be creating this new work, audiences will be invited to see segments of the work, offer feedback, and gain an understanding of the creative process. This new work will make its U.S. premiere at the Quick as part of our 2019/20 season, but in the meantime you’ll be able to catch his latest hit Some Hope for the Bastards in March 2019.

As Frédérick Gravel shared about the creation of his new solo work, “As an artist, I’m interested in creating characters and worlds that are constructed, and there’s always the question of the purpose of it. Am I trying to give a break from our reality, a dream space, a utopian one? I’m trying to be critical about our world, and by doing so I have to hit on what hurts by showing the world how it is, showing its flaws, yes with some poetry to make it digestible, but still, by showing what’s wrong. Or am I trying to show also how wonderful it is? To give some hope, to give a reason to save some things while we still can. I like to bring these questions on stage, because they’re important for everybody to see. What’s relevant for us, what’s the role of the artist? How art can possibly show the way we construct our ideals, our myths, and by doing so, how art can help us be a bit more sensitive about it and then maybe help us to do it in a constructive way.

I have surrounded myself with close collaborators for this creation that will be quite multidisciplinary. Having been trained in dance, I always have played music. It has been an important aspect of my work. This time I plan to work with text by constructing a long monologue piece in the creation. I’ll work with a close collaborator, Etienne Lepage, with whom I’ve created other theater related works. I’ll work with composer Philippe Brault, who composed and performs the music for my last creation: Some Hope for the Bastards. I’ll have musicians on stage with me and some songs I’m working on, so the project might be a mix of concert, theater/stand up monologue, and contemporary dance piece.”

Engage with us as we offer artist showings, work-in-progress showings, meet and greets, and more with these incredible artists before their work is seen on our stages later this season.