THE ESSENTIALS

Field Work

THE ESSENTIALS

A Digital Performance-Documentary

Written & Co-Directed by Col Cseke | Designed & Co-Directed by Thomas Geddes

A philosophy student travels halfway around the world to work the kill floor at a meat packing plant.

A loving son brings his Dad to Canada for a visit, then brings the Corona virus home from the plant.

An activist fights to make sure none of this goes unnoticed.

Last spring news broke that the Cargill beef processing plant south of Calgary was the centre of the largest COVID19 outbreak in North America at the time, with just shy of a thousand active cases and three associated deaths. Shortly after the JBS plant in Brooks was also rocked with hundreds of positive cases. This new documentary-performance reveals the human stories behind the fleeting headlines. With verbatim text taken from interviews with plant workers and embodied by professional actors The Essentials offers audiences a gateway into conversations about the livelihoods of marginalized, temporary foreign workers now deemed essential, the deathly effects Covid19 has had on their communities and the resilient hope they still hold for the future

Length: 70 minutes, no intermission | A digital performance which is available for streaming | Generally available

Presenters have the option to have Field Work engage with plant workers impacted by Covid19 in their communities as part of a post-show talkback or to integrate their stories into the production.

PERFORMANCE HISTORY

Premiered September 2020

CREDITS

Featuring Kiana Wu, Mike Tan and Thomas Geddes

Written & Co-Directed by Col Cseke                                                 

Designed & Co-Directed by Thomas Geddes

Dramaturgy by Mieko Ouchi

Technical Operations by Noriko Marumo

Supported by The Rozsa Foundation, Calgary Arts Development, and the Canada Council for the Arts