The Worst Thing I Could Be (Is Happy)
4 performers. Run time of approximately 70 minutes.
ABOUT THE SHOW
don’t worry, be happy. / be worried, don’t happy.
Philip, Tori, Ira, and Elena just want to be happy. They also recognize the ways this pursuit furthers systemic inequality and causes unprecedented environmental destruction. But Philip, Tori, Ira and Elena still want to be happy… Using live-streams, projections, and onstage experiments, this cross-Canadian collaboration is a spontaneous investigation of grief, technology, and the things people do to be happy at any cost.
Production History
The Worst Thing I Could Be (Is Happy) was developed as part of RISER Project, a collaborative producing model presented by Why Not Theatre with the generous support of RBC Foundation, TD Bank Group, and the Government of Canada.
Phase one of The Worst Thing I Could Be (Is Happy) was presented in November 2017 as part of Theatre Junction Grand’s TJ Lab Program in Calgary, AB.
Phase two was presented in February 2018 as part of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre's 39th Rhubarb Festival in Toronto, ON.
Phase three was a workshop production in April 2019 at the Diving Bell Social Club in Montreal, QC.
Phase four was scheduled to occur as part of Why Not Theatre’s 2020 RISER Project but was cancelled due to COVID-19.
CREATIVE TEAM
Elena Eli Belyea - Co-creator, producer, performer
Bradlery Doré - Co-creator, performer, choreographer
Tori Morrison - Co-creator, producer, performer, video and sound design
Philp Nozuka – Co-creator, performer, video and sound design
Tanya Rintoul - Director, facilitator, dramaturgical support
Alison Yanota - Costume and prop design, dramaturgical support
Rebecca Durocher - Technical Director, dramaturgical support
Additional dramaturgical support by Mel Hague, Laurel Green, Tedi Tafel, Andrea Donaldson, Gianna Vacirca
Audience Feedback
“The aches and anxieties of a generation, bound together by an optimistic, compassionate energy.”
- Nick Carpenter, Playwright
“An overwhelming world where everything is FUN and ON SALE and GOOD for you or BAD or BOTH.”
- Audience member
“The absurdity of seeking happiness in a world that is crumbling.”
- Audience member
Archival photos taken by Geoffrey Simon Brown, Philip Nozuka, and Dahlia Katz.
Watch the show’s promotional video below: