A&E Lokanathan dives into ‘absurd musical revue’
When Raghu Lokanathan does a public performance, it usually involves the word ‘concert.’
There is music in his latest performing arts activity, but it is an appendage of something else, something theatrical.
It isn’t correct to call Lokanathan’s next show a play, but it is in that frame of reference. It has a title, The Sickness of Meaning, and to that point it is difficult to stamp traditional words on it. It is a theatrical presentation with musical accompaniment and it all comes pinballing out of the mind of a beloved Prince George creator.
Lokanathan has been in the spotlight for years as a singersongwriter. He has solo albums, he is one half of the duo Chimney Swallows with Corwin Fox, he collaborates frequently, he has toured with the likes of Catherine MacLellan and Kim Barlow, and he was one of the special musical guests of Stuart McLean when the national Vinyl Cafe broadcast celebrated Prince George’s centennial with a live concert at CN Centre.
Lokanathan is busy with his solo work and in bands like Frontal Lobotomy, The Aces, Navaz and Zavan Trio. He also hosts a weekly open mic night at Nancy O’s Pub. He somehow still had the mental band-width to conceive of this new theatrical experience and rehearse it towards readiness.
“It’s a collection of bits,” he said. “I considered all the notebooks I’d worked through over the years, initially as an exercise towards music but gradually they became a creative thing themselves. Sometimes I wrote a bit that gives an impression of a character or a voice that would say it. Sometimes the notes were fragments, or small ideas that came to fruition quickly and didn’t need a lot of elaboration. I started curating bits of this into a folder.”
He was not yet sure what these would become, he just knew instinctively that it was all going somewhere. He brought it up with local artist Rob Ziegler and the conversation quickly caught mental traction. The form started to take shape around these inter- esting bits and pieces Lokanathan was setting aside.
With confidence growing in this train of thought, he went next to a couple of key Prince George musicians. Naomi Kavka and Corbin Spensely are the two halves of Power Duo and his good friends. They, too, spoke into the process of creating this innovative drama and agreed to take on some of those extra roles.
Theatre Northwest’s Eliza Hoag was another he turned to for consultation and she, too, agreed to wade in and take on a role.
“It was terrifying, asking people to do these things,” said Lokanathan, flashing his signature bashful smile. “Luckily and thankfully they all said yes. It’s been nice having this collective adventure. Together we are fleshing it out and finding out what it is. It’s made me think about how rich it is to make art with other people. Writing songs is mostly a solitary pursuit. Much about performing is solitary. I’m really enjoying making things with other people – things that could not have happened without the help of collaboration.”
Although the fragmentary basis came from Lokanathan, and he has acted as a sort of director in the process, he said a great deal of the growth of A Sickness of Meaning came wholly from the collaborators.
“The idea that’s most interesting to me is the collection of objects, the fragments coming together, the people coming together,” he said. “I’m interested in a definite impression – the story that has a clear beginning, a middle, and a clear ending, but in real life very few things go that way. To me, this play seems like a collection of experiences and emotions and conversations and being alone. There’s a beauty in seeing every little thing as every little thing, and I was interested in that as an aesthetic experience.”
The final piece of the collective sharing of the experience is the contribution of the audience. All plays are affected by the energy of the viewing group. This one will be even more so, said Lokanathan, because of the experimental nature of it, and the piecemeal nature of it.
“Some people really may not like it, but I’m proud of the efforts we’ve put into it and I’m ok with how it is received because it is so sincere. It’s not there to be contrary or antagonistic to anything. Naomi called it a dark comedy. I’ve called it an absurd musical revue. The terms don’t really fit. Trying things to see what happens is the business we are in. We are going to wade into this foggy space together and see what shapes emerge from the mist.”
One of his greatest motivators, he said, were the sensations radiating off of local musicians, filmmakers, the recent works of Theatre Northwest, the Casse Tete Music Festival, the stuff coming out of Maker Lab and various galleries, the multitude of projects in dance and visual art that have found safe homes in the local community. Art begets other art, he said, and creativity can take on its own climate. He feels caught up in the inspiration of other local arts endeavours, not the least of which is the audience’s acceptance of it.
A Sickness of Meaning will be staged March 30-April 1 in CNC’s Stan ShafferTheatre (Room 1-306) at 8 p.m. Tickets are $12 and went on sale Wednesday at Books & Company.