The musical Stationary grows with the actors
REVIVAL: New version darker, sharper and clearer in 2015
It’s been seven years since the economic recession of 2008 hit, but the hangover of those deflated days still causes headaches for many people.
That fact is evidenced clearly in the Delinquent Theatre’s revival of their musical Stationary: A Recession-Era Musical (April 21 to May 2 at The Cultch).
“One character does say, ‘Yes, technically the recession ended five years ago, but do you notice a f---ing difference?’ ” said Christine Quintana, the show’s playwright, lyricist, cast member and artistic producer.
Set in the world of advertising, Stationary follows six young employees who have to watch their dreams bump into reality and hope, fingers crossed, things will get better.
“It’s true for young people living in Vancouver it is not getting better,” said Quintana, talking about the cost of living.
“Every generation has its struggles and their socio-political structures that work for or against them,” said Quintana. “But for us you have a whole generation of young people where the road map that was set out for us by our parents is no longer available to us.
“Since we did the show last, two cast members got married to each other and still live in that same rented apartment they did before, because that whole idea of buying a house and moving in, that kind of nuclear life pattern is just not available anymore.”
But that’s not to say Quintana and others are mired in depression, wondering if they will ever get to pick out their own kitchen cabinetry.
“At the end of the day you have your reality and you’re empowered to find happiness and find an authentic way of living your dreams and your reality,” said Quintana.
“It is both empowering and terrifying to acknowledge that. So in a lot of ways Stationary is about finding that courage within yourself.”
For the members of this almost completely intact original cast, that courage was summed by the pursuit of their own creative dreams.
Since its 2012 debut, Quintana said, she and her friends, mostly graduates of the UBC theatre school, have been “working as artists and growing as artists and people.”
“We’re coming back to it now as kind of real professionals, more mature artists. My career as a playwright and as an actor has changed me so much from that first version. You see it in the show — it is darker, sharper, clearer than it has ever been before.”
But while Stationary ends on a question mark, not an exclamation point, Quintana says the show, with music by Mishelle Cuttler, is upbeat and reassuring.
“There’s a sense of humour and a bite to it,” said Quintana. “I think it is important to honour your struggle but to know it is universal, you’re not alone and you can change … remind yourself that you hold the key. I know it’s hard to keep a view on that, and no one is going to come and save the day. But here you can come to the show and rock out and realize you’re not alone.”