Vertical City Performance

04/19/2026

We’re excited to be bringing our latest project to Calgary audiences as the final production in New Works Calgary’s season of programming. New Works is one of the most innovative and vital presenters we have (locally, regionally, and nationally), and it’s a privilege to be rubbing shoulders in this company. ‘Dragon' has been in development for many years and has evolved into something very special for us. Can’t wait to share it with our community in this distinctly interdisciplinary context.

Dear Listeners ✨,

Our next and final performance of the 25-26 season is coming up in just three weeks!

We’re thrilled to welcome back Vertical City ( last witnessed at New Works in 2018) to premiere their new interdisciplinary performance work, ‘Dragon’.

Vertical City Performance is an award-winning interdisciplinary performance hub led by Co-Directors Bruce Barton () and Pil Hansen (.hansen.5 – both based in Calgary), who surround themselves with an evolving group of remarkable artists from a wide range of backgrounds and fields of expertise.

This upcoming project was co-created with composer-performer Juliet Palmer (), dancer-choreographer Karen Kaeja (), and multidisciplinary performing artist Jani Lauzon (), each of whom will also be performing on May 8th and 9th.

We feel the Vertical City approach aligns closely with our interdisciplinary mission at New Works Calgary, and we’re thrilled to close out our season with a deeply collaborative project that brings together such skilled, seasoned, and inquisitive artists.

ABOUT THE CONCERT:
‘Dragon is an interdisciplinary meditation on the possibilities that lie beyond power. Bringing together three celebrated female artists from the fields of dance, theatre, and music, Dragon explores the complexities of adaptation, the beauty of maturity, and the richness of experience when the desire for domination is replaced with the openness of embrace. Ultimately, Dragon collapses 400 years of embodied discovery and surrender into an immersive hour, in a sensorial and sensuous attempt to imagine beyond human awareness’ (Bruce Barton & Pil Hansen).

Concert times:
May 8 - 8pm, Doors 7:30pm
May 9 - 2pm, Doors 1:30pm
CSpace Theatre, 1721 29th Ave SW

See link in bio for tickets!

This event is made possible by Canada Council for the Arts, Canadian Heritage, Calgary Arts Development, and Alberta Foundation for the Arts.

03/21/2026

Creating ‘reset’ with Sage Theatre and Emil Agopian has brought many deep rewards, none greater than working with such a remarkable team of performers. Each is a star in our constellation.

In her own words (that no one else could imagine, let alone copy): Julie Orton is an actor/director/pisces who loves theatre a lot. She's acted on a lot of stages in Calgary and other Canadian cities and has been given a couple of awards. They're all made of glass and look really nice on this new ladder shelving unit she just bought. She's been in over 50 plays - she won't list them all because that's boring, but trust her - she's a BIG deal. She's directed 2 plays and they were both hard and wonderful. Notable reviews include the word “exhausting” and “relentless”. She's grateful for the creative connections she's made in her life. And she's humbled by the speed bumps. Bruce and Jason are sparky guys and this is a hell of a fun time. Also, Julie adores her wife and the moat they’ve built around their peaceful, quiet life.

With all remaining shows at Contemporary Calgary sold out, there are a few tickets left for our ‘unplugged’ staging at Stride Gallery on Sunday: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=306098.

03/21/2026

Fantastic performance this evening, followed by an exciting talk back session—with more than 75% of the audience sticking in their seats for over an hour of exchange with three AI experts from Computer Science and the Business School at UCalgary. Now that’s engagement. One more show at Contemporary Calgary and then on to Stride Gallery for a unique, stripped down, ‘unplugged’ version of the piece. Only a few seats left for the final offering on Sunday. What a ride.

What a quote! Thank you Deborah! We have been thrilled to see audiences turn up and be a part of this immersive theatre puzzle.

Sage Theatre is so glad to be collaborating with on this incredible work.

Very limited tickets remain for our "unplugged" performance on Mar. 22 and you DO NOT WANT TO MISS IT!

Cast:
Braden Griffiths
Jamie Konchak
Julie Orton
Mike Tan

Bruce Barton: Writer & Director; Vertical City Co-Director
K Hall: Stage Manager
Jason Mehmel: Associate Director & Producer; Sage Theatre Artistic Director
Dylan Lindsay: Associate Producer, Composer & Sound Designer
Emil Agopian: Filmmaker - Stream Designer

Venue partner:

for hosting us on Mar. 22.

Poster design:

03/18/2026

03/14/2026

Big thanks to Aryn Toombs and On Cue for a terrific preview piece on ‘reset.’ Four days to opening on the 18th! Tickets and performance details at sagetheatre.com.

What it means to be human, to learn, to remember, to accumulate knowledge, and act on that is at the heart of a new play from writer and director Bruce Barton. Reset, running for five nights at Contemporary Calgary, asks audiences what it means to be human versus AI, all while asking them to determi...

03/14/2026

Our good friends and collaborators, Karen and Allen Kaeja, are on their way to Calgary. A terrific opportunity to learn from some remarkable artists.

03/12/2026

Thanks to Andrea Montgomery and CityNews for a terrific preview article on ‘reset.’ We’re heading into the home stretch, excited to be bringing this special piece to its first audiences.

03/09/2026

In nine days we offer up ‘reset’ to the world.

Mike Tan is the most recent member of the ‘reset' team, but his deep experience and close friendship with the rest of the cast has allowed him to immediately find the performance’s pulse and rhythms. His sharp intelligence and burning curiosity have added even more intensity to our work together.

Mike is a Treaty 7-based theatre artist and photographer. He has worked as a co-creator in devised theatre creation ensembles with Downstage, Theatre Junction, and Ghost River Theatre; an acting ensemble member at the Banff Centre Playwrights Lab workshopping new plays from around the world; and as an actor at Lunchbox Theatre, Vertigo Theatre, Alberta Theatre Projects, and Theatre Calgary. Mike also works as a documentary photographer for arts and culture organizations, events, and independent artists.

Performance details and tickets for ‘reset’: https://sagetheatre.com/reset/. We hope you’ll join us.

03/07/2026

One of the huge privileges of creating ‘reset’ has been working with such a remarkable group of performers. Their individual skill, combined with their deep friendship and care as a cohort, is resulting in something very special. Although they’re all familiar for audiences throughout our region (and beyond), it’s a joy to celebrate them.

Jamie Konchak is an award-winning actor, singer, educator, voice-over artist, puppeteer, and puppet-maker. Her twenty years as a professional theatre artist have taken her from coast to coast, with many memorable performances at Two Planks and a Passion Theatre in Nova Scotia, as well as The Arts Club in Vancouver, The 1979 Group in Toronto, and virtually every major professional theatre company in Calgary. Jamie is also a puppeteer on 'Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock,' streaming now on AppleTV. She has a particular artistic passion for new work, new musicals, projects with a long fermentation process, and collaborations with cherished colleagues—of which ‘reset’ is a prime example. Her quick wit, sharp eye, and deep empathy have been essential ingredients in what we’re cooking up.

You can find Jamie’s full bio, along with show times and ticket information, here: https://sagetheatre.com/reset/

03/06/2026

We’re just 12 days away from the opening of ‘reset’ at Contemporary Calgary, in a co-production with Sage Theatre and Emil Agopian Film. We began this piece almost a decade ago; one global pandemic and a feature-length film version later, it’s pretty thrilling to have ‘reset' about to enter the world. Our rehearsal process has been exhilarating, largely because we’re working with four of this country’s finest performers: Braden Griffiths, Jamie Konchak, Julie Orton, and Michael Tan—the first time all four have appeared in the same performance together. The work is highly focused and precise, and the energy in the room has been both intense and joyful. We’re all keen to bring the experience to its first audiences. For full details and tickets, check out https://sagetheatre.com/reset/.