Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/398704
Photo: Karre Iverson F a l l 2 0 1 4 I V a n c o u v e r F o u n d a t i o n l p a g e 2 9 Shane Koyczan is no stranger to deeply personal mate- rial. e poetry of this Vancouver-based spoken word artist is rich in social commentary, and often delves with an unflinching eye into intimate and sometimes disturbing subject matter. However, when Vancouver Opera came calling two years ago to ask if he'd be interested in adapting his 2008 autobiography, Stickboy, for the opera, he says he was terrified. "e idea of having other people sing my words and play charac- ters in my life was kind of disorienting," Koyczan says. "When I wrote Stickboy, I thought that I would just get this story down on paper, then close that chapter in my life." Turns out Stickboy, Koyczan's fascinating life story, did indeed get a second life in the form of an opera. anks in part to funding from Vancouver Foundation, it debuted October 23 at the 700-seat Vancouver Playhouse for an 11-night run, featuring an 11-piece orchestra, five soloists and eight ensemble singers. Stickboy tells Koyczan's harrowing personal journey from the bullied to the bully – the subject of taunts and harassment as a little kid from Yellowknife, then, after moving in with his grandparents in Penticton in search of a fresh start, becoming the sort of person who had tormented him. ere are few topics concerning youth more emotionally charged than bullying, a sad reality of school life for far too many kids, and one brought recently to the forefront of public debate by the tragic 2012 suicide of bullied Port Coquitlam teen Amanda Todd. Stickboy is Koyzcan's tale of wrestling with and ultimately coming to terms with this demon within. In 2012, James Wright, Vancouver Opera's general director, had lunch with a friend involved in anti-bullying campaigns who turned him onto Stickboy. He found a copy, read it, and was instantly cap- tivated by a story that was rich in the timeless operatic themes of conflict, drama, catharsis and redemption. Yet, unlike Puccini's Tosca or Mozart's Don Giovanni, Stickboy was forged in a contempo- rary and compelling plot. Wright says the story resonated with him even though he has neither personal experience with bullying nor children to regale him with tales from the playground front lines. "Essentially, it's a story about being the 'other' – the outsider – and that's a universal theme. But Shane also writes with a certain rhythm and cadence, and I knew it would be terrific on the stage," says Wright. Wright's attraction to Stickboy was also strategic; Koyczan's pop culture cachet, which reached a crescendo when he performed at the 2010 Winter Games opening ceremonies, coupled with a socially relevant story, would help appeal to a younger audience – which, in the world of opera, is under 45. "Opera still suffers from an elitist, somewhat inaccessible image, and that's something we're very conscious of overcoming," Wright says. After an initial informal chat between Wright and Koyczan at a local coffee house, the latter went away to wrap his head around the idea of assuming the role of librettist and adapting words from his autobiography to opera. In opera, it's the words of the librettist that come first, but it's also a collaborative process – in this case, involving general director Wright, composer Neil Weisensel, dramaturge and director Rachel Peake, and musical dramaturge and conductor Leslie Dala (dramaturges help research and edit the libretto or musi- cal score in order to tell the story in the most effective way). After Koyczan had inked a 25-page first draft, the creative team began the first of several workshops. ough it was daunting at first, Koyczan says he enjoyed the adaptive writing process. It was a marked departure from his usual witty and complex sense of word play, which, given the demands of opera, he had to distill into a crisper, simpler prose. "I really had to unlearn some things and simplify the language so that it can actually be sung on stage," Koyczan says. Koyczan proved to be a quick study and an adept librettist, and also respectful of the process, Wright says. In opera, that means musical authenticity ultimately trumps textual authenticity, and that can be difficult for a librettist when he's dealing with his own life story. In this case, Wright says the libretto was so strong that there were no major creative conflicts beyond lively discussions and exchanges over how best to hone the text. Spoken-word artist Shane Koyczan's life story puts bullying centre stage in Vancouver Opera's newest production By Andrew FindlAy