S1E10 - Episode 10 - Arkady Spivak of Talk is Free Theatre

Well hello there! Welcome to episode 10 of A View from the Box - The Podcast. I’m so excited to introduce you to this week’s guest: Arkady Spivak. Arkady Spivak was cited as a 2020 Canadian Arts Hero by the Globe and Mail. He founded Talk Is Free Theatre in Barrie in 2003, and is the company’s Artistic Producer, in charge of both artistic and administrative visions. Since TIFT's founding, Spivak produced 152 works in Barrie and toured nationally and internationally (most recently to New Zealand, Chile, Argentina and Suriname). In 2018, he produced one of the most ambitious theatre experiences in the world, entitled The Curious Voyage. It was a 3-day long journey, in which each patron became the protagonist of their own story, and was transported, quite literally, from Barrie, Canada and London, UK. TIFT is a recipient of Canada’s prestigious Dora Awards for its productions of Sweeney Todd and Assassins. Spivak has served as a grants juror for the Ontario Arts Council and Canada Council for the Arts, and is currently a Juror for the Dora Mavor Moore Awards in a Musical Theatre category and is a Board Member of Tourism Barrie. He has also been a volunteer mentor at Business and the Arts, helping emerging and small-scale companies with organizational development and sponsorship. Spivak is a recipient of the inaugural Barrie Arts Award and a Contribution to Tourism Award. For the past 20 years, Spivak has mentored several young people and emerging artistic leaders. He has also initiated numerous special initiatives with the goal of strengthening the theatre ecology, such as the recent Artist BIG. As the first-of-its-kind initiative for independent artists in Canada, it provides artists with minimum basic income guarantee for three years. For more info about "Cock" visit: https://www.tift.ca/shows/cock For more info about "For Resting and Breeding" visit: https://www.tift.ca/shows/for-both-resting-and-breeding If you'd like to hear the Before You Go! segment of this episode, you can become a Patron at A View from the Box | Patreon