The Funeral Cafe is Opening Soon!!!

The Funeral Cafe is opening on October 18th for all to hear. Hear? Yes, The Funeral Cafe is a storytelling installation that sometimes serves lunch. On October 15th, October 31st, November 17th and December 1st I will be partnering with local restaurants to offer a lunch in exchange for stories about, wait for it..., funerals! The stories that are told will be recorded and played back, as well as represented in different ways in the empty cafe when lunches are not being held. There will also be opportunities for spectators to record their stories when the cafe is empty as well as other interactive story opportunities. These new recordings will be added as the installation progresses making this a changing space that is filled entirely by participants' stories.
So, what's with the funeral theme? I chose this theme to give focus to the stories not to be morbid, per se. Being someone who hosts a ghost tour I do love how life, death and stories are so linked. If "the truth about stories is that that's all we are" (Thomas King) then at no time is that more accurate than at our own funeral which is why I am asking people to bring stories they would like told at their funeral, or heard/told at another funeral, and, because funerals are such interesting social occasions, stories that simply occurred at funerals are accepted as well.
In many ways funeral stories are a celebration of life and I have made a conscious effort to make my work celebratory. The Funeral Cafe is a celebration of the power of tables to bring us together. It is a celebration of our ability to perform and entertain through the art of storytelling, and it is a celebration of food, which is an art form unto itself, that not only keeps us alive but whose rituals are central to our existence.
I hope to partner with four cool local companies to provide the food for these lunches. We have great chefs in this town who take pride in what they do. Already Crush Bistro has signed on!

More information will be coming shortly...

Thank You!!!!

Thank you to all the participants and supporters of Social Potluck! As a master's thesis project I can say with certainty that the project is complete. I received the final email stating that I have successfully crossed every "t," dotted every "i" and fulfilled everything that the University of British Columbia expects of me. I could not have done this without the support and participation of so many generous and trusting participants.
While this means that one chapter comes to a close it does not mean that Social Potluck is over, in fact it is just beginning. From October - December, 2012 I will put what I have learned in a gallery setting and create a sound installation entitled "The Funeral Cafe" at the Vernon Public Art Gallery. Then, in November I will be taking Social Potluck on the road to Port Townsend, Washington where I will team up with Denise Kenney and do a complete Social Potluck in just ten days!!!!
I will post information as it becomes available.
Yours,
Gabriel Newman

Hello Social Potluck participants and supporters,

On July 10th at 9:30 am at the "Playtpus House" on the UBCO campus (called "The University House" on campus maps) I, Gabriel Newman, will give the oral defense of my master's thesis project, Social Potluck. It is the final step in completing my master's degree. As participants and supporters I would like to invite you to attend. The morning will consist of a twenty minute talk by myself, then I will be asked three questions by each of my examiners before the the floor is opened to questions from the audience. The whole process takes 2-3 hours. I will try to make it as entertaining as possible... I will also provide some snacks, because food is important to my work, so please let me know if you plan to attend so I can make sure I make enough. Potluck is always welcome as well.

Yours, Gabriel Newman

Social Potluck 2012

Dear Potluckers,

I have exciting news, embarrassing news and updates for you.
The exciting news is that I will be doing a long term Social Potluck installation at the Vernon Public Art Gallery from October-December. I will be turning their small Up-Front Gallery into a small cafe and looking for stories about... wait for it, funerals. I will be looking for stories that you would want told at your funeral, that you wish you could have told, or you did tell at another person's funeral. I'm also looking for stories about events associated with funerals. Thomas King stated, "the truth about stories is that that's all we are" and at no time is that more relevant that at funerals when all our belongings are stripped away and just our stories remain. For those of you who know that I host The Ghost Tours of Vernon the macabre topics won't come as a huge surprise.
In true Social Potluck format I will be creating new performances every few weeks for those who attend.
I will post more information shortly.
The embarrassing news is that I still haven't finished my thesis yet so nothing else is planned for the year until that is complete. I would much rather speak than write which is why it is taking so long.

As an update, a short rough video was put together that I will attempt to upload shortly as well.
Yours,
Gabriel Newman

Thank you Glenmore!

The Social Potluck project has drawn to a close in Glenmore. Many thanks to Michelle Kam at the City of Kelowna for helping spread the word, Sandi and Jim at the Bridges at Glenview Pond development for letting me use their incredible show home,DeBakkers for the bread, Joan at St. David's Presbyterian for ensuring I had a venue and of course all the amazing participants for sharing a story. The project was made possible by a grant provided through a partnership between the City of Kelowna and the University of British Columbia.
The dinners were a real treat. I felt honoured to be able to break bread with such generous and supportive people who had amazing tales to tell. I have a great job.
The finale was filled with such good wishes and support for myself and for each other. I hate to admit it but the show almost feels irrelevant, that just getting back together is enough, the show is simple the excuse.
The following night I performed the same show to an audience that hadn't participated. There was a strange mix of friends, colleagues and strangers. People brought their moms and their kids. It was a full house and some chairs needed to be added at the last minute. Most people didn't mind not having been at the dinners, they liked the surprise aspect of the stories, nothing was familiar. I thought this was interesting. Both evenings had a different feel.
In the end I could tell that people wished they could have stayed and heard more stories from each other. I will have to see how I can facilitate that in the future.
Below are a few pictures taken of one of the dinners I hosted at the Bridges at Glenview Pond development. The pictures were taken by Kate Mahaits Photography.

Social Potluck show for the public on July 16th. Only 50 seats available!

MEDIA RELEASE | July 7, 2011


On July 16th, for one night only, a very unique dinner theatre event will be taking place in the Glenmore neighbourhood of Kelowna. How is it unique? It is a potluck dinner show all about the people who live in Glenmore.

The show is a culmination of months of work where storyteller Gabriel Newman explored the community of Glenmore through its stories. In June, Newman hosted four intimate dinners at the Bridges at Glenview Pond development where guests told him a story in exchange for a meal. “We had an amazing mix of stories taking place not only in Kelowna but around the world,” says Newman who will perform to those guests at a private show on the fifteenth before presenting it to the general public on the sixteenth.

Cost to attend the July sixteenth show is free but guests are asked to bring an item of food to share as there will be a giant potluck dinner as part of the show. “”I love the metaphor of the potluck, says Newman who adds, “Thomas King said “"The truth about stories is, that's all we are." I believe that follows through to the communities we live in. Which stories we choose to tell becomes what we offer to the cultural potluck table of our community.”

Newman created Social Potluck as his thesis project to fulfill the requirements of a Master’s of Fine Arts degree at UBC Okanagan’s Performance Program. “I have been working as a performer and a story teller for the past fifteen years but I wasn’t satisfied with the work I was doing. I was convinced that there had to be a different way of working that was sustainable and provide a truly live and relevant experience. That is why I went back to school to complete my masters; to figure out a new structure. The fact that I have been able to work my love of food and storytelling into this project is a bonus,” laughs Newman who lives and works in Vernon.

This is the second time he has conducted a Social Potluck project, the first time was earlier this spring in Vernon.

The Glenmore Social Potluck project is one of three projects sponsored through an innovative partnership between the University of British Columbia and the City of Kelowna to help foster sustainable community development. Social Potluck is unique in that it is the only project that contributes directly to building social sustainability and social capital in the community. “We are empathetic creatures and we build community through storytelling whether it is at the table or on stage. Glenmore has a vibrant culture, we just need to stop every once in a while and listen to it,” says Newman who is grateful for the opportunity to demonstrate the practical nature of “applied theatre.”

The performance will take place at St. David’s Presbyterian at 6:00 PM. There are only fifty seats available so guests must make reservations if they wish to attend. There will be no tickets available at the door. Contact Newman at 250-260-8757 or socialpotluck@gmail.com to reserve a space.

To learn more and to see a video of the previous Social Potluck click here.

Contact:

Gabriel Newman
Graduate student, Performance/Theatre, Creative Studies
The University of British Columbia, Okanagan campus
250-260-8757
socialpotluck@gmail.ca

Glenmore Dinners Complete - On with the Show!

After four incredibly stimulating and entertaining dinners at the Bridges at Glenview Pond show house focus for Social Potluck shifts to preparing the final show.
Everyone who attended the dinners brought great stories but they also brought a great ability to listen.
Special thanks has to go to the crew at the Bridges at Glenview Pond who so willingly allowed me to wander into their showhome and start cooking. I kept getting asked, "how did you get permission to use this house!!!!" and all I can reply is that I asked. That isn't even the truth, after searching Glenmore unsuccessfully for weeks I pretty much staggered defeated into their sales office and told them what I was doing and how I couldn't find a place to hold my dinners. Their response was a casual, "go take a look at the blue or green house and see if they would work." Incredible! I'm sure I was an inconvenience to them but you couldn't tell. To top it off, at the end of every evening at around ten PM I called up Joe, who I don't think I ever met, to tell him I was leaving and so that he would have to leave whatever he was doing and come to lock up the house after I left.
Another thank you to DeBakkers who donated bread to every evening. Glenmore is lucky to have such a tasty bakery.
So now I am back in the rehearsal hall trying to figure out how to arrange the show. July 15th is the deadline for the performance for that is when all the participants and their guests will show up.
If you want to attend the show but weren't a participant there will be a show available for the public on July 16th. Seating is limited so reservations are essential.