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Performance Festival
August 6-16, 2026

Gloria Mok

A Focus on Pure Research

Conversation / Learning


Nightswimming


Venue
Tarragon Theatre Rehearsal Hall


WED AUG 12, 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM


Gloria Mok

Join Nightswimming at SummerWorks to celebrate our 30th anniversary with more than 20 years of Pure Research – a program that invites performing artists across Canada to examine process, techniques and methodologies in a lab environment; and more than a decade of the Performing Arts Relay – a series of artistic research labs hosted by partners in Norway, Canada, and Denmark.

This two-hour session will feature Kelsi James and Camellia Koo reporting on current, recent and past Pure Research projects along with our Toronto partner, Tarragon Theatre, exploring the impact of their experiments on their creative practice. We are also joined by Col Cseke reporting on the Performing Arts Relay in Denmark last year, hosted by our Danish partner, Artistic Director of Seachange Lab, Barbara Simonsen.

Co-moderated by Nightswimming Artistic Director Brian Quirt & Tarragon Theatre Artistic Director Mike Payette.

Pure Research: https://nightswimming.ca/research/
Performing Arts Relay: https://nightswimming.ca/research/performing-arts-relay-lab/

Kelsi James: https://nightswimming.ca/research/queer-affirming-vocal-scores/
Camellia Koo: https://nightswimming.ca/research/the-box/
Col Cseke: https://nightswimming.ca/research/viability-reviews/


Generously supported by the Kingfisher Foundation and the George Cedric Metcalf Foundation.


SummerWorks Focus
Our ever-evolving exploration into more relational, less hierarchical, and increasingly impactful engagement within our industry, and within Toronto’s diverse communities of performance practice.


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