Material Theatre
An emergent rural theatre company on Sinixt Territory, the Slocan Valley, in Southern British Columbia, Material Theatre is a collaboration between Marya Folinsbee and Martina Avis. We create and self-produce both original and existing work work, and facilitate community theatre.
We are interested in producing work that explores the fabric of existence through theatre. We want to tell stories that are small and large at the same time, works that draw our attention to aspects of lives often left untold. The "material" in our theatre is the inspiration for the story, the incarnation of it into the ephemeral moment of theatre, the real-world objects we bestow meaning upon, and the magical fabric that actor and audience weave together in the sharing of the story.
Artist Bios
Marya Folinsbee is a clown, actor, playwright, and teaching artist from Edmonton/Amiskwaciy Waskahikan, who now lives in the Slocan Valley/Sinixt Territory, in the West Kootenays. Marya studied theatre at the Victoria School of the Arts and McMaster University, and independently with artists including David Diamond (Theatre for Living), Jon Davison (London Clown School), Deanna Fleysher (Don’t Call it Clown), and others. Writing credits include “In Transit” (Nextfest 2001); “Be/Longing” (2018, co-written with Martina Avis); and “Domesticated Disputes (2020). Select acting credits include Peter in Peter Pan; Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Moon in The Real Inspector Hound; Le Geographe and Le Renard in Le Petit Prince; and Constance Ledbelly in Goodnight Desdemona (Goodmorning Juliet). Marya facilitates clown and theatre workshops for all ages, and is currently writing and devising two new works - PLAY! and The Mosquitos.
Martina Avis grew up in the Slocan Valley (Sinixt Territory) and became active in the Nelson Theatre scene as a teenager. She pursued acting, directing, and stage management opportunities under the mentorship of local theatre practitioners such as Nancy Harris, Richard Rowberry, Geoff Burns, Norma Kilpatrick, and Janet Cook. Martina attended the University of Victoria’s Theatre program at the Phoenix Theatre, taking courses in Acting, Directing, Design, Theatre History, and Front of House Management. In 2011, Martina moved back to the Slocan Valley and began working with the community and with youth to create theatre. She has directed numerous projects for the Valley Gems Community Theatre including adaptations of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Peter Pan which were both large-cast shows that played to packed audiences at the Vallican Whole. In 2018 she co-founded Material Theatre with friend and collaborator Marya Folinsbee. Martina believes that theatre is more necessary than ever in this age of isolation and screens. It reminds us that life is ephemeral and gives communities a moment to come together, witness, and conceive of something of and beyond ourselves. Theatre is communion.\