June 27-29, 2024
7:30 Thursday-Saturday
Join award-winning interdisciplinary artist Jesse Stewart for a one-person show that weaves together storytelling and music to celebrate individuals who have left an indelible mark on the playwright’s life. With a blend of humour, emotion, and introspection, each character comes to life through engaging anecdotes and musical interludes performed on a variety of unusual musical instruments. From an enigmatic factory worker with a teardrop tattoo, to a US-marine-turned-Buddhist-priest-and-sculptor, Characters delves deep into the profound impact that diverse personalities can have on our own lives and stories.
Suitable for all ages.
Run time approximately 2h
Holding degrees in music, visual art, and English and theatre studies, Oshawa-born/Ottawa-based interdisciplinary artist Jesse Stewart is dedicated to reimagining the spaces between artistic disciplines. His music has been documented on over twenty recordings including Stretch Orchestra’s self-titled debut album, which was honoured with the 2012 “Instrumental Album of the Year” Juno award. Having been widely commissioned as a composer and artist, he has created instruments, music, performance art works, and interactive sound art installations using such diverse materials as stone, ice, water, fire, glass, books, turntables, chemical reactions, and more.
His work has been heralded by critics, journalists, and creative practitioners from around the globe who have described it as “truly exciting” (Musicworks 76), “exceptional” (Cadence Oct. 2002), “phenomenal” (Cadence Nov. 1999), and “ingenious” (Exclaim! June 2006). “Stewart quietly opens the door for us to a limitless world of delicate sonic beauty” writes Randy Raine-Reusch in Musicworks 97. “Highly recommended ear-cleansing” states a review in Italy’s Touching Extremes (2007). “Jesse Stewart is an eloquent and poetically powerful percussionist, composer, improviser and teacher—a man of ideas and inventions,” writes jazz legend William Parker. “Jesse is an incredibly innovative artist. He’s a performance artist, he’s a jazz drummer, he’s an incredible creative force” states Roman Borys, cellist with the internationally acclaimed Gryphon Trio. “He’s extraordinary,” states creative polymath Michael Snow, “he is constantly surprising.”
Chance Encounters, his first one-person show that was performed at the Gladstone Theatre in July 2023, received rave reviews. A film of that show has been making waves internationally as an official selection at multiple film festivals and was named “Best Feature Film” by the Experimental Dance & Music Film Festival in Toronto.
Jesse Stewart is a professor of music in Carleton University’s music program and an adjunct professor in the visual arts department at the University of Ottawa.
Regular $41
Regular(65+) $37
Student/Artist/Unwaged $26
Angel $75**
*All prices include taxes and non-negotiable facility fee
**Angel tickets are for any “Angel” who wants to go above and beyond in supporting Jesse Stewart.
The Gladstone only retains the facility fee.