Grad reaches for new heights on stilts

Courtney Rodriguez

The sky's the limit for Algonquin theatre grad Lauren Hart, thanks to her theatre production company – where everyone is on stilts.

The Ottawa Stilts Union is the brainchild of Hart and Laura Astwood, after meeting at the University of Ottawa where Hart continued on in theater after Algonquin. The company put on a production of Beowulf with actors on stilts for the Magnetic North Theatre Festival in June 2007.

Entrants Astwood and Hart are currently working on their second production for the Ottawa Fringe Festival in June, tentatively titled This Is An Old Story. But don't ask them about the storyline.

"I don't actually have one," admitted Astwood, 41. "It has to do with the angel of history, the repetitive calamity in history. That's what I'm thinking of working with for the next show. It's still evolving in my brain."

Hart and Astwood met in 2005 while attending a stilt workshop Astwood was teaching at the university, later working together on the NAC Snow Show. Astwood was putting together an idea about a production of Beowulf on stilts and brought it up with Hart.

"It was while we were rehearsing for the Snow Show that Laura approached me about doing Beowulf," said Hart. "While she was filling out forms for Magnetic North, she had to put down a name for our company."

It was a series of jokes between them that inspired the name Ottawa Stilt's Union.
"We were making jokes. Dangerous conditions, no pay, no benefits," said Astwood. "That's how the name came about. But we got (free) socks!"

After a successful run at Magnetic North with Beowulf, written and directed by Astwood and the part of Gretel played by Hart, the two have been looking forward to their next production for the Fringe Festival.
"Everyone did a fantastic job on Beowulf," said Astwood. "I was so proud."

Though Astwood is still working on the storyline, she has a crow, played by Celeste Dube, who she compared to a "master of ceremonies at a circus."

She said she already has inspirations to work with.

"It's going to be a work in progress," said Astwood. "But the things that are inspiring me are conflict, war, and transformation."

Another source of inspiration for Astwood has been working with stilts. She recalls the first time she saw stilts used in theater, when she watched a rehearsal where a character lying down with a black sheet was revealed 15 minutes into rehearsal and stood tall on stilts onstage.

"It totally blew my mind," said Astwood. "People are always surprised and amazed. It's so transformative."
When they can't reserve space at the NAC, they make do with the city's parks and parking lots, especially during winter since stilting on snow and ice can be hazardous. Rehearsals are often interrupted by security guards, who worry they will fall on cars and other property. "We've been kicked out of a lot of parking lots," said Hart.

Hart and Astwood said anyone interested in pursuing the craft should possess strength and some fearlessness.

"You need good core strength," said Hart.

Astwood said fear was not an option when she first started.

"It never occurred to me that I could fall and break. You need to believe in your ability to do it," she said.
"You need to believe that you are not fragile, you will not break."