The Staircase Theatre’s improvisation community provides a perfect place for creative people to connect during the pandemic

By: Kate Whitesell-O'Melia, Contributor

Photo C/O Kakerr from TripAdvisor

The Staircase theatre has been an incubator for the Hamilton arts scene since it was founded in 1998. The theatre was originally a hydro building but was converted into a 67-seat theatre where Hamilton’s improvisation community has gathered for over 20 years.

Along with housing performances of improv groups such as The Understudies, Staircase theatre has fostered the Improv Staircase community, a group of individuals that are brought together by their passion for improv.

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Kristi Boulton is a voice actor, podcaster and comedian who joined the Staircase Improv community in 2013 when she graduated from McMaster University. Boulton recounted her time at the Staircase theatre and her first time performing with her group The Understudies.

“There’s just nothing like it. The laugh that you get it’s so genuine and in the moment and real that it just lights your soul on fire . . . [the Staircase] is such a safe space to play and be a total goofball. It’s scary for sure, but it’s also magical,” said Boulton.

“There’s just nothing like it. The laugh that you get it’s so genuine and in the moment and real that it just lights your soul on fire . . . [the Staircase] is such a safe space to play and be a total goofball. It’s scary for sure, but it’s also magical.”

Kristi Boulton

Boulton went on to become a voice actor and podcaster with the show Civilized. Boulton said that if it wasn’t for the Staircase, she would not have had the courage to connect with other comedians.

Last year, performances and gatherings at the Staircase theatre were put on pause due to COVID-19 lockdowns. Since Staircase Improv has been teaching online improv bubbles on Monday and Wednesday nights.

Staircase Improv teacher, Bill Dunphy, joined the community in 2011 and has been teaching Zoom improv bubbles during the pandemic.

“It is very much the difference between having your seven-year-olds being able to spend two hours in the playground doing whatever they wanted to, whether it's ball or running or talking or whatever, and then having a Zoom chat. Okay yeah, they're still together, they still see each other, interact, but it's a very different thing and that's resulted in a real impact on our community members,” said Dunphy.

“Okay yeah, they're still together, they still see each other, interact, but it's a very different thing and that's resulted in a real impact on our community members.”

Bill Dunphy, Staircase Improv Teacher

Many university students can relate — classes aren’t the same online as they were in person because it lacks the component of being with your peers while learning and growing together. Dunphy hopes to see a fair number of members returning once it is possible to do safely.

During the pandemic, the Staircase theatre almost closed permanently. In August 2020, the former owners announced that there were selling the venue.

“It was such a blow to the community when we realized that the theatre space was potentially going to close because it is that home for so many people,” said Boulton.

Luckily, the theatre was bought by new owners who are continuing the Staircase’s former message. Performances will continue once it is safe to do so and in the meantime, the theatre is open virtually for anyone to try improv.

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“I recommend it to everyone, anyone who wants to get creative . . . The simplest thing is just come out to one of the Monday or Wednesday drop-ins. No experience is needed. We welcome everyone,” said Dunphy.

On a personal note, I had the pleasure of attending a Wednesday night improv class myself. I had no previous experience and was nervous to put myself in a situation where others could see me react with no time to stop and think.

I felt that fear melt away as the night went on solely because the group was so welcoming and accepting of my lack of improv skills. Dunphy and Boulton recommend anyone interested in expressing creativity try improv and, after participating in Staircase Improv, I wholeheartedly agree.

Black McMaster students reflect on the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020

This article is a part of the Sil Time Capsule, a series that reflects on 2020 with the aim to draw attention to the ways in which it has affected our community as well as the wider world.

In the summer of 2020, sparked by the death of George Floyd, there was a resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement. Protests spread across the United States and the world. Businesses and individuals, both with and without a history of supporting Black communities, began posting messages of solidarity on social media and pledged to do better.

In just over a month, it will be a year since George Floyd was murdered. In addition to the killings, we have also seen how Black folks have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. For Black folks around the world, this year has been exhausting and retraumatizing.

It’s been exhausting and retraumatizing to learn of more killings and what little action has taken place. It’s been exhausting and retraumatizing for our organizers and protesters, who have been met with police violence. It’s been exhausting and retraumatizing to field questions and concern from those in our lives who have never before cared about our Blackness.

It’s been exhausting and retraumatizing for Black students. All year, Black students, alumni, staff and faculty have been observing McMaster University's response to the resurgence and continuing to advocate for safe spaces and meaningful action.

So as this academic year comes to a close, it was important for me as a Black woman at McMaster to use one of my last articles at the Silhouette to discuss how Black students have been dealing with this tumultuous year.

C/O Camiah

Student activism in summer 2020

On May 25, 2020, in Minnesota, George Floyd was killed while in police custody, for which now-former police officer Derek Chauvin currently is standing on trial, charged with murder and manslaughter. The news and video of Floyd’s murder flooded traditional news and social media. In the days and weeks that followed, protesters took to the streets across the United States and the world.

While this wasn’t the first time a Black person had been unjustly killed, for many, Black and non-Black alike, the summer of 2020 felt different. There are many factors that influenced the increased response, chief among them the pandemic. Black folks, who have been disproportionately affected, were fed up with government neglect while non-Black people quarantining at home had no choice but to pay attention.

“People rioting and actually protesting and doing stuff like that was the reason people started talking about it more, because, essentially you had something for white people to debate about and to fight about . . . [T]hat eventually just made a chain of events so people were being like, “Why are black people rioting?” Okay, well, why are black people rioting and then people were actually looking at it,” said Aaron Parry, a fourth-year student and promotions executive on the Black Students’ Association.

“People rioting and actually protesting and doing stuff like that was the reason people started talking about it more, because, essentially you had something for white people to debate about and to fight about . . . ”

Aaron Parry, a fourth-year student and promotions executive on the Black Students’ Association

Black McMaster students were among those protesting both online and offline last summer, continuing the work that many have been doing for years. For instance, on June 17, 2020, McMaster student organizers held a protest to demand the removal of the special constables on campus and the dismissal of Director of Security and Parking Services Glenn De Caire, who has a history of supporting the highly controversial practice of carding. Students have been advocating for De Caire’s removal since 2016.

Black students also spent the summer further educating themselves and having difficult conversations with friends, peers and others in their life.

“I actually did summer school in June, July . . . Since I'm in political science, race [is] a topic, especially during this course. I feel like I tried, as a Black person, to educate some of my fellow peers about what we experience,” explained fourth-year student and Women and Gender Equity Network Research Coordinator, Shae Owen.

Online, many students responded to McMaster’s statements on Floyd’s death and anti-Black racism at the university with demands that they fire De Caire. Students were quick to point out that McMaster’s statements did little to address Black students’ concerns and calls for action.

Both current and former students took to social media to share their experiences of racism at McMaster. Canadian football player and former McMaster student, Fabion Foote, tweeted about the systemic racism he experienced at McMaster, which was met with support from other Black McMaster students, alumni and faculty.

However, while students were generally glad to see increased awareness, many worried that it was performative or fleeting.

“Doing nothing is no longer acceptable. However, reposting on social media is classified as hardly doing anything, because it lacks your personal tone and influence,” wrote the Silhouette Production Editor and Black Students Association Photographer Sybil Simpson in a June 2020 Silhouette article.

C/O Estee Janssens

Effects on mental health and academics

While Black students were at the forefront of the activism, many also found the summer and current academic year overwhelming. Students didn’t get to take a break from their everyday lives to grieve, having to continue to work, attend summer school classes and study for tests.

“In Nigeria — this was in October — there were killings of peaceful protesters . . . and that was very close to home. Things don't necessarily slow down. When all of this is happening, it's not like school pauses. You still have deadlines. I used my MSAF for the first time in four years last semester, that's how much I just felt like everything was going on. I had to ask for extensions and I couldn't make deadlines,” explained Toni Makanjuola, a fourth-year student and director of logistics with Black Aspiring Physicians of McMaster.

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For some students, these feelings of being overwhelmed were compounded by the physical and emotional isolation caused by the pandemic. Students who were not able to go home to see family often had to deal with the devastating news on their own.

“There's a lot going on with just COVID by itself. I couldn't see my family because of COVID and I was already planning to see them. I think I mentioned I'm an international student and my parents live abroad and my family's kind of dispersed. So it was definitely a lonely time,” said Makanjuola.

“There's a lot going on with just COVID by itself. I couldn't see my family because of COVID and I was already planning to see them. I think I mentioned I'm an international student and my parents live abroad and my family's kind of dispersed. So it was definitely a lonely time.”

Toni Makanjuola, director of logistics with Black Aspiring Physicians of McMaster

Moreover, Black students expressed how the summer of 2020 changed their relationships. Students reported that they got closer to Black family members and friends as well as non-Black allies. On the other hand, relationships fractured with those in their lives that failed to check-in or speak out.

“I found myself being like, “okay, I can't actually be friends with this person, even if they make a racist joke like here and there.” That’s now too much for me. It wasn't too much before, but now that everything's become more extreme, my barriers have to become more extreme,” said Aaron Parry, a fourth-year student and promotions executive on the Black Students’ Association.

C/O GV Chana

Response to university initiatives

During the summer, McMaster put out several statements, some of which addressed how the university intends to tackle anti-Black racism on campus. While none of these intended actions included firing De Caire as students had demanded, some positive actions included the accelerated hiring of Black faculty, the hiring of an anti-Black racism education coordinator and the announcement of a Black student services office.

“In terms of the hiring, I think that was extremely needed because personally, I'm in my fourth year, and this was like the first year that I've had Black professors and that's because I'm taking history . . . I'm interested in research right so [when I found a potential Black supervisor], I emailed her. I was so excited because I knew she wasn't there before. I got to share a research idea with her. But I don't know that I would have felt as comfortable emailing someone else,” said Makanjuola.

“In terms of the hiring, I think that was extremely needed because personally, I'm in my fourth year, and this was like the first year that I've had Black professors and that's because I'm taking history . . .

TONI MAKANJUOLA, DIRECTOR OF LOGISTICS WITH BLACK ASPIRING PHYSICIANS OF MCMASTER
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However, the fact that many plans were created without the input of Black students begs whether they’ll be helpful at all.

“What little they do give to Black students, it's not even involving Black students that often and then they just kind of surprise us as if it's a gift . . . They design whatever services they think that we want rather than actually actively involving us and actively asking us, “what do you want, what do you need, what are you looking for in a Black Student Services, what do you think will help?”,” explained Parry.

In response to Foote’s tweets, the university organized a Black student-athlete review, which was completed in October and revealed “a culture of systemic anti-Black racism within the department.” However, many students believe the review did not do enough.

Some of those who were involved in the review noted that internal politics played a role in what actually made it into the report and how what was included was worded.

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“[W]e know that they have their agenda and it's not in the interest of Black students most of the time. It was definitely disheartening to know that I was a part of a project that was doing that,” said Parry, who was part of the review’s task force.

Many students wondered why the review was restricted only to athletics when many of the stories told are experienced by Black students across campus. Others were eager to know what comes next.

“[The positive changes] are, however, being done so very slowly and with caution; this is unchartered territory for Mac. However, I’m growing increasingly frustrated, not only with the immediate aftermath but with the contents of the review. How could they let this happen? How has it taken so long for someone to finally put their foot down? Moreover, where the heck do we go from here?” wrote McMaster rugby player Payton Shank in a December 2020 Silhouette article.

C/O Good Faces

Creating safe spaces

Support for Black McMaster students this year didn’t come directly from the university, but through the actions of Black students, faculty and staff. For example, on June 11, 2020, Black staff members facilitated a Black student virtual check-in to give students a safe space to share their thoughts and experiences.

Black community members at McMaster took on this work for no pay on top of their work, school and personal lives. Many Black students at McMaster are executives on multiple Black-focused clubs while the African-Caribbean Faculty Association of McMaster offers mentorship and events with no funding from the university. However, because of the importance of these spaces, Black students, staff and faculty feel an obligation to continue.

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“We are going to help ourselves and our siblings because there's not a lot of us at McMaster. But it kind of brought us closer together, because during that time a lot of clubs had talks and chill sessions and discussions . . . I even made some new friends that way,” said Owen.

“We are going to help ourselves and our siblings because there's not a lot of us at McMaster. But it kind of brought us closer together, because during that time a lot of clubs had talks and chill sessions and discussions . . . I even made some new friends that way.”

Shae Owen, WGEN Research Coordinator

All year, Black students have been continuing or creating clubs and events to have important conversations and take a break from the constant stress. Some of these new clubs came from discussions among students that occurred last summer, such as the Black BHSc Association.

Established Black clubs used their platforms to empower Black students and support new Black clubs. For example, BAP-MAC chose the theme Black Resilience for their annual iRISE conference and had talks and workshops dedicated to medical racism and health advocacy. In November 2020, the Black Student Mentorship Program held an event for first-year students that focused on coping with loneliness and online school.

“[The summer] also made me a lot more conscious of other people's mental health and that was like one of the reasons [behind] the loneliness event idea. Because of what I was experiencing during the time, I just thought it would be nice to do something where people could speak out and be vulnerable and know that they aren't alone with that during the school year, especially first years,” said Makanjuola, who came up with the idea for the BSMP event.

However, in creating these safe spaces, Black students had to be wary of other students infiltrating these spaces. On Nov. 20, 2020, the Law Aspiring Black Students of McMaster experienced a racist attack during their Zoom LABS Chat. Since then, Black clubs have been trained on how to avoid Zoom bombing and have had to take special care to avoid similar incidents.

“I was shaking because I never expected something like this to happen at a university, especially because we can’t put a face to the name. We don’t know who these people are. So it’s like am I walking amongst people who feel this way, am I sitting in classes with people who could possibly infiltrate a chat?” said Maab Mahmoud, the vice-president of events for LABS, during diversity services’ podcast, Listen Up.

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The incident served as a reminder of the importance of safe spaces, but also made it clear that Black students at McMaster are not safe among their peers. This was also seen in the reactions to Black student initiatives such as the new Black engineering student scholarship, where non-Black McMaster students complained that it gave Black students an unfair advantage.

“Mac did the exact same thing where they just go, yeah, here's the scholarship to help Black students. We're going to ignore all that shit about non-Black students attacking Black students . . . we're going to continually let you go to school with and live with your abusers, constantly,” said Parry.

Yet through it all, Black students have continued to be there for one another and create places where they can be seen and heard. We do not know what the future holds and if the university will become a safer space for Black students.

But I know that we are resilient. As I graduate this year, I have faith that the Black students, staff and faculty of tomorrow will continue to make McMaster a place where Black students can succeed.

It’s the little things and experiences that lay the groundwork for connection with others

C/O @british library

What is it, exactly, that bonds us to others?

For many students, we find a connection to those around us through school. Whether it be the people that we meet during Welcome Week, in classes, through clubs or through mutual acquaintances, it’s safe to say that there’s ample opportunity to make connections in your time at McMaster University.

But what exactly separates your best, lifelong friends from the random dude whose contact is still in your phone from your first-year chemistry class?

But what exactly separates your best, lifelong friends from the random dude whose contact is still in your phone from your first-year chemistry class? 

I’d beg to argue that it’s a third thing. Mutual, shared points of connection between people that bond us in joint wonder. For some, our connection through school is a third thing. For others, the third thing is a sport, the arts or an experience. Whatever it may be, it’s our third things that truly create lasting relationships.

Now, let me give credit where credit is due. The idea of a third thing isn’t exactly mine

I recently reconnected with an acquaintance from high school who shared the same set of lived experiences that I did but still managed to seldom intersect with my life. We reconnected through a class discussion in breakout rooms, as people do in Zoom university. We lived adjacent but separate lives in a high school of 1,200 people, but our paths finally crossed in a university with a population of 30,000. What are the odds?

We instantly clicked. I think we’d spoken a total of once before — if that? But we were instantly on the same wavelength. Our conversation quickly veered to speaking about our high school experiences and even though we had hardly crossed paths then, our experiences were astonishingly similar.

We reminisced about how absurdly hyper-competitive our high school experience was, with our academically driven group of peers. We joked that the most often used pickup line in those halls was “so, what’s your average?” We laughed at how the less sleep you got, the bigger the flex. We agreed about how you get a choice of two of the following three: good grades, good health or a good social life.

These were things that we just thought were acceptable at the time. It was a school environment that perpetuated hustle culture. Where to be the best, you had to work the hardest and grind the most. It was stifling and absurd. I realize now that it was one of the only things that connected me to my friends at the time.

As we chatted in our breakout room from the comfort of our bedrooms in our hometown of Ottawa, we discovered a shared love of reading. She shared with me this beautiful piece of prose that we both connected to instantly.

It was a piece by Donald Hall, called The Third Thing. Hall wrote it at his wife’s bedside, as she died from leukemia. Throughout the piece, he describes this concept of the titular third thing: a singular idea or point of connection between yourself and another person.

“Most of the time [my wife and I’s] gazes met and entwined as they looked at a third thing. Third things are essential to marriages, objects or practices or habits or arts or institutions or games or human beings that provide a site of joint rapture of contentment. Each member of a couple is separate; the two come together in double attention . . . John Keats can be a third thing, or the Boston Symphony Orchestra, or Dutch interiors, or Monopoly,” wrote Hall.

“Most of the time [my wife and I’s] gazes met and entwined as they looked at a third thing. Third things are essential to marriages, objects or practices or habits or arts or institutions or games or human beings that provide a site of joint rapture of contentment. Each member of a couple is separate; the two come together in double attention . . . John Keats can be a third thing, or the Boston Symphony Orchestra, or Dutch interiors, or Monopoly.”

Donald Hall

Ironically enough, The Third Thing became our third thing, for a moment. As was our shared love of reading and inspiration we drew from literature.

For those at our high school, we agreed, their third thing was school itself. By no means do I want to invalidate sharing the connection of school and education with friends and colleagues. However, we both found that we’d lost that connection with our peers. It was the first time I realized that I’d begun to fall out with those that I used to call my best friends, as our third thing disappeared.

By losing that third thing, we had nothing left with so many of our old friends. It was the only point of connection that we truly had. Without the pressures and stress and competition, the connections fell apart. What’s left of a friendship when there’s nothing to bond over?

But with one connection gone comes the opportunity to strengthen what’s left. With some of my friends, our third thing is screaming Hamilton lyrics at the top of our lungs on road trips. Midnights spent loitering around suburbs. A mutual hatred of the existence of nickels. A crushing obsession with Breath of the Wild. Crocs as our footwear of choice. The list goes on and on.

But with one connection gone comes the opportunity to strengthen what’s left. With some of my friends, our third thing is screaming Hamilton lyrics at the top of our lungs on road trips. Midnights spent loitering around suburbs. A mutual hatred of the existence of nickels. A crushing obsession with Breath of the Wild. Crocs as our footwear of choice. The list goes on and on.

Each and every third thing brings us closer together. These small moments, ideas and figments of friendships past keep us going strong.

As a first-year student, I know it’s more difficult than ever to meet others right now. Getting to know people can be awkward and uncomfortable in a normal year, let alone in the midst of a pandemic.

But I assure you, third things are there and ever-present. I’ve found third things with newfound online friends in the form of our mutual shared experience of writing for the Sil, which turned into joking over a professor’s love of Animal Crossing. I’ve found them in a mutual more-than-dislike of online schooling, turned into a love of musical theatre, turned into a discussion on choosing favourite basketball players based on their wholesome-ness. I’ve found a third thing in the poem The Third Thing itself.

Please, I urge you to find a third thing and hold it close. Hold to it for dear life and never let it go once you find it.

Hamilton-based artist launches a zine distro and micropress to showcase the local work of zinemakers

C/O @partizanka.press

As we go through lockdown after lockdown and can’t physically be together, we seek community in other unusual ways. One way Tara Bursey, a Hamilton-based artist and arts educator, has been bringing communities together is by sharing zines made by zinemakers across Canada and the United States through her recently launched Partizanka Press.

Partizanka Press is an independent zine distro and micropress. The distributor and small publisher has a particular focus on punk, politics, hidden history, social justice, art and music scenes.

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Zines, short for magazine or fanzine, are a small-circulation of non-commercially printed, often self-printed, original work. There are no rules to zines. It is a platform for self-expression and a dynamic medium for subcultural or oppressed voices.

Bursey started the zine distro and micropress because she has always had a passion for zines. She created her first zine at the age of 12 and her first zine distro at the age of 17. 20 years later, the launch of Partizanka Press reflects the revitalization of her long-lived passion. It reflects her goal of promoting the community of zinemakers and the power of zines to express underrepresented and diverse ideas.

“For the most part, [zine making] is a very local scene where local people support each other to talk about zines and create work. But from observing the design community in Hamilton, I wondered how much people were looking at some of the incredible and diverse scenes that are being made outside of Hamilton or even outside Ontario,” explained Bursey.

“For the most part, [zine making] is a very local scene where local people support each other to talk about zines and create work. But from observing the design community in Hamilton, I wondered how much people were looking at some of the incredible and diverse scenes that are being made outside of Hamilton or even outside Ontario.”

Tara Bursey

Zines have always functioned as a way to fill the gaps where mainstream publishers and media have failed. For this reason, it was important for Bursey to honour the histories and ideas left out of popular culture as part of this project.

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It was also important for Bursey to name the distro and micropress after her grandmother, Partizanka. Her grandmother was a guerrilla fighter during the Greek Civil War, a 19th-century conflict which not many people know about.

“[My grandmother’s] existence and her history reminds me that there are all sorts of histories and ideas that go unknown. So this was an opportunity for me to play a role in helping people’s ideas, histories and identities be honoured,” said Bursey. 

“[My grandmother’s] existence and her history reminds me that there are all sorts of histories and ideas that go unknown. So this was an opportunity for me to play a role in helping people’s ideas, histories and identities be honoured,”

Tara bursey

Bursey was most excited to improve the accessibility of zines and allow people to enjoy them during this challenging time as many opportunities to attend zine fairs or markets were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Especially during the lockdowns when people’s normal ways of connection were lost, the intimate and personal touch of zines felt even more special to the community of zinemakers and lovers. 

“A zinemaker’s approach to making a zine is very individual from the paper they choose to the ink colours they choose . . . Being able to get [zines] at this time, it just takes on a whole new meaning because of their personal scale,” said Bursey.

“A zinemaker’s approach to making a zine is very individual from the paper they choose to the ink colours they choose . . . Being able to get [zines] at this time, it just takes on a whole new meaning because of their personal scale,”

tara bursey

During Ontario’s stay-at-home order, Bursey also offered free contactless drop-offs of orders to people across the city, further emphasizing the theme of personal connection and intimacy.

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Through her work in Partizanka Press, Bursey hopes to inspire and support more zinemakers to publish their work and introduce a larger community to zines. 

Sometime in April, she will be publishing her own zine under Partizanka Press, which will also be the first publication under the micropress label. At the Toronto Comic Arts Festival in May, you can expect to see Partizanka Press as part of the festival’s zine fair.

Bursey’s initiative to bring tangible, physical pieces of art, when all we have access to are virtual means of connection and entertainment, offers a refreshing way to experience community.

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