EXPLORE A NEW SIDE OF THE CITY WITH BROKEDOWNTOWN
Sudbury’s own Crestfallen welcomes you to explore our downtowns forgotten past! Silverman’s Department Store was once a destination in the north for all your shopping needs making its Elm St address and the downtown core the place to be for locals the visitors alike. The times certainly have changed but with the help of Crestfallen take a step back in time for the night. This event is presented as part of Culture Days running September 30th – October 2nd check out this link for more events happening in the area. We’ve got all the details as per usual for all you social Sudburians on this exciting event!
There will be performance and art installations at the event, tell us how these elements enhance the experience for the audience?
The evening begins with the audience having free time to roam and explore these exhibits we’ve created on the third floor of the old Silverman’s Department Store. All of the exhibits combine different disciplines – music, photography, sound design, illustration, tactile art – that ask an audience to touch, experience and make their own individual discoveries. Then we will gather together in the center of the space to share some time as a group
Tell us more about the choice of venue and how it relates to the story
Long story… I will try to make this short, but I totally geek out on local history, so bear with me:
The building, 67 Elm, the “Silverman” building, currently houses Querney’s Office Plus. John and the Querney family have been unbelievably supportive of this project and are allowing us to take over the third floor of their building. This space has been completely and beautifully gutted back to the original bones. One of these pieces is an original mural from Silverman’s Department Store. Like the Querney family, the Silvermans were a fixture in the downtown for generations. The original department store first opened as a shack selling miners’ clothing and grew to be 45,000 square feet of clothing and furnishings. It was known as the “Greatest Store in Northern Ontario” (Or at least that’s what the sign said!). While these international department magnates loomed – Selfridge, Harrod, Eatons, Macy’s – Sudbury had its own impresario right here. The family had a very colourful history, but almost no trace of them remains in the city today. Like BrokeDownTown.
All this to say, while the history of the site and it’s current culture inspired the piece and our research – we have crafted a fictional story about our own department store impresario called Nathan Nickelman. It’s a story meant to highlight the boom, bust and revival of shopping in our downtown core, with a critical eye to the future. But what the audience draws from it will be determined by how they choose to experience the pieces.
What other productions has Crestfallen done?
Our last production was in 2013. It was a play called Plague, co-created by myself and Jenny Hazelton. In it, a mysterious sickness, spread by crows, has cocooned a city in paranoia, while a husband and wife seal themselves in their rundown apartment to look after their screaming unnamed child. Inspired by Fawlty Towers, Woody Allen and David Lynch, Plague is a grotesque, black comedy about the sickening power of love.
Like BrokeDownTown, this piece brought audiences through a seldom seen and historic building. The play was set on the second floor of 73 Elm, the current location of the wonderful Studio 123. When we were there, the spot was in full demo-reno, guts and bones showing – which is the way we like it!
Where can we find more information about Crestfallen?
We have a website: www.crestfallentheatre.com. Also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can also track us down and pinch us.
Jessica Lovelace
Jessica Lovelace is a Public Relations and Communications grad, musical theatre enthusiast, lover of live music and part-time unicorn tamer. Some have said that the Big Dripper from Sub City is a regional delicacy and the perfect end to a Sudbury Saturday Night – Jessica is definitely one of those people. No, the hair is not a perm.
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