A portrait of 20-somethings

Generation Y or Generation Me – the 20-somethings of today – are commonly perceived as valuing money, fame and image above self-acceptance and community.

However, these are broad generalizations and Gen Y is setting the record straight in a poetic and visceral evening of storytelling. The University of Alberta’s 2012 BFA acting class new production of Whisper opens tomorrow night for a 10-day run at the Timms Centre.

“With this generation there’s generally a sense of entitlement, of being protected and being spoiled. Not only are they self aware, but they are struggling to take responsibility for their lives, and it’s probably not that different from when we were that age,” says director Jonathan Christenson, a St. Albert son.

Christenson, artistic director of Catalyst Theatre, had been in talks with the university to guest direct for several years. Finally this season, schedules were free of conflicts and both Christenson and Bretta Gerecke, the creative designer behind Catalyst’s dynamic productions of Frankenstein, Nevermore and Hunchback, returned to their alma mater to develop a new work from the ground up.

Christenson met with the students last fall and listened to them opening up about their lives. About three weeks ago, they once again met as a collective and tried to piece the stories together for a 90-minute show.

What emerges is a portrait of 20-somethings about to embark on a new adventure called life.

“There’s a huge sense of anticipation of what the future holds and that’s something special to all of us. We all want to hold onto the idea of possibility. We never want to give up on that. We want to know there is still a sense of discovery.”

But thrown in the mix are struggles with relationships and parents, and many stories were of their first experience with death – that of losing a beloved grandparent.

“A lot have encountered demons, problems they will have to wrestle for the rest of their lives and confront them in an honest, adult way. Yet there’s a great sense of excitement.”

In the interim between meetings, Christenson wrote an entire score of music including choral pieces for a 30-voice choir singing both classical and contemporary pop tunes.

Sound designer Matthew Skopyk was tapped to arrange the tunes and layered the rhythms with post dub – that is rhythms created by chopping up vocal recordings.

“It’s more sparse and tends to be more evocative. And we’ve bumped different styles against each other.”

And Gerecke’s set and lighting is a departure from Catalyst’s bold signature. It is practically a bare stage with white light.

“We wanted to have the whole piece emerge out of a black void. There are dreamy images floating through space. We wanted to give a sense of dreams living beneath the stories.”