This weekend marks the end of African Heritage month, and if you haven't yet had a chance to take in any of the events that have been happening around Vancouver, you're in luck. As part of the festivities, Urban Ink Theate Company is presenting SLaMFête, a youth-oriented (go HERE for more information about that) artistic celebration billed as "a weekend full of entertainment, including a play reading by a very talented up-and-comer, Omari Newton; innovative “Bold Skool” workshops; and a hip hop revolution like never before experienced."
I had a chance to catch up with actor and playwright Omari Newton and get some details about the third year of SLaMFête, as well as tips on sushi in the city and where ex-Montréalers in Vancouver can get their Habs fix in a Canuck-free environment.
Omari Newton, rocking a red polo at W2.
What can we expect from SLaMFête?
A vast range of cultures intersecting to create art. It’s very prevalent in Montréal, but something I haven’t really seen a lot in Vancouver. For example, at our SLaMFête we have an emcee who is Sikh, an Israeli rapper, myself from Montréal, one DJ from Latin America and another who is Vietnamese. The mandate of the Urban Ink Theatre Company is to promote the work of minority artists so we’re really looking to have as much diversity as we can at each of our events. People can look forward to a sampling of a bunch of different cultures that are really just representative of Canada. It’s cool to see them all on one stage.
Where did the idea from this weekend come from?
We started off three years ago as a poetry slam at Luggz Café on Main, which burned down. It’s grown from there – the next year we did it at the new W2 space and then this year we’ve expanded even further. All of our events are going down at the new Ironworks Studio in Gastown.
I’m really excited about it for many different reasons, but certainly the play that I wrote and am acting in, Sal Capone: The Lamentable Tragedy of. The play is based on a real life event, about a kid who was shot by police in Montréal. His friends ended up protesting and it quickly devolved into a riot. So, the story is not one of those “cops bad, kids good” kind of stories necessarily, it’s more about, “what are the circumstances that come into play?” After the play we’re going to have a town hall talk back with police, RCMP, social workers … a huge intersection of different walks of live having a conversation about a pretty controversial topic. I’m really stoked for that.
Proactive art. Everybody gets involved by participating.
Absolutely! A lot of the groups that I just mentioned are represented in the play, too, which makes it really interesting.
What prompted your move to Vancity from Montréal?
I came in 2006 for more work in film and TV, but I still do theatre. I did Bard on the Beach in 2008.
What neighbourhood do you call home?
Currently Yaletown – don’t judge! (Laughs.) I’ve lived in Burnaby and on Commercial Drive, Coal Harbour … I’ve hauled around. They all have their benefits but I really loved the Drive. It was really sweet, culturally. Really cool. I live in a condo in Yaletown and it’s nice to have a hot tub in your building, but you sacrifice culture.
Any favourite spots in the city?
I do! Real cliché, but I love English Bay. When I first moved here I couldn’t believe you could be at Starbucks and then five minutes later be on the beach. So I spent a lot of time with my iPod and my books sitting in a bench – you know that crazy apartment with the tree? There’s a bench in front of that one that I’d chill out at a lot.
There’s a really cool spot on Granville Street, Forum, which has been taken over by a bunch of Montréalers like myself. If you want a cool spot to watch a Habs game …
You can be among your people.
It’s like a little piece of Montréal. Lots of French-Canadian accents, which remind me of home.
Tons of sushi spots – my favourite is on Hornby and Nelson. They’re fast, they’re cheap, and they’re super nice.
What do you get when you go there?
I get the chicken teriyaki bowl and an apple juice. Every single time.
