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Planet S

es are, you've heard of Edgar Allan Poe: perhaps you've read The Raven, seen one of the many old movies made out of his works, or studied TheTell-Tale Heart in school (or at least seen The Simpsons' episode with the dioramas—Diorama-rama Day!). But while Poe is undoubtedly a cultural touchstone, what do you actually know about the man himself?

If the answer is "not much," don't feel too bad — you're not alone.

"I didn't know too much [about him] besides his more well-known work," admits Beth Graham, one of the performers in the upcoming Nevermore, a musical created by Edmonton's Catalyst Theatre (the minds behind last season's presentation of Frankenstein) and presented in Saskatoon by Persephone Theatre.

"Once I found out I'd be working on Nevermore, I started reading more of his writing, and reading more about him. He kind of had this crazy, tragic life, where so many people, really close, influential people in his life, passed away. He struggled with a lot of demons, struggled with alcoholism, and there's also a great deal of mystery surrounding him — even his death: no one really knows how he met his end. He'd been away, and then showed up again wearing someone else's clothes, completely out of it, and died."

Nevermoreportrays the life of Poe — the story of the storyteller. Jonathan Christenson, writer, director, and composer of Nevermore, uses Poe's work as inspiration for the larger-than-life theatrical imagery that Catalyst is known for.

"It's told through song and movement and text," says Graham. "Very heightened text, and the performers are costumed in these huge, architectural costumes. We play these huge other-worldly characters... it's the Catalyst way of telling stories."

Graham is no stranger to highly evocative, visual storytelling — she's worked with Catalyst in the past (on their production of The Blue Orphan), and was last seen in Saskatoon when Persephone Theatre presented The Drowning Girls(which she co-wrote).

"There are definitely similarities between working on Nevermore and doing The Drowning Girls," says Graham, "the most obvious one being working with [production designer] Bretta Gerecke. Bretta is really involved when she does design; she has a real eye for storytelling. She's always asking, 'How does this costume affect this character? How does the water add to this moment?' She's very present throughout the whole process."

"Of course, there are noticeable differences, too. With Catalyst, there's a lot more dancing and music. Oh, and one [play] was very wet and one is very dry."

Like The Drowning Girls, the process of creating Nevermore has been an ongoing one, says Graham.

"We first started working on it in Fort McMurray as a workshop, then in Edmonton," she says. "That was back in 2008 and '09.

"I love working on the longer evolution of the work. It just gets deeper and deeper, and there are more and more layers to explore. You just get more and more connected to the work, and I don't want to say you have a better chance to get it right, but you have another chance to explore it, and create a richer experience for — and connection to — your audience."

While every performer and artist loves to be thrown into challenging territory, Graham says that with Christenson and Gerecke at Catalyst Theatre, you have to be ready to leap first and look second — especially when it comes to the amazing costumes they're known for.

"Sometimes, it can be kind of, 'Oh my god, here we go! Let's figure out how this one works!'" she says. "Our costumes are these hilarious art projects that you're wearing — they're great. They're all made out of glue and paper and sticks, and some kind of landscaping fabric. Because of what they're made of, they do really look quite stunning, but they're also quite fragile.

"The trick is they have to be able to withstand the rigour of the show and the choreography. Stage management does a really great job of taking care of those costumes. They have quite the task of keeping them in shape. They're armed with glue guns!

"These costumes were a great leaping-off point — you get these costumes layered on top of what you're doing as an actor, literally and figuratively. Bretta will then make adjustments to incorporate what the actors are doing. It's intense; it's always changing."

That's how Catalyst chooses to work — as the consummate collective, says Graham.

"It's great, really collaborative. Jonathan sees what you bring to the table, [and] he's never afraid to ask you to try something. He realizes when something's not working, and when he's not sure what comes next, he'll ask us to help him figure it out."

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