Fairlith Harvey (she/her) is a writer, director, producer and dreamer whose theatrical odyssey has taken her from the historical mining town of Barkerville to the heady rush of The Big Apple.
Starting off her career in dance, Fairlith received a scholarship to attend the prestigious American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York. It was there that she first discovered the allure of immersive theatre when she attended her first performance of Punchdrunk’s “Sleep No More” (she would go on to see it nine more times.) Upon returning to Vancouver after graduation, Fairlith founded Geekenders and spent over a decade writing, producing and directing over sixty productions, including multiple forays into immersive theatre such as the Fringe favourite “The Neverland Night Circus”, the Shakespearean “Slumber Here”, and the 1960’s-tinged sold-out spectacular “Alice in Glitterland”.
Her latest venture, Dreamqueen Collective, debuted “The Last Resort” in November – an immersive adventure into the afterlife inspired by her work in the funeral industry, a fascination with cruise ships, and the sounds of the 1970s.
-Written by Andy Garland
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Which ‘hood are you in?
I’m very grateful to live in East Vancouver, finally. Feels right.
What do you do?
I do everything! I’m a kid playing imagination games with her friends. For “The Last Resort”, I came up with the idea and title, co-wrote, co-directed, co-choreographed, co-costume designed (and every rhinestone in the show is placed by me, so it’s been months of detail work), created quite a few props, and stayed confident about the 4-D map I had in my head. I’m also the designated plate-catcher, co-production manager, co-marketing person, last-minute idea-haver, and one of many problem-solvers. When I have to describe myself, I usually say ‘theatre creator’, but I like to think of myself more as a friendly person who invites professionals to collaborate and make art with her. I give them a theme and general idea, from the photographer to the lighting designer to the choreographers to the circus performers to the customers to the graphic designer, and let them create, and then we connect it all together to make an enormous living collage. So, whatever single word means all of that, that’s what I do.
What are you currently working on?
My ‘Day in the Life’ today was centred around my new immersive show, “The Last Resort”, but I am also currently working on the screenplay for my first feature film, an adaptation of one of my other plays, ‘Kill the Ripper’. That story revolves around three Victorian working women who teach themselves self-defense and hunt down Jack the Ripper. That’s a wild opportunity that will take all of my attention now that “The Last Resort” has closed.
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