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Flush Ink Productions

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Theatre company, based in Kitchener Ontario, founded by Paddy Gillard-Bentley in 2006, and incorporated as a not-for-profit in 2007. Its mission is “to provide innovative and affordable theatre to the community” (website); and to develop new works through workshops, education and readings. It is committed to celebrating women’s voices in theatre, and “to creating positive working relationships with both the community and [local and international ] artists.”

In 2006 Flush Ink established its unique site-specific event, "Asphalt Jungle Shorts", an intersection of theatre and reality, during which the audience is led through cafes, allies, and stairways of downtown Kitchener fro an evening of fourteen to eighteen complete plays. Over three hundred plays have been produced.

"She Speaks: Women's work, Women's Words", was established in 2007, staged readings of new works by women – from short scenes to full-length plays. Since then, the Company has featured an annual “She Speaks” festival in March to coincide with International Women's Day, with many of the Canadian, American, and Australian playwrights in attendance for a discussion of their works. Donations at the door are given to The Women's Crisis Services of Waterloo and The International Centre for Women Playwrights. From its inception to 2018, 101 plays have been included.

Since 2008, Flush Ink also annually hosts “UnHinged Festival of Site-Specific Theatre” in November, a fringe-style event to which organizations bring their productions to the Festival. In 2012, the festival included And Then She Tasted Cerulean Blue, a new play with audience participation by Paddy Gillard-Bentley, and Culture Clash by Syrian playwright Nada Humsi.

In 2009, Flush Ink won the Hemerich Glanagan Performing Arts Award, for the Waterloo region.

Flush Ink created "Urban Scrawlers" in 2010, a playwrights' development collective to develop new works. More than twenty-five plays have gone on to full productions.

UnHinged changed from a site-specific festival to "UnHinged Festival of Disturbing Theatre" in 2011, including works that are not often produced because of their provocative nature. Thirty-two main stage plays have been produced in this Festival. As part of "UnHinged", several playwrights before the Festival are sent to disturbing locations to write or hone a one-act play of up to twenty minutes. The plays are assigned directors and cast, and presented on stage on the last day of the Festival. By 2018, fifty-two plays have been staged.

In 2016, A Rose Upon the Blood by Paddy Gillard-Bentley, was performed in Wicklow, Cavan, and Cork in Ireland, in Toronto, in Waterloo, and in Kitchener as part of the Irish Real Life Festival.

Flush Ink Productions has participated in every Impact International Theatre Festival (MT Space), since its inception. In 2013, the Company presented Asphalt Jungle Shorts X—The Deca Dance, a series of site specific performances.

Other productions include: Shaking the dew from the Lilies (2017); and premieres of Accidental Fish (2018), and Shaking the Tree (2020).

The Artistic Director is playwright Paddy Gillard-Bentley.

Website: www.flushink.net

Last updated 2020-06-28