Caleb Gordon, RSA graduate, actor, producer

Laureen F. Guenther
Times Contributor

 

Caleb Gordon, a 2016 graduate of Rosebud School of the Arts, performed the one-man show The Fever at the Arts Commons in Calgary this February, and is set to perform it in Rosebud in March.
The Fever targets common assumptions of the middle-class lifestyle.
“It’s a play about you,” Gordon said, “and about what you think you know about yourself. And I guarantee it will change some aspect of what you think about yourself.”
Gordon is producing as well as performing the 90-minute show.
“One of the things that they always teach you in theatre school,” he said, “is that if you can’t find work, make your own.”
But Gordon, who graduated from Rosebud School of the Arts (RSA) at the end of September, doesn’t seem to have trouble finding acting work.
Last summer, he played Jesus in the Passion Play. He’s since performed in two productions with Calgary’s Shakespeare Company, and acted in Rosebud Theatre’s Miracle on 34th Street. He’s now in rehearsals for Birnton Theatricals’ The Shape of Things, to open in Calgary in March, and expects to return to Passion Play this summer. He’s also auditioning with other companies.
Gordon’s interest in producing was piqued last winter, when he produced and performed his Final Project, a one-man play called House.
“(RSA) gave me the strength to move forward with that and to realize that I had the potential to do that (producing),” he said.
House also piqued Gordon’s interest in one-actor shows.
“Instead of two actors talking to one another, it’s one actor in front of an audience. And whether they know it or not, the actor is really talking to you (the audience),” he explained. “Shows like this, like Fever, like House, really take a moment and say (to the audience), I see you too.”
So Gordon continued to expand the company he’d created to produce his Final Project.
“Seadreamer, the company I created,” he said, “its mandate is to produce solo work that connects the heart and the mind.”
That’s its written mandate, but he’s discovering that’s not all, he said.
“There’s a hidden mandate that I’ve kind of set for myself, which is: we produce shows that are not necessarily safe, but they’re good,” he said.
He plans to continue producing solo performances with actors other than himself, starting with a possible one-woman show this fall.
In the meantime, Gordon is set for six performances of The Fever in a Rosebud living room, the type of venue where The Fever was first performed by its playwright, Wallace Shawn. Going into homes allows him “to really connect with those outlying communities that couldn’t necessarily come in to see the theatre,” he said.
He’s also exploring invitations to perform in additional homes.
Rosebud performances are scheduled for March 2-4 and 12-14, depending on audience interest. To attend a performance, or to contact Gordon about arranging a performance, contact him at seadreamerproductions@gmail.com.