Building Community - Hamish and Mary
Raised in Toronto’s east end, just north of the Danforth, Mary Tooley grew up surrounded by neighbours who shared meals, hosted street parties, and made fresh tomato sauce together. Her neighbours next door were like the Tooley’s chosen family. Sunday meals were spent together, and as a kid, when she’d walk into their kitchen every day after school, they’d always greet her with milk and cookies. Their generosity helped her learn about community. Growing up in East Vancouver, community was also a central part of Hamish Hutchison-Poyntz’s life from a young age. Surrounded by a wonderful mess of artists and political activists, potlucks and block parties, and networks of found families who would eat, laugh and dance together long into the night, he loved the community and care he found in his family, friends and neighbourhood. How these two very separate Canadians met, and brought their Canadian sense of community building to London, was one of the most interesting conversations we had this month - there is certainly a connection to be made between their early and formative experiences of community and their studies today in socially engaged arts and theatre practice.
Hamish and Mary now live in London’s Hoxton neighbourhood, both pursuing their Masters of Arts in Theatre and Performance at Queen Mary, University of London. A couple now, they met during their undergrad at Queen’s University in Kingston while working as research assistants for Dr. Jenn Stephenson and Mariah Horner’s project on participatory theatre entitled, “play/PLAY: Dramaturgies of Participation.” Inspired by Queen’s Professor Kelsey Jacobson, who spoke so compellingly of her own time at Queen Mary, they both applied, successfully.
Before taking off for London, however, the couple faced two major challenges – the financial and administrative leaps needed to be here, as well as finding their feet and a sense of belonging in London. They were fortunate to be good savers, and to have some family and community support, which helped them afford to study abroad. They also received a few smaller scholarships from Queen’s University (Kingston) for their academic performance, and for their work in the theatre community. Apart from finances, their focus was on securing passport renewals and study visas during the slow-downs inevitably caused by the challenges of COVID-19. Through many early-morning calls with Queen Mary’s visa office, a last-minute trip to Ottawa to secure a visa processing slot, and a particularly memorable day camped out at the Scarborough passport office, they managed after many months to secure student visas just in time for their departure.
In London, Hamish and Mary found themselves feeling isolated without a circle of friends or support. Confronted by the size and busyness of London’s often unfriendly streets, and with classmates commuting from all across the city, they initially struggled to make meaningful connections. To overcome this, they began organising movie nights, theatre outings, and study sessions with peers. They faced further difficulties in November when a bout of COVID struck, leaving them in bed for a week and exhausted for many more.
They are now recovered and back at their studies with a vengeance. Their efforts to reach out to those around them have paid off, and they’ve helped build a thriving social community in their program, full of games nights, theatre adventures, and themed parties. Despite their initial difficulties, they’ve found a strong sense of belonging in their school life and neighbourhood, and have begun building a community with many wonderful friends.
On the academic side, Mary’s current research examines the productive potential of refusal in participatory theatre in both Canada and in the UK. In her work, she engages specifically with feminist theory, disability justice, Indigenous Autonomy, and activism and protest. As an avid artist and performer - and former student of music theatre performance at Sheridan College in Oakville - she’s devising performance pieces that aim to find majesty in the mess.
As a lover of theatre, games and audio drama, Hamish is fascinated by the potential in bringing these forms together. His research focuses on their ability to create community, and to allow opportunities for democratic decision-making and discussion, especially among those often left out of these conversations. He’s recently been captivated by the rise of climate crisis theatre, and is experimenting with ways to tackle the vastness of this change. He is excited to be pursuing this work in London's vibrant theatre scene, and hopes to bring a uniquely Canadian perspective to the city's talented performance community.
Hamish and Mary will be two Canadians to watch. No doubt they will bring their warm community-focused approach to whatever they do, and we can’t wait!