Mission
The Screaming Goats Collective is a non-profit society that creates and presents circus shows that tell stories to provoke social change in Moh'kins'tsis (Calgary, Alberta).
Our productions and workshops dismantle disciplinary borders by incorporating the virtuosity of circus and the storytelling power of theatre, evoking a performative experience that is both spell-casting and strange.
Vision
Under the leadership of Canadian actor, circus artist, movement director and educator Léda Davies, The Screaming Goats Collective aims to bridge the gap between Eastern and Western Canadian performing art communities by offering workshops, producing events, and hosting an annual work-in-progress showcase for new and emerging circus artists.
For the past 5-years The Screaming Goats Collective has produced the “wonderful and imaginative” through its inaugural touring production Persephone Bound, a contemporary adaptation of the Greek Myth of Persephone, that uses stunning poetry, percussion and aerial circus work to tell the story of a young woman’s courage and pain as she navigates the complexities of speaking out about surviving sexual assault.
The Screaming Goats Collective provides instructional seminars and workshops on topics related to circus, theatre and performance creation as a mean to bridge the gap between Eastern and Western Canadian performing art communities.
As we build our legacy, we straddle the tension between structure and possibility, knowledge and ignorance. We courageously plunge into our creative capacity and explore the depths of our own physical and emotional borders, as well as disciplinary borders, flowing towards new aesthetics, experience, outcomes and forms of knowledge.
Values
In the pursuit of our organization's mission and vision we aim to uphold the following principles:
Virtuosity
the negotiation of a perceived disaster
Story
a catalyst for conversation
Creation
an unfolding, exploratory process
hinging on curiosity
Performance
a spectrum of live events
Collaboration
a subversion of traditional hierarchies
Education
a way to remain suspended in the unknown,
a blend of practice and theory
Activism
a disruption that challenges hegemony
Inclusion
an emphasis on equal representation,
mentorship and agency
Community
a connectedness, what we can build collectively
Leadership
rebuilding roles based on trust, integrity
and on our own individual strengths
