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Environment is just as key a factor in any creative process as the collaborators an artist works with or the medium they use. Le Patio 340 at the Centre Culturel Franco-Manitobain is a great example of this as its unique outdoor setting in the heart of St. Boniface inspires artists as they present a wide array of performances this summer.
The musical comedy ensemble Mundane Problems will be adding their talents to Le Patio 340’s stage on July 10 as they present improv and jazz in a bilingual performance. For ensemble member Christopher Dunn, the patio space is one of the best in Winnipeg for supporting their particular brand of artistry.
“Telling stories is so woven into the way people live,” says Dunn of the Franco-Manitobain audiences that he has performed for in the past. “Getting to do it outdoors especially, there’s something really magical to being open to more elements of what nature can share with you about what you’re experiencing in that moment.”
After long winters spent huddling indoors, Dunn notes that spaces like Le Patio 340 are the lifeblood of Winnipeg's performing arts community. “It’s less like an audience and performer sort of environment in so much as it’s a group collective storytelling event that we’ll facilitate,” explains Dunn about the encouragement a welcoming space can provide to an audience. “That’s why I love them so much – people feel like they have a chance to say what you need to say if they want to say it.”
That encouragement for audience participation also comes from Mundane Problems’ bilingual ability to create comedy and music. Encouraged by the musicians in the ensemble – pianist Evan Miles, drummer Josh Bonneteau and bassist Sam Fournier – Dunn has developed a sense of audience communication that helps transcend language barriers.
“Our evolution as a group has been just trying to include more audience members per capita at any given time within the story that we’re telling,” says Dunn, “so I think in whatever language it will be in, we’re just going to listen to each other very well.”
Mundane Problems takes the stage at Le Patio 340 at 7:30 p.m. on July 10. They will also be performing on July 20 at Little Brown Jug Brewing Company in the Exchange District. For more information on Le Patio 340’s lineup of summer programming, visit their website or follow them on social media.