Help fund short film 'Tiny Dancer' by Stephanie Visconti

STORY BEHIND THE PIECE

"Have you ever wondered what it would be like to meet a childlike version of yourself? In 2020 during the pandemic, I began loosely conceiving a dance piece that involved experiences with mental health, in my case an eating disorder, which now lives at the heart of Tiny Dancer the short film. Perplexed by that question, I imagined a highly choreographed and theatrical piece where the protagonist learns a new way to dance (or rather re-learns) from their younger self. It's not to say that my younger self had it all figured out, but I believe that we could all learn a thing or two from the youthful version of ourselves who's yet to be molded by societal standards." - Stéphanie

Unwrap Theatre and EveryBODY on Stage have made generous contributions towards this project already, but we are still in need of additional funds to complete the remaining budget.

LOGLINE

TINY DANCER is the story of a dancer in theatre school struggling with disordered eating who after receiving a misguided gift from her mother, starts on a journey to reconnect with her inner child.

GENRE

Drama / Dance

SYNOPSIS

Scarlett is an aspiring professional dancer attending theatre school in Toronto. On the day of her 18th birthday, she is feeling especially isolated and struggles to put herself first. The dance industry and society’s expectations are weighing her down, causing her to question her career choice and even her very worth. Her peers Garret and Janet, her institution, social media, and even her family constantly remind her in subtle ways how she falls short of these unrealistic and conflicting standards. After receiving a misguided gift from her mother, she experiences an episode of bulimia that reveals to her a vision of her childlike self, her inner child. We watch her rediscover her “little” self’s instincts and begin to embrace her own needs through a dream-ballet sequence where she learns a new way to dance from her younger self. This story-telling sequence nods to dance classics such as A Chorus Line, Centre Stage, and Chicago.

This film intends to portray eating disorders within the performing arts industries on camera in an honest, free of stigma, and non-romanticized light. It is also meant to explore the microaggressions that can often contribute to the development of body dysmorphia and various eating disorders. The piece aims to bring solace to survivors in the fact that they are not alone in a continuing journey to healing. It is also meant to be empathetic towards all players in this narrative, as body image affects all in one way or another.

LOCATION

This film will be shooting in Ontario with an all Canadian cast and crew.

Writer's Statement

This film is not only for performing artists and eating disorder survivors, it's intended for anyone who's looked at themselves in the mirror and not recognized themselves or liked what they saw. Every character in the narrative of this story suffers under the same pressures that weigh down on Scarlett. We are all the main characters of our own unique stories and are all in our ways trying to find our way home to our inner child.

Who are we?

Writer / Actress - Stéphanie Visconti

Stéphanie Visconti (she/her/elle) is a triple-threat performer and aspiring choreographer based in Toronto. She is particularly passionate about the potential that dance has to tell stories that transcend language, unite people from different walks of life, and heal those who come in contact with it.

Stéphanie trained at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in NYC where she completed the Musical Theatre Conservatory Program with honours. Some of her theatre credits include Kiss Me Kate and Rock of Ages with Drayton Entertainment, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Tweed & Co., Anne of Green Gables at the Charlottetown Festival, the North American Premier of Bend It Like Beckham the Musical at the Bluma Appel Theatre in Toronto, touring Canada with the French-Canadian music & comedy trio “Les Chiclettes”, Les Zinspiré.e.s Flambant 9: Soirée des filles through the Théâtre Français de Toronto, Mamma Mia at the Arts Centre of Coastal Carolina, Mame at Riverside Theatre in Florida, as well as playing Judy Garland in Anatomy of a Dancer for which she won the 2018 Toronto Broadway World Fringe Festival Breakout Female Artist Award.

During the still of the pandemic, Stéphanie studied jazz/tap dance history, musicality for dance, as well as creative writing through Toronto Metropolitan University and various industry connections such as Zak Nemorin (Uprooted). She loves to partake in opportunities that unite her passion for such subjects. For instance, one of Stéphanie’s most treasured creative experiences was working on David Suzuki’s Why We Dance: The Nature of Things documentary with CBC where she helped uncover what makes human dance practices so unique and fundamental to our species. She equally enjoyed being associate choreographer to Greg Carruthers on EveryBODY on Stage’s inclusive and innovative project Cell Block Tango: Reimagined. She's also assisted choreographer Lisa Stevens on Netflix’s upcoming film Fear Street: Prom Queen and choreographer/starred in Marie-Claire Marcotte’s short film Goût d’un mensonge. On her own time, Stéphanie continues to push the boundaries of movement-based storytelling through her teaching practices at City Dance Corps in Toronto and projects of her own.

Director - Paige Foskett

Paige Foskett

is a music video director, choreographer, intimacy coordinator and actor based in Toronto, Canada. Her love for the nuance of emotions in the human experience comes through in every facet of work she does. She loves to bring stories to life through movement, colour, characters and art, with an emphasis on collaboration.

Producer - Greg Carruthers

Producer - Alten Wilmot

Alten Wilmot

is an artist and producer working in theatre, film, and dance, and the founder of Unwrap Theatre.

Alten’s work has been recognized with awards including the Buddies in Bad Times’ Queer Emerging Artist Award, an ArtworxTO Emerging Artist Award, a Denny Award, as well as other nominations and shortlists. They have worked in residency with companies including The National Ballet of Canada, Obsidian Theatre, MT Space, Project Humanity, and Guelph Dance.

Alten most often works with stories and performances which show humanity at its extreme limits, where they believe the core of our human experience is revealed.

As a producer, Alten studied Arts Management under acclaimed Executive Director Michael Kaiser through the University of Maryland and has worked as a Marketing Director for two IT businesses. They’ve been producing for seven years, initially mentored by Ray Hogg; Artistic Director at Musical Stage Company and Prime Mover Theatre Company. The latter they serve on the advisory committee for. Additional mentors include Pam Patel of MT Space, Laura McLeod of the Harbourfront Centre, and Lisa-Marie DiLiberto of Theatre Direct. They’ve produced for the Guild Festival Theatre for their summer 2020 season, where they completed a Digital Marketing for Theatre research project, and for Theatre Direct, including being Festival Coordinator for the Forward March Festival – an outdoor theatre festival that includes performances from five companies and one artist in residence. Alten is the founder of Unwrap Theatre, where they have produced 21 premiere productions to date.

Producer - Aveleigh Keller

Working on multiple projects, she’s recently finished her second short film – What I Did for Love – that will be screened at film festivals across Canada in the coming year. She’s been commissioned for multiple works; including her first play – Dancing Under a Blanket – produced in 2019 with Unwrap at the Registry Theatre; her play Toronto, 1989 with Icarus Theatre at Buddies in Bad Times; and the book writer for Blackberry the Musical – currently in development. Her first short film – Blue Light Glasses – was selected as the Canadian representative for the Lebanon Film Festival in Tyre, and was screened as part of Unwrap Theatre’s latest live show in Toronto and Kitchener/Waterloo – Weightless.

She’s an accomplished producer, producing both her short films and co-producing multiple films and live events during her time at Unwrap Theatre as Company Producer. She has also story edited multiple films (Weightless, 2023; See You Tomorrow, 2023).

Composer - Jackson Seib

Jackson Seib is a UK-based pianist, composer-lyricist and music director born in Niagara Falls, Ontario. With childhood plans to become an author, his lifelong love of music lead him into musical theatre, where he was finally able to combine both halves of his world.

Jackson has been working as a freelance composer and music director since 2018; he has a passion for musical theatre songwriting, orchestral composition, and jazz. He is also huge fan of chunky harmonies, and gets WAY too excited if they sound even remotely like music.

About Unwrap Theatre

Unwrap Theatre supports the arts sector by investing in artists careers’, building their capacity towards lifelong employment in the arts, and facilitating audience connections through increasing the public's access to their work.

Unwrap does this by:

About EveryBODY on Stage

EveryBODY on Stage is the world leader in advocacy for representation of all body types in the arts. Our long term goal is to eradicate size discrimination in professional arts organizations and address the long term effects disordered eating and body dysmorphia have on the health of artists. Since inception in November of 2020, EveryBODY has secured over $165,000 in grant funding from the Canada Council for the Arts, a Premier’s Award Nomination and won the Bod Con’s inaugural Impact Grant from a worldwide search. EveryBODY on Stage has produced live events for Musical Stage Co, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Comedy Bar as well as short films, webseries and short form social media content, which has amassed a following of 30,000.

BUDGET

Thanks to the generous support of Unwrap Theatre and EveryBODY on Stage, we have raised $4,000 so far. In order to create this film, we are raising an additional $6,000 to hit our budget goal of $10,000.

Below is a breakdown of the budget:

LOCATIONS: $1,400

ACTORS: $1,400

CREW: $2,000

PRODUCTION DESIGN: $1,200

CRAFT: $600

EQUIPMENT: $2,400

COSTUME & MAKEUP: $1,000

TOTAL: $10,000

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

After the film is finished, we are planning on submitting it to film festivals across the world, as well as engaging in private viewings to dance studios across Ontario.