“I can go for the first few days avoiding people, but by the end of the
week, always, I have an evening where I’m just itching to see people, and I
end up checking the kitchen every fifteen minutes to see who’s there.
Because I do get lonely when I work that hard, and it’s so nice to know that
somebody’s going to turn up, and it’s generally somebody super interesting,
who you can have a chat and a cup of tea with.”
Have you ever wanted to get away from it all—but not, you know, too far
away? Would the idea of living communally with like-minded people appeal to
you, if you knew you could go into your own room and shut the door and
everyone would leave you alone? That comfortable balance of solitude and
company is something many of us look for. It’s particularly important to
artists and writers, most of whom need time alone to work, but draw
inspiration and encouragement from talking to each other. For this episode,
Megaphonic’s Chris Piuma and I took the ferry out to the Toronto Islands to
visit Artscape Gibraltar Point, an
artists’ residence designed to create an environment where it’s possible to
find that balance. We talked to staffer Andrew Lochhead and several of the
residents, and later I sat down for a longer chat with Anna Synenko and Julia
Tausch, two writers who have returned to AGP many times over the years. The
consensus, more or less: AGP is a great place to be alone—to hunker down and
work, commune with nature, or even just sit with your loneliness for awhile.
And when you start to crave company, there’s always the kitchen.
Guests.
Julia Tausch is a writer living in
Toronto. She wrote the novel Another Book About Another Broken
Heart and has published fiction and essays in
publications such as Hobart, CBC Arts, The Hairpin, and Bon Appetit.
She is currently working on a memoir that investigates abledness.
After a long career in publishing, Anna
Synenko now creates projects for film
and television exclusively, producing original scripts in full feature,
comedy, documentary, and factual. She currently has created two documentary
series that are signed to a London UK television production company, is
optioned to write a big budget historical film with another UK company, and
her adaptation of Amanda Lear’s My Life with Dali
is currently with a European producer based in Amsterdam and LA. She works
closely with filmmakers to teach script writing or doctor existing scripts.
Self-taught, she’s spent approximately 5 years nomadically moving around,
writing scripts, developing shows, and honing her craft to make stories honest
in the revealing, daring in the execution, and provocative in the telling.
Show Notes.
Photos from our visit to Artscape Gibraltar
About Artscape Gibraltar Point.
Anna Synenko’s website, featuring a photo of her Artscape Gibraltar Point
Julia Tausch’s first novel, Another Book about Another Broken
Special Thanks.
A number of people contributed to making this episode happen: Daniel
Rotsztain put me in touch with Anna, Julia
and Luisa. Andrew Lochhead provided all the information I needed, plus a
guided tour and introductions. Chris Piuma did the onsite recording, had
valuable input into pruning and shaping the episode, and went above and beyond
with the editing. And, of course, thanks again to all the Artscape Gibraltar
Point folks who talked to us: Alicia, Eunice, Barbara, Rae, Luisa, Marina,
