FEATURES
People Over Profit: How Co-op Bar Milton Parc Thrives
If you’re taking an evening stroll on the Milton Parc stretch of Avenue du Parc, stop before you reach Jeanne Mance. Enter the bar right next to the Alternatives solidarity organization, and you might find yourself in the midst of an intense trivia night, a bisexual speed dating event, or a local literary magazine’s launch party.
Intimacy and Access: How P’tit Ours Empowers Local Music
Tucked away on the behemoth of Parc Avenue sits a small, easily-missable venue. I should know – I was almost late for my first show there because I walked right by it…twice. My friend Holly McLachlan was playing on a cold, February night, and she had invited me to play bass for a cover at the end of her set.
Spatializing Consciousness: The Literary Mind of Immersive Theatre
When I began developing my method, what I term Immersive Reality (IR), codifying it in my essay, Strategies of Immersion, I understood simply that I wanted to build theatrical experiences that carried real visceral weight. I knew I couldn’t look to traditional theatre for the answers.
Wild Pride: Queer Joy, Politics, and Power
This year the organizers at Wild Pride have built something joyful, political, and community driven. Is it annoying to say that they’re bringing us a Pride celebration we can be Proud of? Sure, but I feel compelled to say it anyway.
Proud Out Loud
If you’ve ever walked the streets of Montreal, you’ll recognize the languages and sounds that define the city. Some of the sounds that make our city’s music culture were created by the queer community, enriching the scene with distinct subcultures, life-experiences, and fascinating rhythms.
Underground Receipts
In 2011 I read Patti Smith’s Just Kids, and what stood out to me was the idea of identifying as an artist. The idea of saying, “I am an Artist”. I was living in Toronto, working as a “professional actor”. I wasn’t just an actor, though, I was a writer, a singer, a dancer, I enjoyed painting and sculpting, making music, but out of necessity, I was an actor.
Anne with a Katana
Anne of Green Gables becoming a multiverse-crossing serial killer wielding a Japanese sword is just the beginning of Kirsten Shute’s Fanfiction Is for Teenage Girls (Cactus Press, 2025). Her chapbook is full of clever, hilarious wordplay and even dips into the history of ancient, reconstructed languages.
This Is Affordable Culture!
If you step inside Turbo Haus on a Wednesday night, there’s three things that you’re guaranteed to find: good music, good people, and a good time. Once you make your way past the bar and near to the stage, you’ll be able to enjoy some of the best musical talent that Montreal has to offer with a crowd that always brings the right energy.
Make Art, Have Fun, Feel Good
Dr. Lemco's Creative Club events kept coming up in my feed. Invitations to paint, pictures, folks having fun, friends posting, proud of (or laughing at) their resulting pieces. And it wasn't just random people; it was the comedians I hold in high regard, people I can speak to frankly, people I trust when they say I think you’d like this.
Forget The Box 2025 Wrapped
Thankfully, Forget The Box doesn’t follow suit. No, here at Forget The Box, you’ll get the nitty-gritty of arts journalism laid out for all to see. Instead of Santa, we’ve got Creative Director Andrew Jamieson, and playing the trope of Mrs. Claus is our very own Dawn McSweeney, Editor-at-Large.