2008 Woodie Awards
Theatre group takes on campus caterer Chartwells
Anti-corporate actors protest food monopoly
Jacob Serebrin
Issue date: 11/27/07 Section: News
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It's Thursday evening in the cafeteria at the Library building. Two men look like they're about to come to blows. Two guys at a nearby table are asking them to calm down.
The reason for the fight? Whether Concordia's cafeterias - run by foodservice giant, Chartwells - is a good place to eat. But there's more going on here than it appears. The two young men, whose near-violent argument has become the center of attention in the cafeteria, are actors performing a scene. But the people telling them to calm down don't know that.
This is theater with a purpose. Montreal based theater collective, Optative Theatrical Laboratories (OTL), uses "guerilla theater" to publicly question corporate practices . They also encourage people to think about where they spend their money. Their current target - Chartwells.
Chartwells is a subsidiary of Compass Group, a British foodservice conglomerate. Compass is one of the largest companies in the world, with annual revenues of over $20 billion. Here at Concordia, Chartwells enjoys a monopoly on foodservice. Optative takes issue with this monopoly and with Chartwells' opposition to student run businesses. They claim that Chartwells is attempting to shut down student bake sales.
While the scene started off seriously it soon took a turn toward the absurd with the arrival of "Chartwells CEO" and "Chartwells Security," to remove people who don't like the food. The scene also featured a "Chartwells Sergeant singing "We are Chartwells, we sell food, we're the only choice at school."
The group staged two scenes at Concordia on Thursday, one on the seventh floor cafeteria in the Hall building and a second at the cafeteria in the Library building.
Although there were few students in the cafeterias at the time, the performance was well received by students who happened to be there. "I liked it, it was cool, it was funny," said Stephanie Dodge.
Dodge lives in residence, and as a result was required to buy a meal plan from Chartwells. The mandatory plans, which start at $3,250, were another of the concerns raised in Optative's performance. "We have no choice," Dodge said. Her friends, also residents, were also upset with having to buy the plans. For them the main problem is the poor quality of the food. Zach Kain and his friend Blair Barrington share the same opinion. "It fluctuates from poor to crappy."
The reason for the fight? Whether Concordia's cafeterias - run by foodservice giant, Chartwells - is a good place to eat. But there's more going on here than it appears. The two young men, whose near-violent argument has become the center of attention in the cafeteria, are actors performing a scene. But the people telling them to calm down don't know that.
This is theater with a purpose. Montreal based theater collective, Optative Theatrical Laboratories (OTL), uses "guerilla theater" to publicly question corporate practices . They also encourage people to think about where they spend their money. Their current target - Chartwells.
Chartwells is a subsidiary of Compass Group, a British foodservice conglomerate. Compass is one of the largest companies in the world, with annual revenues of over $20 billion. Here at Concordia, Chartwells enjoys a monopoly on foodservice. Optative takes issue with this monopoly and with Chartwells' opposition to student run businesses. They claim that Chartwells is attempting to shut down student bake sales.
While the scene started off seriously it soon took a turn toward the absurd with the arrival of "Chartwells CEO" and "Chartwells Security," to remove people who don't like the food. The scene also featured a "Chartwells Sergeant singing "We are Chartwells, we sell food, we're the only choice at school."
The group staged two scenes at Concordia on Thursday, one on the seventh floor cafeteria in the Hall building and a second at the cafeteria in the Library building.
Although there were few students in the cafeterias at the time, the performance was well received by students who happened to be there. "I liked it, it was cool, it was funny," said Stephanie Dodge.
Dodge lives in residence, and as a result was required to buy a meal plan from Chartwells. The mandatory plans, which start at $3,250, were another of the concerns raised in Optative's performance. "We have no choice," Dodge said. Her friends, also residents, were also upset with having to buy the plans. For them the main problem is the poor quality of the food. Zach Kain and his friend Blair Barrington share the same opinion. "It fluctuates from poor to crappy."
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greg
posted 11/28/07 @ 12:19 PM NA
chartwells is a disease. its success is built not on the quality of its food, but on its ability to buy influence. they throw money around, sponsoring this and that 'project' in order to nurture a sense of financial dependence on their handouts. (Continued…)
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