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Back 'Four Minutes Twelve Seconds' by James Fritz Now onstage in the Extraspace at Tarragon Theatre Credit: Dahlia Katz. Pictured: Sergio Di Zio and Megan Follows Joe Szekeres VOICE CHOICE Tight direction and a masterclass in acting performances. Disturbing. An absorbing production of character nuance and surprising plot twists, Studio 180 Theatre’s opening night performance of James Fritz’s ‘Four Minutes Twelve Seconds’ elicits nervous laughter at one point and shocked gasps of disbelief the next. That’s real life for me. Playwright James Fritz’s Olivier Award-nominated drama is extremely dark and unusually comical. The script contains surprising plot twists that made me do some double takes, as they did to others sitting around me in Tarragon’s Extraspace Theatre. I’m trying my best not to spoil anything about the plot. You must experience this story live. Given ‘Four Minutes’ has been nominated for an Olivier award, I would have to assume many place references in Fritz’s script are from the UK. Here, the story takes place in Scarborough. These script changes didn’t bother me at all. Fritz’s themes of moral incertitude, consent, injustice, privilege, deception, and the horrific consequences of modern technology remain universal. The Studio 180 Theatre production becomes an alarming reminder this story can be any parent’s possible worst nightmare in a world of instantaneous feedback to gain online followers. Dave (Sergio Di Zio) and Di (Megan Follows) are the parents of seventeen-year-old Jack. Jack is a good kid, but like many young adults, he sometimes makes poor choices regarding his actions and friends. The production opens with Di holding a bloodied private schoolboy’s shirt. Jack has been involved in a fight outside the school grounds. This event threatens everything Dave and Diane have strived for with their son, as they only want what is best for him. Jack is up in his room, afraid to speak with his mother. Having spoken privately to him about what happened, Dave wants to speak to Di about that conversation. With events resulting from this fight spiralling out of control, it appears that Dave and Di may be unable to trust Jack, his closest friends Nick (Tavaree Daniel-Simms), Cara (Jadyn Nasato), or even themselves. The creative team has made many good choices in staging this North American premiere. Using Tarragon Theatre’s intimate Extraspace is the first. Jackie Chau’s set design is unchanging but allows the actors to move across the stage effortlessly. The diamond point shape at the apex closest to the audience places us right in the action. Logan Raju Cracknell’s lighting sharply focuses attention where needed. Two spotlit moments highlight Megan Follows beautifully. Lyon Smith has created exciting sound designs to invoke the rising tension. Mark McGrinder directs with controlled and tight precision. As a parent, he understands young people's actions and what makes them behave as they sometimes do. Every action, reaction, and response by the four characters has a valid reason for occurring. McGrinder exposes the harsh reality of raising a family in the twenty-first century amid virtual reality. It’s often challenging and complicated. It’s not pretty. McGrinder’s awesome cast makes him proud. As Jack’s friends Nick and Cara, Tavaree Daniel-Simms and Jadyn Nasato remain entirely genuine and convincing as young high schoolers about to graduate. Daniel-Simms’s initial shyness with Di as she comes to speak with him makes the young man appear very likable. He wants to remain neutral and stay out of any trouble himself. I was siding immediately with Nick and became annoyed that Di bothered the young man on his way home from school. Nasato, as Cara, has more of a direct connection and interest in what has occurred. To put it bluntly, she’s pissed about what has happened; however, that does not give Cara the right to be flippant towards a caring mother who wants to get to the bottom of what happened. There are moments where Cara’s treatment of Di becomes downright disrespectful. Nevertheless, Nasato effectively makes this irreverence work entirely in her favour as the story unfolds further. To explain further is to spoil what happens. Nasato is spot-on in her performance. Sergio Di Zio’s David is at first puzzling. He and Di don’t seem to be on the same page in raising their teenage son. Di calls David the ‘hippie’ and good-time father who wants his boy to experience what boys do and behave as they usually do. How long has this parental division been going on? Di Zio’s voice and personal stance appear nonchalant as a parental figure compared to his wife, who remains firmly grounded in her view that her son is still a good kid. Sergio makes this work to his advantage. Masterfully. His pauses and timing as David become stronger and more believable. Even eye-opening as the story continues. Megan Follows is utterly convincing as Di and is the reason to get tickets to see this production. She rarely leaves the stage and intently focuses on each person with whom she shares the scene. She delivers a remarkable performance as a confused mother and a tad overwhelming wife who learns disturbing truths about her son and husband. Grounded in a fiery and feisty spirit, Follows rears her mama bear temperament with gusto and zeal while never overplaying the emotional peaks and valleys. I walked with her step by step as she climbed that mountain of recognition that perhaps young people in the twenty-first century are not as innocent as they might appear. And Another Thought: In his Director’s Program Note, McGrinder calls ‘Four Minutes’ a play of questions—troubling questions, human questions. That becomes abundantly clear in Follows's last unsettling moment on stage, which is disquieting. Her final line delivery and state of mind took my breath away. Good theatre is supposed to do that. ‘Four Minutes Twelve Seconds’ is exceptionally good theatre. Running time: approximately 85 minutes with no interval/intermission. ‘Four Minutes Twelve Seconds’ runs until May 12 in the Extraspace at Tarragon Theatre, 30 Bridgman Avenue. For tickets, call the Box Office at (416) 531-1827 or visit: https://studio180theatre.com/productions/four-minutes-twelve-seconds/ STUDIO 180 Theatre in association with Tarragon Theatre present the North American premiere of: ‘Four Minutes Twelve Seconds’ by James Fritz Directed by Mark McGrinder Assistant Director: Chantelle Han Set and Costume Designer: Jackie Chau Lighting Designer: Logan Raju Cracknell Sound Designer: Lyon Smith Stage Manager: Sandi Becker Production Manager: Charissa Wilcox Performers: Megan Follows, Sergio Di Zio, Tavaree Daniel-Simms, Jadyn Nasato Previous Next

Welcome to Monthly Reviews Thank you to the readers who offered this suggestion to find recent reviews: All monthly reviews will be placed under this tab. At the end of the month, each review will then be placed into its separate thematic category. April Reviews 'A Public Reading Of An Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney' by Lucas Hnath Click Here 'Four Minutes Twelve Seconds' by James Fritz Click Here 'shaniqua in abstraction' written and performed by bahia watson Click Here 'Cock' by Mike Bartlett Click Here 'The Fixing Girl' by Kevin Dyer Click Here Six The Musical Click Here

Back "Four Minutes Twelve Seconds' by James Fritz Now onstage in the Extraspace at Tarragon Theatre Credit: Dahlia Katz. Pictured: Megan Follows and Sergio Di Zio Joe Szekeres VOICE CHOICE Tight direction and a masterclass in acting performances. Disturbing. An absorbing production of character nuance and surprising plot twists, Studio 180 Theatre’s opening night performance of James Fritz’s ‘Four Minutes Twelve Seconds’ elicits nervous laughter at one point and shocked gasps of disbelief the next. That’s real life for me. Playwright James Fritz’s Olivier Award-nominated drama is extremely dark and unusually comical. The script contains surprising plot twists that made me do some double takes, as they did to others sitting around me in Tarragon’s Extraspace Theatre. I’m trying my best not to spoil anything about the plot. You must experience this story live. Given ‘Four Minutes’ has been nominated for an Olivier award, I would have to assume many place references in Fritz’s script are from the UK. Here, the story takes place in Scarborough. These script changes didn’t bother me at all. Fritz’s themes of moral incertitude, consent, injustice, privilege, deception, and the horrific consequences of modern technology remain universal. The Studio 180 Theatre production becomes an alarming reminder this story can be any parent’s possible worst nightmare in a world of instantaneous feedback to gain online followers. Dave (Sergio Di Zio) and Di (Megan Follows) are the parents of seventeen-year-old Jack. Jack is a good kid, but like many young adults, he sometimes makes poor choices regarding his actions and friends. The production opens with Di holding a bloodied private schoolboy’s shirt. Jack has been involved in a fight outside the school grounds. This event threatens everything Dave and Diane have strived for with their son, as they only want what is best for him. Jack is up in his room, afraid to speak with his mother. Having spoken privately to him about what happened, Dave wants to speak to Di about that conversation. With events resulting from this fight spiralling out of control, it appears that Dave and Di may be unable to trust Jack, his closest friends Nick (Tavaree Daniel-Simms), Cara (Jadyn Nasato), or even themselves. The creative team has made many good choices in staging this North American premiere. Using Tarragon Theatre’s intimate Extraspace is the first. Jackie Chau’s set design is unchanging but allows the actors to move across the stage effortlessly. The diamond point shape at the apex closest to the audience places us right in the action. Logan Raju Cracknell’s lighting sharply focuses attention where needed. Two spotlit moments highlight Megan Follows beautifully. Lyon Smith has created exciting sound designs to invoke the rising tension. Mark McGrinder directs with controlled and tight precision. As a parent, he understands young people's actions and what makes them behave as they sometimes do. Every action, reaction, and response by the four characters has a valid reason for occurring. McGrinder exposes the harsh reality of raising a family in the twenty-first century amid virtual reality. It’s often challenging and complicated. It’s not pretty. McGrinder’s awesome cast makes him proud. As Jack’s friends Nick and Cara, Tavaree Daniel-Simms and Jadyn Nasato remain entirely genuine and convincing as young high schoolers about to graduate. Daniel-Simms’s initial shyness with Di as she comes to speak with him makes the young man appear very likable. He wants to remain neutral and stay out of any trouble himself. I was siding immediately with Nick and became annoyed that Di bothered the young man on his way home from school. Nasato, as Cara, has more of a direct connection and interest in what has occurred. To put it bluntly, she’s pissed about what has happened; however, that does not give Cara the right to be flippant towards a caring mother who wants to get to the bottom of what happened. There are moments where Cara’s treatment of Di becomes downright disrespectful. Nevertheless, Nasato effectively makes this irreverence work entirely in her favour as the story unfolds further. To explain further is to spoil what happens. Nasato is spot-on in her performance. Sergio Di Zio’s David is at first puzzling. He and Di don’t seem to be on the same page in raising their teenage son. Di calls David the ‘hippie’ and good-time father who wants his boy to experience what boys do and behave as they usually do. How long has this parental division been going on? Di Zio’s voice and personal stance appear nonchalant as a parental figure compared to his wife, who remains firmly grounded in her view that her son is still a good kid. Sergio makes this work to his advantage. Masterfully. His pauses and timing as David become stronger and more believable. Even eye-opening as the story continues. Megan Follows is utterly convincing as Di and is the reason to get tickets to see this production. She rarely leaves the stage and intently focuses on each person with whom she shares the scene. She delivers a remarkable performance as a confused mother and a tad overwhelming wife who learns disturbing truths about her son and husband. Grounded in a fiery and feisty spirit, Follows rears her mama bear temperament with gusto and zeal while never overplaying the emotional peaks and valleys. I walked with her step by step as she climbed that mountain of recognition that perhaps young people in the twenty-first century are not as innocent as they might appear. And Another Thought: In his Director’s Program Note, McGrinder calls ‘Four Minutes’ a play of questions—troubling questions, human questions. That becomes abundantly clear in Follows's last unsettling moment on stage, which is disquieting. Her final line delivery and state of mind took my breath away. Good theatre is supposed to do that. ‘Four Minutes Twelve Seconds’ is exceptionally good theatre. Running time: approximately 85 minutes with no interval/intermission. ‘Four Minutes Twelve Seconds’ runs until May 12 in the Extraspace at Tarragon Theatre, 30 Bridgman Avenue. For tickets, call the Box Office at (416) 531-1827 or visit: https://studio180theatre.com/productions/four-minutes-twelve-seconds/ STUDIO 180 Theatre in association with Tarragon Theatre present the North American premiere of: ‘Four Minutes Twelve Seconds’ by James Fritz Directed by Mark McGrinder Assistant Director: Chantelle Han Set and Costume Designer: Jackie Chau Lighting Designer: Logan Raju Cracknell Sound Designer: Lyon Smith Stage Manager: Sandi Becker Production Manager: Charissa Wilcox Performers: Megan Follows, Sergio Di Zio, Tavaree Daniel-Simms, Jadyn Nasato Previous Next

W elcome to Our Theatre Voice Click THIS MONTH'S REVIEWS tab at the top to see the latest theatre reviews from the team. Click the SEARCH tab at the top and then type in the name of an archived production that has now closed. Click the PROFILES tab at the top to see who has been interviewed recently in the theatre industry. ABOUT US Here at ‘Our Theatre Voice,’ we discuss all things in live theatre sincerely. We welcome disagreements with thoughts and ideas, but will never tolerate, acknowledge or publish anything hurtful, malicious or spiteful. The views and opinions expressed on OUR THEATRE VOICE are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of Joe Szekeres (Founder, Editor and Publisher) or any other persons published on or associated with OUR THEATRE VOICE. Read More Follow us on our Socials Don't miss a thing Join our mailing list Subscribe Now

Dramas "Four Minutes Twelve Seconds' by James Fritz Click Here 'Misery' by William Goldman. Based on the novel by Stephen King Click Here 3 FINGERS BACK: 'Give It Up' and 'The Smell of Horses' by Donna-Michelle St. Bernard Click Here 'On the Other Side of the Sea' by Jorgelina Cerritos and translated by Dr. Margaret Stanton and Anna Donko. The Canadian premiere Click Here 'Casey and Diana' by Nick Green. The Toronto premiere Click Here 'Harper Lee's TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD' by Aaron Sorkin The Touring Company Click Here 'Michael Kohlhaas' presented by Gerhart Hauptmann Theatre Click Here 'THREE SISTERS' by Inua Ellams. After Chekhov Click Here 'Earworm' by Mohammad Yaghoubi Click Here 'Macbeth - A Tale Told by an Idiot' Adapted and Performed by Eric Woolfe Click Here 'The Two Noble Kinsmen' by John Fletcher and William Shakespeare Click Here 'The Lehman Trilogy' by Stefano Massini and adapted by Ben Power Click Here

Back Megan Follows “I’m never quite sure what tomorrow brings.” ​ Joe Szekeres A Canadian performing artist icon returns to the Toronto stage. I am pleased for two reasons. First, I’ll get a chance to see her perform live for the second time. The first time was at Stratford years ago, where she played tragic heroine Juliet to her Romeo, the Now Stratford Festival Artistic Director, Antoni Cimolino. Second, I appreciate that I had the opportunity to speak with her via Zoom for a few moments last week when she was smack dab in rehearsals. Megan Follows opens tonight in Studio 180’s North American premiere of ‘Four Minutes Twelve Seconds’ by James Fritz, a taut, darkly comic, and profoundly provocative Olivier Award-nominated drama. The play delves into the complex issues of consent, privilege, and the insidious opportunities new technology presents, offering a unique and thought-provoking experience. She’s joined on stage this time by Sergio Di Zio (Tarragon, Coal Mine, various films, ‘Flashpoint’), Tavaree Daniel-Simms and Jadyn Nasato. Studio 180 bills ‘Four Minutes’: Di (Follows) and David (Di Zio) have devoted their lives to giving their son, Jack, every opportunity they never had. But a startling incident outside the school grounds threatens to ruin everything they strive for. As events accelerate, Di and David question whether they can trust Jack, his closest friends, or themselves. That’s all I want to know about the plot. Megan told me that if I haven’t read the play, it’s good to come on this journey with fresh eyes. To quote Follows, rehearsals have been a hell of a journey, but she felt confident that they were right where they needed to be at that point. Pieces of an intricate puzzle were slowly being put together at that time. ‘Four Minutes’ had been in preview for the last few days. I’m certain tonight’s opening will be sold out, and an excited crowd will be ready to see one of Canada’s own back on a Toronto stage. There are surprises in the script Megan does not want to spoil about the show. I don’t want to question her further about them as I want to be carried away by the story. Fritz’s writing and the story drew Follows to consider performing the play. She was keen to work with Studio 180 and director Mark McGrinder.: “Obviously, I appreciate Studio 180's willingness to take on this piece of theatre. It’s a challenge, so I guess I’m drawn to challenges.” Follows calls McGrinder passionate and funny. Mark has a wonderful, dry sense of humour. He’s deeply interested in investigating something. He’s not afraid to get in there and help the actors to excavate as he sees it. Mark’s also a parent, so he gets the story from that angle and wants everyone to roll up their sleeves and explore the ongoing dynamics. I’ve interviewed Sergio Di Zio twice and remember how keen he was to work with Follows on this production. She feels extremely fortunate and grateful to work with Tavaree Daniel-Simms and Jadyn Nasato. She calls it wonderful to be around young, emerging artists, not only because of their energy but also because, regarding Four Minutes, it’s vital to recognize there is a generational aspect to the play regarding the navigational change: “There’s a good vibe. We’re a team. We gotta be there for each other. Tavaree and Jadyn are incredibly beautiful in spirit and also extremely talented young actors.” What are some messages Megan hopes audiences will take away with them about ‘Four Minutes Twelve Seconds’? She believes the play will raise more questions than there are answers, with a willingness for people to have a dialogue. A couple of talkbacks have been scheduled for the production. If audiences want to attend one of those nights, check the schedule through the Studio 180 website. Follows finds audience talkbacks post-performance beneficial. With a devil-may-care laugh, she honestly states she never knows how those who remain behind will respond when she participates in them. She senses that the talkback for ‘Four Minutes’ will probably delve into some good points. As we began to wind down the conversation, I asked her what was some specific advice about the business that either her parents, Ted Follows and Dawn Greenhalgh, passed on to her or someone else did: “It’s a marathon; it’s not a sprint…keep going…as a journey, there are many peaks and valleys.” She has learned from her parents that they were in the industry for the long haul. You have to roll up your sleeves and get right into it. Her parents were in it for the love of it and truly for the love of theatre and storytelling: “It feels like a privilege to be able to navigate complicated stories, issues and words and have a tangible, physical platform still to do that which is the theatre. There is a closeness of human interaction.” Follows says the theatre and the industry may feel like a luxury, but she believes it is a necessity of exploration that is important. One has to be able to see himself/herself/themself(ves) in many things. There is no quick answer to something. The theatre, at its best, is that process of discovery: “The theatre is a messy process in the best sense, meaning you have to have permission to be wrong and be brave. Being brave isn’t about posturing. It’s about going into the dark corners of things and examining them, recognizing a human ability that we all have.” Megan says we live in a black-and-white, right-or-wrong world right now, a very polarized world. For her, the truth is never in the polar opposites. Often, it’s in the greys and intersections of things that are sometimes uncomfortable or the willingness not to be right. The topic then returned to the study of Shakespeare and whether young people should still be introduced to it. There’s always the question of whether Shakespeare should be removed from use in schools. Follows believes the Bard’s works must absolutely be taught. For her, why is it an either / or? Why isn’t it an ‘and, and’? She added further: “The muscle of using language in my limited understanding of Shakespeare (it truly is) is not a lot of subtext. An actor is always thinking about the words. Shakespeare has given language expression, and it is incredibly dynamic. What is there to be lost from an exploration of that? It doesn’t have to be the be-all and the end-all. There’s power in the more we have.” What is upsetting for her is the limiting and cutting of the arts in high schools and schools. That is a lack of true understanding and recognition. Storytelling in all of its iterations is critical to making us complex and rich human beings. Why on earth we would deny our young people access to the arts, music, dance, to anything, for her, is the bigger conundrum. Follows believes studying the arts can be life-saving for some people. It can show a world of hope and beauty, a road map, a common ground, and the feeling of being seen in someone else’s story. That is critical to the power of storytelling. Megan concluded our conversation by saying her performance in ‘Four Minutes Twelve Seconds’ is the first time she has been on the stage in a long time. It’s nerve-wracking. She has been behind the camera, producing and directing and also acting. She’s never quite sure what tomorrow brings. She has been working on an entertaining Crave digital web series called ‘My Dead Mom,’ a comedy written by Wendy Litner. Megan has been acting with Lauren Collins. The web series explores the grief of a young woman haunted by her dead mother. Follows plays the mother. Megan is also developing a project with writer and actress Susan Coyne. It’s a limited series. Follows can’t say more than that because they’re in the process of something. What she says: “I’m in the process of spreading my wings. My production company (Caspian Film Productions) co-produced an independent feature called ‘Stealing the Sky' with Penny Noble and Marie Dame.’ I’ve been out there wanting to develop more and be proactive in the stories I want to see and tell.” ‘Four Minutes Twelve Seconds’ runs until May 12, 2024, at Tarragon Theatre in the Extraspace, 30 Bridgman Avenue. For tickets, visit: https://tarragontheatre.com/plays/2023-2024/four-minutes-twelve-seconds/ or call the Box Office at (416) 531-1827. Previous Next

Welcome to Profiles “The Pandemic Profile series stemmed from a friendly check-in on professional and equity-based theatre artists .” Profiles Gallery Megan Follows Jamar Adams Thompson Eponine Lee Rob Kempson Rose Napoli Frances Koncan Iain Moggach Lynn Slotkin Rodrigo Beilfuss Arkady Spivak Brett Christopher Naishi Wang and Jean Abreu Soheil Parsa Gregory Prest Damien Atkins Eric Woolfe Michael Man Sergio Di Zio Katie Kerr and Matt Stodolak Paul Constable and Steve Ross Louise Lecavalier Maev Beaty Shauna Thompson Gerard Gauci Michael Mori Slava Polunin Ins Choi Cliff Cardinal Rebecca Northan 郝邦宇 Steven Hao Walter Borden Matt Baram and Naomi Snieckus Dawn Jani Birley and Ramesh Mayyappan Jeremy Smith Marie Beath Badian - Playwright Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill Krystin Pellerin Tracy Michailidis Tim Leyes_edited_edited Rick Miller Pamela Mala Sinha John Ng Love You Wrong Time 1 - Photo Credit Erin Brubacher (1)_edited Joelle Peters Colin Ainsworth Shawn Ahmed Steve Carty Matthew MacKenzie Ali Kazmi Michaela Jeffery Dan Mousseau Fiona Mongillo and Lucy Jane Atkinson and Atkinson Show More

Back Jamar Adams Thompson “[The rehearsal process for ‘Tyson’s Song’] has demanded from us a greater amount of trust in our vulnerability with each other and our ability to hold space and grace with one another.” ​ Joe Szekeres The last time I saw Jamar Adams Thompson appear on stage was in Cahoots’ Theatre Production of Steven Elliot Jackson’s ‘Three Ordinary Men’, directed by Tanisha Taitt. I remember being so moved by that production that I could not speak for a moment afterward. Jamar was part of a terrific ensemble that kept me riveted by the story’s action. He was appreciative and humbled by the audience’s experience of ‘Three Ordinary Men’ at the time, and he says that experience will remain part of his heart forever. Knowing that Jackson’s story deeply touches audiences means the world to him. We interviewed via email. Jamar is a University of Windsor alumni and holds a BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) Honours in Acting. He is smack dab in rehearsals for the upcoming Canadian premiere production of Peter N. Bailey’s ‘Tyson’s Song, ’ which opens April 26 at Toronto’s Factory Studio Theatre. This is Adams Thompson’s debut working with director Ash Knight and production company Pleiades Theatre. Working on the production with a team that he calls passionate and intelligent has made the process both inspiring and challenging as an actor. He calls Ash Knight: “one of the most passionate directors I know who really speaks true to his convictions.” Knight is always keen on exploring the most interesting choice in a character’s objectives and motivations. For that reason, Jamar feels he has never felt more born for a role. ‘Tyson’s Song’ is a story about two best friends, two brothers, on one last big night out in the city. The play is a conversation not only among brothers but also one that is unspoken for many of the viewers who might relate to these characters. This conversation, this story, ultimately unpacks some very real issues in the Black male community of mental health, the absence of genuine emotional support and positive emotional outlets, and questions of masculinity, identity and self-fulfilment. It is a story of real pain but also one of hope. Adams Thompson truthfully claims that ‘Tyson’s Song’ found its way to him. Unbeknownst to each other, two close friends of his had forwarded the e-drive submission about the show, demanding that Jamar audition. When he read the submission email the next day, it was as if I was coming home after a very long pilgrimage: “The email mentioned “Black men’s mental health” and “Brotherhood” and specifically sought second-generation Jamaican/Caribbean-Canadian artists. I have and will always remain an advocate for the continued discussion of mental health and support among all people, but to know that someone was finally writing a Canadian story for someone like ME was nothing shy of a dream come true.” Excitement would be an understatement describing how Jamar feels about the upcoming premiere. He recognizes the pressure artists always feel when presenting new work. Still, as surreal as that may sound, this is the first time Jamar has had the chance to explore a character from his particular side of the Black diaspora. Although many more stories are being told and written for his people in general, there is still so much more room for the stories of Caribbean people in Canada. Jamaica has influenced so much of the culture in Toronto, from its cuisine to music to art and, most notably, its cultural slang. Despite this influence and the abundant population of Jamaicans in the city, their stories have not made footing in the theatre as they have in the poetry, music and dance scenes, or even the visual arts. One of his biggest hopes with the premiere of ‘Tyson’s Song’ is to motivate a greater ushering of Caribbean and Jamaican-Canadian stories within the city. ‘Tyson’s Song’ appeals to me for several reasons. One is to learn more about the stories of the Caribbean people in Canada. I also want to see Jamar’s work in a completely different setting from ‘Three Ordinary Men.’ I also have a personal connection to Jamar’s fellow actor, Kyle Brown. I taught him when he was in high school: “WOW! What a full-circle moment for you as well! You'll be proud of him. Kyle and I hit it off very strongly from the auditions. We had the pleasure of working together in the callback, and right away, a palpable grace came with his presence. It was so easy to play off one another and help each other shine.” Jamar calls Kyle an incredibly generous and honest performer. Their most significant discovery with these characters is their unique ability to relate with both of them. They each carry a bit of Tyson and Bryan and could easily have read for the other’s part. This unique empathy has allowed them to bridge many hidden gaps and barriers in connecting with the characters and each other in a way that he thinks has surprised them both. What’s next for Jamar Adams Thompson once ‘Tyson’s Song’ concludes its Canadian premiere? He jokingly stated in jest that a nap would be ideal, as I’m sure any actor who is presenting new work would. But he’s not one to rest too long. Jamar has been keeping busy in hopes of pursuing his MFA (Master of Fine Arts degree) quite soon. While his goal is always acting, be it on stage or in front of the camera, he is taking more steps towards participating in his own play premiere. Writing has not so secretly been a large aim in fulfilling his purpose as a storyteller! His hope is to have some scripts and anthologies that he has been working on come to life at a theatre near us. He closed off our email conversation with a 😊 and said: “Stay tuned.” ‘Tyson’s Song’ runs from April 24 to May 19, 2024, in the Factory Studio Theatre (125 Bathurst St.). Tickets are pay-what-you-choose starting from $5, at PleiadesTheatre.org or FactoryTheatre.com. Previous Next

Back Jilly Hanson Canadian Chat Ian Brown Joe Szekeres It was nice to chat with Jilly Hanson over Zoom this afternoon. Like many of the artists to whom I’ve spoken, the pandemic and its aftermath sent her into a tailspin; however, she is slowly emerging and doing her best as we all are. Just hearing some of the things she would like to accomplish in her career made me think she is going to be one busy lady. You’ll see from some of her answers just how committed she is. I admire her tenacity to pursue these goals. Jilly is also playing the title role in ‘Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley” through Theatre New Brunswick. I’ve included information at the conclusion of her profile. Thank you so much for taking the time, Jilly: Could you share the names of one teacher and one mentor for whom you are thankful. A teacher I had in high school, Will Davidson, was my Music teacher and Band Director for all four years of high school. He was really super supportive; the last little bit of high school I was going through a lot of personal stuff, and Will was really understanding. Will is probably one of the only people outside of my immediate family who actually was asking me how I was doing and was interested. That always meant a lot to me. Will was really supportive with me pursuing theatre and the arts for my career. I did my Co-op placement with his class in Grade 12 because I wanted to spend a lot of time absorbing his energy and attitude. For a mentor, I don’t know if she knows this but I call her my mentor – a professor I had when I went to St. Thomas University, in Fredericton. She was the head of the Drama Department - Ilkay Silk. She is a fantastic human being. She was also really supportive. I didn’t audition for Theatre St. Thomas my first year, but I did second year. We produced Caryl Churchill’s ‘Top Girls’, an intense show. Ilkay took a chance on me and saw something in me, I guess. I had her as a teacher in my third year for a Drama Production class. In my fourth year, I auditioned for a number of schools across America at one time for theatre/performing arts. I was really nervous but she helped me choose monologues and helped workshop them with me. I’m trying to think positively that we have, fingers crossed, moved forward in dealing with Covid. How have you been able to move forward from these last 18 months on a personal level? How have you been changed or transformed on a personal level? Hmmm…it hasn’t always been sunshine and daisies for sure especially in the beginning of things. There were some really dark moments in my brain. It was around early April and there was a televised announcement with the Premier and the Chief Medical Officer in New Brunswick where they announced no more events for the rest of 2020. I thought well there goes my job and any chance of continuing as a performer was really hard to accept as it was just taken away from me. I did get a chance to sit with myself. Sometimes that wasn’t easy to do but I’ve grown to know myself better as a person and how I navigate the world and what is important to me and what I didn’t need. I’m sure I’m not the only person who felt these dark moments and realizations of the last year and a half. I turned 29 during the pandemic and I also moved back home. I was living in my high school bedroom that I had stayed at for just a short time in the move between finishing theatre school and moving to Toronto. Not that I didn’t enjoy being at home, but I was thinking that I’m almost 30 and still living at home and was having a retrospective of how far I’ve come, where I want to go and what I value. The world was changing on a dime so there was a lot of self reflection and self learning about other people, other cultures. As cheesy and cliched as it sounds, it really was a learning opportunity for me. No more pandemics ever again. No!!! I’m very grateful for the technology we had during the pandemic for meetings and read news reports and what’s going on socially. How have these last eighteen months of the pandemic changed or transformed you as an artist professionally? The personal and the professional side go hand in hand for me. It was really hard because I was going down this terrible line spiral of “Oh, I’m never going to perform again, there will be not theatre.” I felt as if I had wasted how many years of studying something that I’m never going to be able to do ever again which obviously was very dramatic of me to think about now (and Jilly has a good laugh about it). I really came to realize how much theatre and acting mean to me. I said this to a couple of people and it does sound very, very dramatic but I felt as if I had lost somebody; there was this emptiness within my person at the thought of not being able to perform or be on stage again. I had always known that I wanted to be an actor and this is something I’ve always wanted to do, but I guess I hadn’t realized how much it had meant to me. This is probably the biggest discovery I’ve made about myself. This is what I want to do. This is my life. This means so much. I’ve put so much of myself into studying, learning and performing. It is who I am and not having that opportunity to do it has made me think of “Who am I and what am I supposed to do?” At the same time, once the libraries were able to be open again, I was able to consume texts and books. We don’t have a huge selection of plays here in New Brunswick in the library, but I was reading a lot and watching movies cementing that this is what I want to do. This is what I love. I also tried writing out scripts through play writing because why not? I have the time. What I want to do in a few years time is to start a theatre company in my hometown so I was able to sit with that thought and consider what to do and how, as a producer, do I begin that and where do I want to start. What are the practical aspects to starting and planning out my future. In your professional opinion, how do you see the global landscape of professional theatre changing, adapting, and morphing as a result of these last 18 months? Definitely accessibility for sure. Being able to live stream productions for people who aren’t able to be there in person. Yes, streaming isn’t the same as being in the theatre but at least there is that option for friends and family of artists to watch. And yes, there were professional performances being streamed from all over the world from The Globe in London, England, the National in England. We wouldn’t get a chance to see these productions in North America. There were operas too. Professional theatre companies were letting the masses see these productions and it was explosive. Streaming did allow for some artists to be paid. It also allowed some to try watching live theatre for the first time (even though it’s not really live since there is no communal gathering). I understand where some artists are coming from when they say streamed theatre is not live theatre. As an actor myself, I would prefer to be in person in a communal gathering in a room. Zoom plays do allow us to work with people from all over the world, yes, but it’s definitely it’s not the same as being able to react off your scene partner or to hear responses from the audience. When you’re hearing a Zoom play, you can’t hear any reaction from the audience members. What intrigues Jilly Hanson post Covid? Personally, I am really antsy to travel – my best friend lives in England, and I haven’t been able to visit her over there since she moved in 2013. Travel is definitely at the top of my list of things that I’m interested in doing. I started a little at home baking company last September while I was unemployed to help myself battle the COVID uselessness feeling I was going through. I love to bake and I love sharing my baking with others. One day, I would like to open up a café in my hometown that is also a space for artists and starting this little company felt like a right step in that direction so I’m interested in seeing where that goes. If I’m able to continue doing it in the New Year, or if it’s just a sporadic thing I do on my down time. And I’m also really itching to read more plays and consume more new works from Canadian playwrights since that’s something I haven’t done a lot of. As an artist, the fact we’re now allowed to be in rooms together. In October 2020, I was part of Theatre New Brunswick’s online play reading festival which was great but so weird because I’ve never been performing on my computer with people who were in a different time zone than me. It was a great experience and I was glad I was able to have that opportunity, but I’m intrigued now to be back in a room playing off another actor or new actor seeing what works, what doesn’t… the whole process of coming together live. What frustrates Jilly Hanson post Covid? Personally, it’s the sheer selfishness and ignorance that have been praised as truth and this weird mindset of individual versus community. I know there is a right of personal opinion but when it gets to a point of where you’re putting other people’s lives in danger, your personal opinion doesn’t really matter. You need to be thinking about the community, the group and not yourself at this point. As an artist, it’s the same. That’s not to say that actors are the best people but there might or could be artists out there who don’t believe in vaccines. I’m worried that we did have this huge break as actors. I’m concerned that vastly produced theatre coming out of Covid may or might now produce quality material or it might focus too much on Covid. I’m super glad we’re back in the theatre but I’m hoping that the quality of theatre will not be affected in any way. Yes, we’re taking the time to do the work but we also need to continue to take the time to check in on people as we emerge from the pandemic. The effects of this grand pause are going to be felt for a long time. It’s not going to go away so easily. Since you are playing the lead, how are rehearsals going for “Miss Bennet – Christmas at Pemberton”? What message do you hope audiences will take away from the production? The directing and stage management team have been stellar through all the rehearsal process: Ryan G. Hinds as Director, Alex Rioux as Assistant Director, Judy Joe Scheffler as Stage Manager and Patricia Vinluan as Assistant Stage Manager have created a very safe space to try things out and make choices without any judgement or fear. In early days, Ryan said we’re all rusty on account of this last year and a half so let’s be gentle with ourselves and take things one step at a time. We don’t want to rush into things as we want to make sure we’re doing them right. At this point in the process, Ryan and the team have created a family for us so we have a chill, relaxed environment. I believe the play has been well cast. Everyone has been quite shocked. We have the entire show blocked and done an entire stumble through. We’re also starting Week 3. We feel things are going really well but we’re feeling as if should we be this far….again it’s a different feeling right now. We open December 9 in Fredericton, close on the 11th and turn around to drive to St. John on the 12th and do a show in the evening of the 12. I think we have a school performance the next day. It’s creeping up. The message of the production…hmmm….okay, Ryan likes to check in on us everyday and leaves us with a question. The question asked – “In a word or two, what do you think the word of ‘Miss Bennet’ is?” I said, “True, because I think at the heart of this play everybody is encouraged to be true to themselves.” Each of the characters goes through an arc of being who they think people want them to be, but they come to terms with who they are without any added pressures. Everyone gets to be their true selves. Coming out of a pandemic, this truth from ‘Miss Bennet’ seems appropriate for an audience. RAPID ROUND Try to answer these in a single sentence. If you need more than one sentence, that’s not a problem. I credit the late James Lipton and “Inside the Actors’ Studio’ for this idea: If you could say one thing to one of your mentors and teachers who encouraged you to get to this point as an artist, what would it be? “Thank you”. If you could say something to any of the naysayers in your career who didn’t think you would make it as an artist, what would that be? “Thank you for giving me the wherewithal to prove you wrong.” What’s your favourite swear word? “Fuck” What is a word you love to hear yourself say? Noodle What is a word you don’t like to hear yourself say? Delicious With whom would you like to have dinner and discuss the current state of the live Canadian performing arts scene? Honestly, I’d like to have dinner with anybody in the arts to hear their thoughts and opinions as theirs will probably be different from mine. I like that. What would you tell your younger personal self with the knowledge and wisdom life experience has now given you? Don’t give up hope. With the professional life experience you’ve gained, what would you now tell the upcoming Jilly Hanson from years ago who was just in the throes of beginning a career as a performing artist? It’s not going to be easy and it’s not maybe going to look how you think it’s going to look, but it will happen. What is one thing you still wish to accomplish both personally and professionally? Personally, a difference. I want to make a difference. I want to be able to help create change. I want to be able to help inspire people. I want to be able to be a resource. I want to be able to make a difference in people’s lives in my community outside of the theatre and just do my part. When all is said and done, I can look back on my life and say, “I was a good partner. I was a good person. I can put a stamp on what my life was, and people can take whatever I leave behind and continue it on.” Professionally, I would really like to have my own theatre company in my hometown where I’m able to produce and act, do both. I’d like to have a theatre company where I employ both Equity and community actors. Name one moment in your professional career that you wish you could re-visit again for a short while. Hmmm…a couple of friends and I started a theatre company in Toronto. We did a production of ‘The Crucible’ and it was a really great learning experience both producing wise and acting wise. It was over too fast. I’d like to do that one time and have another kick at the can. What is one thing Jilly Hanson will never take for granted again post Covid? Just acting in general and having the opportunity to work with other actors communally in the same room. Would Jilly Hanson do it all again if given the same professional opportunities? Yes, but… Just because my fellow cast members and I have been talking recently about no arts experiences in theatre school and all that jazz. Not that I’ve been out of theatre school that long, it’s only been six years. I’ve been reflecting on things and went through a lot of stress ridden and anxiety ridden times. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done – mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally. All of the above. But I am very glad that I got the opportunity to go to theatre school. I’m very grateful for the people I’ve met, the people I’ve worked with and the content I was able to do which I’ll probably not have the opportunity anywhere else to do. In theatre school I’ve discovered who I was as a person and as an actor, but I would not go through the stress, the sleepless nights…. That was quite a bit. To learn more about Theatre New Brunswick and/or to purchase tickets, visit www.tnb.nb.ca . You can also follow at Facebook: @theatrenewbrunswick. Previous Next

Back 'A Poem for Rabia' by Nikki Shaffeeullah Now onstage at Tarragon Theatre in the Extraspace Credit: Cylla von Tiedemann. Pictured: Nikki Shaffeeullah Joe Szekeres “A world premiere production that speaks to the heart of women from three different time eras. I wish I could make a stronger connection with these ladies. The script sometimes becomes confusing when trying to follow three separate plots.” The Director’s Programme Note begins with a quote by Octavia Butler: “All good things must begin.” When I read in the program that Nikki Shaffeeullah’s ‘A Poem for Rabia’ was ten years in development, my first thought was that the storyline would be something good or perhaps very good. Some moments are good in the production; however, there weren’t enough to sustain my interest in the three subplots intersecting with the main plot. That’s unfortunate. I couldn’t differentiate between inheritance and intergenerational connections between these subplots. Much information is given regarding these three plots, characterizations, and historical context, and I began to lose sight of the focus on inheritance and intergenerational connections. Regrettably, by the end of the play, I couldn’t connect to any of the characters. Not one. Perhaps further editing is in due course for the script once again. From what I could understand about the three plots - three queer women are from the same bloodline. It is 2053 in Canada. Zahra (Nikki Shaffeeullah) is a disillusioned activist involved with abolishing prisons and many have been left to fend for themselves. It is 1953 in British Guiana. Betty (Michelle Mohammed) is caught between her new secretarial job at the Governor’s office. Her co-worker is Marsha (Virgilia Griffith), and their supervisor is Ramesh (Anand Rajaram). A tense office workplace situation arises where Marsha is placed in a difficult position, and she asks Betty to follow through on something. The question remains if Betty will follow through on Marsha’s request. It is 1853. Rabia (Adele Noronha) is an Indian domestic worker. She is abducted by colonial ‘recruiters’ and sent sailing from Calcutta to the Caribbean on an indentured labour ship. Rabia is a poet and has written a poem which her lover Anu (Mohammed) promises to have published. Anu is of a higher class than Rabia. When the poem is finally published, only Anu’s name appears. Jawon Kang’s costume designs are vivid recreations of the three time periods. I was able to differentiate between the three historical settings. Sonja Rainey’s set design of the still water downstage caught my eye. The set pieces distinguished whether we were on board a ship looking out at the water or in other locations. The veiled curtains on stage left and right also help create locales. It’s a lengthy running time - nearly two hours and thirty minutes. When I could focus and understand the plot, co-directors Donna-Michelle St. Bernard and Clare Preuss kept the action moving naturally. Tension is nicely built into Betty’s story, especially when she tries to sneak something out of the office without Mr. Ramesh suspecting anything. Whether Betty is successful remains one of the story's highlights for me. To be honest, Betty’s story is the strongest out of the three. But I could not make any other connection as to how her story pulls together the lives of Zahra and Rabia. Final Comments: “A Poem for Rabia’ is one where I wished I could listen to a talkback with the actors after the show. I may have been further enlightened with feedback from the actors. Running time: approximately two hours and 30 minutes with one intermission. ‘A Poem for Rabia’ runs until November 12 at Tarragon Theatre in the Extraspace, 30 Bridgman Avenue, Toronto. For tickets, tarragontheatre.com or call 416-531-1827 A Tarragon Theatre production in association with Nightwood Theatre and Undercurrent Creations present ‘A Poem for Rabia’ by Nikki Shaffeeullah Co-directors Donna-Michelle St. Bernard and Clare Preuss Set Designer: Sonja Rainey Costume Designer: Jawon Kang Lighting Designer: Echo Zhou Composer and Sound Designer: David Meslha Stage Manager: Sandi Becker Performers: Nikki Shaffeeullah, Virgilia Griffith, Michelle Mohammed, Adele Noronha, Jay Northcott, Anand Rajaram. Previous Next

Back 'Michael Kohlhaas' presented by Gerhart Hauptmann Theatre Played at the BMO Studio Theatre, Saint John, New Brunswick Courtesy of Saint John Theatre Company Aaron Kropf After many delays, Germany’s Gerhart Hauptmann Theatre in Germany arrived in Saint John and presented their stunning production of Michael Kohlhaas. This show is based on the novella Michael Kohlhaas by Heinrich von Kleist. This is a bare bones production, breathing new life into an centuries old text. Loosely based on a true story of a horse trader who is done wrong by nobility in Saxony, the titular character does everything he can to right the wrong done. He wanted his horses returned to him in the same state they were left. Kohlhaas takes to the courts and seeks help from other nobles. When he fails in these attempts he raises a mob which commits murder and burns down cities. ‘Kohlhaas’ is one of those folk hero stories that many places have. The script pushes the boundaries of what is and is not acceptable in bringing about end goals. The story of Michael Kohlhaas has many of the same characteristics of these other stories. Ultimately it asks the question: “Has Kohlhaas gone too far?” Walking into the theatre the room is draped all in white. The stage is covered in a white canvas with large streaks of red, symbolizing the blood that has been shed. Centre stage is a black saddle, which passes between the company of seven. The stark look of the set and the theatre space are reflected back by the various characters in the story. Because this is a German company presenting the story, surtitles were displayed on three of the four sides of the theatre. The use of surtitles was an important decision and choice. It was easier to watch both what is going on stage and read the text regardless of where the action is taking place. The minimalist approach to this production is what really makes it shine! The company wearing black suits, white shirts, and grey and black suspenders which becomes a striking contrast visual look against the red and white covering the space. There are few defined roles as the company rotates and takes on different characters throughout the production. Nevertheless, since I relied on the surtitles and rotation of roles, there were a few moments I wasn’t clear who was who. It’s a quibble, but I want to acknowledge each member in the company were strong. When not part of the story they remained on the side of the stage and did not draw attention away. It’s difficult to be on stage for an hour and a half and keep up the energy required, but this company maintained their intense energy from beginning to end. It’s unfortunate that Michael Kohlhaas was here for such a short time. This is the type of theatre that many North Americans might not be familiar with, or have seen before. This is a third German production for me, one at the Stratford Festival, the second was a Shakespearean production that was part of an international Shakespeare festival that happened in South Korea. Each of these productions was similar in style, and intensity. It was really exciting to be thrust into a story presented in a unique way. I only wish more people in Saint John and across Canada would have had the opportunity to experience this show. Previous Next

Back James Dallas Smith Self Isolated Artist Ian Brown Joe Szekeres James Dallas Smith is an actor, writer, and musician of Six Nations Mohawk and Scottish heritage. I’ve seen him several times on stage over the course of many years, the first with Soulpepper’s wonderful production of ‘Our Town’ several years ago. Just this past year, I saw JD’s performances in two plays that continually raise and pique my interest in Indigenous theatre. The first was at Soulpepper in ‘Almighty Voice and his Wife’ directed by Jani Lauzon and the second at the Aki Studio Theatre in Native Earth’s visually haunting, ‘The is How We Got Here’ directed by Keith Barker. Keep an eye out on JD as he alludes to some exciting projects he has once it’s safe to return to the theatre. We conducted our interview via email: 1. It has been the almost three-month mark since we’ve all been in isolation. How have you been faring? How has your immediate family been doing during this time? I’ve struggled. I’m a person who loves to rehearse and perform in a room with other people. Different ideas and energies that can feed one another. Without these gatherings – with other artists or audiences – I’ve experienced a lot of frustration and anger about what’s been lost. And it’s never been so universal. Other times I’ve been able to draw strength or inspiration by seeing a peer or friend do an outstanding piece of work. There just isn’t any of that anywhere right now and no clear timeline when we might get a chance to gather again. That said, I know my problems are first world ones. My family is healthy, fed, with clean water, and safe. My woes are pretty tame compared to a lot of places near and far. 2. As a performer, what has been the most difficult and challenging for you professionally and personally? The lack of dialogue. I had a fortunate run of being in several really great projects (productions and workshops) that were having illuminating discussions about what the world is focused on in the middle of this pandemic, racism, and prejudice. I wasn’t leading these discussions. I was just fortunate enough to be in some great groups working on some incredible projects led by Jani Lauzon, Keith Barker, Taedon Witzl, Kaitlyn Riordan and Kevin Loring. What was encouraging was these talks were happening in large institutions like Stratford and Soulpepper, and they finally seemed to be grasping the depth of the problems in a lot of our theatre practices. Those talks were gaining momentum and generating some really exciting new projects. I hope they’re not lost because of the need to pause live performance. 3. Were you in preparation, rehearsals, or any planning stages of productions before everything was shut down? What has become of those projects? Will they see the light of day anytime soon? Yes, I had a few projects in the wings I was excited about. The closest was about a month away at Soulpepper. A show called ‘Revolutions: Songs That Changed the World’. Mike Ross does a lot of the music at Soulpepper. He’s a gifted performer, a great teacher, and just a kickass musician/writer. He invited me to the project, and I didn’t hesitate. I hope it does come to fruition sometime later. I think music is a great conduit for teaching and this is a time where a lot of people need to be educated. That and I just love music. 4. What have you been doing to keep yourself busy during this time? We have a little boy who just turned 3. My wife is a director at a crisis phone line and she didn’t stop when the pandemic hit. In fact, she got busier (And promoted!) She had to make a downtown call centre into a work-from-home-for-each-counsellor program. And fast. She did a fantastic job, but it meant most of my focus was Daddying for a few months. If you have a kid, you’ll understand. If not, run a marathon and then do it again. And do a triathlon. Every day. That’s roughly the energy level required, anyway. I’ve also managed to do some writing. Keith Barker is a friend and peer of mine (also a gifted writer and nominated two Doras this year – for his script and Outstanding Direction) who encouraged me to start writing stories a few years ago. Gil Garrat has also been kind and generous. It makes a difference to have that kind of support. We workshopped my first play, ‘Crossroads’ at Native Earth’s 32nd Weesageechak Begins to Dance Festival this past fall and Blyth has commissioned it. The timeline’s pretty fuzzy now on when it might get done but I’ve finished a few full drafts of the script and it seems plausible now that I could be a writer. That’s an exciting revelation to me. So, I started a few other scripts as well. There are four that I’m really excited about. 5. Any words of wisdom or advice you might /could give to fellow performers and colleagues? What message would you deliver to recent theatre school graduates who have now been set free into this unknown and uncertainty given the fact live theaters and studios might be closed for 1 ½ - 2 years? Now more than ever, try and generate your own material. Your own stories. They don’t have to be full-length plays or novels. It could be a ten-minute video. It could be a collection of those from several artists that relate. Experiment with form. And if it’s your own material you’re not infringing on anyone else’s rights or property. You can present your story in any format you’d like. But this is all if you’re able. A friend of mine who I write with sometimes told me he finds it incredibly to be creative now and “to write from a place of fear”. That’s ok, too. Self-care was an under-discussed topic when I went to theatre school and it should be a huge topic. I’d also suggest reading or watching movies you might not normally be able to make time for. I’m learning that more perspectives only make you a better human and storyteller. 6. Do you see anything positive stemming from COVID 19? My wife and I had a discussion about this a few weeks ago. Yes. The fact that most of us are idle has allowed us to see a lot of things that the eye may have – in the past – glossed over as we return to our own daily grind. But now the world is watching together and the hatred and venom of racism that’s been around longer than we care to admit has come glaringly to the front of our attention. I hope it stays there until we have some substantial changes to the way we educate children about BIPOC and some systemic changes in the way we spend “the people’s” money. It’s made me very angry but I’m trying to channel that into educating myself and writing stories to leave behind that will teach the next generation more truth, more tolerance, and more generosity. 7. Do you think COVID 19 will have some lasting impact on the Canadian/North American performing arts scene? I think it already has, sadly. I can’t cite specifics but a lot of small venues (bars, concert halls, theatres) have already had to close and some larger project they won’t survive the pandemic. I’ve also heard of at least two universities canceling their theatre programs FOREVER because they can’t carry the cost of a year with staff and no students. (A friend of mine who works at a University and I were talking about what the hell you do with students who are in 3rd or 4th year of a Performance program. The practical application of your studies – ie. performing – is supposed to ramp up in your final years, not fall to nothing.) I think it’s possible we may see more small theatre programs and companies have to close unless there’s some manner of fiscal pandemic relief for them. 8. Some artists have turned to YouTube and online streaming to showcase their work. What are your comments and thoughts about streaming? Is this something that the actor/theatre may have to utilize going forward into the unknown? My only concerns with streaming are the monetary ones. We’ve seen it with musicians already – how little they get paid from the larger streaming platform. It’s fractions of a penny per play. Most of them have to make money by playing live. The streaming platform is more like affordable advertising. I like the accessibility and the potential to reach wider audiences, but it has to be a fair wage for the artist. Where we’re hung up now is that we’re crossing all kinds of existing union boundaries. Artists have different unions for theatre acting, film acting, playwrighting, film direction, screenwriting, etc. If we do a performance of ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ and we film it for live streaming, how do we pay the actors and musicians? TV rates? Movie rates? Theatre rates? That’s what we need to agree on but haven’t been forced to yet. To me, as long as there are fair wages, it just seems like an extension of tv/film. I’d love to do it, but I think a lot of us are going to have to make some concessions about ‘ownership of content’. Which can be scary for a lot of people who have been exploited that way in the past. 9. Despite all this fraught tension and confusion, what is it about performing that COVID will never destroy for you? There is nothing like a gathering of people focused on a singular story that may or may not go flawlessly that I can’t find anywhere else. Sometimes it’s more fun when things DO go wrong in live performance. No one gets hurt and it’s usually delightful to see the recovery. As a respectful acknowledgment to ‘Inside the Actors’ Studio’ and the late James Lipton here are the ten questions he used to ask his guests: 1. What is your favourite word? Generosity 2. What is your least favourite word? Pork 3. What turns you on? Music 4. What turns you off? Prejudice 5. What sound or noise do you love? My family’s laughter 6. What sound or noise bothers you? Feedback. Ten years in a band will do that to you. 7. What is your favourite curse word? What is your least favourite curse word? Billy Connolly taught us this. It offends everyone. “Jesus Suffering Fuck!” “Damn” is my least favourite. 8. Other than your own, what other career profession could you see yourself doing? Video game tester 9. What career choice could you not see yourself doing? Banking. I’m shit with numbers. 10. If Heaven exists, what do you hope God will say to you as you approach the Pearly Gates? “Grab a beer…Mozart’s just finishing his set. I think Prince and Hendrix are doing something next…” To learn more about James Dallas Smith he’s at Facebook: James Dallas Smith Previous Next

Back 'Dana H' by Lucas Hnath Crows Nest Theatre presents the Goodman Theatre, Centre Theatre Group, Vineyard Theatre Production of Lucas Hnath’s ‘Dana H.’ Now onstage at Factory Theatre Credit: John Lauener Dave Rabjohn ‘Chilling’ ‘Powerful’ 'Baker's work is the heart of the play' Please be patient – this is quite a list. Crows Nest Theatre presents the Goodman Theatre, Centre Theatre Group, Vineyard Theatre Production of Lucas Hnath’s ‘Dana H.’ As well – that is at the Factory Theatre filling in for Crowsnest. That is a lot of parts, but the sum is a bold inventive play and a unique and compelling performance by Jordan Baker. This solo production tells the chilling real life story of Dana Higginbotham, a psychiatric ward chaplain who was abducted by an out patient and dragged for five months through seedy Florida motels and unimaginable abuse. What is so singular about the structure and performance of this play is that the victim’s son, as the playwright, creates all the dialogue from actual interview recordings of Dana Higginbotham after her escape. Every word you hear is her actual voice – Jordan Baker says not a word but lip-syncs the entire play. Powerful. Baker’s work is the heart of this play. Memorizing lines is the backbone of work that any actor experiences. But Baker must do much more – every line must be memorized. Then the rhythm must be matched. Each intake of breath was perfectly time – every ‘huh’, every cough, every pregnant pause. An extraordinary effort. Adding to this technical miracle, Baker takes us through the roller coasters of emotion and terror. Almost static in a centre stage chair for most of the 75 minutes, she draws us in with hand gestures and bright dramatic eyes. She rolls us through the spectrum of expressiveness and withdrawal. Hnath’s Tony award winning play tells more than one story of horror. Higginbotham’s words describe not only her own terror, but the painful upbringing of the unstable young man. He was manipulated into some rag tag Aryan society. He didn’t know how to operate a light switch because most of his life was in prison. Maybe not entirely forgiving, she at least sets the table for his unhinged behaviour. The other shocking story is from her own loveless upbringing – cold parents virtually ignoring an unwanted daughter. Heartbreakingly, she suggests a cold irony. Her abuse as a youth may very well have ‘trained’ her to manage the pain and terror of the abduction. Her parents did her a favour? Ouch. Not surprisingly, one of the two Tony awards was for best sound design. Mikhail Fiksel’s work reflected the process of taping itself. The voice is slightly tangy and mechanical as it echoes out of a machine. It was a haunting gesture as the old reel to reel ran out and we hear the circular flapping of empty tape. Andrew Boyce’s scenic design was a harsh box set representing the seedy motels on the outskirts of Orlando. Raw florescent light easily exposed the mould and grunge of the place – an awful place paralleling an awful crime. As horrors descended further, Paul Toben’s lighting design, along with Fiskel’s sound began caterwauling into dysfunction. Another effective moment was an eerie flat white light seen momentarily as the motel door opened – her disassociation with the outside world. As director, Les Waters should be applauded for a minimalist approach. He let Baker set the tone and pace. As mentioned, blocking and movement was minimal allowing her thoughts to surface undistracted. A tinge of Stockholm syndrome is suggested. At times Dana feels almost as a protector of her assailant. But important, continuing issues of blaming a female victim in abuse cases becomes a central theme. The final chapter is called ‘The Bridge.’ Higginbotham finds a hospice career where she helps patients bridge between life and death. Her story also finds a bridge between horror and survival. ‘Dana H’ by Lucas Hnath Performer: Jordan Baker Director: Les Waters Andrew Boyce: Scenic Design Janice Pytel: Costume Design Paul Toben: Lighting Design Mikhail Fiksel: Sound Design Production runs through: April 7, 2024. Tickets: boxoffice@crowsnest.com Previous Next BACK TO TOP

Back 'Withrow Park' by Morris Panych Now onstage at Tarragon Theatre Now onstage at Tarragon Theatre Joe Szekeres “Quirky and mysterious, ‘Withrow Park’s’ surrealism asks of its audience if we are to settle for the ordinary routine, or is there more with the remaining time left in our lives? At times, the script is hilariously funny. Other times, it prods deep into an important understanding of our temporal existence in the here and now.” The lives of three 60-year-olds are forever changed when a handsome young individual in a wrinkled suit enters their lives. Arthur (Benedict Campbell) and Janet (Nancy Palk) have been divorced for a few years. They still live together for convenience’s sake in the same house Arthur’s late mother owned. A retired Social Studies teacher, Arthur announced he was gay. He is trying to find himself again amid all this upheaval in his personal life. Janet is ‘civil’ to her ex-husband, but her voice has an underlying tension. She has her own health issues to monitor. Janet’s sister, Marion (Corrine Koslo), also lives with them. She has her own emotional and personal issues and uses sarcasm to cope. She also doesn’t like leaving the house. She likes to read and is seen at her first entrance hugging a novel. Does she prefer not to confront reality and embrace make-believe? Before Janet and Arthur were married, he dated Marion for a bit before ending it with her and then dating her sister. Arthur, Janet, and Marion seem to pass the days by looking outside their living room window across the street at Toronto’s Withrow Park. They’re indifferent about things at this point in their lives. For example, Janet shops at the local market because they will have the same thing they’ve always had for dinner. There’s little menu variety. The three also pay attention to meaningless activities of ordinary park activities – children playing, dog walkers passing by, and people chatting. At the top of the show, an unknown voice knocks at the door to introduce himself as he’s new to the neighbourhood. We learn later this is Simon (Johnathan Sousa) who alters the course of events. Janet and Marion become smitten with his appearance and notice his wrinkled suit. During dinner, there are snippets where Arthur hints at his attraction to the young man. But there’s something mysteriously surreal about Simon that the ladies just can’t decipher when he’s invited to dinner. A clue without spoiling the revelation – a clever onstage visual dramatic technique catches the audience’s attention just before he can be seen through the window. Ken MacDonald’s set design catches the eye. The living/sitting room is comfortably detailed. There are three wing-tipped chairs just slightly off-centre stage. Two chairs face forward, and one is angled slightly. The living/sitting room windows are another focal point. The panes appear distorted. When one looks out the window, does he/she see what is occurring at any given moment? Offstage and up centre left, there is a dividing wall where the front door is not seen, but we can hear voices at the door. There appears to be a swinging door to indicate the kitchen. Another door indicates another room of the house. There appears to be a fallen tree hanging over the action in the beautifully decorated set, creating a sense of figurative and literal hopelessness, uselessness, and sadness. Kimberly Purtell’s, at times, shadowy lighting designs enhance the mystery of this captured moment in time. Jacob Lin’s 林鴻恩 sound designs and set change musical compositions fluidly maintain the unfolding plot. Playwright Morris Panych’s quirky, unconventional script of quick-witted banter and one-line zingers provides an appropriate juxtaposition to wondering if there’s more to life than just the ordinary, daily routine. Arthur, Janet, and Marion appear to be looking out through a distorted windowpane and seeing the world in a certain way. But Director Jackie Maxwell, in her Programme Note, writes something that caught my attention about this play. During the pandemic, she would take walks through Withrow Park and admire the ‘tall, imposing [houses] with rows of large windows. These windows fascinated me as both a person on the outside looking in, but also imagining what it would be like to be on the inside looking out.” Is ‘Withrow Park’ a pandemic play that people thought would be written about that time? Well, not really. Instead, Maxwell calls the play a revelation of a world behind windows she stared at while walking her circuit through the park—ergo, significant changes in the world that we thought we knew produced revelations. The revelations within ‘Withrow Park’ might just defy logical reasoning. They certainly make for good theatre. Maxwell's direction is imbued with an inquisitive and playful spirit that engages the audience. We want to learn more about Janet, Arthur, and Marion - three individuals who have grown tired of being mere observers and long to break free from their self-imposed isolation and engage with the world around them. They invite Simon to dinner, an inexplicable and metaphysical individual who makes them question and test what they think they know. The fine cast drives the story forward with gusto. As wisecracking Marion, Corinne Koslo’s spitfire one-line zingers are often hilarious. But there’s more to Marion than her ornery approach to spying on the neighbours, and Koslo beautifully underscores this about the character. The audience learns something about Marion that cuts deeply into the heart. Marion longs to connect meaningfully with another individual, and Koslo underscores this in her performance without reverting to emotionally saccharine tactics. Benedict Campbell and Nancy Palk are credible as the marital exes. The traditional gender roles were not observed in their arrangement and were reversed. Palk’s Janet is upfront and direct, perhaps something she has learned due to the marriage breakdown. For example, she bluntly comments on his inappropriate clothing attire before Simon arrives for dinner. And she’s right. He is dressed rather slovenly in a shirt that is far too large on him. Arthur has sheepishly returned home because he does not want to be alone when his lover, a pediatrician, leaves and heads to California for another man, a dog walker. Campbell thankfully does not portray the character as weak and submissive. Arthur learns to decide what he wants in life through Janet’s direct and forthright manner in dealing with issues head-on. By the end of the play, Arthur might now have grown fully as an active member of the relationship. Campbell appropriately sets the character on a journey to discover what he wants out of his life and where he wants to go in the remaining time he has left. Johnathan Sousa invests a soupçon dash of the absurd in his work as the mysterious Simon. When invited to dinner at the house, he appears a tad underdressed (thanks to Joyce Padua’s selection of the worn looking black Nirvana t-shirt design underneath his ‘wrinkled suit’). As the conversation over dinner and dessert continues, something about Simon’s conversation starter remains peculiarly offbeat. Sousa quietly goes along with that for the time being. There’s an impish grin on his face with a cock of his head to show that he is about to take a commanding presence over the events that follow. It is in the second act where the audience sees another side of Simon as the character breaks the fourth wall and talks to the audience. It becomes an eye-opener, to say the least. And when Sousa does this, it does defy a sensible explanation. But it certainly makes for good theatre. Final Comments: As a 60 + year old who often wonders where things are headed both inwardly and outwardly, ‘Withrow Park’ at least lets me know that life still offers things to do that are out of the ordinary routine. Sometimes we must visit the odd and the peculiar in that uncertainty of life to have those AHA moments about who we are as we continue to grow in this short life we live. That doesn’t stop at any given age. 'Withrow Park' is most definitely worth a look. Running time: approximately one hour and 45 minutes. ‘Withrow Park’ runs until December 10 on the Mainstage at Tarragon Theatre, 30 Bridgman Avenue. For tickets, visit www.tarragontheatre.com . WITHROW PARK by Morris Panych Directed by Jackie Maxwell Assistant Director: Bryn Kennedy Set Designer: Ken MacDonald Costume Designer: Joyce Padua Lighting Designer: Kimberly Purtell Sound Designer and Composer: Jacob Lin 林鴻恩 Stage Manager: Sandy Plunkett Apprentice Stage Manager: Emily Cornelius The Cast: Benedict Campbell, Corinne Koslo, Nancy Palk, Johnathan Sousa Previous Next

Back Sky Gilbert Moving Forward ​ Joe Szekeres Controversial and complex, artist, educator, filmmaker, director, and writer Sky Gilbert has undoubtedly influenced the Canadian theatre scene. Although I haven’t had a chance to see any of his plays at this time (but am hoping to catch some soon), I have heard from others and read online Gilbert’s literary works from novels to scripts become often raw, quite funny and intensely vocal. I’ve been wanting to profile Sky, his voice, and his work for some time but wasn’t sure how to get in touch with him. A workshop production he is directing will premiere shortly, and it was fortuitous he was available to chat with me via email since he is busy in preparation. Gilbert holds an Honours bachelor’s degree in fine arts from York University, and master’s and Ph. D degrees from the University of Toronto. He has been teaching in the School of English and Theatre Studies for 24 years at Guelph. He is now a full professor and will retire in a couple of weeks. He was co-founder and Artistic Director of Toronto’s Buddies in Bad Times Theatre for 18 years. Given that we're returning to live theatre, albeit slowly, Sky feels terrified because in his words: “I’ve seen so much bad stuff…I am wanting to be shocked, angered, challenged, stimulated, not to have all my views and attitudes to life affirmed. I go to theatre to NOT be confirmed as a good person but to question myself.” I must applaud Sky for his honesty and candour here. He believes politics is killing theatre in Toronto and this means bad theatre. The theatre he sees assumes that the audience has the same ideas they do and confirms them over and over, so it is pessimistic for him. Given his frank observation regarding the state of theatre in Toronto now, I asked Sky where he sees the industry headed over the next five years. He gently corrected me by saying that he doesn’t see theatre as an industry but as an art. For him, art is so overrun by commercialism, meaning the digital megaplex. Art has been whittled down to a message that it has to be a ‘good’ one and judged on that and that alarms Sky because he says: “artists are self-censoring because they think that they have to deliver an approved message.” So, have we as an audience forgotten what art is? Sky believes so and that’s what he’s afraid of right now. How does he view art? “Art comes from the unconscious; it is unscientific, and it is a lie. It is an irrational connection with the irrational. It doesn’t mean things — things -- that can be put into words as much as provide an experience.” I received a release recently that details Gilbert’s upcoming workshop presentation ‘Kink Observed’: “Kink Observed explores what ‘kinky’ sex — and sex itself — means to gay men, (and hopefully, ultimately to us all) by considering these questions: “why do we push ourselves to the limit, sexually?” and secondly “can an audience watch a representation of ‘kinky sex' without demonizing the players? It will challenge recent misleading and myopic representations of gay sexuality by putting three gay men onstage who place their sexuality directly in your face.” For Sky, he had written audiences don’t see much gay male sexuality in Toronto plays. Instead, we see gay men adopting children and acting like straight people. But even though there was AIDS there are still bathhouses, and sex in washrooms and parks, and there is a culture of HIV-positive men who have a lot of sex, no longer with condoms. Because men can hook up easily online, our sex lives have become less visible — unless it is demonized in things like the horror of the Bruce McArthur murders — or of course in the recent very popular Jeffrey Dahmer TV Show. People just seem to love gay serial killers, but they are a little bit wary of looking at the real sex lives of real gay men who are not murderers. Would audiences perhaps push back at this workshop presentation of ‘Kink Observed’ or are they open to discussion and seeing the material? Again, Sky had written the portrayal of gay male sexuality should not be controversial in 2022. He reminds us there is porn on the internet and that we should also look at what the kids are watching! People have their heads in the sand and it’s time to become aware. The workshop (billed as provoking and immersive theatre experience) offers audiences an opportunity to view gay male sexuality performed live and up close. ‘Kink Observed’ comes from the real-life experiences of the gay men who are actors in the play and, in that way, it is a very honest and revealing account of what real gay life is like today. Of course, it is fiction, it is a play, and the gay men are using their lives as fodder for art and poetry — they are not just ‘being themselves' or repeating their real-life experiences. But there is a brutal and I think important honesty here, that needs to be seen. Sky is hoping the production will get a Canada Council grant to pursue the workshop further to a full-length production. He speaks glowingly about the artists who are involved in the production. He has known Ryan Cunningham as a friend but only recently started working with him. He didn’t know why that occurred but it’s great that it has. Ryan is a producer and former artistic director of Native Earth. Gilbert discovered recent theatre school graduate Ray Jacildo for his production of ‘Who’s Afraid of Titus? in the summer and says he was AMAZING. Brandon Nicoletti is a filmmaker whom Gilbert auditioned for this project and feels he has a lot of insight and brings a great deal of honesty to the work. While they all had fun creating the improvised scenes in the summer. Sky writes they are working on: “the kink demonstrations’ where the audience will get to see some real kink stuff happen and even participation — however slightly — in the goings on! Hopefully, it will be a rare and interesting experience!” THE DETAILS ABOUT 'KINK OBSERVED' WHAT: ‘Kink Observed’, a collective creation directed by Sky Gilbert and devised (with Sky) by Ryan Cunningham, Ray Jacildo and Brandon Nicoletti, who also perform in the production. Live music is by Lyon Smith, props by Trixie and Beaver, and costume consultation by Marty Rotman. WHERE: Deanne Taylor Theatre, 10 Busy Street Toronto DATES: Nov 25, 2022 at 08:00 pm - 09:30 pm (Fri) Nov 26, 2022 at 02:30 pm - 04:00 pm (Sat) Nov 26, 2022 at 08:00 pm - 09:30 pm (Sat) Nov 27, 2022 at 02:30 pm - 04:00 pm (Sun) Nov 27, 2022 at 08:00 pm - 09:30 pm (Sun) For more information: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kink-observed-tickets-450934365827 Previous Next

Back A Resilient Conversation Artist Alana Bridgewater and Necessary Angel's Artistic Director, Alan Dilworth Dahlia Katz Joe Szekeres A resilience project, you say. Both artist Alana Bridgewater and Necessary Angel Theatre’s Artistic Director Alan Dilworth believe the time is perfect for one right now. For long time meditation practitioner Dilworth, ‘The Resilience Project’ seed came from a growing and mounting perception of cultural anxiety that pre-dated the Covid crisis and the pandemic. Once the pandemic hit, so much change was happening and the experience of loss hitting home for many people, at the very moment where we could no longer gather. Alan recognized that many of the lives of his artist friends and colleagues had tremendously changed and shifted. He kept asking, “Where can I help?” as there is so much uncertainty and anxiety in our lives right now. Alan wanted to create some space and connection in the uncertainty and anxiety. “The opposite of anxiety is space and connection.”, he said. “When I look at the people around me, the artists, many of whom I love and admire, I’m trying to make some space for these individuals, and to create opportunities for them to make connection possible in their work despite the many obstacles at this time.” Alana calls the Resilience Project “amazing”. When Alan reached out to her to see how she was doing and offered her this project, Alana reiterated, '“It is resilience. It is about standing through all of this, facing it, dealing with it, experiencing it and living it.” As a female black artist in this volatile time, she was dealing with Covid personally and the many emotions and fears of isolation in not allowing her to be able to hug her immediate family members nor to see people. Like all of us, what appears to be a claustrophobic time in our homes was heightened even further as we couldn’t turn away from the news cycle that we were all watching. For Alana, it became overwhelming when, on the news cycle, many people were finally seeing what others have been experiencing for so long in their lives - and a feeling of perpetually wondering if there was ever a way out. I had to let this latter part of Ms. Bridgewater’s statement sit with me. These last four months have been stressful for all of us, but for the most vulnerable it has been extraordinarily painful. Part One of The Resilience Project is called “The Stillness Room” created by Alan in 2016 as a pilot at Soulpepper before the company went to New York during a really stressful time. Alan knew how he could help theatre workers recognize what stillness and silence can do for the human being in a room collectively together while under intense pressure in the lead up to the Big Apple. This process successfully ran for two years at Soulpepper. When Alan then went to Ontario’s Stratford Festival to direct the second of Kate Hennig’s trilogy (The Virgin Trial), actors were experiencing the mid season anxiety crunch. Would they be hired again at the Festival next year? Alan piloted The Stillness Room at Stratford where it got a real draw once again, and the coaching staff utilized The Stillness Room with The Conservatory Training. Thus, the creation of a virtual Stillness Room. To re-iterate from a release I had received, “The Stillness Room is a coming together to experience the calming and quietly transformative qualities of stillness, silence, and connection. It is fifteen minutes of stillness together.” You don’t necessarily have to be of or from the theatre to participate. There is no teaching involved as people just come together to sit in stillness. Part Two of this project is the “Resilience Project Shorts”. It was in a Zoom meeting with Michael Wheeler of ‘Spider Web’ show where Alan experienced that proverbial ‘aha’ moment. As artists, we respond artistically and creatively to the world whether it is digital or non-digital. Alan’s body of work lies in and is all about ‘the live moment’ and the artist encountering the tools to create this live moment: the audience, the moment, the space, other artists. The question then became “How do we, as artists, respond to this moment since we love the theatre so much? Over the past few months, Necessary Angel has commissioned a series of digital shorts to capture how artists are experiencing and interpreting their reality and meaning in the moment of commission. The series, which will be ongoing, will premiere with work from Marie Farsi, Sina Gilani and Azad Imanirad, Tehseen and Aasim Jaafri, Erin Brandenburg, Alana Bridgewater, and Meegwun Fairbrother. There is a third plan (or Part Three) that Alan affectionately called ‘Who Knows’. According to him, Necessary Angel is waiting, listening and will respond as more changes unfold. To access the Resilience Project link, click https://www.necessaryangel.com/the-resilience-project. Previous Next

Back Lesson in Forgetting, English Language Premiere Pleiades Theatre, Young Centre for the Performing Arts Cylla von Tiedemann Joe Szekeres Sometimes, works of artistry defy commentary. In the right hands of a committed artistic team, live theatre is skillfully crafted to become either beautifully cerebral and/or sharply felt within the heart. This is Pleiades Theatre’s ‘Lesson in Forgetting’. But I will do my best to comment. I attended this production with a friend who was intrigued as I was. We dissected as many theatrical elements of the production during the car ride all the way back to Oshawa following and then wondered if we were doing justice and being fair regarding this extraordinary presentation. If anything, we hope there might be future talkbacks (at least one?) for future audiences as the depth and breadth of this, what I will call, ‘mystical production’ remains with me even as I write at this moment. HE (a stunning, marvelous performance by Andrew Moodie) has suffered a massive brain trauma as a result of a car crash some years earlier. At the top of the show, we hear the crash so a possible trigger warning for future audiences. Ever since, the only thing HE can remember is how much he loves his wife SHE (immeasurably poignant and emotional character arc work by Ma-Anne Dionisio). SHE is confined to caring for him for the rest of her days and wishes nothing more than for him to forget that he loves her so that she might yet start over on her own path of life. Initially Reese Cowley as the Narrator puzzled me. Why is the person there? I needed to sit overnight on this question. When I re-read Ash Knight’s Director’s Programme note, then it suddenly made sense to me. Cowley’s confident performance at the top of the show where we are introduced to these two characters is noteworthy. The Narrator becomes the split in SHE’s mind and (spoiler alert for the rest of this paragraph), thus the reason why SHE is dressed in red and the Narrator is dressed in white. SHE has been broken and bleeding for so long as she does what she can to be of assistance to HE. The Narrator becomes that split in SHE’s mind as she is constantly wondering if there is something else for her beyond the struggles she now faces. How often have each of us wondered about this when we believe we can’t deal with our own personal struggles and challenges? Jackie Chau advantageously places the set in the middle of the auditorium with the audience on both sides. This sense of free flow allows for actor maneuverability and for the audience to be drawn immediately into the story action. Stages left and right are mirrors of each other as we see rectangular risers and boxes placed equidistant from each other. Marissa Orjalo’s selection of eerily sounding music coupled with Arun Srinivasan spectral lighting design foreshadows unearthly and metaphysical visions and movement. I loved that feeling of anticipation in hearing something and then wondering what might occur shortly. Denyse Karn’s Projection designs are breathtaking to watch as they appear so true to life that I felt like I wanted to reach out and feel the leaves falling into my hands. At one point, when SHE mentions how everything just stopped after the accident, the falling leaves are perfectly timed to cease at that moment. Exhilarating to watch and to take it all in visually. Jackie Chau’s costume designs suitably reflect the other worldliness captured in her set design. Dionisio majestically utilizes her deep red dress in a definitive, regal like movement. Moodie’s subtle earth tones of matching pajamas, beige housecoat and comfortable looking slippers offer a visual juxtaposition of two individuals who care deeply for each other but are worlds apart on account of the trauma and its aftermath. According to Andrey Tarasiuk, Pleiades’s Artistic Director, Haché’s script is super poetic and delicately written. How veritably true is this statement. Periodically, I found myself closing my eyes and just listening and hearing each spoken word of the text delivered with clarity, definition and understanding. Not once did Moodie or Dionisio’s monologue delivery ever sounded rushed. They instinctively allowed the words to speak and to sound what they mean and infer, an important task for all good actors to attain. To me, it appeared Director Ash Knight tenderly cares very much about the three individuals in this production. Might I even say he loves this piece as he asks us, in his Director’s Programme Note, if love is enough because by going deeper into the complexities of love between this man and woman, we realize love’s complexity challenges our minds and hearts. Both Ma-Anne and Andrew are certainly up for this challenge. I had the chance to interview her a few weeks ago and asked her how rehearsals are going. She stated the piece is a wonderful observation about the vulnerability and fragility of the human mind and heart, and the human spirit. And it is, but I’ll go one step further. What makes this production memorable for me is Knight’s vision in centering real grounded performances from Dionisio and Moodie. One example occurred in the dancing choreographed by Nicola Pantin. From my seat in the house, just watching Ma-Anne and Andrew move and sway themselves, their bodies and, ultimately, their souls in time with the music and with each other was sensually and sensitively arranged through Intimacy Director’s Siobhan Richardson’s coaching. There was nothing erotic or sexy about the dancing or movement between HE and SHE. It’s all about that spiritual and soulful connection we all wish to have in our lives, and that made the dancing bewitching to view. Again, in her recent interview with me, Dionisio reiterated how she has trained herself for the work to come through her, and never making it about her. How true this statement is for both actors. Never once during the heightened, tender, anguished, and wrenching emotions did either of them ever venture over the top into unbelievable melodramatic emoting, not once. Near the end of the production, I felt a gasp of breath as if I had been slapped in the face when we learn something about HE from SHE, but Dionisio moves forward as if to say it’s important to know, but going forward is it really worth it to know and to remember? Final Comments: There is a line from the play that resonated with me and I wrote it down in the dark hoping I could decipher it later: ‘Your body has forgotten desire, but not love.” In her playwright’s Progamme Note, Emma Haché asks of us if love is sufficient given what we may encounter in our lives? What kind of love then? Familial love, selfless love, unconditional love? Questions upon questions upon questions….but that’s what makes good theatre. This ‘Lesson in Forgetting’ is good theatre. Running Time: approximately 75 minutes with no intermission Masks in effect at the Theatre Production runs to May 22 in the Michael Young Theatre at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 50 Tank House Lane, Toronto. For tickets, visit www.youngcentre.ca or call 1-416-866-8666. LESSON IN FORGETTING by Emma Haché Translated by Taliesin McEnaney with John Van Burek Commissioned by Pleiades Theatre Director: Ash Knight Choreographer: Nicola Pantin Set & Costume Design: Jackie Chau Lighting Design: Arun Srinivasan Projection Design: Denyse Karn Sound Design & Composition: Marissa Orjalo Intimacy Director: Siobhan Richardson Stage Manager: Laura Lakatosh Production Manager & Technical Director: Madeline McKinnell Performers: Reese Cowley, Ma-Anne Dionisio, Andrew Moodie Previous Next

Back Rod Carley Theatre Conversation in a Covid World Ed Regan Joe Szekeres I’ve known of Rod Carley’s work for over twenty-five years. In February 1987, I had seen his performance as Algernon in Whitby Courthouse Theatre’s production of ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’. Whitby had also obtained a grant to hire Rod as the director of their Youth Group production ‘The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe’. The Oshawa Little Theatre had also hired Rod to direct its production of a good production of ‘Dancing at Lughnasa’. Rod is an award-winning director, playwright and actor from North Bay, Ontario, having directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions to date including fifteen adaptations of Shakespeare. Rod is the Artistic Director of the Acting for Stage and Screen Program for Canadore College and a part-time English professor with Nipissing University. He was the 2009 winner of TVO’s Big Ideas/Best Lecturer competition. His first novel, A Matter of Will, was a finalist for the 2018 Northern Lit Awards for Fiction. His short story, ‘A Farewell to Stream’ was featured in the non-fiction anthology, 150 Years Up North and More. I’ve just finished his second novel Kinmount and will post a review at the conclusion of Rod’s profile. Thanks to Nora McLellan who encouraged me to read Rod’s book and to Rod for writing it and for taking a few moments to chat with me about the state of the arts going forward from a Covid to a post Covid world: In a couple of months, we will be coming up on one year where the doors of live theatre have been shuttered. How have you been faring during this time? Your immediate family? Health wise, I’m okay. I had to cancel two directing projects and an acting project as well as my fall reading tour for my new novel KINMOUNT. My immediate family is in good health. Fortunately, I’m based in North Bay, ON. This region has a small number of active cases. Teaching, Netflix, (not to be confused with teaching Netflix), family, the arts, books, the cats, Zoom chats with friends, doom scrolling, my writing, and connecting with the theatre and writing community on social media have been helping me get through COVID. Together although alone. When one of us is having a hard day, the rest jump in with words of encouragement and hope. “No one gets left behind,” is our unofficial motto. After ten months in, everyone is weary from daily COVID battle fatigue and uncertainty of the future. Each day feels like trying to herd a different cat. How have you been spending your time since the theatre industry has been locked up tight as a drum? As well as an author and free-lance director, I am the Artistic Director for the Acting for Stage and Screen Program at Canadore College - a training program I created in 2004 due to the lack of actor training north of Toronto. Because of the small number of COVID cases in this region, we have been able to keep 70% of our acting classes in the classroom, practising physical distancing and wearing masks. We are one of the few actor-training programs in the province that hasn’t had to switch entirely to on-line delivery. I’ve been doing a lot of writing. My new novel KINMOUNT was published this past October. Launching a new book smack dab in the middle of a pandemic is not for the faint of literary heart. Using the new COVID lingo, I “pivoted” and did a virtual launch (one positive was the number of friends who were able to attend from across the country and internationally). My publisher and I have relied heavily on social media to market the book. I’m also in the final editing stage of a new collection of interconnected short stories entitled Grin Reaping. I’ve done quite a few Zoom readings at online literary events. Last April, I retaught myself to play the accordion and posted regularly on social media to put a little light and humour into people’s days…or drive them further over the edge. The family tabby cat, Hilton, amuses me to no end. Our other older cat, Zoe, passed away in September. Last summer, I created a series of social media posts featuring Hilton and Zoe called “Respect for Mewing,” a purrfect parody on Uta Hagen’s “Respect for Acting.” Their antics might even lead to a book. I’ve also watched some very resourceful theatre companies move their programming online. Tarragon Theatre’s staged reading of David Young’s Inexpressible Island at the start of the pandemic was particularly well done – the six actors speaking out of the darkness in their respective spaces captured the isolation of the piece. I’m looking forward to watching Rick Roberts’ online mythic adventure Orestes, directed by Richard Rose, this coming February. Still, nothing can replace live theatre. There is a sanctity to what we do as theatre artists. People gather together to experience things that can’t otherwise be experienced – not unlike what happens in a church or synagogue. There’s an elevation, a nobility, and a feeling of sanctuary. Arthur Miller said, “My feeling is that people in a group, en masse, watching something, react differently, and perhaps more profoundly than they do in their living rooms.” The late Hal Prince described the theatre as an escape for him. Would you say that Covid has been an escape for you or would you describe this near year long absence from the theatre as something else? COVID is a restriction rather than an escape. In the theatre, flight-within-restriction is the director’s goal. A director has to know all the resources and limitations they are working with. Only then can they know in which direction freedom lies. Ironically, for me, it’s become a working metaphor for coping during COVID. I’ve interviewed a few artists several months ago who said that the theatre industry will probably be shut down and not go full head on until at least 2022. There may be pockets of outdoor theatre where safety protocols are in place. What are your comments about this? Do you think you and your colleagues/fellow artists will not return until 2022? Dr. Fauci was recently quoted in The New York Times as saying he believed that theatres could be safe to open some time in the fall of 2021 – as long as 70% to 85% of Americans were vaccinated by then. Will those percentages apply to Canadian theatres? The quality of a theatre’s ventilation system and the use of proper air filters will play a vital role. Theatregoers may need to continue wearing masks. Strict hygiene protocols will need to be in place. Reduced capacity of seating has been another roadblock in the financial viability of reopening. Fauci believes theatres will start getting back to almost full capacity of seating. Another possibility is to ask audience members to show proof of a negative virus test –as required by some airlines. I am currently directing an online college production of David Ives’ All in the Timing, scheduled to go up in April 2021. I hope my colleagues and I will be able to direct live productions by the spring of 2022. Even with the vaccine, however, we will have to see if audiences feel comfortable returning to the theatre. Post-COVID, it may take awhile until they feel fully safe. I had a discussion recently with an Equity actor who said that yes theatre should not only entertain but, more importantly, it should transform both the actor and the audience. How has Covid transformed you in your understanding of the theatre and where it is headed in a post Covid world? A quote from my new novel KINMOUNT: “For nearly four thousand years, theatre had survived religious persecution, war, plague, the rise of television, AIDS, CATS, funding cuts, and electronic media.” (KINMOUNT – Part Two: Madness, Chapter 8, p. 173) But can the theatre survive COVID? My response is, “Yes.” We've probably all heard somebody say that come the End of the World, the only survivors will be the cockroaches. Cockroaches have been around for over 300 million years - so they've outlasted the dinosaurs by about 150 million years…and they are tough little creatures. They can survive on cellulose and, in a pinch, each other, and they can even soldier on without a head for a week or two - and they're fiendishly fast as well as many of us have discovered opening an apartment door and turning on a light. They have the reputation for being survivors - living through anything from steaming hot water to nuclear holocaust….and, when they do survive Armageddon, they will probably be performing theatre! There is something of the scrappy cockroach in every actor. Theatre has survived a variety of “end of the world” scenarios since its earliest beginnings. From the stone ages, men and women have been telling stories by enacting them even when no language existed. Ancient Greek theatre still inspires us, and it continues to be staged in all the languages of the world. In Ancient Greece, we had an empire ensconced in domestic barbarism and military adventurism. Yet, it was the theatre that reformulated the debates of that era with humanity and intelligence and put those qualities back in the air we still breathe more than 2,000 years later – and theatre will do that again post-COVID. Starting in the Dark Ages, actors were forbidden the sacraments of the church unless they foreswore their profession, a decree not rescinded in many places until the 18th century. Can you imagine the great French playwright Moliere collapsing on stage to his death and being denied the last rights? King Louis the 14th had to intervene to grant Moliere a Christian burial. Actors were treated as heretics for nearly 1,300 years! They know about tenacity and survival. During the 1950’s the world lived under the threat of an atomic war capable of ending life on earth. It was an age of anxiety and stress. The theatre was heavily influenced by the horrors of World War II and the threats of impending disaster. Serious questions were raised about man’s capacity to act responsibly or even to survive. Anxiety and guilt became major themes. Probably more than any other writer, Samuel Beckett expressed the postwar doubts about man’s capacity to understand and control his world. Now, “the end of the world” really was around the corner but it didn’t stop theatre. The cockroach artists kept holding that cracked and broken mirror up to man’s doubtful nature. We may see post-COVID theatre addressing similar issues – the fall of the American Empire, climate change, reconciliation, and so many other pressing societal ills – coupled with a need for humour and escape. I think there might there be a backlash coming against digital technology. The human soul is screaming for meaning. How much spiritual hunger and alienation can we bear? Theatre is genuine communication and not short form twitters and tweets. An audience is alive in the same space where the actors testify the truth of their characters. Any place where you are in that kind of public forum, breathing the same air, the truth will come out. The late Zoe Caldwell spoke about how actors should feel danger in the work. It’s a solid and swell thing to have if the actor/artist and the audience both feel it. Would you agree with Ms. Caldwell? Have you ever felt danger during this time of Covid and do you believe it will somehow influence your work when you return to the theatre? We live in a dangerous era now where the arts are being seriously questioned. In an uncertain economy, the arts are often among the first things to be eliminated from discretionary spending. The fall of the American Empire is rife with danger. The rise of right-wing fascism is beyond scary. In many articles, the pandemic has been compared to Shakespeare and the plague. In this excerpt from my novel, KINMOUNT, down-and-out-director Dave Middleton talks to his acting company at the First Reading of his production of Romeo and Juliet: “Romeo and Juliet was the first play to be produced in London after the infamous Black Death of 1592 to 1594 wiped out close to a third of the population,” Dave explained. “All the theatres were shut down for three years. Images and references to the plague permeate the play such that the plague itself becomes a character—much the way Caesar’s ghost haunts and dominates Julius Caesar. The plague struck and killed people with terrible speed. Usually by the fourth day you were dead. The time frame of Romeo and Juliet moves with a similar deadly speed, from the lovers’ first meeting to their deaths.” “I can’t imagine waking up on Saturday and being dead by Tuesday,” said Miranda. “The plague underscores all that happens, mirroring the fear and desperation of the characters’ individual worlds,” said Dave, adopting a sombre tone. “I’m pretty sure most of us have lost someone to cancer.” The company nodded uncomfortably. “We can only imagine the dreadful immediacy of Romeo and Juliet when it was first performed for an audience who had each lost family and friends to the plague. Here was a play referencing that very loss and terror.” Dave circled his troops; his director’s passion, despite himself, as infectious as the plague he was referencing. “What a gutsy and attention-getting backdrop for the love story that unfolds in the wake of Ebola, the opioid epidemic, Lyme disease, HIV, not to mention the scourge of cancer, we know what this fear is like.” Dave had hit a nerve. “By using the original setting and its plague components,” Dave explained, “our production will serve as an analogy for today. We will play the humour of the first three acts to its fullest until the “plague” of deaths begins. We will explore the passion and exuberance of youth, the need to live every day as if it was your last, because it very well could be. Your life expectancy is thirty.” “Whoa,” said the taller stoner. “Like I’m already middle-aged. That sucks, dude.” “It does,” said Dave. “You have no idea what will happen when you start your day. You could be killed in a duel, run over by horse-drawn cart, be accidentally hit on the head by a falling chamber pot, or drink water from an outdoor fountain, toxic with bacteria boiling in the summer heat, and catch the plague.” (KINMOUNT- Part One: Meeting, Chapter 7, pp. 48-49) Similar to the plague, COVID has reinforced the transience and fragility of our existence. We really do have to embrace the moment because the future is more uncertain than ever. Post-COVID, this reality will serve as a backdrop for much of the theatre that will be created, whether consciously or unconsciously. The late scenic designer Ming Cho Lee spoke about great art opening doors and making us feel more sensitive. Has this time of Covid made you sensitive to our world and has it made some impact on your life in such a way that you will bring this back with you to the theatre? As a theatre artist, I’ve always been sensitive to the world – it’s in my DNA. Theatre has a responsibility to society – to educate, enlighten, and, hopefully, change. Theatre has been doing that for centuries. The theatre has always been, at least for me, about rekindling the soul and discovering what makes each of us human – it is the touchstone to our humanity. It is the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being. It speaks to something within each of us that is fleeting and intangible. And we feel less alone. Given our present circumstances, we need this more than over. The power of stage is enormous because it is real. We all live in what is, but we find a thousand ways not to face it. Great theatre strengthens our faculty to face it. Theatre provides for the psychic well-being and sanity of a society. We will need it more than ever post-COVID. In Shakespeare’s day, great plays were thought of as mirrors. When you see a play, you are looking into a mirror – a pretty special mirror, one that reflects the world in a way that allows us to see its true nature. We also see that it not only reflects the world around us, but also ourselves. This two-way mirroring means that learning about great theatre and learning about life go hand in hand. And it means that finding beauty and meaning in great theatre is a sort of proving ground for finding beauty and meaning in life. Again, the late Hal Prince spoke of the fact that theatre should trigger curiosity in the actor/artist and the audience. Has Covid sparked any interest in you about something during this time? Has this time away from the theatre sparked further curiosity for you when you return to this art form? The need to tell stories of what it is to be human remains crucial to me – stories about who we are, why we are, where we came from, and what we may become - with curiosity and hope. Stories that challenge the right-wing capitalist patriarchal hegemony. I will continue to revisit relevant older works with a fresh lens, making them accessible to today’s audience. I am committed to developing new works by Northern Ontario voices. For years, I have been working on an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar based on Pierre Elliot Trudeau, the FLQ and events surrounding the October Crisis of the 1970. In my interpretation, Caesar is, of course, based on Trudeau and, in the transported setting, he is assassinated in Ottawa by members of the FLQ as an act of revenge in the wake of his handling of “Black October.” The adaptation would involve both official languages and would employ colour conscious casting. It might never to see the light of day. I am also looking into creating podcasts for my new short story collection. I am in the early outlining stages of a new novel that will be a comic tale of writer’s block, the chopping block, ghosts, and ghostwriters. Rod Carley’s headshot by Ed Regan. Follow Rod on Twitter: @carley_rod and/or visit his website: www.rodcarley.ca . My review of Kinmount: KINMOUNT REMINDS US OF THE IMPORTANCE OF AND FOR THE ARTS NOW MORE THAN EVER While reading Rod Carley’s Kinmount, I couldn’t help but make a comparison of it to Miguel Cervantes’ Don Quixote for the literary term I remember from my second year undergraduate course at the University of Western Ontario - picaresque. I loved the sound of that word then and It still like the sound of it today. Just to review this term – A picaresque hero is a charming fellow who battles sometimes humorous or satiric moments and episodes that often depict in real life the daily life of the common person. Much like Don Quixote’s fight with windmills, Carley’s protagonist (Dave Middleton) is a professional theatre director who has been hired by oddly eccentric producer Lola White to direct a community theatre production of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet in Kinmount, Ontario. Dave ends up battling with oddball characters, censorship issues, stifling summer weather and shortage of monetary funds in his quest to ensure the production is staged the way he believes Shakespeare had wanted it to be staged. I reluctantly admit I had no clue where the town was as I’ve no reason to attend so I had to look it up on a map. Okay, once I saw where it was located, I will also be honest and state I didn’t know if I even wanted to visit the town as Middleton describes it as “Canada’s capital of unwed mothers under the age of twenty…kids having kids. And the rest are grammatically challenged and wear spandex. And that’s just the men.” I do sincerely hope Middleton’s description of the real town is tongue in cheek. Thankfully Carley tells us at the end of his book that he “chose the name simply because of the comic noun and verb combination. For no other reason” as “The real-life Kinmount is a lovely spot nestled in the beautiful Ontario Highlands and home to a population of five hundred friendly highlanders and summer cottagers.” Since I am a theatre and Shakespearean lover of language Kinmount, for me, became a touchstone of the crucial importance the arts provide us especially now in this time of shutdown, lockdown, and a provincial stay at home order of the worldwide pandemic. If we have been involved in community theatre productions, Kinmount becomes a hilarious remembrance of those moments when we all stoically wondered if the show would ever come together given the ‘behind the scenes’ world of egos, divas and divos, and oddballs just to name a few. Carley’s style never becomes pedantic but instead a playful reminder of those who select to participate in theatre, whether professional or community, just why we keep returning to this dramatic format. It is for the love of the spoken word. Rod and I spoke briefly via FaceTime about the ending of Kinmount and how touched I was at the final actions of protagonist Dave Middleton. Given the veritable struggles Dave must endure throughout the story, sometimes comical, sometimes frightening, he reveals a compassionate, human side that we must all never forget that we too can be like Dave in stressful times. It’s worth a visit to Kinmount. Kinmount now available at Latitude 46 Publishing (www.latitude46publishing.com ), Indigo, Amazon and your favourite bookseller. I picked mine up at Blue Heron Books in Uxbridge, Ontario. Previous Next

Back 'White Muscle Daddy' by Raf Antonio Now onstage at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Toronto. Credit: Jeremy Mimnagh. Pictured in profile: Frankie Bailey and Jaime Lujan Joe Szekeres ‘There are moments when the script is clever in its deceptive title. Although it might initially mean what you think it does, there’s an entirely new understanding at the end.’ Raf Antonio’s ‘White Muscle Daddy’ is a horror/thriller ‘film within a film within a play’. My guest and I discussed it intently on the way home. Antonio is bang-on about using the screen format within a play setting. Live and pre-recorded film and video footage are used throughout. Antonio is both clever and perceptive about developing this hybrid use further. Why? Our lives today are intently focused on the screen, whether we are watching a film, sitting in front of our computers for work and careers, or sometimes simply passing the time away on YouTube (I’m guilty of that) or TikTok (Don’t have an account. Don’t want one). Because I don’t want to spoil the surprises behind ‘White Muscle Daddy,’ I will do my best not to give away too much. The press release states that ‘White Muscle Daddy’ uses projection art, live camera feed, and shadow play…to subvert cinema/film and theatre expectations. Was that achieved? More about that shortly. ‘White Muscle Daddy’ is set in Los Angeles, primarily in an exclusive gym. There are moments when we are shown gorgeous photographs of the LA sunset night sky and extraordinary photos of what I assume to be at least $ 3 million US dollar homes. Appreciation to Nicole Eun-Ju Bell, Connie Oreamuno and Khanh Tudo for the specific hours of work that had to be done to search for these photos and then do magic in any editing for specific effects. Alia Stephen’s sometimes perfect lighting design effect underscores the strong visual impact of looking at the photos from where my guest and I sat far stage left. The appearance of camera operators Khanh Tudo and Katerina Zoumboulakis (I hope I haven’t forgotten anyone) was also effective because the LA paparazzi are everywhere with their paraphernalia. It appears that in LA life, to be somebody, one must always be on camera. The notion of privacy is thrown out the window. Cat Calica’s costume selection perfectly reflect the style and finesse of each of the characters. There were moments in the pre-recorded or actual backstage footage where the sound was not aligned precisely when the characters spoke on screen. It was just a split second out of alignment, but it did bring me momentarily out of the scene. Can that also be looked at? In her set design, Echo Zhou places three separate riser platforms on far stage right, middle and far stage left to denote various LA locales. For sight line purposes, Zhou made a good choice to allow for maximum sight line view; however, there were moments when the action took place far stage right, and I could not hear the dialogue as I sat far stage left. The speaker on my right did not appear to amplify the sound, and I could not hear the dialogue. Hopefully, sound designer Stella Conway will be able to fix this going forward with future show performances. At the top of the show, we are watching the filming of one of the Grade B slasher horror flicks. Performer Augusto Bitter plays Stuart in the film. Stuart is reading a book and waiting for the arrival of their boyfriend to come home. In true horror film ‘Scream’ fashion, there are some nifty surprises for the audience that I don’t want to give away. It appears Bitter was having a hell of a good time in the pre-recorded filming. The film's director, Lucy (Chel Carmichael), enters the stage. Chel Carmichael’s Lucy is direct and confident in scenes with the filming. Carmichael’s Lucy is also connected to the rest of the characters in the play’s script. The central story involves Jeremy (Jaime Lujan), an impressionable individual newly hired to work the graveyard shift at the gym. Jeremy’s co-worker Thomas (Shaquille Pottinger) shows Jeremy the ropes of the gym. Thomas was moving out of the gym as he had found another job. One night, Jeremy sees and becomes smitten with Eugene (Ray Jacildo), a fitness instructor who appears to have the kind of LA life Jeremy has always wanted: muscles, good looks, and enviable LA parties. Jeremy’s ‘crush’ on Eugene begins to play havoc. Jeremy begins this insatiable hunger for Eugene and wants to know everything about the dude. Jeremy’s choice to follow the secret desire to know more about Eugene wreaks chaos in his relationship with his partner, Gustavo (Frankie Bayley). In turn, Gustavo looks to Lucy for moral support whenever their relationship with Jeremy appears on the rocks. In a heated moment of passion between Jeremy and Gustavo, the former says something to the latter that is downright nasty and cruel, which begins to alter the course of events not only in their lives but also in those in the story. The question remains right to the end—who is Eugene? Something about this character spells trouble for everyone involved. Directors Raf Antonio and Tricia Hagoriles have selected a diverse cast in their appearance and voice sound. That was another wise choice. For some reason, whenever I hear the name ‘Los Angeles,’ I immediately begin to think of plastic-looking people who are ‘practically perfect in every way’ (as Mary Poppins sang), from their looks to their sexuality and gender. Antonio and Hagoriles have selected real, natural, and ordinary-looking actors who commit themselves to showcase the two-hour and fifteen-minute running time (sans interval/intermission) with intent and focus. Once again, in the press release, Antonio (as one of the directors) spoke of "taking the tropes of the horror film genre and mashing them together to create an experience that will leave audiences chuckling, a little spooked, a little provoked...” Did that vision of mashing create an experience that left me chuckling, spooked, and a little provoked? Well… Yes and No. Directors Antonio and Hagoriles ensured the performers captured the Grade B horror film (over) acting from the sixties and seventies. In watching the pre-recorded film on stage during the performance, I recognized some similar recoiling in horror moments akin to the Vincent Prince scream films and Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho.' That left me chuckling. A couple of captured moments left me a tad spooked, but I hesitate to explain what it is because that would give away the surprise I didn’t see coming at all. All I will say - when it does appear, I had to avert my eyes quickly. It’s the word ‘provoked’ that I want to explore just a bit further. The script and the actors did provoke a bit of squeamishness within me so they succeeded on that account. There is one moment on film when I felt myself just scrunching my face up and putting my head down because it is a tad sickening. But I do have some quibbles. Is it possible for Antonio’s script to be re-examined again? I found it too long to sit for two hours and 15 minutes. There are moments where moments need to be tightened especially in moving from film to the stage. With no breaks at all, the production makes for uncomfortable sitting. A few got up around me to go and then return. Getting up and down is distracting both in the film and the theatre, but I get it – rarely are there intermissions in films. The directors have captured that vision. But if I go to the cinema and have to use the washroom during a long film, I quickly leave the hall, run to do my business and then get back to my seat. That’s not always possible in the theatre. This leads me to explain further the hybrid approach of combining cinema/film and theatre. It’s an exciting concept that deserves to be explored further on the stage. The press release calls ‘White Muscle Daddy’ a cinematic theatre thriller. Antonio says in the release that horror can be a malleable genre, and it is rarely performed on the stage. It’s not malleable here for me at this performance. Not quite yet. I hope a re-examination of the script and another staging might just do the trick. Running time: approximately two hours and 15 minutes with no intermission. Masks are required to be worn for the performance. ‘White Muscle Daddy’ runs until March 31 at the Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander Street, Toronto. For tickets: buddiesinbadtimes.com or call (416) 975-8555. A PENCIL KIT PRODUCTIONS AND BUDDIES IN BAD TIMES THEATRE PRODUCTION Presents ‘White Muscle Daddy’ by Raf Antonio Produced by Claren Grosz Directors: Raf Antonio and Tricia Hagoriles Previous Next

Back Frances Loiselle and Michael Williamson Emerging Artists Selfie Joe Szekeres As this Pandemic Profile series winds down, I thought it was important to check in with emerging theatre artists at the beginning of their careers and to see how they’ve been faring during these last sixteen months. Many of the seasoned artists to whom I’ve spoken are concerned and hopeful that the emerging artists have not been deterred or discouraged. Frances Loiselle and Michael Williamson have not been swayed at all as you will see from their responses below. If anything, both have faced the results of the pandemic head on with the knowledge that their careers may appear different looking ahead, but they will move forward and continue in a career which they still admire and appreciate. Loiselle and Williamson are both graduates of Toronto’s George Brown Theatre School. They have appeared in a variety of summer productions with Port Perry Ontario’s ‘Theatre on the Ridge’ with their most recent as Tinkerbell and Peter Pan in 2018. This summer, they will perform in a touring production of C. S. Lewis’s ‘The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe’ around the Durham and Scugog Regions on your driveway, your front lawn or even on your street. I’ll include the link at the end of the profile. The three of us conducted our conversation via email: It’s a harsh reality that the worldwide pandemic of Covid 19 has changed all of us. Describe how your understanding of the world you know and how your perception and experience have changed on a personal level. FL: The pandemic was a good shattering of the illusion that anything about your life is remotely under your control. You can’t control anything; you can’t plan for anything. Things just happen to you, you accept, you change, and you continue. Covid, or more precisely folks responding to it, hit home with the reminder that we do not all experience this life, and this world, in the same way. There are some deep, deep injustices and inequalities constructed into the fabric of our society, by white supremacy, capitalism, and colonialism, many of which by virtue of my privilege I could comfortably remain ignorant to. Many of them benefit me, as a white woman, and endanger and oppress others. They also steal a better, more just world away from all of us. The pandemic, as well as the enforced isolation and loss of employment, and most importantly the labour undertaken by many BIPOC activists, educators, authors, journalists, and peers in writing pieces, creating art and sharing knowledge, forced I think many of us to stop looking away and take some responsibility. The pandemic shook up the foundations of what I took as regular, every day, unchangeable life, and it made more possible the questioning of this state, these institutions, myself and my attitudes. I’m still very much learning. MW: I suppose for myself, the pandemic has shed a lot of light on my mental health. I think I have lived with a lot of things that I had been ignoring for most of my life, but the pandemic has aggravated those things enough that I think I am now starting to acknowledge them and work through them. So, the pandemic has definitely made parts of my life a lot more difficult but it is also giving me opportunities to face some of those things that I might have ignored for years to come. In regard to “the world I know” I think a lot of people are starting to become more aware of a world bigger than just themselves or the people they are in contact with. Through that, I think people are taking this opportunity to become much more active and really define themselves in what they stand for and what they can actually be doing to make the change they want to see in the world. With live indoor theatre shut for one year plus, with it appearing it may not re-open any time soon, how has your understanding and perception as a professional artist of the live theatre industry been altered and changed? FL: I feel a little like a fraud, answering a question as a professional artist of the live theatre industry, because most of my time, and especially during this pandemic, I haven’t really gotten to be that. Just starting out, work as a professional artist can be few and far between. I think it has been an interesting time of all of us collectively getting to question, what is live theatre? My romantic notion of it is up on a stage, or at least in some in-person space, with an audience present. But I’ve seen some fantastic shows (and been a part of one!) that were definitely not film, not television, that were live, not exactly theatre, but this whole new entity. Initially, I wanted to entirely dismiss “zoom” theatre. I found it depressing, a pale imitation of reality, it didn’t offer to me anything I loved from in-person theatre. But I’ve changed my attitude on that because some great artists have made some cool stuff. MW: I think reinforced is a better word for me. I feel like through this shutdown of most live theatre it has only solidified my stance on the essentialness that is live theatre for society as a whole. Live theatre is a wonderful place to share and experience; be inside a room with many others as you all witness something going on in front of you. Whether that experience is funny, frightening, or riveting, you all are allowed to go through something in the same room while still being kept safe. As a professional artist, what are you missing the most about the live theatre industry? FL: I miss being live, in theatres. Being around other bodies. Strangers gathered to witness a performance. Seeing real human people in front of me speaking, feeling, listening, sweating, and breathing, and breathing with them. Feeling the collective audience response around me, and not merely my own. The sense of, for a brief span of time, forming a small community, together. Being alone, in my bedroom, watching a screen, sometimes just feels lonely. MW: Working in a room with your whole team. There is no substitute. And while zoom and other mediums people have been using to work through are nice and provide a variety of comforts for everyone involved, nothing compares to the joy, unity, and cohesive strength that can come from working with your team face to face. As a professional artist, what is the one thing you will never take for granted again in the live theatre industry when you return to it? FL: The little in-between moments. The camaraderie you build with your collaborators when you sit down to eat lunch together, or warming up before rehearsal, or getting dressed before a show. The new relationships you get to build, the cool and interesting new people you get to meet. When you have to sit alone on your living room to warm up before your zoom show or wear a mask and move six feet apart as soon as you break for lunch, it’s difficult to make and enjoy those connections. MW: Probably the rehearsal room/stage. It provides such a wonderful freedom and atmosphere for everyone to create; to leave behind whatever else is going on that day, whereas when you are rehearsing at home everything serves as a constant reminder about your “non acting life”. Describe one element you hope has changed concerning the live theatre industry. FL: I’m hoping that there is a move away from the “you have to work yourself to the bone” attitude towards making theatre. To be honest, I was mostly trained and brought up in that attitude, and I was really devoted to it for a long time. You are taught that you have to work incredibly long hours, shirk all other responsibilities in your life, and experience incredible mental, physical, emotional strain to create good theatre. It was both an expectation and a behaviour that was rewarded. And I took pride in being tough enough to survive it, and it meant I had a very toxic attitude towards expecting others to do the same. But I’m coming across more conversations, now, and people speaking up, especially many artists who are often marginalized by these attitudes- Black and Indigenous artists, artists with disabilities, artists with young children- about how it doesn’t have to be this way. I’m trying to reconsider that assumption. First, it’s an extreme privilege to be remotely able to make theatre in that way. It assumes you don’t have loved ones to take care of, mental or physical health issues or differences of ability to accommodate, that you aren’t experiencing an additional, invisible burden of dealing with white supremacy inside and outside the rehearsal hall. “Working yourself to the bone” for theatre, for any art, really is just not an option for the majority of people, students, artists, arts workers. And it shuts them out. Second, it’s really not an option for anyone. It just burns you out and makes you want to quit. It makes you need to take time away to recover, if you’re lucky enough to be able to. Why am I having to recover from making art? I think the pandemic has been a part of it, of mine and other folk’s reconsideration around their devotion to “working to the bone.” There’s more conversations, now, about how people are doing, how long they can handle rehearsing on zoom. Maybe many institutions are doing it superficially? I hope not. It feels like a shift. I certainly hadn’t stopped to consider it until the pandemic. But I obviously want to acknowledge I didn’t suddenly come to realize this; a lot of artists have been speaking about this for a long time. I actually recently read Yolanda Bonnell speaking on this subject in another ‘Self-Isolated Artist’ interview for OnStage Blog. MW: Hopefully, demand for it! Explain what specifically you believe you must still accomplish within the industry. FL: Um… everything? Quite a bit? I don’t feel like I’ve accomplished very much, yet. I’m not sure yet what I want to accomplish, what path I might take. I think my next step, for me, is finding more of a voice as an artist. My training and experience have been more as a facilitator of others’ voices. That is your work, as an actor. You are a collaborator, you contribute, and you help shape the piece, but (for me anyway) I don’t really feel I am a creator. I assist in the creation process. But I would like to also be an artist, with a voice, with something to share, and I just don’t really know what it is yet. I struggle with feeling I have anything of importance to share, really. I feel comfortable as an interpreter, and I want to develop my own voice. To do some of my own work. MW: Well there’s a lot of things here. I’m still very much starting out, so I have a pretty hefty bucket list but if I had to pick something I would say getting the opportunity to act alongside some of the actors I grew up loving in some mainstage show. Some artists are saying that audiences must be prepared for a tsunami of Covid themed stories in the return to live theatre. Would you elaborate on this statement both as an artist in the theatre, and as an audience member observing the theatre. FL: We make art in response to life, to our lived experiences, our perceptions of this world. We make art to comment on, explore, reflect, celebrate, criticize, question, transform what we observe. So of course, with COVID having affected so many of us, in such different ways, all around the world, artists will want to respond. I think, or at least I hope, this doesn’t mean a very homogenous, repetitive slew of theatre pieces talking about the exact same experience of the pandemic, from the same perspective, with the same ideas, over and over. The pandemic has been many things. The pandemic has been about isolation and loneliness, about maintaining connection, and accepting solitude. It has been about the staggering inequalities and injustices in our society being laid so bare, becoming such a matter of life and death. It has been about loss. It has been a dystopian sci fi weirdness of masks and social distancing and mass vaccination clinics. We could make a lot of varied, interesting theatre out of all this. Especially if a huge diversity of perspectives and voices are given the money and support to do so, and not just a handful of old white guys who spent the pandemic safe in their living room trying to figure out how to share their screen on Zoom. MW: I don’t think it’s that difficult to piece together really. The Covid Pandemic has universally affected the whole world for over a year. I think whenever something like that happens a ton of art is created around that experience (any large war, the aids crisis to name a few). So much of art is based around sharing an experience with one another and Covid might be one of the biggest shared experiences we have had recently. As an artist, what specifically is it about your work that you want future audiences to remember about you? FL: No idea! I still deeply identify with the label of “emerging artist.” I feel sometimes like I look at fellow “emerging artists,” my peers, and they seem to already be developing a strong vision, a confident voice, good relationships, be blossoming into lovely and interesting butterflies of artists. And I am still contorted in a safe gooey cocoon, existing as a half-formed mush of vague ideas and self-doubt. So my work, my artistic voice, still feels a little unknown. I guess, if it’s about the work I’ve done so far. I’d like to be remembered for my honesty. I’m still working on being honest with myself, with others, in my life. In my work, I always want to be honest. MW: I think it would be an honour to just be remembered outside my own circle of friends and family for my work. I think though for me, it's less about being remembered for my work and more being remembered for being someone people wanted to work with. To learn more about Theatre on the Ridge’s productions this summer and the touring production of ‘The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe’, please visit www.theatreontheridge.ca.You can also visit their Facebook Page: Theatre on the Ridge; Twitter: @TheatreOTRidge; Instagram: @theatreontheridgeportperry Previous Next

Back L’AMOUR TELLE UNE CATHÉDRALE ENSEVELIE Presented by Théâtre Français de Toronto (TFT) and Crow’s Theatre at the Fleck Theatre, Harbourfront Centre Credit: Christophe Pean Joe Szekeres A unique hybrid production of opera, theatre and concert that brought varied responses from audience members regarding the timely theme of immigration to Western countries. Théâtre Français de Toronto (TFT) and Crow’s Theatre co-present a unique live production that brought a variety of responses on this opening night from audience members right at the curtain call and upon exiting Harbourfront’s Simon Fleck Theatre. ‘L’Amour telle une cathédrale ensevelie’ (Love Like a Buried Cathedral), according to author and director Guy Régis Jr’s programme note, details two story items. We are first introduced to a mother (Nathalie Vairac) and father (Frederic Fachena) who exchange extremely harsh words and accusations against each other. It’s not apparent immediately why they are arguing. But when it does become evident (spoiler: and it’s the worst nightmare of every parent), it’s clear why there is so much shouting, anger, and fear. The ‘Intrepid 33-year-old son’ has tried to cross the sea from Haiti to come to Québec to be with his mother and father. We learn that the parents are immigrants to Canada (the second story item). At their immigration, the parents were unable to bring their son. However, everything had been taken care of to prepare for his arrival. However, this story is only one example of the tragedies surrounding the many departures from countries that are losing their sons and daughters. Guy Régis Jr. clarifies that immigration to countries to begin a new life of freedom does not automatically guarantee that will happen. Some who travel to Western countries (Canada included) never make it safely. Quite the challenge to stage, indeed. Visually, the production is quite striking at the preshow. Set Designer Velica Panduru, Lighting Designer Marine Levey and Video of Dimitri Petrovic create a mysterious and unsettling atmosphere. Amos Coulanges sits on stage right in shadow and beautifully underscores classical instrumental guitar music that is lovely to hear. There is a see-through scrim at the back upon which the varied undulation of waves can be seen. It looks treacherous to be on those waters, which becomes a potent reminder of those on the ships coming to the new countries. Upon the second level, I could see at least one chair through the scrim. There will be some story action taking place here when the show begins. The story is performed in French and Creole with English surtitles. It has been a long time since my undergraduate years studying French, but I persevere because I’m doing my best to return to working language knowledge. I’m thankful the surtitles are there for the most part. When they weren’t there, I was utterly lost. That posed a problem for me and, I’m sure, for many in the audience who did not know French. This occurred during the ‘Les Voix du Coeur’ choir singing beautiful harmonies. I recognized a few words, but I could not understand everything. Because of that, I felt I’d missed much of what Guy Régis Jr. wanted me to know about the stories of the migrants to new worlds. Was there a technical glitch because the subtitles reappeared after the choir left the stage? This opening night production affected many people at the end when Nathalie Vairac, as the mother, stepped forward and voiced her anger, sorrow, and frustration at what had occurred. I could hear quiet sobs behind me. Obviously, the story had an extraordinary effect on these individuals. Perhaps these people might have had a personal connection to others in their lives who are migrants. I have not, but I saw a story that made me want to feel for those with connections. Losing a child at any age is unthinkable for any parent, and that most certainly comes across in the poetic words of Régis’ text. And herein lies the other staging issue regarding Régis’ direction that didn’t make me connect to these characters. I could hear snippets from audience members on my way out. There is little to no tonal quality of the peaks and valleys involved in the parents' arguments at the beginning and the mother’s soliloquy at the end. It’s a great deal of shouting all the time. Again, I get it that arguments and tragedy make people respond on varied emotional levels. But this is theatre we are watching. We want to ensure that we are connecting to our audiences. We don’t want to stop listening to the characters. The shouting didn’t connect me to their plight and what had happened in their lives. I so desperately wanted to do just that. But I couldn’t. Perhaps the creative team might take a look at these areas once again. Running time: approximately one hour and 30 minutes with no interval. The production plays on February 24 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, February 25 at 1:30 pm at the Fleck Theatre, Harbourfront Centre. Previous Next

Back Dianne Montgomery Looking Ahead MPMG Arts Joe Szekeres Dianne Montgomery is a Toronto-based tap dancer, choreographer, and composer who will present the world premiere of her commissioned work 'Softly Losing, Softly Gaining' which she has choreographed and composed. Her work will be performed at Meridian Hall, on October 6-8 as part of Fall for Dance North Festival. The show was to have first premiered in 2020 and then in 2021. She considers performing her work on these evenings an honour and joy to be supported amid such powerful offerings. Given so much change over the last two-plus pandemic years, Dianne is appreciative of feeling respected and included by the Fall for Dance North team as she senses they want the best for and from the performers. What struck me the most about our conversation was Dianne’s frankness in sharing her vulnerability as an artist. She feels quite an emotional attachment to the premiere of ‘Softly Losing, Softly Gaining’ as she sensitively compares it to the intimate act of giving birth to her work. Finding that vulnerability requires and encourages her sense of self and soul, particularly in the experiences of the last two years. Montgomery feels a deeply renewed sense of responsibility to bring heightened senses and awareness of her work to audiences, especially to those who may have felt a sense of isolation during this time. When I inquired where Dianne completed her studies in tap dance, I learned something that I hadn’t realized about the art form. It is not just a three-to-six-week lesson twice a week with a recital at the end. Tap isn’t structurally built in a way where there is a particular school where to study tap for three or four years. For Dianne: “Tap takes years and years and years of concentrated study and training, and it never really stops. A tap dancer doesn’t have a start and end date as there is always exploring and finding. Becoming technically proficient is a forever job. The beginning students study intermediate steps; the intermediate students study advanced steps, advanced students work to be professional and professionals study beginning steps. It’s cyclical in nature.” She has performed, taught, and presented her choreography across North America and Europe. She toured the world for two years with Canadian singer-songwriter FEIST as a tap dancer and shadow puppeteer, also performing on Saturday Night Live, The Late Show with David Letterman, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. As a professional artist, Dianne finds the world of dance intriguing. For her, there’s still so much to explore, learn and find in the expression and the connection to the history of the art. There’s a connection to each other in the world of dance, which is always exciting to discover. There’s a passion for dance, and there’s also the sheer joy of kinetic movement. Words sometimes cannot do justice to the art of dance like sauteed mushrooms and butter. (Writer’s note: I like that analogy) One of the elements Dianne most appreciates is that of community with artists connecting with each other. There’s something profoundly healing in moving bodies together. In her case, there’s something profoundly healing about keeping time together as a tap dancer. Bonding and pro-social behaviour are captured in the world of tap dance, and Dianne considers it motivating to continue doing tap dance because it has a net positive effect socially: “Tap dancing is profoundly powerful in its self-study ability to connect and heal. It requires a level of focus…discipline and commitment…it has lessons in it no matter what people may think…if you don’t tap dance or have had lessons then you don’t understand the richness of the form that you carry wherever. Tap teaches you how to fall and how to get back up. It teaches you perseverance and humility and boy does that lesson come back again and again.” When it comes to the art of dance and performance, I think specifically of those husbands, boyfriends, and partners who might not hold any interest in dance and who may have been dragged to the theatre by their significant other. How can tap win over an audience when they walk into a theatre? Dianne recognizes that dance will not be to everyone’s taste within an audience, but it is her genuine hope that as dancers, and people who place work on the stage in front of audiences, it is their job to be as authentic and to be as present in the moment. The artists are generous as they are trying to make a connection to the very generous folks who have shown up: “We as artists don’t take that very lightly, not at all.” Montgomery firmly avows. “People who take their time, their money, their precious resources and come and spend an evening with us. As someone who creates for stage work, I take that responsibility super, super seriously.” Dianne invites ALL audience members to see a dance show with open authenticity, which can be very disarming. Hopefully, if the dancers and artists are lifting the moment on the stage then the audience should be feeling that lift. If we’re on the stage feeling constricted, then the audience should be feeling constricted. This is the goal for all live shows, and yes, it can go astray if egos are involved as that builds barriers and creates a kind of different performative rather than experiential. And how is Dianne feeling about this gradual return to live performance with Covid still hovering and hanging in the air? Even before she began to address the question, Dianne acknowledges the incredible very real loss that so many have experienced whether it be loved ones, lost livelihoods, homes, partners, friends, family, or senses of self-regarding mental health. The picture has not been good for many. Coming out of Covid, Montgomery likens it to a two-year hiatus, but within this hiatus there was a huge opportunity to deepen the practice of dance if you could or were able to spend time on it. Throughout the pandemic, a lot of artists had to move into other kinds of work to survive during this time. A lot of dance classes and work shifted to Zoom and other online platforms, and there were challenges regarding the time lagging in Zoom which was difficult to manage. Dianne stated that dance artists got on the best they could with what they had. There were little silver linings, however. Virtual classes had the advantage of being global in connection, so Dianne was teaching classes that had folks from Germany, the UK, all parts of the US and all over Canada. These students began to know each other, and they may not have been able to make these connections had they not been in the Zoom room together. For tap classes, yes, Dianne once again said the artists did the best they could given what they had, but the beautiful quality of the art of tap dance needs to be heard live through the ear and not through a computer or television screen. So much was learned about online classes and all the artists involved learned so much about humility. And what’s next for Dianne once ‘Softly Losing, Softly Gaining’ is complete at Fall for Dance? Dianne calls herself in process all the time. This is something she believes will be forever. She plans to continue working and to continue evolving as an artist and bring kindness into the equation of her work as she continues to learn while encouraging those around her to discover who they are and how they relate to what’s bigger than us. A final statement she told me about artists made me laugh: “Every night I quit and every morning I get back up and put my shoes on again.” How often I’m sure all of us have felt about doing this and yet we get back up and go again? To learn more about Fall for Dance North, visit www.ffdn.com . Previous Next

Back Dawn Jani Birley and Ramesh Mayyappan "In order to build authentic bridges of intercultural exchanges between Deaf and hearing communities, it is vital for Deaf artists to have a say – or be empowered and supported in telling our own stories – rather than being portrayed in ways we have been systemically perceived.” - Dawn Jani Birley Courtesy of SummerWorks Festival Joe Szekeres Recently I held a Zoom call with Dawn and Ramesh through ASL interpreters. This was my first experience speaking with Deaf artists. Their background in development as theatre artists is fascinating. Both are here as part of the Summerworks Festival. Ramesh has directed the premiere of ‘Lady M (Margaret)’ now onstage at The Theatre Centre. Jani appears as Lady M. Dawn has always loved theatre but didn’t have an opportunity to study it growing up in Canada. Coming from a third-generation Deaf family, she used to find herself the only Deaf person looking to pursue a career in the theatre. company. Fate took her to Scandinavia when she was aware and shocked to discover a professional sign language theatre with Deaf actors. Finally, she could go into a theatre for the first time and see a production in her unique language. She was thrilled with this discovery, and it became a natural fit. Dawn established friends with theatre people, was entranced with the theatre and took courses from Deaf professionals. All this experience led her to take summer school. She took her professional training in Scandinavia. Dawn then pursued a Master’s in Physical Theatre in London, England, in 2016. Since then, she proudly asserts she has been working at her life’s calling. Ramesh is from Singapore. He did not receive any formal training in the theatre. Growing up, he saw Deaf Theatre when he was young as there was a company in Singapore and was fascinated with their work. After school, Ramesh became involved in the semi-professional company He had the opportunity to work with Deaf and Hearing actors for eight years, where he learned a tremendous amount. After this time, Ramesh knew he needed some new challenges and to find something different. He moved to England and studied at the Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts. He was the only Deaf student when he enrolled, as the others were all hearing. Luckily, these eight years under his belt in Singapore, this experience allowed him to connect in the program because the communication issues were very challenging. After a couple of years, Ramesh began to build bonds with the other students. At the Liverpool Institute, he became involved with Hearing actors who were Physical Theatre actors. Ramesh also honed his craft here, not only school learned but through active involvement in theatre companies. He developed a taste for Asian and Western theatre, and he has been able to incorporate and mould these components in his performances as an actor and artist. Now onstage at The Theatre Centre as part of SummerWorks, Lady M (Margaret) is a new, Deaf-led adaptation of Macbeth that explores Shakespeare’s famous power couple with an intersectional experience for both Deaf and hearing audiences. Adapted, created and directed by Ramesh Meyyappan, this world premiere performance work is the inaugural production by 1s1 Theatre featuring Dawn Jani Birley and Sturla Alvsvåg in the title roles of Lady Macbeth and her husband. When I taught high school English for thirty years, ‘MacBeth’ was one of my favourites to share with the students because young people seemed to be into the elements of the witches, the murder and the gore. The one difference here? Influenced by Shakespeare’s ‘MacBeth’, ‘Lady M (Margaret)’ is a one-hour production that explores one of the key themes, guilt, and its impact on her and her husband, who are at war with each other in their marriage. They have been living with this tremendous sense of guilt and grief, and the audience will see this desperation play out in front of them. Our Zoom call delved further into the text of ‘Lady M”. Dawn affirms that we all know the story from our high school days, but in his adaptation and direction, Ramesh focuses on the character of Lady M and for the audience to look closely at her. For Dawn, the play is really about looking at different perspectives. She adds further: “It’s always been easy to lay the blame at the feet of women. Historically, women haven’t had rights or assert their independence in history. In playing Lady M, I question why this woman does what she did and how she would cope with what she’s done. ‘Lady M’ is not a story told from one perspective. It’s a story told and perceived from multiple perspectives, making this play fascinating.” In his role as Director, Ramesh agrees with Dawn’s understanding. He added that in 2004 he directed a production of ‘MacBeth’, which was done entirely through elements of visual language with no spoken or signed dialogue whatsoever. It followed Shakespeare’s text. Now almost twenty years later, Ramesh looks at the play again. This time he focused on a quotation: “I have given suck/And know tender it is to love the babe that milks me”. With Dawn’s heavy involvement, Ramesh began to look further at the concept of Lady M and this child. The woman is noted for her ambition and scheming nature, but what Ramesh wanted to do was unpack what happened to her: “Shakespeare obviously hinted in this quotation that Lady M was a mother. If she was, then what happened to that child? That got me started in thinking about different concepts and building the critical story of Lady M as the character. In her motherhood, was she looking to protect the family? Was the family not everything to her? If that’s the case, we might look at her differently. Are these new questions now the driving force behind Lady M's ambition? The SummerWorks website adds further insight into ‘Lady M’: “Without a child, there seems little purpose. When a heart is broken and the heartache never fades, the dull ache becomes resentment, then anger. This is what drives Lady M (Margaret). Searching for a purpose, her hardened heart will lead her to do the unimaginable to get what she wants. Her desire for power to keep her family leads to haunting guilt and swelling paranoia.” Performances of ‘Lady M’ run August 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 at 7 pm, with a 1:30 pm performance on August 12. For tickets and other information, visit http://summerworks.ca/show/lady-m-margaret/ A 1s 1 Production, co-produced by Why Not Theatre. Previous Next

Back 'Bad Roads' by Natal'ya Vorozhbit with translation by Sasha Dugdale North American premiere now onstage at Crow's Theatre Credit: Dahlia Katz. Pictured Katherine Gauthier and Andrew Chown Joe Szekeres ‘Daring and compassionate direction by Andrew Kushnir, but the play may not be for everyone because of its sometimes brutal and graphic depictions. ‘Bad Roads’ becomes an explicitly horrific reminder of the gaping wound of war and its vicious aftermath of human atrocities that can never be erased. The breathtaking ensemble remains raw in their performances throughout the intermission-less running time.” The North American premiere of Natal’ya Vorozbhit’s ‘Bad Roads’ at Crow’s left me speechless at the conclusion. It was wise to stage it before, on and after Remembrance Day. Vorozbhit’s play remains a stark reminder that war casualties are not just historical facts and data. Instead, the story graphically brings to life that same terror felt by those from years ago continues to this very day. Thus, it’s crucial to continue to remember and never forget there are no winners in war. This time around, however, I’m at a crossroads. Understandably, ‘Bad Roads’ may not be for everyone. Future audience members who are easily triggered, consider yourselves warned. At times, the language is graphic. Intimacy director Anita Nattoly’s meticulous staging of the implied violence is still a graphic depiction of war on civilians. The play is a staggering, wallop-to-the-guts tale of real people. The horrid, cruel toll of human atrocities remains paramount in my mind as I write this article. There were moments when I closed my eyes because I did not want to see signs of violence, however implied. Nevertheless, when reviewing, it’s essential to keep emotions at bay and examine if the production is worth doing. Is ‘Bad Roads’ worth doing and seeing in the theatre? The six-episode script remains compelling and riveting for the same reasons listed under the triggered warnings. Andrew Kushnir’s daring and compassionate direction shapes the breathtaking ensemble’s work to become acutely raw. The cast skillfully weaves and connects events together, leaving a sense the plot has concluded, even though that apprehension and dread of war still hovers in the air. Another caveat, though. Intimate relationships between people have been severed. The women and men in the play are victims of war. The latter are sometimes seen as callous, heartless, and cold-blooded, either useless in bed or constant need of ‘oral’ stimulation. ‘Bad Roads’ is set in the Donbas region of Ukraine. A war is raging. Civilians are trying to understand why. The play (divided into six episodes) is based on testimonies from the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2014. Within these six episodes, we are introduced to two reporters who have gone to the front lines to research, one who has been kidnapped by an angry Russian entirely out of his mind. A medic mourns the death of her lover killed in action. Three young women prostitute themselves to soldiers to survive. Pre-war, a young woman appears at a farm because she has run over the owners’ chickens. A witty and comical setup of meaning and words first ensues, quickly heightening the moment's dramatic intensity. Sim Suzer’s stark set design immediately sets the action in the Studio Theatre's centre with the audience seated on both sides. A brightly intense and circular white spotlight is sharply focused centre stage. Stage right is a brick wall with a bench and what appears to be a tin can, perhaps used for cigarette butts? It is used to spit out the shells from the seeds three of the actors eat. On stage left is another wall with rickety small brick steps leading up to a playing area. Christian Horoszczak’s harsh and shadowy lighting effectively adds to the building tension. Thomas Ryder Payne’s sound design eerily kept me on guard throughout. There are moments when shelling in the distance can be heard; there are moments with the sound of a bomb detonation that made me jump at least twice in my seat. Snezana Pesic’s costume designs are faithful recreations of war-torn clothing. Seven extraordinary ensemble performances remain the highlight of this edge-of-the-seat story. The one haunting episode involves Katherine Gauthier as the kidnapped young reporter and Andrew Chown as the crazed soldier. The frightening realistic synchronicity of these two in the cat-and-mouse staging has me watching every move either makes. Will she outwit him? There were moments when I felt like I was watching a tennis match. I could feel my eyes moving back and forth. Michelle Monteith’s opening monologue sets the grim tone appropriately for what the audience is about to see. Diego Matamoros and Seana McKenna provide that momentary and necessary bit of humour during pre-war times as Vasya and his wife when the unsuspecting Girl (Shauna Thompson) runs over one of the couple’s chickens. But the motive behind the humour strongly permeates in a matter of seconds. Craig Lauzon as the Soldier and Shauna Thompson as the Girl who mourns her lover’s death are resonant in their performances as two shell-shocked persons destroyed and who can never recover. Final Comments: ‘Bad Roads’ begs to be discussed immediately following. I have no idea if any talkbacks will take place. After the one hour and fifty-five-minute running time with an outstanding and intensely focused cast who is probably emotionally spent, they might not want to talk immediately following the show. By all means, see Crow’s production. Just go in with your eyes open. Kushnir wrote he sees the story as more than a play but as a portal where we can enter the world of war and then exit at the end. Those involved in any war cannot do that. And that’s what makes the play a powerful one, one to remember and an appropriate one to stage during the month of Remembrance. Is ‘Bad Roads’ good theatre? I believe so. Running time: approximately 1 hour and 55 minutes with no intermission. ‘Bad Roads’ runs until December 3 in the Studio Theatre at Crow’s Theatre, 345 Carlaw Avenue, Toronto. For tickets, crowstheatre.com or call the Box Office (647) 341-7390 ex. 1010. A CROW’S THEATRE PRODUCTION The North American Premiere of ‘Bad Roads’ by Natal’ya Vorozhbit with translation by Sasha Dugdale Director: Andrew Kushnir Set and Properties: Sim Suzer Costume Designer: Snezana Pesic Lighting Designer: Christian Horoszczak Sound Designer: Thomas Ryder Payne Stage Manager: Liliane Stilwell Fight and Intimacy Director: Anita Nattoly Performers: Andrew Chown, Katherine Gauthier, Craig Lauzon, Diego Matamoros, Seana McKenna, Michelle Monteith, Shauna Thompson Previous Next

Back '9 to 5, the Musical' presented by Saint John Theatre Company Imperial Theatre Drew Murdock Aaron Kropf After a day’s delay owing to an illness in the company, Saint John Theatre Company’s final 22/23 Main Stage offering of ‘9 to 5 the Musical’ opened Thursday evening at the Imperial Theatre. It is the crown jewel of the Saint John Theatre Company season. It’s not many times one goes to the theatre where there’s a strong opening night buzzing and even rarer to know that everyone in the packed house had a blast. 9 to 5 the Musical is the story of three women; Violet, Doralee, and Judy who have had more than enough of dealing with their sexist, egotistical, and bigoted boss Franklin Hart Jr. Daydreams of tormenting Hart go from that to reality, as the three women continually find ways out of sticky situations. The set was kept simple with three large pillars that moved and turn to quickly move from one scene to the next. A few desks moved on and off stage when needed. And the piece de resistance: the best use of video to help set the scenes including narration at the beginning and end of the show by the one and only Dolly Parton. Keeping the set simple made for snappy scene changes and kept the show moving at quite a clip. What a company of talented artists this is. Led by three talented women Kizzy Kaye (Violet), Andrea Paddock (Doralee), and Jen Downey (Judy), each made the roles their own, which can be a challenge given the pedigree of those that came before them both on screen and stage. Bertis Sutton embodied the perfect amount of charm and slime needed to pull off Franklin Hart Jr. The show is full of great tunes created by Dolly Parton allowing each character to have a moment to shine. Two moments in the show really stood out. Jen Downey’s rendition of “Get Out and Stay Out” will bring you on a roller coaster ride of emotion. It’s hauntingly beautiful and Downey makes it seem easy. The subtlety with which she performs this number makes it that much better. The other moment, one that I know I will not soon forget, is “Heart to Hart” performed by Chelsea Cusack as Roz. Not only is it a great number for Cusack to really show off her dazzling voice but lets her show off her comedy chops. This was a number that brought the house down, and I’m sure it will do that at each performance. 9 to 5 the Musical is a spectacular way to wrap up a season. It’s guaranteed to be a fun-filled night out at the theatre. The show runs through May 28th (including a new matinee added) at the Imperial Theatre. Visit imperialtheatre.ca for tickets and other information. Previous Next

Back ‘Pinocchio’ by Teater Patrasket, Denmark and ‘Zooom’ by Patch Theatre, Australia As Part of Harbourfront Centre’s JUNIOR – Toronto’s International Children’s Festival - May 20-22, 2023 Teater Patrasket Facebook page Joe Szekeres Magic and Whimsy filled the air in ‘Pinocchio’ and ‘Zooom’. Quite enjoyable to hear the reactions of children to good theatre. Judging from both interactive performances today with these young audience members and their families, they saw good theatre today. I agree. I was pleased to have been part of that experience and to hear the reaction from the children’s points of view. Denmark’s Teater Patrasket’s production of ‘Pinocchio’: The programme billed this presentation as: “Carlo Collodi’s contemporary interpretation about the puppet who must learn to become human…and life lessons [he learns].” Contemporary indeed! More bizarre at first glance. There’s a whisper of a dark fantasy akin to the setting and the players of the carnival in Ray Bradbury’s ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’. But that’s what makes this 60-minute travelling circus-like set even more intriguing to see what unfolds. The audience enters to see a circus stage with the musical sound of a calliope playing as the audience enters. The calliope/organ is centre stage and will be played throughout the show. Four performers dressed in bizarre circus garb enter wearing white pasty-looking makeup. As they begin to tell the story, they are having great fun in the introduction of who they are and the story they are about to tell us. An older-looking gentleman with a mustache and hunched shoulders steps forward. This is Geppetto, the maker of things in the town. There’s a hint of loneliness about him. He doesn’t have a lot of money. He makes a son out of many things from his workshop. And it’s not the Disney Pinocchio we already know. There’s something ghoulish looking yet rather sweet about this young boy. One of his arms is shorter than the other. On one leg there is a foot and on the other is a wheel. His voice is childlike as he speaks. Pinocchio wants to go to school. There’s a circus in town. The young boy ditches school to go to the circus. This is the first of four interactive moments with the audience and it’s a great deal of fun to watch how the actors incorporate responses to whether Pinocchio should return to school or go to the circus. How would the actors show Pinocchio’s nose growing in telling his first lie? Simple manipulation but cleverly handled by the actors in placing one fake nose on top of the other. Delightful to watch. One slight quibble. There were moments when I couldn’t hear the ensemble members. None of them wore microphones so one had to pay close attention to hear everything. Again, this was minor as it didn’t distract me fully. Final Comments about ‘Pinocchio’ – A lovely telling of the story using puppetry and sound. Unique direction in taking a classic children’s tale and placing a new spin on it. Australia’s Patch Theatre production of ‘Zooom’- Inspired by the children’s book ‘Harold and the Purple Crayon’, a child (Tameka Lawlor) who’s supposed to be getting ready to go to sleep and turn the lights out does not comply. Instead, she goes on an imaginary adventure throughout the universe making sense of the world through art and takes the audience with her. And again, it’s wonderful to watch ‘Zooom’ from an adult perspective and from hearing and seeing the young children’s reactions around me. The pre-show setting is fun. As we enter, children (and adults) are asked to take anything imaginary dark out of their pockets or bags and place them into a hat. We are then given a light holder like one would have if ordering from ‘Panera Bread’ when your order is ready and the object flashes. Michelle ‘Maddog’ Delaney’s set design is simple. A child’s bed with a lamp next to it. One overhead stage light focuses on the bed and the rest of the stage is in complete darkness. Tameka then pulls out a book to read as she is supposed to be getting ready for bed. It is here where the amusement begins. She uses various objects to refract light prisms out of her book toward the audience. There’s a unique light show going on behind her as well. Sometimes she draws in the darkness and, at other times, she will play with a blinking light and blow it all over the room. I liked the significance of the title. That little blinking and all the lights ‘zooomed’ across the stage and into the house. Final Comments on ‘Pinocchio’ and ‘Zooom’ – Great fun. I enjoyed both shows immensely. They were reminders of why my lifelong fascination with the theatre has remained strong over the years. These young audience members present today are the audiences of the theatre in the future. Let's continue to provide quality theatre. ‘Pinocchio’ and ‘Zooom’ are pure joy. Lovely to feel like a kid again.’ Previous Next

Back Jacob MacInnis Canadian Chat Lindsay Parkin Joe Szekeres I’ve known Jacob’s family for a couple of years through the school board where I worked before I retired from teaching. The first time I saw Jacob onstage was in a wonderfully campy performance as the evil Puppet Master at Toronto’s Young People’s Theatre in ‘The Adventures of Pinocchio.’ Just like all of us who were missing live theatre in person, I saw Bad Hats’ Theatre production of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ produced by Soulpepper which included Jacob. Jacob MacInnis is a Tkaronto-based non-binary performer and visual artist. After training for three years at Sheridan College’s Music Theatre Performance Program, Jacob has gone on to entertain audiences all over Turtle Island in countless musicals, concerts, and cabarets. In 2014 Jacob was nominated for a Dora Mavor-Moore award and won the Toronto Theatre Critic’s Award for best supporting actor in a musical for their performance in James and the Giant Peach (YPT). This past summer, Jacob made their Stratford Festival debut in Play On! in the festival’s summer cabaret series. They currently work part-time at Sheridan College teaching acting tutorials. Jacob will next appear this month and next month at London Ontario’s Grand Theatre in its production of ‘Home for the Holidays’. We conducted our interview via email. Thank you so much for the conversation, Jacob: Could you share one teacher and one mentor for whom you are thankful who believed in your chosen career as a performing artist. A mentor/teacher I greatly appreciate—that is so tough to answer. Every contract I do, every show I perform in, every tutorial I teach, I am constantly inspired by my colleagues, directors, and students. The lessons I have learned over the years from each special person I look up to have served (and continue to serve) to shape the artist I am today. I’m trying to think positively that we have, fingers crossed, moved forward in dealing with Covid. How have you been able to move forward from these last 18 eighteen months on a personal level? How have you been changed or transformed on a personal level? The last eighteen months (as I am sure they’ve been for many) have been tough to say the least—The emotional ups, downs have been enough to give a person whiplash! However, there have been a few silver linings: The first few months of the pandemic brought my family of five back together after so many years of living apart, throughout the lockdown I was able to come out to my community as proudly non-binary, I wrote and produced my first pop single ( In My Dreams), I became a teacher at Sheridan College, and I was blessed enough to be a part of a handful of online workshops, and magical projects like Bad Hat’s Alice In Wonderland. Making my Stratford Festival debut was certainly near the very top of the list of blessings! How have these last eighteen months of the pandemic changed or transformed you as an artist professionally? With the murder of George Floyd, we watched as the world was set aflame with anger, disgust, and a cry for justice. We started to listen to Indigenous people and people of colour talk about their lived experiences and the racism they have endured in this colonial world. We finally started to see and understand the atrocities Canada and the Catholic Church inflicted upon Indigenous people with the barbaric Residential “school” system. And now we are starting to see a shift toward anti-oppression in the professional Theatre landscape. We are starting to see stories of people who, until recently, have been ignored altogether. We are starting to see a move toward kindness in the rehearsal space with a focus on mental health. And we are starting to see how art can be made while avoiding trauma. We still have a long way to go, but we must not go back to how things were…. I am a human before I am an artist. What intrigues/fascinates/excites Jacob MacInnis post Covid? What intrigues me is seeing how theatre will be shaped as we start implementing more and more of the lessons we are learning … I am intrigued to see just how much we can decolonize this beloved art form and make it of use for the world we want to see. RAPID ROUND Try to answer these in a single sentence. If you need more than one sentence, that’s not a problem. I credit the late James Lipton and “Inside the Actors’ Studio’ for this idea: If you could say one thing to one of your mentors and teachers who encouraged you to get to this point as an artist, what would it be? To my mentors—thank you for believing in me when I wasn’t able to myself. If you could say something to any of the naysayers in your career who didn’t think you would make it as an artist, what would that be? To any naysayers, I say nothing! —“If they aren’t paying your bills, pay them no mind” What’s your favourite swear word? F**K! What is a word you love to hear yourself say? Delicious What is a word you don’t like to hear yourself say? Taxes What would you tell your younger personal self with the knowledge and wisdom life experience has now given you? Save your money and lay off the sugar! With the professional life experience you’ve gained over the years, what would you now tell the upcoming Jacob MacInnis from years ago who was just in the throes of beginning their career as a performing artist? Keep going! What is one thing you still wish to accomplish both personally and professionally? I would love to pay off my debt, do a show on Broadway, star in some film and television, and own a house complete with a wiener dog named Dijon. Name one moment in your professional career as an artist that you wish you could re-visit again for a short while. I don’t think I would go back to a time in the past even if I could… I have had so many beautiful experiences, but I am always looking ahead! What is one thing Jacob MacInnis will never take for granted again post Covid? I will never take my friends and family for granted post Covid. Would Jacob MacInnis do it all again if given the same opportunities? I don’t think I would do it all again! Like I said above: what’s next? Bring on the future. You can follow Jacob on instagram @jacobmacinnis. You can check out their visual art @jacobmacinnisart, or listen to their original music on Spotify, Apple Music, or anywhere you listen. Previous Next

Back Walter Borden "Your whole time learning your craft [as actors] is about forging your link to be strong." Mike Meehan Joe Szekeres Walter Borden is a lovely, personable, and affable gentleman. He loves opera and told me he worked in a parking booth in the early 90s and had music playing. He is a Black-indigenous, teacher, poet, artist, and playwright. During a recent Zoom conversation with him, Walter also spoke about his activist role in the theatre and its potential influence five years from now. Artists are not there just to entertain. That’s part of their responsibility, but it’s what Walter calls the ‘spoonful of sugar helping the medicine go down.’ No matter what theatrical discipline they find themselves in, actors and artists must always look to the future to see how societal demands will affect what they have been called to do. Borden opens at Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre this week in ‘The Last Epistle of Tightrope Time’ to be directed by Peter Hinton-Davis. Billed on Tarragon’s website as a deeply personal reflection, the play is called an invigorating, solo performance that will feature ten characters. Walter will explore homosexuality from a Black perspective and offer an experience of the resilience of the human spirit. ‘Epistle’ was initially written and performed in 1986 as ‘Tightrope Time Ain’t Nuthin’ More Than Some Itty Bitty Madness Between Your Twilight & Your Dawn.’ What about the theatre industry still draws Walter back to perform? He paused momentarily and explained how difficult it was to say what he wanted to say. He always knew he would end up somewhere in the theatre world from 1953 when he had his first gig onstage in a Christmas play. He didn’t know how that would evolve but didn’t think about it. He let things evolve as they should. He said: “I knew it, I let it, and I had no idea how it would manifest itself.” The theatre is the ultimate classroom for Walter because he calls himself a teacher. He proudly stated that he began his work in a regular classroom. Walter’s family had planned that he would become a doctor, and he even went into his first year of pre-med. He knew he was a teacher because: ‘the theatre became my final classroom.” What a beautiful analogy. And all teachers get that understanding. Where does he see the live theatre industry headed over the next proverbial five years? Walter smiled on camera and thought the question was a good one. His response: “The theatre is being challenged as it has never been challenged before. It is a place where humanity can be reflected back upon itself. That can be dangerous because audiences sit there and are told what’s going on”. We shared a good laugh over that last statement because it’s true. In Walter’s humble opinion, and understandably so, society is evolving at the speed it is in such strange ways. One of the strangest is this desire to gallop backwards instead of forward. The theatre is locked into that. One of the most significant challenges is to be ahead of the game. Always. Why is this problematic now? Borden knows why. It’s become more and more of a financial difficulty to sustain theatre, so there is a reliance on funding sources. To keep the good grace of these sources, theatres must behave and do certain things. The moment this is done, one taps into the lifeblood of the theatre. It is supposed to do all those things that are now under scrutiny – what can be said, what can’t be said. Are government guidelines or other interests placed in the theatre? For Walter, all this is strangling the industry. That attitude of making it toe the line in every instance with what societal dictates suggests that those in theatre, or revere it, are incapable of being morally responsible in all other ways. More and more people, as Walter sees it, who are responsible for the wellness of theatre acquiesce to the demands being put upon theatre from the outside. Dialogue is essential for all involved; however, if there is no understanding of what theatre is meant to be, and what it has always been, it aggravates Walter in many ways. It’s a difficult time. Walter loves speaking with young actors. He tells them: “The moment you decided that you wanted to enter and commit to the craft of acting and the world of theatre, you became the weakest link in a chain that stretches into antiquity. Your whole time learning your craft is about forging your link to be so strong. When someone comes along and links to you, you are strong enough to hold that chain and don’t break.” That is how Walter sees the theatre. Rehearsals for ‘The Last Epistle of Tightrope Time’ have gone very well. Borden sees the challenge of the material because it is challenging even though the script is several iterations down the road over 49 years. The challenge is that everyone involved, from director Peter Hinton-Davis, Walter and the creative team, still sees the material as NEW. Borden then raised an interesting comment about this Toronto Tarragon production. ‘Epistle’ was performed last year in Halifax. Walter talked about the difference between remounting and revisiting the script. The script hasn’t been lying fallow in over a year from Halifax since everyone knew it was coming to Toronto. Instead, the script has been revisited continuously. It has been constantly in motion, refined and tweaked in preparation for the Tarragon production, and the script has been looked at again as new. A point of interest – NIMBUS will already have published the script for the Toronto run, and the Tarragon production will be the definitive version. Borden first met Peter at the Stratford Festival. Peter directed Walter in several plays. At that time, ‘Tightrope Time’ was still being written. Borden knew he was headed for what he wanted to be the completion of the work. He was at the stage of deciding whom he would want to direct because that was the most important thing. Even then, Walter knew many years ago that he wanted Peter to direct him at ‘Tightrope Time’s’ completion. He admires Peter for his shaping and insight into the play. He adds further: “Naturally, being associated with it for so long, I was automatically writing layers and layers that I didn’t even think about. But Peter could see the layers the first time he read it and would question me about these layers, saying such things as: ‘What were you thinking about when you said that?’ “ As we concluded our conversation, I asked Walter what he hoped audiences would take away from ‘The Last Epistle’: “You know, that’s always the hard one. In spite of everything in this work, I started from a straightforward premise from Maya Angelou’s: “We are more alike, my friends, than we are unlike.” This is reflected in the work. I hadn’t started it that way, but Peter did…the play is an illumination of the resiliency of the human spirit. More accurately, it is about the insurgency aspect of the human spirit. Resiliency, I see as running in a circle addicted to survival, which is its basis. You’re not surging forward.” Life has two main arteries for Walter in ‘Tightrope Time’ – ‘Maybe you will Boulevard, maybe you won’t Avenue, and they intersect at Carnival Crossroads. It divides your path into four directions: Lamentation Lane, Capitulation Alley, Resiliency Road and Insurgency Highway. What’s next for Walter once ‘Tightrope’ has finished? He is finishing off the second book NIMBUS will publish. It’s a book of poetry that includes the poetry that had to be excised from ‘Tightrope Time’. The third thing NIMBUS has contracted him to do is to write his memoirs for 2025. Regarding work, when ‘Tightrope’ concludes at Tarragon, it will travel to Ottawa’s National Arts Centre. He has a month off and then goes into rehearsal for ‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’ at Neptune first and then brought to the Mirvish season. ‘The Last Epistle of Tightrope Time’ by Walter Borden runs until October 15 at Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre. For tickets and other information, please visit tarragontheatre.com. Previous Next

Back 'The Music Man' Springer Stage at Thousand Islands Playhouse, Gananoque, Ontario Randy deKleine-Stimpson Joe Szekeres There’s no trouble here in River City. Thousand Island Playhouse’s ‘Music Man’ remains a lovely telling of this American musical classic punctuated with delightful choreography and full-bodied singing. What a lovely way to spend a few hours if you are in Gananoque. Better yet, consider making a trip and spending the night as I did. There is so much to appreciate about this production of Meredith Willson’s ‘The Music Man’. Presented by Thousand Islands Playhouse (my first visit here with hopefully more to come), the story is told with dignity and grace under director/choreographer Stephanie Graham’s capable hands and Rachel Cameron’s tremendously fine work as Music Director. I especially liked Brandon Kleiman’s suggestive set design of less is more with those moments that took place on the street. The dollhouse-looking appearance of various buildings on the Main Street allowed me to envision in my mind the breadth and depth of the setting. Co-costume designers Robin Fisher and Joshua Quinlan are to be congratulated for what I thought were highly impressive visual clothing creations from the turn of the twentieth century. I scanned my eyes as quickly as I could in both acts to see what the twenty-eight cast members wore, and what struck me was the formidable task Fisher and Quinlan set for themselves to be as accurate as possible to the era. They succeeded on all accounts for me. It’s a hot summer in River City, Iowa in 1912 and Renee Brode’s effective lighting design indicates that strongly. We meet conman Harold Hill (David Leyshon). Hill has gone from town to town defrauding others before his arrival in River City, He poses as a Professor of Music claiming, through gentle forms of flattery, that the boys have hidden artistic talent. Nearly everyone in town becomes swept up in Hill’s deceit save for a few including town librarian Marian Paroo (Kate Blackburn). After an initial impressing upon most of the townsfolk, there is talk of a need to give young people the sort of interests, such as forming a Town Band, to keep kids off the streets. Things are beginning to catch up with Hill. He finds himself falling in love with Marian and refuses to escape via train to avoid confrontation with the town officials who have been tipped off by a rival salesman. To prove what Hill said is true, a demonstration is given where the youth of the town are gathered to play Beethoven’s ‘Minuet in G’. It’s not what one might expect but all works out well in the end. Headed by a vocally strong David Leyshon and Kate Blackburn, there was so much to enjoy about the opening night production. Leyshon and Blackburn are confident performers who remained confirmed to the reality of the moment. The budding synergy of attraction becomes palpably true that I found myself rooting quietly for the two of them in the second act. Within these classic Americana tales, there is always that theme of the young independent woman who turns around the heart of a wayward man. Trite and sappy? Perhaps, but that did not come across in this production for me at all. There are some decent supporting performances that put a smile on my mask-concealed face. David Talbot’s blustery, windbag Mayor Shinn is terrific to watch. As his zany wife Eulalie, Seana-Lee Wood perfectly juxtaposes the correct amount of comedic humour to counterbalance her husband’s blowhard nature. As their daughter Zanetta, Meghan Caine’s blossoming youthful romance with Daniel Yeh’s rebellious Tommy Dijilas remains sweet. Rennie Wilkinson is delightful as Marian’s Irish Mother, Mrs. Paroo. Matthew Fournier is an adorable Winthrop Paroo. Other notable moments were Michael Cox’s Charlie Cowell, an anvil salesman determined to bring Harold down and expose the truth about his nature. Michael MacEachern’s frantic Marcellus Washburn (Hill’s pal who tries to get him out of River City before the jig is up) amplifies the emotional intensity of the moment between Marian and Harold. The gossipy ladies of the town are so much fun to watch. What a delightful treat to see so many young people on the stage as well. Before the show began and I was waiting outside, I heard someone talk about the fact a decision was made to cast young people instead of adults dressed as young people. A correct decision was made here as well. There are some fine vocal moments throughout the production that are never overpowered by the six-piece band so kudos to Deanna Choi’s solid execution of the sound design. At the top of the show, ‘Rock Island’ introduces a new level of the creation of musical sounds through the stomping of feet in time to the music. ‘(Ya Got) Trouble’ remains one of the staples of the show and it’s not disappointingly sung here at all. Another staple ‘Seventy-Six Trombones’ sounded wonderful to my ears. The gossipy ladies in ‘Pickalittle (Talk-a-Little)’ made me laugh out loud, especially when I saw how their hats moved in time as hens move. The comic timing was so good. I must also mention the primo barbershop blend of Spencer Laing, Hal Wesley Rogers, Rob Torr and Robert Yeretch in ‘Sincere’, ‘Goodnight Ladies’ and ‘Lida Rose’. I haven’t heard this truly unique barbershop sound in such a long time, and it was heavenly to hear these four actors deftly handle the music so effortlessly. Can’t forget Stephanie Graham’s choreography either. The stage became electrically charged during ‘Shipoopi’ ‘(Ya Got) Trouble’ and ‘Rock Island’. Every inch of space was filled with movement so kudos to Graham for keeping her eyes peeled to ensure the moment came alive not only for the actors but also for the audience. Final Comments: In her Director’s Programme Note, Stephanie Graham spoke about how ‘The Music Man’ reminded her the story is one of transformation and change. My views on ‘The Music Man’ have also changed too. I used to think it was a tired story that some groups may pull out from time to time. However, when the story is treated with the utmost care and compassion as it has been here at 1000 Islands Playhouse, it’s worth a trip to see it. I encourage you all to do so. Running Time: approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission. ‘The Music Man’ runs to August 20 at the Springer Theatre, 690 Charles Street, Gananoque. For tickets call 613-382-7020 or visit 1000islandsplayhouse.com. Masks are required in the theatre as of the publication of this article. ‘THE MUSIC MAN’ Presented by Thousand Islands Playhouse Book, Music & Lyrics by Meredith Willson Directed and choreographed by Stephanie Graham Music Director: Rachel Cameron Set Designer: Brandon Kleiman Co-Costume Designers: Robin Fisher and Joshua Quinn Lighting Designer: Renee Brode Sound Designer: Deanna Choi Stage Manager: Jordan Guetter Cast: Kate Blackburn, Meghan Caine, Naomi Costain, Michael Cox, Jasmine Huang, Spencer Laing, David Leyshon, Michael MacEachern, Alison J Palmer, Hal Wesley Rogers, David Talbot, Rob Torr, Rennie Wilkinson, Seana-Lee Wood, Daniel Yeh, Robert Yeretch Young Ensemble: Scarlett Belanger, Sophie Christopher, Ethan Davidson-Harden, Matthew Fournier, Micah Gavin, Malcolm (Gramps) Jager, Tristan Moore, Pandora Mulligan, Isla Oatway, Adyson Purdy, Charlotte Stroud, Makayla Vanderhost Band: Rachel Cameron, Joseph Dashney, Roger Finlay, Mike Verner, Anne Palmer, Greg Runions Previous Next

Back Kyle Brown Moving Forward Andrew Seok Joe Szekeres It has only been a few days when I discovered that a former student of mine from many years ago, Kyle Brown, has been cast in the Toronto company of ‘Come from Away.’ The current Toronto cast had been performing ‘Welcome to the Rock’ from their various homes. I was looking at each of the cast members and was elated to recognize Kyle in the company. After studying Music and Biblical Theology at Gateway College in St. Louis, MO, Kyle practiced church ministry in music and youth leadership. Eventually, he learned this was not his path and returned to Canada where he began performing while taking private lessons in singing, dancing and acting. Kyle only had four rehearsals into the production before the pandemic shut down all the theatres. His first appearance in the Toronto company was to have been April 9. Well, Kyle, when the all-clear is given and you are in the company, I will be out to see your performance. It appears that after five exceptionally long months, we are slowly, very slowly, emerging to a pre-pandemic lifestyle. Has your daily life and routine along with your immediate family’s life and routine been changed in any manner? Well, first of all, we’re going outside more. It’s kind of like coming out of the cave if you will. We all are. It’s very nice whether you’re distanced meeting with people for a gathering. It’s a really nice feeling to see other people. On top of that, I’ve recently picked up a few restaurant shifts. I know an owner of a restaurant and was lucky enough that he was kind enough to offer me some work especially with the uncertainty of CERB ending. Were you involved or being considered for any projects before everything was shut down? My focus at that time when everything shut down five months ago was just on ‘Come from Away’. I was just really trying to get my brain wrapped around the entire production. It is a hefty show to put on in terms of just everything that is happening on stage. There are twelve actors on a stage for nearly the entire show. There are a lot of quick changes and a lot of transitions, not intense but very subtle and specific choreography. A lot of things to pick up on, and I had six weeks to do it as I was to have put in the show April 9. This whole process has been an interesting game of guessing and being wrong. I don’t guess anymore. You realize pretty quickly that at some point we have no clue when we will be back. Something in my gut is telling me maybe in Spring 2021 just because it marks a year since we were shut down. There’s no evidence for that, it’s just my gut feeling. I’m not basing that on anything. It all depends on whether there is a vaccine. Some of the theatre companies have big choices to make and the government allows people, what’s feasible for a production, safety precautions for the actors and the audience, and everyone involved. It’s a tricky thing to maneuver. I don’t envy anyone who has to make these decisions because it’s very tough. Describe the most challenging element or moment of the isolation period for you. Probably the very beginning was just the uncertainty. And I think throughout this whole thing is the uncertainty. It’s just a lesson for us all, we don’t know anything in life at the end of the day. But not knowing, for example, as we were discussing when we’re coming back, it makes things difficult and to go about your life. For me, I’m waiting with this awesome production that’s ready to go when we can go, but who knows when that’s going to be? And what do I do with myself in the meantime? How do I make an income? How long do I hold out? What do we do? The uncertainty is challenging but I’m getting used to it. The restaurant owner is a friend and knows my situation that when the theatres are re-opened, I will just say, “Here’s my two-week notice. As soon as I get that call, I’m out of there.” What were you doing to keep yourself busy during this time of lockdown and isolation from the world of theatre? Since theatres will most likely be shuttered until the spring of 2021, where do you see your interests moving at this time? I’ve been first and foremost embracing the ‘non-busyness’ of it all. I’ve been doing a lot of meditating, doing a lot of self-care work and reflection as well. I found myself alone a lot with my thoughts and doing this self-care and reflection allowed me some new and further personal insights into who I am and my person and what I wanted to know and/or change about myself. I’ve been exercising a lot which is something I never really did but it’s kept me sane. It gave me an excuse to get outside every day just into the back where I live. The exercise is nothing too intense but getting some air. I’ve walked A LOT…I’ve never walked this much in my entire life. I’ve walked around this entire city three times over. That’s been good. I’ve also been helping some friends with some projects. I’ve also been trying to explore other avenues of creativity. This is a good opportunity to explore other things I didn’t do so often. I tried my hand at writing a little bit. Currently, I’m trying to write a short film. I don’t know how, if or when anything will ever come of it. But the point is for me to exercise my creativity in a new way since I can’t be on the stage right now. I do want to finish the short film and find other related elements of my creativity. I also like writing songs and working on my instrumental skills. I play a little bit of piano. I’m not exceptional but I can work on it. Any words of wisdom or sage advice you would give to other performing artists who are concerned about the impact of COVID-19? What about to the new theatre graduates who are just out of school and may have been hit hard? Why is it important for them not to lose sight of their dreams? Ya know, I’m not one as a kid myself like I should be doling out wisdom but…I would tell other artists just remember why you chose this route in the first place. Those reasons are still valid even though the avenue has changed. For most artists, we want to perform, we want to create, we want to tell stories and there’s a need for that. There’s always been a need for that. Regardless of what is happening in the world, we artists will come back again. Speaking for myself, it was never really about the paycheque because we know what this life could be like. It can be very tricky to get that pay cheque and there’s also A LOT of work involved. The pay cheque was not the leading motivation for me to become a performing artist. The reason why we became performing artists is still there. It’s still valid and will be needed more than ever. We’ve seen in this time how much it is needed from people performing from their balconies earlier at the beginning of the lockdown. There’s a need for performance. Stick with it. We’ll be back some time. We will be. To the new theatre graduates: This is a really good time to hone. You’ve just graduated but keep digging into yourself and into your craft. Keep learning and developing. Try new monologues. Now’s a good time to beef up your audition material. You’ve got plenty of time to select monologues and songs. It’s also a great time to create as well. Obviously, the time of a pandemic is not ideal for the new graduates, but this isn’t the end. You’ve just spent a bunch of money at theatre school so at least give it a chance. I’m taking my own advice. I’ve actually increased what I’ve normally been doing. I would normally see a vocal coach once a week. She was also an overall coach for me. We’d go over monologues, text work, and breathwork. Now we’re meeting four times a week at least via Skype. I’m just trying to improve. I’m trying to be the best I can be. Do you see anything positive stemming from this pandemic? With all respect and understanding to anyone who has lost anybody on account of COVID or who has lost a job or financially, I actually see a lot of good. Whether we want to call this ‘The Great Intermission’ or ‘The Great Pause’, this was something that was needed for all of us even outside the theatre industry. I think a pause was necessary. Our pace of life was, for many of us, a little insane if you think about it. Everyone’s running around constantly trying to run the rat race, busy, busy, busy and we’ve become so addicted to this need to be busy. I think that sometimes comes at the expense of our relationships, at the expense of our physical and mental health, at the expense of our spiritual health. We need to take the time to pause and to see what’s really important and valued and valuable in life. So, this pandemic was a necessary thing. I think now we’re seeing connection. I’ve connected to people to whom I haven’t spoken in a long time and it’s really been nice. My relationships have gotten a lot stronger throughout this even though I haven’t been able to see others in person all the time. I found everyone has just been a lot more vulnerable. Even the conversations I’ve had with friends, the tone of the conversation has shifted especially in America. Everyone now is in this place where we’re not so distracted. We can think about things in a deeper way, we can have conversations in a deeper way, more healing in our lives because we’ve been forced to. It’s time to heal. I really do. It feels very rough, tumultuous in the world but I think that’s what is needed for real healing to come. We have to see these things clearly. I see that we’ll also be a little more careful in the future. More people are washing their hands. I was always an avid hand washer. In your informed opinion, will the Toronto and the Canadian performing arts scene somehow be changed or impacted on account of the coronavirus? Yah, it’s undeniable. There are going to be impacts that are positive and negative at the same time. We’re seeing theatre companies struggle, amounts of money being lost. We don’t know what this is all going to look like. There will definitely be safety protocols in place. It’s going to be strange in the beginning because I don’t think it’s going back to the way it was before. We’re seeing a lot of online work now happening. We have to at this point. There’s a lot of conversation going on and talking since we’re not back to work yet. There will be a huge call for different inclusions in theatre. Those calls have been happening for quite some time. I didn’t see the Indigenous round table discussions going on at Stratford and I really wished I could have. I was mostly just reading what was happening online. There have been a lot of courageous people coming forward to have these tough conversations. As a black man myself, I found myself very affected by a lot the stuff that was happening in the US. There is a lot of conversation about race relations in every industry, really, and generally in life. It’s been a very emotional moment for me. I found myself coming in and out of a conversation and how I can pay attention to the conversation because I found myself going in and out because it was a lot. I hadn’t realized just how much it was affecting me and I had to control myself and breathe when there was too much information coming in. There’s been life to distract me and to keep me busy and during this time it’s really gutted me at points in ways where it was too much. When that occurred I got off Facebook, I got off online, and put the phone down as I couldn’t take it anymore. It was starting to affect my mental health. What are your thoughts about streaming live productions? As we continue to emerge and find our way back to a new perspective of daily life, will live streaming become part of the performing arts scene in your estimation? Have you been participating, or will you participate in any online streaming productions soon? I have very mixed feelings about this. I understand it. And we’re doing what we can because we don’t have very many options and people want to continue to work and we want people to have content to look at. I appreciate streaming that is done in the most creative way we can. With this pandemic, it has become an onslaught of watching through boxes all the time with people staring into a camera, and it gets to be tiresome to look at. But I understand this is avenue that we need to reach people in their homes. That being said, you can never replace a live performance. The reason why I love live theatre so much – there is an actual exchange of energy in the room between the actors and the audience, the musicians, or whatever it is. There’s a spontaneity taking place, hearing the silence together, hearing the breaths together, feeling those moments together is what it’s about and that can never be replaced by a screen to me. You cannot put a screen there and satisfy me. The screen will pacify us for a time. It’ll do what it does for a while, but I just want to get back to being in the room. That’s why we do this. Streaming can be difficult because there’s so much grey area with what the rights are, what is permitted, not permitted, and how much money is going to be paid to Equity scale. It’s a very complicated time because there are so many unusual performances. There’s still a lot to figure out there with streaming. What is it about performing you still love given all the change, the confusion, and the drama surrounding our world now? The energy exchange is intoxicating but beyond that, performance has power. It has such incredible power and some of the greatest movements were fuelled by performance. Performance has the power to change people, to impact people in ways that we don’t even realize. Given all the craziness going on right now, the irony is we now need performance more than ever. There are so many stories that can be told. It’s a healing thing. Going to a good performance is a healing experience for everyone involved and that’s what I really love about it. I’ll never forget sitting and hearing a performance, or even in a church where you hear someone sing and it was like they were channeling something else. And with that being transmitted from them to me sitting there and tears welling up because I feel extreme excitement in that way, I love it. And if I can do that in performance to someone else, I love it. With a respectful nod to ‘Inside the Actors’ Studio’ and the late James Lipton, here are the 10 questions he asked his guests at the conclusion of his interviews: a. What is your favourite word? Reconciliation. I like the sound of the word, I like the way it rolls off the tongue. I like the meaning behind the word. b. What is your least favourite word? No. Don’t tell me No. I don’t like it. I want to be able to do whatever I want to do it. c. What turns you on? Compassion and empathy, and open-mindedness is a big one. Humility – These are really sexy words, and I want you, Joe, to put that statement in my profile (Kyle says with a laugh). d. What turns you off? Willful ignorance and a lack of compassion. e. What sound or noise do you love? I love the sound of a pencil writing on a single leaf of lined paper. I don’t know what it has to be lined directly on the desk, not in a binder. It has to be one sheet, on the desk, with a pencil, and writing across. I love that sound and I don’t know why. f. What sound or noise bothers you? A cat purring. It weirds me out. Also paired with the vibration of the sound coming from inside them. I know, it’s weird, but it’s the sound of purring that weirds me out. I do like cats, but when they purr it gives me the shivers. My sister pointed that out to me when I was younger and I couldn’t recognize it then. g. What is your favourite curse word? Bomboclaat – it’s Jamaican. It’s just a curse word. It’s hard to translate, almost like the ‘f’ bomb. What is your least favourite curse word? That is a good one…that’s a tough one because I’m generally a fan of curse words. Any word that is derogatory to any race, gender, identity, I don’t particularly like. There are some boring swear words like shit, asshole, I like to get creative. h. What profession, other than your own, would you have liked to attempt? I always was interested in surgery. We used to watch surgeries in my home. My mom used to put them on. Some people would be grossed out by it, but I wasn’t. I could be eating dinner and watching an operation happen and I wasn’t fazed by that. I was told by my Grade 11 Biology teacher whom you know, Joe, that I should never be a surgeon because I had terrible technique. I’m also obsessed with space – astrophysics. If I could be an astronaut, I’d go. i. What profession would you not like to do? President, politics. I would never want to be president. I would never want to work in politics or in that realm. I understand activism, I understand the importance of politics, I respect it. But it’s just a whole other thing that I don’t connect with there. And there’s too many games, back doors. It’s a tough job. We need someone to run the country, but I don’t have any interest in doing it. My ego is different. It’s more about importance. j. If Heaven exists, what do you hope God will say to you as you approach the Pearly Gates? “Let’s party. Just turn up. Here’s some music. Let’s have a good time. Relax. Breathe.” To follow Kyle, visit his Instagram: @thekyleofkyles. Previous Next

Back Cast Iron A Binaural Drama presented by Toronto's Factory and Obsidian Theatres Dahlia Katz, and courtesy of Factory and Obsidian Joe Szekeres I had no idea what the term ‘binaural’ meant so I was pleased to see it defined on the Factory Theatre website. Lisa Codrington’s ‘Cast Iron’ is billed as a binaural audio drama meaning that directional sound is used during the performance. To attain the full audio experience, the team at Factory and Obsidian recommend that listeners use headphones during the performance. I didn’t have headphones, so I had to rely on the earbuds through my iPhone. More shortly about the reason why I strongly recommend future audiences to use headphones or ear buds especially to listen to ‘Cast Iron’. From the Factory Theatre website: ‘Cast Iron’ follows Libya Atwell (Alison Sealy-Smith), a Barbadian immigrant, as she wields acerbic wit and humour in an attempt to appease the ghosts of her past. Alone in her Winnipeg nursing home, Libya receives an unexpected visitor from Barbados. Past repression resurfaces, until the tragedy that shaped her life spills from her soul. As we can all recall at the heights of the lockdowns during the pandemic, some of the Toronto live theatres pivoted to online audio dramas so that theatre lovers could continue to turn to a form of artistic work to help cope with the strains of the time, to enjoy listening to artists tell a story, or to transport the listener (even if for a short time) out of the current world situation in which we all found ourselves. When I had the opportunity to begin listening to some audio dramas provided by Factory Theatre last year, for example, I simply used my desk top computer and turned up the sound even when it was advised to use headphones. I wasn’t certain if using ear buds would ruin the auditory experience for me. I was wrong on that account. Use earbuds or headphones if you can. They add a richness to the sound experience of the piece that I simply just closed my eyes and listen to the marvelous story telling of Ms. Sealy-Smith. Sensitively and compassionately directed by Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu, ‘Cast Iron’ becomes a tale of dignity, grace, and humour thanks to the finely distinguished vocal work of Alison Sealy-Smith supported by the solid work of John Gzowski as Sound Designer and Composer. There were moments as I listened where the whipping Winnipeg winter sounds enveloped all around me and I shivered momentarily thinking about what will probably be coming our way here in Ontario very soon. There were also moments where I was transported to the Barbados sugar cane fields where I envisioned Libya walking through them. Hearing these audio effects reminded me of the importance of sound when I attended ‘Blindness’ at The Princess of Wales in September. Additionally, Libya begins to tell an unseen visitor in her nursing home room of a deciding factor that has remained with her for most of her life. She has never forgotten a rivalry between herself and her half-sister, Gracie, who was the more gregarious one. In telling this story, we also learn about the community’s belief and fear in ‘The Red Woman’ who will haunt her down on account of her relationship with Gracie and what ultimately occurs. Just listening to this intriguing tale of this Woman instilled some momentary fear and trepidation. It did take me a few moments to accustom my ear to listen and to hear the musicality of the Barbadian dialect. One can follow along on the computer if he/she/they wanted to read the text while listening to the story. I chose not to do that but instead just follow the story aurally. I didn’t catch some moments but that didn’t distract me from the story at all. Running Time: 70 minutes ‘Cast Iron’ by Lisa Codrington presented by Factory Theatre in collaboration with Obsidian Theatre With Alison Sealy-Smith. Directed by Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu Production Team: John Gzowski (Foley Artist, Sound Designer and Composer), Lola Gafaar (Assistant Director), Jacob Lin (Apprentice Sound Director), Emilie Aubin (Stage Manager) Production to be performed live and streamed as a binaural drama November 20, 21, 26, 27 and 28 at 7:30 pm. Free tickets but you must register for a specific performance. For further information, please visit www.factorytheatre.ca or www.obsidiantheatre.com . Previous Next

Back Durae McFarlane Moving Forward Mark Binks Joe Szekeres A year ago, I had reviewed an outstanding production of what many in Toronto were calling ‘not to be missed’. Toronto’s Crows Theatre had staged Annie Baker’s ‘The Flick’ terrifically directed by Mitchell Cushman. I had never seen this production, but word on the street and from what I had researched online indicated this play was something that would be remembered for a long time. And to this day, I can still recall that specific production, that awesome set design, and the three powerhouse performers who literally took my breath away as I watched with keen fascination. One of those dynamos on stage for his debut professional performance was Durae McFarlane, and he is one we should all keep an eye on when it is safe to return to the theatre. Mr. McFarlane’s performance was stellar. Durae is an actor and writer originally from Mississauga, Ontario. He is a recent graduate of the University of Windsor’s BFA Program and also trained with Canada’s National Voice Intensive. We conducted our interview via email. Thank you for the conversation, Durae: It has been an exceptionally long seven months since we’ve all been in isolation, and now it appears the numbers are edging upward again. How are you feeling about this? Will we ever emerge to some new way of living in your opinion? To be honest it is what I expected. There were always talks about a second wave and so the numbers raising is not surprising. What is a bit surprising is the way it is being handled by the government (at least in Ontario where I am). It is less than ideal. There was also a part of me that was holding on for some sort of miracle that things would continue to get better and that life would somehow resemble what it used to be in some ways, but that is more idealistic than anything. I think this is going to be our new way of living for a long time. Wearing masks, always washing our hands (which should have always been a thing), and social distancing. Now if we will ever not have to do these things, I’m not sure. I think at the beginning of the pandemic, I just thought that we just need a vaccine and then things will resume how they use to be. But, I don’t believe that anymore. I’m not super informed about what the release of the vaccine would look like, but after witnessing how many people are against even wearing a mask, I’m sure there will be a group of people who will be against getting a vaccine altogether. And I’m sure that will make things complicated. How have you been faring? How has your immediate family been doing during these last seven months? I’m been doing okay all things considering. I really spend a lot of the first couple of weeks watching tv shows and movies and distracting myself from what was happening because it was just too much information and stimulus all the time. I also stopped going on social media and listening to the news for a bit, which was new for me (not constantly going on my phone to go on Facebook or Instagram). And now I limit the amount of time I spend on social media. My family is doing good. I was staying with my grandmother when the pandemic first started, and she is doing good. She wasn’t really stressed or anything but was cautious and was always updated with what was going on, which was the complete opposite of what I was doing. So, if I wanted to know something, I would just talk to her about it. My mom works in a nursing home, so it was stressful for a bit, but she has thankfully been safe and everyone else has been working from home. As an artist within the performing arts community, what has been the most difficult and challenging for you professionally and personally? The most challenging thing for me at the start of the pandemic, was that I was feeling really great after coming out of The Flick and, as that was my debut, I was really looking forward to capitalizing on that. But then I couldn’t audition for any theatre things. But I think people will remember things and roles that had an impact on them, and I think I will be okay. Personally, I really hated not having something to do, or something to work on. I’m someone who is always looking for a way to continue to grow and get better both as a person and as an artist. So, having so much time and not knowing what to do with it was challenging. There was the possibility of doing online things, but I also couldn’t afford to do a lot of the things I wanted to do. But then I found myself writing a lot which was something that I have been interested in but wasn’t necessarily my focus. But that’s kind of all I’ve been doing is writing and every couple of weeks it’s like there’s a new idea for a play or screenplay that comes to me. Way more ideas than I’m capable of writing. Were you in preparation, rehearsals, or any planning stages of productions before everything was shut down? What has become of those projects? Will they see the light of day anytime soon? I wasn’t in preparations or rehearsal for anything, I was just working a part time job in the food industry, so I was kind of grateful at the time for things to close because I was staying with my grandmother and I was very concerned about continuing to work while it started to seem more and more unsafe to do so. What have you been doing to keep yourself busy during this time? A couple of friends and I started this sort of web series back in the middle of March just as a way to stay creative, have some fun, and just have something to do. But that took a pause in June. And as we all started to go back to work, we haven’t continued it and don’t know if it will continue, but it was a good thing for me to do at the time. I also started meditating which has been such a great practice for me to start. It has really helped me feel less anxious in my day to day life and helped to bring awareness to my habitual thinking patterns and allowed me to tune in to what isn’t helpful to me. I’ve also been reading a lot and writing. I’m part of the Cahoots Theatre’s Hot House Lift Off Unit where I’m with a bunch of incredible artists as we all are writing our own plays. We’ve been meeting on Zoom pretty much since the beginning of the pandemic, and it’s been wonderful to have that space to chat with them all about all things theatre. Any words of wisdom or advice you might /could give to fellow performers and colleagues? What message would you deliver to recent theatre school graduates who have now been set free into this unknown and uncertainty given the fact live theatres and studios might be closed for 1 ½ - 2 years? Being such a new artist to this industry myself, I don’t think I’m in any position to give any advice to anyone, but I would just say to find the joy in whatever it is you’re doing. I think the world can seem very dark, so it’s important to find purposeful moments of joy when you can. Do you see anything positive stemming from Covid 19? Yes. I think because everyone was home and not doing much, it allowed certain people who maybe have not paid attention to issues of racial justice to really start listening once the murder of George Floyd was all over social media and the details of the murder of Breonna Taylor started to circulate the internet as well. It caused people to mobilize and fight the systems in place that are hurting BIPOC in a way that I haven’t seen happen before. I think being stuck at home forced people to really have to reflect about who they think they are vs who they actually are and made some of those people go “oh maybe I’m not doing things I need to be doing to align my idea of myself with the actions I take.” And I hope that now that a lot more people are back to work, it doesn’t also mean they go back to their old habits of not really caring or doing anything about these issues. It also allowed BIPOC people to feel more empowered to speak up and not let things slide by. I think we’ve been hearing people speak that haven’t simply been given the platform or space to speak about the issues they're facing and what people can do to help change things. I think I’m seeing a lot more space be given to those voices and that’s been something long overdue, but great to see. Do you think Covid 19 will have some lasting impact on the Toronto/Canadian/North American performing arts scene? I hope with the sort of wake up with the racial inequities of the world, theatre will be more conscious of what it means to be an equitable space for all people. It really goes beyond just saying a bunch of nice things but implementing things in how they run their theatre companies and who makes up theatre companies. Some artists have turned to YouTube and online streaming to showcase their work. What are your comments and thoughts about streaming? Is this something that the actor/theatre may have to utilize going forward into the unknown? I think if it works for the artist, do it! If it helps them stay enriched in some way, absolutely go for it. It’s something that I did for a little while and it definitely helped me feel more connected to other people and performing. I think at least for now, theatres have to utilize it in some ways. Some theatres have been. Sometimes I think it works great and sometimes I think it doesn’t, but it’s definitely new territory that places are learning to navigate and it’s not always going to be perfect and that’s okay. Despite all this fraught tension and confusion, what is it about performing that Covid will never destroy for you? Covid could never destroy the need for stories. During this time a lot of people turned to their computers/TVs to watch shows or movies or listen to music or read books. The need for stories will always be present to either distract people from their current situation for a little while or to illuminate something about themselves or the world. I think the need for stories will always be present and thus the need for storytellers. The way in which we tell stories and the medium we use may change and adapt but there will always be a need to Visit Durae’s Instagram: @duraemcfarlane Previous Next

Back 'Rubble' by Suvendrini Lena An Aluna Theatre and Theatre Passe Muraille co-production ​ Guest writer Geoffrey Coulter, actor, director, arts educator When I think of the arts, I revel in its ability to entertain, communicate, inspire, and teach through acting, music, dance, sculpture, and painting. I need to remind myself of how poetry can be just as provocative, just as enlightening. Theatre Passe Muraille, in co-operation with Aluna Theatre’s current production of 'Rubble' by Toronto playwright Suvendrini Lena powerfully transforms poetry into a theatrical event. Based on the poetry of Palestinian writers Mahmoud Darwish and Lena Khalaf Tuffaha and inspired by the playwright’s own visits to the West Bank, Rubble is set in 2014 against the backdrop of the Palestinian crisis and is as much about the value of art as it is the indomitable spirit its incarcerated, besieged peoples. Five excellent actors portray a family striving for normality, living out the day-to-day beauty and horrors of their country’s recent and ancient past as prisoners of occupation. Despite their hardships and subjugation by their Israeli and Egyptian neighbours, we see the humanity of the people of Gaza and their beautiful power of poetic preservation. A shockingly realistic set (courtesy of designer Trevor Schwellnus) depicting a bombed-out apartment building with broken concrete and cracked, high walls (for projecting statistics, videos and poetic text in English and Arabic), pieces of cinder blocks strewn about, floor lamps and wooden crates provides the canvas for this extraordinary tale. Interestingly, just moments before the show began I noticed English translations of Arabic poems printed in chalk on the walls of the theatre. An effective choice to encircle the audience, watching a play about poetry, with poetry! From the ruins of a theatre stage right the narrator, or poet emerges (Roula Said) and speaks directly to the actors, encouraging them to tear up their scripts and beseeching the audience to open our hearts to the poetry of words and music. What follows are multiple short scenes or vignettes illustrating the barbarity and seemingly daily acts of violence heaped on a single family as the Occupation continues. Excellent lighting (designer uncredited in my program) and video projections by Avideh Saadatpajouh of Arabic poetry projected at select moments on the walls of the set created thought-provoking images as each line of text gracefully falls in a heap creating a visual stockpile of the spoken narrative. The set’s high walls create a wonderful screen for well-placed images of deadly statistics, thoughtful verse, a full moon, buildings collapsing and militant rally cries (“Besiege the Siege”). Creative use of square-shaped spots and high-angled specials create shadows that transport us from apartment to tunnel, to beach to the interrogation room to excavation site. Unfortunately, not every location was obvious to me. More on that later. Thomas Ryder Payne’s original music and sound effects evoke terror and foreboding with harsh stings, resonant drones, disembodied voices and startling explosions. Traditional Arabic folk music and lulling live vocals from the Poet fully enhance the Palestinian plight. Authentic “everyday” costumes by Negar Nemati contrast nicely to the flowing colourful gown of the “poet”, who’s garbed as a wise sage, the very personification of Palestinian history and culture. Director Bea Pizano says in her notes this play is “about a people and a land”. Hats off to her for realizing a chilling modern malady and telling it with such visual expression. Excellent blocking and use of the stage made the actors comfortable in their surroundings. Despite this, I wasn’t always sure of the chronology of events, where and when we were. The events of the first scene seemed to take place after an important and shocking event much later in the play. Was this a flashback? Other things were not immediately obvious to me such as the ages of the children as adults are playing the juvenile roles. Additionally, it wasn’t obvious what certain props were, especially in the beach scene with Leila and Majid. These abstractions caused these scenes to lose some resonance for me. The role of the Poet, who recites in both English and Arabic is commandingly played by Roula Said. Her focussed line delivery, social commentary and political posturing is delicately balanced with her gorgeous singing voice. Though she sings in Arabic (songs which she composed!) her soothing rendering transcends language, her graceful presence a perfect foil to the tumult of the scenes playing out around her. Laura Arabian plays mother, wife, and archaeologist Leila. Her sensitive portrayal of a matriarch trying to keep her family’s life as “normal” as possible with little food, basic amenities, and questionable shelter. She’s a calming, encouraging rock to her children and loving wife to Majid. Her adept range of emotions – laughter, love, and loss, convinced me of Leila’s bitter reality. Majid, the family patriarch, and engineer is convincingly played by Sam Khalilieh. A proud man, loving husband and doting father, his monologue of the history of Gaza from 332 AD to the present provides some thoughtful context revealing this land and its people are no strangers to foreign occupation. Gripping! As Mo, the son with aspirations of playing football for the Al Helal Academy, adult actor Yousef Kadoura (curiously playing a 12-year-old) adds youthful petulance and naivete to the situation surrounding him. His portrayal of personal loss and his struggle to process it reveals his resilience but also the man he will need to become to overcome his physical challenges and fulfil his dreams of life outside the “largest prison on earth”. Noora, the 16-year-old daughter with rebellion in her heart, is wonderfully played by Parya Heravi. She delivers her lines with staunch resistance to her family’s situation. Yet underneath her hardened shell, she would do anything for her family, even face the adversary head-on to protect what she loves. An invested performance. Rubble is a poetic tale with political undertones. It forces the actors to engage in rather difficult conversations while invoking the audience to reflect and engage in those same conversations. Sadly, the events of modern-day Palestine are not often in our mainstream media. I don’t remember the last time I heard “Gaza” in prime time. This play’s thoughtful analysis and dissection of poetry in a state of siege give audiences reason to pause. Poetry speaks truth. Art truly imitates life. 'Rubble' runs to March 18 on the Mainstage Space at Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson Avenue, Toronto. For tickets, visit www.passemuraille.ca An Aluna Theatre and Theatre Passe Muraille co-production 'Rubble' by Suvendrini Lena Directed by Beatriz Pizano Scenography by Trevor Schwellnus Costume Design by Negar Nemati Sound Design by Thomas Ryder Payne Associate Video Design by Avideh Saadatpajough Featuring Sam Khalilieh as Majid Roula Said as The Poet Lara Arabian as Leila Parya Heravi as Noora Yousef Kadoura as Mo Previous Next

Back 'Uncle Vanya' by Anton Chekhov in a new version by Liisa Repo-Martell Now onstage in the Guloien Theatre at Crow's Theatre Bahia Watson and Tom Rooney. Photo by Dahlia Katz Joe Szekeres An astounding adaptation by Liisa Repo-Martell of Chekhov’s ‘Uncle Vanya’ that remains firmly riveted in my mind. Not merely just to see but to experience an opening night of Liisa Repo-Martell’s new version of Chekhov’s ‘Uncle Vanya’ is one of the reasons why we must continue attending the theatre. Again, I confess that I’ve not seen a live production of ‘Uncle Vanya’, but I briefly knew the story. But when a play hits me on many emotional levels, I want to share and encourage everyone to attend this ‘must-see production’. Chris Abraham and Liisa Repo-Martell’s Programme Notes spoke about how sometimes the “opening up of dormant dreams, passions and ambitions is risky because sometimes we must risk everything to get something new.” Abraham has majestically captured a truly stunning vision of this statement in his risk-taking about the “telling of the truth of the lives of these characters – just as they were” when we meet them. There appears to be something uniquely different about this world of ‘Uncle Vanya’ upon entering the Guloien. When we do, we’re instructed to go either left or right depending on the colour code of our ticket. And as I saw the world created inside the auditorium, I felt my jaw drop as if I’d experienced something sacrosanct. Those in front of me appeared to feel the same as we tried not to cross the sacredness of the stage. It’s not a traditional proscenium arch setting for this ‘Uncle Vanya’, and that was a wise choice by Abraham and co-set designers Julie Fox and Josh Quinlan. We are in a theatre in the round which magnificently captures how grand this estate must have been in the waning days of Czarist Russia. The actors always make tremendous use of the entire stage, and never, ever does it look as if they are crowding in one spot. Instead, I always felt as if I was that proverbial fly on the wall watching with anticipation what was playing out before me. Kimberly Purtell and Thomas Ryder Payne’s lighting and sound designs gorgeously reflect the era and the historical moment in which we find ourselves. Purtell’s soft lighting designs nicely reflect the glow of the oil lamps used throughout. Ryder Payne’s richness in sound design magnificently underscores the tension within the scene. The growing sound of the impending storm caught my ear so many times and I kept wondering when the heavens would open it. And when it finally does, breathtaking to hear. Ming Wong’s costume designs splendidly reflected the muted earth-tone colours of the era. I’m reminded of the line “Attention must be paid” from ‘Death of a Salesman’ and, once again, Fox and Quinlan have done just that in the selection of many noteworthy period piece props from a Victrola to the fine bone china right to the gorgeous chandelier suspended over the stage. Before the performance began, my eyes scanned every inch of that stage noticing so many of the intricate details of the set dressing that I encourage future audiences to do the same. Ivan “Vanya” Voinitsky (sublime work by Tom Rooney) and his niece, Sonya (a passionately emotional performance by Bahia Watson) toil ceaselessly to run the family estate. The arrival of Sonya’s father celebrated and retired professor, Alexandre (a fervently ardent Eric Peterson) returns to live on the estate with his young and glamourous second wife, Yelena (believably vulnerable and grounded work by Shannon Taylor) which adds turmoil and conflict to this group of those gathered because we so learn she does not love the older man. We learn about the lives of other individuals on this estate. Carolyn Fe is a matriarchal Marina who offers solace and comfort, especially to Sonya in intense moments. We also meet the handsome country doctor Astrov (a gallant performance by Ali Kazmi) whom Sonya has secretly adored for quite some time but never feels validated because she considers herself homely. It is in Astrov’s opening comments in the play that he recalls his first visit to the region when Vera Petrovna (Alexandre’s first wife and Sonya’s mother) was still alive. As Astrov, Kazmi heartfully reveals his selfishness regarding life in this part of the country as boring and dull and he doesn’t have time for anything including love and affection. Astrov has appeared on the estate to treat Alexandre’s painful gout. Upon Alexandre and Yelena’s arrival at the estate, we also meet Maria (dtaborah johnson), Vanya’s mother who clearly has issues of her own to deal with but manages to provide brief moments and bits of humour. And there is Telegin nicknamed Waffles on account of his pockmarked face. I found there to be a great sadness enveloping him, and Anand Rajaram steadfastly infuses the character with great gusto. The one believable yet sad moment of humour he does provide with Astrov occurs in their drunken stupor where they begin singing a ditty which brought applause from the opening night audience. I’ve always wondered why this play is named after Vanya. Tom Rooney’s sensationally staggering portrayal amply explains why. Vanya is more than just a sad sack of a man. Here is someone who truly envelopes that strong sense of lethargic unhappiness because he cannot have the one thing he wishes he could have in his life – namely, Alexandre’s wife, Yelena. It is this same sense of unrequited unhappiness that envelopes each of the characters. For example (and it isn’t Vanya) one of the characters asks another if they are truly happy, and the response from that character is a definitive no. That was then I knew why the title is an apt one. There are many moments in the production where the chemistry between the actors is electrically charged and a sight to behold in watching, listening and in hearing. As mentioned earlier, the drunken scene between Astrov and Waffles is a tour de force comic moment. Another occurs in a dream sequence dance movement between Tom Rooney and Shannon Taylor upon Vanya revealing his true feelings for Yelena and she rebukes them. This moment made me hold my breath as I watched two individuals inherently trust each other in their graceful swanlike rhythm intertwining of body and soul. I will only share two examples (although there are more) of what I will call a master class in acting pivotal moments. One occurs in the extraordinarily painful look of rejection of Bahia Watson’s Sonya as she learns Ali Kazmi’s Astrov does not feel the same about her as she does. The silence between the two and the heartbreakingly realistic look within Watson’s eyes in realizing the truth becomes achingly real. The other moment occurs at the end of the play when a quietly sobbing Vanya turns to Sonya in the realization that this life of unhappiness is all that they will ever know or attain. I felt my jaw drop as I was witnessing such remarkable delivery of regretful poignancy which tore my heart in two. Final Comments: A story of intense impassioned magnitude told with gut-wrenching honesty, this ‘Uncle Vanya’ deserves to be at the top of your list to see and to experience. It is an evening at the theatre I will never forget. I’m reading more and more about Critics’ Picks in the theatre industry. This is one of my picks. Running time: approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes with one intermission. The production runs to October 2 in the Guloien Theatre at Crow’s Nest, 345 Carlaw Avenue, Toronto. For tickets, call (647) 341-7390 or visit www.crowstheatre.com UNCLE VANYA by Anton Chekhov in a new version and adaptation by Lisa Repo-Martell World Premiere Directed Chris Abraham and Assistant Director: Lisa Repo-Martell Set and Props Co-Designers: Julie Fox and Josh Quinlan Costume Designer: Ming Wong Lighting Designer: Kimberly Purtell Sound Designer: Thomas Ryder Payne Stage Manager: Jennifer Parr Cast: Carolyn Fe, dtaborah johnson, Ali Kazmi, Eric Peterson, Anand Rajaram, Tom Rooney, Shannon Taylor, Bahia Watson. Previous Next

Back 'Jersey Boys' The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons Now onstage at Thousand Islands Playhouse, Gananoque Randy deKleine-Stimpson Joe Szekeres This ‘Jersey Boys’ refreshingly looks at the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons with less New York glitz and glitter. Don’t need all that to tell a hell of a good story. This is the third time I’ve seen ‘Jersey Boys’. What’s that old saying – three times a charm? Well, Thousand Islands Playhouse Director & Choreographer Julie Tomaino and Music Director David Terriault have staged a terrific show that is not only charming but also downright entertaining. Plus, they’ve added a personal touch which I’ll speak about shortly. ‘Jersey Boys’ is the story of how blue-collar workers from the wrong side of town became one of the pop music sensations in America of all time. These guys wrote their own songs, invented their own sound, and sold gazillions of records pretty much before they were thirty. What made me appreciate seeing ‘Jersey Boys’ this time round was the comment made by Tommy DeVito at the top of the show: “You ask four guys how it all happened, you get four different versions.” And with these four different versions (like the four seasons we experience in our lives each year), we never know fully what to expect. But that’s the anticipatory excitement of re-visiting a story we think we know because there might just be something different. Tomaino and Terriault gave me a wonderful surprise with their unique staging that is different from the other two productions I saw directed by Des McAnuff and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo. Don’t need to spend big bucks to do something different. The first time I saw the show was the sit-down Toronto DANCAP production over ten years ago and was blown away by its scope and breadth. It had the New York glittery feel to it in the musical numbers and ‘twas marvellous to watch and to hear as the spark was ignited immediately to set the plot in motion. The Canadian tour at the Ed Mirvish Theatre a few years later lacked that spark. What I remember about that production was the cavernous stage and the set which was so far upstage that I was unable to feel that spark in connection to the story. I really had to work at it. This 1000 Islands Playhouse production beautifully strips away that glitz. It’s not needed here as the immediacy of the Springer stage drew me right into the heart of the action. Instead under Tomaino’s subtle nuanced direction and terrific choreography, and Terriault’s superfine musical direction, the focus shifts to the four ardently told stories of what happened to these guys. And I wanted to hear and to see what they had to say to each other and to us in the breaking of the fourth wall (or the Rashomon Effect as discussed in the programme). Brian Dudkiewicz’s split-level set design amply fills the Springer stage without ever appearing or feeling cramped. The awesome-sounding band members play just off-centre stages to right and left of the centre stage entrance and exit. Brandon Kleiman’s costume designs are a fitting re-creation of the era. Kudos to Sound Designer Steve Marsh as the sound balance between the band and the actors worked beautifully from where I sat. Jareth Li’s sharply focused lighting design helped to underscore those heightened dramatic moments. A highlight of this occurred in the second act where Tommy DeVito is forced to come clean about his financial woes and what they have done to the group. The cast remains uniformly real in their individual characterizations and delivers primo performances. Niko Combitsis is a boyishly charming and angelic Frankie Valli who dutifully and believably matures throughout the story when he must deal with so much heartache in his divorce from wife Mary Delgado (a tough-as-nails Kaleigh Gorka) and the fallout from there. My heart broke for Frankie and Mary in two places – first when they sang ‘My Eyes Adored You’ to each other after another fight when he returns home from a tour. He’s on the stage looking up at her while she is on the second level looking down at him. The second occurs in seeing the deterioration of the relationship between Frankie and his daughter, Francine (nice work from Zoe O’Connor), and I could just sense something horrible is going to occur. If you’ve seen the musical or know the story, the worst does occur. To open the story, Kale Penny’s rough-around-the-edges Tommy DeVito wants only what’s best for the group. Penny, however, goes just that one step further that makes his DeVito memorable. Underneath that gruff exterior lies a truly sad man who really didn’t know how to appreciate the gift that was given to them all. Trevor Patt is a strapping Bob Gaudio who truly understood the value of the contract handshake, and the symbiotic connection between him and Combitsis remained indelibly strong. Tyler Check’s Nick Massi is the relatively quiet one of the group who sometimes just sits back and observes what’s playing out in front of him. But there’s that adage: ‘Still waters run deep’. When Check’s Massi finally does reveal his internal narration, his acute anger and palpable frustration were also felt deep within my very being. When Nick says he’s had enough and wants to go home, Check heartfully convinced me and I didn’t blame him at all for his decision to leave. There are some standout supporting performances too. Stewart Adam McKensy is a slick and savvy ‘of a different nature’ Bob Crewe. As Frankie’s reporter girlfriend Lorraine, Maya Lacey nicely reinforces how Franki must continually deal with the separation of the performer versus the private man. Another of the highlights of this production is the ‘mini-concert’ at the end. The audience has witnessed that life as a performing artist is not all sunshine and autographs as I was once told. However, when this entire sensational company returns for this ‘mini-concert’, the roof is blown off the Springer auditorium. That sheer enjoyment of song and dance emanated from the stage right into my heart. Looking around at everyone else, it appeared the same happened to them. Final Comments: Great storytelling told by a likeable and knockout ensemble of players who deliver dynamite performances. Get to see this ‘Jersey Boys’ before it closes. Running time: approximately 2 hours and 35 minutes with one intermission. ‘Jersey Boys’ runs to October 30 in the Springer Theatre of the 1000 Islands Playhouse, 185 South Street, Gananoque. For tickets, call 613-382-7020 or visit www.1000islandsplayhouse.com . JERSEY BOYS The Story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons Produced by Thousand Islands Playhouse Book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice Music by Bob Gaudio and Lyrics by Bob Crewe Director and Choreographer: Julie Tomaino Music Director: David Terriault Set Designer: Brian Dudkiewicz Costume Designer: Brandon Kleiman Lighting Designer: Jareth Li Sound Designer: Steve Marsh Stage Manager: Rebecca Eamon Campbell Performers: Tyler Check, Niko Combitsis, Caleb Di Pomponio, Kaleigh Gorka, Maya Lacey, Stewart Adam McKensy, Zoe O’Connor, Trevor Patt, Kale Penny, Robbie Towns, Daniel Williston. Previous Next

Back 'The Sound Inside' by Adam Rapp Now onstage at Toronto's Coal Mine Theatre Tim Leyes Joe Szekeres Haunting and powerful. Tony-nominated ‘The Sound Inside’ by Adam Rapp recently made its Toronto debut at the newly relocated Coal Mine Theatre. Bella Baird (Moya O’Connell) is a 53-year-old tenured creative writing professor at Yale University. With this assurance in hand, one might think she lives a grateful privileged life as a university instructor. Far from it. Thanks to Laura Delchiaro’s spot-on costume design for Bella, flashy clothes on the Yale campus are not the norm for her. Dressed in a nondescript plain-looking tan sweater, slacks, and blouse, Bella reflects matter-of-factly she doesn’t have a lot of associates on campus with whom she might go to lunch during the day. There’s a pervasive sadness about Bella. She doesn’t own a home but lives in the faculty housing on campus. She reads a lot when she is at home along with completing her responsibilities for her career. The plot briskly moves when Bella begins to mentor a visionary and extremely intelligent but enigmatically puzzling student Christopher (Aidan Correia) who’s in her ‘Reading Fiction for Craft’ class. Christopher prefers writing in longhand, doesn’t like using email to make appointments, and hates using Twitter. Dressed inappropriately for the fall weather on the university campus, Christopher shows up one day without an appointment during Bella’s office hours just to talk. He sports long hair, an earring, a spring jacket, loose fitting shirt, jeans, and wearing white sneakers. Although the instructor and student initially appear awkward at first, they begin to form an intense bond with each other (perhaps out of wanting to feel a sense of belonging or loneliness?). Ultimately Bella asks Christopher to do something quite unpredictable and out of the ordinary which initially surprises him as well as the audience. Will Christopher go through with this request? Wes Babcock’s simple set design of an office desk and chair is an apt choice. The actors deftly move the set pieces around to create several scenes. The intimacy of the Coal Mine Theatre swiftly brings the plot action right into the audience’s personal space. But something just doesn’t appear quite right even at the top of the show which intrigues even more. Babcock’s extreme shadowy pre-show lighting casts an ominous look on Coal Mine’s intimate stage. That shadowy gloom becomes twofold in purpose. It permeated into the darkness of the house as the audience enters. Truth be told it is so dark that one audience member behind me remarked how dangerous it is if someone doesn’t have good eyesight while walking in. Throughout the 90-minute production, Babcock’s lighting still incorporates that sense of gloom even in focusing the audience’s attention on the action and the characters. Hmm…are we being prepped for something earth-shattering? Yes, we are. Leora Morris thrillingly directs the production. Moya O’Connell and Aidan Correia sweetly savour the delicious wordplay of Adam Rapp’s thrilling script. The actors listen and hear each other while reacting and responding soundly with believable emotional impact in their chemistry. Several monologues are delivered compellingly. As Bella, O’Connell becomes a matriarchal university professor. There are moments when the actress speaks to the audience as if she delivers a typical university undergraduate lecture, and how important it is to pay attention, hear and listen to what is said. How true that is as the plot further unravels and the truth comes out. Correia’s glaring silent responses as Christopher gradually become unnerving. It appears as if he will explode in rage at any minute when O’Connell may either ask a question or make a comment. When Bella finally asks Christopher to do something for her, Correia’s stone-faced reaction becomes haunting. And yet this mysterious bond between Bella and Christopher becomes fascinating. How can two individuals who appear so different from each other be drawn together? Christopher is writing a novella and wants to share it with Bella. I smiled at this remembering what it was like to be a full-time undergraduate student taking a full course load. How could anyone even consider such a grand task? But Christopher does. Bella does read Christopher’s work. Leora Morris’s intelligent staging amidst the shadowy lighting design again becomes completely mesmerizing. O’Connell and Correia become like chess pieces and move around the stage with purposeful intent and a clear reason why they move and remain still. Final Comments: At times, this Toronto debut of ‘The Sound Inside’ is a mystery akin to that of Alfred Hitchcock. But there’s more going on than just the mystery. ‘The Sound Inside’ becomes an understanding of the human psyche and asks how far individuals would go to follow through on a request that would certainly alter the course of events for everyone. Haunting and powerful work by Moya O’Connell and Aidan Correia. Go see ‘The Sound Inside’ A fine production indeed. Running time: approximately 90 minutes. The production runs until May 28 at The Coal Mine Theatre, 2076 Danforth Avenue, Toronto. For tickets, visit coalminetheatre.com. THE SOUND INSIDE by Adam Rapp Director: Leora Morris Set, Lighting, and Prop Design: Wes Babcock Costume Design: Laura Delchiaro Sound Design and Music Composition: Chris Ross-Ewart Stage Manager: Elyse Quesnel Performers: Moya O’Connell, Aidan Correia Previous Next

Back Lucy Peacock Looking Ahead S. Mercedes Joe Szekeres The last time I saw Lucy Peacock on stage at The Stratford Festival was in Noel Coward’s quintessentially delicious comedy of manners ‘Private Lives’ in 2019 alongside other notable company members Geraint Wyn Davies, Mike Shara, Sophia Walker, and Sarah Dodd. Sigh! And it was just several months later before our world completely changed on account of Covid. Could we ever use that humorous witty banter and repartee from this ‘Private Lives’ cast right now to help us slowly emerge and move forward into a new way of life. You’ll see some of Lucy’s wit in her responses below that did make me smile. Her candour as well regarding governmental support both provincial and federal for the industry is spot on. I also appreciated how hopeful she remains about the industry and the future of the performing arts. Lucy is a graduate of Montreal’s National Theatre School. She has appeared in so many wonderful productions at Stratford in so many diverse roles, and I know when I see her name in the playbill that my time will be well spent for the next two to three hours. She and I conducted our conversation both by email and by telephone. Thank you, Lucy, for adding your voice and your thoughts as we all look ahead in a post-pandemic world: It’s a harsh reality that the worldwide pandemic of Covid 19 has changed all of us. Describe how your understanding of the world you know and how your perception and experience have changed on a personal level. I wonder if the planet has actually thrived to a certain extent with the decrease of human movement and consumption. Or perhaps we have had the time to focus our points of reflection. Whether it is on the smallest gift of a spring bud to the grander presence of the sky and the elements. And, of course, the Horizon. I live on a farm which is located on Treaty 29 territory in Perth County, Ontario. This land has been cared for by the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinabewaki, and the Attiwonderonk (or Neutral) nations. My husband and I settled here 30 years ago. As a farmer, my husband's day to day life didn't change much except he was tripping over people while he was working…! As I have always worked in the summer and often between my seasons at the Stratford Festival, I realized I hadn’t spent much time here really. I have relished being here to fully witness and rediscover how the 4 seasons are manifested here. I managed to find the poison ivy, the snakes, (“we have snakes…?!?”), the hundreds of species of birds and bugs (“we have bugs...?!?”), the trees, hundreds of which we planted and are now Huge, (running joke, “I can't see anything for the darn trees…!!!”), the gorgeous skies, the snow, the thunder, sometimes at the same time,(“?!?”), and, of course, the Horizon. These last 18 months have allowed my husband and I to really See what we have accomplished in our over 40 years together. And to reflect on the later season of our lives and how we might want to nurture it. This has been an unexpected and precious gift of time for us and for our family. All of that said, I also often found myself lost these last 18 months. The waves of depression, ennui, numbness, listlessness, were coupled with deep anxiety and profound grief. We have lost friends and family; we have witnessed the brutality of our fellow humans to each other, again and again, and yet again. It is so devastating to reflect into ourselves and see who and what we are and the horrors we are capable of and are responsible for. Our collective foundation, humanity, is forever changed, or actually, Revealed. And then we despair, as we should, the planet despairs of us, as it should, the sky is bleak, as it should be, and the Horizon is murky and lost to us, as it should be. I am hoping I am changed, and that the latter season of my life is one of renewal and clarity….and that the Horizon will become clear again. With live indoor theatre shut for one year plus, with it appearing it may not re-open any time soon, how has your understanding and perception as a professional artist of the live theatre industry been altered and changed? Frankly, I am appalled by the lack of support from our governments for our industry. It minimizes our value to the community and our contribution to society as a whole. However, I am also elated and inspired by the resilience I have witnessed throughout this struggle by so many. The innovation and imagination of all the artists and technicians and curators and their navigation of this crucially difficult time has been absolutely extraordinary. Brilliant. We have confirmed our value to each other at the very least. As a professional artist, what are you missing the most about the live theatre industry? I miss the integrity of the work. I miss the discipline. I miss the collaborative quest for excellence and the collective forward movement of a group of people foraging and forging. (Or milling and strewing if that’s where we are in the quest(ion)…!) As a professional artist, what is the one thing you will never take for granted again in the live theatre industry when you return to it? Other people’s worth. I hope to be mindful of not making any assumptions about anyone. That I will not take Anyone for granted. That if I don’t know someone, I will take more care and be sensitive to Their journey of which I might play a small part in. I will not take for granted the value of Respect, Care, Humility, Love. Describe one element you hope has changed concerning the live theatre industry. I hope we can all be more gentle with each other. That when the pressure is on….and it is inevitably ON...that we can always Stop and Take Care. That there is no show or story or work of art that is worth hijacking someone’s mental or spiritual or physical well being at any time. Explain what specifically you believe you must still accomplish within the industry. I do hope I can be of help. I hope to continue to do some teaching. I hope to give Hope back to the younger (or not so younger) artists who may have lost their way during this storm. I hope to support those whose artistic journey has been prevented from gaining traction by the systemic oppression, exclusivity, and colonialism of our industry. I hope to help those who have been stopped in their artistic tracks by this pandemic. Many hopes. Some artists are saying that audiences must be prepared for a tsunami of Covid themed stories in the return to live theatre. Would you elaborate on this statement both as an artist in the theatre, and as an audience member observing the theatre. I honestly don't see how we can avoid our stories being informed by Covid in the return. Both in the telling and the receiving. As you mentioned in the first question...we are forever changed. If we are craving lighter stories it might be a reaction to our state of being and our desire to be nurtured back to health. If we want to dig deeper into the pain and grief of the last few months It is because we aren’t ready to move forward. I think it will all be about healing. We will Need to simply Be together….Both in the telling and the receiving….and take it from there. As an artist, what specifically is it about your work that you want future audiences to remember about you? Gosh. That is hard to say. Just to be remembered would be nice. Previous Next

Back Salt Water Moon by David French Guild Theatre Festival Raph Nogal Photography Joe Szekeres A beautiful August summer evening sets the stage for a most splendid production of David French’s iconic Canadian classic script of the Mercer family which introduces the early lives of parents Jacob and Mary. I’ve seen this play several times before, but this is the first I’ve experienced ‘Salt-Water Moon’ in an outdoor setting. And what a wise choice Director Helen Juvonen made as the Guild’s production is utterly charming to watch as two charismatic and engaging artists create very real, flesh and blood people before my eyes while handling the intricate Newfoundland dialect and speech patterns crisply and with tremendous grace and dignity. A shout out of recognition to Dialect Coach Leah Holder for ensuring authenticity to my ear. The setting is 1926 in Coley’s Point, rural Newfoundland. It is a moonlit night (just like the performance I attended) in September in front of a late 19th century home. Seventeen-year-old Mary Snow (Sarah Gibbons) is waiting for her fiancé, Jerome, to come visit her after Bob Foote's wake, and she is looking through a telescope at the moon and stars to pass the time. A voice is heard in the distance and Jacob Mercer (Alex Furber), six months older than Mary, and her former beau, appears. Mary is taken aback to see Jacob who left Newfoundland abruptly for Toronto a year before to seek his fortune. Mary and Jacob spend the evening making small talk, stargazing, arguing, and discussing the past, including Jacob's sudden departure. There is a simple set design which works very well in this case as the primary focus remains on the tip-top performances of Sarah Gibbons and Alex Furber. There are three entrances to the playing space. Centre stage and stage left are several lanterns with tea lights that glowed as the sun set and the evening approached. Just off-centre stage right and angled slightly is a wooden rocking chair. At stage right is a trellis of leaves with small white lights attached. Sarah is dressed attractively in a yellow dress and Alex looks dashing in a light grey pin striped suit with a deep blue tie nicely contrasted with a white dress shirt. In her Programme Note, Ms. Juvonen writes how envisioning ‘Moon’ has become an homage to the place she calls home and to celebrate her maternal family. Her profound respect for the play and maintaining consistent verisimilitude certainly came clear to me in some of the minute details she emphasizes in the 90-minute production. One example of this occurs in the convincing performances of Gibbons and Furber. ‘Salt-Water Moon’ is heavily dialogue driven, and these two actors continuously listen carefully to each other’s words and their meaning and respond so believably and realistically on an emotional level that I periodically put down my pen from making notes in my book and just wanted to watch them move with clear intent and purpose all the time. I especially relished the moment as Mary calls Jacob over to point out something in the sky with the stars and constellations. I got caught up in the moment to the point where I had to restrain myself from physically turning around in my chair and look to the sky to see where the actors were pointing. Every inch of the playing space on that stage is used to its fullest and I especially enjoyed watching how the ‘who has the power in the moment’ volley back and forth between the two. Alex Furber’s Jacob is confidant, cocky and, at times, self-assured who remains intent on trying to win back the heart of the girl whom he left the year before. I loved watching how he skillfully utilized a playful and genuine smirk on his face at times to acknowledge that he is doing his best to win back Mary’s trust and love. Sarah Gibbons is a feisty and ‘fire in the spirit’ Mary (as she is described in the text at one point) who obviously is not a push over emotionally as Jacob comes to recognize as the plot progresses. I saw just how Mary can poke at Jacob’s soft side to remind him that what he did was wrong. Gibbons knows and senses inherently just how and when to utilize playwright French’s words to fire back emotionally at the beloved beau who left her suddenly the year before. Final Comments: There was something magical about watching a live performance outdoors. The term ‘Theatre under the Stars’ took on a new meaning for me in this delightful production of a captivating ‘Salt-Water Moon’. Get tickets for this one. A wonderful evening spent at the theatre. ‘Salt-Water Moon’ continues to August 15 at the Greek Theatre in the Guild Park and Gardens, 201 Guildwood Parkway, Toronto. For tickets and information, please visit www.guildfestivaltheatre.ca . ‘SALT-WATER MOON’ by David French Production Staged by Guild Festival Theatre, Tenth Anniversary Season Directed by Helen Juvonen Production Designer Simon Flint Design Mentor Nancy Anne Perrin Dialect Coach Leah Holder. Previous Next

Back 'THREE SISTERS' by Inua Ellams. After Chekhov A Co-production with Obsidian Theatre in association with Soulpepper Credit: Dahlia Katz. Pictured: AKOSUA AMO-ADEM PLAYING THE ELDEST SISTER LOLO, VIRGILIA GRIFFITH PLAYING THE MIDDLE SISTER NNE CHUKWU AND MAKAMBE K. SIMAMBA PLAYING THE LITTLE SISTER UDO Geoffrey Coulter, Contributing Writer, Actor, Director, Adjudicator, Arts Educator " A superb not to be missed re-imagining." “The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming!” With the plethora of Russian theatre currently playing in Toronto, it looks like they’ve arrived. “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812” is currently breaking box-office records at Crow’s Theatre while Mirvish’s production of “Uncle Vanya” closed a successful run at the CAA Theatre just weeks ago. Now Soulpepper, in collaboration with Obisdian Theatre, presents a superb, not-to-be-missed reimagining of Chekhov’s “Three Sisters” by Nigerian-born playwright Inua Ellams. He has masterfully taken part of Chekhov’s original plot and transformed the rest into a relevant, thought-provoking piece of social commentary about the delicate fabric of family and hardships. Ellams has transported the action of the original from nineteenth century Russia to late 1960s Africa and the cataclysmic Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War, one of the bloodiest conflicts in that continent’s history. This fluid adaptation, a clear testament to the ravages of colonialism and disencumbered liberty, is thoughtfully directed by Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu. It’s also boasts and impeccably fine cast featuring some of the finest, most compelling acting and ensemble work this reviewer has seen in quite some time. A year has passed since their father, a respected military commander, died but the three sisters are still grappling with his passing. Eldest Lolo (Akosua Amo-Adem), is a wise, hard-working teacher in the local school, Nne Chukwu (Virgilia Griffith), is married to the schoolmaster Onyinyechukwu (Tawiah M’Carthy), and youngest Udo (Makambe K. Simamba) – having just turned 20, is being courted by two soldiers, idealistic serviceman Nmeri Ora (Ngabo Nabea) and lovelorn Igwe (Amaka Umeh). The sisters live with their lackadaisical Cambridge-educated brother, Dimgba (Tony Ofori) in a small village in Owerri, Nigeria, longing to return to the cosmopolitan city of their birth, Lagos. Their father built the house from scratch with the intent of immersing his family in the Igbo traditions, set apart from the “colonial cultural erosion” that he believed infested the capital. What the siblings don’t know is that the Biafran Civil War is about to erupt and change their lives, their relationships, and their country forever. I strongly recommend a quick read of the program to get some much-needed historical context that serves as backdrop to this riveting drama. I wasn’t aware of the Biafran conflict and the resulting deaths of 30,000 Igbos people and the displacement of 300,000 more. You need this history going in to understand and appreciate the political dynamics and what’s driving the underlying conflicts – the unhappy, arranged marriage of Nne with Onyinyechukwu, the family’s uncle (Matthew G. Brown) who has turned to gambling and drink because, under British rule, he’s not allowed to practice as a doctor and housemaid Oyiridiya (JD Leslie), a northern refugee who witnessed her husband’s murder at the hands of the Hausa people and wants her revenge. Director Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu expertly directs this tremendous production with verve and sensitivity. The play is long, well over three hours. But Otu keeps the dialogue and the actors moving smartly. Her vision to explore the narratives of tragedy, humour, social class, dreams, reality, inaction, and despair is fully realized. She makes good use of the small stage by playing scenes to the edges to accommodate the 12-member cast but doesn’t shy away from intimate moments centre stage. Joanna Yu’s storybook set design is functional and practical, with fine African details such as the thatched straw roof of the home’s exterior and trees subtly flanking the property. Lighting designer Andre du Toit effortlessly evokes the African heat with a barrage of amber lights while providing darker hues and spotlights as the war marches to the very doorstep of the sisters’ lives. John Gzowski’s subtle and supportive soundscape of placid chirping crickets and festive radio broadcasts contrasts eerily with the sounds of rumbling storms, explosions and warplanes roaring above. Kudos to the inspired fusion of spot-on costumes of the late 1960s with traditional African prints and headwear by designer Ming Wong. Her bright colours, bold prints, extreme hemlines, loose-fitting shirts, flared trousers, and low heels gave a definite “swinging sixties” vibe while honouring the rich textures of the African working class. But it’s the extraordinarily talented cast that makes this play an event to remember. There isn’t a weak link. Characters are so well-defined that we know what makes everyone tick within minutes. Amo-Adem is thoroughly convincing as the wise, frustrated, and exhausted schoolteacher. Griffiths plays the married, bored middle sister with aplomb, while Simamba is the epitome of optimism and youthful exuberance. They enter and exit the stage with purpose and clarity. More impressively, each one has a life-changing experience that transforms and informs who they become by the play’s end. Perhaps this is most evident in the stunning metamorphosis of Oladejo’s Abosede, who goes from an insecure outsider with a detestable fashion sense to a glamorous but shrewdly scheming head of the household. These actors take us on their own personal journey. That’s storytelling. That’s acting. Umeh adds some much-needed humour as the socially awkward soldier Igwe, while Brown, Stephens-Thompson, Leslie, Herbert, M’Carthy, Nabea and Ofori bring tangible life to their supporting roles. Politics, greed, love, betrayal, envy, power, corruption, redemption, and the complexities of family. Chekhov knew 123 years ago the universality of these themes. They’ve been characters on the human stage forever. But add the irreversible and indelible effects of colonialism, racialization, and a country at war with itself, and you have in this production a reimagined classic that is perhaps more relevant today than it’s ever been. Running time: approximately three hours and 20 minutes with one interval. The production runs until March 24 at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 50 Tank House, in the Distillery District. For tickets, visit Soulpepper.ca or call 416-866-8666. THREE SISTERS by Inua Ellams After Chekhov A co-production with Obsidian Theatre. Directed by Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu Set Design: Joanna Yu Costumes: Ming Wong Lighting: Andre du Toit Sound design and composition: John Gzowski Vocal music coach and arrangement, additional composition: Adekunle Olorundare (Kunle) Movement director: Esie Mensah Performers: Akosua Amo-Adem, Virgilia Griffith, Daren A. Herbert, Sterling Jarvis, JD Leslie, Tawiah M’Carthy, Ngabo Nabea, Oyin Oladejo, Makambe K Simamba, Odena Stephens-Thompson, Amaka Umeh, Matthew G. Brown. Previous Next

Back 'Cock' by Mike Bartlett Produced by Barrie's Talk Is Free Theatre and now onstage at 80 Bradford Street, Barrie. Produced by Barrie's Talk Is Free Theatre and now onstage at 80 Bradford Street, Barrie. Joe Szekeres (Photo Credit: Matthew MacQuarrie-Cottle. L-R: Michael Torontow and Jakob Ehman) “Mike Bartlett’s play is ‘Cock of the Walk’ in Barrie.” I have to hand it again to Barrie’s Talk Is Free Theatre. TIFT pushes boundaries to provoke its audiences' thinking and nudge them out of their comfort zones. Artistic Producer Arkady Spivak pointed out in his pre-show remarks that the play’s title cocked a few heads in Barrie. That’s a good thing when theatre can do that. TIFT’s latest unabashed production of British playwright Mike Bartlett’s darkly comic ‘Cock’ made me do the same thing a few times on this opening night. John (Jakob Ehman) is a gay man who has been in a relationship with his partner, ‘M’ (Michael Torontow), for seven years. They have quarrelled lately, and John has moved out of the apartment. But when he meets and falls in love with a woman, ‘W’ (Tess Benger), John is forced to contemplate the boundaries of his identity and decide what he wants for his future. A dinner party that ‘M’ holds at the apartment to finally see if John is serious about his future intentions becomes the climax for his future choices. ‘M’ has invited his father, ‘F’ (Kevin Bundy), for moral support. The play examines an important question: are fidelity and monogamy still possible in a permissive twenty-first-century context? That’s puzzling when you look at Bartlett’s script. For instance, after being sexually intimate twice with ‘W,’ John is head over heels for her and then runs back to ‘M’ to be forgiven. Is John hinting that he’s no longer gay? Is that why he runs back to ‘M’ to be forgiven? I didn’t think one can be cured of being gay. This comes across as selfishly unfaithful. Three out of the four characters are identified as initials. Many people will have the same initials, so there’s no sense of individuality, whereas a name like John denotes a particular character. Therefore, does using initials instead of names mean people are dispensable and thrown away once we’ve used them? How is it possible to remain monogamous, then, in a world where initials identify many people? It finally dawned on me why Bartlett’s script is not puzzling. It’s not afraid to hit right at the heart of a permissive society and ask point-blank questions. By doing so, it’s riveting, gutsy and sexy theatre. It’s the ‘Cock of the Walk’ in Barrie. First, let’s not get all schoolgirl giggly and intimating the play’s title means only the male appendage. British slang indicates ‘cock’ is a rooster. A cock fight is two roosters battling. Cock can also be used as a derogatory term towards someone else, usually from one male to another male. It also means to tilt one’s head to the side (see example above). Cock also means to get a gun ready for firing. These meanings have been intricately woven into director Dylan Trowbridge’s bold treatment of a play that he believes concerns the human heart. His vision deals with love’s capacity to make us feel euphoric, joy, brutal pain, desperate fear, and overwhelming confusion. Love transcends sexuality and gender. It ignites primal fear both between individuals and within individuals. This theatrical vision has been courageously and confidently stamped on TIFT’s production, which Trowbridge believes will differ in each performance. Production designer Kathleen Black does not set ‘Cock’ in an upper-class-looking setting of familiarity. Instead, it plays in the underground dust, dust bunnies, and cement storage space at 80 Bradford Street. We gather in front of a garage door. An audience member knocks, and John (Jakob Ehman) opens the door. Dressed in a white undershirt, silver pants, and black dress shoes, John stares at each audience member as we enter. There’s a sense of discomfort walking past him. What’s he thinking about each of us? It appears John has ensconced himself as the first cock of the evening. It’s a tightly intimate theatre in the round performance space. The audience is up close to the action. A white drop sheet at the front allows some plot action to occur behind. Periodically, I like to mention when I can sense a production becomes an actor’s play. ‘Cock’ is one of them. What makes it easy and challenging for any theatre company? There are no cumbersome sets, props galore, or flashy costumes. There is the odd miming at the ‘dinner’ table. The challenge would be to ensure ‘Cock’ does not become the typical sitcom fare of a screaming and shouting match in playing for control of the moment. Trowbridge does not allow that to happen. He confidently ensures his actors focus on the words' meanings and connotations, what they add to each moment, and how to deliver them so the context is clear. These four talented artists measure up to this mammoth task of telling a good story using words. Jakob Ehman and Michael Torontow open the show with gritty rawness and candour. There’s a sense of sexual chemistry of ‘hawtness’ (yes, I did teach high school for 30 years) and guts between John and M. They try to one-up each other while vying to become the cock of the moment to control. Torontow’s height, dark, swarthy Freddy Mercury look, complete with black nail polish, tattoos, and muscles, contrast robustly with Ehman’s shorter height, lighter-coloured pants, a white undershirt, and dress shoes. As ‘W,’ Tess Benger becomes an appropriate foil to Torontow’s ‘M.’ Torontow is demanding and overbearing, while Benger is inviting and patient. John and ‘W’s sexual activity is most definitely euphoric in its static staging. It’s not graphic in its depiction on stage, yet it allows Benger and Ehman to use words and guttural sounds to indicate their pleasurable ecstasy. This encounter would set ‘M’ ready to fire a gun out of jealous rage. Kevin Bundy ‘F’ is father to ‘M.’ Although he only appears in the final scene, ‘F’ is not of secondary importance but becomes more of a peripheral understanding of Trowbridge’s vision of the capacity of love transcending. A widower, ‘M’ has experienced confusion and difficulty in accepting his son’s relationship but is appreciative of what John has brought to ‘M’s’ life. However, one of ‘W’s’ conversation starters towards ‘F’ changes the course of events. The ending of ‘Cock’ is visually powerful. The look on Ehman’s face when ‘M’ asks him a question to do something remains haunting. Will he or won’t he? I’m not saying a word. You have to see it for yourself. And Another Thought: In the Programme, Talk is Free states it doesn’t just make theatre in Barrie. It works to redefine it, to redefine our relationship to it, and to redefine how artists thrive as they create it. When you’ve solid Canadian theatre artists at work in Barrie, driving outside Toronto to see terrific work makes it all the more worthwhile. That’s why you should go to Barrie to see ‘Cock.’ Running time: approximately 90 minutes with no interval/intermission. ‘Cock’ runs until April 27 at 80 Bradford Street, Barrie. Enter via Sign #3. For further information, visit tift.ca or call (705) 792-1949. Talk is Free Theatre presents ‘Cock’ by Mike Bartlett Director: Dylan Trowbridge Assistant Director/Sound Designer: Nolan Moberly Production Designer: Kathleen Black Production Supervisor: Crystal Lee Stage Manager: Koh Lauren Quan Performers: Tess Benger, Kevin Bundy, Jakob Ehman, Michael Torontow Previous Next

Home About Us Acknowledgements Endorsements News Profiles This Month's Reviews Review Archives Search More 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' by William Shakespeare DREAM IN HIGH PARK Click Here 'Cock' by Mike Bartlett Click Here 'Fairview' by Jackie Sibblies Drury Click Here 'Mad Madge' by Rose Napoli WORLD PREMIERE Click Here 'Myth of the Ostrich' by Matt Murray Click Here 'Prairie Nurse' by Marie Beath Badian Click Here 'Baskerville' by Ken Ludwig Click Here 'Cottagers and Indians' by Drew Hayden Taylor Click Here 'La Bête’ by David Hirson Click Here 'Much Ado About Nothing' by William Shakespeare with additional text by Erin Shields Click Here 'On The Razzle' by Tom Stoppard Click Here 'Redbone Coonhound' by Amy Lee Lavoie and Omari Newton Click Here Comedies

Back 'Cock' by Mike Bartlett Produced by Talk is Free Theatre and now onstage at 80 Bradford Street, Barrie. Credit: Matthew MacQuarrie-Cottle. L-R: Michael Torontow and Jakob Ehman Joe Szekeres “Mike Bartlett’s play is ‘Cock of the Walk’ in Barrie.” I have to hand it again to Barrie’s Talk Is Free Theatre. TIFT pushes boundaries to provoke its audiences' thinking and nudge them out of their comfort zones. Artistic Producer Arkady Spivak pointed out in his pre-show remarks that the play’s title cocked a few heads in Barrie. That’s a good thing when theatre can do that. TIFT’s latest unabashed production of British playwright Mike Bartlett’s darkly comic ‘Cock’ made me do the same thing a few times on this opening night. John (Jakob Ehman) is a gay man who has been in a relationship with his partner, ‘M’ (Michael Torontow), for seven years. They have quarrelled lately, and John has moved out of the apartment. But when he meets and falls in love with a woman, ‘W’ (Tess Benger), John is forced to contemplate the boundaries of his identity and decide what he wants for his future. A dinner party that ‘M’ holds at the apartment to finally see if John is serious about his future intentions becomes the climax for his future choices. ‘M’ has invited his father, ‘F’ (Kevin Bundy), for moral support. The play examines an important question: are fidelity and monogamy still possible in a permissive twenty-first-century context? That’s puzzling when you look at Bartlett’s script. For instance, after being sexually intimate twice with ‘W,’ John is head over heels for her and then runs back to ‘M’ to be forgiven. Is John hinting that he’s no longer gay? Is that why he runs back to ‘M’ to be forgiven? I didn’t think one can be cured of being gay. This comes across as selfishly unfaithful. Three out of the four characters are identified as initials. Many people will have the same initials, so there’s no sense of individuality, whereas a name like John denotes a particular character. Therefore, does using initials instead of names mean people are dispensable and thrown away once we’ve used them? How is it possible to remain monogamous, then, in a world where initials identify many people? It finally dawned on me why Bartlett’s script is not puzzling. It’s not afraid to hit right at the heart of a permissive society and ask point-blank questions. By doing so, it’s riveting, gutsy and sexy theatre. It’s the ‘Cock of the Walk’ in Barrie. First, let’s not get all schoolgirl giggly and intimating the play’s title means only the male appendage. British slang indicates ‘cock’ is a rooster. A cock fight is two roosters battling. Cock can also be used as a derogatory term towards someone else, usually from one male to another male. It also means to tilt one’s head to the side (see example above). Cock also means to get a gun ready for firing. These meanings have been intricately woven into director Dylan Trowbridge’s bold treatment of a play that he believes concerns the human heart. His vision deals with love’s capacity to make us feel euphoric, joy, brutal pain, desperate fear, and overwhelming confusion. Love transcends sexuality and gender. It ignites primal fear both between individuals and within individuals. This theatrical vision has been courageously and confidently stamped on TIFT’s production, which Trowbridge believes will differ in each performance. Production designer Kathleen Black does not set ‘Cock’ in an upper-class-looking setting of familiarity. Instead, it plays in the underground dust, dust bunnies, and cement storage space at 80 Bradford Street. We gather in front of a garage door. An audience member knocks, and John (Jakob Ehman) opens the door. Dressed in a white undershirt, silver pants, and black dress shoes, John stares at each audience member as we enter. There’s a sense of discomfort walking past him. What’s he thinking about each of us? It appears John has ensconced himself as the first cock of the evening. It’s a tightly intimate theatre in the round performance space. The audience is up close to the action. A white drop sheet at the front allows some plot action to occur behind. Periodically, I like to mention when I can sense a production becomes an actor’s play. ‘Cock’ is one of them. What makes it easy and challenging for any theatre company? There are no cumbersome sets, props galore, or flashy costumes. There is the odd miming at the ‘dinner’ table. The challenge would be to ensure ‘Cock’ does not become the typical sitcom fare of a screaming and shouting match in playing for control of the moment. Trowbridge does not allow that to happen. He confidently ensures his actors focus on the words' meanings and connotations, what they add to each moment, and how to deliver them so the context is clear. These four talented artists measure up to this mammoth task of telling a good story using words. Jakob Ehman and Michael Torontow open the show with gritty rawness and candour. There’s a sense of sexual chemistry of ‘hawtness’ (yes, I did teach high school for 30 years) and guts between John and M. They try to one-up each other while vying to become the cock of the moment to control. Torontow’s height, dark, swarthy Freddy Mercury look, complete with black nail polish, tattoos, and muscles, contrast robustly with Ehman’s shorter height, lighter-coloured pants, a white undershirt, and dress shoes. As ‘W,’ Tess Benger becomes an appropriate foil to Torontow’s ‘M.’ Torontow is demanding and overbearing, while Benger is inviting and patient. John and ‘W’s sexual activity is most definitely euphoric in its static staging. It’s not graphic in its depiction on stage, yet it allows Benger and Ehman to use words and guttural sounds to indicate their pleasurable ecstasy. This encounter would set ‘M’ ready to fire a gun out of jealous rage. Kevin Bundy ‘F’ is father to ‘M.’ Although he only appears in the final scene, ‘F’ is not of secondary importance but becomes more of a peripheral understanding of Trowbridge’s vision of the capacity of love transcending. A widower, ‘M’ has experienced confusion and difficulty in accepting his son’s relationship but is appreciative of what John has brought to ‘M’s’ life. However, one of ‘W’s’ conversation starters towards ‘F’ changes the course of events. The ending of ‘Cock’ is visually powerful. The look on Ehman’s face when ‘M’ asks him a question to do something remains haunting. Will he or won’t he? I’m not saying a word. You have to see it for yourself. And Another Thought: In the Programme, Talk is Free states it doesn’t just make theatre in Barrie. It works to redefine it, to redefine our relationship to it, and to redefine how artists thrive as they create it. When you’ve solid Canadian theatre artists at work in Barrie, driving outside Toronto to see terrific work makes it all the more worthwhile. That’s why you should go to Barrie to see ‘Cock.’ Running time: approximately 90 minutes with no interval/intermission. ‘Cock’ runs until April 27 at 80 Bradford Street, Barrie. Enter via Sign #3. For further information, visit tift.ca or call (705) 792-1949. Talk is Free Theatre presents ‘Cock’ by Mike Bartlett Director: Dylan Trowbridge Assistant Director/Sound Designer: Nolan Moberly Production Designer: Kathleen Black Production Supervisor: Crystal Lee Stage Manager: Koh Lauren Quan Performers: Tess Benger, Kevin Bundy, Jakob Ehman, Michael Torontow Previous Next

Back Michaela Washburn Moving Forward Denise Grant Joe Szekeres Before I interviewed Michaela Washburn this morning, I had to go back and see how many performances I’ve reviewed where she has appeared. I counted five and I think I might be missing a couple. Personally, I have never forgotten how powerfully visceral her performances have been on stage, particularly in three productions: ‘This is How We Got Here’ at the Aki Studio, ‘Almighty Voice, and his Wife’ at Soulpepper, and ‘Guarded Girls’ at Tarragon. Michaela hails from Alberta and is a proud Métis artist of English, Irish, French and Cree descent. She is now based in North Bay, Ontario. Michaela’s expertise spans theatre, film, television, hosting, writing, spoken word, clown, improvisation, workshop facilitation, and stand-up. An award-winning actor, Washburn also has multiple nominations - most notably, for the Ontario Arts Council’s Indigenous Arts Award and the K. M. Hunter Artist Award for Theatre. She has performed internationally at festivals and theatres in Wales, Aruba, and across Canada and the United States. She studied clown with John Turner in 2001 and graduated (on scholarship) from the Second City Training Center in Toronto, in 2003. Outside of that, and various workshops along the way, the learning of her craft has been primarily experiential. Her post-secondary studies in the late '80s were in nursing and, during the course of our telephone conversation, I discovered she had also been a high school guidance counselor. It appears that after five exceptionally long months, we are slowly, very slowly, emerging to a pre-pandemic lifestyle. Has your daily life and routine along with your immediate family’s life and routine been changed in any manner? Like many folks, I too have had my ups and downs during these last five months. There have been days where I feel confident and hopeful about the future, and there have been other days where it has been almost impossible to feel anything beyond grief and despair. As my chosen career and the whole industry of live performance has come to a screeching halt, I realize now, that for me, it is a matter of acceptance, and adjusting to the situation by focusing what I can do versus what is beyond my control. Were you involved or being considered for any projects before everything was shut down? I was booked from March – December 2020 from Banff to Victoria to Winnipeg. It was to have been my first time in Banff as part of the Indigenous Playwrights Circle followed immediately by the Banff Playwrights Lab. There would have been an intersection with many international artists and the incorporation of several languages within the work. It was to be a highlight of my year, and unfortunately, all of that work is now gone. I have a Great Aunt who is turning 94 this year, and so I also had plans to visit her in Vancouver and record an interview with her. She is one of the last of her generation and holds so much knowledge of our family’s history which I was hoping to capture on film. Describe the most challenging element or moment of the isolation period for you. I was living in a basement apartment in Toronto and was finding it incredibly isolating and increasingly difficult to get outside. I was often anxious, as when I was out for walks during the day, I began to notice less and less physical distancing and few people in the area were wearing masks. There was a small backyard but a family with a toddler lived upstairs. I understood completely that the backyard was the only space where the child could safely play, and I didn’t want to jeopardize that. Since then, I’ve moved out of the city, which has helped a great deal. What were you doing to keep yourself busy during this time of lockdown and isolation from the world of theatre? I am one of the Ontario Councillors for the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association, and I serve on several committees as well. There is a great deal of advocacy work being done which has been keeping me busy during these last five months. I was also one of the folks who recently stepped forward to help coordinate the online panel discussion and subsequent take-over of the Stratford Festival’s social media platforms for the Indigenous community in June. I felt proud to offer messaging reminding us all to be kind and patient with ourselves and one another as we navigate this extraordinary time. Any words of wisdom or sage advice you would give to other performing artists who are concerned about the impact of COVID-19? What about to the new theatre graduates who are just out of school and may have been hit hard? Why is it important for them not to lose sight of their dreams? For all performing artists who have been affected by COVID – 19 – remember that storytelling is intrinsic to our well being. It is a practice that has seen humankind through many a disaster before and we will find a new way to experience live performance once again. To the new theatre graduates: Trust. Have faith in your dreams and in the gifts you carry within you. They are your medicine. Art is love, and love heals. If you have a dream and are driven to do it, then you’re meant to do it. Trust that. Dreams may also shift and change, and to lean into that rather than fear it. All things happen for a reason. I firmly believe that. Do you see anything positive stemming from this pandemic? As I can only speak for myself, this giant pause has offered me the opportunity to re-evaluate what’s important and to examine closely the impact of my choices on my personal health and balance, that of my fellows, the earth, and all the creatures we share it with. It has revealed many areas that desperately require immediate attention, socially and environmentally, and has reinforced that we need to work together to practice more respectful, responsible, and sustainable ways of being. Identify the actions we can take, and then take them. In your informed opinion, will the Toronto and North American performing arts scene somehow be changed or impacted on account of the coronavirus? For sure. There is so much to consider for the safety of everyone when we return to our theatres from the actors and crew to the audience members. Safe social distancing will be paramount when we first return, and I believe that the inability to fill our houses will have a significant impact on revenue, and thus whether or not some theatre companies will even survive. All artistic teams are going to have to get creative and innovative. In fact, several conversations have already begun across the country, to discuss how and what protocols and procedures will need to be in place, and who will be responsible for their implementation and maintenance. But we’re creative folks! It’s what we do. dream and build and manifest..so I have total faith that we will find our way. What are your thoughts about streaming live productions? As we continue to emerge and find our way back to a new perspective of daily life, will live streaming become part of the performing arts scene in your estimation? I’m not personally interested in participating in live streaming, although I am happy for those who have found expression there helpful. I imagine that it may become part of the performing arts scene, and in fact, think that folks will continue to be creative in how they adapt their crafts. For me, I feel like what’s missing in live streaming is the conversation that is at the heart of live performance… sharing the same space and time together. I am happy for folks who are enjoying the online medium, but if I am to work digitally, my preference is to do so in film and television. What is it about performing you still love given all the change, the confusion, and the drama surrounding our world now? I love the transformation and resiliency which is the crux of being a good storyteller. We have the ability to adapt to whatever situation in which we may be placed, and we must hold fast to that and remember that these are transferable skills. As storytellers, I love that we are able to utilize life as a toolbox from which to build an imagined reality, and in this case, an entirely new one. With a respectful nod to ‘Inside the Actors’ Studio’ and the late James Lipton, here are the 10 questions he asked his guests at the conclusion of his interviews: a. What is your favourite sounding word? “Chum” – not what you throw in the water to attract sharks. ‘Chum’ is the word I use to refer to most of the people in my life. It’s a term of endearment that I love to use. b. What is your least favourite word? Hate. I try not to use that word at all to the best of my ability. c. What turns you on? Kindness d. What turns you off? Aggression. e. What sound or noise do you love? The laughter of children f. What sound or noise bothers you? Crying children whom I can’t comfort or the suffering of others over which I am powerless to help ease. g. What is your favourite curse word? “Shitballs” What is your least favourite curse word? In the spirit of my mom, I’d love to eventually surrender vulgarity altogether. I remember reading somewhere “The absence of profanity will offend no one” and I really like that idea. h. What profession, other than your own, would you have liked to attempt? I often miss the work I did with the youth as a high school guidance counselor, and many times have considered becoming a therapist. I would also like to become a skilled tradesperson, as I believe things like carpentry, painting, drywalling, and home repair are important skills to have. i. What profession would you not like to do? Taxidermy j. If Heaven exists, what do you hope God will say to you as you approach the Pearly Gates? “You rose to your name, Shining Light, and left the world a better place for it. Now come, your ancestors are eager to dance with you.” To follow Michaela, visit her Twitter: @themichaelaw Facebook: Michaela Washburn Previous Next

Back Lynn Slotkin "I will continue with fairness and objectivity. And I'll probably be as angry about the state of things. But we also live in hope." Provided by Lynn Joe Szekeres At the bottom of her email correspondence, Lynn Slotkin concludes with: “Reviews for people serious about the theatre.” That’s the first thing I remember about meeting her several years ago at a Theatre Ontario workshop, ‘Writing Reviews that Matter,’ which she moderated. One thing is sure—from reading her articles, she is serious about the theatre, and her passion for the industry is undeniable. She cares deeply about it and wants people to attend. That passion remains prominent even in her periodic rants on her ‘Slotkin Letter’ website. I respect those rants. Highly. Let’s stop and think about what it means to be passionate. In my 33-year career, I held tremendous zeal for education in Ontario, specifically Catholic education, as Lynn does for the theatre. I’m retired now, but when my school board employed me, I wanted kids to succeed and reach their full potential. I never wanted anyone to be unsuccessful. As a Catholic educator, I wanted my preparatory work behind the scenes to be top-notch because it was worth it for kids and parents. Accountability and standards were part of my daily work ethic. I held myself and others to these markers for success in and outside the classroom. Lynn is just as fervent about how theatre can influence people to their full potential. She also believes in that same ethic of accountability and holds the industry to standards onstage and offstage. I cared about the Ontario education system, and I still do even after retirement. Lynn cares about the theatre and still does, even after an illustrious 35-year+ career. Not everyone had to agree with me when I was a teacher, and not everyone has to agree with Lynn’s review of a production. When I taught, I was allowed to voice my opinion openly regarding education for young people. Some tried to silence me, but I wouldn’t allow them, nor would my federation. I was a professional and sought to be treated as one without a question. Lynn, too, is a highly respected professional in the industry. I’ve heard her give talks and continue to read her articles. She has and must continue to voice her opinion freely about the theatre. That’s the way it works in a free society. There’s nothing wrong with adhering to standards, especially when this province's education and theatre industry costs big bucks to maintain and produce. Now that I’m freelancing as an emerging theatre reviewer, I am learning about standards and accountability again. I believe there are more significant changes coming in the theatre industry. In a continued woke world, I’m doing my best to know what might be coming soon. Lynn is someone who keeps herself aware of what might be coming soon. She shares her thoughts in her writing and on her website. So, I get where this observant ‘Passionate Playgoer,’ comes from in her rants. We recently had an email check-in conversation. Three years have passed since our first chat. That link can be found at the bottom of this profile. Three years ago, she saw her role as a theatre critic as telling the truth about evaluating an event in a fair-minded, respectful, and entertaining way so that the quality, flavour, story, artistry, and many other elements of a show are conveyed to readers and listeners. She sees it even more now: “As the decimated media becomes more pronounced and serious theatre coverage is also diminishing, I still think a robust, thoughtful, fair assessment of a piece of theatre is important. It informs the audience; it acts as a historical record of the play, what it looked like and the assessment of its intention and whether it was worth doing or successful as a piece of theatre.” Slotkin raises a good point about the decimated media becoming more pronounced and the diminishing of serious theatre coverage. That’s the keyword here- serious. In the future, she believes we need more informed, educated, diverse voices writing about theatre with rigour, assessment, evaluation and fairness. And without an agenda. She also offers some sage advice to theatre bloggers: “As more and more bloggers offer varying opinions, also varying is the background and rigor of the blogger and the knowledge or lack thereof, of theatre and plays. A review without an assessment of the play’s successful and not successful aspects is not helpful to the art form, the audience or for the record.” Lynn continued by stating that there are as many opinions of a theatrical event as people in the theatre watching it. The opinions are all valid, but they are not equal. What does an audience member have to know then about opinions about being valid but not equal: “A person has to evaluate whether or not they consider an opinion valid or not to see a show based on their own criteria. In my practice, I needed an education to take me deeper into the art form so that I could do that form justice when I wrote about it.” Lynn has voiced two essential statements for all theatre lovers that have made me think. Yes, we are all entitled to our opinions about a play. However, hopefully, any articles and reviews we read about the play will help the audience understand what makes a production successful. That’s where education comes in, perhaps through a discussion in an informative talkback immediately after a show or a written/oral review. I also know of a theatre company in my hometown that provides that kind of educational experience immediately following a performance. Three years ago, Lynn thought theatre makers and heads might rethink what is important about art and how to create it and engage with their audience. According to her, this grand objective still has a long way to go. Statistics still indicate that audiences are NOT returning to the theatre after Covid. There have been reports of concern from the U.S., Canada, and the UK regarding the diminishing audience, lack of funding, and coverage of the art form in only three areas of concern. It’s not just the high-ticket prices in Toronto that are of concern. Slotkin points out many theatres have Pay What You Can tickets. There are Arts Worker tickets and free tickets for people under a certain age. What she did say made me think again: “It’s been noted that programming is the deterrent [why people are not returning].” Hmmm… Lynn explained further that Crow’s and Coal Mine Theatre are two not-for-profit theatres doing something right by catering to their audiences with challenging fare. In the for-profit sector, Mirvish Productions offers fare that its audiences want to see, and the result is full houses. In these three examples, keeping track of the audience is easy. She asks a good question that theatres may want to take into consideration: “I wonder if anyone asked people not returning to the theatre WHY they aren’t returning. That might give a clue.” As our email conversation began to wind down, I inquired about Lynn’s crystal ball gazing into the future to see where she believes the industry is headed in the next three to five years. Crystal ball gazing is not her thing. No one looked into one and saw a pandemic coming in 2019. She said the pendulum that was ‘way over there’ with divisiveness and anger was swinging back quickly. It doesn’t matter what one perceives in three to five years as it will be different and maybe even the same. And where does Lynn Slotkin, the observant, direct and point-blank theatre critic, see herself in that same three-to-five-year time period: “The role is the same. I will continue to do it with fairness and objectivity. And I’ll probably be as angry about the state of things. But we also live in hope.” Visit www.slotkinletter.com to read Lynn’s reviews and her varied rants or two. To read the first check-in with Lynn, go here: https://www.onstageblog.com/profiles/2020/4/14/inside-the-artists-self-isolation-studio-toronto-profile-of-lynn-slotkin?rq=lynn%20slotkin Previous Next

Back Mumbi Tindyebwa Self Isolated Artist --- Joe Szekeres Obsidian Theatre’s new Artistic Director, Mumbi Tindyebwa, has a great deal on her plate right now, but I am extremely grateful that she took a few minutes from her busy schedule both for Obsidian and her family life to be interviewed for this series. OnStage Blog has had the opportunity to review four of Mumbi’s outstanding productions: ‘Trout Stanley’, ‘The Brothers Size’, ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ and ‘Oraltorio: A Theatrical Mixtape’. These were fascinating stories with outstanding performers. Congratulations and many blessings to you, Mumbi, from all at OnStage Blog in your new role as Artistic Director. We conducted our interview via email: It has been the almost three-month mark since we’ve all been in isolation. How have you been faring? How has your immediate family been doing during this time? It’s been a wild time. We have two little ones at home, so a large part of my focus has been on them and trying to keep them engaged plus homeschooling. My husband’s work was deemed essential from the beginning of the lockdown, so I have taken on most of the childcare and household work. On the bright side, it has been super sweet and special to have this uninterrupted time with my children. When Ahmaud Arbery was killed, then Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, and Regis Korchinski-Paquet, the isolation changed from a somewhat reflective time into a time of deep re-traumatization. It’s been a triggering time for my family. My husband and I are raising a Black son and a Black daughter, so the layers of navigating the continued racism towards Black people at this particular time has been heavy. As a performer, what has been the most difficult and challenging for you professionally and personally? Throughout the last three months, I have been having meetings with the staff at Obsidian in preparation for starting my role as Artistic Director. I have missed being able to meet in person and getting to know each other in this new capacity face to face, but we have all adjusted and gotten used to the Zoom world. It’s also been extremely difficult to talk about the future when things are so uncertain, even more as an incoming Artistic Director trying to learn the workings of an organization. I am at a place now when I have begun to embrace the uncertainty and have a sense of acceptance of the moment we are in. Were you in preparation, rehearsals, or any planning stages of productions before everything was shut down? What has become of those projects? Will they see the light of day anytime soon? When everything shut down I had just opened a student production of We are Proud to Present a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as Southwest Africa, From the German Südwestafrika, Between the Years 1884-1915 by Jackie Sibbles Drury at University of Toronto Scarborugh Campus. We were super lucky that we managed to have three public performances before the run was cut short. I was also set to direct Sizwe Bansi is Dead by Athol Fugard at Soulpepper in the spring and had just started to dive deep into preparations for the show before we learned that it would be cancelled. I had another project that was scheduled to open in September that has also recently been cancelled. There is no guarantee of either of these two projects seeing the light of day at this point. What have you been doing to keep yourself busy during this time? Children! I don’t think parents have an issue with being bored during this time. Besides being busy with the kids and all the household stuff — I feel like I am constantly cooking —I have also started paying attention to my health in a way that I hadn’t before the pandemic. It’s definitely been a real opportunity to zero in on some other areas of my life that needed some extra love. I have also been actively preparing for my role at Obsidian which has included reading plays thinking about programming future projects. I have also been in many meetings with my colleagues in the industry, especially fellow artistic directors to discuss the time we are in and the unique challenges our organizations are facing. Any words of wisdom or advice you might /could give to fellow performers and colleagues? What message would you deliver to recent theatre school graduates who have now been set free into this unknown and uncertainty given the fact live theaters and studios might be closed for 1 ½ - 2 years? Go with the flow. Be kind to yourself. Be patient with yourself. Read plays, read novels, listen to music. There are also a lot of masterclasses being offered online if you want to advance your skills. I also think it’s good to avoid too much time on social media. Connect with nature if you can. Do you see anything positive stemming from COVID 19? Dismantling of structures of white supremacy. That would be something. Do you think COVID 19 will have some lasting impact on the Canadian/North American performing arts scene? I keep longing to return to normal in terms of theatre as I know it. My husband works in tech and he said to me the other day when I was talking about us doing work for digital platforms that theatre is the antidote to technology, so basically, why should theatre artists rush to produce work for digital platforms? I thought about it and I have been thinking about it and I do believe in my core that the purity of the live theatre performance exchange and the human longing for that will not be changed because of COVID. What I hope for is that the stories that we tell will change; that our audiences will change; that the way we make theatre will change; and who is making theatre will also change. And maybe there will be some hybrid performance practices that emerge from the digital experimentation we do now that we will all benefit from as an industry. Previous Next

Back Michael Cerveris Moving Forward Zack Smith Joe Szekeres The Zoom conversation I held with two-time Tony Award-winning actor/musician for ‘Assassins’ and ‘Fun Home’, Michael Cerveris, was compellingly informative, and I was taking in as much as I could. Michael put me at ease so quickly that I felt as if I was having a virtual cup of coffee with him and, at one point, I imagined he got up from the table, went to the imaginary urn, and poured me a second cup all the while just speaking calmly and comfortably how the worldwide pandemic has led him to take stock of where he is at this point in his life, and where he is headed next. He was visiting his father in Pittsburgh when we had our conversation. I’m assuming Michael was speaking from the living room at his father’s home, and the scene was quite idyllic. There was a beautiful ray of sunshine through the glass pane where Evangeline, the puppy he rescued from the Louisiana/Mississippi border, lounged quietly on the sofa in the sun’s warmth. The first time I saw Michael on stage was in 1993 in his Broadway debut of ‘The Who’s Tommy’ as the Pinball Wizard of this energizing rock opera. I went back later that year with a friend to see the show ‘cause it was so damn good. The next time I saw him on stage was in ‘Titanic’ and the third time was in the revival of ‘Sweeney Todd’ where he played the demon barber opposite one of the grand dames of the New York Theatre, Patti LuPone. Yes, this interview is lengthy again, but I didn’t want to miss a word. Thank you again, Michael: It appears that after five exceptionally long months we are slowly, very slowly, emerging to a pre-pandemic lifestyle. How has your daily life and routine evolved as a result of this emergence? It’s been up and down, I think, like it is for everybody. I’ve gone through different stages of dealing with things. I think we all expected this to be a shorter event early on, so there was the initial panic and anxiety but a certain amount of excitement (I suppose you could call it) because everything was new and urgent feeling. It was quite frightening being in New York at the beginning stages because it was very dire there early on. Fortunately, New York is one of the safer places to be in America because people took it seriously early on. I wish the rest of the country could have recognized and learned from our example just what’s possible when you do take it seriously immediately. Since those early distance days, like everybody, I started to settle into this new way of existing. There are benefits in some ways to stopping the forward motion of your life and taking stock and really asking yourself which things essential, and which things are not. I’ve been trying as much as possible to use the time well and prepare myself to be a better person in a better place, when this is over or when we’re at least on the other side of it. I’ve never had so organized clean closets and dresser drawers and basement in my life. Right now, I’m going through boxes in my father’s basement that I’ve left there for years, and that he’s been asking me to go through for years. And that’s been great fun as I’ve been discovering all kinds of terrific things, posting photographs from my early performances as a boy growing up in West Virginia. That apparently is the most entertaining thing I’ve done in decades for people as they are seeming to enjoy it a lot. My Facebook and Instagram feeds are full of people enjoying my embarrassing younger photos. So at least I feel like I’m doing something good for the world right now. I’ve also spent a little bit of time a little further upstate at one point during the pandemic, and I do recognize it’s easy when you aren’t living in a close urban environment, like New York, to feel that the threat isn’t quite as urgent. When you quarantine in an apartment and have to wear your mask even to walk down in your building to get your mail, it’s a different kind of thing. When you see refrigerator trucks with bodies in them because there isn’t room in the morgue, it makes it clear how serious you need to take it. It’s difficult when you’re quarantining in a house with a yard, when you can walk along the street in a suburb without a mask, because you aren’t going to be encountering people close enough to necessarily have one. I do understand how difficult it is to impress upon people the seriousness and reality of the disease’s spread, and we’ve seen the consequences of that throughout the US, especially now in people not believing it or not taking it seriously. Of course, the numbers start increasing in those areas. It’s the benefit and the curse of living in a close urban environment, but I’m really proud of how New York and New Yorkers have responded. It really has been a real blessing to have the kind of leadership and the science-based thinking in the state and local governments that we have. Hopefully, that will mean that we can continue the course we’re on and think about opening theatres in a safe, responsible way at some point. It’s really difficult for all of my live performing friends, and hundreds of thousands of people who aren’t directly on stage but are affected with the closing of the theatres. A lot of the city’s economy is dependent on that business surviving, and it was one of the first to close in order to keep people safe, and it’s going to be one of the very last ones to re-open. There’s no discussion yet for serious plans for live entertainment venues to re-open anytime soon, even though some jobs are re-opening hopefully slowly and carefully. In my business, people are sometimes hanging on by a thread in the good times, so it’s really a challenge. We’re trying to encourage our government to extend subsidies to venues and to our live performers and it’s been an uphill battle. Were you being considered for any projects or involved in any projects before everything was shut down? Not on stage, I had a film project and television project that were both supposed to happen in March and April. They tried re-scheduling the film about four times. One time I had my car packed and driving to where we were supposed to film, and I got a call saying, “Ohhh, we’re not going to be doing that now.” So, that’s indefinitely postponed but hopefully, it will happen at some point. There is a television HBO production project that I’m going to be a part of that is planning to start work in late September if all goes well. And they have a well thought, organized set of plans to do it in a safe and manageable way. Hopefully, that will be happening and will be a long-term project. I can’t tell you what it is right now but it’s gonna be kind of terrific, and it involves a lot of New York stage actors. That will be a helpful thing. What’s been the most challenging element of this isolation for you? It would be really training myself to just exist in the present moment and not be making plans and feeling like I need to do things. It’s funny, I’ve been saying for the longest time that I’ve wanted to slow down and wanted things to stop. I guess, be careful what you ask for. So many of my friends and colleagues immediately jumped in and got into busy mode with self-creating projects. They were doing lots of camera and Zoom meetings and projects. I found myself busier while not working than I was working. Everybody had a podcast or a benefit performance they wanted to contribute to. I wanted to feel engaged and wanted to contribute something. The most challenging thing, to answer your question, is considering what my usefulness is in a time when our understanding of who an essential worker is has changed overnight. The immediate feeling was, well, maybe what I do isn’t really essential, and we like to think of ourselves as essential to society, and the arts are an essential part of society. An immediate crisis like that maybe those skills are the ones that aren’t most necessary. This can leave you feeling a little useless and superfluous. I had a lot of friends who became teachers and they were struggling for ways to provide service to their students so they would ask me and lots of actors to come visit their classes virtually and talk to their students. I thought, “Well that’s something that I can contribute to and positively offer something.” And then there were lots of other projects like the Sondheim Birthday streaming that went a long way to help reach people in isolation and make them feel a little connected still to things that brought them happiness and pleasure. I said yes to everything and found myself exhausted. I was busy doing things all the time and my friends who were saying they were bored in quarantine I kept wondering how is that possible? It’s different for everybody. Do you believe theatres might be shuttered until at least the fall of 2021? That seems a viable possibility. It’s difficult because there are so many layers to the question of when theatres can re-open. And this may be an opportunity for Broadway and large-scale commercial theatre to do some re-thinking and considering the economics of theatre. This is something I thought back in 2008 with the financial collapse and really threatened Broadway and you heard people wringing their hands and saying, “This is going to kill Broadway.” My thought was maybe this would make producers think differently of how they produce things to make them more affordable to more people, but instead, the opposite happened. Broadway got more expensive and business was better than ever. With a Broadway production, it can’t function at a 50% capacity. Broadway shows that are doing well in the 75% capacity range close all the time because even that is insufficient to keep them going in the business model the way it is now. My hope is the opportunity to re-think that and where the money is going. More money should be spent on people who are working for you than on things, on spectacle and re-think profit margins while thinking about the comfort and safety in the seating area for the audience. In some ways, downtown, regional, off-Broadway theatres that consistently find ways to operate with ticket sales at 50% with grants and sometimes don’t fill the houses are able to survive, and perhaps this something that the larger theatres may have to re-examine again. This might be the way things can re-open. The arts in general have shown an ability to adapt and change when it’s necessary. They just tend to drag their feet for as possibly long as they can. The theatres need to be more pro-active and forward-thinking rather than reactionary and responding to events, especially with the social justice movements going on right now and the technological advancements. The combined moments of social conscious awakening along with the pandemic crisis has been a real opportunity to shake the dust off these things and to get more people involved with new ideas about what is possible. Hopefully, that’s what’s going to happen. Equity is dealing with a case by case decision on whether or not to open a show given what the theatre is doing to ensure safety for all involved. It’s a challenge in so many ways, but this piecemeal show by show thing that different producers will have different ideas on how to do things might delay re-opening even more. The history of commercial theatre isn’t a well-organized machine. Any words of wisdom or sage advice you would give to other performing artists and recent theatre graduates who are concerned about Covid-19? Well, that’s always been a difficult question to answer and now it’s really difficult. I’m encouraging people to take heart and to take advantage of this time to be reading a lot of plays, watching a lot of things, and educating yourself. You can be writing and developing projects for yourself, talking to friends, and just try to imagine the theatre that you want to see when it’s possible again. My major words of encouragement: The fact that so many things we assumed to be true suddenly are not and things that could never be suddenly are (live performance could shut down for 6 months or longer). The positive side of all this? A lot of things that we thought could never change could now possibly change if there’s a will. That’s kind of exciting. I grew up with the idea that things are the way they are whether or not I liked it or not. We’ve seen now how immediately and completely things can change. Drastic change can happen if people do things differently. I think in some ways it’s an exciting time to start a career in the theatre. If we’re making things over again, we should be making things that contribute more to our society and to our communities by giving more opportunity to do something new. That’s the place to look for hope and encouragement. Do you see anything else positive coming out of the pandemic? In my country, I see the potential for a positive regime change, although it’s anything but assured, I’m afraid. I don’t think of myself as an optimist generally, and yet I think I fundamentally am. I fundamentally want to believe the best of people and the best of situations. I’m very conscious and very clear about the perils and dangers about the really dark and unpleasant things that have been revealed about the country I live in. It’s not isolated to my country, it’s a global phenomenon but it’s especially heightened here. It’s been really heartbreaking to have to come to terms with the realities of life in this country for a lot of people. To have spent the last four years to have the mask lifted from who we as Americans like to believe we are. But the positive thing is now we know what we’re up against. We know what the real truth is. And again, that gives us the opportunity to change it. We can’t change anything if we don’t acknowledge it to be true and needs to be changed. That goes for everything from economic inequity to racism, sexism. These things are all tied together and incredibly complicated, but just thinking your country is the best with the best democracy, that kind of thinking blinds you to the problems that are there and need to be solved. Well, it’s pretty clear what the problems are and needs to be solved. Whether we can do that or not, it’s up to us, but at least now we know where the work needs to be. Depending on your half full, half empty glass perspective, that can be a positive thing at least a first essential step. Will Broadway and the North American performing arts scene be changed or impacted on account of the coronavirus? People are starved now for coming together. For a long time now, there’s been a move for more isolated kinds of entertainment. We get a lot more through our screens now, and I think we’re getting a little tired of it at this point. For example, I hated Zoom and Face Time before all the shutdowns necessitated them. I would always try to avoid doing them. I can’t say I love them anymore now than I did then, but I’m at least used to them now and see the benefits of them. I think a lot of things will be done through these formats even after things slowly open up. There are good things to that. We’re starting to find the limits of the satisfaction we can get from our screens. Theatre, live performance, even for people who say, “Well, I can get all that on my screen, why bother going back?” Well, I think the first-time people return to the theatre, and that theory is all going to be blown out of the water. They’re going to remember as though for the first time what that thrill is. There’s nothing to make you appreciate something like the threat of losing it or not having it. I like to think and hope there will be more value placed on live performance and interaction. Certainly, that will be true in the beginning and, as humans usually are, will take it for granted again. I look forward to a time when we can take going to the theatre for granted because that would be nice. The arts and theatre have often thrived in times of great social unrest and difficulty. I’m hoping there’s a lot of seeds of great art being sown right now that will flourish when there’s a place for it to flourish again. And I think that is possible. There’s certainly a lot to write about now, not just the pandemic but our very mortality and humanness. It’s fair to hope there will be a re-surging, flowering and a Golden Age of theatre when we’re able to come together again. What are your thoughts about live streaming? The streaming of filmed live productions that has already happened, hmm…maybe it’s because I grew up in the bootlegging concert era, tape your favourite band era. I’ve never had the aversion to those things being available. I’ve never believed that’s made people less likely to go and see something. I’ve always felt that it will more likely make you want to go see something. If you hear a garbled cassette performance of The Grateful Dead, you’re going to be more likely to go. I understand and appreciate the economic concerns and people having their work compensated, so if somebody is making a profit from the streaming of your work then, certainly, that needs to be compensated. There are so many things I’ve done over the years that are archived at the Lincoln Centre Performing Arts Library. It wasn’t the thing to record a show for broadcast back in the day. I do wish those kinds of archives could be accessible to people. It’s very difficult to access those things. You either had to be involved with the production or an academic pursuit to watch them. I would prefer that live streaming not be sold or commercially done. If you do, then you really have to pay everybody which will make it prohibitive. I wouldn’t mind if that’s the way things happen. As far as creating work to be Zoomed or streamed, it doesn’t excite me as an audience person or as an actor. I watched a few earlier on. For the most part, I was disappointed and frustrated, and ultimately not all that interested. There were some things like Richard Nelson has done a series of plays called The Apple Plays, the Gabriel Plays, that were recorded. I would encourage people to go find these plays because they’re really great, but he since has written a couple of Zoom plays and those work well because that’s the premise of the play. These characters are on a Zoom call to each other, so it makes sense that it’s happening as to how it’s happening. I haven’t really seen other things online that I’ve found particularly satisfying. I’ve done a couple of readings and they were really just kind of pale and unsatisfying, the technological challenges are a big hurdle. It’s hard to get any sense of pace when there’s a delay between people’s microphones. I would be more in the camp of “I’ll wait until we can actually do it.” Despite all this confusion, drama, turmoil, and change surrounding our world now, what is it about performing you still love? It’s pretty obvious the live human communal experience of it. Both as a part of an ensemble working together to make the performance and the event of having an audience, the stage crew, dozens of hundreds of people that make it magical, even if it might have occurred only once out of say 500 times. We go to experience with other humans. It’s part of our DNA to gather. Our society has drifted away from that for a long time. It would be nice if this was a bit of a turning point of how much we missed that, and how much we need that. That’s the fundamental thing about performing. Follow Michael on his Facebook: Michael Cerveris Actor/Musician or his Instagram: michaelcerveris. You can also visit Michael’s website: www.cerverismusic.com . Previous Next

Back 'Two Minutes to Midnight' by Michael Ross Albert The Assembly Theatre The Assembly Theatre Joe Szekeres A satisfyingly good script that pays attention to some minute details. Sometimes, but not always, it’s the little things that can either make or break a trip to an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean for a winter getaway. I know of many people who, before going away on holiday, make a list and check each item off when it goes in the suitcase. A little OCD, perhaps, but it’s that person’s holiday and he/she/they want to enjoy it his/her/their way, and it’s no concern of mine. The Assembly Theatre’s intimate black box setting paid careful attention to some important checklist items in its opening night performance of Michael Ross Albert’s ‘Two Minutes’. Was it worth my first trip to Parkdale for a Covid getaway? I’ll let you know shortly. As soon as I entered the lobby, I was heartily welcomed and asked if I wanted to wear a lei around my neck. I haven’t travelled to Hawaii yet, so I thought I’ll get the next best thing and wear a plastic one. The lobby was decked out in all things Caribbean, and the bar was open and serving island flavoured drinks. Even though we’re still in Covid, I could see the theatre was doing its due diligence in ensuring protocols were in place to keep everyone safe so kudos there. Anyone who has travelled to an all inclusive knows the music around the bar usually starts blaring loudly at 9 am. The same thing occurred here in the auditorium, but I smiled because I knew immediately that is exactly what it’s like at many of the all-inclusive resorts I’ve visited, so a big check mark here on the list. Pascal Labillois’s patio set design paid charming and attractive details to capture the Caribbean setting in this intimate environment. A gorgeous and soothing aqua blue painting of Caribbean waters adorns the back wall. Michael Wielgomas is listed in the online programme as Graphic Designer so I’m not sure if he painted it. If he did, then wonderful work. Centre stage are two blue and white striped chairs (the kind your skin doesn’t stick to in the heat) angled in front of a tiny circular table. Two plastic wine glasses are found there. Meticulous detail was also paid to the flooring and to the walls up over stage right and left entrances. Painted stones resembling those one might find in the Caribbean go all the way up the right side of the house. Stage right is the entrance to the restaurant with a lantern on each side of the doorway equidistant from each other. Stage left is the entrance to the use of the washroom (which was clever as the actual building’s restrooms were there for patron use before the performance began). Chin Palipane’s lighting design warmly incorporated a very hot, humid looking ambience surrounding the two characters. The costumes worn by Jack and Tracy fittingly embrace the re-created heat of the sun on stage. He wears a Hawaiian/Caribbean flowered shirt with dark blue shorts and sandaled looking deck shoes. She wears a low-cut one-piece green bathing suit with a flowered kimono ontop and what appeared to be white, comfortable looking deck shoes. Albert’s at times sharp, witty, comical and tumultuous story introduces how couple Jack (Luis Fernandes) and Tracy (Cass Van Wyck) are of extreme opposites in personality and I wondered how they have stayed together for so long. His fervently solid interest in becoming a social media influencer through his daily online postings grates on her nerves. But so much is hidden underneath and becomes unearthed about their living together as the story progresses. An event of seismically epic proportions in their relationship forces Jack and Tracy finally to begin looking at it and give it the attention it deservedly needs. Two things I really liked about Albert’s script – one was the solid use of one-line zingers which both Fernandes and Van Wyck succinctly captured in their high-octane performances. The other was the dramatic pauses and moments which are needed to balance the high velocity paced humour. Fernandes and Van Wyck are likable, convincing, and hearty performers who favourably won me over in their credibility of two people who are on the brink of a possible breakup and who wanted to use this island vacation as a last chance to reconnect as a couple. I’ll give credit here to Janelle Cooper who, in her visionary list as director, strongly kept Fernandes and Van Wyck grounded in the truth of the moment and never allowed them to venture hysterically over the top. So, was my checked list completed after seeing ‘Two Minutes to Midnight’? Indeed, it was, and I am so pleased the Assembly Theatre took me on a 70-minute vacation with them. However, all inclusive vacations also look for possible suggestions and feedback. There was one quibble that I did have. About 5-7 minutes into the show, a great deal of shouting and screaming occurs. I get why it was done; however, given the confined playing space of the intimate auditorium seating, the shouting and screaming were a tad uncomfortable to my ear drums and I missed a great deal of information both actors gave at this point. I get it that the veracity of the moment is high paced and wonted, but I completely lost what was said between the two actors as it appeared momentarily out of control. I had to glean (actually, read pray here) that I would have gathered later what all the screaming was about. Just a slight quibble, that’s all. Final Comments: Go on this trip with Jack, Tracy, and the Assembly Theatre in Parkdale. ‘Two Minutes to Midnight’ is a trip we all need right now especially as we are entering the sixth wave of Covid. Covid protocols in effect. Running time: approximately 70 minutes. The production runs to April 24, Tuesday through Sunday at 8 pm at The Assembly Theatre, 1479 Queen Street West, Toronto. To purchase tickets online and for other information: www.theassemblytheatre.com . TWO MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT by Michael Ross Albert Presented by The Assembly Theatre Director: Janelle Cooper Stage Manager: Marvin Araneta Set Designer: Pascal Labillois Lighting Designer: Chin Palipane Graphic Designer: Michael Wielgomas Associate Producer: Sebastian Biassuci Previous Next

Back Where the Blood Mixes Soulpepper and Native Earth Performing Arts Dahlia Katz Dave Rabjohn A revival of ‘Where the Blood Mixes’ by Kevin Loring is now playing at Soulpepper Theatre in Toronto. Loring is N’laka’pamux and comes from Kumsheen otherwise known as Lytton B.C. recently in headlines due to devastating fires – this alone makes the play more contemporary. Although some of the writing is over-extended, the strength of this production comes from the agile acting, especially in the two main characters – Sheldon Elter as Floyd and Craig Lauzon as Mooch. They spar over a series of indigenous issues that focus mainly on the theme of home and origins. Samay Arcentales Cajas’ work is also noteworthy for her dynamic and creative video projections. Two lifelong best friends, Mooch and Floyd, live difficult lives due to a variety of factors including suicide (Floyd’s wife) and the ills of residential schools' history. They clown around in a seedy bar, drink heavily, rely on lottery tickets for any kind of hope and pretty much ignore their families. Skillful acting moves them from comedy to pain in a moment’s time. Mooch is most comic with all arms and hands as he exhorts. Almost a Laurel and Hardy routine, quickly and effectively changes into a darker Waiting for Godot sequence as the grief in their lives is exposed. Floyd has not seen his daughter, Christine, played by Tara Sky, for decades. The loss of the wife/mother and the interjection of government institutions has pulled the family apart, but Christine feels the need to revisit her roots and reconnect with her father. Floyd is anxious about their different lives and buries his anxiety in alcohol. Mooch’s parallel problems are exacerbated by his own drinking and his mistreatment of his girl June – played with passion by director Jani Lauzon. Christine’s entrance into these lives is rocky as Floyd rejects her need for connection. Various forms of reconciliation put a dent in the darkness, but it seems only temporary. Oliver Dennis plays an affable barkeep as he strives to temper the tumult in his customers’ lives. Much like the ever-present musician in the shadows (James Dallas Smith,) he serves as a Greek chorus, echoing and reacting to events. As mentioned, the work of Ms. Cajas is spectacular. Projections have become a theatre staple, but her work raises the bar. Highlights include soaring osprey and gorgeous natural beauty. Most creative are scenes of interaction between actors and projections – Floyd fighting to hold onto a sturgeon or running down the path of a railroad track. Ms. Cajas reveals how the beauty of the natural world tempers the greyness of the mortal world. Mr. Loring’s writing can be clever with humour and wit, but he has embraced a large tract of themes and issues that tend to overwhelm – suicide, alcohol abuse, difficult relationships, residential schools, criminal activity, abandonment, government and institutional intervention – a lengthy list to pack into ninety minutes. All topics of importance. Perhaps it’s an effort to jolt an audience into a necessary awareness, but highlighting just two or three of these themes may provide an opportunity to drill deeper and develop more depth of understanding and possible solutions. Some of the repetitive writing slowed the pace at times. Two brilliant moments offered some shimmer in the darkness of their lives. After going through an exhaustive reconciliation, Christine bursts out to her father without any preface – “would you like to see your grandson?” The audience shares his shocked and happy moment. The other instant is Floyd’s fear that Christine is reacting to poor bathing habits. No, she says, “you smell like home.” Perhaps the heart of the play. ‘Where the Blood Mixes’ by Kevin Loring Performers – Oliver Dennis, Sheldon Elter, Craig Lauzon, Jani Lauzon, Tara Sky, James Dallas Smith Director – Jani Lauzon Set design – Ken MacKenzie Video and projection design – Samay Arcentales Cajas Stage Manager – Cole Vincent Runs through June 16, 2022 Tickets – soulpepper.ca Previous Next

Back Dion Johnstone Theatre Conversation in a Covid World Corey Berry Joe Szekeres ’ve seen Dion Johnstone’s work on stage in several Shakespearean productions at Ontario’s Stratford Festival. I was particularly taken with the very bloody ‘Julius Caesar’ presented by Groundling Theatre at Toronto’s Crow’s Theatre just before the pandemic hit. When I checked his biography from his website (included at the end Dion’s profile), I also discovered he has also been a part of some very fine productions in the US under some extraordinary directors. Dion made his Broadway debut as the Duke of Albany in ‘King Lear’ with Glenda Jackson as the titular character. That is a performance I would have loved to see Ms. Jackson tackle. Dion plays the recurring role of Erik Whitley for ‘Sweet Magnolias’ now streaming through Netflix. Another one to watch during this time of provincial stay at home orders. Dion has also played in other Canadian shows including ‘Frankie Drake Mysteries’ and ‘Flashpoint’. In December 2019, Dion made his Hallmark Movies and Mysteries debut starring in ‘A Family Christmas Gift’ opposite Holly Robinson Peete and Patti Labelle. Dion’s training included The University of Alberta and The Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre. We conducted our interview via Zoom. Thank you again so much for taking the time on a Sunday morning, Dion: The doors to Toronto live theatre have been shut for over a year now with no possible date of re-opening soon. How have you and your immediate family been faring during this time? You know, when the focus of the pandemic hit and we went into lockdown and isolation, the focus really changed for me because my wife and I knew we would be having a child. On July 28, 2020, my wife gave birth to a baby boy who’s now on his way to nine months. That’s been an amazing experience for us. He’s really changed our outlook because we really wanted, especially during the time of great anxiety, for him to meet the best version of ourselves, and I think when you look at him and the level of joy, freedom, comfort and confidence that he already possesses and exudes is a testament to the work that we’ve been doing. We had to get control of our mind space and internal space through all of this. One of the things we focused on right away - there was a meditation group that was going around hosted by Deepak Chopra right at the beginning of the lockdown called ‘Twenty-One Days of Abundance’. And that was the first things we did and thought this is great. With the fear of there being no work and when everything was going to open up again, to just take time and focus on inner work and thinking no matter what the external appearances may be you can always tap into a source of abundance, that’s an energy that you put forth into the world and that returns to you in some form or other. We started by doing that, and that really set the template for our frame of mind through all of this. Despite what we see out there, what’s more important is how you feel internally. If you feel yourself going off the rails, do the work to bring yourself back to your centre. And we want to do that because those are the lessons we want to pass on to our son, especially in a world prior to the pandemic that was moving at a blazing rate and continues. We wanted to help provide a space for our son where in the future he could step away where he can be a part of this world but doesn’t have to be consumed by it. I think we’ve doing quite well, all things considered. How have you been spending your time since the theatre industry has been locked up tight as a drum? I just arrived in Atlanta and can’t talk too much about it for all the non-disclosure agreements I signed. I can say in brief we’re shooting Season 2 of ‘Sweet Magnolias’ (now on Netflix Canada). I just arrived and just about to begin. I’ve done the period of quarantine with the multiple testing and once cleared all set to go. The film industry has been quite progressive in finding the template necessary in order to continue filming. Modifications have been made along with heavy safety protocols, and the film industry has been largely successful. It puts a lot of pressure on the actor/artist to ensure that they are in top health to continue and honour the contract signed and to ensure the shooting schedule is kept on task. Outside of being a new father and career responsibilities, during the early part of the pandemic there was a lot of binge-watching Netflix. Certainly, when our son came into the world, that changed a lot of the binge-watching as he doesn’t allow us to watch tv unless he’s out cold for a nap. But the moment he wakes up we gotta unplug our devices. Our son doesn’t even like us being on our cell phones. Our son calls us to being present. I do try to find time on my own for meditational time through daily training, not necessarily weights since everything is closed. I do yoga, I use resistance bands training. I’ve been doing a lot of yin yoga, very relaxing with deep, deep, tissue work and that’s been good. I don’t get out a lot but now that I’m filming in Atlanta, there’s a park across the street from where I’m staying. It’s similar to New York’s Central Park, and there’s lot of open space and opportunities for social distancing so I can spend some time there. In Toronto, we live across the street from the Harbour on Queen’s Quay, so my wife and I were able to take our son out for walks on pathways. The late Hal Prince described the theatre as an escape for him. Would you say that Covid has been an escape for you, or would you describe this year long plus absence from the theatre as something else? You know, in some ways I would say, yes, it has been an escape, and it’s been an escape from the world in the way that we knew it which has really caused me to examine it and question it. So much of my life is influenced by being a new parent and considering what things might have been were the pandemic not happening. I remember many seasons at Stratford watching other actors become parents. They would get the performance off to go and be there for the birth and would be back on stage the next day in both performances and rehearsals. In Stratford, the week is divided in slots. So, there could be 12 slots in a week, and you could work 11 of those and then they have to give you an extra slot off periodically. That’s a lot of work and you get one day off a week. This period of time I’ve been able to share the load of parenting with my wife; obviously there’s only stuff she can do as the mother but there’s a lot of stuff I can do on the peripheral and allowed me the opportunity to create a very deep bond with my son. I’m adopted. My beginnings were quite rocky. I don’t know my birth father, and my birth mother lost custody of me when I was quite young. So, it’s been really important for me to create a stability and foundation to end that cycle so that doesn’t pass on to my son, and that’s not a reality that he has to know. I think about if I weren’t there, if after the birth I had to go straight into rehearsals, and I only came home at night and wholly focused on preparing for the next day, I would be there physically, but I wouldn’t be accessible to my partner, Lisa, as a parent as all that load would be put on her and I realize how big a load that is. It gets a little bit easier now that he’s a little bit older so me being out of town is a little bit easier. We do have a very good network support and he’s not quite as dependent as he was in the beginning. Those early couple of months, you realize how our world is not geared up for that, not geared up to usher new life into this world. You’re ripped away from your children too quickly, that’s the way of the world. But the pandemic stopped that. It stopped the world and we’ve got a chance to look at what’s important and what do we value. For me, it’s an escape for what it could have been in that sense. On another level, it’s an opportunity to question when it all comes back, what’s the kind of life I want to have, and how can I create a life that gives me more of a balance so that it’s not wholly work heavy. If that means I do condensed periods of time so we can take a couple of months off and go take a family vacation together, I don’t know what that form will be, but making sure I can be there for my family in a big way is very important. I’ve interviewed a few artists several months ago who said that the theatre industry will probably be shut down and not go full head on until at least 2022. There may be pockets of outdoor theatre where safety protocols are in place. What are your comments about this? Do you think you and your colleagues/fellow artists will not return until 2022? Given that we’re dealing with a virus, going in and out of lockdown, and you just told me today the numbers in the province are up over 4400, it’s impossible in my mind to predict when we will be back. I would say 2022 is a safe bet. It could be longer. I think the reality is that theatre as we knew it has changed. And we may never quite see it in that same way again. But I do have hope for what theatre will evolve into. Right now, seeing Stratford and Shaw come back in interesting and careful and limited fashions is a good thing. Both my wife and I worked with Obsidian Theatre and they did a co-production at the beginning of the year with CBC Art called ’21 Black Futures’ which brought theatrical work to the screen. I think that’s another avenue that’s been successfully explored. Theatre isn’t dead. It’s under the ground and working it out and figuring it out what can it do. How can it manage in this period and how can it re-invent itself for what’s to come. My life has changed. I don’t think I’ll be able to walk into my house again without ensuring I wash my hands down. Our experience of the flu may be radically changed in the time to come. Our world is going to be radically different, and we will always be under the reality this happened once, and we reached a threshold where it could happen, and it shut down the world. That’s now a possibility. We don’t know what else is coming, what further things are coming down. We have to be prepared and safe. The excess that we knew may not happen in the same way, but I do think theatre will evolve nevertheless to meet the capacity of the time, whatever that form is going to be. I had a discussion recently with a Toronto Equity actor who said that theatre should not only entertain but, more importantly, it should transform both the actor and the audience. How has Covid transformed you as an artist? That’s so interesting. It’s hard to know as an artist how Covid has transformed me. It’s certainly made me look at different avenues and explore what else I have inside to offer. I sit down and go, well, if I’m not performing on a stage, what’s my purpose? Why do I act? If I can’t do it in that form, what’s another form I can do it in? That led me to explore teaching opportunities. I love to see people empowered and transformed by different thoughts and different ideas. I like being the vessel that can contain those ideas so that people can reflect and see it. I can achieve that same feeling through teaching what I know. Ghostlight Theatre came out of the cage really strong when we went into the lockdown initially and offered an opportunity to teach a class of whatever I wanted. And I decided to put a class together on rhetoric using Shakespeare as a platform to really explore the ideas of ethos, the logos and pathos and the pillars of argument. My intent was whether you were an actor looking to sharpen their skills or an audience member who wants to know more about what the craft is, it didn’t matter what walk of like you came from. In the end we are being affected by messaging all the time and we are being played on intellectually, emotionally, and ethically all the time. You open your Twitter feed and think about what triggers you. Some of the images we see there are pathos, and some are facts and figures that make your brain spin whether they are true or not but present themselves as true. To have the ability to have more discernment about what’s coming at you and more choice as to how you want to play something as an artist, and how you want to play upon your audience, I thought was a very fun thing to explore and share and had been really introduced to me when I was at Stratford doing The Conservatory Program. I give full credit to the knowledge and training I received there, and also from the late Ian Watson who was one of our instructors and was a master of argument. And so, really sharing the way those principles that affected me and how I now use them in my work is how I put together this course and I found that a satisfying discovery, and I probably wouldn’t have done. Covid has created an online opportunity where you can work with people from around the world. I’ve been able to do play readings with a company in New York. People can now be pulled from anywhere say to do the reading of a Jacobean play, and audiences now have access to be able to log in anytime to those writings and artists. It’s really brought the opportunities to use your craft in different ways globally. The late Zoe Caldwell spoke about how actors should feel danger in the work. It’s a solid and swell thing to have if the actor/artist and the audience both feel it. Would you agree with Ms. Caldwell? Have you ever felt danger during this time of Covid and do you believe it will somehow influence your work when you return to the theatre? I definitely agree with Ms. Caldwell’s notion of danger. And certainly in performances, something has to be genuinely risked in order for the stakes to be real and in order for the audience experience to be transformative. If there’s nothing happening in the artist, and it’s just acted, then what happens is a separation between the audience and the performer where the audience is just watching you, and not breathing with you and experiencing with you. The more that the artist can access a true feeling of risk and danger, the danger. The best directors I’ve had are those who have really pushed me in my performances to risk more, to go further in order to draw and drop deeper in myself in challenging and frightening work because you don’t know how you’re going to get there. Now, in terms of Covid, it’s a strange thing because it affects everybody differently. Some people have had direct experiences with it, some people have had or have the virus. Others have had close family members or friends pass away from Covid, so they feel differently. Others have had no direct experience with it and haven’t been in an ICU so it’s a challenge for those who do not understand what it like or have the experience with it. Living with this invisible threat which has been very disorienting and weird and certainly frightful on those days when I have to have a Covid test, and I fear if I get a positive result that’s it for my ability to be on set, to provide financially for my family, and my contract is now gone. I really had to challenge myself to ensure that I don’t bring this negative and destructive energy into my reality, well that stop telling that story because it’s not serving me. Yes, fear has been triggered in me on account of this virus but I haven’t had a direct personal case or a family member so I can’t speak of it from that angle. In many ways, it’s been a bizarre thing that’s there, but I respect how many have been affected by it but it’s so strange because it feels like nothing is happening. In terms of how Covid will affect my work? I don’t know. Everything that happens in life is going to affect your work. It filters in ways that we’re not aware of. Sometimes, for an actor, the best problems are solved when you’re working on a role in your dreams when you start to dream about a part because that’s your sub conscious working it out in better ways than your intellect can. I’m sure subconsciously the way I have grown and changed over this period of Covid will bleed and is bleeding into my work, but I couldn’t intellectually say how. The late scenic designer Ming Cho Lee spoke about great art opening doors and making us feel more sensitive. Has this time of Covid made you sensitive to our world and has it made some impact on your life in such a way that you will bring this back with you to the theatre? Well, certainly in a beautiful way, having a child and we made a real commitment to validate his feelings to recognize, acknowledge and understand what his needs are. Even though he doesn’t have the language to communicate just yet, we wanted him to feel that he was being heard and responded to. In a way, he’s been very communicative from the very go. There is this thing called baby sign language and you can help them communicate early in life. We tried that and that didn’t really work for us, but we can feel his energy and been in communication from go. He doesn’t cry very often. He’s not a crier but when he does it’s because we’ve missed a lot of signals that he’s been given along the way. More often than not, we’re able to figure out those signals before the crying so that is something important to figure out. Just that level of sensitivity, that relationship we share with him is so profound, so unlike; I love in a deeper, fuller way than I have before. I’m fiercely protective in ways. I laugh. This kid makes us laugh. He’s brought so much to our world and that’s a beautiful thing. Looking at this world through the pandemic, I’ve become really sensitive to the messaging that comes our way. There’s so much confusion. I’ve never learned through anything where there have been so many mixed messages – lockdown versus lockdown and all that illogic that has been followed through, it’s no wonder there are anti maskers, anti-vaxxeers, hoax, an opportunity to decimate society and a re-set. We live in mass confusion. We are in great need of discernment, and it’s made me very sensitive to what I take in. I want to pay attention to how I’m feeling internally, and if I’m getting too worked up maybe it’s time to take a step back and look at something else OR to explore all sides of the argument. We’ve lost how to debate because everyone is so entrenched in their camp with no cross discussion. We’ve a lot of work to do to find shared common ideals as opposed to where we are different if we’re to get anywhere in this mess of confusion we’re living in. Again, the late Hal Prince spoke of the fact that theatre should trigger curiosity in the actor/artist and the audience. Has Covid sparked any curiosity in you about something during this time? Has this time away from the theatre sparked further curiosity for you when you return to this art form? Really, it's a furtherance of what I just broke into. There was a time on my social media feed where I wouldn’t follow anyone of different beliefs and ideals than mine. But then I realized I don’t know what other people are thinking and so when things happen, I don’t understand why it’s happened. In terms of curiosity as an actor, we’re very often playing individuals who don’t share that same ideology that we hold, how can we do this if we don’t allow ourselves to see things in another light or way, and allow ourselves to go through that ideology that we don’t understand? I started including in my feed people who hold opposing views to my own, just to keep tabs to the rhetoric they’re using and what others are thinking. There seems to be a fear that in doing this we lose our own identity or you are affirming other people’s beliefs that are right or wrong, and who’s to say what’s right or what’s wrong. But nonetheless, you can’t have a conversation if you can’t find common ground. Because we’re all human beings in the end, somehow in our world it makes sense to try to see the other side, to see the logic there. Where do we connect? Where is our common humanity? How can a bridge be made from one common ideal to the next without trying to see another point of view? Through me doing this, I can potentially have the same affect on someone else trying to see from where I cam coming. To learn more about Dion, visit his personal website: www.dionjohnstone.com , To follow Dion on his social media: Facebook: @DionJohnst ; Twitter: @DionJohnstone ; Instagram: @dion_johnstone Previous Next

Back Review: 'Jake's Women' by Neil Simon Now onstage at Scarborough Village Theatre and presented by the Scarborough Theatre Guild Photo of Will van der Zyl as Jake by Julie Adams Photography Joe Szekeres (Updated September 12) A good choice for Scarborough Theatre Guild to stage Neil Simon’s ‘Jake’s Women’. It certainly spoke to me given the Covid times in which we still find ourselves and the fractured relationships resulting from this uncertainty. But some choices made puzzled me. Some things to applaud the Guild. It was refreshing to see new faces on the stage that I haven’t seen before so thank you for that. I hadn’t realized how appropriate Neil Simon’s ‘Jake’s Women’ is for audiences given these challenging Covid times, and I applaud the Guild for its choice to stage the production as audiences return to the theatre. Just like the central character Jake finds himself in fractured relationships in his mind with the women in his life and wondering if he will be able to repair them, Covid and all its issues have certainly tested our relationship with others. If Jake and his current wife, Maggie, can try to repair their marriage, let’s hope that our world can heal from all the turmoil in which we now find ourselves. It is New York in the 1990s. Jake (Will van der Zyl) is a successful New York writer suffering from psychoses in his relationships with the women in his life. He faces a marital crisis with his current wife, Maggie (Marisa King) by daydreaming and talking with the women from his life. There is his first wife Julie (Carling Tedesco) whom he adored and with whom he had a daughter Molly. Jake has conversations in his mind with the young Molly (Abby Hamilton-Diabo) and the older Molly (Kaitlyn Coulter). Julie was killed years earlier in an accident. We also meet Jake’s bossy, controlling sister, Karen (Cindy Hirschberg-Schon), and his very openly opinionated analyst, Edith (Patricia Byrne). Jake’s current wife, successful corporate climber Maggie (Marisa King) has had an affair with another man and there is talk of her leaving Jake. Finally, we also meet Sheila (Julie Jarrett) a possible third wife for Jake, but a bit of a bubblehead. Still, Sheila wants a relationship with Jake, but she faces so many challenges and headaches with his indecisiveness. Director Larry Westlake has pared back a full-scale set and, instead, opted for certain key props and allows for the grandness of the space to take place within the audience’s minds. I’m all for allowing audiences to do that, but there were some design elements that confused me. I don’t think a man would have a chaise lounge/settee as the focal point within his living space – perhaps a comfortable-looking worn leather couch instead? I was also confused about the director’s chair and its placement. Perhaps some type of wing-tipped chair instead? Jake is also in the midst of writing his next book, and I didn' t see any indication of that. Perhaps a few more items to indicate we are in the home of a writer would be beneficial. Downstage is the present and upstage on risers become the moments where Jake speaks to the women in the past; however, what became confusing to me are the moments where the women move downstage from the past into the present while all in Jake’s mind. I had some challenges in deciding which of the women were being spoken to in the past and which were the ones Jake invites into the present within his mind. The lighting cues here would need to be a tad sharper. Andra Bradish’s colourful costumes are strongly reminiscent of the 1990s. Alan Maynes’ selection of pre-show music nicely reflected the theme of connection we have with each other. A couple of sound cues were mistimed momentarily so, hopefully, that can be rectified for future performances. As well, the voices Jake hears in the second act sound rather tinny and I couldn’t hear clearly what was being said. Director Larry Westlake wrote in his Director’s Note: ‘Agony is the root of comedy’ and this is an extremely important vision to notice and incorporate in Simon’s works. The key, nevertheless, is to imbue the production with agony without it ever going over the top and becoming so unbelievably campy that audiences would simply tune out and stop believing in the moment. Westlake would have had to maintain not necessarily a tightly reined control but never allow his actors to become histrionic to veer so out of control that it becomes laughable. He accomplished what he set out to do. An example of this as proof occurs where in Act 2 Maggie (who is in Jake’s mind) satirically imitates and mimics Sheila’s speech and body language in the present as she and Jack are having an extremely heated conversation about their relationship. As Jake, Will van der Zyl has the daunting task of never leaving the stage for the most part (except for a scripted bathroom break in Act 2). Van der Zyl believably remains completely focused and in the moment with each of the women. There was a moment in Act 2 where I thought fatigue might have been setting in for him, but that’s understandable since he and the entire cast and crew have just come off the opening week. He logically builds Jake’s many qualities of petulance, anxiety, frustration, woes, ambition, and desires without ever upstaging the women in his conversations with them. In fact, on the second performance night I attended, there were some bona fide slices of real-life human connection that were subtly captured and made me smile because what I just saw was truly real. This occurred near the end of Act One where Jake sits with the younger and older Molly on the bench. To me, there just appeared to be this inherent sense where the three of them were zoned into the moment, listening and responding in a way that parents and children do with each other. So good to watch that scene as it became an effective image in my mind just before the intermission. The women offer securely grounded performances for the most part. As Julie, Jake’s first wife who was killed in an accident, Carling Tedesco’s supposed conversation with their older daughter Molly in the present was very touching. As younger and older Molly, Abby Hamilton-Diabo and Kaitlyn Coulter intently listened and realistically responded to comments directed at them. Kaitlyn’s scene with Tedesco was very touching. As Sheila in the present, Julie Jarrett sharply captured the humour of the moment in the dance she does with Maggie. As Jake’s sister Karen and analyst Edith, I felt there was a forced performance delivery from Cindy Hirschberg-Schon and Patricia Byrne. Hopefully, as performances continue, these ladies can settle into the characters and allow the words and context of the moment to speak for themselves. Marisa King has a formidable task ahead in revealing Maggie’s complete character arc in seeing a woman’s angst and agony in not being heard to hopefully becoming an individual who can communicate to her husband how important it is they both listen, hear and understand in their relationship with each other. (Spoiler alert) King and van der Zyl securely do just this at the end of the production and I was left with the feeling that yes both Jake and Maggie will do just what it takes to make the relationship work. Running Time approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes with one intermission. ‘Jake’s Women’ runs September 15, 16, 17, 22 and 23 at 8 p.m. AND September 18 and 24 at 2 pm at Scarborough Village Theatre, 3600 Kingston Road, Scarborough. For tickets, call the Box Office (416) 267-9292 or online www.theatrescarborough.com Jake’s Women by Neil Simon Directed by Larry Westlake Co-Producers: Alison Overington and Linda Brent Stage Manager: Heather Hyslop/ Assistant Stage Manager: Teresa Bakke Set Designer: Larry Westlake Costumes: Andra Bradish Props: Alison Overington Lighting Designer: Jennifer Bakker Makeup/Hair: Gloria King Sound Design and Operation: Alan Maynes Cast: Will van der Zyl, Marisa King, Cindy Hirschberg-Schon, Patricia Byrne, Abby Hamilton-Diabo, Kaitlyn Coulter, Carling Tedesco, Julie Jarrett Previous Next