Where music, song and dance all contribute to an enjoyable plot on stage Back Alice in Wonderland Now on stage at Port Hope's Capitol Theatre, 20 Queen Street. Chris Fulton, Dave Ball, Emry Tupper, Eden Chiam, Colleen Furlan, Rosie Callaghan. Anika Venkatesh, Chelsea Preston . Photo by Juan Echavarria Joe Szekeres “Joyfully and delightfully whimsical. Sharply developed, eye-catching choreography. Vocal work that soars from the stage out to the last row of the auditorium. Directed with a sense of wonder by Sue Miner." Bad Hats Theatre's current adaptation of Alice in Wonderland (now on tour and playing at Port Hope's Capitol Theatre) ticks all the proverbial boxes for an enjoyable theatrical experience. According to its website, one of the theatre company's mandates is "to create work that audiences feel part of [with] stories that they can see themselves in at any age." My guest and I talked later about how we connected with the story because Bad Hats cleverly imparts a modern take on Alice. There's the first tick box. One can't help but get caught up in the joyful and delightful whimsy of the story, with a courteous smile to the original author, Lewis Carroll. The female protagonist falls down a hole and finds herself in a place with people and situations that begin to leave her curiouser and curiouser. At this first student school matinée, I wondered if the 'tweens' and teens might fall under the play's magical spell. Sometimes, teens don't follow what we think they should be doing. Judging from this first matinée's responses, the young people did just that. The play spoke to them. By the play's conclusion, the characters (and even the audience) have learned a valuable lesson about the importance of asking questions and not always having the answers. This is a powerful message for both young people and adults to remember and be inspired by. There's the second tick box. It's another world when walking into the Capitol auditorium. Several of the songs in the pre-show musical soundscape referred to all things 'Alice'. One of the songs was Lady Gaga's 'Alice.' We're in an elementary school setting where the teacher is not present. Seven tables on rollers and chairs with tennis balls allow for easy manoeuvring on the stage, with nary a squeaking sound in their movement across the stage. Precocious children mill about and try to complete their homework before harried teacher Mr. Charles (Dave Ball) arrives. Ming Wong's costumes become bright pops of colour when Alice leaves the world of the classroom she knows and soon enters a world of wonder. Logan Cracknell's lighting design creates a world sharply different from what Alice knows. Cracknell's design accentuates where the audience's focus should be. Director Sue Miner, Music Director Jonathan Corkal-Astorga and Choreographer Cameron Carver are a dream team. Miner's sense of childlike wonder, Corkal-Astorga's harmonious vocal work and Carver's sharply eye-catching choreography create an impressive spectacle of sight and sound. The actors play various instruments with competence and finesse. Original songs by Landon Doak and Victor Pokinko nicely catch the ear through some delightful play on words. There were a few program changes at this performance. Rosie Callaghan (understudy) performed as the protagonist for the first time today. Her Alice is charming and precocious. It's touching to see the growth in Alice when she returns to her classroom at the end of the show. At the top of the show, she couldn't answer the question her teacher gave her for homework. Now she finishes the homework question and takes pride in her answer, which impresses Mr. Charles. Several performers play more than one role. Dave Ball is terrific as the harried White Rabbit. Eden Chiam's sassy and strutting Red Queen reminds me of the Kardashian girls. Emry Tupper's Caterpillar is gracious and dignified in its emergence from the cocoon stage to the butterfly. Chris Fulton's Tweedle Dee and Chelsea Preston's Tweedle Dum are two peas in a pod. They're lovably goofy. Standby Fiona Sauder (play's adapter) played the Unicorn, which Callaghan typically performs. Sauder's Unicorn is a lone wolf who is proud of who she is, even though she appears different from others. An important message for all young people to hear. Final Comment: Attending the talkback after this morning's performance was essential. There are Relaxed performances of 'Alice.' Future audiences should consider these shows if they want to bring young children, but are uncertain about it. Relaxed performances might also be advantageous for some seniors who might not be able to sit for extended periods of time. Call the Box Office to learn more about these relaxed shows. This 'Alice' has been on the boards for the last five years. Recently, it played in Sudbury. After this stop in Port Hope, the show is on its way to Tweed for its summer theatre season. More time to catch the show. From this retired teacher: Take a class trip to see this 'Alice.' Parents, introduce your young children to the theatre. Take them, please. The production runs 90 minutes without an interval/intermission. The production runs until June 1 at Port Hope's Capitol Theatre, 20 Queen Street, Port Hope. For tickets, call the Box Office (905) 885-1071 or visit capitoltheatre.com CAPITOL THEATRE presents BAD HATS THEATRE'S 'Alice in Wonderland'. Adapted by Fiona Sauder. Music by Landon Doak and Victor Pokinko. Dramaturgy by Matt Pilipiak Director: Sue Miner Associate Directors: Matt Pilipiak and Fiona Sauder Choreographer: Cameron Carver Music Director: Jonathan Corkal-Astorga and Associate Music Director: Adam Sakiyama (Original Music Director: Rachel O'Brien) Original Sound Designer: Andres Castillo-Smith Audio Engineer: Brady Van Druenen Lighting Designer: Logan Cracknell Costume Designer: Ming Wong and Associate Costume Designer: Ellie Koffman Performers: Dave Ball, Rosie Callaghan, Eden Chiam, Chris Fulton, Ben Kopp, Chelsea Preston, Emry Tupper, Anika Vekatesh, Fiona Sauder Previous Next

Now on stage at Port Hope's Capitol Theatre, 20 Queen Street Back Alice in Wonderland Now on stage at Port Hope's Capitol Theatre, 20 Queen Street Chris Fulton, Dave Ball, Emry Tupper, Eden Chiam, Colleen Furlan, Rosie Callaghan. Anika Venkatesh, Chelsea Preston . Photo by Juan Echavarria Joe Szekeres “Joyfully and delightfully whimsical. Sharply developed, eye-catching choreography. Vocal work that soars from the stage out to the last row of the auditorium. Directed with a sense of wonder by Sue Miner." Bad Hats Theatre's current adaptation of Alice in Wonderland (now on tour and playing at Port Hope's Capitol Theatre) ticks all the proverbial boxes for an enjoyable theatrical experience. According to its website, one of the theatre company's mandates is "to create work that audiences feel part of [with] stories that they can see themselves in at any age." My guest and I talked later about how we connected with the story because Bad Hats cleverly imparts a modern take on Alice. There's the first tick box. One can't help but get caught up in the joyful and delightful whimsy of the story, with a courteous smile to the original author, Lewis Carroll. The female protagonist falls down a hole and finds herself in a place with people and situations that begin to leave her curiouser and curiouser. At this first student school matinée, I wondered if the 'tweens' and teens might fall under the play's magical spell. Sometimes, teens don't follow what we think they should be doing. Judging from this first matinée's responses, the young people did just that. The play spoke to them. By the play's conclusion, the characters (and even the audience) have learned a valuable lesson about the importance of asking questions and not always having the answers. This is a powerful message for both young people and adults to remember and be inspired by. There's the second tick box. It's another world when walking into the Capitol auditorium. Several of the songs in the pre-show musical soundscape referred to all things 'Alice'. One of the songs was Lady Gaga's 'Alice.' We're in an elementary school setting where the teacher is not present. Seven tables on rollers and chairs with tennis balls allow for easy manoeuvring on the stage, with nary a squeaking sound in their movement across the stage. Precocious children mill about and try to complete their homework before harried teacher Mr. Charles (Dave Ball) arrives. Ming Wong's costumes become bright pops of colour when Alice leaves the world of the classroom she knows and soon enters a world of wonder. Logan Cracknell's lighting design creates a world sharply different from what Alice knows. Cracknell's design accentuates where the audience's focus should be. Director Sue Miner, Music Director Jonathan Corkal-Astorga and Choreographer Cameron Carver are a dream team. Miner's sense of childlike wonder, Corkal-Astorga's harmonious vocal work and Carver's sharply eye-catching choreography create an impressive spectacle of sight and sound. The actors play various instruments with competence and finesse. Original songs by Landon Doak and Victor Pokinko nicely catch the ear through some delightful play on words. There were a few program changes at this performance. Rosie Callaghan (understudy) performed as the protagonist for the first time today. Her Alice is charming and precocious. It's touching to see the growth in Alice when she returns to her classroom at the end of the show. At the top of the show, she couldn't answer the question her teacher gave her for homework. Now she finishes the homework question and takes pride in her answer, which impresses Mr. Charles. Several performers play more than one role. Dave Ball is terrific as the harried White Rabbit. Eden Chiam's sassy and strutting Red Queen reminds me of the Kardashian girls. Emry Tupper's Caterpillar is gracious and dignified in its emergence from the cocoon stage to the butterfly. Chris Fulton's Tweedle Dee and Chelsea Preston's Tweedle Dum are two peas in a pod. They're lovably goofy. Standby Fiona Sauder (play's adapter) played the Unicorn, which Callaghan typically performs. Sauder's Unicorn is a lone wolf who is proud of who she is, even though she appears different from others. An important message for all young people to hear. Final Comment: Attending the talkback after this morning's performance was essential. There are Relaxed performances of 'Alice.' Future audiences should consider these shows if they want to bring young children, but are uncertain about it. Relaxed performances might also be advantageous for some seniors who might not be able to sit for extended periods of time. Call the Box Office to learn more about these relaxed shows. This 'Alice' has been on the boards for the last five years. Recently, it played in Sudbury. After this stop in Port Hope, the show is on its way to Tweed for its summer theatre season. More time to catch the show. From this retired teacher: Take a class trip to see this 'Alice.' Parents, introduce your young children to the theatre. Take them, please. The production runs 90 minutes without an interval/intermission. The production runs until June 1 at Port Hope's Capitol Theatre, 20 Queen Street, Port Hope. For tickets, call the Box Office (905) 885-1071 or visit capitoltheatre.com CAPITOL THEATRE presents BAD HATS THEATRE'S 'Alice in Wonderland'. Adapted by Fiona Sauder. Music by Landon Doak and Victor Pokinko. Dramaturgy by Matt Pilipiak Director: Sue Miner Associate Directors: Matt Pilipiak and Fiona Sauder Choreographer: Cameron Carver Music Director: Jonathan Corkal-Astorga and Associate Music Director: Adam Sakiyama (Original Music Director: Rachel O'Brien) Original Sound Designer: Andres Castillo-Smith Audio Engineer: Brady Van Druenen Lighting Designer: Logan Cracknell Costume Designer: Ming Wong and Associate Costume Designer: Ellie Koffman Performers: Dave Ball, Rosie Callaghan, Eden Chiam, Chris Fulton, Ben Kopp, Chelsea Preston, Emry Tupper, Anika Vekatesh, Fiona Sauder Previous Next

Welcome to Monthly Reviews All monthly reviews will be placed under this tab. Once a show closes, each review will then be placed into its separate thematic category. May Reviews Alice in Wonderland Click Here Comfort Food Click Here Beyond Ken Dryden Click Here

When music and song are used to tell a story. Musicals Alice in Wonderland Click Here Inside American Pie Click Here Just For One Day: The Live Aid Musical Click Here The Kit Kat Klub at Alumnae Theatre presents Cabaret Click Here Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Click Here 'The Flin Flon Cowboy' by Ken Harrower, Erin Brandenburg, Johnny Myrm Spence and the Flin Flon Cowboy Collective Click Here Waitress Click Here The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Click Here TITANIQUE Click Here 'Moulin Rouge' The North American Tour Click Here The Lion King Click Here 'Uncovered - U2 and The Rolling Stones' Click Here

Involved in community theatre outside of the Greater Toronto area for over 30 years as an actor and director, Joe now reviews and comments on professional and Equity based theatres throughout Ontario and Montreal. Joe recently left his role as Chief Toronto Critic for OnStage Blog to set off on his own. @szekeresjoe at Twitter/X @OurTheatreVoice on 'X' Meet the Founder Joe Szekeres Involved in community theatre outside of the Greater Toronto area for over 30 years as an actor and director, Joe now reviews and comments on professional theatres throughout Ontario and Montreal. Qualifications : Ontario College of Teachers (retired), Ontario Ministry of Education Additional Qualifications Dramatic Arts Parts 1 and 2 Bachelor of Education (Queen's University) Certificate of Honours Standing and Bachelor of Arts (King's College/University of Western Ontario) English Language and Literature Major/ French Minor Theatre Ontario Workshop : 'Writing Reviews that Matter" with Lynn Slotkin Theatre Ontario Workshop : "Writing Reviews that Matter" with Lynn Slotkin Our Story At Our Theatre Voice, we strive to be of service to write fair, unbiased and impartial reviews and commentaries. By doing this, we hope to encourage audiences to continue attending live theatre, an essential cultural format in community gatherings. Please send an email to us at ourtheatrevoice@gmail.com and we will get back to you in a timely manner. Meet the Original Web Designer Elodie Hraynyk For her work in building OUR THEATRE VOICE website, Elodie Hraynyk received the "Prix d'excellence academique Education cooperative" at her Grade 12 graduation ceremony. Congratulations, Elodie. She is currently updating our website and continues to do so to build OUR THEATRE VOICE's web presence. Elodie will begin her second year of undergraduate studies in Behavioural Science at Durham College. She will remain part of OUR THEATRE VOICE's team. Along with her interest in the theatre and all things arts-related, Elodie continues to make people aware of mental health issues through her own social media accounts. @el_hraynyk on Instagram Business inquiries: elodie.hraynyk@gmail.com Our Values These are our values. Please respect them. Respect ‘Our Theatre Voice’ includes all voices that will be heard and recognized with dignity and respect. Inherent Dignity ‘Our Theatre Voice’ recognizes the uniqueness of all individuals and will continue to reach out for their voice. Integrity ‘Our Theatre Voice’ believes in due diligence and we stand by what we say. Objective ‘Our Theatre Voice’ recognizes the importance of fair, impartial, and unbiased views of live theatrical performances. Meet the Guest Writers “I’ve known Dave Rabjohn and Geoffrey Coulter for over 30 years. Aaron Kropf was part of the Canadian writing team for OnStage Blog. These gentlemen have promised to be impartial, unbiased, and fair as they continue to work with me in sharing our commitment to you, the reader, what's happening on stage in professional theatre on Canada’s east coast, in Toronto, Stratford, London, Gananoque and Montreal.” Contributing writers to OUR THEATRE VOICE: Peter Mazzucco, Louis Train, Olivia Jon Meet Contributing Writer Aaron Kropf Aaron has been a lover of the performing arts from a young age. He attributes that to growing up in Stratford and attending at least one performance at the festival from grade 4. Aaron has been involved with a number of community theatre groups, and worked for some of the largest theatre companies in the country. When not at theatre Aaron enjoys time with his family and living the east coast life. Meet Contributing Writer Dave Rabjohn As a youngster, I went to see a production of 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf' at the old Colonnade Theatre on Bloor St. There were about five people in the audience - probably some special Tuesday matinee. I sat on a bench in the first row, my knobby knees sticking out into the playing area. Martha was literally on one side of my nose and George was on the other side. They were screaming back and forth over my head like I was the tennis net. Boom - fifty years of loving theatre ensued. Meet Contributing Writer Geoffrey Coulter Award-winning actor, director, singer, arts educator, and adjudicator. He is proud to add theatre reviewer to his credentials. Geoff has performed and directed in Canada and the U.S. for over four decades. He has served as an adjudicator for regional play festivals. He has been the artistic director of many youth theatre programs/productions with the hope of inspiring the next generation of artists. Geoff has appeared in theatre, commercials, TV series and feature films, and his voice can be heard narrating documentaries, video games and educational programs. When he’s not in a theatre or recording studio, he’s teaching TV performance at the community college level.

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Robert Winslow "Being an only child, I am quite comfortable with the isolation of research and writing. Being an only child, I really enjoy the opportunity to work with others creatively." Photo courtesy of 4th Line Theatre Joe Szekeres Just east of Oshawa and off Highway 35/115 is an excellent outdoor theatre space on Millbrook's Zion Road that has operated since 1992. According to the theatre's founder, Robert Winslow, the theatre is a relaxing natural space. As Canadians, warmth combined with nature equals summer, which is always beloved and too short a season. I've had the chance to interview 4th Line's Managing Artistic Director, Kim Blackwell, who has directed many productions there. Every year, I've kept saying I wanted to interview the Farm's founder, Robert Winslow, but time has not allowed it. Huzzah! Success! Robert agreed to answer questions via email. From 4th Line's website, Winslow's 45-year involvement in Canadian Theatre remains remarkable. He acted in shows at Peterborough's Trent University before heading west in 1982 to become a professional actor in Edmonton. In 1992, Winslow co-founded 4th Line Theatre on his family farm with Jerome Ackhurst. Since then, he has written or co-written over 18 plays for the company and acted and directed in several. Like all up-and-coming young actors early in their careers, Robert has had a few mentors in his twenties. Eric Peterson's performance of Canadian World War 1 flying ace Billy Bishop moved Winslow tremendously. Upon reading that Eric was from a small town in Saskatchewan, Winslow felt an immediate connection. Winslow grew up in Millbrook so that he could relate to Peterson. Like all enamoured young actors, Robert has always loved films and movies and attended screenings, seeing the likes of Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman and Jack Nicholson. In Winslow's early acting days in Western Canada, he admired one of his directors, Stephen Heatley, at Theatre Network in Edmonton. Heatley taught Robert about what goes into directing for the stage. This moment was an obvious connection to Robert's stage work and involvement at 4th Line . From his professional 45-year stage experience, what is it about the theatre that keeps drawing Winslow back to this art form? "Theatre has two things going for it: storytelling and working collaboratively with other artists. Being an only child, I am quite comfortable with the isolation of research and writing. Being an only child, I really enjoy the opportunity to work with others creatively." Winslow also notes that the theatre has changed in terms of what people write about. Today, many more diverse voices are heard. What hasn't changed for him is the basic experience of performing artists sharing a space with a live audience. I'm always impressed with the audience turnout for the shows at 4th Line. While COVID did a number on all Canadian theatres, 4th Line appears to have rebounded quite nicely. Winslow hopes and believes audiences keep returning to the farm environment because they are interested in the stories of the area's history. Climate change indeed affects all outdoor environments. However, he notes: Despite climate change, the old farm environment still appeals to our audiences. It perhaps triggers deep memories of home for many of our audience members, even if they have lived all or most of their lives in cities. Odds are these audience members had grandparents or great-grandparents with rural backgrounds. He will direct 'The Housekeeper' this summer, a play co-written with Ian MacLachlan. There are surprises in plot development that Winslow does not want to give away. The gist of 'The Housekeeper' came from speaking with a local Millbrook resident and 4th Line acting volunteer, Ben Olan. Before he passed away, Ben told Robert how, back in the 1950s, women would come to work on farms as housekeepers for widowers. The local community considered some of these women suspicious – were they after the farmers' money and land? Robert said this story resonated with him regarding the danger of local prejudice against the outsider, the other. For him, the potential for a good theatrical story existed. While 'The Housekeeper' is a serious tale (rated 16+), Winslow says in all of his and Ian's work, humour abounds as it helps us get through the hard times. Since the rating technically might be considered a trigger warning, I asked Winslow what he thinks about trigger warnings in the theatre. Sometimes, theatre should trigger and disrupt audiences. Winslow's response to trigger warnings: "I'm the wrong guy to ask about trigger warnings. Let's say 'The Housekeeper' is a romance, a mystery and a colourful tale. But more than anything, the play is about love. When love enters a story, all hell breaks loose." 'The Housekeeper' tells the story of the Barnardo children. Would audiences have to do some homework before they see the production? Appreciatively, Robert shared some information regarding the Barnardo children. Between the 1880s and 1930s, thousands of orphaned children (as young as 10 and 11) came from the United Kingdom to work on farms and in homes. It became the luck of the draw for many children who received excellent or poor treatment from the homeowners. If audience members asked their friends or neighbours about Barnardo children, they would likely find out that some of them have relatives with that history. In Peterborough alone, over 10,000 girls came through the Hazelbrae Distributing Home. Winslow began researching the Barnardo children in 2001 and had the privilege of speaking with some of these child immigrants by then, who were in their late 80s and early 90s. In 'The Housekeeper, ' Walter White is a Barnardo boy who hasn't spoken much about his past, but opens up to Eleanor. Robert further added: "Many Barnardo children guarded their pasts closely. Many did not feel welcomed in Canada, but the following fact remains: Barnardo children helped build this country, and now there is pride in that fact among their descendants." While Robert wishes he could name every resident who helped research historical information in 'The Housekeeper', he acknowledges Jerry Harding, a local son of a Barnardo girl, who helped greatly in research. Robert also owes an outstanding debt to Ivy Sucee, who, for many years, headed the Peterborough-based Hazelbrae Group, which promoted Barnardo children and their contributions to Canada. Ivy's father was a Barnardo boy maltreated by the people with whom he first lived in Canada. Ivy's father went on to have a successful and fulfilling life, raising many children. As we concluded our email conversation, I asked what's next for Robert after the 2025 summer season. Hopefully, he will be back to teaching at Trent, which he enjoys, and he will have the energy and passion to keep researching and writing plays for the theatre. Robert has been writing a play about a prisoner uprising in Treblinka Death Camp in 1943. He's also working on two other plays, one about his old high school and the other about his and Ian's Barnardo series of plays called ‘The End’. Barnardo boys Billy and Walter are now in long-term care. 'The Housekeeper' runs July 1 – 19, and 'Wild Irish Geese' runs July 29- August 30. For further information about the season, visit 4thlinetheatre.on.ca. Previous Next

“The Pandemic Profile series stemmed from a friendly checkin in on professional and Equity based theatre. The profiles continue...” Welcome to Profiles “A friendly check-in on professional and equity-based theatre artists .” Profiles Gallery Robert Winslow Oren Safdie IAIN MOGGACH Marshall-Pynkoski-and-Jeannette-Lajeunesse-Zingg- Sandra Laronde Hannan Younis and Rakhee Morzaria Jonathan Wilson Julia Nish-Lapidus, Hallie Seline, Cameron Laurie Rachel Cairns Elena Belyea Meghan Lindsay Andy Massingham Kim Blackwell Chris Tolley and Laura Mullin Linda Kash 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 Show More

What makes a comedy work - plot, characters, setting and theme. Back 'Liars at a Funeral' by Sophia Fabiilli Now onstage at the Springer Theatre, 185 South Street, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Gananoque. Now onstage at the Springer Theatre, 185 South Street, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Gananoque. Joe Szekeres (Photo Credit: JPG Photography. Pictured L-R: Deborah Drakeford, Courtenay Stevens, Justin Otto, Lucy Hill, Nora McLellan) ‘Director Krista Jackson puts a whole lotta ‘fun’ in this dysfunctional family dynamics. LIARS AT A FUNERAL is a tremendous hoot. My face and cheeks hurt from laughing so hard. A perfect way to begin the summer season at Thousand Islands Playhouse.’ No family is perfect, and the wackiness of matriarch Mavis’s (Nora McLellan) bunch is a testament to that. They’re also a hell of a lot of fun to watch in Sophia Fabiilli’s wickedly slick, farcical script of double entendres, puns and references that made me laugh so hard my face and cheeks hurt. This family has a supposed ‘curse’ on it. Twin girls in the family (who once were close) have become distant from each other through divorce and years of silence. Mavis has had enough of this estrangement. She concocts an idea to stage her death to bring her family together. Weird? Most assuredly. Wacko? Absolutely. But there’s more lying underneath Mavis’s so-called plan. And that’s not only where the fun lies. It begins when we learn in the programme that four cast members play dual roles. I’m doing my best not to give away too much as that would destroy what the Playhouse website calls: “bending the truth in all of the scripted ridiculous deceits.” Evelyn’s (Deborah Drakeford) twin sister passed away a year ago. Evelyn arrives at the funeral home with her friend Wayne (Courtenay Stevens). Believing her mother, Mavis, is dead, Evelyn brings Wayne to give her moral support. After her sister's funeral the previous year, mother and daughter did not part on good terms, which haunts Evelyn now. The plot gets thicker. Evelyn’s ex-husband, Frank (Stevens), shows up for hilarious reasons that will soon become apparent. Their twin daughters, Dee Dee and Mia (both played by Lucy Hill) have been estranged. Mia (the extrovert) cast her twin Dee Dee (the introvert) as the Gravedigger in a high school production of ‘Hamlet’ years ago. Things did not go well then, and the ensuing fiasco has never been resolved. We also meet Quint (Justin Otto), the assistant to the sex-craved Funeral Home Director, Leorah (Drakeford). Otto also plays Cam (Mia’s rather oddly strange partner), who would hug people instead of shaking hands when meeting them for the first time. Got all of this straightened out? You will be at the end. In the meantime, sit back and enjoy the zaniness of it all playing out before you. Sue LePage’s stunning set and Louise Guinand’s aptly lit funeral lighting create a genuine-looking funeral home spanning the entire Springer stage. Every inch of space is used, from a regal-looking purple carpeting (so much purple) to appropriate props one might find in a funeral home, right down to the angel wings behind the lights. For some eerie reason, LePage and Guinand have magically created a sense of death lingering in the air. There is a coffin upstage centre where ‘Mavis’ is supposed to be resting in a closed casket. Lyon Smith has selected perfect pre-show recordings of orchestral hymns that one might hear upon entering the place. Director Krista Jackson is enormously responsible for keeping the pace moving in a farce with her cast. She never allows the audience to think of how ridiculous the situation is. The actors must believe the truth in the moment and that it is happening. In the process, we, the audience, buy what is happening before us. They succeed on all accounts. Gloriously. The timing in the production of a farce is of the essence. On this opening night, these five are true pros. What’s also impressive is how quickly these five characters leave the stage, change and reappear as the other character, all within minutes. There’s also talk about some stage magic that directors might incorporate. Jackson has done that on the Springer stage. Again, I don’t want to spoil anything about the performance. All I will say is one of the actors exits and then enters as the other character within a matter of seconds. Watch for it. I won’t tell you where it happens. The cast is super on this sold-out opening night. The five of them are confirmed pros who instinctively understand the impeccable art of comic timing, whether how to deliver a joke or set it up without the moment becoming so obvious. Nora McLellan is feisty as matriarch Mavis. She rolls around the floor and climbs in and out of caskets with amusing poise and finesse. McLellan’s periodic smile indicates that she’s up to something in the style of Lucy Ricardo. The other four actors play characters who become dramatic foils of each other. Deborah Drakeford’s sexy, slinky Leorah contrasts beautifully with the practical and realistic Evelyn. Lucy Hill plays two opposing sisters with aplomb. Courtenay Stevens's portrayal of two differing men in Wayne and Frank sometimes left me trying to catch my breath because I was laughing so hard. Justin Otto’s nice guy Quint wants to move ahead in the funeral business. His Cam becomes such a loveable doofus that we begin to accept that hugging is his way of defusing any tension in meeting people. And Another Thought: ‘Liars at a Funeral’ is the second play I’ve seen in the last few days that has helped me to deal with the loss of my mother two weeks ago. The first – Haley McGee’s ‘Age is a Feeling’ now onstage at Soulpepper – is a continued reminder of the precious gift of life we all have while we are on this earth. ‘Liars at a Funeral’ allowed me to laugh in the face of death. And that’s okay. My late mother would have been joining me in fits of laughter as well. Thank you to this entire cast and Thousand Islands Playhouse for the gift of laughter. What a terrific start to the summer and fall season this year at Thousand Islands Playhouse. ‘Liars at a Funeral’ is worth the trip to Gananoque. Running time: approximately two hours with one interval/intermission. ‘Liars at a Funeral’ runs until June 22 at the Springer Theatre, Thousand Islands Playhouse, 185 South Street, Gananoque. For tickets, call (613) 382-7020 or visit 1000islandsplayhouse.com. THOUSAND ISLANDS PLAYHOUSE presents ‘Liars At a Funeral’ by Sophia Fabiilli Directed by Krista Jackson Assistant Director: Brynn Godenir Set & Costume Designer: Sue LePage Lighting Designer: Louise Guinand Stage Manager: Loralie Pollard Assistant Stage Manager: Emlyn vanBruinswaardt Performers: Deborah Drakeford, Lucy Hill, Nora McLellan, Justin Otto, Courtenay Stevens. Previous Next

Where we deconstruct a piece step by step. Back 'Liminal' by Throwdown Collective World Premiere presented by DanceWorks Courtesy of DanceWorks web page Guest writer Geoffrey Coulter, actor, director, arts educator Toronto’s DanceWorks started 2023 with an interesting, visually appealing and esoteric tale of change and evolution conceived and performed by a superbly disciplined trio of artists from the Throwdown Collective. I’ve always marvelled at modern dance and how choreographers and dancers can tell a myriad of narratives, apparently abandoning the confines of classic technique and randomly shaping their bodies, leaping, writhing, running and stretching to tell a subtle, off-beat tale. Such is the approach to Throwdown Collective’s “Liminal”. The program states the piece, “examines time and perception with theatrical imagery and dynamic physicality”. This performance certainly showcased theatrical imagery and dynamic physicality, but I was often puzzled. Don’t get me wrong, this 60-minute performance, which I would call more movement than actual dance, was created and performed by three extremely gifted artists – Mairéad Filgate, Zhenya Cerneacov, and Brodie Stevenson. Their enormous dedication, skill and herculean physical control are a sight to behold. They lift each other, fall into each other’s arms, run, roll, embrace, convulse, pulsate, gyrate, snap, and even tie a necktie in trilateral unison. Though the messaging often had my companion and me scratching our heads, the individual investment of these artists in the work was ultra-impressive. Performed in a black-box style space, David J. Patrick’s and Great Lakes Scenic Studios provided a small portable revolving stage. Narrow shafts of pre-show light beamed through clouds of ethereal smoke projecting two rotating and intersecting vertical lines centre stage. Haphazardly strewn about the stage were men’s shoes, shirts pants, and brightly-coloured rumpled suits, and ties (courtesy of costume designer Sorcha Gibson) that seemed to have spilled out of a laundry bag as someone was running to the cleaners. The performers entered wearing only their undergarments, equally spaced themselves on the revolving floor and proceeded to dress in slow motion. They jumped on and off the revolving stage, undressed and dressed again, connected, hugged each other, fought each other, folded, unfolded, in almost complete silence. Mute madness and mayhem? I wanted more human sound to help me connect. This transcendent compendium was supported by a fabulous original score by Joshua Van Tassel. His eerie drones, clanging phrases and pugnacious percussive underscored the roller-coaster of activity on the whirling wheel. From hard-hitting jabs to a single heartbeat, his choices here were spot-on. Lighting designer Arun Srinivasan once again shows us his brilliance in illuminating a space. I’ve recently seen other shows designed by this Lord of Light and he never fails to impress. His wonderful use of specials, motion gobos, and pattern projections combined with colourful side lights and narrow steep beams from above created equal parts mystery and psychedelia. Brava! It was a full house at this final performance with query and conversations abounding at the post-show reception. Throwdown Collective has created a buzz in Toronto’s theatre scene. Their work is unexpected but thoughtful. Even though I wasn’t always sure the meaning of what I was watching, it was executed brilliantly! Previous Next

Dramas encompass the human response to a created life situation on the stage. 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

Dramas encompass the human response to a created life situation on the stage. Back 'The House of Bernarda Alba' by Federico Garcia Lorca Presented by Aluna Theatre and Modern Times Stage Company John Lauener Dave Rabjohn ‘The House of Bernarda Alba,’ now playing at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, is a fiercely powerful production from the great poet and dramatist Federico Lorca. Lorca writes with primitive earthy zest and often uses folk tales and ballads from his native Andalusia. As a poet first, Lorca’s play is brimming with imagery and potent language which the director, Solheil Parsa embraces with vigour. This cast is stocked with talent and one would assume correctly that the title character Bernarda Alba, played by Beatriz Pizano, is the formidable actor. However, her extraordinary performance is equally matched by the dynamic work of Rhoma Spencer who plays the fiery maid Poncia. Upon the death of Bernarda’s second husband, she demands years of mourning from her five tortured daughters. They have been submitted to years of rule and cruel manipulation from their mother who denies them the colour of the outside world and the passion of outside relationships. Ms. Pizano’s unrelenting voice of anger fills the theatre. Her dark flashing eyes help to choreograph the daughters as Von Trapp-like children. She makes superb use of a walking cane that sparkles with brass and punctuates with regal knocks on the floor. As mentioned, Ms. Spencer plays the formidable role of Poncia, who acts as muse and confidante to Bernarda. She is also Bernarda’s conscience - much like a Shakespearean fool, who we know is not a fool at all. Poncia is also a bridge between the mother and daughters and the dueling daughters themselves. Her performance ranges from quiet anger to amusing comic effect. Her movements are all angular with boldly rolling hips and arrogant shoulders. She sometimes hides beneath the role of meek housemaid, but more often rails against Bernarda’s injustice, coming within inches of Bernarda’s anger, and the cane. At one point from Poncia, a simple “mm” is full of weight. The oldest half-sister, Angustias, is played by a smoldering Lara Arabian who is engaged to the spirited Pepe. The sisters are jealous, none more so than Martirio, played by Liz Dar, who uses a sour face to perfection. The tension in her face is subtle at first and then explodes in raging self promotion. But it is Nyiri Karakas, as Adela, who is most rebellious of all. She refuses traditional mourning and has been discovered to have an affair with her sister’s fiancé. Teamed with Ms. Dar, the two offer a wealth of talent as they match each other’s characters with seething anger and unrelenting savage dialogue. Finally, Bernarda takes matters into her own hands which ignites the tragic end for the sisters. As a poet, Lorca fills the play with imagery of passion, lust, and bloody despair. While the frustrated daughters watch the men working in the fields, we hear of wild stallions kicking their stalls and horses running free. One potent scene has the girls following the song of working men into a crescendo of orgasmic tension. Another powerful scene follows the horror of the daughters as they witness the bloody torture of a young unmarried girl accused of killing her illegitimate child. The motif of eyes and eyesight depicts Bernarda’s control over her daughters and defines Poncia’s skills in observation. At one point, Poncia proclaims, “my whole body is full of eyes – I watch.” In the end, Bernarda wants no tears. A separate mention goes to Thomas Ryder Payne for an extraordinary sound design – funereal bells almost pound us into submission as directed by Bernarda. In the two scenes just mentioned, the sound rises and falls dramatically with the horrors of each scene. Booming knocks on the door reflect the challenge from the outside world. Lorca’s work dwells on the conflict of generational divides and the problems of conformity. He was murdered at the age of thirty-six by Franco’s army due to his homosexuality. This luminous cast has embraced the challenge of Lorca’s beautiful lyricism and demonstrated the bitterness of a house of pride. ‘The House of Bernarda Alba’ by Federico Garcia Lorca Director – Soheil Parsa Performers – Beatriz Pizano, Lara Arabian, Theresa Cutknife, Liz Der, Soo Garay, Nyiri Karakas, Monica Rodriguez Knox, Rhoma Spencer Lighting/Set design – Trevor Schwellnus Sound design – Thomas Ryder Payne Performances run through April 24, 2022. Tickets – buddiesinbadtimes.com Previous Next

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Colm and Donna Feore Moving Forward Ann Baggley Joe Szekeres To the 115 Canadian and American professional theatre artists whom I’ve profiled over the last six months: thank you so much for sharing your stories and your thoughts with all of us. On a personal note, it is the arts to which I have turned during these sometimes very trying six months of the pandemic to keep me focused and going in knowing the end will be in sight. I passionately believe with all my heart and being the end of this pandemic is in sight. When is anyone’s guess? Live theatre will be back, and it will be a pleasure to return and watch all professional artists grace the stage again with those roles, those ‘dream’ roles, you so very much want to play. Who knows what format theatre will take as we slowly emerge from all this? But that is the exciting part in anticipation of wondering how the theatres will tackle this new challenge. When the decision was made in October to conclude the ‘Moving Forward’ series November 30, I struggled trying to decide who to ask as there were so many other artists out there with whom I so very much wanted to contact but time restraints didn’t allow me – at least for now. But who? I came upon a trailer of ‘Bon Cop, Bad Cop’ a few weeks ago online, and I just knew right then that I wanted to ask Donna and Colm Feore for an interview. I just sensed they as well were the right choice to conclude this series. And so, I contacted the Stratford Festival to ask for a contact to get in touch with the Feores. And I was equally humbled and elated when Donna got in touch with me to say she and Colm would be delighted to participate and to conclude the series. Donna is an extraordinary director and choreographer of many shows at the Festival. I’ve seen Colm in many wonderful productions at the Festival as well along with many television and film roles. Thank you/Merci, Donna and Colm for the interview via email. Until we all see each other again: It has been an exceptionally long eight months since the pandemic began, and now 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? DONNA: It is very troubling to see the numbers climb so high again in November. It is a stark wake up call that Covid has gone nowhere and we are completely dependant on behaviours of our society to keep everyone safe. Hand washing, distancing and mask wearing continue to be the smartest action we can do at the moment. I am optimistic we will come out the other side of this pandemic. The recent news of vaccines is very encouraging! COLM: I am feeling optimistic and defeated by turns. On the one hand, I believe we will be back when circumstances allow and that we can stay ready for that moment; on the other, the sum of what we’ve lost is huge and I am trying to reconcile that loss with the need to keep moving forward. When we emerge from this pandemic period I think we will keep what we have learned about best practices and have a new, and I hope, appreciation of the value of what we do, both our audiences and ourselves. How have you been faring? How has your immediate family been doing during these last eight months? DONNA: I think there are good days and there are fewer good days for me. I miss the social and physical contact with people. I have however been given a huge gift of time to see friends that I have lost contact with over these last years with busy schedules. My immediate family is doing well. We had our daughter home for almost 6 months as she is a professional volleyball player, and her sport was shut down. Our son just graduated law school, so he was home for an extended period of time before he started articling. Our oldest son and his wife work form home in TO but we found we had more time with them. I believe we would have never had this time with our adult children without this pandemic and I will be profoundly grateful for it forever. COLM: I began the shutdown committed to keep working on what I was doing when we stopped. When it became clear we were not coming back, I grieved for the work done but began to think about the new perspective the shutdown offered. Our business is precarious. If you are lucky enough to do it and keep doing it, you keep going, almost afraid to stop. When you are forced to stop you start to reflect. We had some of our family with us to share our time and even though it was weird we cherished it. These moments showed us what is really important. As an artist within the performing arts community, what has been the most difficult and challenging for you professionally and personally? COLM: Well, professionally this has been catastrophic. And, like my wife and I, many of our colleagues and friend are two artists households. The threat is existential. We’ve relied on each other to reach out and encourage, philosophize, laugh and cry about the situation. And it helps. I’ve got a lot of balanced advice from other artists about how to cope with the stresses of these days. Some offer wisdom, some books, some recipes, some exercise ideas. All useful, all welcome. DONNA: I miss my creative teams most of all. I realize now that it has been taken away, just how much I love and cherish our time together. The laughter, the brilliant ideas, the collaboration. It is a loss both professionally and personally because we are a close group and have worked together for a long time. It just always was so great to be together. I miss them all so much. We have stayed in touch a fair amount these last months. It is an important bond that a pandemic can’t destroy. I worry for the artists, especially the artists that are alone. I feel terrible for the younger generation of artist that is just beginning, but I am especially sad for the actors and creative artists that are mid career and on the cusp of huge breakthroughs. It is painful to see them having to put everything on hold and rethink knowing how incredibly talented they all are. 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? DONNA: At the Stratford Festival I was directing and choreographing a version of “Chicago’ that I had been given the permission to completely reimagine. There are 15 production numbers in the show, and we were one day away from the sitzprobe for ‘Chicago’. The sitzprobe is the first time the company gets to hear our orchestra play the score, and the singers get to sing the songs with the orchestra. It is a magical day ALWAYS, no matter the show but this one felt incredibly special. ‘Chicago’ has a magnificent score and to hear our brilliant musicians play it was going to be off the charts! It was heartbreaking to have to stop dead and, when we went in to collect our belongings, the rehearsal room was set up for the sitzprobe. I will never forget that feeling of sadness when I walked in the room and saw that. I feel extremely optimistic that it will be produced in the future, so we just have to be patient. I was also directing and choreographing a new musical of ‘Here’s What It Takes’ written by Steven Page and Daniel MacIvor. We had been developing the show for over 2 years and we were in production on week 3 when we stopped. It was another blow to not see the show produced and it was going to be in the beautiful new Tom Patterson Theatre. I am very hopeful that it too will have a life in the future. I also have two shows that are in pre-Broadway tryout phase. Both of those shows are new works, and both have dates set for fall of 2021 and early 2022. COLM: I was rehearsing ‘Richard III’ which was scheduled to open the new Tom Patterson Theatre as an echo of the production with Alec Guinness which opened the festival in 1953. We were well on our way and I had been preparing for many months before we started so when we stopped and then realized we weren’t coming back, it was a shock. I continue to work on the play, but I don’t see us returning to it until at least 2022. What have you been doing to keep yourself busy during this time? DONNA: Lots of hiking!! I am the creative producer on a new project for the National Arts Centre Orchestra. It is a 4-part television show that features some of our most gifted artists both in the worlds of music and the visual arts in Canada. I am excited and look forward to an announcement of the project in the very near future. I have been working on both shows being produced in the USA with the writers throughout the pandemic. They are both brand new musicals, so we have taken this time to continue working on the score and the script. It has been wonderful to have the time in a more relaxed environment to really dig in. I have cleaned out my house and continue to do so. I cannot believe how much stuff we have accumulated and kept over the years! It feels good to purge and do the stuff around the house that I have said I would do for the last 10 years! I have connected with friends that I have not seen or talked to in far too long. That has been such a positive part of Covid for me. We have some close friends in Stratford that have been in our bubble this whole time, so we feel lucky here. We also are extremely fortunate to have an amazing family that we are so grateful for. COLM: Well, once the biggest question of our day became “what’s for dinner?”, I knew I’d have a purpose. I love cooking and having time to try stuff out has been great. I’ve had a chance to read more and more widely. We’ve also begun to just start fixing things up around the house that our work allowed us to ignore for so long. And perhaps the best thing is that we had a couple of our adult children isolated with us while they studied for various things. It was a great pleasure getting to know them better. 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? DONNA: To be honest, everyday is a new day of discovery of what interests me and how I enjoy spending my time. Live theatre will be back. It will be different, but it will be back. I guess I would say to keep trying to work on your skills. Keep exploring new skills and get curious about other things. These are opportunities that you might otherwise not have had without this enforced pause in our industry. Colm has always been interested in so many other things other than acting and I admire his ability to allow curiosity to take him down some really exciting paths. I am trying to do that more and I highly recommend that a young actor and creative artist coming out of theatre school allow that curiosity into their being. It is a scary time for so many artists. Our industry was uncertain enough financially, so this added stress is a lot for many to bear. I hope and wish that people are finding a way through it. COLM: I am certain that public performance will return and that the lessons of the pandemic will change how it works. I think that the best way to ride out this crisis is to continue working on your craft. It’s about staying ready and being flexible. And no matter what you are doing to make a living, never stop the imaginative work of the actor. I was taught that every class was an acting class, that there was always something to be learned from living. Nothing is wasted. That said, I know that for the perennially unemployed this has gone from a dry spell to a desert, but we must trust that what we offer the world is desperately needed and, as soon as we possibly can, we’ll be back. Do you see anything positive stemming from Covid 19? DONNA: That’s hard because there has been so much suffering and continues to be for so many. I do however feel that Covid has given time for all us to reflect on our choices, our actions, and our evaluation of the future. I have talked a lot about family and friend time which has been such a positive. I have also seen so many artists create a new path for themselves that is so impressive! It is amazing to see the talent that has come out of these artists. Our community in Stratford has been hit hard both in the theatre, the retail, restaurant and hospitality industry. I have watched a community get behind each other and support each other so much. People who are hard hit themselves reaching out and helping others. It has made me love this city of Stratford even more. COLM: In the face of such global suffering I find it hard to see much positive though perhaps, the time for isolated reflection has been of use. We’ve had time to question our choices, and I know that moving forward our choices will reflect the experience of Covid. Do you think Covid 19 will have some lasting impact on the Toronto/Canadian/North American performing arts scene? COLM: No question that Covid will transform the performing arts locally, nationally, and globally. We are going to have to learn to live with it, or something like it, forever. The lessons of science will allow us to come back together, but I think it will take some time to figure out how. The one ray of hope I have is a fundamental belief in the deep desire humans have for community. We need to share our stories, our songs, ourselves, it’s part of what makes us human. DONNA: Yes, it will. There is a hard reality for all the performing arts in North America. It will be a long climb for the arts to get back to a healthy financial position again. I do think we have all taken for granted that we will always be able to do what we love in our industry. Our worries were our next jobs. When the anchor was thrown overboard in our speedboat, and our industry literally stopped around the entire world, it proved that it can all be taken away instantly. I know I will never take it for granted ever again. Some artists have turned to You Tube 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? DONNA: I think it has been particularly good for some artists to be able to continue showcasing their work and teaching on You Tube and other platforms. I am interested in content that is developed strictly for a digital platform. I think it is something that can live alongside the live event in the future. We live in a huge country geographically and being able to digitally reach communities that do not have the means to come to a live event whether it be theatre, dance, opera or symphony is crucial to the future of the arts and their relevance. COLM: I’m happy to see artists taking advantage of whatever medium is available to get their work out there. In a few short years there have been profound changes in how people get their entertainment. If an artist can connect with their audience via You Tube etc then why not? I will always love the live experience with both players and audience in the same space and if that space must be virtual, bring it on. Despite all this fraught tension and confusion, what is it about performing that Covid will never destroy for you? DONNA: Our creativity remains in us all. That won’t go anywhere. It is where it needs to be right now, whatever that looks like. COLM: I have been incredibly lucky to have worked on a few projects while under Covid protocols and restrictions, and what it couldn’t kill was my gratitude for, and delight in, the work. Acting is a crazy business at the best of times but working under these peculiar conditions made me appreciate how much I enjoy it. Not retiring just yet!! (Editor’s Note: and I’m pleased you’re not just yet) Previous Next

Where music, song and dance all contribute to an enjoyable plot on stage Back 'Mean Girls' The National Touring Company Toronto's Princess of Wales Adante Carter and English Bernhardt. Credit: Jenny Anderson Joe Szekeres The scorching wit of Tina Fey’s book and Nell Benjamin’s clever lyrics are sometimes marred by the distracting and uneven sound balance between the orchestra and singers. I do hope this is rectified immediately. I had no interest to see the 2004 film version of ‘Mean Girls’ when it opened, none, so I was going in blind to watch the musical at Toronto’s Princess of Wales Theatre. As a full-time teacher then, the story’s premise hit just a tad too close to home. Several students often in tears came to talk over the years about certain ‘mean girls’ who made life miserable for them for various reasons. Without going into further detail, a mean girl situation also led to the death of someone from the school where I worked which was devastating for me. So, with this personal backstory, off I went with perhaps a slanted bias. Effeminate Damian Hubbard (Eric Huffman) and gothic-looking Janis Sarkisian (Lindsay Heather Pearce at this performance) break the fourth wall to introduce us to newly arrived home-schooled student from Kenya, Cady Heron (English Bernhardt), to North Shore High School in inner-city Chicago. Cady encounters difficulties fitting in but Damian and Janis have their new friend’s back in introducing her to the ways of the school. Meanwhile, Cady is also introduced to the three Plastics (The Mean Girls) from the school: leader Regina George (Nadina Hassan) and her two minion followers, second in command Gretchen Wieners (Jasmine Rogers) and blonde bimbo Karen Smith (Grace Romanello at this performance). A plan is put in place between Damian, Janis, and Cady where the latter will make friends with the mean girls, spy on them and report back what was said. In her AP Calculus class, Cady meets nice guy Aaron Samuels (Adante Carter) who broke up with Regina several weeks ago. Clearly, there will be friction between Cady and Regina when the truth will out and the ‘you know what’ hits the fan. Throughout the story, there are moments of what I call high schoolish behaviour that, to be honest, made me feel uncomfortable. These plot moments were realistically staged in such a way they could happen in the school system today. For one, many of the Burn Book comments projected at the pre-show could come out of the mouths of these young people. It was reassuring to see a Program Note stating this National Touring Company is dedicated to inspiring change and providing positive ways to take action, stop and call out mean and bullying treatment of others. Does this initiative speak and resonate today? For youth, yes, it surely does, and I hope they continue to call it out. As a retired teacher, I’m pleased to see that message come through at the conclusion (even though what happens to Regina initially shocked me from the approving catcalls and applause from some audience members). Meanness and bullying, however, don’t stop when one becomes older. Hopefully, we respond differently: ie. call it out in front of others, tell someone where to go, or walk away and not engage. Sometimes our youth cannot do this, and they must learn how to face it on their own. Kudos to those young people who do call it out in front of others for what it is. But truth be told, did I learn anything extraordinary or new about human nature from ‘Mean Girls’? No, I didn’t. That’s not to say there isn’t a lot to admire about this touring production because there is. For one, Tina Fey’s book is sharp-witted. I laughed out loud at the staging reminiscent of Disney’s ‘The Lion King’ near the top of the show. The daring and exciting ensemble of youthful talent is one I hope to see either through future National Tours or trips to NYC. A quick side note: it was wonderful to see many young people in the audience as I’m certain they could connect with some of the ‘badass’ high school moments. I hope the sound balance between the orchestra and the actors can be fixed immediately. In many of the ensemble musical numbers, I missed A LOT of the scorching wit of Nell Benjamin’s clever lyrics and that grew frustrating for me as the show progressed. Finn Ross and Adam Young’s video designs at the top of the show are boldly in-your-face colourful to match how these mean girls like bright pastel colours to make them stand out from others. Director Casey Nicholaw’s staging moves at breakneck speed which greatly works at keeping the story propelling forward. There are some wonderful musical solo numbers so acknowledgement to Music Director Chris Kong’s work here, especially in Jasmine Rogers’ poignant ‘What’s Wrong with Me?’ in the first act. Casey Nicholaw’s choreography remains athletically and dauntlessly daring. Some standout performers in this Touring Company. English Bernhardt is naively sweet as Cady who learns the value of friendship. Nadina Hassan’s Regina is believably catty that you just want to wipe that sarcastic smirk from that face (or at least silently cheer as she puts on weight). Jasmine Rogers’ always eager to please Gretchen truthfully shows her growing fatigue in doing this in her ‘What’s Wrong with Me’ solo. Grace Romanello’s dumb blonde and vacuous-headed Karen is a riot and a hoot. Eric Huffman’s Damian is that kind of friend we all need in our lives – someone who chooses not to play the game and allows people to see him for who he really is. Plus, Huffman is one hell of a tap dancer so sit back and simply enjoy his work in ‘Stop’ in the second act. Lindsay Heather Pearce’s Janis naturally convinced me that sometimes ‘looks can be deceiving’. Janis may dress differently, but there is a true-spirited, smart individual underneath all that dark clothing. Adante Carter’s Aaron is that nice guy who likes Cady for who she is not what she’s trying to become. Final Comments: As we slowly, oh, so very slowly, emerge from this pandemic, I believe shows like ‘Mean Girls’ will bring young people back to the theatre. I plan to take a look at the initiative ‘Change is Fetch’ and see what’s going on. Running time: approximately two hours and 30 minutes with one intermission. The National Touring Company of ‘Mean Girls’ plays to November 27 at The Princess of Wales Theatre, 300 King Street West, Toronto. For tickets visit mirvish.com or call 1-800-461-3333. MEAN GIRLS Book by Tina Fey Music by Jeff Richmond Lyrics by Nell Benjamin Based on the Paramount Pictures film ‘Mean Girls’ Director and Choreographer: Casey Nicholaw Music Director: Chris Kong Video Design: Finn Ross & Adam Young Sound Design: Brian Ronan Lighting Design: Kenneth Posner Costume Design: Scott Pask Performers: English Bernhardt, Nadina Hassan,k Jasmine Rogers, Morgan Ashley Bryant, Lindsay Heather Pearce, Eric Huffman, April Josephine, Adante Carter, Kabir Bery, Lawrence E. Street, (plus many others listed in the programme) Previous Next

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Rebecca Perry ... Joe Szekeres My friend, Peter Mazzucco, recommended that I should get in touch with his friend, Rebecca Perry, for an interview as she has led a fascinating career so far. Rebecca’s name sounded familiar to me, and I’ve finally recalled that I saw an interesting solo show in summer 2020 as part of the Hamilton Digital Fringe Festival: Sarah/Frank by Steven Elliott Jackson which toured to the Toronto, Fundy and Halifax digital Fringe festivals. Rebecca Perry is a Toronto‐based actor, singer and writer, best known for her solo work which she writes and performs around the English-speaking world. Her two Redheaded Coffeeshop Girl shows have taken her from coast to coast in Canada and from top to bottom of the UK and Ireland, both receiving critical acclaim. Perry’s most recent solo show, From Judy to Bette: The Stars of Old Hollywood has toured around Ontario, the East Coast, the Prairies and all over the UK. It had great critical and industry success at the 2019 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and most recently toured around the GTA for three months with Toronto’s Smile Theatre and finished a full run in the Sudbury Theatre Centre’s 19/20 season garnering six Broadway World Award nominations. Perry performed a live-streamed, fireside version of the show in March 2020, which won the Broadway World Award for Top Streaming Production/Performance. She can be seen on film in the multi-Canadian Comedy Award-winning web series A Gay Victorian Affair, and the feature films Forest Fairies, Best Friend From Heaven and Baby in a Manger, as well as on television programmes available on streaming services in the UK, Canada and North and South America (including Ponysitters Club, Haunted Hospitals and Killer Affair). Perry’s theatre performances have continued digitally since lockdowns began, and she has toured several shows with Smile Theatre, including From Judy to Bette, and two works created for that exact purpose: Maps of Home: A Folk Cabaret and Christmas in Hollywood. Perry’s most recent works include the role of Ethel LeNeve in Jackson’s The Kindness of Murder, which was filmed for the 2021 digital Next Stage Theatre Festival. We conducted our interview via Zoom. Thanks again, Rebecca: Next month, 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? You know, it’s funny, obviously everybody has had their challenges and to take better care of their mental health, this time has created a space for me to learn more about myself, and also created space for me to get creative. If I didn’t have this space of this time [of Covid] right now, I wouldn’t have been able to follow through on a number of projects. Before our interview, I made a list of about eight things I wouldn’t have done if the pandemic did not occur. I’m already a woman who wears many hats in this theatre industry. Along with being an actor, singer, I’m a playwright, producer, and I’ve had a chance to actively flex all those muscles at different points throughout this year in a way that I don’t think I would have allowed myself the time to do, nor without the time to do any of this without CERB. Artists need funds to do their work so when you take that stress away from them, all of a sudden people can do their passion projects, not just projects that pay the bills. My partner David and I have been extremely careful. After we did our online show, we made the executive decision that we didn’t feel safe where we were living in Toronto in Little Italy. We had the good fortune of having my parents stay with them for a few months and bubble with them. How have you been spending your time since the theatre industry has been locked up tight as a drum? I’m a yearly speaker at George Brown Theatre School about producing your own work. One of the things I’m known for is producing my own solo work and having it travel the world, not just Fringe Festivals but theatre seasons in Festival seasons. I do say to the graduates if you have any idea for a production, write it now because you’re going to need it sooner than you think. It’s the most important thing I can say even to people three years younger than me. My very last contract before the pandemic hit, one I’m very proud of that took a lot of time and hard work was a full length run in a theatre season of my most recent solo show called ‘From Judy to Bette: The Stars of Old Hollywood’ which chronicles the life and times of Judy Garland, Bette Davis, Lucille Ball, Betty Hutton and what they did for the television and film industry that paved the path for other women to do the same thing. This show was a passion project for me, and I’m sure you can tell from the tone of my voice just how passionate I am about it. We had a 2 and a half week run at The Sudbury Centre. That ended, Covid hit, and I went from a 90-minute “bells and whistles” production in Sudbury to my very first pandemic gig being an online version of the same performance, in my living room, and it received tons of support. I’ve turned it into a fireside story telling moment and just found out a week ago it was awarded Top Streaming Production/Performance in the 2020 Broadway World Toronto awards (and nominated for five others for its run at the Sudbury Theatre Centre in Feb 2020). After this, I felt so creatively fuelled that I had this online support. With my partner David Kingsmill, I wrote a folk cabaret called ‘Maps of Home’ that we’ve been meaning to do for awhile. David is from the the UK, I’m from Canada, but we’ve found out all these ways we could have met 10 years before we did. It’s about your roots, your home, what’s special about home, when you leave your home. The biggest plus for me has been this writer/actor relationship and connection I’ve made with Steven Elliott Jackson who wrote ‘Sarah/Frank’ as well as ‘The Kindness of Murder’. And having this wonderful, wonderful relationship furthered when Ryan G. Hinds became part and directed both of these pieces. I was the producer of both these productions. I had such a good time with Ryan in producing ‘Sarah/Frank’ that I wanted to do it again ‘Kindness’. I’ve become excited in moving forward as to how I’m going to adapt to the inevitable changes that will come out of this time of isolation. If we adapt, we will thrive. If we don’t adapt, we’re just going to break our hearts over and over again. I’m excited about digital ideas I want to put out there. We also finished off the year with ‘Christmas in Hollywood’ which was a lot of fun and presented it to seniors’ home across Ontario. Our show was done from Zoom and projected onto screens in seniors’ homes. The pandemic has been a horrible thing to occur, but there is also room to count your blessings. It turns out I have a talent for refurbishing antique furniture, so I’ve been doing that and selling it on Facebook Marketplace. It totally brought me joy. I’m also into selling vintage clothing. For fun, I’ve been creating Minnie Mouse and Mickey Mouse ears. My health is also better. I’m getting more sleep than ever before. 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? That’s almost a tricky one because Covid has forced me out of my shell a little bit. I had been creative in ways that I didn’t think I’d have the time to be. I think I have made theatrical alliances that I’d hoped would have happened 5 or 6 years down the road such as two shows by Messrs. Jackson and Hinds. They have been both good friends of mine and an utter joy to work with both of them. I also had a chance to align myself with a community that is adjacent to the musical theatre scene in Toronto which is the Cabaret Performance and Burlesque Community. I’ve always been meaning to make this connection. Cabaret style of performance always enters into what I’m doing so it was wonderful to make some connections in the Toronto community of it as I’m only connected to the communities in Edinburgh, Scotland and London, England (going to the Fringe next summer) My next gig was to tour ‘From Judy to Betty’ for four months in the UK. It was high time to make these connections in TO. I’ve also aligned myself with this wonderful woman, Stella Kulagowski, who goes by St. Stella in the burlesque community. She put out a call because she got a fully funded grant to put out a digital show. She wanted to do a web revue of Canada’s top talent, but in a whole bunch of different sections from Cabaret to Burlesque. I was doing the old-style Hollywood MGM cabaret style performance. It was a smorgasbord of wonderfully talented performers. Check out this link to learn more about Stella’s company: https://pointedcapcabaret.com/performer-bios/ I do come off as an extrovert, but I see myself more as an ‘extroverted introvert’. That’s why I like writing and creating my own solo shows because I can really focus on what I’m doing. I’m a team player and want to work with as many different people as I possibly can. 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? I agree and will be honest and say it’s probably more likely the end of 2022 before we have a return to the traditional form of theatre as we have come to know it in a building with a proscenium arch. As a touring artist in the English-speaking world, I know personally I probably won’t get under a British or Scottish proscenium arch until the summer of 2022 unfortunately. That being said, I think it was high time that a lot of things got shaken up a little bit. There were a few companies and people in power who were stagnant and lazy. Now, all of a sudden, every single company had to adapt at the same time, and it has actually created a larger sense of community again. Counting those little blessings, strangely enough we can’t see each other but we’ve never been more connected than ever. I’m not going to say it was necessary as, my goodness, a pandemic is awful. But, it’s interesting the amazing things that have happened. Does it make me sad that I believe theatre won’t be back until the summer of 2022? Of course, it does. The best thing anyone can do in this time is keep training. There are wonderful online classes and talks with speakers Canadians normally wouldn’t have any access to (David Connally and master classes). This has created a sense of unity. The theatre that is going to occur up to the summer of 2022 are solo shows. Since I perform some solo shows, it’s forced me to research how are we going to pull things off safely? – The answer is outdoor theatre with a limited audience (50 people, 15 people). Theatres need to get a bit creative – more shows with less audience? I know that isn’t an answer theatre may want to hear, but it’s a matter of safety for all those who are involved and attend live shows. As a solo show performer, I’m going to be on the front lines this summer and yes I want to make sure everyone is safe. I know it’s an answer people don’t want to hear, but there has to be plexiglass. As a solo performer, I’m going to be seeing so many people, so I have to ensure that I’m safe no matter what. It does make me sad. Actors are going to have to try their darndest to connect with an audience even through plexiglass if used. In a strange way with a limited audience, the performer will be forced to improve their craft even more to get the attention of that small audience. 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? I think there’s no room for something that doesn’t generally move an audience. I do a lot of stuff on the lighter side of musical theatre, I don’t it generally matters with the subject matter, it’s the connection with the audience that is so very important on multiple levels. There isn’t room for anything insincere that won’t shake the heart. Many subjects can shake the heart, as some commercial theatre has given theatre a bad name but that’s all out the window now. We have to feel the emotion right now. We’ve stopped drinking Diet Pepsi as we want to drink the real thing – Pepsi. As artists we have to be doing something now that matters, not something that is going to further your career. We have to be telling stories that need to be told right now, and that it’s relevant to our society right now. I really hope artists will think about why they are creating what they are creating. Some of the most moving things I’ve seen recently are not what I had expected. And I love that. People have to give credit to all kinds of scales that theatres can be created. I have felt utter joy in all kinds of theatre out there. I really hope for upcoming post pandemic theatre that both audiences and theatre companies are going to take chances. I truly believe that artists are going to create so much more with purposeful intention. It’ll take longer for larger casts to come back and that’s sad. But, when larger casts do return I hope they will think about what they are creating which will give them purposeful intentions. There’s power in taking up smaller casts and exploring what can be offered with them. There’s going to be exciting times ahead. 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? Ooooo….. I like the three parts to this question. I’m actually going to say I agree with the sentiment of it in the sense of it that if you aren’t present in the moment and feeling the thrill of what is happening in the story, the audience won’t feel it either. I think she’s referring to intention to effect and affect an audience. In the last five years, we’ve had some wonderful breakthroughs in making actors feel safe while doing dangerous work. Not only fight choreography instructors, but there are also now intimacy coaches to help you safely navigate bumpy, turbulent relationships within the text. What’s nice is you can be focused on the danger and thrill of the story because the entire band of actors are doing it in a safe way where they trust each other and where everyone feels like they’re not going to be in danger, they’re going to be so good at their job and focus on the text that the audience will feel like they’re in danger. I love the sentiment that you should feel that thrill, but in the past five years we’ve found the way to feel safe and secure no matter the text presented in the script. When I heard that definition, I was harkened back to the 1990s when the Method acting was the way to go for an artist. Now let’s take this from a different perspective on account of the pandemic since the quite is so relevant. I’m going to be so nervous in having someone work alongside me in that initial stage of returning. I’m not sure when doing my job isn’t going to feel like a risk if it’s just more than me on the stage. It’s petrifying but it’s also realistic. It’s going to take a long time for all to be vaccinated and hopefully people will not be skipping any of the safety steps before and after vaccination. I think I’ll be sticking to all of these wonderful digital creations or to my solo shows probably until the summer of 2022 and then hop on stage with other people with the knowledge that all will be vaccinated and, hopefully, if there are any ramifications or not. 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? For me, it’s been appreciating the little things and celebrating the little successes and trying to celebrate those of my family and friends as well. While our industry is in tatters, and many of my closest friends are in this industry, it’s both a blessing and curse to look outside the definition of yourself that includes your career, and more like who you are as a person. It has made me more sensitive to celebrating more than what I just used to celebrate. Alongside another woman, we planned the Zoom baby shower to end all baby showers for a friend, what was nice was the fact she felt safe at home. Of course, it’s tricky to have a shower since we can’t get together. Celebrating things that have nothing to do with the arts has brought me so much joy that I want to keep doing that once we’re out of Covid. I want to intentionally make time to celebrate all of life’s miracles. Before I was so laser focused on the career moments, I was missing some of the beautiful stuff around me, and I don’t want to do that again. It’s not a theatrical answer, but it’s the truth. 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? As I told you earlier, the three side businesses have also kept me going during this time. I want to take better care of my health especially when I’m touring. I’ve actually had the time to figure what I need to sustain myself to thrive since I’m a vegetarian. I’m so excited to apply that the next time I go on tour as I’ll feel more strong, ready and awake. I can’t believe it took me until my thirties to realize this life changing source. I probably should have done it sooner. I’ve realized the mind/body connection in my curiosity as you have to be at your fighting weight. Yes, we have to have good mental health but there are other elements we shouldn’t neglect. To see a teaser of Rebecca in production of ‘From Judy to Bette’, click the YouTube link below: https://youtu.be/Ud7WO49wedY Previous Next

A deconstruction of an individual's story. Back 'Guilt: A Love Story' written and performed by Diane Flacks Now onstage at Tarragon Theatre Credit: Cylla von Tiedemann Joe Szekeres ‘Wickedly hilarious and poignantly engaging. Diane Flacks’ remarkable timing regarding the hilarious and serious is noteworthy.” Smartly dressed in a comfortably stylish pantsuit by designer Jung Hye-Kim, Diane Flacks enters from the back of the auditorium on this opening night. She’s carrying tequila shots on a tray, which she hands out to some audience members. You don’t have to partake if you do not wish to do so. It’s a hell of an opening to grab the audience’s attention. Who doesn’t love a tequila shot, especially if it’s complimentary? Flacks looks ready to have a good time. Let’s remember why tequila shots are taken, shall we? One, it’s meant to get the party started. Two, it can also mean forgetting troubles by downing alcohol quickly. We’ll come back to this shortly. Hye-Kim’s set is diamond-shaped with a deep blue hue courtesy of Leigh Ann Vardy’s effective lighting design. Several props laid on sand can be found around the stage. Scene transitions are smooth thanks to Vardy’s careful attention. Deanna H. Choi’s sound designs are sharply clear and timed perfectly to underscore the emotional impact of the moment. At first, Flacks begins with her understanding of guilt. It’s funny as she launches into equating both being Jewish and constantly feeling guilty about something, whether it be from her children, her ex or perhaps an advised and trusted older individual in her family. There are some riotous references regarding motherhood where I laugh out loud. A few innuendos went over my head, but women sitting around me started to chuckle, as did my female guest. Her facial expressions are a treat to behold. Her energy and stamina deeply propel the pacing forward naturally and realistically. Nothing ever appears rushed. Even in those heightened moments of humour and sadness, I could hear and was on every word Diane spoke. I hesitate to share too much of the humour. That would spoil the remarkable comic timing and delivery about her faith, being a gay parent and trying to do her best to raise her children with her ex in what might have been construed as an unconventional home setting in the twentieth century. That thinking doesn’t fly in the twenty-first century as children can be raised in a loving home no matter who the parental authority is. ‘Guilt: A Love Story’ is not a comedy show, however. According to the programme: “It is a deep dive into a complex, uncomfortable and highly human feeling.” In Director Alisa Palmer’s capable hands, Flacks’ first-class script exudes tremendous compassion with a dash of sass on the side. Palmer says in her Director’s Programme Note how important it is to look, listen and share our struggles with each other. And Palmer doesn’t forget to add humour when things get serious. There is a line from ‘Steel Magnolias’ where one of the characters says: “Things were getting far too serious, and we needed to laugh.” Flacks does just that. Admirably and bravely. When she pours into some personal experiences that have pained her and made her feel guilty, these hit home with me. Those sitting around me remained silently still and listening intently. As Diane launched into her memories bravely and with such clarity, I could see them play out in my mind. One moment occurred when she was at a hospital. There are several gasps from the audience when the truth finally comes out about what happens there. Let’s just say that, at this point, said tequila shot that opened the show was well timed. Flacks’ charisma and charm won me over. She is a bona fide raconteur of perception, humour, warmth, and charm. And that’s the reason to see ‘Guilt: A Love Story’. And another thought: On an interesting side note, I’ve also heard the same joke about those who practice Catholicism and are always made to feel guilty (The Catholic Guilt). Given this personal connection, Flacks certainly got my attention, and I’m all ears to hear what she says. Attention all Catholics – pay a visit to Tarragon to see what Diane Flacks has to say. Running time: approximately 85 minutes ‘Guilt: A Love Story’ runs until March 3 at Tarragon Theatre, 30 Bridgman Avenue, Toronto. For tickets, visit tarragontheatre.com or call the Box Office (416) 531-1827. GUILT: A LOVE STORY written and performed by Diane Flacks Directed by Alisa Palmer Movement Coach and Intimacy Coordination by Rebecca Harper Set and Costume Design by Jung-Hye Kim Lighting Design by Leigh Ann Vardy Sound Design by Deanna Choi Stage Management by Sandy Plunkett Previous Next BACK TO TOP

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Frayne McCarthy Canadian Chat Selfie Joe Szekeres Frayne McCarthy is one extremely busy artist. As the Artistic Director of King Street Productions, Frayne works alongside his creative partner, Kevin John Saylor, who is the Artistic Director and owner of the Royal Theatre, Thousand Islands in Gananoque, Ontario. This quaint Eastern Ontario town is one of the most beautiful tourist destinations in late spring, all summer and fall. After two invitations with no response from Frayne, I had moved on. It was a nice surprise to get the answers to the questions from him tonight through Messenger. As you read his answers, you’ll understand and see why he must place some elements of his life in priority. Frayne has liked some of the profiles I’ve published over the course of the pandemic, but his name sounded familiar to me even before I saw his resume. Once I saw it, then I knew where I had seen his work before. I saw Frayne’s performance as Marius in the Montréal production of ‘Les Misérables’ at Théâtre St. Denis. I also saw his work in the original Canadian cast of the musical ‘Napoleon’ at Toronto’s Elgin Theatre. You’ll see from his answers what else and where else Frayne’s life and work have taken him. Thank you so much, Frayne, for adding your voice to the conversation: Tell me about some of the teachers and mentors in our life for whom you are thankful and who brought you to this point in your life as a performing artist. I haven’t had a typical performer’s training, so some of my mentors might surprise you. I suppose I can honestly say that my earliest mentor was my mother. I remember singing with both my Mom and Dad during the longish car rides to visit my grandparents. My mother always had a beautiful singing voice (and still does), and even as a young child I appreciated that she had something more significant in her sound than any of my teachers who taught us ditties at school. Fairly recently, I heard a keepsake cassette-recording of Mom singing with a twelve-year-old me for an aunt and uncle’s wedding, and I realized that, indeed, Mom had the natural talent to have been a professional singer. That sort of thing just wouldn’t have been considered realistic for an English-speaking girl from a rural background in western Quebec in the 50s and 60s…but she was absolutely that talented. In fact, performing never seemed like a possibility for me either. I attended a high school where there was no drama program to speak of, except for the small mafia of popular kids (which definitely did not include me) who seemed to monopolize the class for social time. There were no school plays or musicals, so I was never the least bit inclined to explore Theatre in school. But once I got to college things changed. Heritage College in Hull (now Gatineau) Québec didn’t have a Music or Theatre program, but while I was there, it did have a National Award-Winning stageband comprised of high school grads (that’s grade 11 in Québec) with exceptional talent who came from the separate school board’s feeder school (so, not the high school that I attended). These players were so remarkable that they were kept together as a group by two very caring bandleaders, Bobby Cleal and Heather Karas, who volunteered their time and talent to continue working with these students who had so much musical potential, and to help carry their development further. Bobby, Heather, and this brilliant gang of musicians to which they were committed just came together to rehearse (for no academic credit or financial remuneration at all) because it was thrilling to make amazing music together. And my own life was completely changed when I was allowed to participate as a band vocalist. Now, I know you might be wondering what singing in a band might have to do with Theatre, but I only later came to realize that it had a great deal to do with how I evolved as an actor. I learned to interpret my songs. Acting is storytelling and every song is a story being told through with music; it’s a sung soliloquy of sort. As I explored the feelings behind the lyrics, the dialogue that told these stories, I was becoming an actor. I was privileged to be a real part of this group of brilliant, talented players who, again without a Music Program, went on to win several Music Festival awards including the National College and University top prize and a regional ‘Best Festival Soloist’ – usually reserved for an exceptional instrumentalist – by me, a singer. I will always remember Heather talking through a band arrangement for a vocal number, and I will always remember when, after hearing me sing, Mr. Cleal officially announced that I was in the band. Excellence was nurtured by these great mentors who gave so much of themselves to our young band. Several of the players went on to professional careers in music. And because they took a chance on me and believed in my talent long before I ever took a singing lesson, I had an opportunity to discover my own potential as a performer. Sorry for reminiscing at such length about how I became a band singer, but it really was a catalyst for my personal artistic development. I later went on to study at the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec; I took electives and audited classes in the University of Ottawa Music Department (while I was a full-time student in the Visual Arts Department). Later I studied Vocal Performance for a few semesters in the Jazz Program at Humber College. Some of my music teachers were very helpful, but I made my greatest strides as a singer with my private voice teacher, Bruce Kelly in Toronto, who became my mentor and friend. He took on the mantle of mentor very seriously, and he was a constant and generous source of guidance, information, and support. I had the privilege of studying with Bruce for several years and he still inspires me today. As for Acting mentors, well I learned stagecraft mostly “by doing”, and talking to directors and other actors whom I respected. Much of my formal education was spent in Art studios with a paintbrush in my hand, but I realized eventually that I yearned to be a performer, particularly in Musical Theatre. Rather than go back to school to immerse myself in a formal theatre program, I instead threw myself into as many amateur productions as I could audition for in the Greater Toronto area, where I was living at the time. And it was an amazing education, although I sometimes joke that it was the School of Hard Knocks. I spent many hours learning my lines and lyrics while on buses and subways travelling to rehearsals in Toronto, Scarborough, Mississauga or wherever there was a show that I wanted to be in. I just got myself there. Of course, there were lessons to be learned through every show in which I was cast, but wo very special people stand out as my mentors during this period of my life: Lorraine Green Kimsa was the Artistic Director of Broadway North in North York, and she knew how to push me to be bolder and more confident that I eve thought I could be on stage. She took my shyness and vulnerability and made them strengths. Next, choreographer Nina Falconer, who became like a sister to me, taught me to have fun with dance, and to remember to smile in difficult scenes or through songs of melancholy or sorrow. Nina was never my director, but she was a constant artistic touchstone whom I always trusted when I asked for her personal notes. You can instinctively figure out who you best teachers are, and Nina was one of them. I’m trying to think positively that we have, fingers crossed, moved forward in our dealing with Covid even though the media tells us otherwise. How have you been able to move forward on a personal level? How have you been changed or transformed personally? Covid has been a terrible beast. I admire the people who can honestly say they have been positively changed through this period. Like many, I put on a brave face, pulled away from friends and family, took a forced break from my career, followed all prescribed protocols (including double vaccination and then boostered), and I’ve been waiting for things to get better. You know this, but your readers likely are now aware that I co-own the Royal Theatre Thousand Islands in Gananoque, Ontario with my partner, Kevin John Saylor In March of 2020 we shut down our operations before many other theatres, and we’ve remained closed until some limited capacity events were briefly allowed. But the stress of having both our home and the theatre to maintain without an income has been hard on my partner and me. Just because there weren’t any shows on our stage didn’t mean that we didn’t have the regular monthly overhead to pay. Kevin took a job on the Mohawk Territory of Kahanawake, which is his home community, teaching Grades 7 and 8 English. We are grateful for his employment at this time because we need some kind of household income to cover bills at the house and at the Royal. Unfortunately, I know that Kevin who has taught Theatre at the State of New York, has four University Degrees and a Meritorious Service Medal from the Governor General of Canada, is not in the most fulfilling teaching position for someone with his qualifications and artistic experiences. And so, while he’s in the classroom, we’re apart from one another during the week, every week, which is challenging, stressful and depressing. It’s an entirely different mindset than when we’re separated for creative work, like a show in a different city. So, I suppose the greatest challenge these days is maintaining a degree of optimism for the future. We need to take care of our mental health more than ever because, honestly, Covid has not presented any positive experience in our household at all. We are thankful that we and our circle of friends and family have not suffered any casualties. How have these last few months changed or transformed you professionally? Okay, I appreciate the nuance in this question, but again I’m amazed when I read about people who say that their creative careers have been transformed because of the pandemic. I’m not saying that it can’t be, but that I respect and tip my hat to these artists. Before Covid hit us all sideways, I was enjoying a bit of a career reboot. I had just come off a back-to-back gig in two of the most popular shows in Québec. I spent a year playing Harry Bright, a role I’d dreamed of playing in the spectacular multi-million-dollar production of ‘Mamma Mia!’ for Just for Laughs Productions in Montréal and Québec City. This French language production was a bold and beautiful (and frankly much improved) new version of the popular show. I knew well from being cast in the Mirvish Production in Toronto. Director and translator Serge Postigo’s reimagining of ‘Mamma Mia!’ was one of the most joyful experiences of my stage career. And while Kevin and I were apart, we were both creatively engaged (he at the Royal) and happy, and we managed to see each other quite frequently. Mamma Mia!’ then dovetailed perfectly with my next show, which was quite possibly the most prestigious stage production of the year in Montréal, Michel Tremblay’s and Andre Gagnon’s gorgeous ‘Nelligan’ for Théâtre du Nouveau Monde. I played the role of the father, David, in the piece and I was so captivated by the intimate family drama about unconditional love being impacted by mental illness that I collaborated with Michel on an English language adaptation of the show. I didn’t have an agent but was quite confident that I would be able to attract bilingual representation with my work in ‘Nelligan’. I was also very certain that I had acting work on the table for several months still as I had already been tapped to continue on as David Nelligan through the next summer in Québec City. The production was actually on tour throughout the province when we got word that we were cancelled. Overnight, every creative person I knew was unemployed. And soon after, as I tried to reach out to agents, I got the same unsurprising response that they were not taking on new talent, especially not at this time. Yes, some artists have tried to embrace the internet and present themselves online through live streaming. I was (am) one of them. I was very excited to be one of the first batch of performers selected by the National Arts Centre for their Canada Performs series. My one-hour live show was called ‘Émile Nelligan & Michel Tremblay in Poetry/en Poésie’ and it was well received Then Kevin and I worked with the American Federation of Musicians, the Musicians’ Trust Fund and the Union of Professional Musicians of Eastern Ontario to present several concerts at the Royal Theatre. And we also helped to produce twice the First Peoples’ Performing Arts Festival of the Thousand Islands online. But I’ve discovered that I do not have a particular passion or aptitude for the technical aspects of this very specific forum/medium that is the very particular specialty of some Creators. Sadly, the glut of amateur video production may have devalued the work of creatives working seriously in this medium. And the flood of free online performances of all sorts, I think, has somewhat devalued the work of many professional performing artists. But we need to move forward, and so, at the Royal, we have invested in equipment and continue to collaborate with the Union of Professional Musicians of Eastern Ontario. We hope we will be able to improve our online presentation when the gathering of groups for the purpose of livestreaming is allowed again (it’s been restricted, on and off). The Royal Theatre Thousand Islands is an amazing space acoustically for presenting live music, and musicians love the vibe of the place. So we do what we can, when we can, to use our space creatively, but that is not why my partner and I bought the Royal in 2013. Kevin and I bought a theatre because we are both actors and directors and we hoped that we would be establishing an exciting performance venue in Eastern Ontario, but it’s been extremely hard, and Covid has only presented more challenges. But has Covid changed or transformed us as artists? I guess it has made us fighters. We will not lose our dream, and so we are adapting at every turn, as best we can, and we do so with determination. And I hope that I will personally be able to get back on stage soon as well. In French or in English, I need to be performing. Do you see the global landscape of the professional Canadian live theatre scene changing at all as a result of these last two years (and moving into a third year)? The Canadian live theatre scene has been in limbo for basically two years now. I hear about actors who are looking forward to picking up contracts that were deferred all this time, but they are nonetheless doubtful that the shows will go on. I, myself, was offered a since-postponed ‘Nelligan’ concert tour, that is now being reconsidered, but no contract has been offered because everyone is still in a wait and see holding pattern. I completely understand. As theatre owners, Kevin and I are concerned about public safety, and we know that we are not alone. The global pandemic hasn’t run its course yet…and so we need to resign ourselves to being patient awhile longer. We know of theatres and companies that have closed permanently since Covid started, and so, yes, fewer performance opportunities and spaces will definitely affect the Canadian live theatre. Interestingly, I have many actor friends in Paris, France, whose shows are still going on and being sold to full-capacity houses. The spectacular mega-production French adaptation of ‘The Producers’ is completely sold out and has now announced a long-extended run. Meanwhile, in Canada, the huge success of Mirvish’s ‘Come from Away’ had to close completely because there wasn’t enough government financial support or understanding of how important this production was, what it represented or how terminating its theatrical run hurts a Canadian industry as well as many satellite businesses that rely on the success of the arts. But is it reckless for big shows (or shows of any size) to still be running in France? When I hint at my concerns for my friends’ and the public’s safety, I am gently rebuffed…so I say nothing further. The subject is so completely polarizing that I don’t want to lose friends, either here or in Europe. I see all sides. As an actor and theatre presenter, I am desperate to get back to business as usual, but I don’t want to be doing so in a way that endangers fellow artists or patrons. And when you are talking about someone’s livelihood in the performing arts, it’s even more difficult because our industry was the first to be completely shut down and has always seemed to be the least understood in terms of how to support our professionals and how to get show business back on its feet. How much our own Canadian theatre scene will change remains to be seen, I think. We still need to see how many companies survive, and how many theatre professionals have moved on to other employment opportunities. There is certainly going to be a period of rebuilding our industry required for awhile. What excites/intrigues/fascinates Frayne McCarthy post Covid? Post Covid? I want to get representation (remember, I’m in agent limbo) and see if I can get back on the boards and in front of the camera a bit more. I am also starting work on a second English language adaptation of an opera by Michel Trembly and composer Christian Thomas. In a perfect world, I’ll get back onstage as a performer. ‘Nelligan’ will be workshopped and produced.; I’ll work with Michel and Christian on ‘Solemn Mass for a Full Moon in Summer’; and maybe some light might also shine on ‘The Virgin Courtesan’, a musical I wrote with the brilliant Blair Thomson. And, of course, there is the Royal Theatre Thousand Islands, which is the 165-seat vaudeville theatre that Kevin and I run in Gananoque which I hop will become better known and appreciated as a great live-performance venue in Eastern Ontario. How many actors do you know who would go so far as to change their lives to buy, restore, and operate their own theatre? Not many, probably, because it’s madness! But Kevin and I love the Royal, and we have surrounded ourselves with great people who, like us, see wonderful potential for making our town a much more important arts destination in Canada. What disappoints/unnerves/upsets Frayne McCarthy post Covid? I supposed the idea of needing to start so many things from scratch. This is a weird business where you are quickly forgotten unless you are in the immediate creative mix. You’re apparently only as relevant as the last show you were in. I’ve always straddled Toronto and Montreal because I don’t seem to be one of the usual suspects in either city, and now I live in neither, but between both. I have been written off as retired by some people, and I just want to scream from the mountaintops that I’m still here, probably more dedicated to performing than I have ever been in my life. But I suppose that’s up to me, to make a stronger impression. Where does Frayne McCarthy, the artist, see himself going next? GOING next? Is that a trick question? Because if I could choose to actually go anywhere other than here (Gananoque/Montreal/Toronto), it would be to return to Paris to perform. I was blessed to live there for a time, and that city just felt so perfectly like home. Kevin loves it there too, so if there was a way to work in Paris again, and bring my Kevin along for the ride, and somehow leave the Royal in the care of a brilliant Manager (oh, the dream of being able to hire a Theatre Manager is so huge for us) that would be amazing. And seriously, I do see myself returning to Paris at some point in the future. I think I have more professional cachet in Europe as the first French Marius in ‘Les Miserables’ and the first French Capitaine Haddock in ‘Tintin, le temple du soleil’ than I have for any of my work in Canada. But next…-most immediately? I want to see my English language adaptation of ‘Nelligan’ come to life on stage so that I can continue to work on it with Michel Tremblay. And I will also continue working with Michel and Christian Tomas on the English language adaptation of ‘Solemn Mass for a Full Moon in Summer’. I also want to get an agent…and in jig time, I’ll be booked in the Big Time…Oh, what a dream! (Sorry, I geeked out there on a bit of ‘Gypsy’) Yeah, I want to get back in the saddle! And Kevin and I, and our Board of Directors, and our team of Royal Family volunteers will continue to build on our Royal Theatre Thousand Islands brand as an important Arts Venue in the Best located tourist destination in Ontario! Where does Frayne McCarthy, the person, see himself going next? Oh, you are being tricky! I see what you did there! Frayne the Artist and Frayne the person have been the same for so long that I hardly distinguish between the two. Frayne is only perhaps less the Artist when he is “Frayne, the son of Teresa and Kevin”…but even then, as I mentioned, my Mom was always a singing mentor; and both Mom and Dad have been my greatest supporters as an artist, and my Dad is even on the Board of Directors of our Production Company! I’m incredibly blessed to have them both so fully involved in all facets of my life. My friendships, too, nearly all revolve in some way around the world of the arts. And my relationship with Kevin is also deeply rooted in our artistic partnership. We met working on Theatre together; grew closer through working on Theatre together; and now we own and manage a Theatre together! Kevin makes me a better person, but he also makes me a better artist in every way possible. Frayne the person will go wherever Frayne the Artist needs to be. RAPID ROUND If you could say one thing to one of your mentors or favourite teachers who encouraged you to get to this point as an artist, what would it be? I discovered that my mentors were people whom I wished to somehow emulate, and so I thank you for your example, support and guidance. 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 it be? The news of my retirement has been greatly exaggerated. What’s your favourite swear word? I honestly don’t like to swear. Swearing is a lazy form of expression, and I don’t think much of it in play dialogue either. What is a word you love to hear yourself say? Gorgeous What is a word you don’t like to hear yourself say? Disingenuous What would you tell your younger personal self with the knowledge and wisdom life experience has now given you? To that kid who was mercilessly bullied, I’d say “It gets better.” With the professional life experience you’ve gained over the years, what would you now tell the upcoming Frayne McCarthy from years ago who was just in the throes of beginning his career as a performing artist? Go to the events and be seen; go to the parties and mingle and do your best to make friends and network with people in the performing arts. What is one thing you still wish to accomplish personally and professionally? I want to record a solo album while I still kinda like my own singing voice. Name one moment in your professional career as an artist that you wish you could re-visit again for a short while. I wish I could live in the pure euphoric joy of being cast as Marius in ‘Les Misérables’. Would Frayne McCarthy do it all again if he was given the same opportunities? Yes, Frayne McCarthy would do it all again, but I think with a little more confidence, focus and drive. To learn more about The Royal Theatre Thousand Islands in Gananoque, Ontario, visit https://www.royaltheatre.ca/ Social Media: Facebook: @RoyalTheatreThousandIslands AND Twitter: @RoyalTheatreTI Previous Next

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Andrew Prashad Moving Forward --- Joe Szekeres I have seen Andrew Prashad’s name on several entertainment social media sites over the last few months. Once again, it was my friend, Carey, who encouraged me to get in touch with Andrew to learn of his story. And what an incredible story and conversation I had with him via Zoom. Andrew gleamed with a loving parental pride every time he spoke about his immediate family, his wife and children. He is a multi disciplined performing artist from being on stage to his work in cinematography and video editing. Andrew has appeared on stage at the Ed Mirvish Theatre and Young People’s Theatre and a number of others across Canada. He’s also quite the tap dancer as well. I’ve included a link at the end of his profile so you can hear one of his cover songs. Andrew also received a Merritt award for outstanding supporting actor for ‘Cinderella’ at Halifax’s Neptune Theatre. His one-person show ‘One Step at a Time’ chronicles his life as a parent with a child who has Spina Bifida. Andrew spoke to me about this show near the end of our interview, and this is one I have on my list to see when it is safe to return to the theatre. Thank you, Andrew, for the conversation: It has been an exceptionally long six 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? A little nervous. As an artist, we’re trying to get back to work. We’re trying to do everything we can to do our part. Things have to do what they do, I guess, and not all of that is helpful to keeping our numbers down. As a parent, it’s really not great. I had to send my kids to school so having the numbers up is scary. We’re monitoring every day. I’m not happy that the numbers have gone back up, but I’m not surprised by some of the events I’ve seen reported on the news. Once there is a vaccine, we will emerge to some new way of living. There’s just going to be a whole new battle of getting people to use the vaccine. Should we use the vaccine? Is it safe? How long were the trials? And all those questions that go with it. A lot of people are thinking that once there’s a vaccine that things will get back to normal, but I think we’re being naïve. Anti-maskers was the big hurdle because as soon as the vaccine comes out, there’s going to be a bigger fight, a bigger problem, a bigger conflict. Once all this gets settled, however long that takes, maybe there will be some kind of normalcy, but who knows? How have you been faring? How has your immediate family been doing during these last six months? We’ve been doing surprisingly well. The kids are resilient. During that whole stretch when everything was shut down, we were doing the home schooling and they loved it. My daughters would come down, print off their homework and they’d be ready when I came down, made breakfast and started checking in on their homework. My wife was still teaching so I pretty much did the kids homework and their schoolwork during the day. When my wife was done teaching, if she finished teaching in time, we’d go out for a walk, or she would take over and I’d go do my work and things I had to get done. The kids handled it well which is great because I’ve been hearing about numbers of kids who did not handle it well. It would have made everything so much harder if my kids weren’t as awesome as they were. By the time we got the kids to bed, my wife and I were exhausted. We were toast. My son was born was Spina Bifida and he has a physical disability and high needs, but he’s doing really well. He just got his first wheelchair, he’s so excited. There are some really great things coming for us, but we’ve been managing, hanging on and figuring it out. As an artist within the performing arts community, what has been the most difficult and challenging for you professionally and personally? Professionally, one of the most challenging things was losing all of the work and the teaching. It’s funny because I’ve been telling people they have to diversify what they do. I’m an actor, dancer, singer and musician but I’m also a video editor and a music editor. I have a recording studio people come to use. I’m a photographer. I try to diversify my skills which are all based in the arts, so I’m not just an actor. I’m a teacher and choreographer. When Covid came, it wiped all of it out, it didn’t matter how many different alleys I was in. Everything was shut down. I couldn’t teach. I couldn’t choreograph. Nobody needed video editors; nobody needed photography, nobody needed music, nobody needed anything so there was no work. All our theatre gigs were lost, film and tv shut down, I lost a tv commercial I had just booked. That was really rough along with trying to figure out where money was going to come from. Luckily, my wife was still working from home, so she still had her pay cheque, but I didn’t have my pay cheque. For a short while, I was on CERB for 4 weeks. Slowly, recital time came in the dance studios. We started teaching online so I taught a few classes online for a few hours a week via Zoom for multiple studios. I was also doing some private teaching. I got some video editing gigs because the dance studios were still doing recitals, but they couldn’t have the kids in the space. We were doing these virtual recitals so I was editing all of these recitals, but I couldn’t do it during the day because I was helping home school my own kids. When I put my kids to bed, sometimes I would work until 2 in the morning trying to edit all these dance recitals so these other kids could have them. And then I’d wake up at 6 in the morning and it was to make some breakfast and get ready for school at home all over again. It was exhausting, but I was able to bring in that little bit of money because I also wasn’t charging full rate because the studios weren’t charging full rates for classes. They didn’t have money to pay for what I would normally charge as an editor. So, it was ‘What can you afford? Ok, let’s make it happen”. Personally, the most challenging was, or is, finding ME time. My ME time is after bedtime but then I needed to sleep so there was no ME time. There was no US time for my wife and I. It was exhausting. 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? My one-person show was going to be put up at Neptune Theatre in Halifax. We had a two-week scheduled run there which was really exciting. It’s called ‘One Step at a Time’ and it’s about my family, my son and balancing being a performer and raising a child with special needs and a physical disability. I lost that and it was postponed. Neptune is doing their best, but they don’t know if they’re going to survive. I also lost the parlay of my show into other theatres. But now, those other theatres have to make room for the shows they had booked because they feel as if they have to owe them a run. Where these other theatres were of the mindset, ‘Oh, we’ll bring you in next season’, I don’t know what will happen because these folks will bump you. All of those things I’ve been working so hard on to string together have all fallen apart. I had some big auditions I was working on and in final call backs – all of those projects died as well. What have you been doing to keep yourself busy during this time? I’ve been doing everything – husband, dad, teacher, friend. I’m the chef. My wife cooks too but she does more of the dinner stuff. My wife and I share the cooking, taking care of the kids, taking care of my wife. We both take care of the kids, but I also take care of her. She gets to sleep in, and I’ll handle some stuff for her so she can go and teach. We’re sharing an office. I’ve set up her computer beside mine in my studio, so she has a comfortable place to work. Teaching online has been cool. Lots of self tapes. Lots of auditions which are coming back. Some bookings. Some voice over gigs. Again, I had two voice over bookings which were awesome. They were both first. One was a first for a video game and I had to go into the studio, and everybody was doing their Covid safety which was great to see. The other one was a voice over for a commercial which I had never done either, but I got to do that from my home in my recording studio which was really, really cool so I did that in between the catheter times for my son at school. And Theatre Passe Muraille put on a fund raiser. They reached out to me and asked if they could use my show to create a fundraiser. It turned into a much bigger thing than we thought. I thought I was going to host a mini version of my show from my garage studio. And then TPM got the go ahead that I could come into the space. But since we were in the space, we thought let’s just go full out and all of a sudden, we had four cameras, designing lights and sound with their team, choreographing the cameras. It was huge undertaking that none of us saw coming but it was awesome, lots of fun and everybody at Theatre Passe Muraille were incredible. It was worth it, but it was a lot more work than I thought it was going to be. 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? Well, I don’t know if I’m the one to be giving advice but if people wanted to know what I had to say – “Reach out to communities. Stay in touch with people.” I found this really helpful. When the pandemic hit, my wife and I were running out of a specific hand sanitizer we needed to clean our hands first before we catheterize our son. I’m always steps ahead when we’re out if I happen to see the product, so we never run out. When Covid hit, everywhere was in short supply of hand sanitizer. I put it out on social media that I was looking for this product. I put it out on social media and a lot of people came to our aid so we were good for a few months. I was driving all around southern Ontario for two days picking up what people had to give us. Other advice: Reach out because you don’t know who might be there to help you. Find time to take care of yourself too. Make sure you’re mentally and physically okay. It’s nice to take a day or take time to rest, to sleep if you need to do that. But make sure you stay physically active because that helps your mind as well. Make sure you’re okay before you can then reach out and take care of those whom you love. For the theatre grads, and for others – it’s tricky because you want to get out there and make your mark. Since everybody who teaches you or who could teach you is out of work, try to find those teachers who are online and sharpen your skills. I’ll tell you, most of you all aren’t ready to be at an extremely high level coming out of school. It doesn’t mean you’re not going to get work. There’s a lot of room for growth. School is the preparation for the growth you’ll experience once you’re in the real world. So, it gives you that little bit of time to sharpen your skills. Reach out, barter if you have to do so as I understand that money might be tight in some cases. Read plays. Educate yourself further. Work on those skills that you know you need to sharpen. For my artists of colour: If you haven’t heard it yet, all of us who are working now have been told at least ten times that we need to be at least two times greater than our white counterpart. You’ve got the time now. Go make sure you’re there. Just because people talk about changes in the industry etc, you can’t change people’s mindset overnight. Those people aren’t going to vanish from the theatre industry. They’re not going to give up their position leading a theatre company. They put out a statement, ok they are statements. You need to go out there and be able to show them, “No, no, no. I’m that good. You should take a second look at me.” Use this time to get all that done. Do you see anything positive stemming from Covid 19 and will it leave some lasting impact on the Toronto/Canadian performing arts scene? I think there are some positives. Just thinking about family. If you’re lucky enough to have people living with you, that time together is a gift. The fact that everyone was stuck at home with their lives on hold really helped put focus on social changes that need to still happen. We were all able to sit in George Floyd’s death and murder more because there was nothing else to go do and escape it. The population had to choose which side they were going to be on. Some chose one side, and some chose another. People of colour got a few more allies out of all this and people who thought they were allies realized they could be better allies. There’s a lot more education happening surrounding this issue. A lot of the artists of colour are speaking out, speaking up and we’re getting a lot of flak for it from different people, sometimes within our own community. That’s a positive. I can’t tell you how many white artists told me, ‘Oh, I had no idea. I didn’t know this was a thing.” I hope everyone works together to make a more inclusive space. Part of me is excited to see where the industry goes – film, tv, theatre. Part of me is ready to roll my eyes when our new or old allies kind of flake on us. ‘Cause it is going to happen, it’s just how many. That’s the question of how many are going to flake and how many are really here for the real deal and long haul. Some artists have turned to You Tube 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 am right in the middle on all this. It’s right where we are, and we have to adapt. I love creating work for You Tube and online platforms because it’s something I do. It helps me to flex my video editing skills, my cinematography skills. It helps me grow. But it was always something I was doing while I had theatre/film or tv. Now, YouTube and online streaming are becoming theatre in a sense and it’s not, but theatres have to adapt. It was weird putting on my show. I think my show was the first that was back in a space with a full team, social distant with masks and no audience. I’m lucky that I know the show and where an audience might laugh or cry. In my head, I had that and I went full out and imagined the energy that wasn’t there with an audience in front of me. It was draining because I was trying to compensate because the lack of energy with a missing audience was difficult on the Main Stage at TPM. There’s a give and take in energy in live theatre, and that wasn’t there when it was streamed. I also had to make sure my performance didn’t suffer because the audience wasn’t there even though the crew was there. They weren’t watching me as an audience as they were there to film the production. I had to put more into my performance. I thought the one performance was successful as Passe Muraille made some money from that one night of streaming and I got a pay cheque, but I only wanted to do it for one night as I didn’t want to kill the show and not tour with it. If you don’t have those skills of taping yourself, you need to reach out to people who do. A friend of mine is trying to learn video editing and up his game in self editing skills in order to put work out there to be seen. I think we’re being forced into that position. In the film and television industry, all actors are being forced into being videographers and cinematographers and proper lighting. My self tape game was always good, and my friends didn’t measure up to what I was doing. Now, everyone has to measure up and learn how to self tape. If your self tape doesn’t look good right away that’s a knock against you because somebody else who is auditioning might have a tape that is just as good or better than yours. There is no payment in streaming and a YouTube presentation right now. EQUITY and ACTRA are in discussion of whose jurisdiction is it when a theatre show becomes digital. The digital space is ACTRA’s space, but EQUITY is trying to make a case that it’s their space because it is a theatre show. I have to side with ACTRA on this one unless someone can educate me further. This is all tricky, tricky stuff and I don’t know enough about it. Despite all this fraught tension and confusion, what is it about performing that Covid will never destroy for you? The idea of sharing part of yourself will never get destroyed no matter how you tell the story. The idea of sharing a story needs to be told will always be important. Since we’ve started telling stories, we’ve always used different mediums to tell them. Just because we’re losing one of those facets doesn’t mean the story telling and the sharing and the giving will ever stop. We have to adapt how we do it and that’s my favourite part as a performer. I love inhabiting a character and experiencing different things, but what I love most about performing is the reaction and the emotion you give and get out of an audience member. One of the most favourite things about doing my show is the diverse audience that it draws. You get the regular theatre goers, but you also get the singers, the actors, the tap dancers, and the dancers. You also get the special needs, high needs and the differently abled and disabled communities. Those communities (special needs and differentially abled) don’t have a show that represents them in Canada. My show represents them. Right now, my show is not enough but it’s something for the differently abled to see themselves in. It’s amazing and means so much to me the responses I’ve received from audience members after each performance, and performing my show feeds my soul in knowing I was able to give them that re-assurance, that understanding and these communities are so happy whether it is a large part or a small part of their story being told on a real professional stage in Canada. It doesn’t exist and if people have tried, they’ve done it wrong. I’m hoping that when people see the attractiveness of parts of my show that they’ll expand on that. I can’t create a work that’s all differently abled artists that’s based on my experience because that’s not my experience; however, perhaps seeing a show about my son’s experience and seeing how well it does, sometimes, leave theatre producers thinking, “You know what? This audience, there’s value in telling these stories.” And then maybe these stories will get told more because as much as we are fighting for people of colour, we’ve fought so hard and so long for it, but as far as we’ve come the disabled community and differently abled community – they’re decades behind where we are. It’s going to take whatever privilege we can grab we have to pass it on right away, otherwise the disabled and differentially abled community will never catch up. They’ll never make ground. They’ll never have their stories told because our stories don’t cover everybody. Everybody should be able to see themselves on a stage represented. It’s wild and fulfilling for little brown kids to be watching me on stage, winning Halifax’s Merritt Award, and then watching me sing and dance in a solo moment of a big musical and then knowing it’s not only for white people. Brown people will not be portrayed as a stereotypical immigrant character. That is my favourite part that Covid will never be able to take away. Seeing the faces on the brown kids knowing that yes, they can do what I can do and can be the lead and can make a difference in the lives of others. To learn more about Andrew Prashad, visit his website: www.andrewprashad.com . Previous Next

Dramas encompass the human response to a created life situation on the stage. Back 'On the Other Side of the Sea' by Jorgelina Cerritos and translated by Dr. Margaret Stanton and Anna Donko. The Canadian premiere Produced by Aluna Theatre and now onstage at The Theatre Centre Credit: Jeremy Mimnaugh Pictured: Carlos Gonzalez-Vio and Beatriz Pizano Joe Szekeres ‘Artfully directed by Soheil Parsa. Beatriz Pizano and Carlos Gonzales-Vio deliver poignant performances.” ‘On the Other Side of the Sea’ is initially a story about two people connecting in a surreal environment. The setting is a dock on an abandoned beach. Sound Designer Thomas Ryder Payne again works his clever magic in establishing a believable one. There are the sounds of water ebbing and flowing to and from the shoreline. There is a dock with a desk and chair. Neatly piled paperwork can be seen on the desk. Lone civil servant Dorotea (Beatriz Pizano) works at her desk on the dock in front of the water. She appears busy completing paperwork. Periodically, she calls out: “Next” for the person in line to approach. No one does. Fisherman (Carloz Gonzalez-Vio) requires documentation from Dorotea to prove he exists. There is an issue at hand first. Before Fisherman gets the documentation to prove he exists, he needs documentation to say who he is to get the documentation he needs. Sounds absurd. That’s precisely what initially piqued my attention to the Canadian premiere of ‘On the Other Side of the Sea.’ Playwright Jorgelina Cerritos incorporates elements of ‘Theatre of the Absurd’ into the script. For example, Costume Designer Niloufar Ziaee has Dorotea wear a comfortable-looking dress as she would in an office setting. However, her office is on the beach. The fact that Dorotea waits for the next person in line, and no one approaches, shows absurdity. Where is everyone? Ziaee has Fisherman dressed in appropriate tattered shorts and a white sleeveless shirt to indicate he works outside; however, he stands in line waiting patiently to speak to Dorotea about getting his paperwork. Dorotea is too busy with her other paperwork and doesn’t want to complete what Fisherman needs. Scenographer Trevor Schwellnus draws attention away deftly from the ordinarily simple view of a dock on a beach to the auditorium’s back wall. In the darkness, there appear to be what might look like crests of waves and a sun in the sky. For some reason, though, there’s something different every time I look at this drawing during the pre-show and the performance. It’s the backlighting. The image never draws focus away from the stage action, but there’s a defined uniqueness each time I see it. There’s more to appreciating this prestigious 2010 Casa de las Américas Prize script for drama. I profiled Director Soheil Parsa last week and asked what drew him to the story. He spoke about the lyrical beauty of the words and the subtext underneath what the characters say. Under Parsa’s artful direction, Beatriz Pizano and Carlos Gonzalez-Vio capture the lyrical sound of the words courtesy of translators Dr. Margaret Stanto and Anna Donko. At times, Pizano’s Dorotea is gruff, business-like, and professional. She’s there to do her job, and that’s it. She’s not there to make friends. Gonzalez-Vio’s Fisherman is often witty and whimsical in his desire to connect with Dorotea. Although he gets frustrated that Dorotea does not listen to him at first, Fisherman is tenacious. He doesn’t give up on wanting to connect with the lonely civil servant, even if only for a few minutes. Pizano and Gonzalez-Vio instinctively know when to pause and when to savour either the words or their meanings in this absurd understanding of relationship building. They listen attentively and actively to each other. Each has a gorgeous spotlit monologue about his and her life and the courage they have found in their circumstances. Dorotea’s responses are at first apprehensive of Fisherman. He appears to be in control. Ultimately, they finally hear and listen to each other with compassion and care. And it’s quite lovely to watch these two fine actors doing so. Parsa finds the subtext of any play interesting. I find the subtext behind ‘On the Other Side of the Sea’ intriguing. For one, the story makes subtle comments about immigration to a new world, and the dialogue between Dorotea and the Fisherman is often funny in this discussion. And that’s important. But there’s more, at least for me. Some may consider the existential angst of cultural identity or human identity within the script. And that too is fine. I’m going one step further, taking a risk, and speaking about the Christian spiritual side of ‘On the Other Side of the Sea.’ In his quest to get Dorotea to listen to him, Fisherman becomes that ‘fisher of people’ to go out into the world and get others to listen. At first, Dorotea represents those too caught up in their day-to-day lives. She doesn’t have time for Fisherman and even becomes annoyed that he won’t leave her alone. But like the tenacious Christ who will not give up on his beloved people, Fisherman is just as tenacious with Dorotea. He doesn’t give up on her. He wants her to listen to him and to understand the spiritual identity of ‘Who do you say I am?’ There’s a beautiful tableau near the end of the play where Dorotea and the Fisherman peacefully stare out over the water. A veritable sense of contentment and calm hovers over them. The serene looks on their faces finely sums up this Christian understanding of identity. Whether or not it was intended to time the scheduling of the play as the Christian season of Lent begins doesn’t matter. Good theatre gets its audiences to think, ponder, and consider other perspectives. ‘On the Other Side of the Sea’ is good theatre. Running time: approximately 80 minutes with no interval. ‘On the Other Side of the Sea’ runs until February 25 at The Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen St. West. For tickets, call (416) 538-0988 or visit alunatheatre.ca. ‘On The Other Side of the Sea’ by Jorgelina Cerritos and translated by Dr. Margaret Stanton and Anna Donko A Canadian Premiere production from Aluna Theatre Directed by Soheil Parsa Scenography by Trevor Schwellnus Sound design by Thomas Ryder Payne Costume design by Niloufar Ziaee Performers: Beatriz Pizano and Carlos Gonzalez-Vio Previous Next

Where theatre is not only presented on the stage. Back Honey, I'm Home Now on stage at Factory Theatre, 125 Bathurst Street, Toronto Eden Graham Geoffrey Coulter, actor, director, adjudicator, arts educator "Fine vocal and physical work from its two main actors provides a simple, unsettling, and sometimes confusing exposition of how artificial intelligence is devolving our human existence into the banal and mundane." Let’s face it, Skynet is coming. As depicted in the post-apocalyptic world of James Cameron’s cult sci-fi film, ‘The Terminator,’ computers are taking over our world, and it seems there’s a conscious mind driving it all. There’s nowhere we can go, nothing we can touch, nothing we can watch where that doesn’t somehow connect us to a network. Our computers, our phones, our tablets and TVs. Virtually everywhere you look, a computer is making our lives easier – or is it? Is the digital world a boon to humanity, or is the internet ruining our brains, distorting our reality, defiling our privacy, and ingesting it like a drug? That’s what “Honey, I’m Home” posits, and the answers are ambiguous. What are we sacrificing while giving in to this techno-narcotic, the World Wide Web? Ours is a world where we don’t have to turn on or off our lights, write essays, go grocery shopping and even drive our cars. We’re slowly losing our bodies to the likes of Alexa, virtual reality and Zoom meeting rooms. Will our physical selves soon fade into oblivion as the internet replaces our collective conscience? Two dynamic and engaging performers start the show. We are in the “Forget Me Not” convalescent home. A quirky and excentric nun or nurse/caregiver (Lauren Gillis) stands next to her catatonic patient (Alaine Hutton), who sits listlessly looking off into space, vacuous and void in mind and spirit. We are told the patient had been found in her vegetative state years before in a storage locker. She’s shown no sign of improving, but we are told there’s a reason she’s like this, and perhaps we can get through to her through music or perhaps some other form of stimuli. Some silly singing ensues, but it’s all for not. Our patient is still comatose. We are whisked suddenly into the dull work-a-day world of Janine (Alaine Hutton, again), where automation has left her the only human in the office. Her job is mind-numbingly tedious and the only time she interfaces with others is through a computer screen. She heads home nightly to the same apartment, the same stresses, the same thoughts of anguish. After a few short hours of sleep, starts again the next day. At her wit’s end, she takes advantage of her company’s upgraded “wellness” package. She uploads her consciousness into her home to escape her excruciatingly mundane existence and seek digital stimulation. But her slow Wi-Fi cannot keep up, and soon Janine learns through a chatty chatbot that things are not as they seem, and her life as a self-generated disembodied avatar in the digital realm may be permanent. This production doesn’t chart new ground in terms of its storytelling. The message isn’t new or groundbreaking if you have any connection to today’s world. What it is mostly is a dark, absurdist, cautionary tale with drips of humour and silly moments of obscurity. This is a low-budget, bare-bones production, and it seems intentional. Staging, props and costume designs by Lester Trips (Theatre), Lauren Gillis and Alaine Hutton) are a clever contrast to the complexity of the digital subject matter. The small stage is bare save for a recumbent seat made of several chairs turned topsy-turvy. Two tall panels, one with a window cutout near the top, stand upstage. A coat rack serves as Janine’s apartment while her suit is black, colourless and unalluring – testaments to her vapid existence—all clever choices. Equally as clever is André Du Toit’s inspired lighting design. For a small, black box space, his choices are excellent. From Janine’s office, lit only by a computer screen, to her apartment, using downstage footlights to create harsh shadows, to the inescapable AI world, using cool blue flashing lights, strobes and funky gobos, we always know where to look and how to feel. Music and sound effects courtesy of S. Quinn Hoodless is ethereal and loud enough to shock without bursting ear drums. As Janine and the unnamed catatonic patient, Alaine Hutton is remarkable. She’s mute throughout but her power to communicate physically is sublime. Her face is a frozen visage, like a robot, while her body runs the gamut from stillness to grotesquery. Her mastery of her physical self is a joy to watch. My only quip is that I wasn’t always sure when she was which character or whether her characters were one and the same. As the “nun” character and Janine’s uploaded conscience, Lauren Gillis matches her partner’s intensity with outspoken humour and whimsy, but she’s never one-dimensional. Her terror and frustration locked in her digital world is palpable. Kudos to her very fine, but very random, soprano singing voice, too. Amy Blumberg appears as a large balletic rodent, a fellow avatar whose existence mirrors Janine’s own horrors but seems able to escape her virtual prison. “Honey, I’m Home,” though not revelatory, is relevant theatre notwithstanding. It’s up-front about our human condition in this era of AI, our overreliance on the internet, and why, despite its dangers, we just can’t stop looking at it. To quote Star Trek’s, Mr. Spock, “Computers make excellent and efficient servants, but I have no desire to serve under them.” That quote was made 56 years ago! Is the rise of the machines closer than we think? Running time: Running time, 70 minutes with no intermission. The production runs until December 1 at Factory Theatre, 125 Bathurst Street, Toronto. For tickets call the Box Office at 416-504-9971 or email: https://www.factorytheatre.ca/shows/honey-im-home/#tickets “Honey, I’m Home” Written, performed and directed by Alaine Hutton and Lauren Gillis Produced by Lester Trips (Theatre) Set, costumes and properties designed by Alaine Hutton and Lauren Gillis Lighting designed by André du Toit Sound and additional compositions designed by S. Quinn Hoodless Performers: Alaine Hutton, Lauren Gillis, Angela Blumberg Previous Next

Where theatre is not only presented on the stage. Back 'The Shadow Whose Prey The Hunter Becomes' Now onstage at Berkeley Street Theatre, 26 Berkeley Street, Toronto Credit: Kyra Kind Centre: Sarah Mainwaring. L: Simon Laherty R: Scott Price Joe Szekeres “Timely production. ‘Shadow’ pierces honestly and openly the human emotions regarding disability.” The story is set in a public meeting in a community hall in Geelong, Australia. In his Programme Note, Director Bruce Gladwin calls ‘The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes’: “the type of public meeting one would hope to happen in a certain kind of democracy. What’s unique about ‘Shadow’ is the use of human conversation between three neuro-divergent actors, Simon Laherty, Sarah Mainwaring, and Scott Price, to move the story forward. The play becomes an emotional gut punch regarding how individuals and mega corporations treat neuro-divergent individuals. It sent me back over forty years ago to my first year of teaching. ‘Robbie’ was a thirteen-year-old student in my class who, like Sarah Mainwaring, had suffered a severe head injury. There was always this sense that ‘Robbie’ didn’t truly feel like others accepted him, just as Sarah had experienced. That’s how powerful this story becomes personally. Good theatre gets its audiences to think, and that’s precisely what this opening night did for me. Had I done enough as a first-year teacher to meet Robbie’s education requirements and help him feel he belonged in the class? I hope and pray so, but ‘Shadow’ makes me think otherwise. Laherty and Mainwaring enter at the top of the show. Costume Designer Shio Otani has the two of them wearing comfortable clothing. Simon looks like he’s trying to follow the latest fashion, as his designer-looking jeans are stylishly ripped and frayed. Sarah is comfortably dressed. About fifteen minutes after Scott enters, he is smartly dressed, wearing a blazer, plaid shirt, comfortable-looking trousers, and shoes. Set Design is basic. Laherty places five chairs side by side on centre stage as he and Sarah converse. Through the assistance of Screen Designer Rhian Hinkley, the audience follows Simon and Sarah’s dialogue through voice activation. Surtitles are projected onto a screen above the stage so the audience can follow. Some amusing moments ensue between Simon and Sarah at the top of the show. Like anyone who feels comfortable with another person, the odd swear word is injected into the conversation. There is also some frank discussion between Sarah and Simon about sexual activity and consent. This discussion gives way to the two of them sometimes snapping back and forth at each other. Sometimes, Scott becomes the referee in a few heated moments between Sarah and Simon. Bruce Gladwin directs with careful sensitivity. He allows Simon, Sarah, and Scott to voice what they have experienced personally or learned on their own. We must listen to them. And it’s revealing when the truth is out. Laherty, Mainwaring and Price admirably deliver honest performance work. I felt my eyes well, and from what? Shame? Embarrassment? Anger over how neuro-divergent people have been treated historically? The honest answer is YES. ‘Shadow’ also examines the controversial use of AI (artificial intelligence), which is troublesome in our twenty-first-century world. It isn’t very comforting to consider its implications. For example, television, film, and stage artists have discussed how AI can unfairly capture their images without fair recompense. These actors have every right to continue the discussion because AI robs these individuals of their likeness. And yet, we’ve embraced AI. Much of the audience appeared to follow the dialogue on the screen for the entire one-hour performance. I certainly did. Was I being fair to these three talented actors on stage? Did I give my full attention to listening and hearing what Simon, Sarah and Scott were saying without looking at the screen all the time? Ashamedly, I didn’t. I relied on AI to help instead of listening and hearing what the three were saying. And that again made me think further about my actions. That’s when the significance of the title became clear. Will AI continue to hunt the essence of who humans genuinely are as it continues to creep slowly into the world we know today? What human voices will become the next prey? Final Comments: I had no clue what this production was about when I knew it was coming. Even its title remained puzzling at first. I left the theatre after the one-hour performance speechless for some time at some historical truths I discovered about the treatment of neuro-divergent people. I will not look upon toy company Hasbro and the games I used to play as a child in the same way ever again. Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries is a horrific time in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. ‘The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes’ becomes an important one to see. The production, thankfully, never becomes shaming and blaming. Instead, it sets out what it intends to do in the Programme Letter from the producing company Back to Back Theatre. It is a play about individual and collective responsibility. We are not self-sufficient. That is the reason why you should go and see it. Running time: approximately one hour with no interval/intermission. ‘The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes’ runs until January 28 at the Berkeley Street Theatre, 26 Berkeley Street, Toronto. For tickets: canadianstage.com or call 1-416-368-3110. A BACK TO BACK THEATRE PRODUCTION presented by Canadian Stage ‘The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes’ Authors: Michael Chan, Mark Deans, Bruce Gladwin, Simon Laherty, Sarah Mainwaring, Scott Price, Sonia Teuben Directed by Bruce Gladwin Composition: Luke Howard Trio (Daniel Farrugia, Luke Howard, Jonathan Zion) Sound Design: Lachlan Carrick Lighting Design: Andrew Livingston, bluebottle Costume Designer: Shio Otani Screen Designer: Rhian Hinkley, lowercase AI Voice-Over Artist: Belinda McClory Performers: Simon Laherty, Sarah Mainwaring, Scott Price Previous Next

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Astrid van Wieren Self Isolated Artist --- I finished my Zoom conference call interview with Toronto artist Astrid Van Wieren with a big smile on my face and felt a huge sense of accomplishment. She is a lady who is truly thankful for the gift and grace of her performing arts career. Just hearing the titles of some of the productions in which she has performed are quite impressive. Plus, I also found out today that she and I attended the same alma mater (King’s College at University of Western Ontario – yay!!) and we also earned the same degree while at King’s. Upon her graduation from UWO, she then attended the theatre program at Ryerson University. (in the process of a name change at this time) The first time I saw Astrid on stage was at the Royal Alexandra Theatre over three years ago when the extraordinary ‘Come from Away’ was on its North American tour eventually heading to Broadway. When I was in New York City last year, I went to see the production and the original cast was still playing. Ms. Van Wieren will continue in her Broadway run of the show at the Gerald Schonfeld Theatre in New York City once the all clear has been given. And will I go see the show again when in NYC? You bet your sweet bippy I will. How many people remember that line?: 1. How have you been doing during this period of isolation and quarantine for the last two months? What was life in New York City like right up until the decision was made to close the theatres? I’m taking it that you are still in New York at this time since ‘Come from Away’ was playing right up until the lock down? Is your immediate family doing well? No, I’m here in Toronto, in my house in Leslieville. I was on my first vacation in forever, down in Buenos Aires where I was invited by the Artistic director of The Stage Company Theatre, Carla Calabrese to see their rehearsals of ‘Come from Away’ which was to be the first non-English licenced production. I was treated so beautifully while I was in Buenos Aires. Then everything got a little strange towards the end because that’s when the pandemic was starting to really hit. When I got back to New York, Broadway had already shut down so I went to my apartment in Harlem, packed a bag thinking I’d be gone two, three weeks because that’s what the producers were telling us at the time. I came up to Canada as it was a chance to be home. And It just felt safer. And if I got sick, I didn’t want to be a burden on the New York health care system which already had numbers that were starting to climb quickly. It’s strange, but I do feel I abandoned her, New York. It’s a city that just feels like a sentient being. Like everybody else, it’s been a real roller coaster. Yes, roller coasters can be exciting and fun but it’s the opposite of whatever that is. It’s the emotional up and down that is hard to navigate. There are days when I feel great. Today the sun’s shining and that immediately brings an uptick in mood. I feel better, more alert. There are days when every joint in my body hurts, I feel tired and think ‘What am I gonna do? What am I gonna do?”. Then it all rains down. I’m learning to navigate and to give in to what my body tells me. Some days I might get only one or two things done and there are other days where I’m fired up, getting creative things done, on Zoom calls, doing my workouts. Exercising helps clear the mind. I’m also doing morning pages (‘The Artist’s Way’). It really helps a lot. What I’ve been thinking about recently are the numbers of those who have been hit hard by the pandemic. It occurs to me the word ‘numb’ in ‘NUMBers’. But there is a story behind every number/person who has lost their life, or families who are helping and coping either in loss or keeping a watchful eye on family and friends. All those stories, gone. And actors we live by stories, really we all do. My immediate family is doing fine. My sisters on the west coast are fine; and my brother is fine in St. Thomas. . My dad is 86 and in London, Ontario, and is doing alright. I’ve been Face timing once a week with our dad as a check in. It’s been one of the positive shifts during this isolation. My sisters made masks for me and my dad. He is still ambulatory and loves his walks, but he wears his mask when he is in the elevator or his apartment building’s hallways. I’ve had some friends who have been touched by the virus but so far, I’m fine. 2. Were you involved in the planning stages of any upcoming/future projects before the pandemic was declared and everything was shut down? What has become of these projects? We had our third-year anniversary for the Broadway production of ‘Come from Away’ recently. I thought I wish I could be in this long running show for as long as I can. And I also thought it would be nice to have a month off to re-energize. Well, be careful what you wish for, eh? Because now we have months and months of being off. There’s a sequel to a musical I’ve been working on called ‘After Baal’. I performed ‘Baal – A Rock and Roll’ play at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre many years ago. The playwright (Rose Cullis), director (Jon Michaelson) and I are working on it, so that’s fun to explore. Where would this rock and roller be 20 years or so down the line? What happens to an artist who stood her ground and gets older? This is fascinating to me as I begin to age and consider our usefulness and stories and how people shift as they get closer to the end of their lives. Also, in between playing ‘Come from Away’ in Seattle and Washington, I did an independent feature film with my creative partner and best friend, John. Now, we’re pulling a pitch together for a potential series. 3. What has been the most challenging part of the isolation and quarantine for you? I’m a real social creature. Strangely enough, I also love time out, zoning out and going into a place of complete rest. I think not being able to be with people has been the most challenging. People get interrupted in Zoom calls and they can feel so awkward. I love an Algonquin round table of people sitting around with so much conversation, talk and discussion going on about ideas of theatre and art. You can’t get that same discussion going on a Zoom call or podcast as you can when you are together. Technology doesn’t allow it. I miss being in a rehearsal room. I miss the social aspect. I miss the audience who is so important. It’s the need of the audience which creates this wonderful, delicious tension, and that need to be told a story or to hear a joke that makes live theatre crackle. The applause is nice but that immediate connection is what I really miss. Just the not knowing when this pandemic will end and how things will reshuffle, I think, is the hardest point. Who am I if I’m not acting or creating? What purpose do I have? 4. What have you been doing to keep yourself busy during this time of lockdown? I work out five days a week. I’ve been doing some promo videos, pod casts and on line cabarets; lots of these for ‘Come from Away’ because we want that investment there when we return. The fun challenge with these videos is trying to use the medium in a different way to create immediacy and intimacy. As of yet, I can’t find the focus to read a book. I think there’s still stuff in my brain that I’m processing. I’m sure it’ll come back to me. I read a lot of articles and things people post online. I follow certain friends online and see what they’re doing. I’ve also watched some Netflix shows. I’ve watched ‘RADIO:30 and SHE GREW FUNNY from the NAC. It’s impossible to get to see everything. There’s so much content on line. It's hard to get to see everything. I’ve been visiting with friends and neighbours and keeping that proverbial two metre distance. Some days I feel so, so busy but I rarely feel like I get anything done. 5. What worldly advice would you give to other performing artists who are concerned about the impact of COVID-19? Any sage advice for new theatre school graduates? Allow yourself to be vulnerable. Allow yourself to be scared by all of this. But don’t retreat, if you don’t have to. Be innovative. Create art. Art will out. If you have time and energy, do it. We have some much privilege to take the time and be grateful for it. And yes, be grateful, but also be really aware of the inequality that this pandemic has pointed out. Listen to your heart. Don’t judge yourself too harshly. Look for the little waves of inspiration. Ride those little waves of inspiration. I feel badly for the young theatre graduates but lean on your classmates. Create work together. Stay in contact. These are the people who will push you. Find a way to connect. Being a good actor is vulnerability, risk and don’t be afraid to fail. There’s no one right way to do it. But having said all this, it’s also more than okay to cocoon and chill and regenerate. Everything is about adaptability and flexibility. Listen but also fight for those things that are important to you. 6. Do you see any positives coming out of this pandemic? The necessary recognition of injustice: racism, misogyny, recognizing the true value of essential workers; from health care professionals to the pizza delivery driver. This pandemic is a chance for the planet to take a breath. The more work I do with young people, and I’ve met some incredible theatre kids, they can see the bigger themes. I think there are some big innovators coming up. I choose to be optimistic because we can’t live in darkness. 7. Do you believe or can you see if the North American/Canadian performing arts scene will somehow be changed or impacted as a result of COVID – 19? Yes, there has been an impact. People have lost their jobs. Hopefully people will realize theatre and the arts stimulate the economy. I know art will survive. People are story tellers. The appetite for stories will never change, but how they’re delivered might shift. The community element will come back. Broadway will come back, but it can’t come back too soon. Broadway has to be careful how it moves forward. Our ‘Come from Away’ producers are talking every day trying to think of strategies to bring us all back to New York to perform sooner. But safety and health, first. 8. Many artists are turning to streaming/online performances to showcase/highlight/share their work. What are your thoughts and comments about this? Are there any advantages or disadvantages? I think artists have to do it. Story telling is in the blood. You need to put it somewhere. You will try in any way to connect with an audience. I have noticed a distinctly different feeling if you watch something online as it is streaming live or catch the piece after the fact. Because of the pandemic, a lot of things have different resonances for people now. Song lyrics and text pop differently. 9. What is it you still love about performing that Covid will never alter or destroy? That sense of community will never be destroyed by Covid even as we mourn the loss of people together. I’m a good teacher and a great coach and Covid will never destroy that. Covid will never destroy the incredible writers, artists, designers, performers, and their need to create. Covid will never destroy the problem solving involved in how to tell the story with all key people involved from actors to technical people. With a respectful acknowledgment 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: 1. What is your favourite word? Trust 2. What is your least favourite word? Unprecedented (du jour) . 3. What turns you on? Humour 4. What turns you off? Rudeness and arrogance. 5. What sound or noise do you love? The cardinal in my backyard. (du jour) It’s so bold. I love it. 6. What sound or noise bothers you? Buzz saws on a quiet afternoon, especially construction buzz saws on a Sunday afternoon. Although right now, every day is a Sunday afternoon. 7. What is your favourite curse word? Classic – fuck, just fuck. (and then Astrid just strung a bunch of curse words in a run-on sentence. LOL) 8. What profession, other than your own, would you have liked to attempt? Something arts related or I’d love to run a coffee shop, it would be a specialty coffee shop where people would stop by, feel safe and just be creative. Coffee would be free. I’m a millionaire in this scenario. 9. What profession would you not like to do? Anything to do with being a bureaucrat, paperwork, numbers – an accountant. A paper pusher. I love paper, but I would not want to push it around. 10. If Heaven exists, what do you hope God will say to you as you approach the Pearly Gates? “Bettie would like to sing a duet with you and hug you. Hugs first.” Bettie is my mom. You can follow Astrid Van Wieren on her Instagram @astridvw2020. You can also follow her on Twitter: @astridvanwieren. Previous Next

Where music, song and dance all contribute to an enjoyable plot on stage 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

Dramas encompass the human response to a created life situation on the stage. 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

Dramas encompass the human response to a created life situation on the stage. Back Crippled by Paul David Power Theatre Passe Muraille Chris Hibbs Joe Szekeres A sometimes funny and sometimes poignant two hander about trying to move forward from a moment that doesn’t cripple individuals from doing so. First, I must thank Theatre Passe Muraille for allowing me to re-live wonderful vacation memories five years ago in walking along the Water Street pier for my first trip to St. John’s, Newfoundland. Loved the city and am hoping to return sometime very soon to catch some theatre there as well as I’ve heard good things about the industry on the East Coast. When I heard ‘Crippled’s story takes place on the pier in St. John’s, well, at least I could visualize that area in my mind because I did walk along there during the day. Never at night, mind you, as the play refers at one point not to walk alone at night. ‘Crippled’ is a human and as described in the programme: “a brutally honest snapshot of a very specific time and place that has, thankfully, evolved and expanded.” It has also been described as a heartbreaking love letter to playwright Paul David Powers’ long-term partner, Jonathan. I hesitate to call ‘Crippled’ an LGBTQ+ play because the emotions expressed and felt are universal as we have all experienced this sense of wanting to belong, to be loved, to love and to fit in somewhere. As Tony at the top of the show, Power is walking alone at night along the Water Street waterfront peering down into the water. Just from the way he conducts himself ever so silently, there is an implication Tony is going to do the unthinkable as, for him, there is only one way to escape a life he no longer wants to live. Tony requires crutches to walk, as does Power. Power delivers such an uplifting performance that I chose not to look at the crutches as any kind of hindrance. They became an important tool Paul used for heightened emphasis in some dramatic moments. I chose to disregard the fact Tony considers himself crippled in the play; instead, I saw an emotionally and deeply hurt individual whose mind appears to be made up to do the unthinkable until Evan (Pat Dempsey, who equally matches Powers’ performance delivery), a stranger, appears on the scene. We also meet Carl (Matt White) momentarily, another individual from the bar where Tony had a drink before he left rather quickly after holding a conversation with the former. What follows is a heartfelt conversation between Tony and Evan about where their lives have gone, how they’ve transpired, and where do they go from there. Kirsti Mikoda’s set design nicely brought a wonderful personal memory back in my mind. The set appeared to be on risers with steps at the back. I really liked the stone design at the front because it looked exactly like the stone along the waterfront. There are four red benches signifying a place where people can sit along the dock. These benches will become focal points as both Tony and Evan tell their stories. Robert Gauthier’s lighting design ever so subtly creates that night lit whisp of moonbeams over the water. The glimmering moonlight water effect at the front of the playing space is beautiful to watch for a few moments as Tony walks the playing space area for a few minutes. George Robertson’s sound design nicely underscored many of the dramatic moments from Tony’s past. Compassionate direction by Danielle Irvine for this mostly two hander play is one of the highlights of the production. Both Paul David Power and Pat Dempsey offer august, sensitive performances of wounded individuals who are more than just a label the world places on them. Matt White’s final entrance as Carl also reinforces this reality. Power's script thankfully contains moments of necessary humour to break the tension. What also makes this script so true to life is the tough love element Evan uses to get Tony to recognize how important it is to keep moving forward from sadness and tragedy even when people believe their hearts may have been irreparably destroyed and cannot be healed. Final Comments: There was a person who sat in front of me opening night who was openly demonstrative and emotionally triggered by the story. I do hope this individual took advantage of Passe Muraille’s observance to assist those in the audience who may experience this sudden onslaught of feelings. Later, as I waited for the Uber to take me back to Union Station, that same individual walked by me and told their friends they were hoping to see the production once again. Just by quietly observing and listening to this moment, it came clear to me the power of live theatre and how much ‘Crippled’ influenced and affected that person extensively. They obviously missed live theatre during these last two years. I have too, and I’m grateful it’s back and feel safe while watching and experiencing this wondrous art form. Production runs approximately 90 minutes with no intermission. Covid protocols in effect at the theatre. Crippled runs to May 21 on the Main Stage at Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson Avenue, Toronto. For tickets and other information, visit www.passemuraille.on.ca or call 416-504-7529. Crippled by Paul David Power A production by Power Productions by Theatre Passe Muraille Director: Danielle Irvine Dramaturge: Robert Chafe Lighting Design: Robert Gauthier Stage Manager, Set Design & Construction: Kirsti Mikoda Sound Design: George Robertson Associate Lighting Designer: Frank Donato Cast: Paul David Power, Pat Dempsey, Matt White Previous Next

Dramas encompass the human response to a created life situation on the stage. 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

Where theatre is not only presented on the stage. Back 'A Case for the Existence of God' by Samuel D. Hunter Now on stage at Coal Mine Theatre, 2076 Danforth Avenue, Toronto. Credit: Cylla von Tiedemann. Pictured L-R: Mazin Elsadig and Noah Reid Joe Szekeres “Smart and sharply written text that speaks to men. ‘A Case for the Existence of God’ remains a beaut of a play. It’s a rare gift when a story like this might just be what brings men to the theatre.” Before the above statement is misinterpreted as sexist-sounding, the intention is not to do that. ‘A Case for the Existence of God’ powerfully addresses men’s issues when children enter the picture. Playwright Samuel D. Hunter’s script pulses believably in how men speak, think, feel and react. It’s rare for a play to delve honestly into male relationships without them either sounding sappy or perhaps turning the characters gay. Director Ted Dykstra was touched by ‘Case’s script when he first read it. What spoke to him about the play? In his Director’s Note, he writes that it’s a story about loyal, loving fathers, flawed or not, who put their kids first. That’s why this opening-night production is a beaut of a play that I hope will bring men to the theatre. The story is set in designer Nick Blais’s ultra-modern-looking and tidy office space of Keith (Mazin Elsadig), a highly conservative mortgage broker who takes his job seriously. Blais has interestingly designed his set on top of stone pillars, which become potent reminders of Keith’s persistence in always wanting to do the right thing. Keith speaks to working-class guy Ryan (Noah Reid), a worker at the local yogurt plant looking to secure a loan to purchase land his great-grandparents once owned to rebuild the burned-down house. What draws Ryan and Keith together? They each want to be good fathers to their fifteen-month-old daughters. Keith works on finalizing the adoption plans for his foster daughter, Willa. Ryan remains down on his luck but wants to secure a bright future for his daughter, Krista. The two young children attend the same local daycare. Ryan seizes the opportunity to learn more about securing a loan when he learns what Keith does for a living. The men’s lives are polar opposites even though they become fast friends in bonding over the first events and moments in their children’s lives. Ryan’s current marriage is on the rocks. He faces addictions while being a grown adult of divorced parents. Ryan hopes the desired land purchase can show he can offer stability for his child even as his relationship with his wife crumbles. Keith grows up in a wealthy family. He is a member of the LGBTQ+ community who wants to adopt his daughter on his own merits. He periodically speaks to an unseen social worker on the phone who assists in securing the adoption. Costume Designer Des’ree Gray selects appropriate clothing that delineates the social status differences between the two men. Elsadig is smartly dressed in proverbial and preppy white-collar attire. Reid’s hard hat, boots, oversized coat, ripped pants, and torn white shirt strongly indicate that his work takes him outdoors most days. Ted Dykstra directs confidently and steadily, ensuring that the emotional moments between Elsadig and Reid do not verge on hysterics, as men typically do not express themselves that way. When either of them has emotional outbursts, they pierce right to the heart and gut, making them ever so poignant in their juxtaposition with the plot events. The actors do not move much at the beginning; however, when they do, there is an intent and reason why. Near the end of the play, when voices are raised and answers are sought, Elsadig and Reid remain passionate and dynamic performers who ultimately control their emotions. They give believably genuine performances as father figures who only want the best for their children’s futures. They also only want what’s best for each other as friends. Final Thoughts: Although the smartly written and sharp two-hander does not directly reference God or any spiritual being, Hunter firmly establishes the tone of having faith in a higher power. Sharing said specific plot elements would spoil how Ryan and Keith navigate their search in trying to understand something in a world that often seems to work against them. Ryan and Keith encounter heart-wrenching circumstances that did bring a tear to my eye, but the boys also provide moments of laughter amid the absurdity of their situation. That’s faith right there as the two men try to navigate their search to understand the world. This realization makes this Catholic Christian smile and his heart leap for joy. Running time: approximately 90 minutes with no interval/intermission. ‘A Case for the Existence of God’ runs until December 6 at the Coal Mine Theatre, 2076 Danforth Avenue, Toronto. For tickets: coalminetheatre.com. COAL MINE THEATRE presents ‘A CASE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD’ by Samuel D. Hunter Directed by Ted Dykstra Set and Lighting Designer: Nick Blais Costume Designer: Des’ree Gray Sound Designer/Composer: Aaron Jensen Stage Manager: Robert Harding Performers: Mazin Elsadig and Noah Reid. Previous Next

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Andrea Rankin Theatre Conversation in a Covid World Mat Simpson Joe Szekeres Artist Andrea Rankin has quite the impressive list of resume credentials on her website. I had the opportunity to see her work at The Stratford Festival in ‘Mother’s Daughter’ and ‘The Crucible’, and her other credits in theatre, film and television are varied in range. Her training and educational background are solid. She is billed on her personal website as a multidisciplinary Canadian artist with a passion for live performance and equitable spaces. Andrea is an actor, singer, musician, and songwriter born in Amiskwaciwâskahikan on Treaty 6 Territory (Edmonton, Alberta). Thankfully there is a section on the website where I can listen to some of her songs. 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? I am healthy, I have enough food and a safe and comfortable place to live - so I am doing alright, despite everything. Thankfully my family is safe and healthy too. Some days I feel hopeful and able to appreciate my surroundings and the present moment, some days are difficult and full of grief and I find myself needing to sit or lie down. I’m getting more used to the ebbs and flows and to trying to accept instead of resisting the emotions that come up; I think this will be a life-long practice. How have you been spending your time since the theatre industry has been locked up tight as a drum? At first, after the 2020 Stratford season was cancelled, I poured my energy into what you might call the ‘domestic arts’. Before the lockdown, I had just closed a nearly-year-long run of “Mother’s Daughter” by Kate Hennig at Stratford/Soulpepper and had started rehearsals to play Ophelia in “Hamlet” and Hero in “Much Ado About Nothing” at the Stratford Festival. I was spending my days in rehearsal halls with passionate artists and spending my evenings continuing to work. My last rehearsal was a Saturday afternoon and then I received a note on Monday morning not to come into work. Stopping suddenly felt like whiplash at first. There was a period of waiting to know how long this would go on that has never really ended. For comfort, I became very invested in my sourdough starters (Peg and Diane, respectively) and in trying to bake a perfect loaf of bread. I started cooking new things and testing out long, detailed recipes. I started writing every morning, as a place to put my thoughts. I felt no other creative impulses for a long time and frankly, tried not to think about anything artistic. To deal with the anxiety I took up running. To stay hopeful, I tried to hold onto what I did have available to me: the outdoors. I spent time walking, running, having bonfires, at the beach, camping, hiking; I did whatever I could to be outside at all times. Near the end of the summer, my partner and I drove across the country and camped our way to Alberta to have distance visits with family and friends. That was a highlight. In the fall my creative energy came back and I decided to embrace another artistic passion of mine: music. I’m a trained classical singer and pianist, and the journey to discover my own style has been a satisfying one. In November 2020, I decided to release my first EP of alt-pop music, called Tides. It’s given me a lot of purpose and meaning and I’ve learned a lot about the music industry in Canada. I’ve also started writing in other ways – meeting weekly with friends to work on script ideas. I don’t know what will become of them, but the act of meeting and writing together has been deeply satisfying. I also started teaching voice and acting lessons online over Zoom and now I teach students from across the country every week. I’ve still been auditioning here and there for film and television, but I’ve certainly channeled my creative energies into music. Luckily, it’s an art that I can still do from the confines of my living room. 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? At times it’s felt like an escape from the relentless momentum of productivity and chasing notions of success, but in almost every other way, this has felt like the opposite of an escape. I think it’s a gift to have more time to pay attention to the world we’re living in. It has involved a new kind of listening and feeling anger and grief; and the grief I feel for all those suffering is immense. In my experience, it’s been a time to look at myself, my life, my community, my work and my participation in systems and structures and ask why. What stops me from listening? Why am I not fighting for change every day? It’s been a chance to listen deeply and a chance to educate myself. It has been a chance to let go of things and reimagine. In other ways, I’ve tried to look at this as an opportunity to discover parts of myself that are changing: interests I’ve neglected, relationships I’ve taken for granted. I’ve tried to think of my creativity as a daily experience, present everywhere in all things. I can find it when I cook, in choosing my outfit for the day, in the trees when I go for walks, in calling friends on the phone and listening without distraction. It has felt like a year-long exercise in mindfulness. I’ve really felt that when you can’t go backwards, and the future is unknown, the safest place to be is in the present. The more I’m able to be in the day I’m having and live slowly, the more I find I’m able to be okay, learn and listen. When I worry about what’s happened or what’s to come, I start to feel fear and anxiety. There has also been a great deal of time sitting with these feelings and trying to accept what I do have, what I can learn, who I am and who I could be. 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? I’m not sure how things will go. I often think about artists at home, grieving and breathing and I wonder what will come out of this for everyone. Who will have left the industry? Who will have studied something new? What art will be made and shared? We’ve experienced a collective trauma, and this takes time to heal. At times, I try to remind myself of how this is creating space for everyone to explore other parts of themselves, their other interests, skills and curiosities. I imagine watching strangers hug someday in the future and how joyful that will be. I imagine standing next to a stranger at a concert and sharing a sweaty moment of shared humanity and I think - I can wait. To keep people safe so that we can all share moments like this again: this is worth waiting for. Whenever it happens, it’s going to be spectacular. 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? As it’s ongoing - and in Ontario in a lockdown state similar to what we had in the spring of 2020 - I’m not sure how this has transformed me just yet. I know I will be a different artist. I know that my voice can be used for things I believe in and to protect the safety, creativity, and spirits of all artists in the room. I think I’ll be less desirous to please and more desirous to connect. I look forward to discovering how I’ve changed and how this time has changed me. 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 think the idea of ‘danger’ in the work is a difficult notion and worth expanding upon. The notion of artistic danger can sometimes be a privilege and used as a way to wield power over those without it. Speaking generally about 'danger' can mean that we’re not all having the same conversation. For some, danger in the rehearsal hall and in performance is very real: not being seen or heard, having a fellow artist look at you through a lens of racism, ableism, sexism, ageism, homophobia, body-shaming; people that believe you only deserve to be there if you play by their rules. As a community we’re waking up to these discoveries, but they have been the lived reality of many artists for a long time. If danger creates fear, then I disagree with Ms. Caldwell. Declan Donnellan speaks of this in his book “The Actor and Its Target.” He writes “No theatre work absorbs more energy than dealing with the effects of fear; and fear is, without a single exception, destructive. Fear makes it difficult to disagree. Fear creates as much false consensus as strife. A healthy working atmosphere, where we can risk and fail, is indispensable. Fear corrodes this trust, undermines our confidence and clots our work. And the rehearsal must feel safe so that the performance may seem dangerous.” In other words, a safe room creates dangerous work. I believe in this very much. On a personal level, in the characters I have played, I’ve been strangled, hanged, beaten, suicidal, died tragically, institutionalized, silenced and murdered in just about every play I’ve been in over the past decade; the canon for young women, especially in classical theatre, is rife with danger. If the process threatens the safety and autonomy of the artist, if they are not given a space to use their voice and there is inequality in who is allowed to express their experience and who isn’t – these things are not only detrimental to our art, but damaging to the brave and vulnerable individuals who choose to make theatre their craft. As far as danger in the time of Covid – absolutely. It is a wild and terrifying thing to experience a constant, invisible threat. I think the experience of this kind of danger will influence my work in reminding me not to take anything for granted. Our time on this planet is not guaranteed and that’s what makes it beautiful and worth paying attention to. It is a precious thing to have time in a room with people and I won’t ever take that for granted again. 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? It has. I’m still experiencing this, so it might be too early to describe how, but it has forced me to live more slowly and to pay more attention to the world around me. Thich Naht Hahn – a buddhist monk and writer whose work I admire and read often – talks about how the meaning of life can be found in the experience of wonder. When we experience wonder – with others, in the natural world, alone - we feel connected to something and this gives us meaning. I think this time has made me sensitive to wonder and to the world around me. This wonder isn’t always easeful; it can be wonder at the problems in the world, at people’s willingness to allow others to suffer. This time has made me ask why I am living the way I do, who I’m living for, what my values are. It’s asked me to sit with myself and offered a chance for me to make choices consciously. I will bring this all with me. There’s no going back. 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? It certainly has. I have been curious about what’s possible in my life and in my ability to help and support others. I have been curious about having hobbies! I have been curious about myself as a songwriter and musician, and I’ve had the chance to release music and explore this great love of mine. It has made me curious about political structures and inequality; cooking and baking; nature and the outdoors; what it means to be a good friend; how suffering is universal; where socks go when they get lost in the dryer; that we need to look out for one another; the power of a phone call, of a Christmas card; of the ebbs and flows. In some ways, while you’re busy making art you don’t always take the time to make your own life a work of art. This is a cheesy way of saying this but I think it’s sometimes true. The mundane, the boring, the ugly, the exhausting, the beautiful; these make up a life and are the very things I am so desirous to see on stage. I hope these reflections, observations and discoveries come with me whenever and however I return to this art form. Thank-you for the chance to reflect on this time in my life and to consider the answers to these questions. I’m grateful for the opportunity. To connect with Andrea, visit her personal webpage: www.andrearankin.ca . Twitter: @heyandrearankin Instagram: @andrealindsayrankin Previous Next

Where music, song and dance all contribute to an enjoyable plot on stage Back Jesus Christ Superstar Now on stage in the Springer Theatre at the Thousand Islands Playhouse, 185 South Street, Gananoque Credit: Randy deKleine-Stimpson. Pictured in foreground: Nico Solarte as Judas. In background: Michael Cox as Jesus and Melissa MacKenzie as Mary Magdalene. Joe Szekeres “A co-production with Thousand Islands Playhouse and Western Canada Theatre that understands Jesus Christ as counter-cultural in the past and present. Some fascinating and clever directorial choices create visually beautiful pictures and emotional moments.” The 1000 Islands Playhouse bills its co-production with Western Canada Theatre as an “explosive, dynamic telling of the last week of Jesus’ life, full of iconic music, exhilarating dance, and stirring performances. [Superstar is a ‘quintessential rock musical] story of passion and betrayal following the exuberant faith of Jesus’ followers, the betrayal of Judas, and the devastating finale.” Loosely based on the Four Gospels of the Passion of Jesus Christ (Michael Cox) in his last week of life, much of the plot of ‘Superstar’ centers on the brooding disciple Judas (Nico Solarte), who becomes dissatisfied with how Jesus steers his disciples. (ADDENDUM: I have received word from Artistic Director Brett Christopher the sound issues have been fixed and that the artists can be heard. Wonderful news.) There’s good stuff happening on the Springer stage in telling this iconic Catholic-Christian story, both vocally and in performance delivery. There are moments when Andrew Lloyd Webber’s haunting music and Tim Rice’s poignant lyrics convey a direct message. When this happens, it becomes electrifying as I can feel the hair on my arms and the back of my neck stand right up. Music Director Clare Wyatt captures the vocal intensity nicely in the moving rendition of 'Gethsemane.' 'Judas's Death' becomes mesmerizing as the technical elements of sound, design, and actor performance all come together to highlight the wayward disciple's final complete understanding of Christ's influence and the perils of his going against it. This co-production effectively showcases Christ's enduring influence as counter-cultural, both in the past and present. It's truly electrifying when it occurs. The intimate stage at Springer Theatre is well-suited to Robert Sondergaard's scaffold set design, featuring three significant exits and entrances that are used to purposeful advantage. Unlike in a large auditorium where scaffolding might obstruct the view, the audience can easily see the characters' facial expressions as they enter. There is no need for teleprompters to watch the action. Sondergaard's lighting shades are often sharply focused, incorporating shadows and darkened areas to underscore a scene's mood. This is particularly noticeable in the second act, during the scenes in the Garden of Gethsemane and the 39 Lashes when the soldiers carry out their commanded actions towards Jesus. Stephanie Kong has done her homework in costume designs and made confident choices. Michael Cox's blue shirt symbolizes international peace, which is quite fitting. Nico Solarte's dark-coloured costumes depict a brooding young man. The earth-tone colours worn by the ensemble members are also a good choice. The apostles are portrayed as working-class, ordinary men, and their costumes of subtle tears and gentle rips reflect that, another good choice. Nicol Spinola's choreography is executed with precision. There is thoughtful consideration behind the ensemble's movements when the lyrics are heard. The staging of Christ attempting to heal the lepers remains captivating. Director James MacDonald sculpts a clear and clever vision that brings Christ to the people, not the other way around (as Christians are called to do). MacDonald uses effective stage techniques to show the audience where they are in the story. For example, during the Last Supper, ensemble members hold a white linen tablecloth to give the illusion of a table being present when it is not. The '39 Lashes' remains visually breathtaking. I put my pen away in my notebook and watched with simultaneous fascination and repulsion. The energetic and lively ensemble enters from the back of the house at the top of Act One for ‘What’s The Buzz.’ That’s a solid choice because the audience can’t help but not get involved in the euphoria. That also occurs in ‘Hosanna.’ Rob Torr's Pilate is a standout in the show. Torr sings with clear restraint, and his strong intensity and physical presence show that he should not be provoked. Oliver Castillo delivers a playful and campy King Herod. Melissa MacKenzie remains a comforting Mary Magdalene, despite her true nature. However, there are moments in MacKenzie's vocal delivery where she over-emphasizes the vibrato of her voice. It becomes distracting and takes away from the impact of the lyrics. Nico Solarte delivers a rock-star standout performance as Judas. His passionate portrayal of despair and anger truly shines. Michael Cox also impresses with his portrayal of The Christ, exuding subdued regality and charming charisma. The final image of ‘The Crucifixion’ is indelibly etched, with Cox divinely capturing the full implication of the Biblical reference: “It is finished. Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit.” The conclusion of the production is convincingly uplifting, and as a practicing Catholic, it resonates deeply in my heart, reminding me that death is not the end. A Final Thought: In his Director’s Programme Note, MacDonald writes how ‘Superstar’s’ messages of love, forgiveness, acceptance and peace are at the heart of the story. Yet these messages can also be pulled apart by those threatened by them or seek to use them to their own ends. This co-production beautifully highlights MacDonald's former thought. I hope the Playhouse has reached out to all local Christian/Catholic parishes to invite parishioners to share in a story that still needs to be experienced in our troubled world. Running time: approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes with one interval/intermission. ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ runs until October 27 at the Springer Theatre, 185 South Street, Gananoque. For tickets, visit 1000islandsplayhouse.com or call (613) 382-7020. THE THOUSAND ISLANDS PLAYHOUSE, in co-production with WESTERN CANADA THEATRE, presents JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Lyrics by Tim Rice Director: James MacDonald Music Director: Clare Wyatt Choreographer: Nicol Spinola Set/Lighting Designer: Robert Sondergaard Costume Designer: Stephanie Kong Sound Designer: Steve Marsh Stage Manager: Laurel Oneil Band: Clare Wyatt, Michael Capon, Sean Donaldson, Alex Panneton, Winston Vinh Performers: Michael Cox, Nico Solarte, Oliver Castillo, Melissa MacKenzie, Alex Wierzbicki, Lauren Bowler, William Lincoln, David Michael Moote, Rob Torr, Jillian Mitsuko Cooper, Ryan Maschke. Previous Next

An artistic appreciation for those who have no background in opera. Back G. F. Handel's 'The Resurrection' (Film) Opera Atelier Bruce Zinger Joe Szekeres Please Note: I hold no background or education in opera or ballet so I will not comment on this highly trained area of expertise in these two performance art forms. Instead, I will comment on the staging and the production elements used in ‘The Resurrection’. Although the Easter celebration for Christians and Roman Catholics has concluded, the messages of G. F. Handel’s ‘The Resurrection’ are still aptly appropriate for those who hold a belief and trust in the faith as I do. The influence of the Catholic Church when this opera was first sung, I’m sure, would have probably had audiences completely mesmerized with gasping and bated breath. Historically, Christian catechesis pervaded the lives of individuals who were judiciously aware of the saving graces of Christ versus the damnation of souls into Hell. A story focusing on the resurrection of Christ most certainly needs to be shared with as many as possible. I have had the opportunity to attend a few operas so I was interested to see how Handel’s story would be shared online since Covid cannot allow us to be in a theatre to hear these exquisite voices soaring to the rafters. This story of ‘The Resurrection’ requires immense space to create the world of Heaven, the world on Earth, and the suggested world to where Lucifer would soon be banished. Could this ambitious design be created for an operatic digital platform? Under the skillful hands of Set Designer and Art Direction Gerard Gauci who utilizes the playing space of the St. Lawrence Hall to its fullest, Opera Atelier made it work. Splendidly, I might add. From the Opera Atelier website: “Handel’s ‘The Resurrection’ details the events between Good Friday and Easter Sunday with the forces of darkness and light often in metaphorical duel and conflict that is heightened through highly specialized vocal tour-de-forces.” Marcel Canzona’s film editing at the opening of the production created an impressive heavenly atmosphere of light and sound which transported me away from the confines of my chair at home. This ‘Resurrection’ production was filmed in the Ballroom of Toronto’s St. Lawrence Hall and Gerard Gauci’s set and art designs and direction were used to full advantage to create these three immense spaces. At one point, I admired especially the celestial light which streamed in from the three windows. Whether it was perfectly or naturally timed, it was a breathtaking effect that I can still recall. Stylized work in costume design in this production added further details to the specific characterizations. Michael LeGouffe’s costumes effectively utilized opposing light and dark colours for grand effect. The dazzling white costumes of the Angels in the first number contrasted with the dark earth tones for Lucifer were highly effective. At one moment the Angel (Carla Huhtanen) and Lucifer (Douglas Williams) are perched behind their platforms and are magnetically and intensely focused on their courtroom like and accusatory charges of good and evil are fiercely flung at each other. To maintain this keenly heightened and focal intensity to propel the story forward, director Marshall Pynkoski and Choreographer Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg always maintain a consistent control of the story’s artistic vision. Movement and staging of individuals and the corps de ballet are gorgeously stylized to watch. Characterizations are subtly distinct with fine nuances. Mr. Williams’ Lucifer is suavely and seductively debonair. Ms. Huhtanen’s Angel reflects Godly and goodly righteousness with strength and charisma. Meghan Lindsay as Mary Magdalene and Allyson McHardy as Cleophas are women of fortitude and tenacity as they grow from unspeakable grief and sadness to knowing that the death of Christ (and of all) is not the end. As St. John the Evangelist Colin Ainsworth’s radiant smile and reassuring vocal presence reminded me of the power of having faith and belief in the heavenly God when it appears we are in the darkest hours. Final Comments: Glorious to hear and divinely to see, Opera Atelier’s production of Handel’s ‘The Resurrection’ becomes a triumphant and dazzling spectacle of sight and sound with a strong underlying tone that darkness will cease and lightness will shine forever. Opera Atelier presents G. F. Handel’s ‘The Resurrection’ Featuring Soprano Carla Huhtanen, Soprano Meghan Lindsay, Mezzo-Soprano Allyson McHardy, Tenor Colin Ainsworth and Bass-Baritone Douglas Williams, Handel’s The Resurrection also showcases the incomparable Artists of Atelier Ballet, and Tafelmusik (Elisa Citterio, Music Director) under the baton of Opera Atelier’s Resident Music Director, David Fallis. Stage Director: Marshall Pynkoski Choreographer: Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg Set Designer/Art Director: Gerard Gauci Film Director/Editor/Director of Photography: Marcel Canzona Costume Designer: Michael LeGouffe Streams online to June 20, 2021. For tickets, please visit www.operaatelier.com . Photo of Douglas Williams and the Artists of Atelier Ballet by Bruce Zinger. Previous Next

An artistic appreciation for those who have no background in opera. Back 'The Resurrection' by George Frederick Handel Presented by Opera Atelier Bruce Zinger. Soprano Meghan Lindsay as Mary Magdalene and Artist of Atelier Ballet Edward Tracz. Joe Szekeres Please note I have no educational background or training in the world of opera and ballet. I will comment on the staging of the production. A visual and sumptuous telling with grace and dignity. Exquisite to watch and extraordinary to hear. News of Christ’s death has invaded Heaven. The Archangel (Carla Huhtanen) and Lucifer (Douglas Williams) hold a heated argument with the latter claiming victory over Christ’s death while the former insists that death is a victory for heaven and all of humankind. On earth, Mary Magdalene (Meghan Lindsay) mourns Christ’s death. The arrival of Cleophas (Allyson McHardy) leads these two women to consider what they have seen during the last hours of Christ’s life: the crown of thorns, the nails that pierced his feet and his face. St. John the Evangelist (Colin Ainsworth) arrives and reminds the women that Christ said he would return to them. He encourages the women to visit Christ’s tomb while he goes to care for Mary, Christ’s mother. In heaven, the Archangel calls from purgatory all souls who have existed prior to Christ’s crucifixion and encourages them to follow in the Lord’s footsteps. The Archangel leads them out of purgatory triumphantly. In turn, the Angel celebrates Christ’s resurrection and invites all the world to rejoice. Lucifer is both horrified and defeated by the news and continues to threaten vengeance on all humanity. He soon realizes he is defeated and without recourse falls once again into the depths of Hell. The women arrive at the tomb and are greeted by the angel in white who assures them Christ has risen. The angel encourages the women to spread the joyful news. St. John meets Cleophas and describes his meeting with Christ’s mother – Christ has revealed himself to his mother. There is a great joy. In conclusion, the entire company celebrates the resurrection which allows Earth to rise to Heaven. Gerard Gauci’s set design and Kimberly Purtell’s lighting design resplendently create a wonderful world of hues, tones, shades, and magnificent colours. There are two opposing stands on stage left and right from which the Archangel and Lucifer hurl operatically awesome debates back and forth. Christ’s tomb is centre stage covered with a gold curtain. It is a two-level set. There are staircases left and right from which some of the performers ascend and descend. Beautiful golden drapes at the top of the stairs indicate Heaven from which the Archangel descends to speak with Lucifer. The richness of Alessia Urbani’s costume designs is another visual feast. My eyes were continually moving when new characters entered. An initial look of ten seconds can give a strong first impression and this was most present in Douglas Williams. His dark t-shirt fitted his muscular structural frame. Long black boots and tight-fitting pants indicate a character who is in complete control. Marshall Pynkoski directs the production with an effectively controlled passion for the work. Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg’s avowed respect for dance and movement has been finely captured in the work of the Atelier Ballet artists. I recognized two names of artists whom I’ve seen in other productions. I hope I can catch the names of the other artists whom I did not recognize in other shows in future. It was also marvellous to catch Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg on stage at one point doing what she obviously loves doing. David Fallis conducts the music with a passionate and emotional intensity. Douglas Williams is a sexy and seductive Lucifer who, at one point, tries to win over the Archangel with his suave and debonair nature. As the Archangel, Carla Huhtanen remains a vocal powerhouse in the back-and-forth vocal debate about who remains in control of Heaven after the death of Christ. Colin Ainsworth offers an extraordinary contrast to Douglas Williams’ Lucifer. Ainsworth’s St. John the Evangelist remains grounded in temperance and faith in not losing hope in a promise made. Allyson McHardy and Megan Lindsay credibly respond and react to each other as Cleophas and Mary Magdalene. They are incredible women of strength and fortitude. Final Comments: This production of ‘The Resurrection’ had been gorgeously filmed during the pandemic. It was fine to watch the filmed adaptation but nothing beats a live performance. I do hope to see more of Opera Atelier in the future. Running time: 115 minutes The production has now closed but I encourage all of you to attend Opera Atelier productions. For more information, visit operaatelier.com. OPERA ATELIER presented George Frederick Handel’s THE RESURRECTION at Koerner Hall, Telus Centre for the Performing Arts and Learning. Conductor: David Fallis Stage Director: Marshall Pynkoski Choreographer: Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg Resident Set Designer: Gerard Gauci Lighting Designer: Kimberly Purtrell Head of Wardrobe: Alessia Urbani Production Stage Manager: Tamara Vuckovic Company: Colin Ainsworth, Carla Huhtanen, Meghan Lindsay, Allyson McHardy, Douglas Williams. Artists of Atelier Ballet: Eric César De Mello Da Silva, Juri Hiraoka, Elizabeth Katashnikova, Kevin Law, Courtney Law, Kealan McLaughlin, Julia Sedwick, Cynthia Smithers, Edward Tracz, Dominic Who, Xi Yi, Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg Previous Next

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Andrew Seok Looking Ahead Kyle Brown Joe Szekeres According to the Vision 2021 short film on the Eclipse Theatre website, Artistic Director Andrew Seok calls himself a filmmaker, composer, and theatre creator. He completed his training with some private teachers, Boston’s Berklee College of Music, and York University’s Music Programme. He also completed studies at the Royal Conservatory for Classical Composition and Orchestration. His bio on the company’s website is extensive. Quite an impressive resume, I must say. When he realized there weren’t a lot of opportunities for Asian actors in theatre or film, Seok began to create those opportunities for himself. He’s never held a 9-5 job, never worked steadily in an office nor receive a regular pay cheque. But he has always considered himself an artist in every way after a trusted friend once told him, “What’s the point of making art, ever?” when he experienced doubts about any of his musical works finding a life of their own after any original premieres. I truly respect Seok’s candour in stating his vision is to make art as he moves forward in his career post-pandemic. He recalled being part of a music collective years ago where those involved were trying to start a record label. Andrew asked: “Why are we doing this?” and the initial response was to make money, but Seok pointed out there were far better ways to do so than starting a music label since none of them is getting rich from it, and very few will achieve that level of coveted success; ergo, the reason for the shift in doing art for the love of it. Seok recognizes how difficult it is in any business setting to find individuals with whom one clicks, but as he states about Eclipse’s Artistic Producer Chilina Kennedy: “I was very, very lucky to find someone like her who is a new working relationship for me.” Currently, she appears in the Broadway company of ‘Paradise Square’, but the two are constantly speaking on the phone all the time regarding artistic issues related to Eclipse.” What is one thing this two-year pause has made Andrew realize about himself personally and professionally? He had a chuckle at first before stating this was a loaded question. For himself, Seok realizes he must create as it is a huge part of his identity. Whether it’s building wooden furniture, woodworking, graphic design, or writing short stories, there must be an end product no matter what. It is this end product which shows the thought, the creativity and the passion from whence it came. Andrew felt lost during Covid when he couldn’t maintain this structure for himself. Professionally, (and he realizes this personally), because the theatre industry took a huge nosedive during Covid, Seok re-evaluated his relationship with the business side of things, how much money can be earned, what will the reviews be like and will there be enough money to do something after. Instead, he now focuses on appreciating the work and the journey of it rather than the financial outcome or the ‘success of things’; if he placed passion into it and his wholehearted energy and creativity into it, then that is the reward in that endeavour. With an industry that’s crippled, what else do you have? Some sage advice here for actors and artists who may still be experiencing a forlorn sense of loss. Our conversation then turned to Seok’s upcoming project ‘Til Then and why audiences need to see this production. When he became Artistic Director for Eclipse, Andrew and Chilina had a sit-down and had a frank conversation. If they wanted to make money, they should stage ‘Mamma Mia’ or ‘Phantom of the Opera’. Both Seok and Kennedy agreed passionately they wanted to foster and develop Canadian new musicals and help put the country’s artists on the world stage. If this vision failed, crashed, and burned to the ground, at least the two of them could hold their heads high and say they did this because it was important to them rather than produce big blockbuster shows. Eclipse is starting a new Canadian Musical Works Festival where there will be a reading of new Canadian musicals. For Andrew, a big launch was necessary. He thought it would be great to get all of these amazing Canadian theatre musical writers and songwriters from across the country in celebration to tell about their experience of this time of the Great Pause from Covid these last two years. If these songs can be moulded together to create a show, it would the ultimate celebration of the Canadian music theatre scene in this pandemic time when the industry has been crippled. He continues: “There’s no one writer to write everything we’ve been through. There are too many stories, too many angles, too many perspectives of what we’ve been through. Let’s get as many artists as we can. So we got 24 writers – some paired up. They were given the question WHAT DID THIS TIME MEAN TO YOU?” Seok smiled as he recalled these artists saying: “What do you want us to write about?” He replied: “Whatever you think you need to write about now.” The only stipulation he made clear: “Let’s try not to make this a super depressing show.” The work he received from these artists ranges in all the emotions with the ups and downs and the universal effects of everything we’ve all endured. Andrew remained a tad coy in explaining further why audiences should see the show. He did add though, that a really cool thing happens whereby there are moments where we will watch the show, and where we will be invested in what we are watching: “It’s a show about us, and in the trailer, (that you can see on the website) this is all of our story presented here by Canadian musical theatre icons and songwriters from Canada. This was our dream and we achieved it so we’re hoping audiences will come to see it.” As we concluded our conversation, I recalled a line from the VISION 2021 short film on the Eclipse website: “Let us find a way to dream again.” What is Andrew Seok’s newest dream once ‘Til Then concludes July 20? We shared a good laugh when he replied: “How do I say this without getting in trouble?” A pause where he thought momentarily and then: “I want Canadian artists to be spotlit on the world stage, for sure. If I as an Artistic Director of a Canadian theatre company can help that, I absolutely want to.” A noble and heartfelt intention, indeed, but, for Andrew, the arts and entertainment world has started to veer on a course in a certain direction. He’s not saying it’s a bad direction, but Andrew would really love for more non-regular theatre-going public to see more theatre than just going to see shows like ‘Les Mis’ or ‘Hamilton’. Andrew has many friends who are not in the industry and who have no idea of what’s out there. Yes, they’ve heard things by word of mouth and that’s all they know. He wants to be able to show his friends it’s time ‘to broaden the buffet’ for the general public to see. Andrew’s dream going forward for himself and Eclipse? Hopefully trying to bring more theatre to the masses and have it being appreciated by more than just a small niche group. There’s more to theatre than just the ritz and razzle-dazzle stuff. He likes it, but that’s not the kind of stuff Andrew writes. He hopes people will come to see stuff not part of their wheelhouse. ‘Til Then’ runs July 17-20 at the Berkeley Event Church, 315 Queen Street East in Toronto. For tickets: http://www.eztix.co/ezkiosk/en/1784250. To learn more about Eclipse Theatre: www.eclipsetheatre.ca . Previous Next

Dramas encompass the human response to a created life situation on the stage. Back 'Innocence Lost: The Steven Truscott Story' by Beverly Cooper Presented by Theatre on the Ridge and now onstage at Scugog Shores Village and Museum, 16210 Island Road, Port Perry Credit: Barry McCluskey. Pictured: Karly Friesen as Sarah Joe Szekeres The strong Theatre on the Ridge ensemble cast handles the dramatic intensity with dignity, tact, and grace. There’s nary a weather of histrionics in the performance. Set in 1959 in Clinton, Ontario, Beverly Cooper’s ‘Innocence Lost’ dramatizes the unfortunate tragedy that erased the innocence of the lives of many young people in the town. Based on the true story of the Steven Truscott judicial case, the play describes the murder and rape of Lynne Harper (Sarah Kaufmann) through the eyes of the fictional character Sarah (Karly Friesen), the story’s narrator. At times, the production describes graphic narration that forever changes the town of Clinton when fourteen-year-old classmate Steven Truscott (Liam Ryan) is charged with Lynne Harper’s rape and murder. ‘Innocence Lost’ recounts how rumours, fearmongering, and lies turn people against an innocent man as the town of Clinton desperately want to close this part of its residents’ lives. The play spans from 1959 – 2007. It’s unfathomable to think it took forty-eight years to dismiss the rape and murder charges against Steven. Additionally, has Lynn Harper's family been able to find any closure? A possible clue is given in the second act I saw ‘Innocence Lost’ at Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre several years ago. At the time, that edge-of-the-seat production begged to be discussed later because a lot happened underneath the characters’ lives, words, and actions. Theatre on the Ridge audiences are fortunate that playwright Beverly Cooper will attend the July 19 performance and be available for a Q and A following the show to discuss these issues. Please check Theatre on the Ridge’s website for further information on Cooper’s speaking engagement. Does the same edge of the seat feeling still hold for Theatre on the Ridge’s production? It most certainly does, save for a few minor technical issues that can be fixed immediately. The strong ensemble cast handles the dramatic intensity with dignity, tact, and grace under Carey Nicholson’s solid direction. Make sure you pay close attention to the pre-show activity that takes place outside the tent. Director Carey Nicholson shows life in this small southwestern Ontario town in 1959 before the awful events. She captures that feeling thanks to Sarah Jewell’s period costumes and props. A young boy and girl walk by, with the boy steering a bicycle. This is Steven Truscott and Lynne Harper. Two boys are playing catch. Two ladies are walking and talking to each other, perhaps gossiping. Lyle Corrigan’s opening musical soundscape aptly captures the era’s tunes. A slight quibble in Act 2 near the end can be fixed. The dialogue is difficult to hear because the song is too loud. Carey Nicholson has designed the set where the audience sits on both sides, and the action takes place on the raised stage in front. There are steps around to allow the actors to exit and enter. Plot action also takes place on the floor in front of the stage. Nicholson makes a wise choice to do this. Not only does it allow for the use of levels to maintain audience interest, but it also becomes a symbolic reminder that people will always see events from different perspectives since the audience sits on both sides. But another slight quibble regarding the set design. From where my guest and I sat, it is sometimes tricky to hear any upstage dialogue or if an actor’s back is turned to deliver dialogue to the audience on the other side. Hopefully, all the actors will take this note as a reminder about audibility issues in playing to both sides. Most of the eleven-member cast assume multiple roles. For the sake of space and time, I cannot comment on all. As the fictional narrator Sarah, Karly Friesen shares her perspective of the events as a believable 14-year-old classmate of Lynne and Steven’s. Sarah’s wavering between believing and not believing Steven and recognizing how the potential of darkness existing in all human souls becomes genuinely heartfelt. As the young Steven and Lynne, Liam Ryan and Sarah Kaufmann eerily capture a sweetness of youthful innocence where I can’t even begin to imagine the atrocities both endured. As the older Steven Truscott, Austin White exudes tremendous frustration in maintaining his hope of innocence. As Lynne’s parents and Steven’s mother, Adrian Marchesano, Emily Templeman, and Annette Stokes-Harris’s palpable fear and the eventual reality of what has happened to their respective children cuts right to the heart. Thankfully, these three performers do not revert to histrionics. Instead, they allow the meaning of their words to sink into the audience’s understanding in formulating an opinion as to what happened. Reid Martin and Briony Merritt are convincing as mother and daughter who view this volatile situation in the town from opposing views. Elyssia Giancola’s eye contact with the audience as she shares her perspective of the story is intently firm. Regarding Isabel LeBourdais’s book concerning the trial in the second act, Michael Serres’ moment as Reverend Bagnall in confrontation with Adrian Marchesano as Mr. Harper becomes riveting to watch for the few minutes it occurs. Serres and Marchesano remain intently strong, especially when the latter discovers how the former becomes involved with LeBourdais’s book. Again, another quibble in audibility issues comes with Emily Templeman as Isabel LeBourdais. The second act focuses on the book she writes. However, there were moments when Templeman is upstage and I had difficulty hearing what she said. I also found moments when some of her line delivery was rushed with garbled words. My guest and I couldn’t decipher what she said. I could also hear others around me saying, ‘What did she say?’ Final Comments: Watching ‘Innocence Lost’ grimly reminds me of the 1984 wrongful conviction and eventual overturning of the Guy Paul Morin case concerning the rape and murder of his neighbour, nine-year-old Christine Jessop, in Queensville, Ontario. Steven Truscott and Guy Paul Morin’s stories and accusations were horrible. Again, I can’t even begin to imagine what the two men endured in the judicial atrocities thrown at them. These stories need to be told and shared. We need to understand how these mistakes were made and avoid this happening again. I applaud Theatre on the Ridge for staging important Canadian theatre and social justice issues like this. ‘Innocence Lost’ is one important story you must see this summer. And, if you can, go to Beverly Cooper’s Q and A. I’m out of town that performance otherwise I would have attended. Running Time: approximately two hours with one intermission. ‘Innocence Lost: A Play About Steven Truscott’ runs until July 29 at Scugog Shores Museum, 16210 Island Road, Port Perry. For tickets to the production and to learn about Beverly Cooper’s question and answer following the July 19 performance, visit https://theatreontheridge.ca/ INNOCENCE LOST: A PLAY ABOUT STEVEN TRUSCOTT by Beverly Cooper Directed by Carey Nicholson Stage Manager: Emma Church Production Assistant/ASM/Lighting Technician: Parker Drebit Costumes/Props: Sarah Jewell Sound Design and Technician: Lyle Corrigan Technical Direction and Lighting Design: Colin Hughes Digital Production Coordinator: Jana Tolmie Performers: Karly Friesen, Elyssia Giancola, Sarah Kaufmann, Andrian Marchesano, Reid Martin, Briony Merritt, Liam Ryan, Michael Serres, Annette Stokes-Harris, Emily Templeman, Austin White Previous Next

Where we hope to help young people develop an intrest and a passion for a futrure in theatre. Back 'A Year with Frog and Toad' by Robert Reale and Willie Reale Now onstage at Capitol Theatre, Port Hope Credit: Tracey Allison L-R: Haneul Yi and Joel Cumber Dave Rabjohn “It is the performance of Joel Cumber as frog and Yi as toad that invigorates the stage.” Apparently, my five- year- old grandson’s social calendar was too full to attend the theatre with Grandpa. However, taking his place, my wife was as enthusiastic about the performance as he would have been. Embracing the wider audience is the allure of this production of ‘A Year with Frog and Toad’ now playing at the Capitol Theatre in Port Hope, Ontario. Music by Robert Reale and book by Willie Reale, the play is based on the widely popular children's series of books by Arnold Lobel. It begins with an elegant set designed by Brian Dudkiewicz. This is not a cartoonish stage with cardboard flowers and primary colours from a Saturday morning kid’s show. The set is beautifully organic – swampy greenery giving the frog and the toad an authentic environment. Placing the musicians behind the heart of the foliage was a clever decision as the music emanates from nature itself. The cast of five energising performers drives this dynamic tale. The frog and the toad, with mostly an on-again relationship, move through the four seasons and various adventures that challenge and finally galvanize their friendship. Beginning with spring, three birds, complete with luggage announce their arrival after miles of travel. Waking a grumpy toad (Haneul Yi) is the first hurdle to overcome. Summer brings some embarrassment as he swims in a foppish suit. The fall is marked by a brilliant piece of choreography involving rakes. Winter is met with a tobogganing disaster and some tender Christmas moments. Two clever motifs run as threads throughout the performance. The first is a letter from frog to toad that is desperately being delivered by the sluggish snail. Played by Ben Page, his arms move furiously, but his legs can’t keep up – try this at home – it is difficult. The letter finally reaches its mark and the theme of friendship and communication is confirmed. The second thread is the search for a new clock. Time moves on so it is best to build and strengthen those important relationships. As mentioned, the five versatile actors propel this performance. The three ensembles are not just background colour – singing and choreography are top notch. Some lovely harmonies enrich and a lovely voice from Taylor Lovelace highlights the singing. Yunike Soedarmasto stands out as a dancer. As mentioned, Ben Page’s comic turn as the snail delights the audience. But it is the performance of Joel Cumber as frog and Yi as toad that invigorates the stage. Their clowning and dancing give a vaudeville feel that suits the highs and lows of their friendship. Stagecraft highlights include a piece of luggage that roars as the mouth of an evil animal. Scary yellow eyes hovering above the stage delighted (or frightened) the young audience. Fiona Sauder’s direction included some heartfelt tableaux that highlighted many tender moments. Sim Suzer’s creative costume work was punctuated by the aforementioned snail with housing on his back and a turtle with a similar comic shell. Silly perhaps, but not trivial – this energetic performance delivers on the message of enduring friendship throughout the seasons. ‘A Year with Frog and Toad’ by Robert Reale and Willie Reale Performers: Joel Cumber, Taylor Lovelace, Ben Page, Yunike Soedarmasto, Haneul Yi Director: Fiona Sauder Music: Jeff Newberry Set Design: Brian Dudkiewicz Costume Design: Sim Suzer Production runs through June 2, 2024. Tickets: capitoltheatre.com Previous Next

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Carolyn Fe Looking Ahead Litratista (www.litratista.com ) Joe Szekeres Carolyn Fe was quite a dynamic and vibrant personality during our Zoom call today. At one point during our conversation, she used the Quebec French term ‘On clique ici’ meaning we’re clicking together, we’re making connections with each other. Listening not only to Carolyn’s voice but to the 150 plus voices I’ve compiled over this last year, I like to think that I’ve also clicked not only with Carolyn but with these other performers who continue to add their voices to the discussion of the live theatre industry in a post Covid world. Born in the Philippines, her family moved to Montreal in the early 1970s. Fluently trilingual in English, French and Tagalog, she started her performing career as a classically trained dancer, quickly moving to contemporary styles. Carolyn Fe eventually became a commissioned choreographer for local & international dance companies, TV and music video productions with her dance company, Phi-X 174 Inc. An entrepreneur at heart, she left the stage to take a 25-year hiatus from performing to join the corporate ranks as an owner/operator of a human resources firm. This was a good decision as the years in corporate life gave her business skills that she utilises in her artistic life. Carolyn came back to the stage in full force in 2005 at Montreal’s Teesri Duniya Theatre’s ensemble production of Miss Orient(ed) by Nina Aquino and Nadine Villasin-Feldman, where she jumped into three very different characters as mother to three different stage-daughters. 2014 brought her to Toronto’s stage as an invited guest singer in Raoul Bhanja’s “Life, Death and The Blues” (Theatre Passe Muraille) but it was in 2018 that confirmed her love of Toronto; when she appeared in Dora Award Winner Audrey Dwyer’s play called “Calpurnia” to sold out shows and thrilling reviews on Carolyn Fe’s performance. She won the 2018 Toronto Theatre Critics’ Award for Best Supporting Actress Award her role as Precy, in ‘Calpurnia’. Other awards and accolades include 2017 Balangay Award Nomination for Best Filipino-Canadian Entertainer and 2015 Filipino-Canadian Artist Award recipient for the North American Filipino Star Newspaper. Carolyn is also an award winning and Juno long-listed nominee as a Blues singer/songwriter with four albums under her belt with many more in the works: collaborating with musicians from around the world with her songs charting top 10 if not, #1 on Blues charts. Her band, Carolyn Fe Blues Collective, had a long-standing 8-year residency at Montreal’s iconic House of Jazz. Sadly it ended when Covid-19 took place. Her self-produced music video, Jerusalem’s Thorns: a song from her 4th album, where she appears as the matriarch won the 2019 Fete du Clip Montreal Award for Best Video and was screened in the Luxembourg edition to compete with other videos from all over the world, while still running the festival circuit and gaining recognition. Thank you for participating in the discussion, Carolyn: 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. Okay, now that I can see you at least on screen, Joe, I can comfortably say that I am of another generation and also of another generational mindset. This pandemic has brought me back to my younger years when I was back in the Philippines. I was born there and I, lack of a better word, ‘woke up’, I became aware when, towards the end of the Vietnam War I was still in primary school. I was going to school with the children of the American GIs who were based in the Philippines and then deployed to wherever. The pandemic brought me back to that timeframe and mind frame where there is a new normal that we have to adapt to. That people, places and things are temporary. It’s always evolving. With the pandemic, I was in Tarragon Theatre’s tech week when they announced the lock down. I was still living in Montreal. I was renting an apartment. During tech week, the nerves were bubbling, we’re going on next week, and then the shut down. One by one, theatres started announcing they were postponing their production to three months ahead until finally we went into the theatre and Tarragon management announced they too were postponing. I come home, my husband says don’t take the VIA train or the plane back. This is bad stuff. He drove from Montreal to pick me up, and the next day we went back home to Montreal and that was it. It’s weird that theatres are shut down, but film sets and tv studios are still working (with strict Covid protocols in place). During the year, I did return to Toronto by train. I was masked, put on gloves and wore a shield for the five-hour ride. I still wasn’t feeling comfortable with all that. Will we ever feel comfortable again? Even when all of this is under control, but that’s a later question to answer. Today, with this first question, it brings me back to the major shifts that I lived back in the Philippines at the tail end of the Vietnam War where things were going to be different from then on and will continue to be different. So, from a very young age, I got used to a bunch of new normals happening again and again and again. Another image that flashed, my brother and I stuck among the American children since we were allowed and privileged to attend the American school, but what I do remember my friends crying. The soldiers would get weekend leaves. But when the parents would leave after, the heartbreak and crying my friends would have that was powerful. 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? You know that saying ‘Necessity is the mother of invention’? This is where theatre artists and theatre creatives thrive. I believe, in my humble opinion, all of a sudden, a big chunk of what we are used to seeing and having in the theatre world is taken away. As an artist, what do we do? What are we left to do? We continue to create. In my formative years, I was heavily, heavily influenced by the surrealist movement. It was born around World War 1 and continued on. During these wars, what did they have? Nothing!! And from nothing everything came out. I think someone in the Toronto theatre world coined this phrase ‘This Grand Intermission’ we’re living through. It’s a beautiful time for creatives to flourish. It’s a perfect time to sit back, and it’s okay if you don’t want to do anything. Everyone digests this new reality in their own way. But if the urge is there to create, it’s a perfect time. That big chunk of ‘We have to produce’ is taken off our shoulders, that stress, and we can just sit back and let it flow. This is how I see this moment. There are good, bad and okay moments, yes, but these moments are full of creative opportunities. And rightfully so. Look how Tarragon switched from live to the old-style radio plays. Factory Theatre did this thing with video. It was like television in the 50s, or even earlier as it had a ‘theatre feel’. I enjoyed that. I agree with Kelli Fox’s statement that digital theatre is now a part of the industry along with the live element. Also, the day we can get back into the theatre and see the mish mash of technology and live at the same time, it’s exciting. Yes, it might appear frightening and unnerving, but I like being frightened, I like being unnerved. That means something will come out, so in the moment I get scared or worried, the ‘what ifs’, and then all of sudden we take that step forward, and the ‘what ifs’ dissipate. As a professional artist, what are you missing the most about the live theatre industry? The most…. it’s the ‘communion’ of people. Not the gathering, the immediate reaction of the audience while the artist on stage is performing. The communion between the two. The audience witnessing what is unfolding on stage and me, as an artist and still in character but the depths within Carolyn are saying, “Oh, my God, they’re reacting; that’s their reaction to this.” That’s what I miss, that communion. And I’m going to cheat here as well, Joe, as I want to add something else. After the five minute call, there’s that last second of the five minutes where Carolyn disappears and whatever character comes on, that one second for that character is born and says that first line. I miss that. 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? It brings me back to my upbringing, to my life experiences of great, great, great losses and great, great, great wins to the extremes of my life. I’ve learned never to take anything for granted. As a professional artist, you get a gig today, and it ends. I’ve learned to live in the moment. I’ve learned that these moments are never to be taken for granted. Joe, thank goodness you sent me these questions earlier for me to think about them before our conversation today. Gosh, you’re bringing me way back. I had a friend in the Philippines. She was Vietnamese. She was from a privileged family. I don’t know how she was able to attend the American school I was in. I remember the day when her family had to take her out of school. We all know now why. I remember the morning. We were bunk mates. She said, “I’m going now. Never forget this moment, okay.” And we were kids, 7 maybe 8 years of age. She held my hand, and put her nose to my nose and said, “Never forget this moment. We will be friends forever even if we never see each other again.” I never saw her again. It never occurred to me what she was talking about. Moments like that as I grew up when I would have great losses – friends, family, things, finances, ups and downs – I would always remember her saying ‘Never forget this.” This pain strengthens. That moment taught me never to take anything for granted. Describe one element you hope has changed concerning the live theatre industry as a result of the pandemic. I’m gonna cheat again, Joe. One is the pushing of limits and boundaries. The pandemic pushed theatre companies and artists already, but there’s more room to push the envelope, more room for growth. Another thing is the normalization of the underrepresented profiles that we have out there. It’s not’s just about the BIPOC/IBPOC and Asians. It’s also about people, and stories about special abilities, about older people, ageism. We too have stories. We too have lives that I believe is interesting. I understand that the theatre community, and a lot of its players and managers and producers are of the younger generation; therefore, a lot of the stories are written by the younger generation. I would love to see the young look at the old. I would love to see the perception of the elders. I think it’s too easy to write about ‘me’, the young ‘me’. I’d be curious to see who they would write about ‘us’. Explain what specifically you believe you must still accomplish within the industry. I’m writing for the first time in my life as I approach my sixties. I’ve learned so much already about it, about the technical stuff, but I’m told also to write from my experience, my selfish point of view. I’m thinking, “What about me? My elders have stories that need to be told.” So, I’m pushing it that way. I would like to do, to be involved, to be part of the normalization of the ‘marginalized’ in all senses of the word, whether it be as an actor taking on the roles of a marginalized character, whether it be writing stories thereof; whether it be joining committees in Equity. There’s a lot of normalization to be done within our industry. 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. As an artist and audience observer, I say to both, “Why not have a tsunami of Covid themed plays?” As an artist because it was during Covid times that a lot of people who are not used to radical changes or not used to new normals, they came out. Their social media feeds were full of how painful and how lonely Covid was to them. The human stories of Covid came out even more intense. So, why not write about it and have that ‘communion’ on stage when we will be allowed back or allowed ‘on screen’. That communion and connection are so important. One story of being lonely might ease an audience member’s story because they might be able to connect. As an audience member, I look forward to seeing Covid themed plays. I’m looking forward to this tsunami of Covid themed plays because everyone’s experience is a variation on the theme. We come to a certain point in life, and we look at the ‘young ins’ and say, “I remember when…” But for the young people, they may say it’s the end of the world for them on account of Covid, but for us older folks, we can say, “It’ll be okay.” As an audience member to see all of this unfurl on stage and to see the chaos that is going to be written, and then us sitting there saying, “We’ll be fine. We’ll be okay.” What better way to put communion into action then to participate in, to see and to listen to Covid themed plays and stories. As a professional artist, what specifically is it about your work that you want future audiences to remember about you? That I ‘communed’ with them, and that they ‘communed’ with me. One day when we will meet in person and, hopefully, in the theatre environment, I’m very introverted and shy person before and after the show. I will say hi. I’m open with you right now, Joe, because I’m protected by the fourth wall of the screen. But I’m not performing, I want to clarify that point. I want audiences to remember that I ‘communed’ with them while I was on stage telling whatever story I was offered whether it’s my story I wrote or another one. To learn more about Carolyn Fe, visit the following social media links: Youtube channel: www.youtube.com/carolynfe Albums: https://carolynfe.bandcamp.com/ Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @TheCarolynFe Website: http://www.carolyn-fe.com/ Previous Next

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Philip Riccio Moving Forward The Company Theatre website Joe Szekeres When I reviewed The Company Theatre’s website, I saw some very influential members of the professional Canadian theatre industry, and I invite all of you to peruse the site when you have a chance and see what’s going on with them. I wish to extend my sincere appreciation to the Co-Artistic Director of The Company Theatre, Philip Riccio, for taking the time from his schedule to chat with me and to let all of us know where and how The Theatre Company will move forward from this pandemic when it is deemed safe. Philip attended the Etobicoke School for the Arts in Toronto, an Arts High School, where he majored in Drama. He then attended George Brown. I never had the opportunity to see ‘Jerusalem’ in 2018 at Crow’s Theatre, staged by Outside the March and Company Theatre. And yes, I am doing the proverbial kicking myself in the behind for missing it as I heard it was THE play to see that year. Philip was in that production which was directed by Mitchell Cushman whom I had already interviewed earlier. A note to myself: don’t be missing out on these kick ass productions in the future. Philip and I held our conversation via Zoom. Thanks again, Phil, for the wonderful talk and discussion: It has been an exceptionally long eight months since the pandemic began, and now 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? Right now, I feel pretty Zen about all of it. I feel as if people prepared us and predicted it and that the fall and winter would get worse. I feel mentally that I was prepared for all this. The hardest time for me was probably when it first happened, I thought in my mind that it would last three months or so. And then in the summer the reality sunk in that this was going to be much, much longer than we thought. I feel like I’m past that phase. Obviously, I’m just worried for everyone’s health and that as few people die from this virus as possible, and that our communities can stay as safe as possible through the winter. Hopefully, knock on wood and fingers crossed, I’m hoping next year we will see improvement. I am really hopeful that towards the end of next year that we are returning to some semblance of life and what it was like before this pandemic. I think it’s human nature on every level that we’re probably giving ourselves a date, perhaps 2022, as Ms. Arnaz said. No one really knows, but I’m hopeful and trying to stay optimistic that people are saying that a vaccine will be available sometime early next year and that it will take a good part of the year to get it distributed. It feels like a realistic timeline for some positive news. Up until the pandemic, The Company Theatre has only produced plays that already existed, mostly international contemporary themes, and we’ve launched a new initiative in the search for new plays and new voices about the struggles of this time, and how we’re going to come out of it. How has your immediate family been doing during these last eight months? I feel pretty lucky knock on wood that we’re all healthy. My grandfather did get Covid and he’s 90. He’s not in the greatest health but he somehow survived it. It kind of spoke to the randomness of this disease where some people who are younger and healthy can’t survive it,and some who you think won’t survive it are able to do so somehow. My parents are getting up there in age. I have eight siblings so it’s navigating the internal workings of the family such as who gets to hang out with the parents and when, making sure we’re all on the same page and how careful we’re all being. Certainly, we’ve been lucky overall for sure. My grandmother on my dad’s side just turned 100. She’s in a nursing home. It was nice and everyone came. She has about 100 grandchildren and great grandchildren. We did what we could. We were able to wave to her when she was at her window. It was kind of sad that we weren’t able to have a proper celebration for that, but she’s still doing well. Hopefully when we’re past this we can celebrate with her. As an artist within the performing arts community, what has been the most difficult and challenging for you professionally and personally? Certainly, for me professionally which is also personal is The Company Theatre and having to postpone what our next production was going to be. The uncertainty wondering if we would be able to survive this as a company. Mostly for the people who work for us and the artists whom we wouldn’t have the chance to employ. Personally, I actually don’t mind and find it easy to find other interests and there was something nice about being forced to put a pause on theatre which has been such a big focus for me over the years, and let my brain wander into other random things. It was mostly just being worried about the community and the long-term effects to the community are going to be. I don’t think we know what they are going to be yet. Certainly, I’m sure there’s hardship going on within the community. That’s probably the hardest part. 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? We were prepping as we usually produce a show yearish, and so our next show wasn’t going to be until this winter. We should have been starting rehearsals for this upcoming January. Because we are a small company, it is about a year of prep for us. We were casting and doing a lot of the preliminary prep work in set design and marketing for that production. That one will at least be postponed a year. We’re planning to do that one around January/February 2022 instead of 2021. Not just being able to plan and all the conversations around possible productions and activities we were thinking of having have been put on hold. What have you been doing to keep yourself busy during this time? (Philip laughs when I asked him where his mind has wandered to during this time away from theatre) I’d be even too embarrassed…honestly, I’ve just been randomly obsessing and learning about the things that are the complete opposite of the arts, of acting. I find that when I was a young artist, I was so obsessed and narrowminded as all I cared about was theatre and story telling. That lasted for years. Now that I’m a bit older, there is a sense that this pause has made me realize there are lots of interesting things out there. While I was busy zeroing and narrowly focusing in on this one thing, I didn’t appreciate how much creativity and how many other worlds there are filled with people who are really passionate and creative about something other than the arts. That’s been really interesting to dip my toe into these different worlds and get to know people in these other worlds and see how similar they are to something like theatre where there are a group of people who are gathered around something they are passionate about. At the same time because I have The Company Theatre, we’ve also launched ‘Intermission’ magazine about 4 years ago, which is an online theatre magazine. There has still been a lot of work around how do we keep the company afloat, what should the focus of the company be, and what should ‘Intermission’ do during this shutdown. How can ‘Intermission’ support the community during this time? I’ve been splitting my focus a bit between making sure Company Theatre and ‘Intermission’ magazine are okay and trying to find ways to support the community through those outlets and giving myself permission to explore worlds that are completely outside of the arts which I actually think will end up informing my work in the arts moving forward. 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? I definitely feel bad for them as it is interesting this once in a lifetime occurrence of the pandemic which hits where you are in your career and life. It really does affect how you experience it, and I do feel badly for those young artists. My advice to them would be exactly the same as it would be before the pandemic. If I had advice for myself as a younger artist, it would be to expand my interests and don’t be so narrowly focused on acting and theatre or storytelling. I think anything else you can learn or experience will just inform you as an artist and will make you better as an artist. As much as possible, use this time to do just that and create habits that will allow you to have a healthy relationship and balance when you do return to a focus on your career. The arts can be an all-consuming lifestyle. It can be a really harsh lifestyle at times with its many ups and downs. Having other interests and being okay with the arts not being around, being able to develop those skills early in your career will serve you positively. It’s hard to tell young artists that. That’s something that comes inevitably with age and experience. For the young people who are able to hear that and take it in, it’s true that they shouldn’t worry. If they’re meant to be actors or theatre artists, and that’s their greatest passion, they will come back and pursue it another time. Just don’t waste this time right now by worrying about it. Focus and learn other things and that will just make you a more interesting and compelling performer anyway. Trust that. Do you see anything positive stemming from Covid 19? I really do, actually. I’ve a weird kind of relationship with it all. I worry about the people and the individuals and the artists, especially people I’ve grown close to over the years. But from a macro level, I think there’s something very positive about a pause on theatre. It will allow audiences to miss theatre and to remind them just how important and how profound a live experience can be in a communal watching of a story and taking it in together. People will crave that in a way that you can only crave something when it’s gone away. For artists, our own relationship with theatre will have changed. It can be tiring, exhausting. There are many positives about it, but within the professional theatrical community you can forget as a job what you loved about theatre, what’s special about it. I think there’s going to be a renewed sense of passion for theatre since we’re going to be away from it for a long time. I also think it’s going to be an inevitable cleansing. It’s going to be a long time before it comes back that I’m sure there will be artists who don’t come back to it or who have moved on to other things or have found other ways to live and don’t want to come back. Obviously, there’s a huge social change happening at the same time while we’re on pause. That social change has clearly broken through, perceptions have shifted through this time in a way that is going to bring profound change to our community when we come back. It’s almost as if we’re coming back to a clean slate. It will be a kind of Theatre 2.0 where there will always be a before Covid and a post Covid. So, whatever that post Covid looks like, the leaders within the community and all the artists in the community are thinking about that. When it returns, it will return fresh and new in ways that I don’t know that we know yet. But I’m confident that will happen. Do you think Covid 19 will have some lasting impact on the Toronto/Canadian/North American performing arts scene? With ‘The Company Theatre’, we’ve launched a new play development for the first time. For us, it was really about how we can support the community. I really feel like if we’re able to give and provide support to artists who want to use this time to write and create the stories we’re going to tell on stages after this, than there could be a real golden age of Canadian plays that will come out of all this. We did get in this cycle of development where we would discover a writer and they would have a lot of time to work on their first play and that would be successful. There would be so many theatres who would want the next play from the writer that there is less time for development at that time. Every play after that gets less development time so that’s not the best kind of development pipeline. Now, essentially, we will have years of our great theatre artists hopefully getting to spend some time on creating what their next show will be. I have to mention that is going to be a great thing with the caveat if we can support them to do that and the artist is not worrying about having to pay their grocery bill. I don’t think we’ll know exactly what the lasting impacts are as of yet. I think there will be lots of things that will change about the theatre community itself and that inevitably will change the work that gets produced. Our relationship to it will be different. Every industry is going to be thinking about how they do work now. All of this experimenting online will not go away after Covid. That will remain in some way as part of theatre. Some artists have turned to You Tube 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’m kind of on both sides of it. Personally, as a performer, I have no interest and as a director I have no interest. For Company Theatre we quickly thought about it, but it wasn’t right for us. We’re so much about the live experience and what live performance is versus other mediums. That’s really what we do and what we’re passionate about. It felt inauthentic for us to pursue it in any way. Most actors who perform on theatre stages in this country also perform in film and on tv, and I love film and tv as an art form. It felt like any of my time or effort was better served for me personally more kind of traditional film and television than trying to turn theatre into streaming. On the ‘Intermission’ magazine side, because ‘Intermission’ serves the whole community, we have been trying to find ways to embrace and support that work. We’re about to launch an initiative so we will use ‘Intermission’ to broadcast streamed performances – some of them will be live, some of them will be re-broadcasts of what theatres have already done to give a second life to it. In terms of compensation, there’s really no financial model around it. At least for me, it will serve us better to try and get support from the people who support us whether that’s the public funders or our main supporters, our donors, corporate supporters and then trying to sell directly to patrons and audiences at this point. Now I know that other people in the community think much differently, and I know there’s a lot of pressure to get some revenue out of these streaming performances. It’s a new art form and I think we would do better long term to offer that to audiences for free, see what the reaction is, build some habit around them consuming theatre in this way and then see if we can build from there. I think if we try to charge right away, I just don’t know what kind of success people will have with that model and whether it will be worth the small amount of revenue that we might be able to bring in. We’re going to shoot ourselves in the foot if we’re trying to grow this as an aspect of theatre. One of the exciting things about this for me and ‘Intermission’ is the fact theatre is so localized and how the streaming allows us to show the performance in Alberta, Vancouver or wherever. That’s exciting and how to compensate artists for their time is a tricky one. It’s just the reality around it if there is a sustainable financial model for it. I don’t know, but if we can get support from different streams, I definitely think that financial support should go to the artists for sure as much as possible. Ultimately we’re all in this together, and if there is a desire to create this online theatre world, there’s going to be some sacrifice from all of us for the time and effort and resources behind it without expecting much back in return. Despite all this fraught tension, drama and confusion, what is it about performing that Covid will never destroy for you? To me it’s about connection and community. Theatre is about building community and that’s what we’re being reminded of during this absence. At its best, that’s what live performance can do. It can make you feel more connected to your loved ones, to you, to the human condition. Most of these are all to do with connection to others. I’m hopeful it will give us a better appreciation for all that. To learn more about The Company Theatre, visit their website: www.companytheatre.ca , Facebook page: The Company Theatre, Twitter: @companytheatre. To learn more about Intermission magazine, visit their website: www.intermissionmagazine.ca , their Facebook page: Intermission, Twitter: @intermissionmag. Previous Next

Dramas encompass the human response to a created life situation on the stage. Back 'Appropriate' by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Now onstage at Toronto's Coal Mine Theatre Dahlia Katz Dave Rabjohn The informal ‘family dysfunction’ genre has long been a dramatic vehicle from Tennessee Williams to the Bard himself. American playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins burnishes the topic to incendiary heights with his 2013 play ‘Appropriate.’ Opening this month at Toronto’s Coal Mine Theatre, this fierce production begins Coal Mine’s first full season in its new location after a devastating fire. A gifted cast, illuminating direction from Ted Dykstra and a seething set design from Steve Lucas and Rebecca Morris electrify the audience despite the almost three-hour marathon. This play cannot afford subtlety. Along with the ‘dysfunction’ theme, Jacobs-Jenkins blends southern racism, historical and horrifying violence, drug culture misery, antisemitism and multiple forms of sexual abuse. Seemingly a formula for a depressing experience, somehow, the production awakens the soul and revives the human need to reach into the past despite its darkness. The Lafayettes, a white family, return to their mouldering plantation mansion in southern Arkansas that has been in decay for years. The father’s recent death brings them together along with a host of long-time grievances and the expected avarice. The prodigal son, Frank, played by Andy Trithardt, sneaks into the darkened house with his newly minted fiancé (Alison Beckwith), and collisions ensue. The family is shocked by his appearance, none more so than the fiery older sister Toni played by Raquel Duffy, with brilliant aggression. Joining the toxic reunion is Bo and his family, including wife Rachael, teenager Cassie and youngster Ainsley. Played forcefully by Gray Powell, Bo tries to be pragmatic and centered, but he falls into the horrors of the past as they all do. The discovery of a repugnant item illuminating the horrors of historical racism and violence triggers even more tension in the family. Ms. Duffy’s hyperactive portrayal of Toni rails against the world as she is collapsing through a divorce and the criminal travails of her teenage son Rhys (Mackenzie Wojcik), played with an ugly cool demeanor, sultry and angry. Toni’s anger is bent towards Rachael, who she sees as an unwanted outsider, along with the whimsical girlfriend River, whose infectious Goldie Hawn eyes belie more crafty substance. The sale of house and goods turns into a disaster, and conflicts are even more heightened. More horrors of southern history are revealed, and raw sexual crimes pile on the steamy mess. Not even the young child is spared the horrid past. With eight characters and centuries of grim history, producing this vast experience on such a small stage seems impossible. But Dykstra’s careful direction smoothly moves characters interacting in various configurations. The set design of a crumbling mansion seemingly opens up the space, especially with drooping curtains framing a large window that reveals the frightening forest of horrors and the two cemeteries – one for Lafayette family and one for slaves. The three acts suggest a rhythm of sorts. Act one blasts us with glaring lights, combative dialogue and accusatory gestures. Act two is darkened and entitled “Walpurgisnacht” suggesting a witches’ sabbath – characters are quieter and become more introspective. Act three rolls back to the garish nightmare, and, starkly, virtually nothing is resolved. The soundscape haunts us, especially with a full concert of cicadas expressing a terrifying loneliness. Again, the set design becomes almost another character – a confederate flag is seen hidden in a corner until it is dragged fully on stage – no subtlety here. The character is then fully awakened at the conclusion as the audience exits with the lashes of cruel history still echoing. ‘Appropriate’ by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Performers: Raquel Duffy, Mackenzie Wojcik, Gray Powell, Amy Lee, Hannah Levinson, Ruari Hamman, Andy Trithardt, Alison Beckwith Director: Ted Dykstra Set Design: Steve Lucas, Rebecca Morris Lighting Design: Steve Lucas Sound Design: Deanna H. Choy, Michael Wanless Costume Design: Des’ree Gray Production runs through October 21, 2023. Tickets at coalminetheatre.com Previous Next

Dramas encompass the human response to a created life situation on the stage. Back ‘Gloria’ An ARC Production in Association with Toronto’s Crow’s Theatre Jeremy Mimnagh Joe Szekeres Magnificent. A must see For actor Andre Sills’ directorial debut, he searched for a play that would inspire him, would challenge him, and would drive him as if he was in the production himself. He wanted to get back to telling the truth in stories, and not harbour any fear in showing the world as it really and truly is to others. He certainly made an extremely wise choice in the selection of Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins’ satirical ‘Gloria’ to achieve his goal. In a conversation I held with the engaging actor a few weeks ago, Sills commented that it is the writing, the echoes, the wit, and the questions that drew him to the play. For me, ‘Gloria’ became all this and even more. It was an ‘edge of my seat’ remarkably exciting ensemble ‘dark comedy’ of office politics and behaviour performed by exceptional actors who kept me riveted for the two hours. I usually bring a book in which to write notes during the performance, but I closed it and put the pen away as I did not want my attention diverted from this extraordinary production where I heard myself gasp at least twice because I wasn’t expecting what occurred in front of me. We are in a Manhattan magazine office of ‘Culture Now’. At least that’s what I was led to believe as there are posters and artwork on the walls of the playing space with this title. We are then introduced to the denizens of this office who, by all accounts superficially, are far from professional at least from my understanding of working thirty-three years in the field of Catholic education. These office workers in ‘Gloria’ are very unhappy people who dream of something else for themselves, and whether they are successful becomes part of the unfolding plot. The previous night before there was a party held at the home of the office weirdo Gloria (Deborah Drakeford) who appears sporadically throughout the first act and is acting rather strangely in front of everyone before she disappears. Ms. Drakeford also plays office manager Nan. Most in the office either forgot or did not attend the party except Dean (Nabil Traboulsi), Nan’s assistant, who stumbles in hungover from the night before at Gloria’s place. We are also introduced to the office intern, Miles (Savion Roach) who is finishing his last day. During his internship as part of his degree program, Miles has become the ‘Joe job gopher’ for everyone else. The selfish and ungrateful worker who spends more time away from her desk Kendra (Athena Kaitlin Trinh) at times becomes that one person in the office whom everyone despises and wonders why she hasn’t been turfed out. From her vantage point, receptionist Ani (Jonelle Gunderson) has the perfect vantage view of everything. Just slightly down the hall we also meet the harried fact check checker for the magazine Lorin (Carlos González-Vio) who comes rushing on when the noise level gets extremely loud, and he can’t concentrate because he is checking the facts for all the articles. Jackie Chau’s open set design sharply incorporated various angles, three walls and designs to open the playing space. The single desks nicely worked as cubicles. The overhanging fluorescent tubing lights which hum, fade, and burn out periodically become a select example of pathetic fallacy. (Hopefully you’ll remember your high school English lesson terminology). Christopher Stanton’s sound design and composition remain clearly sharp especially his composition of ‘Glitter Witch’. Jonelle Sills’ solo soprano vocals near the end of the production hauntingly remained with me as I exited the auditorium. Chris Malkowski’s lighting design cleanly highlights the action of the stage. At one moment, I was so taken with the shadowed lighting on Savion Roach as he cleans both the windows and the countertop all in stylized slow motion while never upstaging the conversation between Drakeford and Gunderson. Sills’ vision for the play as director becomes sharply delineated. He holds a mirror up to all of us in the audience and wants to see how humans really do behave and makes us question why we behave in the manner we do, sometimes wittingly, sometimes humorously, and sometimes ghastly. This highly acclaimed ensemble of actors reached the bar Sills set high for this production and told the story unabashedly without any fear whatsoever. To experience its truth, its pathos, its wit, its bravado, its bravery, and its clarity in enlightenment, I strongly encourage you to see this ‘Gloria’ and experience it firsthand yourselves personally. Final Comments: ‘Enthralling and gripping, this ‘Gloria’ with its passionate and provoking storyline is one that needs to be discussed after the curtain comes down. Magnificent.” Running time: approximately 2 hours with one intermission Production runs to March 20 in the Guloien Theatre, at Crows, 345 Carlaw Avenue, Toronto. For tickets call the Box Office (647) 341-7398 or visit www.crowstheatre.com . Performers: Deborah Drakeford, Carolos González-Vio, Jonelle Gunderson, Savion Roach, Nabil Traboulsi, Athena Kaitlin Trinh GLORIA by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins An Arc Production in Association with Crow’s Theatre Director: Andre Sills Assistant Director and Stage Manager: Tamara Vuckovic Producer: Paolo Santalucia Associate Producer: Rob Kempson Production Manager & Technical Director: Holly Hilts Set and Costume Designer: Jackie Chau Lighting Designer: Chris Malkowski Sound Designer and Composer: Christopher Stanton Fight Director: Daniel Levinson Previous Next

Dramas encompass the human response to a created life situation on the stage. Back 'Sizwe Banzi Is Dead' by Athol Fugard, John Kani and Winston Ntshona Presented by Soulpepper and now onstage in the Young Centre for the Performing Arts in the Distillery District Dahlia Katz. Tawiah M'Carthy (kneeling) and Amaka Umeh (standing on chair) Joe Szekeres An emotionally gut-wrenching production that hits the core of my being. The beauty of Amaka Umeh and Tawiah M’Carthy’s gifted performances shamefully reminds me I still have a long way to go in learning more. ‘Sizwe Banzi Is Dead’ opens in Styles’ (Amaka Umeh) photography studio in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. He reads a newspaper and has finished an article about an automobile plant and then, in a fascinating monologue delivery, begins to tell the audience a funny story about the time he worked at the Ford Motor Company. The audience also learns that Styles had a former job before becoming a photographer. Sizwe Banzi (Tawiah M’Carthy) enters and would like to have his picture taken. When Styles asks his customer’s name, Sizwe hesitates momentarily and then uses the fictitious name of Robert Zwelinzima. Sizwe confidently addresses the audience, delivering a monologue in the form of a letter to his wife. He reveals that he will inform her of his death upon arriving in King William’s Town, where he plans to search for employment with the assistance of his friend, Zola. Despite facing difficulty finding work, Sizwe persists and stays with Buntu (Amaka Umeh), a friend of Zola’s, in order to continue his job search. One evening, Sizwe and Buntu visit a local bar, during which Sizwe steps outside to relieve himself and discovers the deceased body of Robert Zwelinzima. Upon noticing the man's passbook, which grants permission to work, both Sizwe and Buntu decide to take it, with Sizwe now assuming the identity of the deceased man. At this part of the play, an intriguing question is raised: What motivates someone to take on the identity of a deceased individual? According to Assistant Director Tsholo Khalema's I never thought about “the proverbial deaths of Black persons who were forced to modify their behaviour in order to avoid being perceived as aggressive or threatening.” I never knew they were required to carry a passbook dictated by the Dutch colonial government indicating the individual’s right to work or reside in a specific town. To assume the identity of a deceased individual with the proper passbook would be the only option for safety. And that’s exactly what happens when Buntu removes the photo on Robert's passbook and replaces it with Sizwe's. Buntu convinces Sizwe to burn his passbook and adopt Robert Zwelinzima's identity. He assures Sizwe that he can always remarry his wife. Do I blame either of these individuals for doing what they did? Absolutely not. That’s why the play resonates with me emotionally as I was not fully and compassionately aware of what was transpiring overseas. Seeing ‘Sizwe Banzi’ makes me deeply regret my lack of knowledge about this dark period in history and wish I had taken more initiative to educate myself. Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu clearly focuses her inspired direction on the value of all black human lives. A story like this requires two gifted performers who tell with the utmost grace, keen humour, frank observation, and candid reactions. Amaka Umeh and Tawiah M’Carthy magnificently do just this. As Styles, Umeh’s recounting of the photos she has taken of individuals over the years is riveting to watch. There is such happiness and confidence in the way she speaks about those whom Styles has photographed. As Sizwe, M’Carthy is the exact opposite of Umeh’s Styles. Sizwe appears initially hesitant and nervous when he enters the shop. Much-needed humour occurs as Styles poses Sizwe in some unnatural stances for the camera. But Amaka and Tawiah also do more for me. Their impactful performances continue to remind me I still have a long way to go in learning more about “how we can learn from our past to move forward” as Director Tindyebwa Otu writes in her programme note. Ken Mackenzie's set design effectively immerses the audience in a different era and location. Raha Javanfar's enigmatic lighting design establishes a foreboding tone. Richard Feren's sound design serves as a stark reminder that we are not in North America. I particularly admired Ming Wong's costume design for Tawiah M'Carthy, as his suit's pinstripes and pristine appearance conceal the true identity of Sizwe from the audience initially. Final Comments: Although I remember during high school and completing my undergraduate degree that the situation in South Africa was bad, I never fully understood the immense human suffering caused by apartheid. Tindyebwa Otu’s Director Notes reveal South Africa’s apartheid laws were inspired by Canada’s own policies towards Indigenous people. I felt tremendous anger at this realization and sadness in recognition I didn’t learn more. ‘Sizwe Banzi is Dead’ is one very important theatrical work to see. I hope there might be some audience talkbacks before the show concludes its run. Continued work and guidance need to be evident after the performance. Running time: approximately one hour and 45 minutes with no intermission. ‘Sizwe Banzi is Dead’ runs until June 18 in the Michael Young Theatre at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 50 Tank House Lane in Toronto’s Distillery District. To purchase tickets: visit soulpepper.ca, youngcentre.ca or call 1-416-866-6666. Soulpepper Presents: ‘Sizwe Banzi Is Dead’ by Athol Fugard, John Kani and Winston Ntshona Director: Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu Set Designer: Ken Mackenzie Costume Designer: Ming Wong Lighting Designer: Raha Javanfar Sound Design and Composition: Richard Feren Stage Manager: Sarah Miller Performers: Tawiah M’Carthy, Amaka Umeh Previous Next

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Thom Allison Self Isolated Artist Laird Mackintosh Joe Szekeres Thom Allison is one helluva musical theatre performer in this country. I’ve seen his work in the original Canadian companies of ‘Miss Saigon’ and ‘The Who’s Tommy’. I also saw his extraordinary work in the ensemble ‘Take Me Out’ when it premiered at Canadian Stage’s Bluma Appel Theatre. It was the first trip I had made to the Shaw Festival where I saw an absolute knockout performance Thom gave as Coalhouse Walker in ‘Ragtime’. Solid memorable stuff in that performance that sent shivers down my spine. When musical theatre strives to be excellent, it is excellent. Thom and the cast delivered that excellent performance. Just this past fall 2019, Thom was part of The Musical Stage’s mesmerizing ‘Uncovered: Stevie Wonder and Prince’ that featured some “really big names” (as Ed Sullivan used to say) including Jully Black, Jackie Richardson, Sarah Afful and Chy Ryan Spain. Currently, Thom can be seen as Pree in Space Channel/SyFy’s hit KILLJOYS for which he won a Canadian Screen Award. He has also been nominated for most Canadian theatre awards. 1. It has been the almost three-month mark since we’ve all been in isolation? How have you been doing? How has your immediate family been doing during this time? Actually, not bad. I needed some quiet and this is the break I kind of needed. Plus I believe in making choices that are positive out of a negative so I’ve been using the time to catch up with people/projects, read, rest. And most importantly to mourn. I’ve lost my whole immediate family – my father, then my brother (my only sibling), then my mother – in the last 3 ½ years. My mother was the last and she died a year ago June 7. And it was 2 /2 years and 3 days from my dad dying (who was the first) to my mother dying (who was the last). And all from cancer. So, the blessing is they aren’t sick during this horrible period. But I didn’t have time to mourn any of them since as one passed, the next one was already ill. But after my mother passed away last June, I was so busy spreading all of their ashes around the country and dealing with my mother’s estate and then I was working through the fall and winter, I still didn’t have time to mourn. So this has also been a really healing time for me. 2. As a performer, what has been the most difficult and challenging for you professionally and personally? I’m not sure I can say this has been a challenging time personally. I’m a person who is not afraid or unused to difficult self-reflection so I’ve enjoyed the time to re-evaluate where I’m going and what I want to be doing during and after the pandemic. Professionally, there is the issue of money but that hasn’t been too bad yet…talk to me in 4 months. 😊 But I am in the process of going from being a performer to a director and I’m realizing I may not have the chance to do a lot of that for many months. But in the meantime, I’m trying to learn more about the craft. I’m not wasting time. 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? I was ready to go to the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre to star in a hilarious play called ‘The Legend of Georgia McBride’ but the rest of their season, like all others, had to be cancelled. They still want to do the show at some point so it may happen. And there have been a couple more projects that may just be postponed. Nothing has been fully cancelled yet but I don’t know if they will all still happen this year. 4. What have you been doing to keep yourself busy during this time? I have been doing a lot of benefits online research for my own projects. I’ve been planning some projects for future. Getting to some apartment fixes that have been desperately needing attention, cooking, baking. And most fun of all, connecting with friends I haven’t had the time or energy to chat with. I’m very much a ‘glass half-full’ kinda guy so I’ve really been trying to make the best of a bizarre situation. 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? I know a lot of fellow performers and colleagues are having a hard time for all kinds of reasons. Part of it is not knowing who to be without a job, some who don’t have partners and are not okay with the days of alone-ness, and on and on. I guess all I can say is remember you’re not alone. Reach out to friends, family, keep connected. And also find the peace in stillness. We get the chance to be still so rarely – read that book you’ve been wanting to read, finally work on your voice without a need for an outcome ‘cause there is not a show at the moment, meditate…all those things we say we’ll get to eventually. Well, this is eventually. Use this time to be good to yourself and be the person you’ve been wanting to be. It’s hard to remember that we’re not just our jobs. To theatre school graduates…God bless you. You have been dropped into the oddest of times. But I think my advice is the same in a way – keep working on your instrument. Theatre school is only the beginning. Hone your craft, have Zoom play-readings, create work gatherings to work on a script or monologues, keep your body limber and available. But also, cultivate other hobbies, read, knit, craft. It will fill your ‘well’ with other information. 6. Do you see anything positive stemming from Covid 19? I think we are realizing how crazy our lives have become. I hope we see people (and allow ourselves to see) how slowing down and streamlining can create a healthier, more balanced life. Also, when we look at how fast the earth is trying to heal herself when we have freed her from the vast amounts of pollution and abuse. I’m hoping people in power see how we can get back some of what we thought was lost forever, in terms of the environment. 7. Do you think Covid 19 will have some lasting impact on the Canadian/North American performing arts scene? I do but I don’t quite know what that will be. I don’t think we can come back and not be affected. Artists are reflectors of the world around them. And this will have an impact on the world. 8. Some artists have turned to You Tube 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? The streaming stuff has been fun and creative. It can also be a little overloading. I think we could all go quiet for a moment but I get that some people need to be creating all the time and many people are happy for something to watch so there is no right or wrong. In terms of going forward – the You Tube and online streaming is helpful in this moment but it’s not theatre. Nothing will ever be able to replace the experience of real theatre. A room full of people sharing a real/imaginative experience in real time. It is not removed – it is immediate and felt viscerally between actors and audience. It is a glorious, unique experience hat cannot be duplicated. But in the meantime, the online experience is keeping us feeling connected and that is important. 9. Despite all this fraught tension and confusion, what is it about performing that Covid will never destroy for you? The real-time magic of it. You create a world of light and sound and visuals and the audience goes on the ride and believes in your world for 90-150 minutes. Nothing like it. 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? Yes 2. What is your least favourite word? Next time (I know it’s two but grrr) 3. What turns you on? Generosity 4. What turns you off? Meanness 5. What sound or noise do you love? Laughter 6. What sound or noise bothers you? Bagpipes 7. What is your favourite curse word? Shit 8. Other than your own, what other career profession could you see yourself doing? Baker 9. What career choice could you not see yourself doing? Accountant 10. If Heaven exists, what do you hope God will say to you as you approach the Pearly Gates? “You were fabulous!” To learn more about Thom visit his website: www.thomallison.com . To book Thom for Video messages: https://starsona.com/thomallison. Twitter: @thomallison Instagram: thom_allison CD “A Whole Lotta Sunlight” available on ITunes and Spotify Previous Next

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg Choreographer and Co-Artistic Director of Toronto's Opera Atelier Courtesy of Toronto's Opera Atelier Joe Szekeres What a delightful chat I had recently with Choreographer and Co-Artistic Director of Toronto’s Opera Atelier, Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg. Last year I had the opportunity to interview her husband, partner, Director, and the other Co-Artistic Director Marshall Pynkoski. The two of them were delightfully charming and engaging, and I could tell they were both very keen on having not only me but also many new audience members attend the opera this coming year. Many Torontonians who attend the opera call Marshall and Jeannette ‘royalty’. I now understand why. Jeannette is gracious, open, and articulate. Her passion and dedication to the opera and ballet were strongly evident during our conversation. The theme for this year’s Opera Atelier season is ‘Passion Returns’ which is an appropriate one. It is the company’s passion for returning to the theatre through productions of ‘Dido and Aeneas’, a passionate love story and ‘The Resurrection’, the story of the Passion of Christ. I began our conversation and asked her how she felt about being called Toronto’s ‘opera royalty’: “Well, we’re very flattered, to begin with. We have dedicated our lives to Baroque Opera, French Baroque in particular, and we will continue to bring Baroque Opera to Toronto and worldwide.” Like all the artists who have been asked this same question about the gradual return to the performing arts given the unknown about Covid, Jeannette did point out one thing clearly that I respected: “The media is not our best friend when it comes to things like that for sure.” However, Jeannette remains quite optimistic going forward. The subscription goal was modest but Opera Atelier had reached it. Now the company is selling single tickets. Opera Atelier has done quite a bit of reaching out to newer markets. For example, at the beginning of our conversation, Marshall also appeared on camera to say hello for a few moments before he dashed off to students from Catholic schools who were attending workshops today. Jeannette would join him once our conversation had concluded. The workshop involved some demonstrations and a very brief background on how dancing fits into Baroque Opera. Then to top it off, the workshop concluded with students getting up to dance the minuet. Jeannette was pleased there was full and active participation from these Grade 6-8 students who asked very intelligent questions along with active participation in the dance and who are eager to learn since the pandemic cut down on this type of experiential learning over the last two-plus years. What a terrific way to get twenty-first-century youth interested and involved in the world of opera where they can experience things up close first and ask questions about the art form and receive an immediate response in a small group. Jeannette also spoke of the work Opera Atelier does in Europe quite frequently. Productions there sold out and masks are optional and rarely worn. She recognized that North America is always a bit behind but will follow suit. Going forward, we must ensure people are not so frightened when they attend a live theatre production of any kind, especially older people. Yes, this fear does come from the media, but Lajeunesse Zingg confirms we have to start somewhere getting back, and this appears to be the first logical step going forward. Once again, she remains optimistic people will want to come for a good show, and there is no need to be fearful as we return. What a marvellous choice Opera Atelier has made in selecting ‘Dido and Aeneas’. The story itself is from Books 1-4 of Virgil’s ‘The Aeneid’. Dido, the Queen of Carthage, has been widowed and has sworn never to marry again. Aeneas has been fleeing his burning city of Troy with a group of men and lands there and he thinks perhaps it’s his destiny to re-found Troy. Dido’s courtiers are pushing her to marry Aeneas because he has fallen in love with her and she is with him. The courtiers feel it will strengthen their kingdom which at the moment is a little unstable after having lost her husband, the King. Of course, it is not Aeneas’s destiny as his destiny is to found Rome, but he doesn’t know that. The destiny is put into the form of witches who want to undo Dido in this particular telling of the story, so they trick Aeneas into thinking that Mercury, the messenger of the Gods, is telling him he has to move on after he has already committed himself to Dido. Aeneas comes to tell Dido he has to leave, and she is appalled and very angry. Aeneas says he will change his mind to defy the gods, but Dido says it’s too late and he has to go as she has been spurned and humiliated. Aeneas leaves and his men are happy to leave and get back out on the sea and find a new place. There’s a lot of dancing as the men are happy to return to the sea. Dido feels she has been so humiliated that she feels she has to take her own life. There is that very famous aria at the end of ‘Dido’s Remorse’ that many great opera singers have as part of their repertoire. And what is it about the beautiful art of opera and ballet that still fascinates and intrigues Jeannette: “I can’t imagine not being intrigued. It’s part of our identity and who we are. We live with culture and culture is part of life and opera has so much to offer in culture, music, acting, dance, sets, and costumes. It’s part of worldwide culture and it’s something that we want to have as part of our lives. It’s intriguing because there’s something new to find, always some new ideas to get from these older pieces from a different era where the thought processes were different from our [twenty-first century].” She still affirms the artists and the company still has so much to learn from these pieces. Even though Opera Atelier holds a huge repertoire, the artists will never be finished delving deeper into them ceaselessly. During the pandemic, OA did switch to film and there was a commission of one piece so the learning and growing are continuous. For some reason, there appears to be this misunderstanding that if one doesn’t have an extensive background or education in the study of opera and ballet, then it’s not worthwhile attending. Lajeunesse Zingg firmly disagrees. One doesn’t need to have any background to enjoy and appreciate Baroque Opera. It’s lively, it’s dramatic, the music is beautiful, and the costumes are beautiful. Baroque Opera is a feeling on every level. Why is it important for all audiences to attend, and that includes those who would like to attend but might be a tad reluctant: “It’s a big part of our culture”, explains Jeannette. “Culture and art are the highest point of humanity that we can achieve. Everybody should be able to be a part of that.” ‘Dido and Aeneas’ opens on October 20 and 22 at 7:30 pm and the final performance and October 23 at 2:30 pm at Toronto’s Elgin Theatre, 189 Yonge Street. The performance running time is one hour. To learn more about Toronto’s Opera Atelier, visit operaatelier.com. Previous Next

A deconstruction of an individual's story. Back Patti Lupone: Don't Monkey with Broadway Played Toronto's Meridian Hall November 17 and now on tour in the US Credit: Rahav and from TOLive website Joe Szekeres “Patti Lupone is far more than a diva of the theatre. Don’t label her that anymore. ‘Don’t Monkey with Broadway’ is a joyous event and a celebration of storytelling. She is an artist who remains eternally grateful for the opportunities in her career.” She might be billed as a diva of the theatre; however, ‘la grande dame’ Patti Lupone came across as far more than that label on November 17 for one night only of her ‘Don’t Monkey with Broadway’ tour at Toronto’s Meridian Hall. She’s one hell of a grateful lady for the opportunities she’s had and doesn’t take the critical acclaim and reaction of audiences everywhere for granted. When she walked out on the stage, the audience was on its feet in its first of standing ovations. Lupone appeared emotionally moved by this display of affection even before she sang or spoke one word. Billed as a love letter to the Great White Way, ‘Don’t Monkey with Broadway’ initially comes across as a masterclass in song delivered by the founding member of the Drama Division of The Juilliard School. The house programme did not carry the song titles. There’s a reason why, and it’s a good choice we don’t know. It’s the same reason why a vast orchestra isn’t backing her up. She doesn’t need one. Instead, her Music director, Joseph Thalken, beautifully accompanies her on the piano. He gets what she wants to do. In grateful appreciation for that, Lupone periodically acknowledges his work and playfully, at one point, pulls him up with her to take a bow. Instead, like a true teacher, Lupone wants the audience to hear and to listen, two key elements that sometimes appear to be lacking today. Through hearing and listening, Patti gets the audience to think about what they are hearing and listening. How novel! An artist who gets people to think through hearing and listening. Accoutered smartly in a black dress, the first act has Patti interspersing songs with moments from her career. In the second act, she enters wearing a tuxedo, which reminded me of Julie Andrews in ‘Victor/Victoria.’ Patti announced that sometimes men have incredible moments of song that women don’t have. Patti wants to sing them. And she launches right into them full steam ahead. She does so with the bold confidence of a woman who has survived the highs and lows of the theatre industry. When she begins ‘Trouble in River City’ from ‘The Music Man’ I couldn’t help but smile. Patti has caused some trouble in the River City of Broadway. She’s snatched phones from theatregoers in performance. She stopped ‘Gypsy’ when she knew pictures were being taken. She took batting practice in her UK dressing room when she learned she would not play Norma Desmond when ‘Sunset Blvd’ transferred to New York. Sometimes, causing ‘trouble’ gets results and gets people to think. Whether or not we agree or disagree with how she dealt with these troubles doesn’t matter to us. They mattered to Patti, and she dealt with it in the way she did. She cares. That’s why she’s caused trouble over the years. People know that about it. She’s vocal about stating how Broadway has changed in the last 10+ years. But the audience isn’t here to discuss these issues. We’re here to hear, listen to, and hopefully understand how music transforms Lupone and how she can transform an audience. And that’s why you don’t monkey with Broadway or her. Lupone showcases those incredible vocal pipes with some terrific musical theatre numbers. The audience went wild just before the intermission with the unmissable ‘Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina’ from ‘Evita’ for which she won the coveted Tony award. She will be remembered for two other numbers – Rose’s Turn from ‘Gypsy’ and Ladies Who Lunch from her Tony Award-winning performance in ‘Company’. The former suddenly burst forth as a segue from the end of one song to the next, sending the audience into a love frenzy mania for the songstress. But I was waiting for the latter as ‘Company’ has always fascinated me, and ‘Ladies Who Lunch’ is one hell of an eleven o’clock number that I longed to hear. I waited patiently…and waited patiently…and kept wondering if she would do it because we were approaching the second act's end. But the adage ‘Good things come to those who wait’ aptly applies in this case. Lupone didn’t disappoint. Not in the least. The reason why ‘Don’t Monkey with Broadway’ is more than just a masterclass in song? Patti remains a consummate artistic storyteller who inherently senses the power of words and their meaning. Someone who knows how to tell a story well will always make people pay attention and listen. This is Patti. She loves the sounds of words through speech and lyrics. Her rendition of ‘Hey Big Spender’ from ‘Sweet Charity’ is only one example where she incorporated laughter because she finds the humour in words, in the way she pauses and in the way she punctuates in delivering the song that makes the audience roar with approval. Final Comments: I’ve seen Patti live on stage twice – in the early 90s in ‘Sunset Blvd’ in London and the early 2000s in New York in ‘Sweeney Todd’—two very different roles, the former a stormy relationship with its composer Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. But what an honour to see her, hear her and listen to her again. ‘Don’t Monkey with Broadway’ also means ‘Don’t Monkey with Patti Lupone’. She’s seen it all, heard it all, experienced it, survived it all. And she’s still here. And if ‘Don’t Monkey with Broadway’ plays in your city very soon, see it. CREDITS: Scott Wittman, Director and curator Joseph Thalken, Music Director Previous Next BACK TO TOP

Where theatre is not only presented on the stage. Back 'Twas the Night Before...' Cirque du Soleil The Touring Company Now on stage at Meridian Hall, 1 Front Street East, Toronto Michael Last Joe Szekeres “Whimsical! Spellbinding! ‘Twas the Night Before’ is an enchanting live production that will touch the heart.” I had forgotten how exhilarating CIRQUE DU SOLEIL shows are. It has been a long time since I saw one. The last was “Kà” in Las Vegas over fifteen years ago. Cirque du Soleil continues the tradition of enrapturing audiences with jaw-dropping acrobatics, unison dancing or soaring trapezes high above the audience’s heads. Additionally, there are adorable characters and creatures who run around the stage or engage with the audience. Judging from the media night I attended for ‘Twas the Night Before’ Cirque du Soleil, many around me, young and young at heart, experienced the same emotional reaction at Toronto’s Meridian Hall. It’s a whimsical opening night production bordering on the spellbinding. This enchanting and extraordinary travelling company doesn’t appear to have lost any of its mojo. They move with fluidity, and I can’t help but watch the seamless transition of the performers as they move from one side of the stage to the next. The Cirque website states that ‘Twas the Night Before’ is the company’s first holiday show, based on the poem ‘A Visit from Saint Nicolas’ by Clement Clarke Moore. Unfortunately, there are no programs, which is disappointing because I enjoy reading about the performers, learning about their previous shows, and discovering their future projects. It doesn’t seem right not to acknowledge the performers by name, especially since they were extraordinary on opening night. I went to the website to get credit information about the production. All I could find was the director's name. A young girl, Isabella, has become jaded by the spirit of Christmas. Her father likes to read the Clement Moore poem to her each Christmas Eve, but the daughter chooses not to partake in the activity this year. Isabella appears to be in those awkward teenage years of 15-16—moody, sullen, argumentative, and silent. Isabella is brought into the poem's world, where the characters help her return to the holiday spirit. Cirque's Senior Artistic Director, James Hadley, brings 25 years of experience in circus and live theatre to this production. He understands the importance of filling the stage to maximum potential. The performance area features a split-level design, allowing some performers to slide down to the action on stage. Hadley knows how to maintain the audience's interest, using spectacle, glitz, glamour, vibrant colours, and captivating visuals to drive the story forward. As is typical in most Cirque shows, there is little to no dialogue; however, in ‘Twas, the audience experiences brief moments from Moore’s poem interspersed with a few jaw-dropping circus acts. One thing became clear about ‘Twas’ after considering the other Cirque shows I’ve seen in Vegas. The Sin City shows are grand and elaborate. They typically take place on a stage surrounded by the audience. In one performance, there is a large pool above which the artists perform high-wire trapeze acts. It is a daring display that showcases the acrobats' impressive commitment as they enter the zone, all while suspended high above the heads of the audience. Sometimes, the choral unison dance movements in ‘Twas’ evoke the gestures of the late choreographer Bob Fosse. ‘Duo Straps’ recalled the recent revival and touring production of ‘Pippin,’ which also used a circus motif to tell its story. The ‘Roller Skate Duo’ reminded me of the craze of the roller derby fad in the late 1970s. There aren’t as many visually mesmerizing acts here in ‘Twas.’ There are a few, but none that made me wonder how the performers were able to do that. This time, that heightened frenetic synergy has been toned down. It’s a good choice. The audience now listens when we hear the lines from the Moore poem. We then watch how the artist moves in response to what we just heard. An experience has been created. That appropriate choice works for children, young people and families. We listen, we hear and then we watch. All in community. Smart! Why? This will hopefully bring young people to the theatre. And that’s a good thing. Give yourselves a Christmas gift and go see ‘Twas the Night Before’ Cirque du Soleil. And re-live those childhood Christmas memories from long ago that we all have. Running time: approximately 90 minutes with no interval/intermission. Cirque du Soleil’s TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE runs to January 3 at Toronto’s Meridian Hall, 1 Front Street East. For tickets: ticketmaster.ca or visit tolive.com. You can also call the Box Office 416-366-7723. Previous Next

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Tracy Michailidis “If people go and see good stuff at the theatre, they’ll want to keep going back to the theatre.” A new Canadian musical premiere is busily in preparation. Theatre Myth Collective, a collective of professional theatre artists led by Evan Tsitsias, is in rehearsal with his cast and crew for the world premiere production of ‘Inge(new) – In search of a musical’. The musical is written and directed by Tsitsias. More about the plot shortly. Recently, I had the opportunity to speak to Tracy Michailidis via Zoom. She appears in the show along with Cory O’Brien, Astrid Van Wieren, and Elora Joy Sarmiento. (Addendum: I've just received word Tracy has had to depart the production for family reasons. Mairi Babb will now step into the role of Bridget. Plot and show information about 'Inge(new) can be found in this profile). When I asked Tracy where she completed her training as an artist, she smiled, laughed, and then said: “Is training ever really finished when you’re an artist?” I couldn’t agree with her more. Tracy attended a High School for the Performing Arts with a focus on theatre and acting. She loved it but she was also academically minded in Social Sciences and Humanities. Upon high school graduation, she attended Queen’s University but did not take theatre in her first year there but was an English major thinking she might go into law. Within those four years, she realized by doing some extracurricular theatre at Queen’s and then joining the theatre department, she said: “Whom am I kidding? This is my passion!’ Her love of language and social science remains a positive training program for her as an actor. These specific subject disciplines help complement acting and figuring out a character’s behaviour. Tracy loves looking at new scripts and parsing through the language trying to understand why these characters use these words in what context. How is she feeling about the gradual return to the theatre even though Covid still lingers? Tracy paused momentarily and then was very honest. In March 2020, she was feeling burned out. As a mid-career professional actor, Tracy is always grateful for the opportunity to work, but she needed a break to restore both her physical and mental body because theatre takes the full attention of everyone involved. Something bigger was happening to everyone in 2020. She felt she had the time to be with her family, read, listen, and just be still in the moment. The time away allowed her to ask that question many of the actors I interviewed also asked themselves: “Why am I doing what I’m doing in light of the bigger picture of society regarding essential and non-essential services? She explained further: “Theatre has been an integral part of my life and it is good. It is transformative and can change people’s minds.” but she is fine with the reality theatre is gradually and slowly returning. From a contextual frame at that time in 2020, the quiet fed her body and soul even more. She felt it was equalizing and leveling that happened, so she started teaching on Zoom during Covid. Michailidis recalled how there was good work happening for her and the students while she was teaching singing. During her teaching, she felt she was receiving from her students as well and that’s what she needed. When it appeared the theatre seemed to return albeit slowly, Tracy was involved in some outdoor productions. There were a few works she started rehearsing that were then cancelled if Covid went through the cast. Out of all this growth and struggle, she continued to be amazed at watching artists be creative with the restrictions placed on them. In this gradual return in the last three years, Tracy has been seeing a lot of ‘pop-up’ shops including smaller companies like Storefront. From a producing standpoint, these smaller pop-up theatre shops have been cost-effective and easier to produce. She compared them to midsize theatres and believes Toronto needs more of them. She was reminded of this in attending a production at the Harold Green Theatre recently in North York in the space formerly known as the North York Performing Arts Centre. Now the space has been cut up into smaller theatres. (Who remembers ‘Showboat’ from the 1990s? I do.) Tracy loves supporting the Toronto Blue Jays. When she attends ballgames, she looks around and sees so many people around her. Her statement to me which made me laugh: “Why aren’t these same people out to the theatre? If we’re united together in community here in the ballpark for the love of the game and the sport, find or make theatre that does the same.” And to the heart of our interview today. What is ‘Inge(new) – In search of a musical’ all about? Part of understanding the musical is in the title, according to Tracy. An ingenue is a young soprano often in musicals. Tracy plays the ingenue in a transitional period. Chronologically, she’s not an ingenue anymore but this is how the character identifies herself for the roles she has played and the opportunities she has had. The character finds herself in midlife not knowing how to move forward or into what box she should place herself. She’s troubled. She thinks she has it all together, but she doesn’t. By seeing herself as she is, the character can begin to accept who she is. Tracy did a workshop/reading of ‘Inge(new)’ at least five years ago. Without giving too much away about the plot, all she will say is it deals with an understanding of authenticity. Even now post-Covid, the social movements that have stemmed from the pandemic led to how many boxes we are to check off in our lives. Some of these boxes don’t deal necessarily with age, but with how we look, how we are inside, how others see us, and how we see ourselves. One of the things Tracy loves about musical theatre is the inherent collaboration by its very nature. Evan (Tsitsias) has assembled many wonderful artists from actors to creative individuals behind the scenes. Everyone is building ‘Inge(new) together and, for Tracy, that’s exciting. How would she describe Evan as director: “He’s rigorous in the way he approaches the work. He listens to the actors, and he trusts all of us which means a great deal to me. As an actor, I’m a big fan of rigor and that makes me feel really safe, especially with a new piece. I feel braver for it. As we’re going through the rehearsal, we know the story isn’t really finished at this time. As actors, we keep digging away and asking questions all the time so while this new script is fun untested, each of us in the production is also vulnerable.” With Tracy’s comment, I was also reminded of ‘The Drowsy Chaperone’ and ‘Come from Away’ both homegrown but were always in constant revision from the various audience and critical reaction to both works. All good works of art take time to grow. Why should audiences come to see ‘Inge(new)’? For Tracy, first and foremost, come to see the play because it is a new Canadian work. She also stresses she finds the play really funny. Audiences and artists need to support each other in new work. Yes, there’s a lot of theatre going on right now, but there is good stuff going on out there and she adds: “If people go and see good stuff, they’ll want to keep going back to the theatre.” ‘Inge(new) – in search of a musical’ is about the theatre. What about those who are not involved in the industry? What can these audience members learn? ‘Inge(new)’ is a story about getting older. It’s also about intelligence versus wisdom. Tracy concluded our conversation with this statement: “We all have blind spots. When we attend the theatre, there’s that wonderful mirror that allows us to see ourselves when we can’t see ourselves clearly. I’m hoping audiences will come away from ‘(Inge)new’ seeing parts of themselves in the four characters.” ‘Ingenew-in search of a musical’ premieres May 25 and runs to June 4 at the Red Sandcastle Theatre, 922 Queen Street East, Toronto. Showtimes are 8 pm and 2:30 pm on some weekend performances. Tickets are available: https://www.ticketscene.ca/events/43966/ To learn more about the upcoming production of ‘Ingenew-in search of a musical’ visit the Facebook page. Previous Next

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Julia Nish-Lapidus, Hallie Seline, Cameron Laurie “We’re not out to re-write ‘Merchant of Venice.’ We’re not fixing it…we’re investigating it, and it is our hope the audience will join us on this investigation each performance.” Head shots provided by Shakespeare Bash'd L-R: Julia Lish-Napidus, Hallie Seline, Cameron Laurie Joe Szekeres I always loved the name of this theatre company – Shakespeare Bash’d. Recently, I had the chance to interview Julia Nish-Lapidus, the director of the company’s upcoming production of ‘The Merchant of Venice,’ via Zoom, along with husband-and-wife Hallie Seline and Cameron Laurie, who play love interests Portia and Bassanio. Even before discussing the upcoming production, I wanted to know more about the significance of the theatre company's title. Nish-Lapidus states that the company was not interested in presenting Shakespeare as it had been done in prior years. Too often, that felt somewhat pretentious and disconnected. Instead, the company aimed to discover excitement in Shakespeare’s high-energy plays and how they resonate with modern audiences. The word ‘Bash’d’ means two things. When the company first started, the plays were performed in bars, so audiences went for the show and the social element of discussing the play afterward. It was a party atmosphere. The other meaning of ‘Bash’d’ is that it was dismantling preconceived notions and ideas about what Shakespeare was believed to be. It wasn’t necessarily a time to sit back politely and watch. The company wanted audiences to lean forward and engage with what they were watching. The apostrophe (Bash’d) felt more Shakespearean. Clever, very clever. ‘The Merchant of Venice’ can be a confusing title. It refers to Antonio, a merchant gentleman who loans three thousand ducats to his friend Bassanio (Laurie) so that he may try to win the hand of the lovely Portia (Seline), a wealthy heiress who has a host of suitors waiting to win her hand. Why is the title confusing? High school students, for some reason, usually recall the story to focus on the secondary character Shylock, the Jewish moneylender, who accepts and will loan Antonio the three thousand ducats. There’s one condition – if Antonio is unable to repay the loan, then Shylock can claim a pound of flesh from Antonio. Such a barbaric act will kill Antonio. Moreover, Merchant is classified as a comedy. Hmmmm….this has always puzzled me. I have always enjoyed teaching the play to high school students. I was looking forward to this online discussion, which would enlighten me even more, even though I’ve been retired from teaching since 2017. It doesn’t feel like a comedy in 2025, even though it might have been classified as one over 400 years ago. Hallie Seline and Cameron Laurie attended the University of Toronto at Sheridan College in the joint Acting Program. Julia also attended the same program but smiled and said she was a few years older than Hallie and Cameron. After four hundred years, why do Seline, Laurie and Nish-Lapidus still believe ‘Merchant’ is a story audiences need to see? Cameron says the cast has been digging into the text and always discovering certain things about the plot and the play. For him, ‘Merchant’ is a story about who determines what justice, revenge, love and mercy are and what each term means. These themes resonate strongly with Cameron. For Hallie, what excites her about ‘Merchant’ is the team that Julia has assembled. The team has all conveyed how the play intrigues and unsettles them. They’re all eager to dive into it. It genuinely feels like a collective of artists coming together at their respective points in life and exploring what ‘Merchant’ signifies for them. To Julia, after 400 years, 'Merchant’ continues to feel relevant, even though structurally it feels confusing and uncomfortable. Nish-Lapidus seeks to reimagine it for this upcoming production. The visceral connection to certain scenes and the characters' language feels contemporary. Historically, for Julia, ‘Merchant’ has been used in various ways, often to the detriment of Jewish and marginalized communities. Numerous Jewish artists are involved in this production, each discovering their own voice and identity as they bring their perspectives to the play in a way that resonates with today's audience. For all three artists, the world is a pretty horrific place right now. Julia doesn’t believe a play can heal or fix the animosity of those who feel certain things towards those who practice Judaism. This production of ‘Merchant’ will not reflect on anything specific. Instead, it is to try and tell a story of marginalized people and assumptions about people. It tells a story of how we treat each other and what cruelty can do. Different people will take different things from that. Julia says some audiences may become upset with what happens to the characters in expected and unexpected ways. No one can predict anything in the theatre, as ‘Merchant’ has a history, and people have varying opinions on it. For Nish-Lapidus: “Our aim is to investigate the play. We’re not fixing or re-writing ‘Merchant.’ We’re exploring it as a group, which is why this team is so remarkable. The hope is that the audience will join the actors in this exploration at every performance. What audiences take away will vary for each individual. The actors’ goal is to provide additional perspectives for this investigation.” This play features two storylines: one involves the merchant Antonio, Shylock, and Bassanio, the lending of money, and the bond, while the other centers on the love story involving Portia, Bassanio, and the suitors. Julia finds that most of the scenes start during a conversation. It is the audience that has to catch up on what’s going on. Hallie finds it intriguing that the title refers to Antonio, yet the focus of the play is on Shylock and his quest for revenge regarding his money. Hallie and Cameron further discussed how the actors explore the tension within the play, particularly in the courtroom scene. During rehearsals, the actors genuinely notice harsh comments and actions taking place. Some high schools may pair ‘Merchant’ with Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ highlighting the importance of understanding another person’s perspective by stepping into their shoes. For these three artists, discussions about hatred, mercy, and justice are valuable for young people, regardless of the lens used. As a director, Julia also highlights how much care and thought must be given if ‘Merchant’ is taught to secondary school students, especially considering the numerous horrific tropes associated with the character of Shylock. Although no high school student matinees are planned, Lish-Napidus said some university groups are attending the production. As we concluded our conversation, I asked what’s next for the three once ‘Merchant’ concludes at Toronto’s The Theatre Centre. Cameron spoke about The Vault, a new play Incubator Space in the same building as Coal Mine Theatre. He will work on Michael Ross Albert's new play, ‘A Little Closer, ' in March. He and Hallie also run The Howland Company. They plan to announce the fall show shortly. The day after ‘Merchant’ closes, Julia and her husband James start directing ‘Romeo & Juliet’ at the George Brown Theatre School. Shakespeare Bash’d presents ‘The Merchant of Venice’ at The Theatre Centre. Just a heads up, the website appears to show that all performances are sold out. However, you might want to take a chance and see if there are any returns on the day of the performance. To learn more about Shakespeare Bash’d: https://www.shakespearebashd.com/ To check if tickets are available for ‘The Merchant of Venice’: https://theatrecentre.org/tickets/?eid=142100 Previous Next

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Jillian Keiley The Self Isolated Artist John Arano. Joe Szekeres Jillian Keiley was the former Artistic Director of the English Theatre of Ottawa’s National Arts Centre who has led an illustrious career in the theatre. She is an award-winning director from St. John’s, Newfoundland, and founder of Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland. Jillian has directed and taught across Canada and internationally. She assumed her role as the Artistic Director of Ottawa’s National Arts Centre, English Theatre, in 2012, and her productions there have included A Christmas Carol, Twelfth Night, Oil and Water and Alice through the Looking Glass. Thank you, Jillian, for participating in this series as On Stage appreciates you taking the time in your busy schedule: We’re over the four-month mark now with most places entering Stage 3. How have you been faring during this time? How has your immediate family been doing during this time? Through a series of unlikely circumstances, I ended up in Newfoundland, where I’m from, at the very beginning of the pandemic and I haven’t left since. I live on a farm when I am here, and I get to spend time with old friends and my family, so I consider myself really lucky. The first few months were hard on my daughter, but now she is able to spend time with a few friends, so we are ok. Thanks for asking! As a performer, what has been the most difficult and challenging for you professionally and personally? I’m not a performer but as a someone who works very closely with performers I am really worried about my colleagues. We are losing some extremely valuable colleagues right now and it’s such a loss. We are working on making opportunities for audiences to re-engage in live performing arts again in a really serious way – and I hope we have at least a few more COVID Friendly works on the way in the very near future. I recognize how lucky I am to have a contract that keeps me deeply engaged and employed right now. I hope I am using this time to help make things a bit brighter for some other artists. 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? We were loading in for a beautiful production of ‘Copenhagen’ when it all came down around us. I’m sorry about that, it was a challenging, strangely beautiful version of the show, that surprised me in its emotional content. Everything is ready to go if we are ever able to remount it. I hope we can. What have you been doing to keep yourself busy during this time? At work we have been reinventing what we imagine theatre to be. Challenging our internal systems of white supremacy, reading, learning. All of that is deeply personal work, and work on behalf of the institution. Outside of that and the also large job of being a mother, I learned how to make good snowballs (the coconut and cocoa kind) and powerballs (the prune and mixed nut kind) and peanut butter balls (the oats and peanut butter kind) and I learned how to do a herring bone braids and fancy buns for my hair which is good because I can’t find a hairdresser who’ll take a new client. Otherwise I spend a lot of every day trying to do things in the theatre and undo things in the theatre. It’s been a greater labour than I’ve experienced in a long time, probably ever. I’m never bored. 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? I’d suggest to them that they go make something. Somehow. And keep making the things. And then when someone has money sometime, they will say, “Hey that young person –they make things! Go ask them!” I find myself a lot of the time, seeking out people who are doing cool things that cost little in materials but were ingenious theatrical acts. Sometimes it is in theatres, sometimes it is posted to the internet. People who have contracts and grants to award eventually do find out who the people are who are doing things in towns and cities and communities. The people who are shining, especially shining despite these hard circumstances are so valuable. When I was younger we had no money to advertise this one show, but I knew someone who had an in at the hospital laundry, and I knew that they had these bags and bags of torn sheets going to the garbage on the regular. So to advertise the show, I got about 20 friend who pulled their shirts down and their pants up and made a giant toga parade using this sewn together band of old hospital sheets with the name of the show painted on it. It certainly brought a lot of attention to the show! I don’t recommend doing anything with hospital sheets these days but… .I’m always personally on the lookout for people who are willing to go the extra mile. Do you see anything positive stemming from Covid 19? I think the wakeup call of Black Lives Matter and addressing white supremacy in the arts is a tidal shift that will never let us return to where we were before. It’s a very positive shift. I hope we can see real change and I hope I am allowed to be some part of that change. 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 don’t love it. I believe theatre has ritual around it, and I believe that there is a deeper spiritual aspect to it that disappears online. But I have appreciated the educational opportunities of watching shows online. I have tuned in to shows from theatres I haven’t been to before, and that’s interesting. But I am really, really looking forward to being with people experiencing some art and going through the spiritual, ritualistic aspect of theatre again. Despite all this fraught tension and confusion, what is it about performing that Covid will never destroy for you? I love the creativity and resilience of performers. We have performers still doing their things on line, in cars, in drive ins, on roof tops, over the radio, in parking lots, in theatres with unprofitable configurations in the audience, for one person at a time, for pairs, for plants. Storytellers, mythmakers, meaning and metaphor purveyors- are simply amazing. You just can’t keep them down. 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? Yes (and here’s how) 2. What is your least favourite word? No (and here’s why) 3. What turns you on? Good puppetry. 4. What turns you off? Men who talk over women who are already talking. 5. What sound or noise do you love? My kid laughing. 6. What sound or noise bothers you? Harleys with holes in the muffler. 7. What is your favourite curse word? Gentle Jesus What is your least favourite curse word? Bullshit 8. Other than your own, what other career profession could you see yourself doing? I would like to go into palliative care, or Funeral planning. I’m a fairly upbeat person, but I feel like the dying aspect of living is not done well in our society and I think I could help. I used to do something like it years ago, and I felt useful. 9. What career choice could you not see yourself doing? A Butcher 10. If Heaven exists, what do you hope God will say to you as you approach the Pearly Gates? “You used up 98% of it, girl! That’s pretty good!” Previous Next

Where we disscus controversial topics in an intelligent and rational way. 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

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Joelle Peters “It’s like Everything Everywhere All At Once: Theatre Version” Courtesy of Native Earth Performing Arts Joe Szekeres Early in the pandemic, I spoke with artist Joelle Peters when I was still writing for OnStage Blog about how she was faring in 2020 when we all wondered what was to become of the state of the performing arts. Like all of us, she felt this need for connection through one of the darkest moments that each of us has experienced. You can read Peters’ first profile here: https://www.onstageblog.com/profiles/2021/2/1/theatre-conversation-in-a-covid-world-with-joelle-peters Fast forward three years and Joelle Peters is now one very busy individual who has established many connections since 2020. You can read about her background and training on the Native Earth Performing Arts website: www.nativeearth.ca . She’s excited yet quite overwhelmed about the return to live theatre even though we are still in Covid’s embrace. In her words: “It’s like Everything Everywhere All At Once: Theatre Version” What has changed for Joelle since 2020? She is the Interim Artistic Director for Native Earth Performing Arts making bigger decisions than she was previously. With all this change and adjustment in her career, she’s trying her best not to burn out and also find some time to enjoy the opportunities coming up. One of these opportunities is her script 'Niizh' which opens at the Aki Studio this week. ‘Niizh’ is a coming-of-age comedy. Set on a reserve in Southwestern Ontario, the play follows the youngest of the ‘Little’ family, Lenna Little, who prepares to leave home for the first time. Amid this, she meets Sam Thomas, who has returned to the reserve after many years away. ‘Niizh’ and Joelle have been on quite a journey with a lot of support. The play began its germination at the Paprika Festival to Native Earth’s Animikiig Creator’s Unit, to the Indigenous Playwright’s Nest at the Banff Centre, a commission from the Blyth Festival and back to Native Earth for a sound workshop. Through the pandemic, a lot of work that went into the script midway, and later in the process, was done online. She felt this was probably the biggest challenge because ‘Niizh’ is a comedy with bits of movement and tons of props. If something landed weird or awkward in a Zoom reading automatically made Joelle feel she might have been a bad playwright and if the script would be ready for an audience. But thanks to what Joelle calls ‘wonderful’ actors in the rehearsal hall, ‘Niizh’ persevered. The response of the first-read audience was so warm and a huge sigh of relief for her and the story. What messages does she hope audiences will take away from ‘Niizh’?: “I’d like the play to remind audiences that it’s okay not to have everything figured out as we are all on our own journey. We can put some big expectations and be kind of hard on ourselves, but it doesn’t have to be that way! “ ‘Niizh’ has been a big reminder for Joelle of how intense those feelings were as a young adult - getting ready to go off to college, and how big the world felt at the time. Anything was possible back then. It was all new, scary, and exciting. I concluded our email conversation on what’s next for Joelle once ‘Niizh’ completes its run at Aki Studio. She will be off to shoot a television commitment and then will jump back into some Artistic Director responsibilities for Native Earth. And after that, she’s off to make her Stratford Festival debut in ‘Women of the Fur Trade’. Joelle knows she has a fair amount of juggling artistic responsibilities, but this is the work that she is most excited about. For her, that’s one of the most important goals of life in the theatre. To learn more about Native Earth Performing Arts and to purchase tickets online for ‘Niizh’ visit: www.nativeearth.ca . Previous Next

Where we deconstruct a piece step by step. Back Fall for Dance North – Homecoming: 2024 Signature Program Various venues around Toronto with various artists and companies. Courtesy of Fall for Dance North Geoffrey Coulter, actor, director, adjudicator, arts educator “Missing the dazzle this year” Fall For Dance North celebrates its 10th season as Toronto’s Premiere International Dance Festival showcasing unparalleled talent and artistry in the world of dance. You’d think this would be somewhat of a milestone for the festival’s incredible work over the last decade. Instead, it seemed there wasn’t much to celebrate, starting things off with a whisper instead of a bang - a smaller venue, less variety, fewer dance companies, and lack of awe-inspiring performances made this year’s showcase disappointingly underwhelming. Perhaps it’s because the company had to fast-track a replacement for outgoing Creator and Artistic Director Ilter Ibrahimof? Or perhaps it’s simple economics – venue affordability, higher ticket prices (single tickets are $25 a piece compared to last year’s $15) or fewer available international companies (in the previous year, there were four companies featured). Whatever the reason, this year’s 2-hour compilation of dynamic dance stylings was on a markedly smaller scale. “Homecoming” was performed this year in the 1200-seat Chrysalis Creative School Theatre on the Toronto Metropolitan University campus, a notable downsizing from the 3100 seats of their former venue, Meridian Hall. As he looks toward a new home in Portugal with the perspective of the world that has shaped him, Ibrahimof leaves the festival with one final signature curation. This Programme highlights the work of three female choreographers from Cuba’s Malpaso Dance Company, The National Ballet of Canada, and Ballet Edmonton. Each of these women has grown her craft through FFDN. The offering is a tryptic of some of their most intriguing, if not thrilling, works. Act One offered the Canadian premiere of “La Última Canción (The Last Song)” by the Malpaso Dance Company, Havana, Cuba’s most well-known independent contemporary collective. Choreographed by Daile Carrazana, this work was developed last year in partnership with FFDN and TMU’s Creative School. The seven-member company includes several exchange students from The Creative School at TMU. Their emotional and melancholic contemporary ballet stylings were bookended with recordings in the style of both traditional Latin folk and love songs. But Katherine Dowling’s eclectic live accompaniment on a grand piano set the piece soaring musically. The company comprises accomplished technicians who boast precision and unity in their collective segments. They are outstanding artists! The choreography is fluid and sometimes hard-hitting. In her notes, Carrazana decries,''La Última Canción'…is an inquiry into the feeling of loss, an exploration of the uncertainty of existence." Despite the dancers’ impressive moves, the narrative was indeed uncertain, transcending any clear storytelling for this Canadian reviewer. Just as confusing was Rachel Forbes's costume design. Except for two females clad in yellow and red, everyone seemed to be in muted, loose-fitting street clothes. Why the pastel among the plaids? Manuel Da Silva’s lighting design was warm overall but became dim and moody. His wing lighting sometimes created harsh shadows on the dancers. Unfortunately, segments were often too dark, masking facial expressions. Act Two belonged to the The National Ballet of Canada which returned to the festival for the first time since 2019 and under the direction of Hope Muir. islands by choreographer Emma Portner is a sculptural duet for two women set to an eclectic playlist of contemporary artists. This gorgeous duet, performed with extraordinary precision and superhuman flexibility by Alexandra MacDonald and Hannah Galway, was the high point of the evening. These artists were in perpetual motion for 20-plus minutes, first in close proximity, then separating before coming together again in unity. In the moments where they were confined, limbs entwined in continuous intricate movement, it was often impossible to tell who was who. This piece demands more than a heightened physical connection. This duo was so in sync mentally that one misstep could topple the routine. As a side note, Emma Portner, at age 23, is the youngest woman in history to choreograph a musical on London’s West End: Bat Out of Hell: The Musical, based on the album by Meat Loaf. She has also choreographed Justin Bieber’s Purpose World Tour and music videos for Maggie Rogers. Her star is definitely on the rise! Martin Dauchez’s costumes the dancers in identical light grey body long-sleeved bodysuits and dark grey baggy pants – again the two as one. Paul Vidar Sævarang’s excellent lighting effectively accentuates the duo’s isolation, illuminating a dark stage with only tightly focussed, colourless, white spotlights for the duo to move in and out of. Distinctive and dynamite! The evening concluded with the World Premiere of “Feel no More” by Ballet Edmonton, choreographed by Anne Plamondon (former FFDN inaugural Artist-in-Residence). Once again, a fiercely talented ensemble demonstrated their astonishing physical abilities, creating beautiful shapes and lines with their bodies and, again, superb (if not frenetic) keyboard accompaniment, this time by Zach Frampton. But the narrative escaped me. They seemed to be dancing for the sake of dancing…but who cares? I stopped trying to analyze and just enjoyed the cast tackling their challenging choreography with aplomb, showcasing their individual raw emotions and indefatigable commitment. Again the stage was dimly lit courtesy of Dorrie Deutschendorf. Haze did nothing to change the flat and colourless space. I wanted to see faces, intent, and expression! This moody wasn’t moving! Final Thoughts: In my 2023 review, I called FFDN’s Signature Program “dazzling, ground-breaking, and thought-provoking theatre that resonates with a modern audience.” While this 10-year anniversary is still packed with talent, the program lacked the variety I so enjoyed in previous years. It felt oversaturated with contemporary ballet. I was missing the dazzle, saw no new ground broken, and felt mostly vagueness and ambiguity instead of resonance. Still, there are many more days left in the festival and more venues and dance companies participating in 2024, and at $25 a ticket, it’s still the best value for dance in the city. Here’s hoping the new leadership at FFDN will return next year’s festival to the highlight it’s always been for me as a reviewer of the transformative power of dance and the arts at large. Fall for Dance North – Homecoming: 2024 Signature Program September 26 – October 10, 2024 Various venues around Toronto with various artists and companies. Tickets at https://am.ticketmaster.com/tolive/ffdn2024-onlineboxoffice Previous Next

A deconstruction of an individual's story. Back 'No One's Special At the Hot Dog Cart' by Charlie Petch Now onstage at Toronto's Theatre Passe Muraille Credit: Nika Belianina Pictured: Charlie Petch Geoffrey Coulter, actor, director, adjudicator, arts educator 'This solo performance poignantly hammers home the importance of coping, listening, and helping.' I was a Toronto boy! It was my city! I spent three years in a downtown university and the next two decades of my career within a 3-kilometre radius of Yonge and Dundas. It was a pleasant trip down memory lane then to rewind the clock and re-live the urban jungle of decades past with Charlie Petch’s whimsical, yet provocative, “No One’s Special at the Hot Dog Cart” now playing at Theatre Passe Muraille. This irreverent, funny, and oh-so-timely reminiscence, performed by the playwright in a single 65-minute act, is a personal and societal exposé of the impact of sharing space. It poignantly hammers home the importance of coping, listening, and helping through first-hand events they experienced as a teenaged hot dog vendor and how the de-escalation techniques learned years later as a health care worker could have saved relationships and forged a deeper understanding of the street community. The play’s politically charged themes of dignity, an overburdened health care system, criminalizing the underserved and connecting to the human condition are not new, but they do challenge our collective attitudes and responsibilities. Through monologues, spoken word, and music, Charlie proclaims how a failing economic structure perpetuates poverty rather than protects the poor. All this while pushing around a hot dog cart. Staged in Passe Muraille’s main black box space, we see the faint background of the building’s brick wall and fire escape metal stairwells. Charlie emerges from the distant shadows dressed in jeans, T-shirt and plaid shirt tied around the waist. They push a hot dog cart between two light standards signed “Yonge & Dundas” and “Church & Gerrard”. They stand like sentinels marking the perimeter of Charlie’s garbage-strewn precinct of the early 90s. To the left is a small platform with a microphone, stand, a foot-operated recording device and several eclectic instruments including a ukulele, cowbell and even a handsaw (when was the last time you saw someone play one of those?). Also visible are buckets, pylons, squeegees, a necktie, sneakers, and milk crates. These are later assembled to act as proxies for Frank and Jimmy, characters integral to Charlie’s narrative. As with many new works and pieces still in development, playwrights often cast themselves in their own leading role. Such is the case here. Petch is storyteller, observer, philosopher, and advisor, thoroughly invested in a message that must be heard. Petch’s talents as a wordsmith and musician are undeniable, their acting skills not quite as accomplished. Some lines were hard to hear when facing away from the audience (with no help from the inoperative headset microphone). Characters and situations in Charlie’s monologues, like the unfortunate thief Frank or the loner Jimmy, could have been more colourful and impactful were it not for Petch’s frequently monotone, one-note delivery. Rather than speaking to milk crates, Petch could have breathed more life into the characters by becoming them through simply donning a hat, slipping on a tie, or wrapping in a blanket. Perhaps this acting challenge will be realized in future iterations. Director Autumn Smith stages the scenes in the downtown locations clearly. We know where we are in the city – the corner, the street, Dundas Square, a parking lot. The pace mostly clips along as Charlie follows the hot dog cart to meet new people and discover new things about what makes Toronto tick. What’s not always clear is Charlie’s focus. Much of the first half they avoided eye contact with the audience, delivering lines in profile to some formless shape on stage right. This choice served to disconnect more than engage this reviewer. Less clear were the juxtapositions of Charlie’s future years as a hospital caregiver and 911 operator with their heady hot dog days. I wanted this contrast to be more apparent with a physical or lighting change to signify these leaps in time. Sounds of street buskers, music and blaring megaphones added greatly to the inner-city heartbeat. It is problematic that the pace of Charlie’s narrative suffers while they move to a small platform at the side to set up equipment and instruments to record it live. Perhaps pre-recordings could have been used here to supplement rather than slow the pace. Lighting designer Steph Raposo nicely shapes a shadowy set with sharp spots and square shapes representing digital screens. Amber and blue hues effectively convey the morning and midnight hours. Street scenes are instantly recognizable. As stated earlier, a deliberate effect to transition us to Charlie’s health care years and back would keep the narrative lucid. Set designer Joel Richardson evokes the iconic Toronto locations perfectly by plunking two towering light standards in opposing corners, metropolitan monoliths with an excess of trash strewn at their bases, a constant reminder that this is a city story of intersecting communities. “No One’s Special at the Hot Dog Cart” is a love letter to relationships, self-discovery, compassion, respect for our street communities and an overburdened health care system. It’s about de-escalation and the truth about what’s working in our emergency services and what’s failing us. Perhaps Charlie’s message of “if I knew then what I know now” can give us all to cause to ponder, protect, respect and question, “Am I helping enough?”. Running time: approximately 65 minutes with no intermission. The production runs until March 23 at Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson Avenue, Toronto. For tickets: visit passemuraille.ca or call (416) 504-7529. A Co-production with Theatre Passe Muraille and Erroneous Productions The World Premiere of ‘No One’s Special at the Hot Dog Cart’ written and performed by Charlie Petch Directed by Autumn Smith Set Design by Joel Richardson Lighting Design by Steph Raposo Previous Next BACK TO TOP

Where we deconstruct a piece step by step. Back +(dix) by Danse Côté A film by Vikram Dasgupta, a live to stream premiere Harbourfront Center Site Joe Szekeres Please note I hold no formal educational background or training in the art of dance. Instead, I will comment on the staging of this streamed production filmed by Vikram Dasgupta. This article is a commentary rather than a review. There is much to appreciate about the art of dance when it is performed live. From the productions I’ve seen for a few years now, I’ve always admired the high energetic athleticism of the artists when there are solo moments. Within group choreographed moments, I’ve also felt a synchronous human and sometimes sexual synergy between the dancers, and I’ve respected how that same connection they establish with each other emanates strongly to the audience in front of them. This latter statement also applies to Vikram Dasgupta’s film +(dix) now streaming through the Fall For Dance North Festival. My recent conversation with filmmaker Vikram and our conversation has led me further to understand how film allows an audience to witness other elements of the art of dance that might not be seen by a live audience. Dasgupta does not want his films to appear like a reality show. It is imperative to him that his presence must not be felt or seen anywhere in any of his films. Some background first. The online Fall for Dance North programme speaks of +(dix) (think of your high school French class for the pronunciation) as a full-length new work by Guillaume Côté examining the notion of the “inner compass” and the idea that “home” may be a state of home. Throughout the film, five performers from the new collective group Danse Côté perform on a minimalist stage using the Odysseus myth, amplified by music of American experimental band Son Lux, to examine the journeying far but always returning home. The title +(dix) confused me when I spoke with Vikram. Our conversation went well as I learned a great deal more about dance, but I wasn’t sure if I truly understood what the title means. The online programme referred to the following short statement – “Begin again. Ten”. Okay, the number ‘ten’ appears to be that magical number to which we all count if we need perhaps a ‘time out’? To re-start again? To begin something new. Just this past week, I saw two solid productions from Soulpepper/The Howland Company/Native Earth Performing Arts and Theatre by the Bay which both dealt with the theme of home. Two entirely different perspectives on what ‘home’ means and I had to be aware that ‘home’ means different things to each of us. I had to begin again when I saw these two different productions last week. Yes, somewhat of a stretch, I get it, but for purposes of understanding the nuance of +(dix), this understanding was important for me as I had to begin again to understand the context for the film. As stated earlier, +(dix) utilizes the Odysseus myth to explore home. A count to ten because I had to review quickly that myth. (Again, a bit of a stretch, I know). Personally, a very brief understanding of the myth is fine, but I just wanted to admire and appreciate what Messrs. Dasgupta and Côté beautifully created by listening, hearing and watching what was presented before me. In watching Dasgupta’s film, what struck me the most was the capture of the sound of dance. Yes, there is a silence about dance as the artists hear, listen, and move to the music but there were moments where the film finely captures the sound of dance either in the music of Son Lux or hearing the breath of the artists as they move around the minimalist playing stage of the Harbourfront Dance Theatre. One of Mr. Dasgupta’s aspirations for the film was to be in the dance and in the moment where we see the human expressions on the faces of the artists. I loved this because it worked wonderfully for me. The film beautifully captured facial intensity in the dancers’ focal concentration. At times I saw intimate camera closeups of agony and ecstasy while at other moments a baseness and rawness of the flawed human condition was also candidly caught by the camera technique. Additionally, the opening and closing of the film reflected the focus on the dancers and away from Vikram. Guillaume Côté sat in front of his dressing table in preparation for the dance, and I loved hearing the voices of the dancers all at once at the conclusion. Effective for me. Final comments: Vikram hoped that +(dix) allows the art of dance to be in its truest form. For my uneducated background in dance and movement, he accomplished what he had set out to do. With that being said, I do hope there are more opportunities for all of us who have little or no background in this unique art form to continue watching whether it be through film or live performance. You can catch +(dix) through www.ffdnorth.com . Running time of film: approx. 60 Minutes PRODUCTION CREDITS: Choreography - Guillaume Côté Creative Assistant - Anisa Tejpar Music - Son Lux Costume Design - Yso South Lighting Design - Simon Rossiter Stage Manager - Jean-Hugues Rochette Producer - Etienne Lavigne Performers: Guillaume Côté, Rakeem Hardy, Martha Hart, Benjamin Landsberg, Kelly Shaw First premiered: August 4, 2021 at le Festival des arts de Saint-Sauveur FFDN PRESENTATION: Livestream Director - Vikram Dasgupta Producer - Ariana Shaw Production Manager - Arun Srinivasan Lighting Designer - Simon Rossiter Venue Partner: Harbourfront Centre Previous Next