A deconstruction of an individual's story. Back 'Here Lies Henry' by Daniel MacIvor Now onstage at Toronto's Factory Theatre Credit: Dahlia Katz. Pictured: Damien Atkins Zoe Marin, Contributor "Damien Atkins masterfully plays an unreliable narrator." ‘Here Lies Henry’ is part of a double bill of Daniel MacIvor’s solo shows currently playing at Factory Theatre. Damien Atkins masterfully plays the title character, an unreliable narrator whose incoherent attempts at explaining his life story explore the universal struggle of finding meaning in life and death. From the darkness appears a thin rectangle of white light through which Henry first enters, followed by a startling flash of white light that propels him toward the audience. In reading the words ‘Here Lies Henry,’ one can already assume he’s dead. Maybe this is the afterlife, or a dream, or simply a white box of light on stage. We also don’t know why Henry is standing here right now, but it appears that Henry doesn’t know either. Still, he stands before an audience and understands he’s meant to entertain them. He opens with a sheepish rendition of ‘On the Sunny Side of the Street’ before dancing, telling jokes and sharing anecdotes about his loved ones for the remainder of the show. But occasionally, there is a crack to this façade: an awkward pause, a somber look at the audience that lingers for a bit too long, or an erratic over-correction of these slip-ups that leaves Henry looking deranged. In these rare moments of apparent sincerity, we are reminded that Henry is dead, and we are watching him struggle to find meaning in his life. Since its original 2007 production, the updated text has included references to various social media platforms, including ‘X,’ ‘Tik Tok’ and ‘Threads,’ watching ‘seventy-seven streaming sites’ and even Covid-19. These extremely modern, specific references usually get an eye roll from me, but they felt necessary in exploring Henry’s desperation to connect with people and understand the world. Atkins’ performance is captivating, even when portraying Henry’s awkward demeanour at the top of the show. Whenever he flopped a joke, I was rooting for him to remember the punchline. When he proclaimed, “Let’s have some music”, Henry became more and more comfortable with the audience and allowed us to get to know him. He eventually tells his jokes confidently, does a full dance number to CeCe Peniston’s “Finally,” and is able to talk about his past. However, Henry is also a self-proclaimed liar. Once I understood that I couldn’t trust anything coming out of his mouth, I was able to focus on his story as a portrait of his dreams, desires, and regrets rather than his reality. As he becomes more comfortable with the audience, his behaviour grows more erratic. And his curiosity about life and death becomes a full-blown existential crisis that is surprisingly moving because, by this point, the audience has also got to know Henry. I thoroughly enjoyed how the design elements enhanced Henry’s character development, particularly the costume design (Allie Marshall) and lighting design (Andre Du Toit). Henry begins the show in a neat suit and tie, eventually loosening his tie and collar. By the show's end, he finally removes his jacket and tie. He then casually rolls up his sleeves, revealing a lesion on his left forearm that he doesn’t address. The more information he reveals, the more secrets I realize he’s still holding. He seems more comfortable while simultaneously looking much more dishevelled. The costuming helps emphasize how his newfound confidence is really just a portrait of a man spiralling. Furthermore, with no set pieces for most of the show, the lighting acts as a cage for Henry. Initially, he is stuck inside a small white rectangular box of light that limits his movement. When the box enlarges, his gestures become bigger and slightly more off-putting. When he is finally able to use the width of the stage during the dance sequence, Henry instantly becomes more confident and vulgar and violent in his movements. Since I sat in the middle of the front row, Atkins genuinely startled me several times. Having been introduced to Henry’s meek, reserved persona at the top of the show, I felt uncomfortable hearing him yell, “What a shitty mood I’m in tonight you lucky fuckers!” I was used to subtler reveals of his true feelings, so these sudden outbursts felt uncharacteristically bold at first. However, no matter how large and/or random his words and actions seem, Atkins fully commits and plays them with an emotional authenticity that made me want to understand and even save Henry from his turmoil. Reading the show’s description gave me little context. Having now watched ‘Here Lies Henry,’ I still couldn’t tell you what the show is technically ‘about’, but its questions about life, death, and seeking connection are sure to resonate with any audience member. Running time: approximately 80 minutes with no intermission. ‘Here Lies Henry’ runs until December 17, 2023, on the Mainspace Theatre at Toronto’s Factory Theatre, 125 Bathurst Street. For tickets, visit factorytheatre.ca or call the Box Office (416) 504-9971. ‘HERE LIES HENRY’ by Daniel MacIvor Directed by Tawiah M’Carthy Set, Props and Lighting Design: Andre Du Toit Sound Design: Olivia Wheeler Wardrobe Stylist: Allie Marshall Stage Manager: Laura Baxter Performer: Damien Atkins Previous Next BACK TO TOP

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

Where theatre is not only presented on the stage. Back Firebringer Presented by Spark Call Productions Credit: Jenn Downey Aaron Kropf “Anticipating what Spark Call Productions will bring to Saint John next time.” Presented by Spark Call Productions, a new Saint John theatre company, Firebringer is a fun, campy, stone age musical about the discovery of fire created. First performed by StarKid Productions (best known for the Harry Potter parody A Very Potter Musical), ‘Firebringer’ is a collaboration with Nick Lang, Matt Land, and Brian Holden, credited for the Book; Meredith Stepien and Mark Swidersk, credited for music and lyrics and arrangement by Clark Baxtresser and Pierce Siebers. ‘Firebringer’ takes place at the dawn of the Stone Age, where we see the power struggle between the new tribe leader Jamilla (Jen Downey) and Zazzalil (Celeigh Lynne), a tribe member who wants more from life than work all day. Throughout the show, Jamilla leaves the tribe, leaving them to Zazzalil’s lackadaisical leadership. In true musical theatre fashion, Jamilla is called back to the tribe to help save the day, but it can only be done when she and Zazzalil work together to defeat Snarl. All of this is told to the audience by the former leader Molag (Meghan McCracken). One quibble. From where I was sitting in the house, it was difficult to see McCracken throughout much of the production as she stood on the floor far too much. This female-dominated production allowed many wonderful women performers in Saint John and the surrounding area to showcase the incredible talent we have in our backyard. It’s a light and fluffy production, yet there are some staging issues that could be examined again in future. They aren’t a huge distraction and shouldn’t stop anyone from going to see this first show. However, with so many involved, the creative team could have done some trimming as there are moments making the show outstay its welcome. The show has several songs that help move the story forward, but few are all that memorable. The notable numbers include ‘We Got Work To Do," one of the first memes to spread across the internet during the early days of social media. “Just a Taste” is a lovely duet between Emberly (Andrea Paddock) and Grunt (Dino Andriani). ‘Chorn’ is a Celine Dion-style song wonderfully performed by Meredith Ferris as Chorn. A few standouts are Jen Downey as Jemilla, Celeigh Lynne as Zazzalil and Meredith Ferris as Chorn (whose final number near the show's end was marvellous). Don’t miss the last opportunity to see the show on Saturday, February 24. It’s an entertaining evening for anyone over the age of 16; there is a lot of language that doesn’t make Firebringer a family show. Final performance at the Sanctuary Theatre, 228 Germain Street. Previous Next

Where music, song and dance all contribute to an enjoyable plot on stage Back 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat' Lyrics by Tim Rice and Music by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber Now onstage at Bancroft's (Ontario) Village Playhouse Theatre Credit: Courtesy of Village Playhouse Theatre. Centre: Christopher Sherwood as Joseph and members of the ensemble Joe Szekeres A sold-out, opening night, foot-stomping crowd pleaser of a ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat’ is now on stage at Bancroft, Ontario’s Village Playhouse. What is it about this nearly 55-year-old musical that still draws thunderous applause? More on this shortly. Based on the character Joseph from the Book of Genesis, the Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice sung-through musical told by a Narrator (Jessica Wilson) takes many liberties with the Biblical story for the staging. The fact that Joseph (Christopher Sherwood), second youngest son to Jacob (Kent Sheridan), is a mindless dreamer at the beginning of the story ultimately pays off for him at the end. Jacob (who will become Israel) favours Joseph and gives him a multicoloured coat to show his affection which sparks jealousy among the eleven siblings. Joseph’s dream, whereby he will rule over them all, also makes his brothers angry. They try to kill Joseph but change their minds. Instead, they sell him as a slave and tear his coat. The brothers tell their father that Joseph has died. Jacob is distraught over this news. Despite Joseph’s enslavement by Potiphar (Jacob MacInnis) for a possible indiscretion with his wife, Pharaoh (Kent Sheridan) turns to the young man because he can interpret dreams. Impressed with what he hears, Pharaoh pardons Joseph, makes him his second in command, and puts him in charge of the upcoming famine preparations. Meanwhile, Joseph’s brothers and their wives back home are now poor and live off scraps in a brothel and regret their actions. They travel to Egypt to beg for food from the ruler, not knowing it is their sibling. At first, willing to give them sustenance, Joseph tricks the brothers. He secretly plants a gold cup in the satchel of the youngest, Benjamin (Josiah Hill). The other brothers grovel and beg forgiveness for Benjamin to live. Joseph sees his brothers have changed and forgives them for what they did to him. He is reunited with his father, and all is well again. It’s an intimate space at Bancroft’s Village Playhouse. Set designer Teddy Moynihan and Scenic Painter Mary Williams utilize the tightly compact stage to its advantage. It’s also a big cast (I counted 19 in the programme), but no one appears to be getting in each other’s way either in the blocking or the choreography. Credit to the entire production team for maintaining the show’s pacing in rehearsal and performance. Set pieces are moved on and off by some cast members. Pieces are also moved in without squeaky noises from caster wheels. A nod of appreciation to Sound Designer Alaynah DeKleine. The selection of pre-show music focuses on the dream theme, which is clever. Additionally, I could hear every song lyric in Act One. Just a quick note: some sound feedback and technicalities in the second act prevented me from hearing much. It’s a minor issue that can be fixed immediately. Jocelyn Perry’s coordination in the extravagant costume choices immediately catches the eye of their design. Much work is involved, especially in this department, to ensure credibility. Kalie Hunter Nero’s vibrant and lively choreography remains visually solid. It also showcases the varied range of colours of the clothing choices. Let’s return to the question at the beginning of the article. What is it about this nearly 55-year-old musical that still draws thunderous applause? Director Phillip Nero knows the answer. His Programme Note states that ‘Joseph’ is fun and silly. The opening night production certainly underscores this fact with some terrific comic work in his cast, from Jacob Macinnis’ campy and non-binary Potiphar to Kent Sheridan’s swivel-hipped, grey fox Daddy, Elvis look of Pharaoh and a perfectly timed cartoony-looking camel that crosses the stage. But Nero knows there’s more about the universal messages of ‘Joseph’ and incorporates them into his vision. First and foremost, it’s a story about forgiveness that works both ways. We need to show forgiveness to others if we are to ask it from them. Nero clearly understands his role as director by taking two additional steps to accomplish his vision. First, he gears the message of forgiveness toward the child-like innocence within us all. Children can learn life lessons far quicker than adults who have become set in their ways. Considering this idea, Designer Moynihan uses large children’s toy blocks with the letters spelling Joseph’s name. This incorporation reminds us of how the story speaks to children (and the child within each of us) and why the chorus is extremely important in ‘Joseph.’ The second choice? Nero has ASL Narrator Cassie-Hope Aubin sign the story. Adding Aubin opens the doors for deaf audience members to come and see the show and feel welcome, which further extends ‘Joseph’s’ universal message of forgiveness to others. Director Nero also makes a wise choice not to have Aubin stand at the side of the stage. Instead, Aubin participates in the show's action along with Jessica Wilson as the Narrator. Vocally, the cast sounds terrific under Jake Schindler’s musical direction. Some terrific vocal highlights include ‘Those Canaan Days,’ ‘Potiphar’s Song’, Benjamin Calypso,’ and ‘There’s One More Angel in Heaven.’ During the second act, there are a few moments when the vocal intensity isn’t as strong as in the first act. Again, possibly nerves for opening night? Fatigue setting in from tech week? Now that the show is up and running, the cast (especially the youth) is responsible for getting enough rest after each show. Jessica Wilson has a lovely singing voice as the Narrator and tells the story gracefully, sometimes with a knowing wink or a glance. As the title character, Christopher Sherwood’s Joseph is boyishly charming (and at times bears a resemblance to our current Prime Minister). While trying to seduce the young Joseph, Choreographer Hunter Nero amps up her steamy dance number as Potiphar’s wife. It earned a raucous round of applause at the end. Joseph’s brothers and wives are a mixture of local actors from children, youth, and Equity artists, so some of the performance levels contrast, but all remain committed to the moment. However, I wasn’t aware until I opened the programme that there were two teams of the Children’s Chorus. I don’t recall an announcement stating which team would perform before the show began. Might it be possible to make that announcement before each show? It’s one of the reasons we attend the show – to see the kids perform. It also shows the children they are valued during the musical, just like the adult performers. Final Comments: I hear tickets are selling quickly, and performances have been added to the demand. This ‘Joseph’ makes a beautiful introduction to musical theatre for children and youth. Adults will enjoy the piece's playful, jocular, and witty music. Go see this ‘Joseph’—an entertaining afternoon or evening in the theatre. Running time: approximately two hours with one intermission. ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat’ runs until September 2 at Bancroft’s Village Playhouse, 5 Hastings Street South. For tickets and other information, call the Box Office at (613) 478-6060 or visit www.villageplayhouse.ca . THE VILLAGE PLAYHOUSE/TWEED AND CO. present JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOUR DREAMCOAT Music by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber with Lyrics by Tim Rice. Director: Phillip Nero Musical Director: Jake Schindler Choreographer: Kalie Hunter Nero Technical Director, Lighting/Sound Designer: Alaynah Dekleine Set Designer: Teddy Moynihan Production Designer: Tim Porter Costume Designer: Jocelyn Perry Scenic Painter: Mary Williams Children’s Chorus Musical Director: Dianne Garbutt Winmill Stage Manager: Tracy Lynne Cann The Children’s Chorus: Alexis Campbell, Decklan Campbell, Ellis Feeney, Taryn Perry, Lily Belle Kussman, Sophia Lawrence, Aiden Dillabough, Becky Dillabough, Rémie Doucette, Marleigh Douglas, Reid Raymond, Evan Robinson. Performers: Josh Alcantara, Cassie-Hope Aubin, Katie Baylis, Koda Carriere, Danelle Charette, Jarret Cody, Skylar Giasson, Josiah Hill, Adam Holmberg, Jennifer Kehoe, Jacob Macinnis, Ha’Keena Maneso, Kalie Hunter Nero, Nick Sheculski, Kent Sheridan, Christopher Sherwood, Stéphanie Visconti, Jessica Wilson, Emily Young. Previous Next

Where we hope to help young people develop an intrest and a passion for a futrure in theatre. Back Young People's Theatre Wicked Nix Adapted for the Stage by Paula Wing. The World Premiere Now on stage until May 15 at Toronto's Young People's Theatre Photo of Davinder Malhi by Dahlia Katz Geoffrey Coulter, actor, director, adjudicator, arts educator "The latest YPT offering boasts a colourful, playful set with fine lighting and sound design. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to overcome lacklustre performances and the convoluted plot of this murky faerie fantasy. " In children’s theatre, there are three key “look fors”, that I believe are pivotal to a production’s success – First, an engaging plot. The script shouldn’t be too heavy, abstract and difficult to follow. A good moral message is always welcome in a non-preachy way. Second, stimulating sets and costumes. These should appeal through extraordinary colour, texture and design. Third, captivating performances. Physical and vocal performances must match the heightened sensory experience, engaging and retaining the audiences’ suspension of disbelief. A little audience interactivity can go a long way here as well. “Wicked Nix” at Toronto’s Young People’s Theatre ticks only one of these boxes, bringing wonderful visuals, lights and sound to this adaptation of Lena Coakley’s children’s novel. Unfortunately, the meandering plot and bland performances keep this whimsical narrative of a mischievous woodland fairy from resonating as it should. Nix (Davinder Malhi) is the sprite at the centre of it all. He narrates his own tale of how he is tasked by the Fairy Queen (Christine Horne), with safeguarding the forest from a most dangerous enemy – humans. When one such foe (James Dallas Smith) settles into a cottage in the woods on the eve of the Queen’s return, Nix conjures a few wicked tricks and employs his impish tactics and spiteful threats to drive him away. His efforts fail, and Nix is faced with difficult choices and an even more dangerous truth, while discovering the timeless bonds of family and the joy of finding home in unexpected places. Director Stephen Colella creates a fanciful world of reality and make-believe, clearly denoting where one ends and the other begins. His inspired vision and creative blocking make full use of every inch of the stage. His canvas of childlike fantasy is ready, but can the actors provide big enough brushes strokes to fully engage the audience? Well, no. Monochrome performances range from average to drearily understated, the antithesis of its superior production design, resulting in a fairy tale that’s more feeble than fanciful. Paula Wing’s adaptation of Coakley’s 2018 novel successfully addresses the importance of identity and belonging, but these wonderful messages aren’t revealed until the play’s conclusion and it’s a slow burn getting there. There’s also a dark, spooky twist that casts fairies not as fun-loving tricksters but sordid, self-serving imps. From the outset, Nix’s relationship with his human friend Rose (Qianna MacGilchrist), who lives on the edge of the forest with her doting Mummy, seems a diversion to the main narrative. Much of the script is padded with tedious, uninteresting dialogue. When the Man-Human arrives, things perk up. But still the (predominantly young) audience waited for something to happen. Anything. The fanciful set and earthy costumes by Ting-Huan and Christine Urquhart are inspired and chimerical. Large vertical and horizontal cylinders painted green and yellow stand in for tall trees and fallen logs, large mounds of green felt provide hills to hide behind, plush area rugs with meandering patterns mimic streams and pathways while a mossy curtain protects a hidden structure. There’s even a large wicker “nest” above the stage where Nix often perches. It's a jungle gym on steroids. Costumes tie in beautifully with forest residents sporting shorts, shirts, and vests in shades of green, while the human visitors are clad in jackets, pants and shoes in warm and natural hues of the earth ranging from browns and beiges to greens and yellows. Only Rose and Mummy who alive outside the forest, wear pastel dresses and blue jeans. The Fairy Queen is splendent in her gown of silver and blue, channelling every bit of Glinda from The Wizard of Oz. Top marks for Rebecca Picherack’s exquisite lighting design, enhancing the lush mysteries of the enchanted forest. Pockets of light and shadow give a rich depth texture and depth to the set. Moving patterns projected on the walls of the theatre and stage floor are thoroughly immersive. Amber and blue lights clearly communicate the time of day and mood of each scene. I love how sound can contribute to the tone of a show, even before the curtain rises. Designer Raha Javanfar understands this well. Cheery birdsong, chirping crickets and buzzing cicadas serenade audiences looking for their seats. Throughout the performance storms, howling wolves, fairy voices and other natural and unnatural forest sounds seem to come from every corner of the theatre. Kudos to the chilling resonance of the Fairy Queen’s voice as well! The performance I attended was “relaxed” with extra features being added to make the theatre-going experience more sensory-friendly. These include revealing the show’s potential trigger warnings, slightly adjusted sound and lighting levels and a calm area to watch the show on a lobby monitor if a break is needed. This is all for the benefit of the audience, not the performers. I don’t think the cast got the memo. Overall, performances were colourless and unengaging. Few laughs, plodding pace and zero interactivity made me wonder if the audience was as invested in these characters as they should be. As Nix, Davinder Malhi, reminds me of Puck from A Midsummer Night’s Dream—mischievous and conniving with the best of intentions, despite his misdoings. He’s full of boundless energy but falls short on charm. As Rose, Qianna MacGilchrist’s youthful exuberance is fun to watch and thoroughly convincing as a wide-eyed pre-teen. In dual roles, Christine Horne’s portrayals are too similar. She’s believable enough as the caring Mummy but misses the fun and over-the-top regal bearing befitting a Fairy Queen with questionable motives. As Man, James Dallas Smith’s line delivery is adequate but there’s little truthful connection with Nix. Michael Spencer-Davis delivers an ineffectual performance in the smallest role, Mr. Green. Wicked Nix is a secretive tale with an abundance of turns and shocking revelations – Not everything, and everyone, is what they first appear to be. Though production elements are solid and the sense of wonder palpable, the menial commitment to the script (from highly experienced actors) is more surprising than endearing. Runs approximately 75 minutes with no intermission. The production runs until May 15 Young People’s Theatre, 165 Front St. East, Toronto, ON M5A 3CZ4 For tickets call 416-862-2222 or email youngpeoplestheatre.org “Wicked Nix” Adapted for the stage by Paula Wing Directed by Stephen Colella Set and costumes by Ting-Huan and Christine Urquhart Lighting designed by Rebecca Picherack Sound design by Raha Javanfar Performers: Christine Horne, Qianna MacGilchrist, Davinder Malhi, James Dallas Smith, Michael Spencer-Davis Previous Next

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Vern Thiessen Theatre Conversation in a Covid World --- Joe Szekeres There are times looking back on my 33-year teaching career when I wish I had known the names of more Canadian playwrights and the crucially important stories they had shared with audiences. Vern Thiessen is one writer whom I place here. A local semi-professional theatre company had produced Vern’s play ‘Vimy’ of “a seminal nation-building moment in WWI in terms of the lives of four men from different parts of Canada, and their interaction with the nurse who cares for them.” (www.canadiantheatre.com ), and when I had seen this extraordinary production, I wanted to know more about Vern and his work. He is one of Canada’s most produced playwrights. His work has been seen across Canada, the United States, Europe, and Asia. His works include Of Human Bondage, Vimy, Einstein’s Gift, Lenin’s Embalmers, Apple, and Shakespeare’s Will. He has been produced off-Broadway five times. Vern is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Dora and Sterling awards for Outstanding New Play, The Carol Bolt Award, the Gwen Pharis Ringwood Award, the City of Edmonton Arts Achievement Award, the University of Alberta Alumni Award of Excellence, and the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama, Canada’s highest honour for a playwright. After seven years living in New York, Vern returned home to Canada to teach and write. He currently lives in Edmonton, Alberta. We conducted our conversation via Zoom and shared a few laughs as I got to know Vern briefly during this time. Thank you so much for the interview, Vern, and for adding your voice to the conversation: The doors to Toronto live theatre have been shut for over a year now with no possible date of re-opening soon. How have you been faring during this time? Your immediate family? We’re very lucky, I’ve had very good health over this year as has my family. We’ve had a couple of extended family members who have contracted Covid very early because they were coming back from travels afar, but they’re all fine with no long-term issues there. Thank you for asking. How have you been spending your time since the theatre industry has been locked up tight as a drum? Well, I’m really lucky, Joe, because so many of my compatriots have lost their livelihoods particularly actors, I think were hit the hardest in the theatre. Not only because the theatres are closed but their secondary businesses like bar tending and those in the service industry were closed down. I consider myself very lucky. I have been writing. I’m also lucky because I don’t have young children and I’m not taking care of older parents. Many of my theatre friends are squeezed between these two things – they have young kids and elderly parents for whom they’re caring. I don’t know how they’ve been surviving, and certainly not creating any art. I’m in this lucky group that’s not being squeezed in those ways. On top of that, I’ve had some outstanding commissions that I could finish. I’m teaching and doing work that I’ve already done. Playwrights can write on their own and squirrel things away for future, so I’m sure after Covid lifts and everyone gets back in the theatre you’re going to see this tsunami of plays because people like me have three plays we’ve been working on. To be specific, I’ve been working on an adaptation of ‘The Diviners’ by Margaret Laurence for The Manitoba Theatre Centre which I’ve been commissioned to do. We’ve done some workshops via Zoom at MTC. I’m also just finishing a brand-new play I’ve been working on called ‘Bluebirds’ for Theatre New Brunswick which we’ve developed over the summer again through Zoom. ‘Bluebirds’ is the story of three World War 1 Canadian nurses in France. I’m working on something new that’s different for me, a family thriller, and a couple of other things in the mix. I’ve actually been quite busy writing this year and very thankful for that. Outside of the writing and teaching, my wife and I, right as the pandemic started, we happened to be moving into a new house that we were renting which was awesome because it has a huge garden plot. I hadn’t gardened in twenty years, and I come from a gardening family. I thought, “I’m gonna put in a garden” and that was a lot of fun. I’ve done a lot more cooking because my wife is busier than I was during the fall and spring so I had time to tend the garden and make some meals and become a better cook, not chef, because that would be pushing it. I’ve taken the opportunity to get to a number of things I haven’t done in a long time like play my guitar and take tap dancing lessons to get out of my comfort zone. I tap dance only for fun and nobody will ever see me tap dance except my teacher. I’ve also done quite a bit of dramaturgy and teaching online, and Covid has allowed us to connect as theatre artists across the country in different ways we didn’t do before. Just trying to use the time the best way I can – doing some family history research, things like that. 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 plus absence from the theatre as something else? No, I certainly wouldn’t call it an escape. Theatre can be an escape from your life, but I don’t think Covid has been an escape from it or from anything. If anything, Covid has been a reckoning. I’ve been lucky because theatre for me has been an escape from Covid, right, I’ve been allowed to work and do my writing while this horrible thing has been happening. Certainly, Covid itself, I wouldn’t call it an escape at all. Call it a challenge. The only thing that it has allowed me and other theatre artists to really do is to really re-think how we create. Mainly I’m talking about the professional business in Canada, the United States and Europe to some extent. Double that with Black Lives Matter and the re-thinking of how we create with our BIPOC brothers and sisters has really and completely been a revolution in Canadian theatre in the last year which I think is fantastic. I wouldn’t call it an escape, but I would call it a reckoning. In one way it has been awful because we’ve lost our abilities to make our living but, on the other hand, it has provided this opportunity for us to really re-examine and change the way we make theatre in this country for the better. 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 don’t know. I think that really, really depends on what happens with the pandemic and how it’s managed. If I was in Australia, well, the theatres are full here because the country handled the pandemic very differently. Obviously if I’m in Texas and they’ve 40,000 people watching a baseball game, The Toronto Blue Jays no less, well I can see the theatres being full down here (Vern rolled his eyes at this point so I could tell what he was feeling and didn’t have to ask him anymore) no matter what the cost to humanity. So I guess it really depends on where you are. I can see in small towns or some smaller cities that have professional theatres – Barrie, North Bay, Thunder Bay – might actually have full houses very soon. It’s going to be a bit more challenging for the commercial theatres in the bigger city centres. Even then, Nathan Lane just did something on Broadway with 25% capacity. I feel it will roll along, go back a little bit and then roll along some more and go back a bit and forward. The agreement I would say that around the world, full time, people in theatres at 100%, yes, it will probably be 2022 at the earliest, I hope, I hope it’s not later than that. I fully expect to have a production. In fact, I’ve booked productions in the US for next fall. I’m not sure how much capacity they will be at, but the fact paying me a royalty for doing my play gives me sufficient reason to believe they will have an audience. I feel like we’re slowly going to come out of the cave. 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? It's transformed me personally on many levels that we’ve already talked about in terms of my family and how I look at my family and friends, and how I communicate with people. I think it’s transformed on the business side my collegiality with people across the nation. Before Covid, it was pretty unlikely you were going to do a workshop over Zoom with a bunch of artists across the country. We did a reading of ‘The Diviners’ at Manitoba Theatre Centre which was an entirely Indigenous cast, and they came from everywhere from Alberta all the way to Quebec. That is something we would have never considered before the pandemic. Covid has changed me and my practice in a way because it’s broadened my field of vision across the country in a way that we were forced to do because of Covid. So that’s been very, very positive. It’s really changed me. It’s less about Covid than it is about what has happened with Black Lives Matter and our attempt to de-colonize Canadian theatre. That has had a huge impact on me, and again I make reference to ‘The Diviners’ because it was a really good chance for me to engage with the Metis community and the Indigenous theatre workers in Winnipeg, in Manitoba and, as a white settler dude, not only white but old, white, straight and male, it’s changed me because I’ve really had to re- think what my position is in the theatre community and world. In terms of what I’m creating (regarding transformation), that’s interesting. It’s hard for me to say as I think I’m too close to it. Am I writing stuff that has been really influenced by Covid? I don’t think so, but I don’t know. I might look back on it five years and go, “Oh yeah, that was my Covid play” because those characters in the play are all in the same room OR they can’t connect. In ‘Bluebirds’ those nurses are three front line workers, so has that influenced me? I don’t know if I’m conscious of that. It’s too soon to tell. Certainly, in ‘Bluebirds’ there’s been a shift in the writing of the play which will premiere next fall, I hope. There’s a focus on these women doing extraordinary work in very dangerous conditions with a flu pandemic coming in at the end of the first World War as well. That may have been by Covid, but I’m not sure how conscious I was of that in writing it. 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? For sure, there has to be a certain kind of theatrical danger. We’re not talking about real danger. I don’t want to see actors in a place where they feel like they will physically hurt themselves, or, as an audience member, I don’t want to be in a position where I feel like I might be in a place where I might physically hurt myself. Certainly, to be in a dangerous emotional place for actors and audience, I think, is critical to the theatre. It’s not only something that should happen, and that is what transforms us because we have to come out on the other side of that. I believe that theatre should be dangerous that way. We should be excited to be there, not bored to be there or feel like it’s an obligation. We should walk out of it feeling that we have been transformed in some way, I don’t mean in any religious sense, but something should have shifted inside of us whether in my brain, my heart, my soul (if that thing actually exists within us). Yes, I agree with her. Have I ever experienced that? Absolutely. Endangering and fear are two close things that are related and certainly, as a playwright, I don’t know of any playwright who doesn’t feel an enormous amount of fear when they open up their file and start to write. It’s engaging that fear and danger that is both exhilarating and makes the time go by and fly by as you’re writing. It’s also transformational as well, right, that you’re actually putting something down on the page that has never been there before. Hopefully, down the line some actors will read it and an audience will be transformed by it in the same way you were transformed as you wrote it. So, yes, I have been in that situation. I feel danger certainly. Nobody has coughed on me, and I don’t feel the danger that I might feel as if I were in Rio de Janeiro or in that ballpark in Texas. But I certainly felt that the theatre itself was in danger, and how are we going to survive this? We’re lucky to have some great extraordinary leaders, and frankly the federal government has stepped up to the plate to give us some money early on. That was critical to ensure that some artists could survive. 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? I think that hits it, doesn’t it? Sometimes, I feel as if we are overly sensitive. I feel as if we are all a bit fragile right now, and that it is very difficult to take criticism or difficult to understand how things are changing so quickly. The way we are making art changes so quickly, and our institutions this year are changing so quickly that there is a deep sensitivity to making sure we are doing it right, and that we’re creating art in a responsible way that we never did before. It’s tricky because sometimes it can lead to a fragility that is not necessarily healthy. Sensitivity can mean a lot of different things. 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? I’ve become much more curious and sensitive about how other people are making art and writing plays. I belong to this Tuesday evening group of theatre people from around the country. We meet every week on Tuesday evening to read a play. We’ve been doing this now, next week will be a year. We missed a couple of times around the holidays. I think our group has read 48 plays. I do read plays and I don’t think I would have read the breadth and depth of that cannon of work had it not been for that group. So, it has made me more sensitive to what is going on. I’ve actually had time to read plays that are going on around the world that I wouldn’t have had a chance to do because I’ve had the time and the desire to do it. This time has also made me curious about other things in my life, as curiosity is always a key tool for the artist anyway. To come full circle to the first question you’ve asked me, I’ve always been curious about tap dancing. I’m also interested in taking some cello lessons. I’ve connected with a musician friend, a professional well known cello player, and we’ve decided to create something together. I think curiosity is broadening how we create theatre and who we create it with, and who we create it for. My actor friend, who is well known, lost the whole season this year. I won’t mention his name and lives down the street from me. On Easter morning, he got dressed up in this gigantic bunny suit that he rented from ‘The Theatre Garage’ (which must be hurting these days). My friend just walked around the neighbourhood and that was his piece of art for the day. We have a fair amount of children in the area, and the kids loved it. This was his chance to get out and perform, but also engage with his community. I’m not saying this is a piece of theatre, but maybe it is? That was his way of creating a bit of theatre…and that he went to direct a bit of traffic on the main street still wearing the costume. That kind of curiosity exists within me too – maybe I should write something different this time. I think that, if anything, this Covid time has made us more curious about different things, and that’s a good thing because we can get stuck in our ways. 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 we deconstruct a piece step by step. Back 'Deciphers' co-presented by Harbourfront Centre and DanceWorks The Torque International Contemporary Dance Series Courtesy of the artists Zoe Marin The Harbourfront Centre and DanceWorks presents: Deciphers as part of the Torque International Contemporary Dance Series. This physical performance by Naishi Wang and Jean Abreu uses Chinese Folk, Brazilian dance styles, and spoken word to explore the ideas of “understanding” and “misunderstanding”. Deciphers centers on the theme of translation, primarily from an immigrant perspective. With Deciphers’s use of varying artistic and cultural elements, the piece embraces and encourages a healthy level of confusion. I personally have limited experience watching contemporary dance, a very limited understanding of Portuguese, and my own immigration experience that is different from Wang and Abreu’s. Through this, I felt myself imposing my own personal meaning at some parts while assuming different meanings from the parts I didn’t fully understand– both of which were enjoyable. Overall, every audience member will have their own unique interpretation of Deciphers that compels them to live in that world of “understanding” and “misunderstanding.” The performance “begins” the second you enter the theater, with Wang and Abreu scribbling on a long, thin piece of white paper that stretches across the stage. Although this type of pre-show performance sometimes feels artificial, its usage in Deciphers offers a glimpse into the performers’ real personalities that are later explored throughout the show. In addition to their scribbling, they occasionally greet people in the audience or move around to draw somewhere else on the paper. Then, the light slowly fades down, and the actual show begins. After this piece of paper covered with words and drawings is showcased to us, it is crumbled tightly and flattened. It then naturally unwinds to become the centerpiece that the movement revolves around. I was very curious about how movement could portray the theme of “translation”, but the motif reveals itself more and more as the piece evolves. The centerpiece acts as a divider between the dancers, allowing them to mirror, contrast, or travel around. Sometimes, the two of them are perfectly in sync, and the crumbled paper creates a very clear visual symmetry. Because of that clear divide, it is also evident when they’re not in sync - when one is leading, and the other is trying to emulate them. At one point, one would respond to a sound or movement or invisible world in front of them, and the other would take an opposite route. Their movement is clean, but feels organic and impulse-driven, making their synchronized movements even more impactful. I particularly liked a sequence of them travelling around space quadrupedally while bobbing their heads like animals. Personally, it was difficult for me to discern when they were using specific dance styles, but this enriched the experience. In a recent profile, I did on Wang and Abreu, they talked about their use of “fusion,” presenting contemporary dance that is not fully Western, and Chinese folk and Brazilian dance that is not fully either of those cultures– instead using that physical translation to showcase a mix of everything. The frequent lack of music also helps make the precise dance styles discernable, allowing the audience to focus solely on how movement is translated. An element I would have loved to see integrated more is the spoken word in Portuguese and Mandarin. Since I couldn’t understand the text, I got to focus on the dynamic soundscape created by the two very tonally and rhythmically different languages. The few English words used sometimes contextualized the little Portuguese I understood, while other times threw me for a loop. The authoritativeness of their voices gave me the impression that this scene represented a government office or airport, with the lines discussing immigration directly. However, there is no way for me to know for sure, which made it exciting. Although I think text should be limited in a physical performance, I’m not sure if I would’ve picked up on the themes of immigration without it. Therefore, I’m glad there weren't more full text-based scenes, but I’m curious to see how text could further contextualize or even complicate some of the fully-physical sequences. Overall, I think the performance perfectly encapsulates that central theme of “translation”, and it simultaneously embraces and alienates the audience through what Wang and Abreu allow us to understand. ‘Deciphers’ co-presented by Harbourfront Centre and DanceWorks. Choreographers, Performers Naishi Wang, Jean Abreu Sound Design Olesia Onykiienko Lighting Design Lucie Bazzo Dramaturg Guy Cools Outside Eyes Ginelle Chagnon Rehearsal Director Xing Bang Fu Voice Coach Fides Krucker Access Consultant Zed Lightheart Technical Director Emerson Kafarowski Management Jean Abreu Dance, Dance Umbrella of Ontario Previous Next

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Arkady Spivak "[TIFT] would love to continue enhancing and improving the impact of our work and putting artists into leadership positions in the world." Scott Cooper Joe Szekeres Here’s the first link to Talk is Free Theatre (TIFT)’s profile of Artistic Producer Arkady Spivak: https://www.onstageblog.com/profiles/2021/3/12/theatre-conversation-in-a-covid-world-with-arkady-spivak?rq=arkady%20spivak. Time is moving on, oh, so quickly these last three years. Again, I appreciated that Spivak was available to answer more questions about where the theatre industry was headed. We conducted our conversation via email. TIFT’s mandate as an artist-driven company is to support the emerging artistic community by producing a wide range of ensemble-based, off-center, inventive, and rare programming. That’s quite a lofty mandate to envision, but I like that TIFT always keeps it burning brightly. At the bottom of his electronic correspondence, Spivak includes a quote from Christopher Hoile at Stage Door, who calls Barrie’s professional theatre vibrant and innovative. I’ve attended a few TIFT productions and agree with that statement. On that note, I’m going to plug the following two upcoming TIFT productions: ‘La Bête’ runs at The Harbourfront Centre in Toronto until March 16. I saw the show in Barrie last year and loved it. I’m headed to see it again and stay tuned for my newest review of the production. ‘Cock’ runs April 18-27 in Barrie at a surprise location yet to be revealed on TIFT’s website. Arkady states it will be a funky site-specific production with some favourite TIFT artists. Spivak remains very proud of what TIFT has accomplished and states: “It’s quite awesome to continue to glorify the underdog.” Like any theatre company coming out of Covid, nevertheless, some issues must be addressed. Spivak spoke about them. TIFT is now dealing with a renewed sense of disappointment - of audiences not coming back as quickly as needed as many have lost the habit of regular attendance. But this is also an opportunity for companies to figure out how to broker a place of purpose between the artists who are now creating or performing at a much deeper level, and the audience who are looking for a new sense of purpose and direction. There might be a tendency to go populist and lure in an audience – but the question is – is this the audience needed? While Ontario theatre companies continue to figure things out as a result of the last three years, Spivak shares what TIFT has done. The company was able to navigate COVID turbulent years more easily than other companies perhaps, and in fact grow capacity and scope. TIFT’s structure and model are incredibly nimble and varied. Historically the company has proven that we are able to produce many different types of works in several different settings and under widely varying circumstances and levels of funding. The company itself can reconfigure and assess any given situation quite quickly because it is how we have functioned for years regardless of a global pandemic. This recognition has served TIFT a great deal. Rather than being stuck in a strict, structural reality that then needs to be undone and changed because of the ever-shifting state of the world, TIFT was able to navigate these changes fluidly as they arose. For example, there was not an overwhelming loss of focus or resources when performing to a physical, paying audience was no longer an option because most of our revenue already came from outside ticket sales. Although an audience is fundamentally and critically important to serve as a gateway to support mechanisms (donations, new Board members, etc.), TIFT does not need a box office figure to survive fundamentally. For this reason, TIFT was able to launch free admission to our expanded main programming, instead using a deposit system to ensure attendance from those who pre-book. This helps dismantle economic barriers to attendance, drastically diversify our audience and position us to derive greater revenue through contributed sources because of wider audience access. In the 2023-2024 season, TIFT continues to operate some free performances of every production but has also returned to paid admission for the rest. Spivak continues to hold tremendous respect for theatre artists. He believes they are more important material than the material they are working on. At TIFT, when artists are given proper agency and authority, they have the capacity to change the world more readily than anyone. TIFT is guided by a mission to encourage, support and uplift artists to be the best they can be through transformative experiences on and off the stage, and to inspire artists and audiences alike to find deeper connection, appreciation and love for live theatre. TIFT works to preserve and promote the art form as a fundamental component of life in Barrie and beyond by providing an unparalleled level of diversity of works and experiences that arouse awe and wonderment about what potential theatre has to transform the human spirit. That respect for artists is most readily reflected in TIFT’s Artist BIG (Basic Income Guarantee Project). Arkady said the inaugural BIG was wonderfully successful, and TIFT has recently launched the second three-year cohort. The Inaugural BIG quickly yielded a full roster of creative proposals and offerings - enough to fill two outdoor performance festivals in 2021 and three in 2022 - along with multiple successful on-line offerings, like the popular Dinner à la Art. BIG artists also conceived and developed several art-adjacent programs and service projects. I won’t be able to name them all here, but I’ll include a few: - an Audition Reader program in which actors are paid to act as virtual readers for each other’s self-taped auditions for non-TIFT projects - the First Day Series: Zoom readings of challenging works facilitated by BIG participants, giving work and purpose to artists throughout the lockdowns of 2020. - the Two-Way Paid Mentorship program: over-turning the traditional top-down mentorship model, this program connects theatre practitioners of different generations, disciplines, and regions across the country to lay the groundwork for a more communicative, inclusive, and compassionate professional milieu. - Canadian Musical Theatre Database (CMTdB): an interactive website to archive, support and promote Canadian musical theatre. Remember, these are only several. If you wanted to contact Arkady personally via email, I’m sure he would happily share other BIG accomplishments. Where does Spivak see TIFT headed over the next three-five years: “We would love to continue enhancing and improving the impact of our work and putting artists into leadership positions in the world. But doing so without institutionalizing or growing for growth’s sake. In other words, we want to transform to be even more free to change the world.” As we came to close the conversation, Arkady made another comment that I found intriguing Historically, the vast majority of cutting-edge, widely influencing theatre was presumed to be produced in the downtown core of major cities (Toronto being only one) or by major theatre festivals. And this is understandable as there is a greater congregation of an audience in such settings to warrant significant artistic experimentations, plus there has been a greater presence of national theatre coverage to popularize such attempts. I’ll go one step further and ask that you take the opportunity to step outside the Toronto scene and see what TIFT offers audiences, especially with its production of ‘La Bête’ running to March 16 at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre. And take that trip to see ‘Cock’ in April at the yet-to-be-disclosed Barrie performance location. To learn more about Talk is Free Theatre, visit www.tift.ca or visit their Facebook page: @TalkisFreeTheatre or on X: @Talkisfree. Previous Next

Dramas encompass the human response to a created life situation on the stage. Back 'Macbeth' by William Shakespeare. Presented by Loyalist City Shakespeare and Saint John Theatre Company Now onstage at Place Fort La Tour Andrew Finlay Aaron Kropf Loyalist City Shakespeare and Saint John Theatre Company present ‘Macbeth’ at Place Fort La Tour. What a terrific choice in production to draw Saint Johnners to the national historic site for the first time since its reconstruction. Place Fort La Tour was the scene of a bloody battle a few short years after Shakespeare penned the now famous Scottish play, a perfect setting for this production. This ‘Macbeth’ also marked the first time Shakespeare is performed outdoors in the loyalist city which made the excitement palpable in the sold out opening night crowd July 12. If you want a chance to catch this performance get your tickets quick! The first week is already sold out. Macbeth (Cameron Secord) encounters the weird sisters who tell him that he is soon to be given a new title and then become King. Spurred by his wife (Christina Isbill), Macbeth takes the steps needed to change the predictions from the witches into reality. When his actions affect his sanity, Macbeth becomes more and more intent on holding the crown, but another foretelling by the weird sisters lets him know how his reign will come to an end. Director Sandra Bell has selected an ideal location for the show, and the company of actors and crew are clearly passionate about bringing the works of William Shakespeare to audiences in Saint John. Bell’s knowledge of the work comes across in this staging. I’m sure there were some restrictions in the use of the space but I would have enjoyed to see more use of the forts buildings throughout the show. However, the space that she did use was a wonderful use of the many levels offered by Place Fort La Tour. Cameron Secord leads this company with an apt portrayal of the titular character. Secord plays a Macbeth that is quickly motivated by power, and just as easily becomes a man overwrought by regret for the actions he’s made to take and maintain the crown. Christina Isbill’s Lady Macbeth is even more obsessed with power than her husband. Isbill brilliantly delivers the “Out Damn Spot” monologue with great skill, one of the highlights of the production. Madison Lucas, Matt Hamilton-Snow, and Beth Pollock were definitely the pique of excellence as the three witches. When they were on stage as the triumvirate they commanded the space unlike any other in the company. Additional kudos must be given to Beth Pollock for her deliciously delectable turn as the Porter (my favourite scene in the show, it’s one that I always look forward to and she did not disappoint). It was a delight to take in a Shakespeare performance again. Hailing from Stratford, Ontario, I miss the amount of Shakespeare I used to take in living there. This production was well conceived and presented. It was really enjoyable. However, the production lacks a the subtlety that Shakespeare requires for it to be a truly spectacular production. With that aside this is a production that is well worth taking in while it’s on until July 22. Previous Next

Where theatre is not only presented on the stage. Back The Shaw Festival 'The Secret Garden - A Play With Songs' Now on stage at the Royal George Theatre, 85 Queen Street, Niagara on the Lake, Ontario Michael Cooper Geoffrey Coulter, actor, director, adjudicator, arts educator "Shaw’s “The Secret Garden” reveals its beauty, charm and whimsy but is genre conflicted." What happens when you take a 112-year-old classic children’s novel, mix in a few dusty old British folk tunes, add some clever puppetry and several inspired performances? You get a delightful world premiere adaptation of a family-friendly show that bogs itself down with songs, providing little support to its narrative of optimism, transformation, relationships and rebirth. Frances Hodgson Burnett was a prolific British-American novelist and playwright whose career flourished throughout the Victorian and Edwardian periods. She’s best known for her three children’s novels, “Little Lord Fauntleroy”, “A Little Princess” and “The Secret Garden”. The latter proved a huge success and saw numerous adaptations; multiple film versions in 1919 and 1949 and a third 1993 film starring Maggie Smith as the housekeeper, Mrs. Medlock. The best-known stage version is the Tony-Award winning Broadway musical written by Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon (Carly’s sister). This is where the genre conflict comes in. This current world-premiere production doesn’t really have a “score”. No themes and power ballads so it’s not really a musical, yet there is too much music to call it a play. Thus, director Jay Turvey and musical director Paul Sportelli dub their dubious hybrid a “play with songs”. More on that in a moment. The Secret Garden tells the story of Mary Lennox (Gabriella Sundar Singh), a spoiled young English girl being raised in India at the turn of the twentieth century. After the death of her parents, she is sent to live with her haughty and dismissive uncle Archie (David Alan Anderson) at his estate in the Yorkshire moors. Mary is disagreeable and used to being waited on. Her maid Martha (Jacqueline Thair) even needs to show her how to dress herself. Housekeeper Mrs. Medlock (Sharry Flett) is cold and unsympathetic with secrets to hide. Mary is mostly ignored and left to wander outside in the gardens, where she meets groundskeeper Ben Weatherstaff (David Adams). The manor is full of secrets as Mary soon discovers she has a cousin in Colin (Gryphyn Karimloo) and friend in Dickon (Drew Plummer). Mary hears rumours of a mysterious garden locked up for over a decade after the death of her uncle’s wife. Together with her two friends, she sets out to discover the secrets of the manor and bring the garden back to life. Director Jay Turvey’s creative direction and clever staging is wondrous. The Royal George is a small theatre but by having actors walk through an ornate door frame rolled about the stage by the ensemble, we are given a sense of moving through vast spaces and locations - from a train station to the Yorkshire moors, to Misselthwaite Manor and its many bedrooms, studies, and hallways. This is stagecraft of the most illusory kind, and it works beautifully. The same can be said for the various birds and land animals that appear as puppets controlled by the ensemble. In this adaptation, the adult characters are almost incidental. The focus is most certainly on the children, boldly played by young adult actors. I wasn’t sure about this choice at first, but their fine committed performances and diminutive stature of some had me sold on their juvenile portrayals. In his program notes, Turvey confesses, “I love the children in ‘The Secret Garden.’They are imperfect: headstrong, scared, sneaky, adventuresome and full of longing. They learn to parent each other where death hovers over their heads.” His focus on this trio is evident and their chemistry is palpable. I wonder why, with such a clear vision of connecting the audience with the modern relevance of so many of the play’s themes – mental health, resilience, preservation of ecology for future generations – that he chose to collaborate with Sportelli to add obscure traditional British folk tunes to an already provocative script? Whither Must I Wander, I Sowed the Seeds of Love, Sumer is Icumen In, Little Robin Redbreast - Does anyone today know these tunes? Turvey claims they “echo an appreciation of the natural world that runs through the story”. Unfortunately, there’s no echo. There’s nothing. The songs in Act 1 in no way enhance the story. In Act 2 they are so vague and esoteric, with lyrics incomprehensibly sung in the Yorkshire dialect, that the pace faltered, and I found my attention wandering. The cast all have vocal chops and are accompanied by a fine sounding quintet in the pit below. But they aren’t given any real chance to show their vocal range, so it’s not a musical per se BUT there are choral numbers with beautiful harmonies and the cast gesture to the musicians at curtain call so it’s not really a play. Like Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’, it just can’t seem to make up its mind. Performances are compelling overall. This is one hardworking company, onstage and off. With one exception, the nine-member cast plays multiple ensemble roles as well as principal parts. It’s more than a challenge to keep the energy and pace quick and bright for this show. Unfortunately, there was a noticeable wane in energy and enthusiasm in the second half. As Mary Lennox, Gabriella Sundar Singh effortlessly exudes the air of a spoiled 10-year-old rich kid who slowly comes to know the power of family and friendships. Her subtle shift in maturity as she realizes nature as a calming and redemptive force is finely nuanced. Gryphyn Karimloo as Colin plays a long-suffering and morose boy, resigned to a life of sickness and confinement, until Mary helps him deal with his melancholy. Dickon, the moor boy with a unique relationship with the land is played adequately by Drew Plummer. Though engaging enough, I was missing a spritelier demeanour, as his character should have an almost ethereal connection to the land and animals. The adult characters serve as supporting roles. As Ben Weatherstaff, David Adams is thoroughly charming as the stodgy but loveable groundskeeper who teaches Mary about gardening. Mrs. Medlock is gloriously played by Shaw veteran Sharry Flett, who seems to delight in her stern, unmoveable portrayal as the housekeeper loyal to the Craven family, intent on keeping its secrets. Jacqueline Thair plays the spunky and spirited maid Martha, whose Yorkshire dialect was so thick as to be mostly incomprehensible. Regarding the accents, they’re mostly consistent. I appreciated that some of the Yorkshire vocal patterns were dialed back for Canadian audiences. Perhaps Thair didn’t get that memo? Note to voice and dialect coach Jeffrey Simlett. Having David Alan Anderson play both the wistful Archibald Craven and his officious doctor brother Neville is a curious and inexplicable choice. Perhaps it’s because the role of Neville is so brief and paltry or perhaps there was no other cast member available. Whatever the reason, Anderson’s portrayals were not different enough in demeanour or appearance, making both characters dull and unconvincing and confusing. Rounding out the cast are Patty Jamieson as Dickon and Martha’s sage and sensible mother, Mrs. Sowerby. Lithe, balletic moves from the exquisite Tama Martin adds mischief and mystery to her ever-present robin and garden nymph. Beyata Hackborn’s minimalist set perfectly places us in the cold, stark hallways of Misselthwaite Manor. Sections of wood panelling seem to be growing shrubs at their bases while large columns flank a large multi-paned window looking out to an abstract landscape of the rolling moor. Garden trellises festooned with vines and leafy branches lean on the left and right edges of the proscenium. Beds, wheelbarrows, suitcases, bookshelves and flower planters are easily slid on and off by the adroit and efficient ensemble. Kudos to the innovative use of full-length panels with the tops cut out revealing ensemble members as creepy portraits of hallowed ancestors. The abstract follows through into the garden with suspended hula-hooped trees while small bushes and flowers are brought on by the cast. Judith Bowden’s costume design nails the Edwardian contrasts of aristocracy and servitude. From crisp suits to nightdresses, capes and top hats to outdoor workwear, her attention to detail is immaculate. The train station scene with everyone clad in black is a powerful opening image. Costuming of the ensemble puppeteers to evoke their animal counterparts is genius! Sharry Flett’s black riding suit with wing swept fascinator as the crow and Patty Jamieson’s red argyle trousers as the fox – marvelous! The lighting for a moody, dark and mysterious show like this one is critical. Kevin Lamotte delivers a superbly atmospheric design. Harsh beams of white light create a shadowy foreboding in the train station and at Misselthwaite. It’s all colourless and cold. Ingenious use of white moving rectangles projected on the stage floor create a labyrinth of corridors as Mary moves throughout the house. I won’t soon forget the powerful image of Mary glaring from a distance at a mysterious door at the end of one of these long corridors. The only thing I was missing was the flicker of a candelabra somewhere – ah well! The garden is starkly contrasted with shades of blue slowly replaced by bright amber as Mary brings her dead aunt’s garden back to life. This new adaptation has moments of sheer creative brilliance. Adding music is not one of them. The main message of healing is something that resonates loudly today. Mary and Colin heal their relationships with themselves and those around them, make their world a better place. It’s all so powerful, so relevant. Why attempt to make it more than it is with folk songs? There’s already a wonderful musical adaptation out there. It’s no secret. This play is moving, Running time: approx. 2 hours 15 minutes including one intermission. Production runs until October 13 at the Royal George Theatre, 85 Queen St, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON. For tickets call the Box Office at 1-800-511-7429 or email shawfest.com The Shaw Festival Presents “The Secret Garden – A Play with Songs” Directed by Jay Turvey Music direction by Ryan deSouza Set designed by Beyata Hackborn Costumes designed by Judith Bowden Lighting designed by Kevin Lamotte Movement Direction by Linda Garneau Performers: David Adams, David Alan Anderson, Sharry Flett, Patty Jamieson, Gryphyn Karimloo, Tama Martin, Drew Plummer, Gabriella Sundar Singh, Jacqueline Thair. Previous Next

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Maria Vacratsis Moving Forward Trish Lindstrom Joe Szekeres From the Class of 1977, University of Windsor, where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Theatre and English, Maria’s forty-seven-year career as a professional performing artist has taken her on many paths, some of which I’m truly envious she has travelled. She appeared in the Hollywood blockbuster hit ‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’ as Sofia. She has also appeared in ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2’ and has made appearances on television in ‘Schitt’s Creek’, ‘Rookie Blue’, ‘Murdoch Mysteries’, ‘The Rick Mercer Report’ and ‘Riverdale’ only to name a few. I’ve also seen her performances both at Soulpepper and The Stratford Festival where she appeared in such classics as ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, ‘Electra’ and ‘Pericles’. Maris is also a member of the ENSEMBLE of Toronto’s Company Theatre where she is indeed in very good company with some of Canada’s finest talents. We conducted our interview via email. Thank you so much for the conversation, Maria: 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? I'm loath to make any predictions as to how long this will last in its current incarnation but I have every reason to believe that between vaccines, treatments and the virus just wearing itself out, we will be returning to public gatherings in another year or so. In the meantime, the inventive minds of our theatre practitioners will be finding interesting and novel ways to bring stories to audiences. I do hope that we take a lesson from some Asian and African countries who, at the first sign of a transmittable disease, don their masks and take precautions. We need to make this kind of respect for our fellow man an intrinsic part of our society. How have you been faring? How has your immediate family been doing during these last eight months? In truth, by fall of 2019 I knew I had to take a big break. I had two more projects for early winter of 2020 that would be done by the end of February and after that I was going to stop, spend time in my new home and town (we had moved to Stratford in late 2017 and I'd barely been able to settle and enjoy it) but lo and behold, a strangely timed, worldwide pandemic forced me into it anyway. My husband had been retired for a bit, so we just settled in to see what being "retired" together was going to look like. Not without some guilt, we've really been enjoying ourselves. We don't get bored, we have a lot of home projects on the go and we've been reveling in our time together, really getting to know our town and surrounding areas. As an artist within the performing arts community, what has been the most difficult and challenging for you professionally and personally? The worst part for a time, was trying desperately to envision the future, how was I going to enjoy going back to an art form that, for me, was all about engaging closely and without fear, with other artists. I had to let that go and allow others with greater imaginations than my own, start to develop these new ideas. I also knew that, with time, my comfort levels would evolve. I had to just pull back from that and just live in the present. 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? As I said earlier, my personal timing was rather fortuitous - I flew home on February 26th and went into isolation on the 29th. In late January, I had been contacted by producers about a film project that was in the works for summer but that has been put on hold. They believe they may go in 2021. I try to make no plans these days beyond what I'm going to make for dinner that evening. Mitigates stress. What have you been doing to keep yourself busy during this time? I was able to throw myself into doing work on our new home, building new gardens, having time for my passion for growing food, cooking and baking and improving on those things. We love walking and hiking and with a lot of countryside around us, we were able to indulge. The warmer weather was also great for meeting up with a couple of friends at a time on our patios and porches. I also got to read books that had nothing to do with a project - just pure pleasure and interest. 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? That's a hard one as I think everyone needs to do whatever it is that gets them through. We're all different, at different stages of our careers, our lives. I am in awe of many of the younger artists I know who seem to have thrown themselves into creating art other than theatre - they're writing, making music, putting out content on line or in other interesting ways. Maybe it would be to take this time to "meet yourself" outside of your art. Do you see anything positive stemming from Covid 19? Generally, I believe that as a society we might start thinking that the ecology of the way we live our lives, the way we do our work, the way we engage with our environment is more important or, at least, as important as how economically successful our endeavours turn out. On a personal note, it was great to discover that after 47 years of working, pursuing work, thinking about work, I still had an identity without work, that I'm not completely defined by being an actor. This time is also forcing me to be present in my life - not having to think about doing work, getting work, learning lines, I realize that I have, at times, given my personal life short shrift. Do you think Covid 19 will have some lasting impact on the Toronto/Canadian/North American performing arts scene? Perhaps we will become "preppers" in some way. We'll always think of ways to keep ourselves prepared for these types of disasters. I personally doubt these will be long lasting. We say we learn from history but in so many ways we don't. 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 haven't had much to do with the online theatre world. Coming into this with major burnout, I just wanted to get away from theatre for a while and viewing work online was not satisfying to me - it felt like a bus man's holiday. I understand people's need to do it and I applaud it, but artists and audiences alike crave the real thing. We'll be back in the theatres soon enough - there are already signs of it around the world. Despite all this fraught tension and confusion, what is it about performing that Covid will never destroy for you? I've been fortunate to have had a 43 year career so Covid certainly can't take away from me and it can't take away the friendships formed with some incredible artists nor can it erase the memories of all the great theatre I got to see. 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 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

Dramas encompass the human response to a created life situation on the stage. Back Hamlet by William Shakespeare The Festival Theatre at the Stratford Festival 2022 Jordy Clarke Joe Szekeres Despite a few puzzling choices, there are moments where this ‘Hamlet’ shines; however, it’s not what it could be. When ‘Hamlet’ was taught at the school where I worked, teachers of English used to call the play a tragedy. Director Peter Pasyk makes an interesting comment about this production which he helmed: “The play is arguably Shakespeare’s most experimental and metatheatrical work, but what is it?...one thing is certain, at its core it is an existential work. The play puts our mortality into stark focus.” Two things about Pasyk’s comment. First, I think it’s an important one that should be definitely shared with high school teachers of English in understanding ‘Hamlet’. Too often, the trap is to fall into whether ‘Hamlet’ is the proverbial tragedy or not. Next, did Pasyk’s production reflect what he says? Well, yes and no. I know I used to tell the students whom I taught that one can’t sit on the proverbial fence post and agree with both sides. Make up your mind when you defend something. Well, this is arguably one of these yes and no times where it’s important to see what worked well and what requires some polishing. How so? When we remember Pasyk’s comment about ‘Hamlet’ as existential and then consider Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino’s comment the theme for 2022 is New Beginnings and ways to start a new journey, sometimes the connective task isn’t as clear as it could be. Hamlet (Amaka Umeh) is clearly mourning the death of his father (a powering and towering Matthew Kabwe). He is disgusted and abhorred by how quickly his mother, Gertrude (Maev Beaty) quickly remarried her late husband’s brother, Claudius (Graham Abbey) who now wears the crown of Denmark. In turn, Hamlet sees his father’s ghost and vows revenge against Claudius while pretending to be mad until the crown can be rightfully restored. Herein lies the downward spiral where Hamlet’s actions affect Lord Chamberlain Polonius (Michael Spencer-Davis), Laertes (Austin Eckert) and Ophelia (Andrea Rankin) for whom Hamlet pines, but whether he is serious about it or not becomes an important element of the story. The story is set modern so we have guns instead of knives. Michelle Bohn’s costume designs are chic looking on the ladies and nicely fitted suits on the men which help delineate the characteristics of the individuals. Umeh is dressed appropriately in black for most of the play which reflects the mood of Hamlet. Upon entering the auditorium, Patrick Lavender’s stark set design immediately grabbed my attention as the body of the deceased king lies in state under glass. It looks as if there is preparation for the viewing by the family and then the public. Kimberley Purtell’s lighting design effectively reflects the majesty of this moment. The blackouts in some of the scenes did not distract my attention. Richard Feren’s sound design throughout remains solid. One thing about the set design which puzzles me is the upper level of the stage. It looks like a mirror is on top and then I wondered if it was an indication of holding a reflection up to the audience to show how these lives on stage are similar to our own. Then the upper area becomes a moment where Hamlet refers to Gertrude and Claudius and we see them dancing. I was confused because I couldn’t decipher if the dancing was occurring in the moment OR if this was occurring in Hamlet’s mind. Then the mirror is used to announce the arrival of the Players and we see them enter. There was some laughter from the audience at certain moments that made me think something was missing. For example, at the top of the show we know the sentries on guard have twice seen the ghost of the dead king. It’s one of the greatest moments where tension is established immediately to grab the audience’s attention. The sentry guard dressed in a dark-coloured suit wearing a dark-coloured mask gets to the top level, looks around and then removed his mask. The audience roared in approval with laughter but I didn’t. Was Pasyk perhaps giving a knowing wink to the audience about mask removals, hopefully very soon? If he made that choice, yes it’s clever BUT it didn’t set what was supposed to be a tension-filled scene of seeing ghostly images to pique my interest. The same thing occurred just before the ‘play’ of the travelling troupe performs for Claudius and Gertrude. The humorous musical ditty and the swaying of the players reminded me if this story for the king was taking place in Hawaii or Maui? As the audience is in the know about the ‘play’, we are waiting intently for how the king might respond. Didn’t feel any of that. There are some hearty performances all around. Amaka Umeh’s Hamlet remains grounded in reality with the various emotional swings given the heated moment. This was strongly evident in the Grave Digger’s scene. Andrea Rankin’s doe-eyed Ophelia poignantly runs the gamut of emotions when the reality of the situation hits her full on which struck my heart. Maev Beaty and Graham Abbey are regal as Gertrude and Claudius but also reveal their insecurities and fears with believable intent and focus. Michael Spencer-Davis is a warm-hearted Polonius. Austin Eckert is a feisty and fiery Laertes especially when he learns what happens to his father and seeks revenge. As Horatio, Jakob Ehman’s loyalty Hamlet is steady. As Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Norman Yeung and Ijeoma Emesowum are dutiful friends to Hamlet while also showing they can be easily swayed through their interactions by the powers at hand who are in charge. Final Comments: I do hope that future audiences will not continue laughing at inopportune moments that appear incongruous with the emotional level and intensity of the moment. Peter Pasyk is a gifted director who has worked with so many talented and gifted actors in this ‘Hamlet’ that I am hoping to see on stage in future. Running time: Three hours with one intermission. As of the publication of this article, Covid protocols are in place at the theatre. ‘Hamlet’ runs to October 28 at the Festival Theatre. For tickets, visit www.stratfordfestival.ca or call 1-800-567-1600. ‘Hamlet’ by William Shakespeare Director: Peter Pasyk Producer: Dave Auster Set Designer: Patrick Lavender Costume Designer: Michelle Bohn Lighting Designer: Kimberly Purtell Composer and Sound Designer: Richard Feren Performers: Amaka Umeh, Matthew Kabwe, Maev Beaty, Graham Abbey, Michael Spencer-Davis, Andrea Rankin, Austin Eckert, Jakob Ehman, Norman Yeung, Ijeoma Emesowum, John Kirkpatrick, Tyrone Savage, Kevin Kruchkywich, Josue Laboucane, Anthony Santiago, Celia Aloma, isi bhakhomen, Rachel Jones, Ngabo Nabea, Hilary Adams, Mary Jay, Janice Owens, David Campion Previous Next

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

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Marcus Nance Theatre Conversation in a Covid World Jerald Bezener Joe Szekeres Marcus Nance’s name is one I’ve heard in the Canadian professional theatre circuit for some time, but I never had the opportunity to see him perform. When he agreed to be interviewed and sent me his bio, I most certainly want to see this gentleman perform in future as his credentials and credits reveal extraordinarily fine work. American-Canadian bass-baritone Marcus Nance is equally at home in opera, musical theatre, concert, and cabaret. The New York Times described him as “a thrillingly powerful bass-baritone” while the Globe and Mail says he “has a rich voice and strong stage presence”. Marcus Nance garnered international attention as Malcolm in the world premiere of Atom Egoyan’s opera ‘Elsewhereless’ with Tapestry New Opera Works which earned him a Dora Mavor Moore Award nomination for Most Outstanding Male Performer. For Queen of Puddings Music Theatre, he created the role of Moses in the world premiere of the epic opera ‘Beatrice Chancy’, performing alongside opera superstar Measha Bruggergosman. His other opera credits include Porgy in excerpts from ‘Porgy and Bess’ with the Nathanial Dett Choral and the Toronto Symphony, Sparafucile in ‘Rigoletto’ with the Tacoma Opera, Compere in ‘Four Saints in Three Acts’ with Chicago Opera Theatre and an array of exciting roles and concerts with Santa Fe Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, Chautauqua Opera, Vancouver New Music, The National Arts Centre, Shreveport Opera, Ash-Lawn-Highland Summer Festival, Natchez Opera Festival, Orchestra London, Victoria Symphony, North York Symphony, Chautauqua Symphony, Fairbanks Festival Orchestra, Windsor Symphony, the Monterey Bay Symphony, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Hawaii Opera Theatre, London Symphony, and the Monterey Bay Opera. New York audiences saw Marcus Nance on Broadway as Caiaphas in ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’, in Baz Luhrman’s Tony Award winning production of ‘La Boheme’, in New York City Centre ENCORES! productions of ‘Kismet’ and ‘Of Thee I Sing’, as Alidoro in ‘Cenerentola’ with New York City Opera Education and in concert at the Metropolitan Room. Recent projects include Rev. Alltalk in Volcano Theatre’s workshop of the reimagined production of Scott Joplin’s ‘Treemonisha’, Van Helsing in Innerchamber’s concert version of ‘Dracula’, and as Judge Turpin in the Shaw Festival’s production of ‘Sweeney Todd’ where the Toronto Star proclaimed that he “gives the production’s standout performance as the corrupt Judge Turpin: with his stunning singing voice and commanding physical presence, he is horribly convincing as a man who aborts justice and tramples morality…”. He has spent nine seasons at the prestigious Stratford Festival where his assignments have included the monster in ‘Frankenstein Revived’, Bill Bobstay in ‘H.M.S. Pinafore’, Caiaphas in ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’, Queequeg in Morris Panych’s ‘Moby Dick’ and Rev. J.D. Montgomery in Gershwin’s ‘My One and Only’. He has also made seen as the Mikado in ‘The Mikado’ for Drayton Entertainment, and Clairborne in Charlottetown Festival’s world premiere of ‘Evangeline’. Expanding further his creativity and artistic horizons, Marcus Nance has has made his film debut as the Singing Accountant in Mel Brooke’s feature film ‘The Producers ’ starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick and his television debut as Rev. Moses in the opera ‘Beatrice Chancey’. He has also appeared in concert at the Cornwall Concert Series, Primavera Concerts, Elora Festival, Toronto’s Jazz Bistro, the Metropolitan Room in New York City, Stratford Summer Music, the Elora Festival, the Toronto Jazz Festival and as a regular guest with the Ottawa Jazz Orchestra. We conducted our conversation via email, but I had the opportunity to speak with Marcus briefly via Zoom: 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? By nature, I am a positive and happy person. So, a year ago when rehearsals at the Stratford Festival abruptly stopped, my goal was to make good use of my time and to not sit around and wallow in self-pity. It was easy at the beginning because I never dreamed that a year later, I would still be waiting to get back into the theatre. So, between that day and now I have had my ups and downs. Days of panic and days of joyful discoveries about life and purpose. The biggest disappointment was not being able to play the monster in Morris Panych’s production of ‘Frankenstein’ in the new Tom Patterson Theatre at the Stratford Festival. I was so excited to be asked to play this character. It was an opportunity of a lifetime for me. But as the death toll from the Coronavirus began to rise, I got over myself and realized that just being alive at this time in history was a greater gift than any role I could ever be offered. I am heartbroken at all the lives we have lost. How have you been spending your time since the theatre industry has been locked up tight as a drum? I have actually stayed busy doing a number of different things. One: My husband (music director Franklin Brasz) and I always work in the summer. So to have a summer off is highly unusual. We decided to make lemonade out of lemons, and we bought a tiny trailer. We spent the summer and fall camping all over Ontario. I absolutely loved it. I love cooking outside, going on hikes, hanging out on the beach, and drinking gin and tonics all night. I can honestly say that camping saved us and kept us from falling into depression. In the end it has made this a summer to remember. A life highlight. Two: Many years ago, I tried to get involved in the tv/film world, but an experience of blatant homophobia caused me to flee that world with no intention to ever go back. When COVID hit, my agent wrote me and suggested I be submitted for tv/film as that industry was still able to produce safely. I figured I had nothing to lose so I said yes. To my shock this has kept me busy all year. I never thought it was possible, but the opportunities empowered me and helped to erase the negative experiences I had to deal with earlier in my career. It really made me happy to know that the world is changing for gay people. Three: I started teaching voice again. I was asked to give masterclasses in Nevada, California, and Colorado. I also rejoined the faculty of Sheridan College and started giving private voice lessons from my home (via Zoom of course). I love working with young artists. Four: I started modelling again! I contacted a modelling agency I had worked with many years ago and they were thrilled to have me back. I shot two fun campaigns. At 56 years old who would have thought? Five: Lastly, I was given some incredible opportunities to film performances for online streaming. Highlights being a Christmas concert for Stratford Summer Music filmed at the beautiful Knox Church in downtown Stratford, and filming my cabaret “Voice of a Preacher’s Son” on the Stratford Festival stage for their upcoming series “Up Close and Musical” for stratfest@home The late Hal Prince described the theatre as an escape for him. Would you say that Covid has been an escape for you or would you describe this near year long absence from the theatre as something else? COVID, an escape? No! Covid didn’t allow me to escape because it gave me too much free time to think. I was consumed with BLM and the racism that was being exposed all around me. I was consumed with the racist US president and with those that supported him. I was consumed with watching people die while others were protes7ng masks. Had I been performing eight shows a week at the Stratford Festival, I would have had a place to escape from the world. I would have put my energy into performing and laughing in the wings with my friends. So COVID was not an escape for me. 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? That sounds about right. My gut is telling me that the world needs another year to get everything in order. The new strains of COVID, the lack of enough vaccine, the COVID deniers… yes, we need another year to fix all this and allow ourselves and our audiences the 7me needed to allow everyone to feel comfortable coming back to the theatre. 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 have more appreciation for what I do. Not that I didn’t appreciate art before but having been in the business for over 30 years, one does start to take it for granted… feeling that it will always be there. I now know that that’s not true. Anything can be lost to us at any 7me. I have spent a lot of hours on YouTube as of late, watching ballet dancers, opera singers, orchestral performers and theatre performers and I can’t help but feel the pain of all these amazing people who suddenly lost their jobs because of COVID. All the work that goes into perfecting their crafts and suddenly they have nowhere to share that talent. I don’t think anyone of these people will take their art for granted ever again. 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? COVID is dangerous, so yes, I have felt a sense of danger for me and for others. 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? This time of COVID has forced us to sit still and to listen. I am sensitive by nature, but my heart is more open than it ever was to the world and to those in need of being heard or acknowledged. 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? I will answer this by saying that I have always been curious about what it means to “follow one’s own path” and COVID has forced me to do that. To be creative, to try new things, to work toward the impossible to see if it’s actually possible. In the last year I feel that I have done these things and I have discovered so much about myself. This pandemic is not over and this next year will most definitely test us. Can we continue to strive and grow? Do we have it in us to stay healthy and hopeful for another year? I think so and I hope so. To learn more about Marcus, visit his website: www.marcusnance.com . Previous Next

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Luke Reece Theatre Conversation in a Covid World Cesar Ghisilieri Joe Szekeres Associate Artistic Director at Soulpepper Theatre Company, Luke Reece, is one highly charming gentleman who holds no pretentious airs about him at all. He is a very down to earth, humble and appreciative guy who shared some extremely funny moments during our conversation that I wasn’t able to include here for space. Luke is an award-winning spoken word poet, theatre producer and playwright. Through his work as an educator and artistic leader within the national arts community, he advocates for engaging and nuanced storytelling that challenges audiences. He is one of Toronto’s most decorated slam poets and has represented the country internationally. Luke currently sits on the board for the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres and the Toronto Poetry Project. We conducted our conversation via Zoom. Thanks again, Luke: The doors to Toronto live theatre have been shut for over a year plus now with no possible date of re-opening soon and day one of the Ontario provincial stay at home order. How have you and your immediate family been faring during this time? I’m happy to say that with my immediate family, they’re all doing well. Staying in touch virtually and trying to check in with everyone. It’s funny because we’re starting to hear now people getting vaccinated and my family doesn’t always communicate to me what’s going on so I’m hearing from my friends how their grandparents are vaccinated, and I’m thinking, “I don’t even know when mine are getting vaccinated. I don’t even know what’s going on.” I talked to my mom and she said they were vaccinated weeks ago, and I had no idea. Yes, that’s great news but could someone tell me so I’m not worrying about it or thinking I should be doing something. My grandparents both have their first dose of the vaccine. My Nonna just turned 92 this past Saturday. As we enter this new stay at home order today, my first thought honestly, Joe, when they announced it was that we were legitimately low on toilet paper here. And I thought if we go out and get toilet paper, we’re going to be those people who are hoarding and stocking up, and we’re not. We really do need toilet paper because we’re out. So, trying to navigate that. I’ve been good health wise, going for walks and doing yoga. Still trying to figure out when it’s my turn for the vaccine. I’m hearing mixed messages. Some people are saying we can register for it. Anyway, I will take care of it soon. I have asthma so I’m hoping I’ll be able to find out when I can register. How have you been spending your outside time since the theatre industry has been locked up tight as a drum? I’ve been doing a lot of writing, and that really picked up a year ago. I’ve always been a writer; I’ve always done it in the time that I’ve been able to find. I’ve always called myself a playwright since high school but wasn’t really able to fully step into that identity, I think, until the last couple of years just because I was producing a lot. You know, Joe, I started producing because I wanted to produce my own work when I was in early university. As soon as I figured out how to do it, I felt selfish and then I wanted to produce other people’s work, so I stepped away from mine for the longest time. When things slowed down a year ago, I was able to find the time to write some more and also to remind people in the community that I’m a writer; I’m a spoken word poet as well and that form can easily be consumed online through performances and videos, so people started to pick up that I’m both a spoken word poet and a playwright. I’ve got a few commissions underway and a few projects in development and being Associate Artistic Director at Soulpepper and owning that side. So, the switch for me is realizing all the creative work I’ve been doing outside my full job, I can bring in and enfold into Soulpepper now in my artistry. I’m a big Raptors Fan so following the NBA is something that takes up a lot of my time when I want to step outside of theatre. (Luke then turned his computer camera around to show me a lot of his Raptors and sports memorabilia. He is a true sports fan outside of his work at Soulpepper). I also play soccer, but too short for basketball team, but I still shoot hoops when I can. It’s tough to find spots on a hoop right now; I’ve just moved into a new area of Toronto, I’m out in the east end and I’m trying to figure out what time the courts and fields are busy so that I know when I can schedule. I’m craving that time too to shoot some hoops for a bit. 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? I think it’s been a partial escape. Covid has been around long enough that I have to segment it to answer. For me, it was an escape from how I thought about my relationship to work in my life. I think people really started to appreciate family and loved ones. We’re seeing people lose loved ones; I lost an uncle early on, not Covid related, but it was right at the moment where we could not gather for funerals. Early on for me was recognizing how interacting with our family is now different as they feel further away. So now it became a matter of how do I manage my time where I can speak with my family more, and call my grandparents more, organize picnics over Zoom. I was at Obsidian Theatre at the time, ended up leaving Obsidian in August of 2020 and took some time off. I saved up some money and used that time to get things in my life sorted, so it was a bit of an escape in that sense. I also went on a road trip to Whistler and back with my best friend. He had this mini van and we thought to have a mini van bubble, he and I, and we camped mostly along the way, save a few air bnbs. It was cold though as we went in September and October. Camping in Banff in September gets below freezing at night, so I had to buy some new sleeping bags. I was always first up in the morning to start a fire. We got to see some beautiful parts of the country. Driving across seeing the Prairies was also an escape too. I saw a lot of wildlife as well and that was cool because I love wildlife. I’ve interviewed a few artists several months ago (Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill was one) 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 as in Stratford. What are your comments about this? It's amazing she had the foresight then to predict 2022. I remember at one point feeling so confident that we would be back in fall 2020. We weren’t cancelling shows in April because we thought it’ll pass by the fall. I think for the fact I could remember we were feeling so certain early on that we were coming back. Every time I felt certain we were coming back it’s been pushed further ahead. I don’t feel certain about anything now (Luke says with a laugh). I think, at the very earliest, 2022. Some companies are talking about doing stuff at the end of 2021 and I don’t see how you can. There are a couple of factors to it. Even as we progress and people are allowed back into theatres, the indoor capacity will be only 50 for awhile. So is this sustainable to do productions given this number, the size of the production. Outdoor stuff we’ll see as at Stratford this summer. I was surprised at first and then thought what do they know that I don’t know. But that’s great the Festival is returning. The next question is how comfortable will people be in returning. I don’t doubt people will be excited to return to the theatre, I also think people will take their time returning to the theatre especially now with the variants and the stay-at-home orders or lock down orders. We’re getting the first dose of the vaccine but now the second dose is being pushed back further and further so this is another factor to consider. There are so many variables. I could say, “Yes, Spring 2022, we’ll be back full tilt”. Fast forward to then and it would be, “What was I thinking?” It’s all up in the air as far as I’m concerned. 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? Personally, it’s made me a bit more aggressive in seeking what I want in my life. Life’s short. It’s taking the time. When my friend said we would be gone for 5 weeks road trip out west, I quit my job and went. This thing I want to do. This was before the second wave, so it felt like it wasn’t a responsible thing to do since we weren’t in a bubble. Looking back now, I went across Canada during the pandemic…aggressive decision but … My partner and I just moved in together for the first time. I bought a barbecue. The things that I want to do, I don’t hold back. I’ve always been somebody who wants to find the joy in life and I think it’s connected to my role at Soulpepper because there’s a lot of work to be done. I have to approach it with the same attitude of having fun, working within my capacity, allowing space for myself to enjoy life. That’s always been inside of me and I know I’m more open about it. Just to shift to Soulpepper and work culture, the staff has been through a lot together. Unlike Obsidian from where I came with a smaller staff, Soulpepper had a larger staff and they’ve had to adapt to the programming we’re actually doing with some cuts. We’re not producing full seasons, so the staffing has to adapt to reflect that. The company has been through a lot together and what I love here is they are doing these weekly full staff meetings where we talk, go into breakout rooms where we have these focus questions and talk about the programming plus we get to know each other more in these break out rooms since we can’t walk into the building right now and say hi to somebody. That camaraderie that we all experienced together a few years ago, let’s find a space where we can all come together and talk, decompress and unite. When the theatre comes back, Soulpepper and this team will operate in a way that it never has before. You can feel the energy in these Zooms. Zooming out into the community now, what I loved at the top of the pandemic was the fact theatres were talking to each other in a way they weren’t before. They had to be open about the planning of shows for when and where and how. It became what the theatre should have been all along: We’re all making art together and we should share resources and knowledge. I think honestly some of this is fading now, and I want to hold on to it. I want theatres to continue to talk to each other because yes we’ve all figured out a way for our companies to operate now, but we’re going to need each other when we do come back again. We’re going to need to talk, to strategize, to come back united not just for the sustainability of the companies but for the audiences, for the artists because there is the fact we’re the ones welcoming the artists and audiences. We need to all be on the same page as to how we’re doing that so there aren’t variant experiences. If we weren’t thinking of making sure we are caring for our artists given all that’s happened socially over the last year, there is no excuse now. We have do this. As an artist myself, Covid has transformed me by making me aware of the context in which I’m writing. That was always a big thing for me, and I think that came from being a spoken word poet who’s performing mostly at poetry slams where it’s a competitive form, and anybody in the audience can be asked to be a judge that evening. Knowing that anybody with any lived experience can come in and would have a right to critique my work, I don’t know this person, but I have a sense of the context of the world right now. And maybe I can’t speak to that specific person with my heart, but I can speak in the context and there should be some where in there to be able to connect. We’re going to see this line of work that was pre Covid and work post Covid. Subject matter will be taught differently. The language we use to engage each other, to care. We have to be aware of this as an artist. What are the audiences bringing to my work that I already know because the world has changed a lot. Audiences are seeing the changes the same time I’m seeing the changes. 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? Yes, I agree danger is part of the work in the theatre. When I go to the theatre, I want to be challenged; I want to be pushed; I want to feel uncomfortable. I would lean more to the word ‘uncomfortable’ rather than danger because I think you can be uncomfortable but still be safe. If you lean too much into danger, especially going back now, audiences might just tune out and start to wonder about their safety. There is a hyper-awareness around am I safe where I am. If I’m walking on a busy sidewalk or going to Shopper’s Drug Mart, there’s always that question of ‘am I safe where I am?” In order to get audiences to suspend their disbelief, we have to let them know they’re safe so they’re not pocketing that in their mind and so they can they be challenged and uncomfortable by the work. I have felt uncomfortable during this time 100%. The most uncomfortable I felt was on the trip to Whistler. We were camping and we were fine as we were outside and lots of fresh air. My friend’s friend wanted to meet us for a drink. I thought, okay, doing something outside that should be okay. My friend hadn’t seen his friend for awhile, okay. We get there, it wasn’t outside but downstairs in a building where no one was masked. Covid has also been a time of where we have taught each other that we have different comfort levels. My friend I was camping with out west is one of my best friends, so it was a challenge. I had my mask on downstairs in a bar, but I did feel scared. So, if anything, that time taught me the importance of sharing with even closest friends that it’s important that we all state our comfort level at all times. As we move forward on a personal level in relationship with others, it’s going to be how do we communicate the feeling of being uncomfortable that is tolerable and palatable with friends in our community. Ultimately, it’s about being vulnerable. As Soulpepper emerges slowly from the pandemic, it’s about finding safe ways to present the work where it’s still part of the art. If we’re sitting 6 feet apart, it’s not a part of Covid but part of the world in which we now live. There have been conversations on how to do that, but every time we feel we’re close to understanding then there’s a shut down or stay at home order. Joe, I think about the first show I want to come back to, it’s a risk. Theatre is a chore for some people to see – going for dinner, drive downtown or take public transit, find parking, affordable tickets etc…and now we put another barrier the fact there might be an element of danger and feeling uncomfortable? We better be putting out some good work for audiences to see to bring them back. I want to put out high quality work even in these times of danger and feeling uncomfortable. 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? I call artists more than I think I did before, just on the phone. I used to see people in the Obsidian office, and we’d chat about events. I like talking and connecting with artists to see how they’re doing. Some I went to school with, some we’ve just become friends over the years. I remember having to make the call of a play we were to have done at Canadian Stage, and there was a discussion on how to discuss with the cast over the decision that was made. We had a group meeting over Zoom, and seeing the hurt, disappointment and pain. We had to contact them individually to sort out payments, and I volunteered to call many of them because I wanted them to be able to speak to me openly and me sharing with them, and for the artists to know they’re seen and they’re heard and that we’re thinking of them, especially when CERB payments began to roll out. Off the top, a lot of the independent artists felt lost and forgotten. They were just left hanging. For me, it was communicating with them openly as much as possible. Even now, that we’re seeing more opportunities comes, I’m on these journeys through the Academy and program with the city called ‘Awakenings’ and workshops people have to apply. People are applying because they want to talk to artists again and engage in theatre. At Obsidian I also checked in with a lot of people to see how they were doing. It takes time to do that. Folks at Soulpepper are pretty busy but I’m taking the time to do that as part of this new role. 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? I’m so curious as to how we take care of our audiences. I know I just spoke in the last question about taking care of our artists a lot, but I feel like I have a better handle because of what I just prioritized on how to take care of our artists. Taking care of our audience right now, that I’m curious about. How are we at Soulpepper going to show our audiences they are safe with us? How are we going to show audiences they can escape with us in our productions? I think we’re going to see a lot of comedies as we slowly return, I hope, I hope a lot of comedies. People need to come back and laugh, and I’m curious to see how we join in space together again. I’m curious to see how people handle consent after Covid, the ideas of boundaries and personal space. Even though hopefully we will have both vaccinations when we return, as you know, Joe, there is this space in the theatre where we hug upon greeting each other. I think we’re going to see more of artists asking each other what they are comfortable with. And I’m most curious about kids. Out of everything that has happened over the last year plus, I’m curious for 5, 10 years from now the results on kids. I know when I was a child, I loved hanging out with my friends, playing recreational sports and being at school, doing extra-curriculars. And I think about what that would be like if I didn’t have that in the same way, or if I was glued to a screen all day. I worry about the kids who have gone through this and how it will manifest itself in the art they will create. I have no idea what the experience of the pandemic is like for them, and I can’t wait to learn it about it through them and their art. You can follow Luke on his Instagram and Twitter: @lareece93 To learn more about Soulpepper Theatre Company, visit www.soulpepper.ca ; Facebook: Soulpepper Theatre Company; Twitter and Instagram: @Soulpepper. Previous Next

Where theatre is not only presented on the stage. Back 'Fierce' written and directed by George F. Walker Presented by Moss Theatre Collective and Alumnae Theatre Company at Alumnae Theatre, 70 Berkeley Street, Toronto Credit: Nicholas Porteous. Facing to camera: Elizabeth Friesen. Side view: Liz Best Joe Szekeres ‘Directed with bold intent by George F. Walker and peppered with grounded, believable and ‘fierce’ performances by Liz Best and Elizabeth Friesen.” Playwright and director George F. Walker takes his ‘Fierce’ and markedly turns it upside down. At times, this opening night production left me laughing rather uncomfortably. For one, the programme bills ‘Fierce’ as healing through strange and meaningful connection (and a combination of illicit substances and pizza). That made me smile, but okay, I’ll buy into it. What is remarkable about this opening night of ‘Fierce’? What appears conventional at the top of the show becomes twisted and bent by the end, leaving me shaking my head and wondering if a story like this could occur where boundaries have been crossed in client/medical professional relationships. One thing is for sure – this ‘Fierce’ makes for good theatre. Jayne (Elizabeth Friesen) has been newly released from prison after another drug and drink-fuelled public disruption. She lands in psychiatrist Maggie’s (Liz Best) office for court-ordered treatment. During the 80-minute session (sans interval/intermission), Jayne and Maggie go head-to-head in revealing and confronting hidden sides of themselves that have been buried deep for years. They struggle to cope with these sorrows and somehow bond through a need to escape the past. Douglas Tiller’s realistic-looking set design of Maggie’s office amply fills the black box third-floor theatre setting at the Alumnae. Daniel Shiels warmly lights the office playing space with a slight dimming to indicate time has passed. Tiller and Scenic Painter Alysson Bernabe have effectively captured that sterile office environment of the white walls. Office accoutrements of a lamp, the proverbial plant, and a coat rack are far stage left. Centre stage is the sitting area comprising a couch and Maggie’s chair. Upstage right is Maggie’s desk—props to designer Fabiana Mercurio for having Maggie’s degrees on the walls and the striking picture placed centre on the back wall of a vast (farmer’s?) tilled field that caught my eye when I sat down. Pictures in an office usually indicate something about the person. Farmers grow productively for consumption or use and typically profit from their goods. Is this how Maggie sees herself with her clients? Walker directs his script boldly and elicits grounded performances from his actors. Pacing is natural, and spoken dialogue is enunciated clearly. Elizabeth Friesen’s Jayne is quite the sight when the audience first meets her. Her right arm is in a sling. She sports pink hair, and her makeup for the black eye due to the off-stage accident looks very real and sore. Fabiana Mercurio dons Jayne in white socks and sandals and wears realistic inmate clothing from earth-toned sweatpants and a matching sweatshirt. It seems like there is dried blood on the front of her costume. When the audience first sees her, Liz Best’s Maggie becomes a perfect juxtaposed foil to Jayne. Mercurio dresses Best in a smart-looking pantsuit. Her hair and makeup are perfectly coiffed in that professional, trustworthy look for a psychiatrist. Friesen and Best deliver terrific performance work. They remain focused and in tune with each other. They keenly listen, move around the office with purpose and reason, remain seated with intention, and respond appropriately while never hinting at over-the-top histrionics in aggressive or hostile moments. To say anything more about the plot would spoil the surprises the audience learns about these two women, their closeted skeletons, and their hidden secrets that have been vaulted for apparent reasons that become clear as the story unfolds. Final Thoughts: On the Moss Theatre Collective Facebook site, Walker was interviewed by someone who asked if he had any advice for emerging playwrights. He responded that it’s important for playwrights to bring life to the theatre. The same also applies to audiences. To bring life sometimes means to challenge. George did that to me as an audience member. I thought I knew the meaning of ‘fierce’; however, when I looked the word up just to be sure, what else did I discover about its meaning: “heartfelt and powerful intensity…proud…strong and proud, exceptional and passionate.” These keywords also describe Moss Theatre Collective’s fine production of ‘Fierce’ and why you should see it. Running time: approximately 80 minutes with no intermission. ‘Fierce’ runs until September 21 in the Studio Theatre, 3rd floor, at the Alumnae Theatre, 70 Berkeley Street, Toronto. For tickets: @mosstheatrecollective.ca MOSS THEATRE COLLECTIVE & ALUMNAE THEATRE COMPANY present ‘FIERCE’, written and directed by George F. Walker Producer and Assistant Director: Lori Delorme Producer and Assistant Director: Cassidy Sadler Stage Manager and Lighting Operator: Shannon Farrell Set Designer and Builder: Douglas Tiller Lighting Designer: Daniel Shiels Sound Designer: Andrew Honor Props and Costume Designer: Fabiana Mercurio Performers: Liz Best, Elizabeth Friesen Previous Next

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

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back John Ng Ng's honesty and candour are stark reminders we're still not out of Covid. Joe Szekeres John Ng appears next month in the Canadian premiere of ‘The Chinese Lady’ by American playwright Lloyd Suh. It was one of those rare occasions when I was running late to interview John as traffic was terrible and I felt awful about my tardiness. An actor’s time is precious especially if he or she has had a full day of rehearsal and then has other responsibilities. What a most accommodating individual. John was more concerned about me because I ran into the room huffing after running from the taxi to get to the rehearsal room where we would speak. After I composed myself, we got into John’s love of performance and why he wanted to be an actor. He has appeared in CBC’s ‘Kim's Convenience’ (2016), ‘Rising Suns’ (2020) and ‘The Swan’ (2020). Ng completed his training in the Honours Programme in Directing at the University of Ottawa. He laughed and told me it was a five-year plan for him in theatre studies. His goal was not to go to New York City but to come to Toronto and do a show at Theatre Passe Muraille, at Factory and Tarragon Theatres. He has done all that. In that respect, John feels he has fulfilled a goal upon graduation. Coming out of university, he was getting roles in acting. He wrote plays, one of which was performed at the Toronto Fringe in 2001. The production did quite well, and John proudly stated the Fringe play was his launching pad into the Toronto scene which was the start of the golden era of Chinese Canadian theatre in the city. Marjorie Chan who will direct John in ‘The Chinese Lady’ appeared in Ng’s Toronto Fringe play. ‘The Chinese Lady’ (a two-hander) is his first show in three years. This time around, he is working with Rosie Simon and director Marjorie Chan (Artistic Director of Theatre Passe Muraille) at the helm. He’s worked with Rosie before and describes her as fearless. She fights for things and she always comes out ‘rosy’. He has so much confidence in Simon and Ng draws on that. John describes Marjorie Chan as ‘a great people person’. She gives an actor lots of room and is very perceptive. Because she has worn every hat in the theatre, Marjorie has such a vast toolkit for the actor. An actor can trust Marjorie when she speaks because she knows what she is talking about. After a three-year absence from the theatre, (his last show in the fall of 2019), John smiled when he said he thought he still knew what was involved in the theatre rehearsal process. He also joked he hasn’t performed in a two-hander since his undergraduate years, so he has been quite attentive. For him, there has been a seismic change in the theatre at the top post-Covid. Many theatre companies and artistic directors have stepped aside and opened up to be more inclusive. These changes in the theatre are for the next generation of theatre artists and theatregoers. John then shared a personal story about how he felt with the return to the theatre even though we are still in Covid’s embrace: “I have to be honest. I was ready to give it up. I was ready to just pack it in. I didn’t think I would return. I didn’t think theatre would return even to the extent that we’re in now. Those were dark days. How would we ever get back to theatre especially when I had heard of actors getting sick when theatres were allowed to return? So many shows were lost over these past few years.” Ng’s honesty and candour are startling but a stark reminder we’re still not out of Covid. He still muses ‘The Chinese Lady’ might very well be his last show. Or, if he does another show, that could be his last one. That’s how he’s looking at it. The rehearsal room has been exciting and fun. John praises director Marjorie Chan for keeping rehearsals light in the room. Everyone is comfortable with each other and there is no pressure to perform. There’s a sense of creation and exploration. According to John and Crow’s website, ‘The Chinese Lady’ is the first documented Chinese female, Afong May, to arrive in the United States from Guangzhou Province in 1834. She is 14 years of age. She has been hired to promote merchandise. Purportedly the first Chinese woman to set foot on U.S. soil, Afong May has been put on display for the American public as “The Chinese Lady.” As the decades wear on, her celebrated sideshow comes to define and challenge her very sense of identity. Alternatingly dark, poetic, and whimsical, the play is a searing portrait of Western culture seen through the eyes of a young Chinese woman. John compares ‘The Chinese Lady’ to being an absurdist play. Periodically, the fourth wall is broken and the characters speak to the audience. What message does John hope audiences will take away after seeing ‘The Chinese Lady’: “That’s a metaphysical question for discourse and, for me, that’s what the play’s about. I hope audiences will leave and think about in terms of how they perceive things in reality and question how much they have been influenced by advertising by propaganda and social influencing.” What’s next for John once ‘The Chinese Lady’ has completed its run? Nothing has been confirmed, but a couple of projects will hopefully get the green light. The one thing John will confirm - he will go home and tend to his cat. Produced by Studio 180 Theatre in association with fu-GEN Asian Canadian Theatre Company in association with Crow’s Theatre. ‘The Chinese Lady’ runs May 2-21 in the Studio Theatre at Crow’s Theatre, 345 Carlaw Avenue, Toronto. For tickets, visit crowstheatre.com or call (647) 341-7390 ex. 1010. To learn more about Studio 180 Theatre, visit studio180theatre.com. To learn more about fu-GEN Asian Canadian Theatre Company, visit fu-gen.org. Previous Next

What makes a comedy work - plot, characters, setting and theme. Back 'Tease' A Big City Kitties Production in association with Crow's Theatre. Now onstage at Crow's. A Big City Kitties Production in association with Crow's Theatre. Now onstage at Crow's. Joe Szekeres “A sexy, sassy, sultry and seductive show. Sometimes, the production is funny as hell. But it’s also more than that.” The show's title lives up to what it promises. The press release describes ‘Tease’ as “salty as it is sweet in its exploration of sex, politics, and what it means to be a woman in this reimagining of the burlesque comedy genre.” It’s 18+, so be prepared for what Val (from the musical ‘A Chorus Line’) calls “Tits and Ass” because there are lots and lots of peeks. There are also moments of audience participation. I don’t want to state what the first one is because that would spoil the fun. I even learned something about my accompanying guest after that game. Be prepared for ALL kinds of surprises, and I do mean that! But ‘Tease’ is more. So much more. That’s why it’s worth visiting Crow’s Theatre and seeing these sexy, sassy, sultry and seductive ladies do what they love doing – to entertain and to inform. We have entered the environs of a shadowy lit stage with three black chairs placed centre stage reminiscent of the Kit Kat Klub from the film version of ‘Cabaret’. I know it’s illegal to smoke indoors in public settings (and I rarely see smokers anymore), but I also expected to see lingering second-hand smoke. Thankfully, it’s not there, and I’m pleased the technical elements did not feel the need to incorporate it. Dressed in stylishly sexy black underwear and wearing stiletto heels with perfectly coiffed hair, exact makeup and ruby red lipstick, performers Lindsay Mullan, Glenys Marshall, and Mei Miyazawa sashay onstage with controlled abandon. At first, they reminded me of author Ira Levin’s Stepford wives in their sexy underwear having drank way too much caffeine. They begin erotic swivelling and gyrating to pulsing music to fire up the crowd. I was impressed at the number of ladies in the audience on opening night. From the sound of them, they wanted to have a good time. One ‘innocent’ lady came up on stage after she was the remaining one from the first game and was told she would be turned naughty by the end of the night. When that occurred, said lady was truly enjoying herself—as were all of us who were watching from behind the footlights. ‘Tease’ is also enlightening. Videographer Liam Grue and Video Editor Nigil Vasquez have compiled a collection of various moments of many women film celebrities caught in moments of feminine sex appeal. For instance, seeing a very young Lucille Ball in a black-and-white clip dancing in a chorus line was interesting. I kept an eye out in that video montage for Gypsy Rose Lee. I didn’t see her, or there’s a possibility that I missed it. If she’s not there, might a clip be added? Yet ‘Tease’ is more, thankfully more. For one, it’s reminiscent of the art of burlesque. I rarely get a chance to see this art form performed anywhere. Here at Crow’s, this reimagined burlesque show is terrific. ‘Tease’ is sass and seduction. It’s an evening’s worth of entertainment and handled with class. But be prepared going in. It’s adult-oriented. It pushes the envelope, which is what burlesque can do (especially in the eleven o’clock ‘Naughty Nun’ number). Creator Lindsay Mullan directs the show with integrity and pride. She never allowed it to veer out of control. I enjoyed the show, even the moment that made me feel a tad uncomfortable regarding anyone who practices the Christian faith. Along with Mullan, Glenys Marshall, and Mei Miyazawa smartly reflect what burlesque is meant to do. First, it’s meant to entertain us, and these ladies more than competently do that through sketch comedy and improv with the audience. There’s a comment about wondering if theatre reviewers would have been in the opening night audience, and these gals mentioned a well-known and respected Toronto person. The ladies did a quick scan from the stage to see if that person was in the house. (Side note: it wasn’t me. But I’m not going to spoil the reference. Who knows? These ladies may change the name in each show and mention other reviewers throughout the run.) Burlesque also parodies current world events, and Glenys Marshall magnificently does that in a rip-roaring vocal song satirizing world leaders (and Toronto’s Doug Ford) about climate change. The burlesque art form in ‘Tease’ comes from allowing the audience to see, I mean to really see, these women for who they are. I don’t mean necessarily for their bodies, although the ladies showcase themselves with pleasure and delight. Instead, these women know the game. They’re highly articulate, intelligent, and savvy. When the ladies drop the bimbo sound in their voices, Mullan, Marshall, and Miyazawa (I just recognized the alliteration) are hot and sexy. That’s when, according to the press release, the three “deftly challenge society’s patriarchal views and misogynistic expectations.” I laughed out loud a few times. There were moments when the roof was blown off from laughter because timing of the joke or reference is expertly achieved. Great fun. Highly recommend ‘Tease’. Keep an open mind and eye, though. Running time: approximately 90 minutes with no interval/intermission. ‘Tease’ runs until March 30 at Crow’s Theatre, 345 Carlaw Avenue, Toronto. For tickets, visit crowstheatre.com or call 647-341-7390 ex. 1010. ‘Tease’ A Big City Kitties Production in association with Crow’s Theatre Created and directed by Lindsay Mullan Written and performed by Glenys Marshall, Mei Miyazawa, and Lindsay Mullan Choreography by Gabriel Gonçalves, Dana Thody, and Mei Miyazawa Lighting Designer - Mathilda Kane Costume Designer - Janelle Joy Hince Costume Accessories - Charlie Quinn Videographer - Liam Grue Video Editor - Nigil Vazquez Stage Manager - Sophi Murias Assistant Stage Manager - Emma Jo Conlin Producer and Production Manager - Emma Westray Previous Next

Where music, song and dance all contribute to an enjoyable plot on stage Back 'Rent' Book, Music and Lyrics by Jonathan Larson Now onstage at The Festival Theatre, 55 Queen Street, Stratford, Ontario Credit: Jordy Clarke. L-R: Robert Markus, Kolton Stewart and members of the company of Rent Geoffrey Coulter, Guest Writer, Actor and Arts Educator The Stratford Festival’s production of “Rent” is a vocal and visual pleasure! What the musical lacks in its paper-thin plot, it more than makes up for in its superbly talented, energetic, and enthusiastic cast and highly creative artistic team. This is not the mega-musical that was last season’s hot ticket, “Chicago.” There are no big numbers with non-stop belting and eye-popping, impossibly athletic choreography. This is a rock musical with mostly hard singing, power duets, and strong acting performances by a committed ensemble. Sadly, with so much vocal talent on display, there are few memorable songs to lend their talents to. Regardless, they’re each invested in as much of their thinly sketched characters as possible. Jonathan Larson’s book leaves gaps in the story arc of most of the characters, assigning muddy resolutions and nebulous futures to their fortunes. Throw in some wordy, sometimes unintelligible lyrics, and you’re left with a dissatisfying ending of plot holes and confusion. But the production is terrific! Based on Puccini’s opera ‘La Boheme’, the story is simple enough. It’s Christmas Eve in New York’s East Village circa the early 1990s. We join several young bohemian artists facing eviction from their dilapidated loft. Each character longs for love, fame and artistic expression while wrestling personal demons of substance abuse, homelessness, unemployment, and the HIV/AIDS crisis. Though the AIDS crisis that plagued the era date the show, its concept of love, friendship and living life on your terms is as germane today as it was three decades ago. Thom Allison’s direction is solid and visually spot-on. He expertly places his actors on Brandon Kleinman’s fantastic multi-level gritty tenement set, ensuring audiences never miss any of the action. I always knew where scenes were playing out, an apartment, on the street, in traffic, at a restaurant. Coupled with Marc Kimelman’s expressive story-telling choreography, this duo produces a seamless narrative. Michael Walton’s lighting evokes the LED frenzy of a rock concert yet poignantly softens the mood with well-placed spots and patterns projecting the “seasons” of love. Ming Wong’s costume designs are suitably era specific though some of the ensemble’s outerwear, though drab, seemed strangely pristine and untrodden for unemployed panhandlers. Musical direction by Franklin Brasz nicely underscores and never over-powers the voices. Nonetheless, there were times my companion and I agreed it was hard to understand some of the lyrics and dialogue. Larson’s wordy lyrics or sound designer Joshua D. Reid’s mixing and balance? This is a master class in ensemble acting. Every cast member is given a chance to shine and be seen. Though there are no real lead actors, several stand-out performances bear mentioning. As budding filmmaker Mark, Robert Markus convincingly captures the geek with a voice as clear as a bell in a role that doesn’t nearly challenge his vocal prowess. Kolton Stewart is in fine vocal form as Roger, but a bit one-note playing an artist living with HIV. Mimi Mascasaet is a standout, belting impossibly high notes in powerhouse ballads as unlucky drug abuser Mimi. Erica Peck flexes her vocals as impressively as the fiery Maureen, contrasting beautifully with the lusher performance of on-stage girlfriend Joanne, played by Olivia Sinclair-Brisbaine. Dynamite performance comes from Lee Siegel as the imposing yet emotional Tom Collins coupled with Nestor Lozano Jr. as Angel, the HIV-positive drag queen with a heart of gold and sass to spare. Although their performance was high-spirited, I felt the flamboyance and ebullience of the character could have been taken up a notch to match Angel’s gorgeously outrageous outfits. Though creativity abounds in this solid production (especially with the introduction of the potent AIDS quilt, memorializing the thousands of victims who’ve succumbed to HIV/AIDS), some directorial decisions had me flummoxed. Act two opens with the cast lining up to sing the popular “Seasons of Love,” a number which seems curiously random and set apart from the rest of the action. Performers sing out, mainly oblivious to each other, soloists dropping character to acknowledge the audience’s enthusiastic applause. Then the action just continues. Equally confounding was the introduction of Mark’s culminating films projected on an expansive sheet up stage, featuring black and white snippets of the very show we’re watching in rehearsal! I felt strangely removed from the world of the show as the curtain call followed shortly after. When “Rent” premiered on Broadway in 1996, it was a trailblazer, pioneering new forms of music in musical theatre with its high-emotion blend of pop and rock ballads. It bridged the gap between traditional musicals and the MTV generation. Younger people flocked to theatres to see themselves in these spaces and be heard. It paved the way for musicals to explore unconventional subject matter, changing how we experience them today. Despite the script’s pitfalls, Stratford’s production respectfully honours the legacy of its origins and lovingly presents audiences with entertainment to spur emotion and challenging reflection. Previous Next

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Ahmed Moneka Canadian Chat --- Joe Szekeres Iraqi artist Ahmed Moneka has been described as “a cultural force to be reckoned with” as he is working towards his Canadian citizenship. His background on how he arrived in Canada fascinated me and I wanted to learn more about him. And I hadn’t even spoken to him as of yet. Ahmed arrived in Canada on September 10, 2015, and left Iraq for 10 days. He was invited to the Toronto International Film Festival to screen the movie in which he both co-wrote and appeared. The movie was about homosexual rights in Iraq, and there was a wave of events regarding the issue in 2011 in Baghdad. When the film was screened in 2015, Ahmed received threats from the militia in Baghdad and was forced to stay in Canada in order to save his life. Moneka has collaborated with many professional companies including the Canadian Opera Company, Tarragon Theatre, Aga Khan Museum, Tafelmusik, Driftwood Theatre Group, Toronto Jazz Festival, Koerner Hall, Modern Times Stage, Jabari Dance Theatre, Toronto Laboratory Theatre, Theatre Centre, and TRIA Theatre. He is one of the founders of the band Moskitto Bar and is the creator and leader of Moneka Arabic Jazz – a 2019 Stingray Rising Stars Winner at the Toronto Jazz Festival. And he has also learned English in his association with these fine institutions. Ahmed next appears in Crow’s Theatre production of ‘Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo’ which hopefully opens January 26. There are some fine artists in the production with him and I am sincerely hoping to get to see the production live. Ahmed and I conducted our conversation via Zoom. Thank you so much, Ahmed, for taking the time and sharing your voice: From glancing at your personal web page, I can see your love of the arts of music and theatre has indeed flourished as you have collaborated with many fine Canadian performing arts institutions. Please describe one element or one moment in your life where you instinctively just knew that your path forward would be as an artist. To be honest, I studied theatre in Baghdad for nine years and had an amazing career there. The plan when I came to Toronto was to stay for a short period of time with TIFF. I then had the opportunity to stay so I had to figure out my life. The adjustment with the English language was a huge portion of my life throughout six years. I wanted to see ‘Blood Weddings’ by Lorca directed by Soheil Parsa through Modern Times Stage. This production was amazing. I’m very familiar with Lorca’s work. I went to speak with Soheil with my broken, limited English. I told Soheil how much I loved the production, the transitions. It was amazing. Soheil asked me if I know theatre, and I said that I did know theatre. I told him I’m a newcomer here and that I would love to be in a rehearsal hall. Soheil said to come over as there was a workshop for ‘Waiting for Godot’. I didn’t have any money for the workshop. Soheil asked me where I was from. When I told him I was from Iraq, he said he was from Iran and to come to the workshop of Godot for a free welcome. This was my first workshop in Canada with Modern Times Stage. After the two-day workshop of ‘Godot’, Soheil hired me after that. It was this moment where I believed that I could have a career here in Canada as a theatre artist. I shifted the gear with music as well as it was a huge part of my healing experiences and circumstances, and it was my hope to continue music in sharing my culture with the Toronto community. Do you have a particular preference either of music or theatre to share your narrative voice or do you find as an artist there is a gelling of the two? To be honest, Canada taught me how to be a musician. I learned music from my family. We sang and danced for our rituals, but here in Canada for the first three years, music was a big hope for me. Music was the only language I knew how to share with people. But I’m a theatre artist. I love acting. I love theatre. I love artists. I love that complicated process of theatre. Now I feel like I’m being able to express myself and act in English, and now I consider both music and theatre very close to my heart. I’m hooked. Both music and theatre are powerful ways of delivering stories as a narrative. Would you name one teacher and one mentor for whom you are thankful as an artist, and how these individuals influenced your life as a performing artist. One teacher who has influenced me is d.b. young. I was part of the Soulpepper Academy and d.b. young was with us every Monday of the seven months we were studying. She’s awesome in the way she opened us up and built us up with confidence, especially within me and my ability to push myself towards a theatre career by being honest and real about it. That helped me a lot as an immigrant to be able to trust myself again, be confident again in what I believe and what I love by being a part of the Canadian theatre scene and being part of my new home here in Toronto. As a mentor, my friend, Zac, but also in theatre specifically Jeremy Smith (from Driftwood Theatre). I was connected with Jeremy through an amazing opportunity through the Toronto Arts Council mentorship program for newcomers and refugees. It was a bridge between a newcomer artist and an established artist in Canada. It was a good potential because there was money paid for this entire process. Jeremy was my guide. He introduced me to a lot of people, and we had many meetings where I met many people, going and seeing different shows and meeting individuals there. I also became an Artist in Residence through Driftwood, and they were working on ‘Othello’ that year. As an Iraqi/Arabic, I did some research on the jealousy and what Shakespeare would have meant by the jealousy in the play. My involvement was paid for. When I finished my residency, Jeremy asked me to accompany the group on tour in Southern Ontario. It was beautiful for me as it gave me an opportunity to see southern Ontario and to connect with Ontarians everywhere. I also got to connect with Jeremy and his family. I was very lucky as I felt safe with Jeremy as I was learning English while I was involved with something that I loved – the theatre. Jeremy and I are also in collaboration on future endeavours. The global pandemic has certainly changed our view of the world we once knew. How have you been able to move forward as an artist during these tumultuous times? To be honest, it has been very tough, very tough. But as an Iraqi artist, I believe that art has a purpose and a mission more than action. I have faced many obstacles back home in Baghdad and that made me flexible and adjustable to any circumstances that faced me. I’ve played a lot of music; we’ve played in the park and open venues to create something in order to keep surviving. Toronto is a very expensive city, and I’m a father now. I have a daughter with my wife and my family just came over last year. I receive so much from my family in my push and desire to grow as an artist, as a father, as a son, as a brother, as a husband. At the same time, it’s been very tough financially in that would I have to quit making art and do something else. I don’t want to quit art. I want to keep going. I’ve been writing some theatre pieces, working on an album and also I’ve been thinking about creating a television show about my life here in Toronto and Canada combined with the music scene to shine Toronto. Toronto is a beautiful city with everyone here harmonized here in love and peace. I’ve been taking advantage of sending emails and having interviews, so I want to thank you, Joseph, for this opportunity to connect with others. Theatrically, I’m connected more now than I was before the pandemic hit. I’ve applied for a lot of auditions. I’m getting work. I just finished Soulpepper Academy. After I finish Bengal Tiger at Crow’s, I’m performing next in Orphan Song at Tarragon Theatre. I’m pushing and trying to figure things out, but it’s disappointing to see how the government treats theatre artists. There’s not enough financial support. There’s not enough acknowledgement and recognition towards arts and culture because that is dynamic to the hope of the city. We need to consider art as something important in terms of what’s happening now. Although I haven’t seen ‘Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo’, the plot intrigues me and I am quite curious about it. There are two parts to this question: Please share what it is about ‘Bengal Tiger’ that attracted you to the piece as an artist. ‘Bengal Tiger’ is about Iraq and takes places in Baghdad in 2000. I was in Baghdad in 2000. I witnessed the war. I heard the bombs; I saw the destruction and how the war destroyed the city. This was my second war as I also witnessed the Gulf War. War is disgusting. I hate war. I hate guns. I hate money that goes to war. ‘ ‘Bengal Tiger’ talks about the war, talks about the disease of war from different perspective which is wonderfully written between the dictatorship of Saddam and the pressure towards the Iraqis and the Americans when they came when the city was destroyed and took the city out and allowed the chaos to happen. I play Musa, an Iraqi translator, who used to work as a gardener creating a topiary. The ghost of Uday Hussein who once employed Musa murdered Musa’s sister, Hadia. Through the journey there is a gold gun that Tom, a soldier, took when he killed Uday. Uday tells Musa he must use the gold gun as “leverage” against the Americans. While working as Uday’s gardener, Musa created a beautiful topiary garden that has since been destroyed by the war. The topiary garden, also the site of Hadia’s murder, becomes a gathering place for ghosts. There’s trauma, there’s ghost haunting, there’s the killing of the tiger. There is a crazy, psychedelic spiritual world. The play talks about Iraqi society are victims between Saddam’s dictatorship and the American invasion of Iraq. There are so many character arcs in the play that drew me to the play. I feel it is part of my journey through the play to share this story of the Iraqi people, their voice and to show that Iraqis are not terrorists, not involved in any terrorism even in 9/11. The Iraqi people were tired of Saddam and opened the door to the Americans; there was hope of the dream to Iraq being connected to allies and open to the western world. Unfortunately, none of this happened. What message do you hope audiences will come away upon seeing ‘Bengal Tiger’? I hope they will believe that Iraqi people are not bad people. The Iraqi people are good people. That is why I said yes to this script and being involved with it. And also I’m so glad to say that I am the first Iraqi involved with this production of ‘Bengal Tiger’. Robin Williams played the tiger in the Broadway production. To be honest, this Toronto cast is incredibly talented…there is zero production rehearsing in Toronto right now and we continue to rehearse with safety protocols in place. But in taking these safety protocols to heart, we are also taking the risk to hope to do this show in public. We are refusing to film it or do it online. We are rehearsing the show with the hope of performing it live beginning January 27. We will be ready to go by then. Everyone is on top of their work. Audiences will be blown away because it’s really amazing this production is a masterpiece – there’s conflict, there’s trauma, there’s love, there’s comedy. There are all the elements of theatre. Yes, there are moments where you will feel uncomfortable and will make you question certain things. There will be moments where you are on the edge of your seat sitting forward and absorbing as much as you can of the action and the characters. I’m helping members of the cast with the accent and so is my sister. I’m so eager and excited to have this show open to the public and to share this story with everyone, and let audiences then decide how they will respond to what is presented before them. Someone once told me the life of an actor and artist is not all sunshine and autographs, but a life of ups and downs personally and professionally. In light of the sometimes-precarious world and life of the actor/artist: What intrigues Ahmed Moneka? Exactly. You said it. We are like a lottery and that intrigues me. We audition. We show up fully on our game. This is the case with the artist. We must be prepared all the time and decide how we want to be involved and with which projects do we want to be involved. We have to believe in ourselves, and listen, listen, listen to any potential opportunity that could come I will create my own opportunity if none is created for me. What frustrates Ahmed Moneka? Sometimes it’s the system that frustrates me. There’s rules of work here that I sometimes think are lame. For example, three weeks of rehearsal is not enough time to shine. I know there’s tech, there’s preview, but the rehearsal is the most fun thing at least for me. In rehearsal you try, you try, you try until you find it. We need to create a star system here in Canada. We need to believe in our own artists here in Canada much like there is the belief in the artists of Hollywood and New York City. Toronto is so unique and there are so amazing artists. I want to listen to them and hear them. RAPID ROUND Try to answer these in a single sentence. If you need more than one sentence, that’s not a problem. I credit the late James Lipton and “Inside the Actors’ Studio’ for this idea: If you could say one thing to one of your mentors and teachers who encouraged you to get to this point as an artist, what would it be? “Thank you so much for trusting.” If you could say something to any of the naysayers in your career who didn’t think you would make it as an artist, what would that be? “Look at me now.” What’s your favourite swear word? Fuck! It’s amazing. What is a word you love to hear yourself say? “Love” and I have a sentence I always say: “Love is the main reason for a creative future.” What is a word you don’t like to hear yourself say? Hate unto others. With whom would you like to have dinner and discuss the current state of the live Canadian performing arts scene? Justin Trudeau What would you tell your younger personal self with the knowledge and wisdom that some life experience has now given you? Oh, my, this is going to bring me to tears. I would say thank you for choosing hope and life and peace. With the professional life experience you’ve gained, what would you now tell the upcoming Ahmed Moneka from years ago who was just in the throes of beginning a career as a performing artist? Thank you so much for resisting and for telling your father, “No, I want to do theatre instead of cinema.” What is one thing you still wish to accomplish both personally and professionally? Personally, I want to be a wonderful husband and good father and good son, brother and friend. I want to be a good human in listening to everyone around me. Professionally, I would really like to enter the television and film industry. Name one moment in your professional career that you wish you could re-visit again for a short while. Being in the same room with Wajdi Mouawad. I worked with him in the Canadian Opera Company. It’s crazy how he’s convincing. He’s like a little boy but he is so talented and so humble. I want to learn more from him. To learn more about Ahmed Moneka, please visit his page: www.ahmedmoneka.com . To learn more about Crow’s Theatre, visit www.crowstheatre.com . Previous Next

Dramas encompass the human response to a created life situation on the stage. Back “First Métis Man of Odesa” by Matthew Mackenzie and Mariya Khomutova Now onstage at Toronto's Distillery District in the Young Centre for the Performing Arts Credit: Dahlia Katz. Pictured: Matthew Mackenzie and Mariya Khomutova Guest reviewer Geoffrey Coulter, actor, director, adjudicator, arts educator VOICE CHOICE “A wonder in its sheer simplicity.” Soulpepper Theatre, in the heart of Toronto’s Distillery district, hosted a wonderful evening celebrating all things Ukraine. Not only was a fantastic play on offer but an entire evening celebrating the heritage and crisis facing the Ukrainian people. The theatre’s atrium was transformed into the Odesa Bazaar replete with Ukrainian artists and artisans showcasing and selling their eclectic offerings of hand-crafted candles, stained glass, fine art, kids’ books, jewellery, beaded embroidery, charity organizations – all helping to raise funds and awareness for the plight of war-torn Ukrainian families. After the play, the audience was invited to remain for a post-show reception and experience Ukrainian Heritage Night, a free event celebrating authentic Ukrainian cuisine, music, and community. The Bazaar and Heritage Night were memorable bookends to a heartwarming play full of equal parts charm, wit, angst, tumult, and hope as a young couple captivatingly share their real-life love story set against the backdrop of the COVID pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “First Métis Man of Odesa” is a multi-Dora Mavor Moore award winner and was the most popular touring show in the country last year. It’s easy to see why. It’s relevant and engaging with an easily relatable narrative of the transcendent resilience of love defying the odds. Edmonton-Born Matt Mackenzie, a Métis playwright travelled from Canada to Ukraine to workshop one of his plays. Native-born Mariya Khomutova was one of the actors in that performance, and their romance blossomed between rehearsals and after shows. Together they recount their burgeoning romance, meeting the parents, getting married on the banks of the Black Sea, leaving Odesa for Edmonton, life in a new country, becoming parents, homesickness, relationships and what it means to be an artist in a time of crisis and what ultimately makes their bonds unbreakable. The play just works! It’s 90 uninterrupted minutes of pure joy and unencumbered vulnerability. Not only are the performers instantly likeable, but their storytelling is superb, their chemistry as a real-life couple undeniable! Many of the best scenes in the show are so deeply improbable (early conversations, dates, and marriage ceremony) or so straightforwardly honest (travelling during COVID, pregnancy, war), one wouldn’t believe it as a work of fiction; but as the true stories they are, they triumph. The simple set - a theatre within a theatre, with dramatic red curtains and glorious textiles inspired by Khomutova’s Ukrainian and MacKenzie’s Métis heritage — is perfect. Their stories are told with the help of two white chairs, a creative testament to director Lianna Makuch’s considerable talent. Matthew Mackenzie, Artistic Director of Punctuate! Theatre, an average guy in conservative grey pants and shirt, proclaims before the show begins that he’s not an actor, but a playwright as if apologizing upfront that we weren’t getting an experienced performer, rather someone making his acting debut! Despite his disclaimer he was thoroughly delightful and authentic. He has wonderful comic timing, heart-felt sympathy, good physicality, and a clear connection to his scene partner. Isn’t that what every actor strives for? He’s a natural. Mariya Khomutova is absolutely lovely as Matthew’s life partner. In simple grey skirt and blouse, she’s very much at home on the stage. Like Matthew, I found it difficult to think of her as an “actor”, so natural an unforced is her performance. She fully utilizes her excellent vocals and engaging storytelling ability with a twinkle in her eye and more than a few loving gazes to Matthew. Khomutova and MacKenzie are experts at drawing the humour out of every possible moment, building their stories around the most incongruous of details and adding to each other’s lines with perfectly timed bits of banter. They are each other’s perfect foil and perfect partner. But it’s Lianna Makuch’s inspired, respectful, and innovative directing that catapult this production skyward. She makes the most out of the minimalist set and brilliantly creates vivid images by simply changing the positions of the two chairs. Angled to the left and Matt and Mariya are having their first date, to the right, we’re meeting their unseen parents for the first time. When the chair is toppled it becomes Mariya’s hiding place in the rubble of a war-ravaged town, then the handlebars on a bicycle. Every part of the stage is used to full effect, we never doubting where we are or how we should feel. Her clever use of the moveable centre upstage column and suspended panels is sheer brilliance. Incredibly, this is her directorial debut. I see a very bright future for this emerging artist and storyteller. A production’s sound design needs to enhance each scene with appropriate music and sound, enhancing mood and crating auditory “images”. Edmonton’s award-winning composer and sound designer Aaron Macri’s and audiovisual group Daraba, work incredibly immersive magic. Daraba’s original scores and stings are wonderfully thematic while Macri’s ethereal drones and sound effects guide us from the joy of a beach wedding to a Russian attack on Mariupol, from airports to baby cribs. Soft and innocuous and booming and intrusive as the scene required. This team’s wonderfully understated work provides maximum impact. Projections has always been a bit dubious for me. I’ve seen them used to dreadful effect, washing out actors' faces, or being too washed out to see the images being projected. However, they can also be used very effectively to provide context, location, and mood. Amelia Scott’s vivid lighting and projection design is proof positive of the power of simplicity. Rather than projecting solely onto a back wall, Scott creates depth and dimension by projecting video images and animations simultaneously onto the arched proscenium resulting in an immersive tapestry that, like the music and sound, beautifully enhances but never distracts. We are taken to dozens of locations across years and continents in brilliant detail. Lighting design utilizes rich colours, shades of grey, a couple of spots ensuring that there wasn’t an inch of the stage in darkness when it wasn’t supposed to be. Kudos to the use of sharp geometric projections on the stage floor to denote the perimeter of a queen-sized bed. Dazzling! “First Métis Man of Odessa” is a wonder in its sheer simplicity. One wonders how, with the war raging on, this couple can expose these open wounds of grief, terror, and trauma to an audience of strangers every night. But their co-written script and the intensity of their shared performances make a bold statement; these moments are too important to forget, these stories too impossible not to share. Particularly laudable is the loving care with which the production team nurtured this narrative, lovingly elevating it to a story for our time. Khomutova and MacKenzie are resolved to return to Ukraine and perform this play in Odesa. On that remarkable day, their son Ivan will celebrate that his parents’ love story will have been told in both his homelands. Running time: 90 minutes with no intermission. Soulpepper and Punctuate! Theatre present “First Métis Man of Odessa” written and performed by Matthew Mackenzie and Mariya Khomutova. Directed by Lianna Makuch Previous Next

The who, what, where, when ,why and how live theatre occurs. Back TWEED AND COMPANY THEATRE IN TWEED AND BANCROFT, ONTARIO Tweed & Company Theatre Makes the Top 100 List of Festivals and Events in Ontario for the Fourth Time! Credit: Courtesy of Tweed and Company Theatre. Pictured: Tim Porter and Emily Mewett Press Release In Hastings County, Tweed & Company Theatre is celebrating a major achievement - They’ve been recognized as one of Ontario’s Top 100 Festivals and Events by FEO for the third consecutive year in a row and for a fourth time overall. They were first awarded the recognition in 2018, then again in 2023 and 2024. This honour was announced at the Festivals & Events Ontario Awards Gala held on February 26th in Kitchener, marking the final evening of the association's annual conference. This prestigious distinction was accepted by Co-Executive and Artistic Director Tim Porter and Co-Executive and Managing Director Emily Mewett, who attended the event on behalf of the company. “We’re incredibly proud to be named a top 100 provincial event once again,” says Tim Porter. “It’s a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team, and it motivates us to continue providing top-notch live performances for our audiences in Eastern Ontario. And to be recognized alongside other major events is a huge honour!” The theatre is about to embark on its 17th season, which is their biggest one yet. “We have some large-scale musicals lined up, plus a full year of youth performance programs and camps, and tons of one-night-only concerts, comedy shows, magic shows, films…there’s always something playing in our spaces!” Porter explains. The 2025 season’s major productions are Bad Hats Theatre’s Alice in Wonderland in July, Jersey Boys in August, The Rocky Horror Show in October/November, and Hook: A New Family Musical in December. All shows will be performed at their two venues, the Village Playhouse in Bancroft and the Marble Arts Centre in Tweed. The latter has recently undergone a massive renovation over the last year, which has just been completed. “We’re so excited to welcome audiences back to the Marble Arts Centre, they are truly going to be blown away.” Porter adds. The renovations include a massive atrium addition that’ll serve as a meeting space, lobby, and art gallery. Plus the stage and backstage area have also received huge upgrades, making the centre an impressive cultural and performance hub. The theatre is run by a hard-working administrative team and a dedicated Board of Directors. They also have over 100 volunteers and hire 50+ seasonal artists and staff. Since 2023, they also operate a third venue, the Tweed Outdoor Stage where audiences can catch delightful concerts in Tweed Memorial Park next to Stoco Lake. Across all venues, they welcome more than 20,000 patrons annually. “We always strive to put Hastings County on the map and encourage people to visit the region,” says Porter. “The theatre continues to drive tourism and economic development in the area. A community thrives when they have access to arts and culture and we look forward to even more growth in the years ahead.” Offering some of the most accessible ticket prices in the country, Tweed & Company wants everyone to come to the theatre! Be sure to reserve your tickets or season passes before they sell out. Call the box office at 613-478-6060 or visit www.tweedandcompany.com to secure your tickets today! Previous Next

Dramas encompass the human response to a created life situation on the stage. Back Pipeline by Dominique Morisseau Now onstage at Toronto's Soulpepper in the Historic Distillery District Dahlia Katz Joe Szekeres A production of high calibre quality that left me speechless at the conclusion. To be so heartily welcomed back to Soulpepper after a two-year, too long absence with a production that left me speechless at the conclusion made me realize just how much I have missed this precious gift of live theatre in our lives. What a smart choice Soulpepper made in staging Dominique Morriseau’s ‘Pipeline’ to invite us back to the theatre. This top-notch cast led by Artistic Director Weyni Mengesha’s secure visionary direction constructively deals with an issue that, I believe, has eluded the twenty first century educator which Akosua Amo-Adem mentions in her Programme Artist Note: “How can we do better as a city to ensure that all our young Black kids have a chance to reach their potential in the space where they spend the most amount of time?” This is a question front and centre in my teaching career from 1984- 2017. Amo-Adem also refers to the title of the play in her Note. To fall down the pipeline means some youths have perhaps made poor educational choices which could tarnish their future. From my professional experience as a 33-year Catholic educator, this is not the goal for any teacher to see young people fail. If young people have made a poor choice, we as teachers, should be able to help students realize there are other alternatives they can choose to succeed and get out of the hole and not dig in deeper. Teachers are not perfect by any means. Seeing ‘Pipeline ‘reminded me of this very fact. It engaged a few personal memories in my own mind, (sometimes where I realized I didn’t handle the situation as best as I could) on how I dealt with several black students. More about this in a moment. Lorenzo Savoini’s Set and Projection Design with Kimberly Purtell’s whispered lighting are visually strong upon entering the auditorium. Hanging centre stage is a long rectangular school black board with a table in front that to me looked like a teacher’s desk. A door stage right is angled to make it appear as if that is the entrance to a classroom. Behind the blackboard is a bed made which ultimately becomes Jasmine’s dorm room. The rotating stage allows for easy movement of set pieces. Sound Designer and Composer Lyon Smith appropriately selected a song by Yasper for the opening soundtrack: ‘Birds Fly Higher Than the Moon’. The final moment between the central character and her son finely reflects this strongly felt emotional sentiment. We are introduced to Nya (a knockout performance by Akosua Amo-Adem), a single mother who teaches high school English in an inner-city school. Nya sends her son Omari (Tony Ofori) to a private school because she just knows and understands that opportunities for young black men like him do not exist in the public school system. When Omari becomes involved in a school incident that ultimately threatens to get him expelled, Nya must confront the brimming rage within the young man and the reasons that led him to this point. As the troubled, young man who tries his best to keep his seething rage under wraps, Tony Ofori offers a subtle and strongly controlled performance of deeply felt emotions. Omari’s girlfriend, Jasmine (Chelsea Russell), instinctively just knows which buttons to push to make Omari either open up completely to her or to close himself off at all costs. What I liked about Russell’s work was the fact she deliberately has chosen not to turn her performance into the typical needy girlfriend who always wants her guy by her. Instead, Jasmine has Omari’s back continually, and Russell beautifully reveals this loyalty especially in her head-to-head confrontation scene with Nya at the school. We are also introduced to Omari’s father and Nya’s ex husband, Xavier (Kevin Hanchard). Both Hanchard and Ofori have established a credibly natural synchronicity in juxtaposition of their strained father son relationship which kept me on the edge of my seat at one point. I honestly thought a physical fight would have taken place on that stage between the two of them. Believable to watch and to hear these two performers go toe to toe as I got caught up in the passion of the moment. Playwright Morriseau also weaves a subplot into this main story where she duly makes her opinion of the American public school system duly known. As a retired Catholic school teacher for 33 years, once again I was on every single word uttered about these comments regarding the North American public school education system. We meet Laurie (Kristen Thomson), a colleague of Nya’s, who remains positive even after she was absent from her work on account of one of her students physically assaulting her. Thomsen says at one point under a most trying of plot circumstances that she has given her life to her work and her students. Thomson’s bang on natural portrayal of an educator who believes she is doing the best she can under one of the most stressful moments in her career made me both empathize and sympathize because all teachers have been there and experienced what Laurie does in the play. We also meet security guard of the school, Dun (Mazin Elsadig). There appears on the surface a playful chemistry between he and Laurie. She makes a comment to him that possibly might be construed as a tad inappropriate in our woke world today, but what this early introduction work for me was the fact that Thomson and Elsadig are strong actors to establish immediately in their demeanour that context meant everything, and that Dun and Laurie meant nothing in this playful ribbing. This initial context within their introduction to the audience scene became even more profound for me after Laurie is accused of grave unprofessionalism in her dealing with some students. Elsadig’s delivers a monologue that captivated and riveted my attention to every single word he uttered to Nya and Laurie. A terrific scene at that point. Now where I realized I didn’t handle the situation with several black students as best as I could. It occurs the first time I hear poet Gwendolyn Brooks’s ‘We Real Cool’ read aloud by Amo-Adem. I remember teaching that poem to my Grade 11 English classes and using the provided Teacher’s Manual for assistance. The poem’s reiteration throughout the performance underscored it’s an anthem for the voice of young black youth. That I remember teaching to my classes. However, where I felt I did a disservice was not knowing there are two versions of ‘We Real Cool’. The first (the one I used to teach) was simply written in one stanza form. I had no idea this version was not the one Brooks intended but was used for educational purposes or, as alluded to in ‘Pipeline’, a ‘white’ version of the poem. There is another form of ‘We Real Cool’ which Brooks did not write in this simple stanza form. Instead, the lines of the poem are placed on the page in an altering format and when the poem is read aloud, the voice of these young black men in the Golden Shovel Pool Hall becomes totally different. We begin the process of listening to the voice of black youth in this latter version. I truly wished I had known this as I have a new found appreciation of the poem. Final Comments: A couple of weeks ago, I had seen at Why Not Theatre ‘An IMM-Permanent Resident’ where an audience member at the talk back told the actors that border service agents should see that production. I’ll buy that and go one step further. Seeing ‘Pipeline’ and its messages is something all educators should do as well. Dominique Morisseau’s ‘Pipeline’ becomes that important conduit discussion starter to begin to listen and to hear (and sometimes to back off, as Omari tells his mother) the voice of black youth. Running Time: approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes with no intermission. Covid protocols in effect. ‘Pipeline’ runs to May 8 at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 50 Tank House Lane in the Marilyn and Charles Baillie Theatre at Toronto’s Historic Distillery District. For tickets, visit youngcentre.ca or call1-416-866-8666. To learn more about Soulpepper, visit www.soulpepper.ca . Previous Next

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Ann Harada Moving Forward Bruce Alan Johnson Joe Szekeres Now that I’m retired from teaching, I can state that I had called in sick one Friday morning and traveled with my mother to New York City to see the original Broadway cast of ‘Avenue Q’. I remember we had both seen trailers on television for the production and made the production a must-see. We were not disappointed in the least as we had a ball at the theatre that night and this very adult performance which probably seems tame by today’s standards. I especially enjoyed watching Ann Harada as the character Christmas Eve whose fiancé didn’t have a job. They had bills to pay and all of the other responsibilities that come with living together. Ms. Harada was deliciously sassy and saucy as the adorable Christmas Eve. A quick bit of online research also led me to discover she has played Madame Thenardier on Broadway in ‘Les Miserables’ and was in the original cast of Dolly Parton’s ‘9 to 5’. She’s also appeared in TV shows such as ‘Smash’, ‘Blue Bloods’, and ‘New Amsterdam’. Born and raised in Hawaii, Ann graduated from Brown University with a double major in English and American Literature/Theatre Arts. We conducted our interview via email. Thank you again, Ann, for participating. It appears that after five exceptionally long months, we are slowly, very slowly, emerging to a pre-pandemic lifestyle. Has your daily life and routine along with your immediate family’s life and routine been changed in any manner? And how! Once my son’s school ended in June, we headed for my mother in law’s house on Cape Cod, where we’ve been ever since. And we’re not exactly sure when we’re going back since school is completely remote right now. When we look out of the windows here we see water and trees. Sometimes a squirrel, or a bunny. In NYC I have an incredible view of a back alley and I see my neighbor smoking pot. And I sure don’t blame him a bit. Were you involved or being considered for any projects before everything was shut down? I was shooting some episodes of a TV show, but I just found out my character’s storyline was cut “due to complications from COVID”. I am devastated. I was in ‘Emojiland’ off-Bway— we shut down in mid-March. I was supposed to go to the Kennedy Center and do ‘Bye Bye Birdie’ –canceled. Describe the most challenging element or moment of the isolation period for you. For me, it is being unable to hug my friends and not being able to talk to them in an intimate way, my husband is always pulling me away from people and saying, “That is not six feet!” What were you doing to keep yourself busy during this time of lockdown and isolation from the world of theatre? Since theatres will most likely be shuttered until the spring of 2021, where do you see your interests moving at this time? Like everyone else I have been doing things on Zoom and practicing making self-tapes, converting a closet into a recording studio, trying to fold my green screen, fun things like that. I don’t enjoy this part of the business at all. If I was interested in iPhone cinematography or home lighting, I would have pursued those interests. My interests will turn to reading more actual books and catching up on series I never paid attention to before. Any words of wisdom or sage advice you would give to other performing artists who are concerned about the impact of COVID-19? What about to the new theatre graduates who are just out of school and may have been hit hard? Why is it important for them not to lose sight of their dreams? Well, this isn’t the first time we’ve gone through a national shutdown or a pandemic. Our industry managed to survive both 9/11 and the AIDS crisis. Theatre isn’t going away, it just might take a while to sort out. I’m not worried about young people. They’ll figure out a way to do what they want because they’re not set in their ways yet. It’s the older people I’m concerned about. Without any way to earn health insurance, what’s going to happen? Do you see anything positive stemming from this pandemic? I hope we see continued respect for our frontline workers, from medical professionals to grocery workers and restaurant workers. It was beautiful to participate in the nightly 7 pm applause for them, and I hope we continue to appreciate their service. In your informed opinion, will the Broadway and North American performing arts scene somehow be changed or impacted on account of the coronavirus? Of course. How are we going to get audiences back in the theatre safely? How long will it take for people to want to come back, to not be afraid of crowds? How long will it take for me to feel comfortable in an audience? How will I feel safe onstage? Everything is a question. What are your thoughts about streaming live productions? As we continue to emerge and find our way back to a new perspective of daily life, will live streaming become part of the performing arts scene in your estimation? Have you been participating, or will you participate in any online streaming productions soon? I’ve certainly enjoyed the live streaming events I’ve seen. I’ve only done a few live streams, they were mostly educational. But I do think it’s a great way to bring people together. I don’t know that every play is satisfying performed as a reading but if it’s creatively done, it can really be extraordinary. What is it about performing you still love given all the change, the confusion, and the drama surrounding our world now? I love connecting with people, I love performing with other people, and we are still desperate for human connection. Maybe even more so now. I know that people enjoy what we’re doing, even if it isn’t live and in person. I’m happy to keep putting things out there if people enjoy it. With a respectful nod to ‘Inside the Actors’ Studio’ and the late James Lipton, here are the 10 questions he asked his guests at the conclusion of his interviews: What is your favourite sounding word? Gobsmacked What is your least favourite word? moist What turns you on? Intelligence What turns you off? Ignorance What sound or noise do you love? Orchestra tuning, rain on a tin roof What sound or noise bothers you? Beeping noise when the freezer or fridge door is not closed What is your favourite curse word? Shite or bollocks What is your least favourite curse word? Refers to female reproductive anatomy What profession, other than your own, would you have liked to attempt? Novelist, photographer, museum curator, librarian What profession would you not like to do? Daycare, law, stunt person If Heaven exists, what do you hope God will say to you as you approach the Pearly Gates? “You didn’t do everything perfectly, but you always gave it your best attempt. Please have a seat. To follow Ann on social media Twitter: @annharada Instagram: @iamannharada 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

The who, what, where, when ,why and how live theatre occurs. Back GANANOQUE'S THOUSAND ISLANDS PLAYHOUSE ANNOUNCES ITS 2025 SUMMER SEASON It’s ‘launch’ time for some of Ontario’s theatres for the 2025 season. Courtesy of the company Joe Szekeres I received word today about the 2025 season for Gananoque’s Thousand Islands Playhouse. Although I could not attend today’s information session, I was anticipating what would be in store for this regional theatre in one of Ontario’s beautiful summer/fall excursions. This morning, October 17, at 10 a.m., the Managing Artistic Director Brett Christopher relayed how excited he was to announce the 2025 season: “On the heels of a record-breaking season, I am so grateful to our audiences who visit us each summer in Gananoque.” Christopher reported the following statistics for the Playhouse: Total box office sales have passed $1.6 million for the 2024 season, exceeding last year’s total of $1.5 million. The year before the pandemic was $1.18 million . In 2024, it was over 80%. In 2023, it was over 78%. Four of the seven shows for the 2025 season are Canadian. Brett looks forward to building the creative teams over the next few months. AT THE SPRINGER THEATRE: ‘HOW THE OTHER HALF LOVES’ by Alan Ayckbourn. Performance dates: May 30-June 22, 2025. ‘MARY POPPINS: The Broadway Musical’ based on the stories of P.L. Travers and the Walt Disney Film. Performance dates: July 8 – August 16, 2025. ‘STAG AND DOE’ by Mark Crawford. Performance dates: August 22-September 14, 2025. ‘9 to 5, the Musical’ Music & Lyrics by Dolly Parton and Book by Patricia Resnick. Performance dates: September 30 – November 2, 2025. AT THE FIREHALL THEATRE: ‘COTTAGERS AND INDIANS’ by Drew Hayden Taylor. Performance dates: August 8-August 30, 2025. ‘THE DRAWER BOY’ by Michael Healey. Performance dates: September 5-September 28, 2025. ‘THE PIANO TEACHER’ by Dorothy Dittrich. Performance dates: October 10-November 2, 2025. To read more about the shows, go here: https://www.1000islandsplayhouse.com/2025-season-lineup/?fbclid=IwY2xjawF-Uh5leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHeFOyTORK3FTnUcatYHQ3kgNk_tyvFJXqZm_2biAF8GMo54vtmMhcNlALg_aem_6UYxpVZQUz096_wlrMnINQ Go here to learn more about the Thousand Islands Playhouse, visit: www.1000islandsplayhouse.com . To follow the Playhouse on social media: Facebook: @ThousandIslandsPlayhouse X/Twitter: @TIPlayhouse Instagram: @thousandislandsplayhouse Previous Next

We would like to thank the following artists for their endorsements. With their love and support, Our Theatre Voice can make a difference. Home Acknowledgements Endorsements News Profiles This Month's Reviews Review Archives Search More Thank you to the following artists for their endorsements. Jayme Armstrong What a pleasure to chat with Joe... One of the best interviewers I’ve come across with fabulous questions about creating theatre during a pandemic and the state of the industry moving forward. Drayton Entertainment & Enchanted Entertainment Steffi DiDomenicantonio Joe is so much fun to talk to and asks some awesome questions. I love talking about theatre and it's always nice to meet someone who likes to as much as I do. Artist and Performer in Toronto Company of ‘Come from Away’ Liz Callaway I am so appreciative of all the work Joe did in preparation of my profile and the other ones he has compiled. His attention to detail in the many points of our conversation, and in the other profiles I've read online, as well his caring manner made it easy for me to open up and share my thoughts on how I, as a performing artist am faring during this tumultuous time of the worldwide pandemic. I applaud his continued work in serving the theatre industry. Cynthia Dale I had a wonderful time speaking with Joe. He is a smart, kind and joyous man who loves our industry as much as I do. He made it easy to open up about the wonders and struggles of being a performer. I applaud his endeavours and say ’Bravo’ to all he is doing to remind us all about the magic of life in front of behind the footlights… Street Legal, Stratford Festival Michael Cerveris I had the distinct pleasure to be interviewed by Mr. Szekeres and, in addition to genuinely enjoying our conversation, was delighted with the finished piece. It accurately captured our discussion in a highly readable form. More importantly, his appreciation and respect for the theatre and concern for its future made the whole experience very worthwhile. Tony Award winner Mitchell Marcus Thank you for keeping the fire burning. Rick Miller Joe Szekeres has earned an important place in the Toronto theatre ecology, bringing commitment, curiosity and intellectual honesty to his … reviews. I’m grateful for his support of my work, both as a solo artist and as a co-director of Kidoons stage productions. BOOM, MacHomer : The Simpsons Do MacBeth Sergio Di Zio Joe Szekeres reached out, early in this pandemic, to feature me in his Artists in Isolation series of interviews. I thoroughly enjoyed our talk over Zoom. His questions provided an excellent opportunity for some self-examination of what an artist can aspire toward during Covid-19 and what gifts and challenges its struggles might bring. His curiosity is genuine, and his kindness is welcome in this unique and surreal time. And the feedback I received from friends who read the piece was that they could hear my authentic voice, which, in my opinion, is the highest praise of the interviewer. Flashpoint, Coal Mine Theatre Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill Intelligent. Engaging. Thought-provoking questions. Always a pleasure to be interviewed by a pro who does their homework and is truly interested in the person they are talking to. On the journalistic front, Joe is a rock star! Craig Lauzon I’ve done a lot of interviews and almost always you can’t wait for them to be over. Not with Joe, he actually knows how to talk to people and put them at ease…we could have chatted all afternoon. The Royal Canadian Air Farce, Soulpepper Amy Keating Collaborating with Joe was an absolute pleasure. He is thorough, passionate and highly knowledgeable about all things theatre. I felt engaged, taken care of, and heard during my time working with him. Raoul Bhaneja Remarkably, during such a dispiriting time in the theater, the majority of this pandemic so far, Joe took the time to speak to numerous theatre artists, including myself, to inquire about our state of mind and work. I not only appreciated the opportunity to be profiled but I enjoyed reading the profiles of my peers. An excellent contribution and chronicling of our theatre scene.

Where music, song and dance all contribute to an enjoyable plot on stage Back & Juliet Broadway Bound production now onstage at Toronto's Princess of Wales Matthew Murphy Joe Szekeres An imaginative and unique new idea about a ‘What-if’ situation involving two of Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers (Updated July 11 for correction of information) In exiting the Princess of Wales Theatre after seeing an extraordinary ‘& Juliet’, I turned to Marg, my high school friend who accompanied me, and called out to her the Food Basics catchphrase we all know: WOWZA! There’s flashy pizzazz, lots of glitter, and raucous spectacle which add to the heaping mound of the excitement of this first-class experience of sight and sound in this behemoth of a play within a play musical, but I stripped away all of that to see if there is a story underneath. Is there a story, a good one at that? Absolutely!!! ‘& Juliet’ becomes a rollicking, boisterous, uniquely clever panoply of incredible music set against the backdrop of envisioning Juliet did not die at the end of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy. Instead, we are led through Verona and on to Paris, France, where the young heroine begins her life again first under her parents’ (terrific work of understated proportion by Nicholas Edwards and Veronica Otim) tyrannical rule. That all changes as the story progresses. ‘& Juliet’ is a stunning twenty-first-century imaginative coming-of-age tale where the central character begins to accept life on her own terms and become her own person. Lorna Courtney is marvelous. Her majestic vocal pipes nearly blew the roof off the theatre. I’m trying not to spoil too much as future audiences must experience this hell of a ride themselves. But here goes: We are introduced to Shakespeare (a dashing Stark Sands) who wonders whether the ending to ‘R & J’ needs to be re-written. Enter his wife, Anne Hathaway (a bold and sassy Betsy Wolfe) who got a babysitter for their two children while she and her husband engage in the re-writing of the text. And the task to create is underway. The plot details go back and forth in time where we meet Romeo (Ben Jackson Walker) who laughingly at one point referred to himself as a tight, six-pack muscular guy who really isn’t the man we initially thought he was. We also meet Juliet’s Nurse (an audacious and plucky performance by Melanie LaBarrie) who continues as her lady’s beloved confidante while showcasing and revealing her true innermost thoughts and feelings to the events around her as they all move forward into the next chapter. Amid this back and forth in time, we meet other characters who become linked with Juliet in her new life: Francois (Philippe Arroyo) a suave debonair gentleman who is set to marry Juliet so that she can begin her life again. Francois’s wise father Lance (Paulo Szot) wants what’s best for his son while harbouring a past that made me laugh out loud once we know what occurred. Juliet’s gender-fluid friend May (Justin David Sullivan) becomes an important modern element of this modern take on the love story and what this emotion truly means for an audience. Can’t forget the superlatively energetic Company of Players. What struck me so keenly at first was the diversity of individuals of various heights and sizes. This lively energetic and spirited troupe attacked Jennifer Weber’s to die-for choreography with focused strength and supple agility. I haven’t seen break dance movements like this in a very long time. I’m not that huge a fan of rap. Nevertheless, when you take these tunes and score them to incorporate break dance, all I can say is: “Hot damn, clear the floor and let these people strut their stuff” which they do with confident aplomb. About halfway through the first act, one thing struck me about this Broadway-bound production. It is staged productions like ‘& Juliet’ that will bring young people into the theatre and get them loving the art form so much they will want to learn more. As a retired teacher of English who had taught ‘Romeo & Juliet’ for many years, I would highly recommend teachers to bring classes to see the production after having finished and studied the play. Students will not get many of the ‘in jokes’ throughout until they understand the context in which these one-liners and zingers are delivered. Scenic designer Soutra Gilmour’s visual look remains stylistically impressive. Upon entering the auditorium during the preshow, the larger-than-life logo is centre staged. Andrzej Goulding’s visual projections on the back wall and side walls contain those earth-coloured tones reminiscent of the Elizabethan era. Goulding then effectively incorporates multi-coloured tones for many of the choral/company numbers. Pay close attention in the second act to ‘The Bois Band’ (you’ll get the joke when you see the show). Slightly angled stage right is a jukebox with the letter E propped against it. The visual impact of the jukebox at the conclusion of the show remains in my mind. What appears to be an architect’s workstation desktop can be found stage right with the letter O propped against it. Around the stage are other letters you can probably guess that will spell someone’s name from the show. Paloma Young’s Costume Designs reminded me of a cross between a punk/steampunk clothing style which looked great. Howard Hudson and Gareth Owens Lighting and Sound Designs vividly encapsulate crowd scenes or heart-to-heart conversations between two people. I gotta hand it to Bill Sherman as Music Supervisor, Orchestrations and Arrangements. Hearing all these Max Martin tunes blew me away and left me speechless. During many of the company numbers, many around me were waving their arms in the air as if we were all attending a concert. It all seemed natural and convincing in the way the songs were introduced in the story. Advice to future audiences: just sit back, watch, listen, hear, and enjoy. Finally, Luke Sheppard’s inspired direction remained intently focused on two elements he successfully accomplished: to tell a good story and to make sure audiences had a good time. Sheppard more than succeeded. He lovingly gave back to an adoring Covid weary theatre crowd who just wanted to have one hell of a good time. I know I did. Running time: approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes. ‘& Juliet’ runs to August 14 at Toronto’s Princess of Wales Theatre, 300 King Street West. For tickets, visit mirvish.com or call 1-800-461-3333 & JULIET Music and Lyrics by Max Martin and Friends. Book by David West Read Directed by Luke Sheppard Music Supervisor, Orchestrations & Arrangements: Bill Sherman Cast: Lorna Courtney, Paulo Szot, Betsy Wolfe, Stark Sands, Justin David Sullivan, Melanie LaBarrie, Ben Jackson Walker, Philippe Arroyo, Brandon Antonio, Michael Ivan Carrier, Nico DeJesus, Nicholas Edwards, Virgil Gadson, Katy Geraghty, Bobby “Pocket” Horner, Joomin Hwang, Alaina Vi Maderal, Daniel J. Maldonado, Joe Moeller, Brittany Nicholas, Veronice Otim, Jasmine Rafael, Matt Raffy, Tiernan Tunnicliffe, Rachel Webb. Previous Next

Where we deconstruct a piece step by step. Back Fall for Dance North ARISE: 2022 Signature Programme Toronto's Meridian Hall Front Street Erica Cheah Guest Writer Geoffrey Coulter, actor, director, arts educator Dance, dance, and more dance! But not just dance, a multimedia feast for the senses. That’s what’s on full display at Toronto’s Meridian Hall until Oct. 8. Fall For Dance North is Toronto’s Premier International Dance Festival. Back live for its eighth season (the first since 2019) FFDN has curated a 2-and-a-half-hour show packed with an eclectic, international buffet of dance, film, and live music. The brainchild of Artistic Director, Ilter Ibrahimof, FFDN offers mixed bills that include performances by large-scale local and international companies for a supremely affordable ticket price of, get this, $15!! Unbelievable! The aim of FFDN is the “whet Toronto’s dance appetite and inspire audiences to seek out more dance throughout the year”. Well, after attending the other night, I’m hungry for more! The show brought five distinct offerings to the stage, most world or Canadian premiers – an enthralling tap number with live music, a comedic short dance film, a Hawaiian ancestral dance, another short film accompanied by a scintillating 13-piece string ensemble and an evocative show-stopping piece by students of the National Ballet School! Every piece was set on a bare stage with nothing but props/instruments and simple lighting to frame the performances. Act one started with the world premiere of Canadian choreographer Dianne Montgomery’s ‘Softly Losing, Softly Gaining’. The six-member troupe, accompanied on stage by musicians Bryden Baird on trumpet and Drew Jurecka on violin, gave an energetic, nuanced and highly stylized 30-minute routine. This cast dressed in bright shirts, pants and suits (Cori Giannotta, David Lafleur, Jonathan Morin, Veronica Simpson, Kai Somerville and Tarra Tresham) was mesmerizing. With impressionistic-style projections by Todd Kowalski and warm hues by lighting designer, Siobhan Sleath, these happy hoofers were synchronized and precise with wonderful shading in their crisp and clean tap sounds. I was often so caught up in their dance story and conversations, I forgot they were tapping. I couldn’t stop smiling! Next up was a silly 15-minute dance film called, “…Savannah?”, directed, choreographed, and starring Zui Gomez, co-starring Alicia Delgado, first presented as part of FFDN’s inaugural short dance film series, 8-Count. While stylistically shot in one-take in an empty loft apartment, the duo seemed to just be kicking around and having high-energy fun but without much point or purpose. If anything, the film served as a much-needed “filler” for the backstage crew to set up the next performance. The curtain rose again to reveal the 28-member company of Hawaii’s Kuma Hula of Kamehameha High School and Ka Leo O Laka/Ka Hikina O Ka La performing “Kau Hea A Hiiaka”. This Canadian premiere by choreographer Kaleo Trinidad featured Hawaiian ancestral costumes (designed by Trinidad), drums and powerful traditional meles (songs), supported by a video projection with a conservationist message – nature in the Pacific Isles is being destroyed by pollution. Like the ancient ancestors, we need to be the curators of our planet’s rebirth. I found the storytelling in these tribal dances – especially the drumming sticks - fascinating. The group moved with military precision and had powerful choral work. However, many of the beats were repetitive and hypnotic and caused more than a few heads near me to nod off. Kudos to the impeccable organization of stage manager Janelle Rainville for having props, instruments and cast members glide on and off the stage so magically. Act 2 started with yet another world premiere of dance film, “Zipangu” (Marco Polo’s word for Japan), directed and choreographed by Indigenous artist Michael Greyeyes, with live music provided by Ensemble Soundstreams. In the film, we see a semi-nude single dancer (Ceinwen Gobert), painted gold, representing a waking mythical Japanese Goddess. Her modernistic dance stylings with wild gyrations and sharp, staccato movements evoke transformation, a portrait of earth itself. Below the screen in stark lighting was a sensational 13-piece string ensemble (violin, cello, double bass) playing a haunting, bellicose original score by Claude Vivier under the nuanced direction of conductor David Fallis. These talented musicians had an impeccably balanced sound. Close your eyes and you could hear the power of a full orchestra. I was connecting more with them than the rather monotonous visuals on the screen above. The program ended sensationally with 146 professional young students of our own National Ballet School brilliantly performing choreographer Jera Wolfe’s inspiring and explorative piece, “Arise”. This 30-minute lyrical-ballet routine featured highly disciplined 12–19-year-olds pouring their very souls into thrilling storytelling and exploring how, according to the playbill notes, “collaboration and support for one another enable us to rise up and face challenges in our lives.” Dressed in simple grey T-shirts and shorts designed by Robyn Clarke, these brilliant young artists moulded their bodies into exquisite shapes and moving waves with exquisite principal dancers in pas de deux and pas de trois silently landing their jumps with ease. The seamless fluidity of movement, precision, focus, athleticism, and flawless technique had me and the entire audience transfixed. Lighting designer Simon Rossiter’s use of dim lighting on the ensemble while bathing principals in warm side glows, perfectly enhanced the movement. I honestly can’t remember the last time I was so emotionally invested in such beautiful theatre. Hats off to the genius of choreographer Wolfe for his stunning use of the expansive Meridian stage. Moving and placing 146 bodies into intricate formations in any space is no easy feat. I also can’t imagine how stage manager Jennifer Lee managed to corral all those kids into first positions! Brava! This number alone was worth the already-low price of admission. I had never heard of Fall for Dance North prior to last week. After witnessing this celebration of their eighth season, I regret missing their first seven! I can’t wait for next year’s festival. Previous Next

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Jordan Laffrenier, Associate Artistic Director of Canadian Stage Looking Ahead Sandro Pehar Joe Szekeres There was quite a bit of positive buzz online I saw from other artists regarding Canadian Stage’s new Associate Artistic Director, Jordan Laffrenier. So, I thought I’d find out more and introduce myself to the new Associate. When someone has a new position within a company, I wasn’t certain if he would be available for an interview, but I was most thankful when I heard from Canadian Stage’s press rep that Jordan was able to chat with me via Zoom recently for a few moments in the morning before the crux of his workday began. When I congratulated Jordan on his new appointment as our conversation began, he was very thankful and stated his new position would be a lot of work and fun in the process. He completed his theatre training in 2015 at York University and specialized in playwrighting and Devised Theatre with a minor in Creative Writing. I began the conversation that has always made many of the artists smile because it gets right to the heart of who they are. Given the fact we’re still living with Covid, how does Jordan view his role as a Canadian artist within a five-year trajectory of where Canadian Stage is headed? First and foremost, he believes it’s important to prioritize everyone’s safety and remember that we are still in a pandemic. So, the way we move through rehearsal halls and the ways seasons are programmed along with audience relationships must consider the safety of everyone involved. He added further: “One of the things the pandemic asked people to do was to think about they make work, why they make work and how the work was being created. In some ways, I feel really emboldened coming back during this time because I think we’re coming back in a time where people are questioning the ways they are practicing theatre.” Jordan stated theatres operate in a place that works best when it asks questions. He’s also understood that he loves theatre but that it can be very harmful. And so, he thinks examining theatre practices right now, examining who belongs and how we make people feel that they belong is vitally important. What is it about the theatre industry and the art that still intrigues and excites him? “The theatre is the place that has always been about the sense of curiosity for me and a sense of wonder. I think there’s a lot of magic in the theatre. At its best, the theatre has this wonderful ability to speak locally and to the time in which it is speaking. I can make theatre at this moment right now about our conversation here on Zoom that will respond to each of us directly.” Jordan loves when this can be done as theatre works well when it’s played out in metaphor. He recalled ‘Wrecking Ball’. Monthly, there was a topic that related to Toronto in some way and what was going on in the city. Over the month, writers would be invited to work, and they would perform that show at the end of the month. One of the shows Jordan remembers was the raccoon issue and the writers had all written pieces about the raccoon problem. We laughed about this as Jordan reiterated that no other medium could respond as quickly to this issue as the theatre did. The rehearsal period in theatre is rather unique. Film rehearsals are short periods and artists are usually alone with the director and operators behind the camera looking at monitors. Theatre rehearsals involve people gathered in a room, experiencing, playing, and making art. And where does Jordan hope to see Canadian Stage move within the next five years? He became rather silent, and I wondered if I put him on the spot. He laughed and said even though he has just started in his role as the Associate Artistic Director it’s still a great question to ask. He hopes to see Canadian Stage continue to represent Canadian artists and our people and our stories and to find and make spaces for ALL people and voices. Since the company is called ‘Canadian Stage’ what does that mean? Whom do we need to represent as part of that? Whom do we need to hold space for? How will audiences respond to where Jordan hopes to see Canadian Stage move as so much has changed in our world over the last two years? He hopes audiences continue to grow with the hope to see more types of people. For Jordan, as a person of colour, one of the things he has found disheartening is the few people of colour in the audience when he attends the theatre. New ways are needed to be found in order to to bring new people into the theatre, and Canadian Stage is aware of this dialogue that takes place after the theatre production. If the five-year trajectory is one where we continue to tell our stories by our people, then Jordan hopes that includes a new set of listeners where dialogue takes place before and after the show with audiences. Of course, the play becomes a conversation itself between the audience and the actor. Along with that conversations need to take place with everyone at all levels; conversations need to happen with non-professional and community groups as well so future audiences can see the discourse happens completely throughout the entire theatre industry. With each step of the way in this process, there is work to be done to improve the processes of how we include people in those conversations. Jordan acknowledges he has been in many rooms where heated discussion has ensued over these conversations. Sometimes in those rooms, he has been the only person of colour. Sometimes he has been the youngest person in the room. Both situations have their power dynamic in terms of powerlessness. Jordan firmly avows this needs to change. He hopes this generation coming up after him isn’t in rooms where the people that hold all the power are all straight cis white men. That’s why the company is called ‘Canadian Stage’ as we need to see representation from ALL Canadian people. As we began to wind down our conversation, I asked Jordan what was next on the docket for him: “Right now, we’re looking at our onboarding process as to whom we onboard into our space. We’re looking at ways where we can make rehearsal halls more of a brave space. We’re looking at ways where we can be more transparent about our selection process – for example, how can someone become a writer within Canadian Stage? How can someone go about having a play selected and produced here? I’m also dramaturging a few pieces here at Canadian Stage that are about to happen." To learn more about Canadian Stage’s upcoming season, visit www.canadianstage.com . Previous Next

Where music, song and dance all contribute to an enjoyable plot on stage Back 'Million Dollar Quartet' Book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux Presented by Tweed and Company in co-production with Dreamco Theatre and now onstage at the Whitby Centennial Building Credit: Heather Cardle Photography. Pictured: Liam Lynch as Elvis Presley Joe Szekeres VOICE CHOICE “A celebration of iconic rock and roll numbers performed with joy, commitment and heart. Some intense and believable dramatic moments of the cutthroat music industry propel this ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ beyond the simple jukebox musical format.” Near the end of this standing ovation-worthy production of ‘Million Dollar Quartet,’ Carl Perkins tells the group gathered on stage: “Don’t forget what we have all done here tonight.” To this stellar company now on stage at the Whitby Centennial Building, I certainly won’t forget the joy, the grit and the heart of what you brought to me tonight. ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ recounts the evening of December 4, 1956, at the dingy Sun recording studio in Memphis. Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux’s Book dramatizes the recording session of rock and roll/rockabilly stars Carl Perkins (Griffin Hewitt), Elvis Presley (Liam Lynch), Johnny Cash (Alex Smith) and Jerry Lee Lewis (Shaemus Swets). Sun Records producer Sam Phillips (Jacob James) becomes the story’s narrator as he is the one who brings these four rock music titans together for this one incredible night. There is also Elvis’s fictional girlfriend, Dyanne (Jessica Wilson). Backup musicians Carl Perkins’ older sister Jay (Summer Kodama) on bass and Fluke Daniel Verdecchia (drums) are keenly along for the ride. Along with a fine musical underscoring, Kodama and Verdecchia constantly listen and watch what’s happening while never upstaging the moment. Escott and Mutrux probably took some liberties with what occurred on that recording night for theatrical purposes, and that’s perfectly fine with me. Tweed and Company and Dreamco’s ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ is pure joy and heart, performed with commitment and believability. Mary Williams (Scenic Painter), Jocelyn Perry (Costume Designer) and Alaynah deKleine (Technical Director, Lighting and Sound Design) magically transport the audience back to 1956. Williams creates a sense of tightness in the space within the studio. The era has been carefully recreated with attention paid to detail in many of the visual items, from Perry’s tight-fitting skirts and blouses, gelled hair, baggy pants and rolled-sleeved short shirts right down to prop items such as the gold records meticulously placed on the back wall. deKleine’s lighting purposefully focuses attention on where it needs to be, especially in those downstage moments when the characters smoke a cigarette and converse outside the studio. Spoken dialogue can be heard in the auditorium. There were moments when I couldn’t hear all the lyrics. However, that didn’t bother me as I already knew them. It didn’t seem to bother some of the audience sitting around me either, as several nodded their heads in keeping time with the music. Dreamco Artistic Director Phil Nero directs the production with class, style, and a strong sense of dramatic purpose why this story needs to be told. He keeps the pacing briskly moving along, and it never feels rushed. In his Program Note, he writes that rock and roll’s inception is complicated and, in many ways, unjust. Still, it gave birth to a sound that has been the soundtrack to numerous generations and a foundation for everything that followed. Nero’s assessment is entirely apropos. The vocal numbers remain terrific under Music Director Peter Aylin’s assured hands. Jessica Wilson’s rendition of ‘Fever’ becomes sultry and sexy. Alex Smith’s ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ uncannily sounds like Johnny Cash. Liam Lynch’s swivelling and gyrating-hipped Elvis Presley accentuates his apt timing in ‘Hound Dog.’ Shaemus Swets’ rendition of ‘Great Balls of Fire’ as Jerry Lee Lewis smokes the Centennial Theatre stage. Griffin Hewitt’s ‘See You Later Alligator’ comes dangerously close to blowing the roof off the Centennial Building. And the four-part harmonies in some of the songs! They're perfection to my ears. I closed my eyes, listened, and enjoyed it for a few seconds. The performances are memorable and unique. Nero and his cast did not merely create carbon copies of these rock and roll giants. Yes, there are hints and shades of some of their trademark moves and looks, but Nero allows his actors to make choices that naturally fit the moment. Jacob James’ Sam Phillips powerfully conveys a sense of purpose and reason for his belief in the talent of these four artists. James’s Sam has a lot riding on this recording session, namely his reputation as a producer, as he tries to decide what to do regarding what another record company has offered him. Dressed in black pants, shirt, and shoes, Alex Smith finely captures a brooding Johnny Cash. That becomes intrinsically clear when we learn what’s happening between him and Phillips. Liam Lynch nicely finds that balance in his performance as Elvis Presley. We see the gentlemanly Elvis in the way he behaves with Dyanne. We also see the humble Elvis in the way he speaks about his relationship with his mother and manager, Colonel Tom Parker. The sometimes-simmering tension between Shaemus Swets’ Jerry Lee Lewis and Griffin Hewitt’s Carl Perkins remains taut and suspenseful and never once ventures over the top into histrionics. Swets and Hewitt inherently know when to build the tension. I thought there would have been fisticuffs a couple of times. Final Thoughts: This opening night performance is an absolute joy. The downside? It’s only running until September 22. Last night and this morning, I wondered if I should give the production a VOICE CHOICE because it is so good. Let’s say near the end of the production I knew the answer. Swets and Hewitt physically do something on stage that makes this ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ a VOICE CHOICE. Please go and see it. Running time: approximately one hour and fifty minutes with one interval/intermission. ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ runs until September 22 at the Whitby Centennial Building, 416 Centre Street South. For tickets, visit www.dreamcotheatre.com . TWEED AND COMPANY in co-production with DREAMCO THEATRE present ‘MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET’ Book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux Directed by Phil Nero Musical Direction: Peter Aylin Technical Director, Lighting and Sound Design: Alaynah deKleine Costume Designer: Jocelyn Perry Scenic Painter and Production Assistant: Mary Williams Stage Manager: Emily Mewett Performers: Griffin Hewitt, Jacob James, Summer Kodama, Liam Lynch, Alex Smith, Shaemus Swets, Daniel Verdecchia, Jessica Wilson. Previous Next

Where music, song and dance all contribute to an enjoyable plot on stage Back Inside American Pie Now on stage at the CAA Theatre, Credit: Dahlia Katz. Pictured: Mike Ross on piano during performance. Joe Szekeres “A chillin’ docu-concert. Part educational and part entertaining, ‘Inside American Pie’ rocks the CAA Theatre. The roof-raising audience appreciation in applause nearly brings the house down. One can’t help but hum along to the songs.” The line ‘the day the music died’ from the iconic 1971 ‘American Pie’ by Don McLean refers to the 1959 plane crash that killed rock and roll legends Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. McLean’s nostalgic and iconic song continues to be debated for its sometimes-vague line (mis?) interpretations. Artist Mike Ross and co-creator Sarah Wilson (Ross acknowledges his wife/producer, Nicole Bellamy, too) take the song’s nostalgia to the next level. They want to decode its possible meanings. In his Programme Note, Ross writes that the docu-concert is really what it implies—a collision of context interpretation and song delivered directly to the audience. Ross writes he developed this format mostly at Soulpepper, where he was given space to make mistakes and figure things out. On this opening night at the CAA Theatre, Inside American Pie’s 90-minute docu-concert aims to unravel the mystery behind the iconic 1971 song. Ross and Wilson select specific songs from the ‘60s and ‘70s that may have influenced McLean while writing ‘American Pie.’ Does this docu-concert format work? Yes. Wonderfully. Lorenzo Savoini’s concert design works well in placing Ross stage right on piano. Performers Alicia Toner, Brielle Ansems, and Greg Gale are centre stage, with Kirk White on drums upstage. Lighting designer Simon Rossiter perfectly accentuates those solo moments, most notably in Brielle Ansem’s rendition of Creedence Clearwater’s Revival’s ‘Bad Moon Rising.’ At the top of the show, Ross shares that his interpretations of ‘American Pie’ reflect are derived from his research. He encourages audience members to speak with him if they know something he might have overlooked. Led by Ross on piano, the four PEI musician ensemble accompaniment sounds terrific. They’re chillin’. Several of Ross’s arrangements are memorable: the opening ‘Come On, Let’s Go’ by Ritchie Valens, John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ and Bob Dylan’s ‘The Times They Are A-Changin.’ Acknowledgements to Sound Designer Sergey Varlamov to ensure the song lyrics can be heard. Ross is also an incredible pianist. There’s a moment when he stands and plays with remarkable gusto and spirit. Ross’s joy in sharing his music becomes contagious. That same joy infects the audience, who nearly bring the CAA house down with their roof-raising applause. That moment is forever etched in my mind. Final Note: Again, in his Programme note, Ross describes the process of a docu-concert as alchemy that involves back-and-forth collaborations with great people who lent their gifts to a meeting ground for music, design, story, and documentary. The key word is gift. Harmony House, in partnership with Mirvish Productions, presents a most welcome gift as spring approaches. The gift of song and storytelling. When these two elements are superbly combined in this five-person ensemble, the result is a memorable theatre experience. Give yourself a gift and go see ‘Inside American Pie.’ Running time: approximately 90 minutes with no interval/intermission. ‘Inside American Pie’ runs until March 30 at the CAA Theatre, 651 Yonge Street, Toronto. For tickets: mirvish.com or call 1-800-461-3333. DAVID AND HANNAH MIRVISH present the HARMONY HOUSE production ‘INSIDE AMERICAN PIE’ created by Mike Ross and Sarah Wilson Producers: Harmony House, Nicole Bellamy and Mike Ross Music Director/Arranger: Mike Ross Set Designer: Lorenzo Savoini Lighting Designer: Simon Rossiter Sound Designer: Sergey Varlamov Stage Manager: Rob Harding Performers: Mike Ross, Alicia Toner, Brielle Ansems, Greg Gale, Kirk White Previous Next

Now on stage in the Mainspace at Tarragon Theatre, 30 Bridgman Avenue, Toronto Back After the Rain Now on stage in the Mainspace at Tarragon Theatre, 30 Bridgman Avenue, Toronto Credit: Dahlia Katz. Pictured: Deborah Hay on piano and at microphone and Annika Tupper on guitar. Joe Szekeres VOICE CHOICE "Thrilling! Electrifying! Canadian Musical Theatre remains in excellent hands. AFTER THE RAIN is a must-see!" A thrilling, joyful musical guaranteed to bring tears to the eyes (à la 'Come from Away'), 'After the Rain' tells the story of Suzie Evans Stone (Annika Tupper) and how music plays a vital part in her life. At the top of the show, we are in a rehearsal with the band Evans Stone, who sings the terrific 'Way Up Over the Mountain.' Tensions are rising during the rehearsal as the band members debate on whether to go ahead with new material or concentrate on the hits that made them famous. Aging yet famous bandmate rockers Jean Stone (Deborah Hay) and Ashley Evans (Andrew Penner) are Suzie's parents. Along with Suzie, who plays in the band, there are other musicians whom Ashley and Jean have known for years: drummer Kunkel (Joe "Jojo" Bowden, who also plays Distraction #1) and bassist Mickey Mintz (Brandon McGibbon, who also plays Distraction #2). The young Suzie is a mess. Her unseen boyfriend is stupid. She's trying to find her voice as a musician. Suzie is remarkably like young people today on the threshold of adulthood who ponder where their lives will lead. Ashley asks his daughter to give piano lessons to a client as he can't go. Suzie isn't the strongest pianist, as she's more of a guitarist, but she acquiesces to help her father. Suzie is surprised to find out who has called her to inquire about lessons. Her pupil is not a child but a mature student, Donna D'Angelo (Deborah Hay, in a dual role). A somewhat eccentric individual, Donna only wants to learn how to master one piece on the piano: "Erik Satie's "Gymnopedie No. 1". Suzie accepts Donna's request and begins to teach her. Along the way, Suzie meets Julian D'Angelo (Shaemus Swets), son of Donna and her partner, Frank (Andrew Penner, in a dual role). These two characters will also play an essential role in Suzie's life. There's much to reflect on and admire about this spellbinding production that still has me thinking about it even a few days later. The audience participation moments are guaranteed to put a smile on your face. I laughed out loud a few times, as did several others seated around me. Be aware that the actors will not automatically focus on those sitting in the first two rows on either side. David Boechler's set design certainly catches the eye upon entering Tarragon's Main Stage. Long gone is the proscenium arch where the audience sits in front. This time, they sit on opposite ends, and the action takes place in the sunken stage in the centre. There is a winding staircase leading up to a raised level. A standing microphone is preset. There are optimum vantage sightlines from everywhere in the house. Musicians sit on stage left and right from the raised platform. The creative team aims for Napoli's characters to leave a lasting impression on the audience. And what memorable characters they are. The musical numbers kick-ass, in addition to highlighting several key plot elements. I couldn't help but feel my head keeping in time with the musical beats of the songs. Again, others around me were doing the exact thing, too. A shout-out of recognition to designer Brian Kenny for his diligent effort to ensure sound is maintained. That's crucial as Composer/Lyricist Suzy Wilde's astonishing work moves the audience from laughter one minute to pathos and/or heartbreak the next. Logan Raju Cracknell's lighting design once again creates an intense focus where needed. Ming Wong's costumes strikingly underscore each of the characters. With impeccable precision in timing and nuance, Marie Farsi directs Rose Napoli's passionate and sincere book. Combined with Rachel O'Brien's glorious music direction and Evan Hammell's music preparation, the six-person ensemble cast does justice to this passionate story with genuine heart. The cast is superb. That's the only way to describe them. As Suzie, Annika Tupper tells the story with a fervent enthusiasm. Her journey of finding her voice as a musician becomes genuinely believable. One can't help but continue rooting for her all the time. Deborah Hay delivers a masterclass in performance and song, playing dual roles as Jean Stone and Donna D'Angelo. Again, Hay has me laughing profusely at one moment. Just moments later, I can feel tears welling in my eyes, either listening to Hay sing at the piano or watching her become two palpably genuine women who have a tremendous influence on Suzie. Likewise, Andrew Penner's dual roles as Ashley Evans and Frank D'Angelo become just as memorable for the audience and Suzie. While Hay carefully reveals two strong female character portrayals, Penner's strong, unique male influences also become important reminders to Suzie. Shaemus Swets' odd, lone wolf comes across as endearingly sweet. Swets thankfully doesn't leave Julian at this one-dimensional level. Julian is a young person who stoically reaches out to make a connection with someone outside of his aloneness. Life events that occur by the end of the play allow the audience to see how Julian will be alright, given his perspective on things. The Canadian theatre music scene remains in solid and stable hands if audiences can expect high-quality theatre as 'After the Rain.' There were some lovely surprises at the end, and I could feel my drop when it became clear. I'm not going to spoil it. I had tears welling in my eyes. Do not miss 'After the Rain'. Run, get tickets now. Tarragon might extend the show if demand is there but don't wait for it. Run to get tickets now!!!!! Running time: approximately two hours and fifteen minutes with one interval/intermission. The production runs until June 22 on the Main Stage at Tarragon Theatre, 30 Bridgman Avenue, Toronto. For tickets, tarragontheatre.com or call (416) 531-1827. TARRAGON THEATRE and MUSICAL STAGE COMPANY PRESENT the World Premiere of "AFTER THE RAIN," A New Canadian Musical Book by Rose Napoli with Music and Lyrics by Suzy Wilde Directed by Marie Farsi Music Direction by Rachel O'Brien Set Designer: David Boechler Sound Designer: Brian Kenny Lighting Designer: Logan Raju Cracknell Costume Designer: Ming Wong Stage Manager: Kai-Yeuh Chen Performers: Joe "Jojo" Bowden, Deborah Hay, Brandon McGibbon, Andrew Penner, Shaemus Swets, Annika Tupper Previous Next

What makes a comedy work - plot, characters, setting and theme. Back The Huns by Michael Ross Albert The Assembly Theatre The Assembly Theatre Joe Szekeres Nasty corporate office politics takes centre stage boldly at The Assembly Theatre Mean orporate office politics can take place in any kind of business. This unhealthy underlying threat is nasty and unfair especially if a worker is suddenly side swiped by it. I think it’s safe to say we’ve all probably experienced some element of this kind of politics. I know I did before I retired from my career as an Ontario Catholic educator. Michael Ross Albert’s ‘The Huns’ opened last week. From what I understand it premiered at the Toronto Fringe Festival in 2019 but I didn’t see it then. I didn’t get a chance to see the play opening night in the intimate Parkdale setting. However, I did see a physically staged reading of the play two years ago at the beginning of the pandemic with Port Perry’s Theatre on the Ridge. At that time, I remarked to the Director how Albert’s sharply written, piercing script humorously commented on the state of how supposed business conducts itself in the twenty first century. When I heard ‘The Huns’ would be staged at The Assembly, I didn’t want to miss seeing a full production. Corporate work politics can also make for one hell of a challengingly intricate play, but it’s boffo stuff when done well. The Assembly Theatre’s production of Michael Ross Albert’s ‘The Huns’ is just that. It closes May 8 and was announced last night of a transfer to Brighton, England so make sure you get to see it. Director Marie Farsi’s precise and exact satirical vision focused my attention on how artful and deceitful this kind of politics can be in rearing its ugly head when people least expect it. Impeccable comic timing and adroit pacing to deliver the quick-witted bantering back and forth remains crucial for the humour and to keep the plot moving quickly in this one-hour engrossing production. Not once did timing or pacing falter for me, even in the slightest during the comedy or the dramatic moments. We are in a corporate office where a robbery took place the night before. The next morning, three of the staff are aware of what occurred but they are to continue a powerpoint presentation via a phone conferencing program. One of the elements of perfect humour stems from the fact that those on the phone conferencing sometimes are knocked out of the presentation, come back into the presentation. There are also some bits where one person on the phone is saying something but the three staff (along with the audience) only catch snippets of the conversation because there is outside interference. Leading the phone conference is seemingly uptight control freak Iris, grandly played by Breanna Dillon, who seemingly appears and ironically believes she has everything under control. Truth be told, she’s not in control at all as the story progresses Seemingly dressed for success and to make a bold statement in a blood red top, black slacks, a gold necklace and what I thought were black stiletto pumps, Dillon thankfully does not make Iris become the classic office ‘b word’ especially when the secret she tries to conceal becomes exposed during the conference call. Instead, I witnessed a flesh and blood individual who is doing her best to cope with the results of where her life has taken her. Office temp Shelley (Cass Van Wyck) offers that much needed grounding force Iris so desperately needs and requires during the phone conference. As Dillon is dressed in bold colours, Van Wyck’s more refined earth tone of light beige and browns represented her grounding. The leopard looking dress, however, becomes a reminder that Shelley is a ‘tiger force’ underneath this calm exterior. This constant juxtaposition of these two characters sometimes offers comical humour, but more importantly Van Wyck’s performance remains consistently and subtly nuanced in never allowing her quiet strength of character to overshadow a domineering Iris. The token male of the group Pete (Jamie Cavanagh) does not want to be at this conference call as he’s on his way to the airport for a bachelor weekend with his pals before his upcoming nuptials. His clothing of a white top, black pants and white running shoes indicates his heart and mind are not at the office. Despite this superficial costume difference, Cavanagh also revealed his strong performance work many times. For example, during those moments when Dillon and Van Wyck are butting heads, Cavanagh intently listens to the zingers and the pokes back and forth between the two ladies. There are moments where Cavanagh’s facial expressions dutifully reveal what Pete is truly thinking underneath. Mercifully, Cavanagh does not remote merely to ‘face acting’ - there were a couple of moments where the raising of his eyebrows just instinctively revealed Pete’s thoughts and initial reaction without upstaging the ladies. Andy Trithardt’s adept sound design of the varied phone callers super finely underscored the comedy of the moment. I’m sure he probably had his hands full initially in getting the voices recorded first before looping them together and ensuring they were at the precise mark in the scene. Chin Palipane’s lighting design captured nicely the appearance of the fluorescent lighting within offices. Its reflection is beautifully highlighted on the back upstage wall of a post-modern looking painting of varied rectangular shapes, lines and colours by Aidan Hammond, Marie Farsi and Marvin Araneta. Marie Farsi’s original concept set design with Alexandra Lord as consultant specially captured the look of how vast this office setting must have been. I liked the suggestion of the laminate flooring running across the front apron. There is a white rectangular table with a push button office phone on it. Three white swivel office looking chairs are found at the head of the table and at the sides. Upstage right and left are entrances to the room. There are potted looking ferns at both entrances and exits to this office. Final Comments: A caustically biting and often times acerbic script combined with hearty performances. Go see it. Running time: approximately 60 minutes ‘The Huns’ plays through to May 8 at The Assembly Theatre, Queen Street West, in Parkdale: www.theassemblytheatre.com or visit the Facebook page which is always open. Covid protocols in effect at the theatre. THE HUNS by Michael Ross Albert Directed by Marie Farsi Sound Designer: Andy Trithardt Lighting Designer: Chin Palipane Stage Manager: Aidan Hammond Set and Costume Design: Based on an original concept created by Marie Farsi and design consultant Alexandra Lord. Scenic construction by Pascal Labillois; painting by Aidan Hammond, Marie Farsi and Marvin Araneta Featuring the voices of: Claire Armstrong, Blue Bigwood-Mallin, Izad Etermadi, Marie Farsi, David Lafontaine, Emile Leclerc, Courtney Ch’ng Lancaster, Daniel Pagett, Tyrone Savage, Andy Trithardi, Jenni Walls and Richard Young Performers: Jamie Cavanagh, Breanna Dillon, Cass Van Wyck Previous Next

What makes a comedy work - plot, characters, setting and theme. Back 'Much Ado About Nothing' by William Shakespeare with additional text by Erin Shields Now onstage at the Festival Theatre, Stratford, Ontario Now onstage at the Festival Theatre, Stratford, Ontario Joe Szekeres Misunderstanding the word ‘nothing’ in the title becomes something, especially in the delicate intricacies of male and female relationships. Director Chris Abraham’s terrific cast makes this ‘Much Ado’ really something for twenty-first-century audiences. I must confess that I have mispronounced ‘nothing’ since my undergraduate days at Western. I took a Shakespearean course during my second undergraduate year; however, in 1980, I cannot recall the course’s instructor ever saying that ‘nothing’ (pronounced ‘no thing’) referred to, what Oprah Winfrey calls, the ‘va j j.’ Yes, the Elizabethans jokingly refer to the vagina as no thing. Ergo, the play’s title is ironic because it’s “Much Ado About a va j j,” which explains why the play is probably and rarely studied in Ontario secondary schools. That doesn’t mean this ‘Much Ado’ isn’t worth paying a visit because it is most definitely. Don Pedro (André Sills) and his companions return home from a military campaign in celebration when they accept an invitation to stay a month at Leonato’s (Patrick McManus) estate. Among Pedro’s companions are his half-brother Don John (Michael Blake) and soldiers Benedick (Graham Abbey), a self-confirmed bachelor and Claudio (Austin Eckert). Benedick continues his spar of words and wit with Leonato’s niece, Beatrice (Maev Beaty), and Claudio falls in love with Leonato’s daughter, Hero (Allison Edwards-Crewe), who returns his affections. Claudio joins Don Pedro and Leonato’s secret campaign to bring the sparring Benedick and Beatrice together in love and matrimony. Different plots and counterplots follow as misunderstandings in overheard conversation give way to singular hilarity and comic events, sometimes of slapstick and farcical nature. Where the play is terrific both to watch and hear are the double entendres and dual meanings. The Festival Theatre auditorium has been transformed into a romantic setting by designers Julie Fox and Arun Srinivasan. The ambiance is genuinely captivating, from the lush decor to the warm, focused lighting. The final dance by Adrienne Gould, a hallmark of Shakespearean comedies, elicits smiles from both the cast and me. Director Chris Abraham’s vision of examining the intricacies of male and female relationships remains sharply and often comically intuitive. In his Director’s Note, he credits and thanks writer Erin Shields for being there “from the beginning to tackle a play that is contemporary, troubling, hilarious and worth doing.” Both Abraham and Shields are trusted and knowledgeable theatrical professionals. They instinctively know what they’re doing. When a fine cast is assembled for this ‘Much Ado,’ with Abraham and Shields at the helm, the play is worth doing AND worth seeing. Hero and Claudio are the young couple at the center of attention. Allison Edwards-Crewe and Austin Eckert sweetly reveal their love story, which unfortunately takes a dark turn when the villainous Don John tricks Claudio into believing that Hero has been unfaithful. As with most of Shakespeare's comedies, the audience is given glimpses into the malicious intentions of villains, and Michael Blake’s Don John is dashingly dastard. Patrick McManus is convincingly lifelike in his anger at his daughter Hero’s supposed indiscretion. With all these men controlling Hero’s life, ‘Much Ado’ becomes a critical twenty-first-century commentary of a dominating patriarchal world. However, as Hero, Allison Edwards-Crewe cautions Claudio about her awareness of the oppressive nature of the patriarchal world that nearly destroyed their marriage. As I listened carefully to the wisdom given by Hero to her intended, I felt goosebumps. Edwards-Crewe remains peacefully and stalwartly calm and convicted in advising how she, as Hero, can move forward with Claudio into marriage. It’s a theatrical highlight of the show. Graham Abbey and Maev Beaty are excellent as Benedick and Beatrice. Their perfectly timed verbal sparring denotes clear-cut sexual tension. Another theatrical highlight of the show is their injection of physical comedy into their work. At one point, Beaty crawls around her knees at one moment and then scales from the stage's lower to the upper playing level. Abbey deliciously plays with the front row of the audience regarding the boot he’s wearing. This verbal sparring ultimately makes them understand and accept the other for who they indeed are. Outstanding work all around. An enjoyable time at the theatre. Running time: approximately 2 hours and 55 minutes with one interval. ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ runs until October 27 at The Festival Theatre, 55 Queen Street, Stratford. For tickets, visit stratfordfestival.ca or call 1-800-567-1600. ‘MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING’ by William Shakespeare with additional text by Erin Shields Directed by Chris Abraham Designer: Julie Fox Lighting Designer: Arun Srinivasan Composer and Sound Designer: Thomas Ryder Payne Choreographer: Adrienne Gould Performers: Graham Abbey, Anousha Alamian, Akosua Amo-Adem, Maev Beaty, Michael Blake, Déjah Dixon-Green, Austin Eckert, Allison Edwards-Crewe, Jakob Ehman, John Kirkpatrick, Kevin Kruchkywich, Josue Laboucane, Cyrus Lane, Patrick McManus, Jameela McNeil, Danté Prince, Glynis Ranney, Anthony Santiago, André Sills, Gordon Patrick White, Rylan Wilkie, Micah Woods. Previous Next

Dramas encompass the human response to a created life situation on the stage. Back 'The Diviners' based on Margaret Laurence's novel with text by Vern Thiessen with Yvette Nolan WORLD PREMIERE Now on stage until October 2 at the Tom Patterson Theatre, Stratford Credit: David Hou. Pictured: Irene Poole as Morag Gunn with members of the ensemble Geoffrey Coulter, actor, director, adjudicator, arts educator “Another divine world-premiere tops Stratford’s exceptional season of new works and remarkable adaptations.” Stratford has had a memorable season of world premieres of original Canadian plays as well as fresh adaptations of literary classics. Some productions make bold statements, while others invite more reserved introspections on their respective themes, but they ALL speak to us about relationships and the human condition in some of the most thought-provoking and meaningful ways. The last of these productions to open is the world premiere of “The Diviners” adapted for the stage by Vern Thiessen and Yvette Nolan from iconic author Margaret Laurence’s classic autobiographical 1974 Canadian novel. Through creative and minimalist staging, co-directors Krista Jackson and Geneviève Pelletier use the metaphor of the coursing river to track the past, present and future of protagonist Morag Gunn as she struggles to finish her latest novel. Set in a cabin in 1972 small-town Ontario, Morag (Irene Poole) combats her writer’s block with large bottles of one hundred proof. After a fight with her adult daughter, Pique (Julie Lumsden), who flees in a fit of rage, neighbour Royland (Anthony Santiago) arrives and attempts to soothe her nerves with a fish he caught from the river. His act of giving is just the catalyst Morag needs to start writing as she’s set adrift in a flood of memories – of her traumatic childhood, her formative years being raised by foster father, Christie (Jonathan Goad), her years at university, her first boyfriend, her failed marriage to Professor Brooke Skelton (Dan Chameroy). Morag has an indomitable but ultimately unhappy spirit. She later conceives Pique with ex-boyfriend Jules and continues her life as a single mother. Indigenous narratives are brought beautifully to the fore in this tale of one person’s journey to reconcile her past, present and future. There’s an almost spiritual overtone to Morag’s efforts to reclaim who and what she is. Her struggles are myriad – as a woman in a man’s world of the seventies, a mother without a husband, a woman facing head-on her Métis heritage. It isn’t often you see a non-musical with a cast of 22 and a choreographer on the artistic team. Is this a play or a musical? Well, it’s definitely a play but the traditional Indigenous music and dance keep us framed in its message of national reconciliation. Even more striking about this production is the bare stage, which serves as the canvas for the colours of Morag’s life to be revealed. There’s virtually no set, save for a split four-tiered bleacher affair at one end of the thrust stage and a small square table that pops up and down from the floor at the other. I’m still wondering about the significance of the junk yard suspended high above the stage like some kind of modern art installation. Detritus of all kinds weaves its way like a meandering river. Perhaps an homage to Morag’s adopted father Christie, a garbage man and the symbol of consistency in her complicated life? As Jackson and Pelletier say in their program notes, “At the heart of the narrative lies the river, a metaphor symbolizing the moving course of life.” Jackson and Pelletier provide only sketches of where and what time we are; it’s our imaginations that fill in the gaps, the way they would when reading a favourite novel. Their ability to move us backward and forward in Morag’s timeline with mere blocking, a few lighting changes and the talents of their remarkable cast are simplhy extraordinary. These two are character-driven directors who do full justice to Laurence’s detailed descriptions of Morag’s feelings of love and remorse, although I did find the gratuitous on-stage sex scenes between Morag and Jules does little to enhance our understanding of their love. The show moves quickly, and the cast more than rises to the occasion. The excellent ensemble acts like a Greek chorus—chanting, dancing, playing violin, guitar, and bagpipes as we travel back and forth through Morag’s life. Several play smaller roles, but all are fully engaged and invested in the narrative. Leading this exceptional cast is the luminous Irene Poole as Morag Gunn. Hers is a tour-de-force performance, captivating and authentic as the complex protagonist. She’s onstage almost the entire show, virtually every scene. Her physicality is exceptional as she seamlessly switches between child, teen and adult as the colours of her life unfold. A performance not to be missed! Julie Lumsden does triple duty as Morag’s daughter Pique, Young Pique and Scots Morag. Incredible versatility and honesty in each role. Her chemistry with Poole is heartwarming and thoroughly convincing. As Christie, Morag’s hard-working foster father with a heart of gold, Jonathan Goad is solid and unrecognizably crusty. With a thick Scottish accent (at times difficult to understand when he lets his volume drop), he channels Robert Shaw’s Quint character from the movie Jaws. As Jules, Morag’s former Métis boyfriend and father to Pique, Jesse Gervais strums guitar and sings Métis folk songs with conviction. He also has a fine comedic sense. Sadly, his chemistry with Poole doesn’t quite hit the heights the script calls for. Josue Laboucane and Caleigh Crow deliver fine performances as Jules’s father, Lazarus, and sister, Piquette, respectively. Cameron Carver creates intensity with his inspired choreography. He enhances the narrative by focusing the movement to reflect the emotion and intention of each scene. His dance is integral, particularly the follow up and in-sync movements in the incredible sequence with the pages of Morag’s novel spewing from her typewriter. Visually stunning! As mentioned, Bretta Gerecke's lighting and set design are stark overall. Warm amber lighting separates Morag’s present from her shadow-filled past and future. We always know where we are in time and space. The bleachers are nicely utilized as a front porch, school classroom, and university lecture hall, while the single pop-up desk always brings us home to Morag’s cottage in the present. So much is achieved with so little!! Jeff Chief’s 70s costumes are spot on. My partner commented that she had a denim skirt just like the one Morag wears in Act 2. Traditional Indigenous regalia is also featured in flashbacks and dream sequences. Andrina Turenne’s moving original music fuses contemporary, ethereal and Indigenous beats with spoken word to startling effect. At its heart, “The Diviners” is about a mother reconnecting with her daughter and wondering how to write her own happy ending with the people she cares about. Weaved throughout is the history of the Métis and Indigenous peoples in Manitoba. But it’s Laurence’s original overarching themes of reconciliation between cultures that make this play so important, so relevant, for today’s audiences! Running time: Approx. 2 hours, 25 minutes with one intermission/interval. The production runs until October 2 at the Tom Patterson Theatre, Stratford For tickets call the Box Office at 1-800-567-1600 or email www.stratfordfestival.ca The Stratford Festival Presents “The Diviners” based on the novel by Margaret Laurence with text by Vern Thiessen with Yvette Nolan Directed by Krista Jackson with Geneviève Pelletier Choreographer – Cameron Carver Set and Lighting Designer – Bretta Gerecke Costume Designer – Jeff Chief Composer – Andrina Turenne Sound Designer – MJ Dandeneau Performers: Irene Poole, Christopher Allen, Gabriel Antonacci, Dan Chameroy, Caleigh Crow, Allison Edwards-Crewe, Jesse Gervais, Jonathan Goad, Josue Laboucane, Julie Lumsden, Anthony Santiago, Tyrone Savage, Sara Topham and other Canadian artists in the ensemble. 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 Gabi Epstein Looking Ahead Gaetz Photography Joe Szekeres Actress and jazz singer Gabi Epstein is certainly appreciative of the many opportunities she has had in her twenty-year career Just like her brother, Jake, whom I saw in his one-man show ‘Boy Falls from Sky’ at the Royal Alexandra last year, Gabi is just as humble as he is. I saw her perform as Audrey in ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ at the Stratford Festival. I also had the chance to see her perform as part of a tremendous ensemble of artists at London, Ontario’s Grand Theatre, and the production of a heart-warming ‘Home for the Holidays’ which put me in the Christmas spirit. Just recently Gabi played the office spy Roz in a fantastic ‘9 to 5: The Musical’ at Port Hope’s Capitol Theatre. She’s off now to be part of Barrie Ontario’s Talk is Free Theatre’s ‘Giants in the Sky’ two-week festival this month. What is ‘Giants in the Sky’ apart from a song title in Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Into the Woods’? According to Talk is Free Theatre’s website: “Over September 9-11, 2022, and September 16-18, 2022, culture, music, and theatrical performance are bringing rooftops, balconies, and fire escapes of the city of Barrie, Ontario to life, and it’s all free.” Growing up, Gabi attended The Claude Watson Program in elementary and high school at Earl Haig as a vocal major but also had an interest in the drama program. She then decided to pursue her studies in Music at McGill University and loved living in the city. She holds a Bachelor of Music. At that time, she had put so much work into her music studies that she decided to specialize in that one area and be an expert. When she returned from Montreal after obtaining her degree, she said she was already a few steps ahead. Gabi went into music knowing she wanted to do theatre. After school, she took some scene study acting classes, but did not attend theatre school nor have any formal acting training through a theatre program. She started auditioning right away and working about one-two years after her graduation. She learned about theatre on the job through osmosis, watching other actors, and very happily stated: “I thrive in rehearsal because that’s my training.” What a great way to learn about the industry. There’s that little thing called Covid still out there that the live performing arts scene and industry must still consider. When Covid hit, like all the artists I’ve spoken to, Gabi had some time to think and reflect about who she was if she wasn’t a performing artist. So, what did she do? She started self-producing everything from her own cabaret evenings to full productions of shows. Her friend, artist Sara Farb and Gabi self-produced a show called ‘Edges’ that they performed themselves that ended up being a co-production with The Musical Stage Company (but at that time called ACTING UP). Gabi also teaches singing. If there was a time when there wasn’t a period of work for Gabi (as there wasn’t for many artists during the pandemic) she made work for herself. Over the pandemic, she said she had a newfound confidence that was tested in trying to make a profitable time for herself while continuing to be an artist. She and her husband ventured into online performances and started a company called ‘The New Local’ where they paired up with local restaurants and did a virtual dinner and show which kept them inspired. How does Gabi see her place in a five-year trajectory of the Canadian artist moving forward slowly? Whatever that trajectory may be going forward as we all deal with Covid, Gabi says whatever path she takes she will be performing for as long as she can in whatever she can to keep herself open. The reason why she has stayed in this industry is that she has learned to enjoy not really knowing what’s going to happen Whether it be through recording audiobooks, some administration, or teaching singing lessons – she’ll keep herself open. Being in the industry professionally for over twenty years is not a very long time, but long enough to know all of the different opportunities that are presented to her. What drew Gabi to Talk is Free’s Theatre Festival celebration of ‘Giants in the Sky’ where audiences can look up and there are going to be performances on rooftops in Downtown Barrie. It’s a boundary-pushing extension of the immersive theatre that both Arkady and Talk is Free do so well by expecting theatre in different ways. Gabi and Arkady Spivak have known each other for many, many years. She finally confided it has been 15 years of involvement with Talk is Free although she was hesitant to state how many years. Her second professional show was performing in ‘Bye, Bye Birdie’ with Talk is Free. Gabi smiled and told me this foray led to “a series of exciting and wild roles that I’ve played with them” and fondly recalled a five-person version of ‘Candide’ directed by Richard Ouzounian where she played a split track in playing Paquette and the old woman. She played the Beggar Woman in ‘Sweeney Todd’ in Toronto which was outstanding on so many levels. Gabi said she just can’t say No to Arkady because she is always inspired by what she called the “wild ideas that come out of Talk is Free and Arkady. The experiences are always going to be fun and will expand my repertoire just a little bit.” Gabi’s set as part of ‘Giants in the Sky’ is called ‘Broadway Broads’ where she will sing the great songs by women of Broadway – everything from ‘Cabaret’ to ‘Funny Girl’ to ‘Wicked’ and ‘Waitress’. She says: “I’m not quite a Broadway broad, yet. I’ve still a few years ago to be put into that ‘broad’ category but these are songs by women who have inspired me over the years.” Where does she see herself in that proverbial five-year plan we’ve all had ingrained in our minds? It’s continuing to be open to new opportunities and to learn. She loves not knowing what’s going to happen and for Gabi, that’s what’s exciting about this industry and what keeps her on her toes. It’s not helpful to set goals by the number of roles you’d like to play. She feels lucky that she has had the chance to play a couple of dream roles; however, she’s also aware that if it happens, it happens AND if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. As we concluded our conversation, I asked Gabi what the one piece of advice is she would give her vocal music students who want to enter the business as she did: “If you are lucky enough to find the thing that makes you unique and different from everyone else, just focus all your energy on that because that is the one thing no one will be able to do but you…It takes time to figure it out and it’s tough to discover what makes you unique.” And what’s next for her once ‘Giants in the Sky’ finishes its September festival run? It has been an extremely busy year for her from ‘Home for the Holidays’ at London’s Grand Theatre last Christmas to just finishing up ‘9 to 5: The Musical’. She now calls this: “an exciting fall/winter where she will be doing several things. Gabi spoke about workshopping a couple of new musicals in which she is involved. She’s recording another audiobook and will have an album release concert in October and several concerts throughout the upcoming months. She will also be completing some educational outreach through Talk is Free. What she is most proud of at this time is being at home in her own house with her husband where they just celebrated their third-year wedding anniversary. To learn more about ‘Giants in the Sky’, visit www.tift.ca . Previous Next

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Marie Beath Badian, Filipino Canadian playwright “You can’t take anything for granted that there is going to be an audience.” Caroline Mangosing for Vinta Gallery Joe Szekeres Marie Beath (pronounced Mary Beth) Badian is a Canadian Filipino performing artist whose plays have been commissioned by The Blyth Festival, The Stratford Festival, Prairie Theatre Exchange, and Toronto’s Young People’s Theatre. (www.mariebeath.com ). Like any writer, she thinks very deeply about all her characters before she puts pen to paper. Commissioned by The Blyth Festival, Badian’s play ‘Prairie Nurse’ opens Saturday, July 15, at Port Hope’s Capitol Theatre. This play, along with ‘The Waltz’ (a terrific production staged at Toronto’s Factory Theatre earlier this year), is part of a multi-generational story spanning fifty years and set in rural Saskatchewan. The third, ‘The Cottage Guest,’ is in development 2.0 and has just been finished in draft form. Badian had a workshop on ‘Guest’ in February of this year. The litmus test is to be in a workshop of the play and listen to the actors. If the characters are speaking in the way Badian imagined in her head, that’s a huge relief. ‘Guest’ needs a bit of tweaking and Marie Beath is hoping the play will hit the stage in the next couple of years. We had conducted our conversation several weeks ago, and at that time, rehearsals for ‘Prairie Nurse’ were just getting underway on June 26. Badian would miss the first day of rehearsal because it was her ‘kiddo’s’ (I like that) Grade 8 graduation. Sometimes, the family unit must take priority, and I’m all for that. Badian had completed her training and received her diploma from Toronto Metropolitan University. She was the second last of the diploma programme. She graduated in 1999 and then grandfathered into the Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2007. Does Marie Beath consider herself a Toronto girl at heart: “Oh, yeah. I was born and raised in Scarborough. I didn’t move very far. I’ve been living downtown since 1997. [Toronto] has always been my home and will always feel like that when I’m away.” Badian calls it an exceptional privilege to return to live theatre. It’s still tremendously unique to sit in the audience beside people and experience the play. For her, it feels incredibly novel and fleeting. There’s joy in seeing people’s faces once again. Badian does not take this generosity in this return to the theatre for granted. To decide to attend the theatre is a crucial choice. Before the lockdown, Marie Beath was feeling exhausted. Sitting in a theatre felt like a chore, and she now feels guilty that she went through that experience: “You can’t take anything for granted that there is going to be an audience.” Marie Beath and I both agreed on this point strongly. At one point, we wondered if the lockdown meant the end of the live theatrical performing arts because we are not essential workers. That’s the reality regarding sacrifice and heroism among the healthcare essential workers in the grand scheme of things. Her mother was a nurse for forty years and Marie Beath worked at the Ontario College of Nurses for a long time. The community of nurses has always been a part of her community’s lifeblood. Knowing that their diaspora and the family legacy of these front-line individuals put into perspective what essential work truly meant, especially essential work for the soul. On its website, the Capitol Theatre describes the plot of ‘Prairie Nurse’ as a laugh-a-minute comedy of confusion based on a real-life story. The story involves two Filipino nurses who come to work at a small-town Saskatchewan hospital in the late 1960s. Cultural clashes, personality differences, homesickness, and the amorous but dim-witted goalie from the local hockey team complicate the women’s lives and create chaos at the hospital. Add a doctor more concerned with fishing than his patients and an overly romantic candy striper. ‘Prairie Nurse’ is based on the true story of Badian’s mother’s immigration to Canada. Confident that 'Prairie Nurse' is being well taken care of under Megan Watson's direction, the playwright is adjusting to the unusual experience of having one of her plays performed multiple times. Badian considers it a privileged position in Canadian theatre and is always amazed when her work is produced. Even with 'Prairie Nurse' no longer a world premiere, Badian still feels the same jittery excitement as before. She is over the moon with the cast the director has assembled. It’s unique and exciting, and she was delighted to hear who they were after the fact. Megan and Rob Kempson (Capitol’s Artistic Director) have been so thoughtful about the casting process of the play. What’s delightful about all productions of ‘Prairie Nurse’?: “It gets to introduce me to new people in the Filipino diaspora that I hadn’t known before and that there is work for them. I don’t know the two actors who are playing the nurses. I think they are fairly recent grads. What’s exciting first is that this production [at the Capitol] marks the ten-year anniversary of ‘Prairie Nurse’. It’s also exciting that these two ladies who were in school when the play premiered now understand there is work for who they are authentically as part of the diaspora.” For many years, Marie Beath has been friends with Rob Kempson. She is impressed with how he and Erin Pierce (Capitol Theatre’s Managing Director) have made their values of the live theatre performing arts come to fruition and how exciting it is to be part of the season. Badian holds Canadian actor Deborah Drakeford in high esteem and is thrilled to have her involved in the production as the ornery head nurse at the hospital. She’s a chain smoker at the hospital in the sixties, becoming a riot as the play unfolds. What is a message Marie Beath hopes audiences will take away after seeing ‘Prairie Nurse’?: “Joy, the joy and the laughter that I feel is so inherent about the story. I hope audiences will also take away a different perspective of the period piece of the fabric of Canada in 1967. It’s a gentle and loving way to remind people of the value of the Filipino diaspora in health care. It’s a way to reflect health care that if we have ever experienced health care in Canada, it has been at the hands of a Filipino caregiver.” ‘Prairie Nurse’ begins performances July 14 and runs to July 30. All performances take place at Port Hope’s Capitol Theatre, 20 Queen Street, Port Hope. For tickets call 905-885-1071 or visit capitoltheatre.com. To learn more about Marie Beath Badian, visit her website: www.mariebeath.com . Previous Next

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Phillip Nero DREAMCO Theatre (Durham Region Entertainment and Music) David Walker Joe Szekeres A new professional theatre company has moved into Durham Region. Although Artistic Director Jeremy Smith (a former student of mine) no longer lives in the Durham Region, I always salute his company, Driftwood Theatre, which has produced some extraordinary Shakespeare in the Park productions across the province every summer. In my heart, Driftwood was and will always remain a professional theatre company stemming from sturdy roots here in the Durham Region. Port Perry’s Theatre on the Ridge (TOTR), under Artistic Director Carey Nicholson’s vision, has staged classic and modern plays over the last ten years both indoors and outdoors. Passionate and articulate about the theatre, Phil Nero, an Equity-based artist, now living in Brooklin (with his wife and six-year-old daughter) is excited beyond measure to open DREAMCO (Durham Region Entertainment and Music) even in these uncertain fiscal times for the Arts on account of Covid. He knows it is going to be challenging over the next couple of years since many have lost income, but Nero is confident the enjoyment and love of live theatre will outweigh in the long run especially if local residents do not have to spend gas money to drive downtown to Toronto. Starting out small and inexpensive, Nero wants DREAMCO to show just how valuable they are in what they plan to offer to Durham Region and beyond. Phil is not out to be in competition with other local professional theatres in Durham such as Driftwood and TOTR. On the contrary, he says there is no reason for that. Instead, he made a comparison to car dealerships that are on the same street and next door to each other. People who are going out to look for a car will venture and look all around for what they want. For Phil, the more these theatre companies thrive and work together in the same manner, the more theatre is generated, and the more people and audiences will attend. During our conversation at the Brooklin Coffee Culture over a cold drink on a very warm afternoon, the conversation turned to Nero telling me how he stumbled into dance and when the proverbial ‘theatre bug bit him’, specifically by accident in Grade 6, when he was involved in the school play ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Phil fondly recalled watching ‘Dead Poet’s Society’ in high school and how its message of CARPE DIEM/SEIZE THE DAY spoke volumes to him. That film’s message brought him to this point in his life where he is right now in making his dreams come true and pursuing them. Nero grew up in Markham where he next appeared in a production of ‘West Side Story’ with the Unionville Theatre Company. Two dance teachers from the area grounded Phil going forward where he participated in and won several competitions and discovered what he calls this extraordinary gift of dance. Undecided whether he wanted a career in show business or as a chef (another of his passionate interests), Phil took a year off to decide while he performed in Grand Bend’s Huron Country Playhouse of ‘West Side Story’ where he was offered the Equity Apprentice role. When he returned home, he knew of Sheridan College’s Musical Theatre Programme and wanted to attend. He failed his first year because he was ill-prepared and thought it would be a waste of time to return. However, a couple of teachers took Phil under their wings and in his words was told: “it would be a game-changer for you to repeat your first year again.” He stayed and turned the three-year theatre programme into a four-year one. Phil didn’t graduate Sheridan because he went to do ‘West Side Story’ at the Stratford Festival where he worked with famed choreographer Sergio Trujillo* in 1999, but he did assure that he completed his diploma (now a degree from Sheridan) So, to all theatre lovers who want to school themselves in the art, Nero strongly advises to make sure you get that degree or diploma first and foremost. The theatre life then became ‘serendipitous’ for Nero as he quoted this word several times during our conversation. He auditioned and was cast in the Toronto production of ‘The Lion King’ for a year and then moved down the street to The Royal Alexandra where he appeared in ‘Mamma Mia’ as Dance Captain and understudy for Pepper. Nero then went on the road for a year and a half with the US National Tour of ‘Mamma Mia’ where he played Pepper. When he returned, he directed and choreographed a production of ‘A Chorus Line’ at Stage West in Mississauga and ‘Chicago’ at Halifax’s Neptune Theatre. Nero was supposed to return to Halifax to perform in ‘Evita’ when he was offered a role in the Toronto run ‘The Lord of The Rings’ where he was the Dance Captain/Fight Captain/Swing and then went to work on the production in London. Upon his return, Nero went to direct and choreograph six seasons at The Citadel Theatre. Nero recognizes how Covid has put a kink in the plans of the trajectory going forward in the Canadian theatre industry. Many of the major and independent/regional theatres are focusing on smaller casts at this time as everyone weathers this continued Covid rain for now to reduce overhead costs and capital investments which means less work for actors and less parts to be had. But as DREAMCO evolves over the next several years. Nero assured me Durham theatre actors and lovers can look for opportunities to grow as artists. Starting off, Nero called the company’s focus now ‘a Math game’ and will produce non-Equity presentations to begin with the idea going forward that Equity credits could be earned in the distant future. Phil also reiterated this is not a comment on the artists’ abilities whether they are union or non-union. All Equity artists were once non-Equity. It is Nero’s goal that DREAMCO will produce entertainment across many genres and not focus merely on musical theatre. He believes and wants so very much to be able to create the magic of gathering together as a community for theatre here in Durham Region. He wants his shows to enable audiences to question, think, act, react and talk. These are the points of why theatre is shared in the community. Going forward, Nero says a long-term wish is to build a theatre for DREAMCO within the Region. He specifically said: “Mayors of Durham Region, are you paying attention?” __________________________________________________________________________ (*Trujillo learned the choreography from the famed Jerome Robbins who originated the dancing from the original ‘West Side Story’) __________________________________________________________________________________________ Although this is far off in the future, Nero’s goal and desire are to fashion DREAMCO in the same manner as Drayton Entertainment and London, Ontario’s Grand Theatre where there are six-seven shows a season, possible Fringe festival, workshops for students and a bridge for community theatre to professional theatre. Although musical theatre is Nero’s passion, it is his hope that the company will also tackle the great stories from classic to contemporary and modern. Phil’s wish list for the inaugural DREAMCO season would include ‘Death of a Salesman’, ’12 Angry Men’ and ‘Inherit the Wind’ (readers: remember this is a wish list and not a given). To bring audiences back to the theatre, DREAMCO is planning a Concert in the Village Series to be held at Brooklin Community Centre. No money or profit will be made from this series, according to Nero as that is not the intent at all. DREAMCO is planning to bring in entertainers well known around the province. There are also plans for Sunday afternoons around 2 pm ($10/$20) where tea and scones will be served and listen to performers with special engagements planned to celebrate Autumn, gather for Remembrance Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day. Part of DREAMCO’s mission statement is to improve the quality of life through art, and these Sunday afternoons will reflect that statement. DREAMCO’s Board of Directors include Nero, Katherine Docherty (who works at Active Natural Health in Brooklin), Brooklin Rotarian Rod Hunter, and Rex Harrington (National Ballet of Canada) My jaw dropped when I heard Harrington’s name mentioned. DREAMCO will present its first concert ‘Songs of Hope’ at Port Perry’s Town Hall 1873 on June 17 at 6 pm and 8 pm with proceeds going to help Ukraine. Phil has selected from the musical theatre scene and one from the pop world. He smiled and said he called in a lot of favours, and there are some terrific artists who will participate: Mark Cassius (who has played in Toronto and Broadway and was a member of the acapella group ‘The Nylons’); Cory O’Brien (who recently appeared in the Toronto production of ‘Come from Away’); Cory’s wife, Christy Adamson (who appeared in ‘Cats’ and ‘War Horse’) and Cynthia Smithers (who appeared in Stratford production of ‘A Chorus Line’) and local talent Jessica Docherty who attends Oshawa’s O’Neill Collegiate. Thank you so much, Phil Nero, for your time. I look forward to seeing the inaugural season for DREAMCO. To learn more about DREAMCO, Nero encourages interested people and audiences to sign up on the website: www.dreamcotheatre.com to be placed on the mailing list so information can be sent to you regarding the inaugural season. To purchase tickets for ‘Songs of Hope’ A Benefit Concert for Ukraine on June 17 at 6 pm and 8 pm, go to www.townhalltheatre.ca . Tickets are $50.00. Previous Next

Community Theatres are uniquely diffrent from professional and Equity based companies, but are important to society Back 'Holmes and Watson' by Jeffrey Hatcher Produced by Stage Centre Productions at North York's Fairview Library Theatre Marc Siversky Joe Szekeres A jolly good mystery to unravel in Stage Centre’s ‘Holmes and Watson’ I’ve often wondered if the Sherlock Holmes/Dr. Watson’s storyline has run its course in twenty-first-century theatre. Even though ‘Holmes and Watson’ premiered in 2017, I’ve always found the challenge behind these period pieces remains to do justice to the playwright’s intent while ensuring that audiences still enjoy the plot. Can audiences enjoy these mystery genres where we are asked to put clues together ourselves as the plot unravels? This is tough since our woke world right now demands instant gratification from all kinds of entertainment we are now seeking. I must applaud Stage Centre Productions for going against the grain and staging Jeffrey Hatcher’s ‘Holmes and Watson’ because the company made it work. Theatre lovers are craving a return with a vengeance. I’ve seen it myself in surveying other audiences while I’ve waited for plays to begin. We all want a good story to follow. ‘Holmes and Watson’ is a good story for the local theatre community. It appears that famed detective Sherlock Holmes is dead. Or is he as the body was never retrieved? That is the question both Dr. Watson and we unravel in playwright Jeffrey Hatcher’s interesting storyline of intrigue and deception. Following the famed detective’s death at Reichenbach Falls with his nemesis Professor Moriarty (Jeremy Henson). Holmes’s trusted assistant Dr. John Watson (Daryn DeWalt) is called to disprove the many fake notices that Sherlock is truly alive. Through a newspaper clipping, Watson learns three men have been admitted to a remote mental asylum claiming to be Sherlock (Ted Powers, Lawrence Stevenson, and Joseph van Veen). Each of these men matches Holmes’s physical description. One of these gentlemen is quoted with something the only real Sherlock would know. Watson travels to the asylum to confront these three men while also having to deal with its ghoulish-looking Matron (Mickey Brown) and silently towering Orderly (Chip Thompson). Visually, Stage Centre and Pierre Rajotte’s fascinating set design caught my eye as I sat down in my seat. I try to leave at least 10 minutes before a performance to study the set if it is possible. I encourage future audience members to do the same. The set has a film noir cinematic style and flair, thanks to Director Marc Siversky and Rajotte’s clever design. This style allows the playing space to become different locales without having to incorporate laborious set changes, and that’s a huge bonus for the audience not to have to sit through a few moments of change. Clay Warner’s lighting design effectively incorporates moments of shadowy lights to create that sense of mystery about the story as to what is coming next. Marc Siversky and Eric Dupois’s video design is also intriguing. Whether it was intentional or not, I liked the focus on enlarging some of the designs which certainly highlighted the foreboding atmosphere. Victoria Richardson’s Costume designs are wonderful period recreations. Director Siversky’s solid control over the plot’s action keeps it moving at a good pace. There are moments of lengthy dialogue where audiences must pay careful attention to keep up with the quickly moving plot. Because there are numerous twists, I am doing my best not to spoil surprises for future audiences. Daryn DeWalt remains confidently solid as Watson. Robert Frances boldly maintains that aura of something not sitting just right as Dr. Evans. The three Sherlock Holmes in Ted Powers, Lawrence Stevenson and Joseph van Veen believably create uniquely yet somehow similar characteristics of the famed detective. It was a treat to watch how each of them seized the moment to explore the actual Holmes they are searching for. Jeremy Henson’s blustery Moriarty made me smile because he successfully captured his essence. Final Comments: A lot of information is thrown at the audience and there were moments when I kept wondering where all of this is going. Trust me, it will make sense but stick with the story and don’t lose sight of playwright Jeffrey Hatcher’s clever plot because it does work. There’s an adage I’ve seen posted. Some may consider it tiresome while others may consider it appropriate: “I didn’t see that coming.” This thought came to my mind once everything becomes clear in the plot. Nice work Stage Centre. Thank you for not including an intermission because the momentum would have been lost. Finally, dear reader, don’t spoil the plot surprises for future audiences. Running time: approximately 90 minutes with no intermission. ‘Holmes and Watson’ runs to October 8 at Fairview Library Theatre, 35 Fairview Mall Drive, North York. For tickets call the Box Office (416) 299-5557 or www.stagecentreproductions.com . ‘Holmes and Watson’ by Jeffrey Hatcher Directed by Marc Siversky Stage Manager: Malcolm Byrne Set Design: Pierre Rajotte Lighting Design: Clay Warner Costume Design: Victoria Richardson Sound Design: Marc Siversky and Scott Griffin Video Design: Marc Siversky and Eric Dupois Props: Shannon Breedon Performers: Daryn DeWalt Robert Frances, Chip Thompson, Mickey Brown, Ted Powers, Lawrence Stevenson, Joseph van Veen, Jeremy Henson Previous Next

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

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

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

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Kim Blackwell, Managing Artistic Director 4th Line Theatre “The theatre has been in my blood and belly since I was a little kid.” Courtesy of 4th Line Theatre. Joe Szekeres A recent check-in with 4th Line Managing Artistic Director Kim Blackwell shows the lady still adores the theatre. To read my first online conversation with her, go here: https://www.onstageblog.com/profiles/2020/5/11/the-self-isolated-artist-series-torontopeterborough-ontario-profile-of-kim-blackwell. 2024 marks Kim's 30th season with 4th Line, where she has directed 28 productions and 15 world premieres. The lady seems to have no intention of slowing down in her love of the theatre. In September 2016, Blackwell was inducted into Peterborough’s Pathway of Fame. In 2020, she received Toronto theatre critic Lynn Slotkin’s Jon Kaplan Mensch Award. Kim has recently joined the Playwright’s Guild of Canada and is working on her first solo, full-length play for 4th Line, ‘The Lost Souls.’ When she answered questions for her first profile check-in back in 2020, Kim stated the following about the effects of the worldwide pandemic on the Canadian theatre scene: “[It] will reaffirm that we all love the relationship between art and audiences which is at the core of our art practice. And we will be much more sensitive to that innate relationship when we can be together again.” I’m happy to report that 4th Line’s relationship with audiences has been strengthened thanks to some terrific shows on the playbill and fine on-stage work by local and professional performing artists since we’ve all returned from Covid. This week, Beverley Cooper’s ‘Jim Watts: Girl Reporter’ opens in preview on July 30 and 31, with opening night set for August 1. Directed by Blackwell, the twenty-eight-ensemble cast tells the story, billed as a fascinating exploration, of the experience of trailblazing youth who illegally flocked to Spain to fight fascism, attempting to stop its march across Europe in the mid-1930s. Jean ‘Jim’ Watts was the only woman to join Canada’s battalion in Spain, the Mackenzie-Papineaus. Recently, I attended the media call for ‘Jim Watts’ and spoke with her. What is it about the theatre that keeps her intrigued and motivated? “Well, it’s been in my blood and belly since I was a little kid.” She said she diverted a couple of times over the years; however, from when she was twenty-five, she was out at 4th Line. She says she doesn’t want to do anything else. Does writing for film or television interest her at all? “They’re not of interest to me. This medium [the theatre] and this connection between art and audience, which is at the heart of the work we do here, is so special and so transformative. I really do see how our work changes people’s lives and changes the world. I see it almost on a daily basis.” Blackwell referred to the most recent ‘Onion Skins and Peach Fuzz: The Farmerettes,’ which concluded its run recently. What touched Kim’s heart was seeing those ladies who were Farmerettes and their families come out and see actors tell their story. That’s pretty extraordinary for people. With a smile, Kim proudly stated that 4th Line has been doing just that for thirty-two years. And I truly hope the company continues doing it for another thirty-two years (and beyond). From what I understand, 4th Line audiences continue growing. Blackwell says 70% of the company’s audiences are from 50 kilometres away— Millbrook, Peterborough, Oshawa, Port Hope, Bowmanville, Belleville, and Lindsay are only several examples. 12% of the audience comes from the Greater Toronto area. What she once again proudly states about the 4th Line: “Our audiences are local, loyal, and love to see the stories in this area they didn’t know about.” As the opening night approaches for ‘Jim Watts,’ what message is Blackwell hoping audiences will take away from the production as a director? Kim says playwright Beverley Cooper's play raises an interesting question: “Can one person make a difference?” Are we all struggling with that question right now? Are we, as humans, with so much change going on around us, making a difference? “It’s all so big,” Blackwell emphasizes. “The problems are so big. There’s division. Can people actually dig in and make a difference?” Kim then opened up and said she feels this way in her own life. She, her husband, and her daughter moved back to Peterborough in 2020, and she immediately joined various city Boards. She wants to make a difference within her community. Jean Watts, the central character in the play, and the young men who went over to fight in Spain all wanted to make a difference. They were trying to effect change. ‘Jean Watts’ is a hero’s journey primarily focusing on Jean Watts, who goes by the nickname Jim. In her belly, Jean is a privileged girl from North Toronto who wants to make a difference. She wants her life to matter and to mean something. She finds herself going from Toronto to Madrid and the battlefields of Spain (what Kim says was a dress rehearsal for World War 2). The play then concludes in Peterborough in the early 1960s. Kim then made a comment that intrigued me: “Democracy is fragile. It’s not a guarantee, and if we see what’s happening in other parts of Europe and south of our border, there is a will to see a few people have a lot of power and say.” As we concluded our conversation, Blackwell said, ‘Jim Watts’ poses many big questions. But there are moments of humour, music, and romance. There will be live animals and a beautiful set that has a revolve. Is the theatre dying? “I hope it’s not dying. If people come out, it’s not going to die.” ‘Jim Watts: Girl Reporter’ opens in previews on July 30 and 31, with opening night on August 1. The production runs to August 24 at 4th Line Theatre, 779 Zion Line, Millbrook. For tickets, visit 4thlinetheatre.on.ca or call (705) 932-4445. Previous Next

A talk with a professional artist about their career. Back Naishi Wang and Jean Abreu “As we got deeper into the collaboration, we were constantly trying to explain things, and we’re thinking about how meaning is transported, and that then became very central to what we wanted to do.” Maya Yoncali Zoe Marin Dancers Naishi Wang and Jean Abreu are currently touring their show 'Deciphers' across Canada, having started on January 26 and ending on February 23. I sat down for a Zoom call with both of them where I got to learn more about each one as artists and the history of how 'Deciphers' came to be. Although their Dramaturg, Guy Cools, formally introduced them in 2019, Abreau jokes that they had been “flirting” for years– following each other’s work, liking each other’s social media posts, and expressing an interest in collaborating. With Wang based in Toronto and Abreu based in the U.K., it was not possible for the two to meet in person in 2020 like they had intended. However, they still began to bounce around ideas that eventually culminated in Deciphers. When Cathy Levi at the National Arts Centre asked Wang about projects he was working on, of course he mentioned Deciphers; this led to the NAC offering Wang and Abreu a space to “explore” this ambitious project. However, with the ongoing travel restrictions, their residency had to live on Zoom. Over a 3-month period, the two met biweekly and presented a “letter” to each other. Aided by their dramaturg, they would each write out “whatever [they] wanted to tell each other” and base their creation around these letters. At the end of this virtual process, they finished with seven letters that centered around the idea of “translation”. Of course, this process was limiting, but it was integral to the next step of their creation– finally meeting at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Here, these seven letters were printed and splayed out in the studio space, allowing them to really visualize all the letters in relation to each other and begin to physicalize them. The theme of “translation” had permeated all parts of this creation process– translating their ideas into these seven letters, translating their at-home movements to a virtual space, and now translating those letters into what Abreu describes as “poetry of the body”. Not just movement, but creating a language from that movement. By exploring the translation motif, the two artists began to see how each of their immigrant experiences fit into Deciphers. Naishi Wang was born in Changchun, China and moved to Canada in 2004 to train with the The School of Toronto Dance Theater. Jean Abreu was born in Brazil and moved to London in 1996 to study at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire for Music and Dance. While the two had a similar artistic upbringing and shared interests, a lot of their exploration came from the concept of “misunderstanding”. Wang explains that: “In the beginning stages, we didn’t just say Okay, this is it. We’re going to focus on this immigrant experience. That came later.” By working on the show, they recounted their teenage experiences of immigrating to an English-speaking country twenty years ago when translation technology was limited. This shared “perspective of misunderstanding” now started to infiltrate the creation process. Wang explains how the entire process is “based on our experience with misunderstanding. Not everything is very clear. We don’t understand everything. We are trying so hard to find this natural rhythm of the body. Reading the body distance. Reading the tone. Reading facial expressions.” Abreu shares that once they got over the “romanticism” of working on this project, they began to face the challenges that come with any creative process– they were just getting to know each other, they now had to translate their online work to a studio space, and they had to try to understand why the theme of translation was so important to them. “We realized we were living in this continuous translation mode. Thinking in these two terms, between these two places all the time… As we got deeper into the collaboration, we were constantly trying to explain things, and we’re thinking about how meaning is transported, and that then became very central to what we wanted to do.” These complimentary and contrasting experiences are reflected in 'Deciphers' through its cultural fusion and interdisciplinary elements. In addition to dance, there is also “spoken word, breath, and ink on paper”. Even the Chinese Folk Dance and Brazilian dance styles themselves are not straightforward. While Wang trained in Chinese folk dance when he was little, he now has more training and experience in a Western “contemporary form of embodiment”. Instead of being “authentically” Chinese or Western, he feels that he’s been able to form a new cultural identity as an artist by mixing the two styles. Similarly, although Abreu has experience in Brazilian dance, he’s also lived in the U.K. for over 20 years. His idea of Brazilian culture “has been so diluted that it’s hard to claim”, and still, he “can’t fully claim the UK side”. However, instead of trying to put labels on his artistic style, he has also embraced the beauty of fusing his cultures. When I asked them about anything else they wanted to mention about the project, they chose to highlight the artists who shaped Deciphers including: Lucie Bazzo (Lighting Design), Ivy Wang (Visual Designer), Olesia Onykiienko (Composer), Guy Cools (Dramaturg), Ginelle Chagnon (Outside eye), Xing Bang Fu (Rehearsal Director), Fides Krucker (Voice Coach), Emerson Kafarowski (Technical Director), and A.J. Morra (Stage Manager) And give thanks to Canadian support from: the National Arts Centre, the Harbourfront Centre, MAI Montréal, PuSh International Festival, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council, as well as U.K. support from: Fabric Dance, Dance City Brighton Dome, South East Dance, Towner Gallery, and the Arts Council of England. A co-presentation with Harbourfront Centre and DanceWorks, 'Deciphers' runs February 8, 9 and 10 at the Harbourfront Centre Theatre, 231 Queen's Quay West. To purchase tickets: https://harbourfrontcentre.com/event/deciphers/ Previous Next