Posts tagged ‘toronto fringe festival’

Jul 10

Our Favourite Picks of the Fringe 2013

We’ve made a list, we’ve checked it twice. Check out Our Favourite Picks of the Fringe 2013, in no particular order, to see what performances we’ve particularly dug so far, and think you might too. These were chosen based on general all-around enjoyment, intrigue, the desire to see the piece developed further, as well as notable execution.

Is there are performance that you think we’ve missed? Let us know via Facebook or Twitter and we’ll be sure to check it out! Happy Fringing, Friends!

Radio: 30 

Nuanced, sharp performance that’s easy to watch and love. Definitely a must see for anyone who’s ever dabbled in voice-work, advertising or who has ever listened to a radio commercial or two. Fantastic.

“In Radio:30, a veteran “voice guy” named Ron (Chris Earle) is recording a 30 second radio ad with the help of his faithful recording engineer Mike (Paul Constable). Between takes, Ron shares the tricks of his trade with the audience, inadvertently revealing how the polished dishonesty of his profession has infected his personal life. Haunted by his conscience, Ron’s silver tongue begins to betray him…”

Radio:30, presented by the night kitchen

Written & Performed by: Chris Earle

Directed by: Shari Hollett

When: July 3-14, 2013

Wed July 3 @ 7:00 pm

Fri July 5 @ 1:15 pm

Sun July 7 @ 4:45 pm

Tue July 9 @ 5:15 pm

Thur July 11 @ 9:45 pm

Fri July 12 @ 7:00 pm

Sat July 13 @ 2:15 pm

Where: Tarragon Mainspace, 30 Bridgman Ave

Genesis And Other Stories

A fun, belly-laugh-guaranteed piece with a great cast and free juice boxes! What more could you need? A play-within-a-play-within-a-church.

“After his father’s death, Christopher, a theology student, leads a misfit cast of amateur actors in a production of his late father’s play: a hyper-sexed version of Adam and Eve set in 1960’s USA. Slapstick, satire, and meta-theatre frame a surprisingly complex story about lonely people trying to fill roles on and offstage which don’t match who they truly are.”

Genesis & Other Stories presented by Aim for the Tangent Theatre

Written by: Rosamund Small

Directed by: Vivien Endicott-Douglas

Creative Consultation by: Rob Kempson

When: July 3rd, to July 14th, 2013 Performances at 9pm except for Sundays at 8pm

Where: At Trinity St. Paul’s United Church, 427 Bloor St. West

Much Ado About Nothing

Shakespeare BASH’d does it again. Great performances, strong direction, and you can enjoy a nice cold beverage while watching Shakespeare. What’s not to love? Selling out every show so far, with limited seating (line up 2 hours in advance) there is definitely much ado about SOMETHING.

“Shakespeare BASH’d prepares to celebrate victory at the Victory Café with Much Ado About Nothing.
The creative team that brought you the 2012 Best of Fringe Winner The Taming of the Shrew is at it again, bringing Shakespeare’s uproarious, clever, and at times dark comedy Much Ado About Nothing to the Victory Café! The show centres on a battle of wits between Benedick (James Wallis) and Beatrice (Amelia Sargisson). Hilarity ensues as the couple succumbs to the gossip, rumors and “notings” of their families.”

Much Ado About Nothing, presented by Shakespeare BASH’d

Directed by: Eric Double

When: July 4-14th 7pm, except Sunday at 5pm

Where: Victory Café Upstairs, at 581 Markham Street, just west of Bathurst, south of Bloor.

Love is a Poverty You Can Sell 2: Kisses for a Pfennig

Fantastic performances, stellar live band, delicious food and drink, charming characters. Soup Can Theatre has created the full experience.

“Step into the world of a 1920’s Berlin Cabaret for an evening of song, story, and sin! Soup Can Theatre is proud to present a bold and colourful new production that merges musical and comedy cabaret with immersive theatre. Following in the footsteps of the 2010 Fringe smash hit Love is a Poverty You Can Sell – which was also presented as part of the Best of Fringe program and the 2012 Next Stage Festival – Love is a Poverty You Can Sell 2: Kisses for a Pfennig (German for penny) aims to recreate the mood and atmosphere of an authentic Berlin cabaret in Bite, a warm and scenic bar/music venue in the heart of downtown Toronto, and to seduce audiences with a tantalizing stage show rife with song and spectacle.”

Love is a Poverty You Can Sell 2: Kisses for a Pfennig, presented by Soup Can Theatre

Director and Choreographer: Sarah Thorpe

Emcee Segment Writer and Co-Director: Justin Haigh

Music Director: Pratik Gandhi

Where: Bite – 423 College Street, just east of College and Bathurst.

When: July 3rd to 14th at 7pm (no show July 8th). 90 minute run time.

Death Married My Daughter

Go see this for high caliber of performance; hilarious buffon/clown and woman power! A great two hander buffon and clown based piece. They play Ophelia and Desdemona returned from the dead to exact their revenge.

“What would happen if Shakespeare’s Ophelia and Desdemona entered the theatre together before our very eyes? What would happen if Ophelia and Desdemona came back from the swamps of death where they have endured the longest exile? Resurrected by their desire to expose the “abusers” and “murderers”, they would revel in denouncing “Man”; they would destroy, with delight, the established values of a Man’s society. This is the story of Death Married My Daughter a biting, Bouffon-inspired satire that puts “Man” on trial.”

Death Married My Daughter, presented by Play It Again Productions

Written by Nina Gilmour, Danya Buonastella, Michele Smith & Dean Gilmour

Directed by Michele Smith & Dean Gilmour

When: Friday July 5th – Sunday July 14th

Friday July 5, 8:45 PM

Saturday July 6, 7:30 PM

Monday July 8, 1:00 PM

Wednesday July 10, 5:45 PM

Thursday July 11, 11:30PM

Friday July 12, 11:00 PM

Sunday July 14th, 3:30PM

Where: Tarragon Main Space, 30 Bridgman Ave. Toronto, ON M5R 1X3

Bremen Rock City 

Favourite Fringe Kids. Great music, comedy and it’s been sold out almost every show with kids and adults alike. Go early.

“Loosely based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale “The Brementown Musicians, Bremen Rock City, with its infectious pop score, follows the story of Jack, a guitar-shredding donkey, who escapes from his boring life on the farm to pursue his dream of becoming a rock star.”

Bremen Rock City, presented by Song Trolley Productions, initially developed as part of Theatre20’s Composium program.

A new musical by Colleen Dauncey (music), Sara Farb (book), and Akiva Romer-Segal (lyrics)

Directed by Esther Jun

When: Opens July 4, 2013 – July 14, 2013

Thursday July 4 @ 12:45pm

Saturday July 6 @ 7:15pm

Sunday July 7 @ 4:00pm

Monday July 8 @ 11:30am

Wednesday July 10 @ 7:30pm

Thursday July 11 @ 12:30pm

Friday July 12 @ 2:45pm

Sunday July 14 @ 5:00pm

Where: Palmerston Theatre ~ 560 Palmerston Avenue, Toronto

Tickets: Prices: $10 Adults, $5 Kids (under 12 years)

We are the Bomb

Kat Sandler & Theatre Brouhaha are on top of their game. We are the Bomb is a fast-paced, physical show filled with political satire that this stellar cast executes like a fine-tuned machine. Line-up early as space is limited and it’s had a sold-out run!

“On the eve of modern prohibition in Canada, a group of would-be revolutionaries declare their favorite bar to be a sovereign nation. Things quickly go awry and a couple on a first date find themselves caught in the middle. As the new nation self implodes, the situation rapidly escalates leaving a trail of destruction. Fringe audiences will sit amongst the chaos and observe as this would-be revolution unfolds.”

We are the Bomb, presented by Theatre Brouhaha

Writen & Directed by: Kat Sandler

Where: The Paddock Tavern, 178 Bathurst Street, south of Queen

When: Running time: 60 minutes

Wednesday, July 3, 2013 -‐ 7:30pm

Thursday, July 4, 2013 -‐ 7:30pm

Friday, July 5, 2013 -‐ 7:30pm

Saturday, July 6, 2013 -‐ 7:30pm

Sunday, July 7, 2013 -‐ 2:00pm

Tuesday, July 9, 2013 -‐ 7:30pm

Wednesday, July 10, 2013 -‐ 7:30pm

Thursday, July 11, 2013 -‐ 7:30pm

Friday, July 12, 2013 -‐ 7:30pm

Saturday, July 13, 2013 -‐ 7:30pm

Sunday, July 14, 2013 -‐ 2:00pm

Spoon

A thought-provoking, relevant piece challenging the notion of gender roles in our relationships. Spoon is definitely a conversation starter and we are very interested to see this piece developed even further.

“Spoon is a campy, queer and postmodern site-‐specific explosion of gender failure. Andrew (played by Owen Fawcett) and Charles (played by Spencer Charles Smith) have just moved into their new Yonge Street apartment when Charles’ obsession with performing the role of the woman – the little spoon – in their gay relationship begins to tear the couple apart.”

Spoon, presented by Straight Camp, with Owen Fawcett, Spencer Charles Smith, Katie Sly

Written by: Spencer Charles Smith

Directed by: Sky Gilbert

Dramaturged by: Alistair Newton

When: July 3^rd – 14^th, 8pm

Where: Site-Specific venue – The 3^rd floor space above GLAD DAY BOOKSHOP, 598 Younge Street (just North of Wellesley subway station)  

MSM [men seeking men]

This is a stellar company performance, filled with intricate movement/dance pieces, seamless dj-ed soundscape, and a fascinating exploration of the online dating world.

“MSM [men seeking men] is a dance theatre piece inspired by transcripts of online conversations between men who seek other men. Set inside a world of electronic beats where music is the omnipotent power, lemonTree’s Artistic Producer, Indrit Kasapi directs a piece inspired by his own online encounters. He invites DJ Scooter (of New York & Toronto Cub Camp party fame) to spin live at each performance. Through movement, the piece deconstructs online male personas and their personal exchanges with other men.”

MSM [men seeking men] presented by lemonTree creations

Concept/Direction by: Indrit Kasapi

Choreography by: COMPANY

Dramaturgy by: Jonathan Seinen

When: Thursday, July 4: 7pm

Friday, July 5: 1:45pm

Sunday, July 7: 5:15pm

Tuesday, July 9: 5pm

Thursday, July 11: 12pm

Friday, July 12: 9:15pm

Saturday, July 13: 2:15pm

Where: Randolph Theatre – 736 Bathurst Street

2 for Tea

Engaging (you may be one of those invited to the tea party), intimate, witty, physical comedy, and entirely enjoyable! BYOTC (Bring your own tea cup).

“England’s well-loved surreal physical comedy duo – James & Jamesy – push the conventions of theatre off the stage as they lure you into their “delightfully bizarre” world with their innocence and “endearing chemistry”.”

2 for Tea, presented by Life & Depth

Writers/Performers: Aaron Malkin & Alastair Knowles

Ringmaster: David MacMurray Smith

Where: Venue #4, The Randolph Theatre, 736 Bathurst St.

When: July 4th – July 13th

Thursday, July 4, 2013 – 11:00pm

Saturday, July 6, 2013 – 9:15pm

Monday, July 8, 2013 – 6:30pm

Tuesday, July 9, 2013 – 10:45pm

Wednesday, July 10, 2013 – 7:30pm

Friday, July 12, 2013 – 12:00pm

Saturday, July 13, 2013 – 4:00pm

Kill Sister Kill

This show has solid writing and song composition with a very interesting concept. We’d love to see it fleshed out as a full scale musical.

“What happens when a gentle nun witnesses the brutal rape and murder of her kid sister at the hands of two depraved punks in a New York alleyway? She gets revenge, and sings about it! Lily transforms from a woman of God into a weapon of hellbent vengeance on the mean streets of late-’70s New York City in Kill, Sister, Kill, a dark musical at the Toronto Fringe Festival”

Kill, Sister, Kill, presented by Kid Switchblade Productions

Written by: Andrew “Drac” and Jamieson Child

Original score and music direction by: Tamara Saringer.

Lyrics by: the Child bros, Tamara Saringer and Stefne Mercedes.

Directed by: Jamieson Child,

When: July 5^th – July 14^th

Friday, July 5, 7 p.m.

Saturday, July 6, 12 p.m.

Monday, July 8, 6:45 p.m.

Wednesday, July 10, 3:30 p.m.

Thursday, July 11, 4 p.m.

Saturday, July 13, 2:15 p.m.

Sunday, July 14, 1:45 p.m.

Where: The Factory Theatre Mainspace, 125 Bathurst St., Toronto.

Polly Polly

Excellent use of the one-woman show format. Jessica Moss is alive in her work, which is both witty, sharp and poignant. Her work constantly holds up to must-see standards!

“Polly is an ordinary girl with a call–centre job and a sense that there could be more. One day, a voice in her head begins narrating her thoughts and actions: as if she was worthy of an audience. Then, on a routine call, she phones someone with a beautiful alto voice and an uncanny knowledge of Polly’s own soul. ‘I’m Polly Eschfield’, the voice says, ‘I’m you. Find me’. Polly is thrown on a journey of self-discovery and realization as she is tormented with questions of who she really is. Polly Polly is a theatrical romp into a screwball movie, a mystery with only one suspect, one victim, and one performer, and a farce of an identity crisis, all presented live in Theatr-O-Scope Vision.”

Polly Polly, presented by Theatre Mischief

Written and Performed by: Jessica Moss

When: July 4^th-13^th

Thursday, July 4 – 7:45 pm

Friday, July 5 – 1:15 pm

Sunday, July 7 – 9:45 pm

Monday, July 8 – 4:00 pm

Tuesday, July 9 – 10:15 pm

Thursday, July 11 – 6:15 pm

Friday, July 12 – 5:15 pm

Saturday, July 13 – 8:00 pm

Where: At Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace, Fringe Venue 11

16 Ryerson Avenue (North of Queen Street, East of Bathurst)

Morro and Jasp: Go Bake Yourself

Charming, delightful, a sure-fire good time! If you haven’t made it a priority to see what these ladies are up to, put Morro and Jasp at the top of your list for the end of Fringe 2013.

“Morro and Jasp have decided to host a cooking show, but they both have very different ideas of what that entails. Morro wants a battle in the kitchen, while Jasp is trying to host a classy show and cook her way into an unknowing audience member’s heart. Full of muchies, mess, and mayhem, Morro and Jasp: Go Bake Yourself is a culinary masterpiece you won’t soon forget.”

Morro and Jasp: Go Bake Yourself, presented by Up your Nose and In your Toes (U.N.I.T.) Productions

By: Heather Marie Annis, Byron Laviolette & Amy Lee

Where: 918 Bathurst Street

When: July 3^rd – 14^th

Wed, July 3: 8pm

Sun, July 7: 4pm

Mon, July 8: 8pm

Tues, July 9: 8pm

Wed, July 10: 8pm

Thu, July 11: 8pm

Fri, July 12: 4pm & 8pm

Sat, July 13: 4pm & 8pm

Sun, July 14: 4pm

Peter n’ Chris Explore Their Bodies

Sketch comedy, extremely physical and narrative driven, Peter n’ Chris Explore Their Bodies goes beyond funny.

“Chris is a hypochondriac, and when Peter n’ Chris attempt to get to the bottom of the problem by entering Chris’ body, the result is a Lord of the Rings style Epic adventure.Peter n’ Chris are a 2012 Canadian Comedy Award Nominated sketch duo from Vancouver BC. They were a featured act in the 2013 Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival. In 2012 they won the Just For Laughs – Best Comedy Award in Montreal for their play “Peter n’ Chris Explore their Bodies”, and earned the “Audience Choice” award at the 2011 Toronto SketchFest.”

Peter n’ Chris Explore their Bodies, presented by Peter n’ Chris

Directed by: Peter Carlone and Chris Wilson

When: July 5^th – 13^th

Fri, July 5: 5:15pm

Sat, July 6: 9:15pm

Sun, July 7: 4:45pm

Tues, July 9: 1:15pm

Wed, July 10: 11pm

Fri, July 12: 7pm

Sat, July 13: 8pm

Where: George Ignatieff Theatre

Stalled

Well crafted, Mr. Bean-style slapstick.

“A physical comedy that uses elements of Farce and Commedia dell’Arte, Stalled tells the story of Guy: a man who becomes hopelessly trapped in a bathroom stall at the Toronto Bus Terminal due to a tirade of wacky characters and situations.”

Stalled, presented by Natural Progression Theatre

Written by: Phillip Psutka

Directed by: Lindsay Bellaire

When: July 5th – July 13th

July 5, 9:15pm

July 6, 4:00pm

July 7, 7:30pm

July 9, 1:00pm

July 10, 11:15pm

July 12, 4:30pm

July 13, 3:30pm

Where: Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace, 16 Ryerson Avenue

Don’t Splash Shelley Rae

(Image unfortunately not available. Mermaids are rare to catch on camera.)

An Alley Play to put on your list. This 30-minute shed-show was both charming and fun.

“Come see a glimpse of Shelley Rae! Discovered in shark-infested Cuban waters, this mermaid is like nothing you’ve ever seen. Just remember: DO NOT water her, DO NOT feed her, and certainly DO NOT indulge her- unless you’re parched with curiosity. She may be a mermaid, but she is not your maid by any means.”

Don’t Splash Shelley Rae, presented by Vertebrae, Undone

Written by: Jaime Hernandez Lujan

Directed by: Nicholas Potter

When: July 3rd – July 14th

Wed, July 3: 8:30pm

Fri, July 5: 8:30pm

Sat, July 6: 2pm

Sun, July 7: 8:30pm

Mon, July 8: 6:30pm

Tues, July 9: 3pm

Wed, July 10: 6:30pm

Thurs, July 11: 8:30pm

Fri, July 12: 6:30pm

Sat, July 13: 2pm

Jul 7

A Fringe Festival Chat with Matthew Gorman, Writer & Director of “Adventure!” at the Factory Theatre Main Stage

Interview by Madryn McCabe

We sat down for a drink with Matthew Gorman, writer & director of Adventure! playing at the Factory Theatre Main Stage during the Toronto Fringe Festival.

MM: So, tell me about Adventure! How did it come to be?

MG: Two years ago, I was part of the 24 hour playwriting contest and the script I put together in those 24 hours became half of this year’s script, combined with half of the show I did at the Fringe last year, which was called Like a Dog. So it was kind of like… Do you remember the CBC show The Odyssey? It was this fantastic tween adventure show, where there was a kid in a coma, but his coma dream was this world where only children were in charge. So my 24 hour play was like that. There was this contemporary story, but then the dream was of this guy who thought he was Don Quixote and ran around as a knight. It didn’t really work out, so I cut it in two, and then wrote last year’s show. But, I missed all the fun swords and squires and horses and things from that show, so I thought I’d try to see what happened to them. So the characters are different, but that’s where they came from.

MM: Did you add any characters to it from the original script?

MG: Yeah, all of the monks and the crusade-y stuff are new. They didn’t really have much of a plot when they were just those odd characters. It was just that a knight freed a princess from a tower and then had nowhere to go, and that’s where that story ended. So all of the weird, “people’s crusade” stuff is new. In this version of the play there isn’t too much of that stuff, because we had to cut a lot of it. This is mainly because the original script was like, two and a half hours long.

MM: I was going to ask if there was a longer version of the play.

MG: We did a staged reading in April of the whole thing, and it clocked in at two and a half hours or something, so I polled the audience that night and I asked if we had ended at Act I, was there enough in the script to make them feel satisfied? Would they be okay knowing that Act II might never see the light of day, or should I try to truncate this whole thing and squish it into an hour, and that’s what we ended up doing.

MM: So what we see of Adventure! now at the Fringe is the truncated version?

MG: It’s the whole plotline smashed together with a lot of things taken out, some characters got turned into other people and stuff like that, but I think it’s fun. The version we have right now is pretty neat. It’s been fun to get to see it develop further and realize what the play is actually about. Because when you write it, you think it’s about one thing, but then the actors start talking, bringing the play off the page and you realize “Oh! It’s actually about something completely different.”

MM: So it changed for you as you got into rehearsals.

MG: I think so, yeah. And it’s changed a bunch since we started to the time it went up on Thursday. It got a bit darker, but other things became much, much funnier. So it’s not until you can see a character walk about that you understand what they really want. Some playwrights are brilliant and they can lock themselves in a room and they can walk out with this fully formed, masterful piece of writing, but lots of us have a messier process. There are a lot more bodies on the floor. So, what I’ll do with it after, I’m not 100% sure, but it can definitely stretch out again.

MM: So you think you’ll revisit Adventure!?

MG: I would love too! There’s a lot of stuff that we cut that I really miss. And I’m very possessive of the things I’ve written. I don’t like cutting things. (laughs) There are things you have to cut, and you get over it. When it comes to a 60 minutes slot and you’re running 65 minutes, then yeah, you cut this, you cut that, you get on with it, but….

MM: To go from a 2 ½ hour play to a 60 minute play…

MG: Yeah! There’s all kinds of stuff that I feel is missing. [The character of] Death used to be a guy who walked around, he had a castle, and it was fun. So there are things that it would be nice to revisit. Now that we have an idea of who some of these characters are, we can open it up again and we can let the actors catch their breath and not have to run around so fast onstage like they do right now.

Adventure! playing at the Factory Theatre Main Space – Toronto Fringe 2013

MM: There are some really dark times in Adventure! What can you tell us about that?

MG: Well, I always thought that nothing is funny unless Death is right behind it. There’s nothing that’s really going to bring that belly laugh unless there’s fear involved in some way, unless there’s real consequence. There’s a lot of Monty Python influence in this. There’s a lot of Peter Barnes and Caryl Churchill, and angry playwrights like that, but when you think of Fawlty Towers, all of the running around, all of the whacking over the head business, et cetera, it’s not funny unless his hotel will fail if this night doesn’t go well. If his whole life savings isn’t on the line, if his wife isn’t going to leave him if this goes wrong, it’s not funny. There is important consequence. So if Pumpkin isn’t going to die, if she’s not this weird possessive person, it’s not funny that she’s running around trying to get her own castle. It’s not funny that she hates going outside if she isn’t horribly agoraphobic and would rather wall herself up as opposed to go outside and not be safe.

MM: You mentioned Caryl Churchill, which I see in the character of the boy. Is she an influential playwright to you? Who makes you want to make theatre?

MG: People like Howard Barker and Peter Barnes, people like Wadji Mouawad, all these big, spanning plays where you go to six different countries and stuff like that. There’s a Scottish writer named David Greig I’m a big fan of. There’s something about how mean Caryl Churchill is to her characters sometimes. You can only do that if you love them. You do the worst things to the people you love, right?

MM: There’s a fine line between love and hate.

MG: Right. So you write these characters, and you’re very deeply invested in them, so you break them, you do awful things to them, and that’s good! That’s why I go to theatre. I don’t want to see my own life. I live my own life every day. That’s what documentary films are for. So I want to see something with a little more imagination, a little more magic, some silliness, something over the top, something crazy, because that takes me out of my life. Something that you can look on your own life in the reflection of that distance, whether it’s a different time period, or it’s a different place, something that gets you out of your everyday. You’re in a weird room where the lights go off and people are wearing costumes and there’s nothing “real” about that, so why pretend it’s an apartment and this couple wants to break up? Who cares? That happens all the time. But the emotions are real. The realism comes in them being human beings in these extraordinary circumstances. So with Adventure! it’s nice to take a knight or a princess, and chip away at that. Take them out of the fairy tale and see what happens after the happy ending. That’s not the newest idea, obviously, but it’s fun to allow them be a real person, to have a real want, a real desire. Most of our desires are crude and nasty and mean and base and ugly. The princess wants to kill her rival, and people eat people and it’s gross and fun. It’s not fun until it’s dirty.

MM: So your company is Your Good Friends. How did that develop?

MG: [My Partner] Gillian Lewis and I also run a company call Cart/Horse, which does very serious plays. And they’re great and wonderful, but we do a more specific kind of show, these very narrative driven pieces, which usually tend to be sad, so we wanted to do something a little different. This was also a way for me to split my own writing away from that company because I wanted that company to stay doing those bigger, classier, more polished projects, and let my silly writing have its own place somewhere else, with a friendlier version of a theatre company. A “we created this thing and we’d like you to come see it” company. We want the audience to be comfortable and have a good time and for it to be an enjoyable, friendly thing.

MM: So that’s where the name comes from.

MG: Well, you think of most Fringe companies and shows and they’re about people looking at the program to see who they know and who they recognize, and going to see their friend’s show. So this way, we’re already your friends, or would like to be your friends. Fringe is all about hanging out with your friends and doing a show together. This is a way, hopefully, for people to see that I’m not all dark and depressing all the time! It’s an opportunity for me to showcase some lighter work. Some of those Cart/Horse shows get pretty bleak!

MM: So do you see Your Good Friends doing something again soon? Do you have another project in mind?

MG: There’s a thing I started working on about the Tasmanian tiger, which is an extinct marsupial that was hunted to death in Australia and Tasmania at the turn of the century. I like explorers. I like pith helmets and big moustaches and blunderbusses. You can be big and silly, but you can also be very serious in what you’re talking about. I think Adventure! is about loneliness, I think it’s about being unsatisfied with what you have, but if you do that in a silly way, it’s not necessarily about sugarcoating that message, but it’s about making people think about that without making them cry. It’s a more approachable way of dealing with those things. You don’t have to be so God-awful serious all the time. It’s nice to be loud and silly and run around and wear stupid costumes. People are more willing to talk about loneliness and sadness if the guy is dressed like a knight.

MM: So, in three words, why should people come to see Adventure!?

MG: Trumpets, knights, tigers.

ADVENTURE! by Your Good Friends in association with the Toronto Fringe Festival

Written and Directed by Matthew Gorman

Featuring Andy Trithardt, Colin Edwards, Carter Hayden, Tara Koehler, Eleanor Hewlings and Jim Armstrong

When: Opens July 4 and runs until July 13

July 4 – 10:30pm, July 6 – 3:30pm, July 7 – 10:30pm, July 9 – 3:00pm,

July 10 – 1:45pm, July 11 – 7:30pm, July 13 – 9:45pm

Where: Factory Theatre Mainspace, 125 Bathurst St.

Tickets:

At-the-door tickets: $10 At-the-door tickets are available at the Factory Theatre starting one hour prior to show time – cash sales only.

Advance tickets: $11 50% of tickets are available for sale in advance.

Purchase online: fringetoronto.com.

By Phone: 416-966-1062, ext 1.

In Person: During the Festival Box Office in the parking lot behind Honest Ed’s (581 Bloor St W).

Jul 3

Artist Profile: Tanya Rintoul Talks Creation, Collaboration & the Rules of Being a “Good Girl”

Interview by Shaina Silver-Baird

SSB: Tell me about your upcoming show Good Girl at the Toronto Fringe Festival.

TR: I started writing last summer, after I did a 10 minute Alley Play in the Fringe called Change Room. I had watched a documentary about a serial killer named Aileen Wuornos. If you’ve ever seen the movie Monster with Charlize Theron, that’s her. And I was so interested in how little care there was in actually finding justice. Did justice mean someone being punished and that was it? I felt like no one actually took the time to figure out why she did what she did. So we’ll never know and no one will ever understand her point of view. She was put in dangerous situations and she responded by killing. And I don’t think that that’s someone who necessarily is a “killer.” But I don’t know that for sure. I still have a lot of questions and I’ve watched it over and over and over again.

I was also fascinated by the fact that she was imprisoned for years, and yet every time someone came to interview her, she would fix her hair the second she saw the camera. And she was a wreck; she didn’t have any sort of glamour left. But she’d smile as though she were a movie star, just because there was a camera in the room. Even when she was on death row, she still cared about how she was perceived. So, those two things: the concepts of justice and of perception, really triggered a lot for me and I started writing about it. The play itself is about a woman who’s committed a crime and she wants to figure out why she did it, because she didn’t plan to.

SSB: Where did the title come from?

TR: It came out of one of the stories the character tells in the play, about being told as a child that she’s a “good girl.” We tell children: “Good job! You’re a good boy” or “You’re a good girl.” As a society we’ve come up with rules for what it means to be good – what good people do; what bad people do – but sometimes good people do bad things and sometimes bad people do good things. So what does that even mean?

SSB: Why did you choose to do this piece in a site specific location? Can you talk a bit about your venue?

TR: When I did the first, 10 minute version in the Fringe last year, it was in a small shed. I could fit 12 people and they were closer to me than you and I are right now. It was really terrifying. But I loved that I could talk right to them. I could connect with different people at different times based on who they seemed to be or what they seemed to connect with. I also wanted her to have a world of her own. I thought of warehouses, garages, basements, anywhere really contained where you would go to hide. And I wanted the audience to come into that world. In a theatre the audience is coming into a familiar place. There’s a safety, a contract, an understanding of what’s going to happen and I wanted the audience to feel like they were coming into her space in a really visceral way.

My creative partner (director Elsbeth McCall) and I, were wandering around the Annex one morning around 9 am, and we came across this shop. We didn’t even pay attention to what the shop was selling. We were interested in the sketchy stairs that went down to a basement apartment that looked abandoned. So we started snooping around and this man came to the door and said: “Can I help you?” We told him we were looking for a space for a show in the summer. He seemed really interested in helping us but didn’t know how he was going to do that. We gave him my card and he called 5 minutes later and said “I think I might have something.” So we go back to this pawn shop that he was opening – he’d literally been there a week, he takes us to the back of the store, which is all industrial shelving and storage for his products: 20 stereos, an old coke machine and a robot, really weird things, and it was perfect. Ever since then, he has had everything we needed. I’ve worked in theatres where I haven’t been able to access things that he has. He had lights, chairs; he’s providing us with all the means. He was up on the ladder running cables and chords for us during tech. And he’s a lovely, generous man. He’s so excited.

SSB: Why did you decide to do this piece as part of the Fringe?

TR: I feel like it works because there’s a context for people – a festival is accessible. The Fringe does a lot for you. They set up a structure and ask you the right questions at the right times and that’s really great. It’s our second time doing the Fringe.

SSB: Tell me a little bit about barking birds theatre. Why did you start the company and what has it become for you?

TR: We (Elsbeth McCall and Tanya Rintoul) started the company because we really loved working together. I’ve never met someone who I just connect with on every level. I get really emotional talking about this. We literally say half a sentence and that’s the conversation. We are both on the same page. We met in theatre school and we continued to work together more and more as time went on. We see theatre through the same lens and we tell stories in a similar way.

We’ve always been really interested in people and character-driven story telling. We work in a very multi-disciplinary way as well – although this particular show is a little different. We like to take realism and deconstruct it. Use memory, image and storytelling the way the human mind works: in fragments and flashes.

Good Girl by Tanya Rintoul

SSB: How was it balancing the roles of writer and performer? Is it hard to relinquish to your director’s vision?

TR: I found it easier than I thought I would. I try to treat them as if they’re two roles. There are things I do in the show that, as an actor, I feel very uncomfortable doing, but as a writer it is really important to me that they be done. So, in a way, I really do have to separate those things. On the other hand I’ll get distracted by the wording of something while I’m in the middle of working on a scene and I’ll have to stop and think about it and say: “Can I cut this?” It’s a weird feeling that I’ve never experienced: the level of distraction that I go through. I literally slow down as I’m speaking to try to process it. But they’re really patient with me, my director and stage manager. They let me figure things out as I need to.

SSB: If you could assemble your dream team for your next project – including any celebrated artist you can think of – who would be in it?

TR: I really want to work with Graham McLaren, because the Hamlet that he did with Necessary Angelchanged the way that I saw theatre. I don’t know if I even understand how my work has changed since I saw that show. The experience I had in that audience definitely changed the way I approached this piece.

SSB: I noticed in the trailer for your show you have some suggested nudity. How do you feel about women showing their bodies in film and theatre?

TR: I think that as a society we’ve forgotten how powerful nudity can actually be because it’s everywhere. I remember when certain words and certain things weren’t shown on TV before a certain time and that’s completely over. And I think it’s too bad, because it has the potential communicate this vulnerability and television has ruined that. In theatre it can be uncomfortable because the people are real and they’re right there, naked in front of you. If an actor is self-conscious you know it, and if they’re not, you start thinking about why, because it’s not “ok” to be naked in front of a room of people. It’s one of those things we just don’t do. I’m certainly interested in the power of it and examining how we use it. It adds to the belief that we’re watching someone in a private moment.

SSB: What’s your favourite thing to do in your time off?

TR: Surprisingly enough, I love seeing my friends. I feel like I should want to be by myself and do something really glamourous. But the thing I miss most when I’m too busy to do anything but work, rehearse and sleep, is calling up someone last minute and making plans. I love spending time with people that I care about… or being here in my house. This interview is the longest I’ve been here, awake, in forever.

SSB: What are you most afraid of?

TR: I have definitely have a fear of being the only person left, which is a very real thing in my family: I’m an only child, I have my parents and that’s it. My extended family is very small. And I have this knowledge and understanding that eventually I will be the only one. And that is something I think about a lot and am afraid of. And I’m afraid of windows at night.

SSB: What is your character most afraid of?

TR: Everything that’s happening to her in the play. Specifically, her biggest fear is being wrong and doing the wrong thing.

SSB: What inspires you, as a person and as an artist?

TR: People. I love learning about people and watching people. I watch documentaries endlessly because I find different points of view so incredible. I’m especially fascinated by people who aren’t anything like me. I grew up in a theatre family. I’m really interested in people who know nothing about theatre. I work at a restaurant and I talk to all these people who come there after their 9 to 5 job and I realize I will never know what that life is like. And I want to know, I want to look in other people’s houses. When I walk down the street at night I’m always looking into people’s windows. Someone said to me once: “You’re afraid of windows? It’s like you’re afraid of being seen.” And that’s terrifying. There could be someone over there and you can’t see them. That’s what the fear is based on. Because I’m always seeing and watching, I feel like someone could be seeing and watching me. It’s a weird cycle. What do we present versus what is actually there? That is a huge part of this play as well. The character really tries to figure out how she’s supposed to be. I’ve been told my whole life I should change things about myself because it’ll be easier. But if I do that, then what will I lose because of who I actually am?

CRASH COURSE on Tanya

Favourite book: Fall on Your Knees and The Time Travellers Wife. I hate that they made that awful movie out it.

Favourite playwright: I have a really hard time with this question, because I have seen so many good productions of bad plays and really bad productions of good plays. Theatre is supposed to be seen so it’s hard to judge a piece without all the other elements. It isn’t simply the words that define it for me.

Favourite vice: I’m not going to say the first thing that comes to mind. But, beer.

If I was to pick up your Ipod right now what artist would be playing: Nina Simone

GOOD GIRL, A barking birds production presented as part of the 2013 Toronto Fringe Festival

Written & Performed by Tanya Rintoul

Directed by: Elsbeth McCall
Stage Managed by: Jade Lattanzi
Sound Design by: Hallie Seline

Runs: July 3rd-July 14th
Wednesday July 3rd – 8:30pm
Thursday July 4th- 8:30pm
Friday July 5th- 8:30pm
Saturday July 6th- 8:30pm
Sunday July 7th- 8:30pm
Monday July 8th- 8:30pm
Wednesday July 10th- 8:30pm
Thursday July 11th- 8:30pm
Friday July 12th- 8:30pm
Saturday July 13th- 8:30pm
Sunday July 14th- 8:30pm

Where: 1044 Bathurst Street (Annex Pawn) Enter through back ally off of Vermont Ave.

Tickets: $10 at the door/ $11 in advance at https://www.fringetix.ca/scripts/max/2000/maxweb.exe?ACTION=ORDER

For more info on Barking Bird Theatre: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Barking-Birds-Theatre/187191241329340

Or check out their facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/147961018727546/?fref=ts

Jan 10

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10 Toronto Theatre Things to Look Forward to in 2012

By: Alex Johnson

Kim’s Convenience by Ins Choi at Soulpepper

I missed this Best New Play winner at Fringe last summer, and regretted it. I’ve always been a quiet admirer of Ins Choi (a Soulpepper Academy alumnus and an actor who manages to find why those peripheral parts are in the script, and elevate them from walk-on role to scene-stealer). At first it seems out of step that Soulpepper would add a Fringe winner to their docket of “important” and “time-tested” classics. But the Soulpepper website calls Kim’s Convenience a “Toronto classic in the making.” Props to Soulpepper for recognizing and nurturing a more localized “classic” and props to Ins Choi for writing it. It makes for a hell of a good underdog story.

Kim’s Convenience plays January 12^th – February 11^th at the Yonge Centre for the Performing Arts. More information available at http://www.soulpepper.ca or http://kimsconvenience.com/the-play/.

Queen of Puddings Music Theatre Presents Beckett: Feck It! at Canadian Stage

Illustration by Marilyn Koop

The title notwithstanding, I am surprised to find myself so excited about this show. I am not a Beckett fan, so the idea of sitting through a Beckett-themed musical evening shouldn’t sit right with me. However, I can’t help thinking that if anything can shed some light on Beckett, and possibly change my mind about him, it’s going to be the combined energies of Laura Condlln, Jennifer Tarver, Tom Rooney and a smattering of contemporary Irish composers. And who am I kidding…the title kind of clinches it. Maybe Canadian Stage will hand out more of those slightly naughty buttons like they did at Krapp’s Last Tape.

Beckett: Feck It! Plays February 17^th – 25^th at the Berkeley Street Theatre Downstairs. For more information http://www.queenofpuddingsmusictheatre.com/index.php/productions/beckett-feck-it or http://www.canadianstage.com

Arts cuts by City Hall

It hurts our wallets, our functionality, our sense of protection and calm. But historically, Toronto always produces incredible work when our funding gets axed. The community bands together and breaks new ground, flipping a well-crafted bird to the higher-ups. Look at what happened with Summerworks in 2011. I, for one, would wish away the budget cuts if I could, but intend on embracing them when they come. Strange as it is, I look forward to seeing what remarkable things happen when we get put inside the pressure cooker.

I probably wouldn’t be so doe-eyed about it if I had the job responsibilities of Matthew Jocelyn….

Penny Plain by Ronnie Burkett at Factory Theatre

I can’t stress enough how everyone should see the work of The Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes. It ain’t for kids, though it might make you feel like one. I dare even the hardest, crustiest cynics to not be blissfully caught off guard. Seriously. If you’re totally unaffected, send me your address and I’ll mail you a Radiohead album. I’ll assume that’s what you listen to…

Penny Plain plays January 20^th – February 26^th at the Factory Theatre Mainspace. For ticket information (and a great video interview with Ronnie Burkett) check out http://www.factorytheatre.ca/concrete/concrete/index.php/season-and-subscription/penny-plain/.

Closer by Patrick Marber, Mnemonic Theatre Productions

This play made the list because I see it as a diamond in the rough. The cast is relatively unknown, the director is new on the scene; but going to this production will give you the thrill of feeling that you’ve discovered something special and substantial before anyone else has – like how I felt when I got the first Arcade Fire album weeks before it aired on Much Music. I would be very surprised if these young, up-and-coming artists weren’t on many more “Top” lists in the years to come. Not to mention, the play is infinitely better than the film – as is often the case – so exorcise Julia Roberts from your brain and go check out the real deal.

Closer plays February 1^st-4^th at the Winchester Theatre in Cabbagetown. For more information visit www.mnemonictheatre.com/closer

The new “Theatre trailer” and online promotions

I get sick kicks out of sitting down on YouTube and searching for trailers and promotional videos for theatrical productions. I’ve seen some bombs, and I’ve seen some goodies (anyone remember the Jersey Shore transcripts done in the style of Oscar Wilde that promoted The Importance of Being Earnest on Broadway?). It’s interesting to see the creative ways in which people build interest for a live medium through a recorded medium, and I think that with each passing year we are going to see that creativity produce some pretty spectacular efforts. Who will have the most effective, ludicrous, sensational promotional video of 2012?

If you haven’t seen the Earnest Playbill promotions, just YouTube “jersey shore oscar wilde”. And enjoy.

The Year of the Playwright?

Is it? Maybe? Fingers crossed. I can only hope that we are moving into a revamped era where people aren’t just writing great Canadian plays, but they are being produced, watched, and taken seriously. I think that voices like Hannah Moscovitch and Anunsee Roy are showing us that the appetite for new plays is there, and following their example, more young artists are going out on a playwright’s limb. I think that very soon, the playwright will once again be a commanding force of a nature in Canadian theatre (I leave that to better people than I). 2012 is only going to bring us one step closer to that.

There are tons of great writing and creation workshops out there, so keep your ear to the ground. I’ll keep you posted through Inthegreenroom.ca as they pop up.

The Neverending Story at Toronto’s Theatre for Young People

As if this needs any explanation. If you were born in the eighties, raised in the 90s, had even a smidge of a child’s imagination, and owned a VCR…this is a big moment in Canadian theatre for you. Atreyu and Bastian and the Childlike Empress on stage together? Live?? In the flesh?? I might have to knock me down some toddlers to get to the front row. All’s fair in Fantastica, the Land of Stories.

The Neverending Story plays February 27^th-March 17^th at Young People’s Theatre (it was never the Lorraine Kimsa to me!) For more information, check out http://youngpeoplestheatre.ca/en/current/theneverendingstory.cfm. There are cheapie tickets, too!

Groundling Theatre Company

Sometimes I think that every six days there is a Shakespearean start-up venture in Toronto (God knows I’ve been a part of my share). His work is like actor crack: sexy, high-stakes, showy, language that is almost edible. Everyone has an opinion on Shakespeare, and everyone wants to put their stamp on the canon. But when I heard about Groundling Theatre Company, a new Shakespeare company founded by Graham Abbey….well, I think it’s good news for all of us. Abbey knows what he is doing. He has been wrestling with the great roles and the great plays his entire career, has been mentored by the very best, and remains a staple of classical theatre in Canada. We need good Shakespeare, and I’m pleased as punch that he is helping an initiative to do just that. Although their first production isn’t slated until 2013, keep your ears clean and your eyes open and you may hear tell of something. Abbey will also be returning to Stratford for the Festival’s 2012 season. It’s a quick drive for a big treat!

For more information, you can look at their website, groundlingtheatre.com.

The Tennessee Williams Project

Something is a-brewing in the Toronto theatre scene; something built off a love for Toronto, a need for community, a sense of artistic curiosity, and a hot and heavy love of Tennessee. The details are in the works, but we at Inthegreenroom.ca will keep you posted.