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Posts tagged ‘Toronto Theatre’

Oct 31

Artist Profile: Lesley Robertson takes on the role of King John in the upcoming production by Shakespeare BASH’d

Interview by Hallie Seline

Hallie Seline: King John has been scarcely performed up until last year when Stratford staged it. Why do you think King John is due for a ‘come-back’ and what about it stood out the most after working on it now in comparison to some of Shakespeare’s more often produced work in Canada?

Lesley Robertson: I think King John is definitely due for a come-back because I think we all need a break from the over-produced comedies for a bit, while still getting to enjoy Shakespeare’s spectacular poetry, characters, and timeless themes of humanity. I especially think it’s due for a come-back in the bare-bones, accessible way Shakespeare BASH’d is approaching the play.  The text is heavy with political maneuvering, battles over ‘right’, and religious language – it’s very dense and rooted in its history. But with the clear direction of James Wallis, I think we will make this difficult, murky-seeming play come alive for an audience through our emphasis on the story and language (without relying on expensive sets and costumes) and our youthful energy and passion to tell a story about oppression. I personally celebrate the play’s complexity and messy imperfections – I think it suits the story, which is full of political and moral errors and people switching back and forth between sides. I also think it’s a great time to tell a political story with Canada just having had a very interesting election and also a travelling Magna Carta exhibit!

HS: What have you discovered in exploring the character of King John? 

LR: I’ve thought a lot about manipulation and what is right and wrong. I’ve rarely played characters that, on the outside, might be perceived as ‘villainous’ or even not likeable. But from the inside, those people are simply acting in a manner they think best. They are doing what they think is right and they are simply going after what they want and need. So, I guess that’s to say, I’ve found it very interesting to empathize with someone that has been hated so widely and for centuries! (That’s not to say I think what John does is ‘good’ and ‘right’!) I think Shakespeare has created a deliciously complex play and I hope to imbue John with the complexity of any human being; we are all vulnerable. I hope to complicate the audience’s inherited perception of “Bad King John.”

HS: What are you most looking forward to in doing this piece in The Junction City Music Hall?

LR: The proximity between the audience and our playing space, I like being able to see audience members’ faces, and, of course, the beer.

HS: Describe this play in 10 words or less.

LR: Oh, I’m terrible at this… Crap, are you counting?… “Oppression.”

Lesley Robertson as King John. Photo Credit: Kyle Purcell

Lesley Robertson as King John.

Rapid Fire Question Round:

HS: Favourite Drink at The Junction City Music Hall:

LR: I remember noting several craft tall boys that I love, but I can only remember Conductor’s Ale at the moment. Ask me again at the end of the run!

HS: Favourite rehearsal moment:

LR: When everyone laughed at me during an early movement rehearsal in which I created a giant angry horse with my body that simply yells “NEIGH!!!”

HR: Favourite place in Toronto:

LR: Other than my home, the 13th floor of Robarts Library.

HS: Where do you find inspiration?

LR: Music, literature, history, documentaries…

HS: Best advice you’ve ever gotten:

LR: Hm… My streetcar driver today said “Life is too short to be grumpy” and that was pretty great.

HS: What do you think is on your King John’s pre-show playlist?

LR: Something that really pumps me up I guess… like gangster rap… Yeah, probably some gangster rap.

King John Graphic

Directed by James Wallis

Featuring: Sochi Fried, James Graham, Bailey Green, Catherine Rainville, Lesley Robertson, Caitlyn Robson, David Ross, Matt Shaw, Tim Welham, Kate Werneburg, Jeff Yung

When: November 16 – 21, 2015

Where: Junction City Music Hall, 2907 Dundas Street West, Toronto.

Tickets: $19 online: shakespearebashd.com $20 at the door.

Connect with us!

Shakespeare Bash’d: @ShakesBASHd

In the Greenroom: @intheGreenRoom_

Oct 28

1 Comment

The Sex Ed Curriculum, Plays in Threes & Making a Statement with a Dildo – In Conversation with Rob Kempson, Playwright/Director of SHANNON 10:40

Interview by Brittany Kay

Brittany Kay: Tell me about your title character Shannon and SHANNON 10:40?

Rob Kempson: Shannon, the character, was born out of my work as a teacher and meeting students who don’t feel like they are welcomed in the environment of school. I’ve taught in a lot of settings where they are welcomed and that is truly amazing, like if you look at an arts school, for example, and the amount of students who are queer or questioning or in some of sort in-between place with their sexual identity or gender identity, those schools tend to be leaning towards a more supportive side. What was most interesting to me were kids who are incredibly confident with their sexuality and are able to talk about it openly, and the way that other kids in school respond to that kind of confidence and power. I was not one of those kids. After creating Shannon, I started thinking about myself as a queer teacher and the challenges associated with that in this day and age. I thought putting those two people on stage together might create an interesting dynamic.

BK: What has been your inspiration for writing this show?

RK: I’m producing two plays of mine this year. SHANNON 10:40 is the first one before the holidays and the second one is called Mockingbird, which will be in the Next Stage Theatre Festival in January 2016. They are part of a series that I’m calling The Graduation Plays. I think that I tend to work in threes. I kind of get obsessed with an idea for a little while and hang out with that idea in my brain. I’ve been teaching for a long time and so I’ve obviously always thought about school settings but for SHANNON 10:40 and Mockingbird, it was just their time in my brain to come into being. I was ready for them to exist. Jokingly, 2014 was the year of Grandmas for me. I did a musical that was about a grandma (The Way Back To Thursday) and then I did a piece at Hatch that featured three grandmas (#legacy). I don’t think my grandma phase is over, perhaps, but I’d like to think that now I’m on to my school phase.

Once I get interested in a given environment or topic, I want to explore that from a lot of different places before I’m done with it and sometimes you can’t fit all of that into one play, so it becomes two plays.

BK: Is there a third one in your series?

RK: I think there’s a third play… and I think I know what it’s about. I certainly didn’t imagine I would get into Next Stage this year and also get to produce SHANNON 10:40 this year, so the fact that they are being presented so close together is very exciting. I feel really lucky.

BK: Why the title of the series – The Graduation Plays?

RK: I always thought of them as a series and then a smart publicist friend of mine told me that I needed to name it as a series if it’s going to be one. Of course, initially what came to my mind was the Education Plays and I thought, “well that sounds stupid,” and then I thought that that’s not actually what this is about. It’s about all of us as an education community but also us as a world advancing in some way. Getting to somewhere that we weren’t before. That’s what graduation is in theory and I think I imagine these plays to both showcase characters and situations that challenge what we expect and challenge what we understand to be acceptable.

I think that there are so many examples of students taking back power because they need to act out, they need to say they’re not happy, they need to stand up for themselves… there’s a lot of different reasons. The term ‘graduation’ is kind of about all of that – it’s about moving forward and understanding something new. Both plays have that sort of characteristic to them.

BK: How has teaching, being in a school environment, and around these types of students influenced your writing?

RK: I feel so lucky that I get to work as an artist educator and as an artist because those two streams for me are incredibly important in my life, in my career, and they ultimately inform one another. So things that I’m working on in my artistic practice often end up infiltrating my work as an artist educator and vice versa. Things that happen in my practice as an artist educator always make their way into my writing. There’s this real sort of back and forth between those two parts of my brain.

Hallie Seline as Shannon in SHANNON 10:40

Hallie Seline as Shannon in SHANNON 10:40

BK: Why 10:40?

RK: Oh, because that’s the time of Shannon’s guidance appointment. She’s going to a guidance appointment at 10:40. It’s not like 4.48 Psychosis or anything crafty. It’s literally the time of her guidance appointment. The timeline is all about the school day and 10:40 is midway through second period, it’s right before lunch and she’s been called out of class to come to this guidance appointment. There’s a very different kind of day for students because school starts so early in the morning and ends so early in the afternoon.

BK: This play is very timely and appropriate for what some are calling The Education Crisis that is going on.

RK: Yes. It’s not really brain surgery though… Oh, the world changes but we’ve done the exact same thing for a very long time? If we expect to be relevant and expect to connect with our students and we expect to have our education system actually do anything for the community that we live in, it needs to change with the world. The bureaucracy that prevents it from doing so is, in fact, the problem. We need to be able to respond quickly with curriculum development. We need to give teachers enough autonomy to be able to work with the curriculum in an innovative and progressive way, but we also need to be able to support them as they make those choices. The message of Shannon 10:40 is definitely political in scope in the sense that a teacher, Mr. Fisher, is dealing with this desire to be a progressive forward thinking teacher and he’s not receiving the support that he needs to in order to do that effectively. Shannon is a student who’s caught in the cross-fire, not feeling represented in her school, not feeling represented in her classes that she has to take and, therefore, feeling oppressed. She is feeling like she is the victim of oppression in her everyday life as a student and so, of course, she’s going to do something to change that, because she has to.

I think the play is about students figuring out a way to state their case, to share their message, to say what they need to say—and students don’t always do that in the most appropriate way. That’s what it’s about: a student taking back the power and fighting the oppression of that system.

BK: Tell me you’re inviting Kathleen Wynne because this is so timely around what is happening right now in the world of education.

RK: I do have dreams of doing so. I’m definitely inviting some folks who are into education pedagogy and hoping we’ll be able to have a discourse around that.

BK: I think that’s what theatre is about… that, often it needs to reflect what’s happening in our day-to-day.

RK: I agree. I also think that we don’t give students tools to talk about or react to oppression, but we then oppress them. If we’re not teaching them how to react to that in a way that’s appropriate, how can we expect anything but outbursts, outrage and acts of defiance because they need to be heard. They need to say what they feel.

I think the last great bastion to knock down in a school setting is really around sexual and gender diversity and it’s way better than it used to be. It’s not like we aren’t making progress but it’s when in that progress that we need to recognize we’re never done… We still need to work. We still need to continue and develop.

BK: What do you want audiences walking away with from SHANNON 10:40?

RK: Hopefully, a new perspective in their toolkit when they’re thinking about the way that education works in this province. And, also, that they got to see a show with a dildo in it! We haven’t even said that—Shannon brings a dildo to school.

Rapid Fire Question Period:

Favourite movie: Sister Act 2.

Play: Impossible to choose… You Are Here by Daniel MacIvor?

Musical: Elegies.

Food: Cheese.

TV Show: Please Like Me.

Book: Favourites are so hard… I don’t like the commitment… The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer

Best advice you’ve ever gotten or something you live by: This is where I find myself. You have to be happy where you are.
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Who: Written and Directed by Rob Kempson
Featuring Qasim Khan and Hallie Seline
Set and Costume Design by Anna Treusch
Lighting Design by Oz Weaver
Sound Design by Daniel Maslany

When: Wed‐Sat at 8pm, Sun at 2pm

Where: Videofag, 187 Augusta Avenue, Toronto

Tickets: $20 or $15 for Artsworkers/Students. Plus a $10 Halloween ticket treat for Saturday October 31st at 8pm.
Available at shannon1040.bpt.me

Connect with us:

Rob Kempson – @rob_kempson #shannon1040

Brittany Kay – @brittanylkay

In the Greenroom – @intheGreenRoom_

 

*Disclaimer: Please note the editor’s personal involvement in the show has not affected the editing and content of this piece. The views of this interview are that of the interviewer and the subject.

Jul 6

1 Comment

“Loss sure is unpleasant, right?” – An Interview with Ben Hayward – director of “A Tournament of Lies” in the 2015 Toronto Fringe

by Bailey Green 

A Tournament of Lies is a play of eight monologues spoken by the former friends and lovers of Alex, the deceased. Part of the challenge of directing the show, explains director Ben Hayward, lay in how to find each character’s connections to each other and their ties to Alex, the person who has left them all behind. “There’s a sense when someone dies young that there’s this lost life that never happened,” says Hayward, “and we wanted to explore how people cope with that.”

When Bald Monkey Theatre decided they wanted to perform Evan Brown’s play A Tournament of Lies, they began the search for their site-specific location—the action of the play takes place at a memorial. But as you can imagine, securing a funeral home for a play is as tricky as it sounds. They’re costly to rent, and having the owners on board with the idea was another challenge altogether. “We also wanted to avoid churches,” says Hayward, “because we didn’t want the piece to have any particular religious focus,” — the piece avoids discussing afterlife or heaven in any way. They ended up choosing the Multi-Faith centre at the University of Toronto for the reverent atmosphere, plus the challenge it would prove to transform it into a theatrical space.

Ben Hayward is involved with two shows this year—working as director of A Tournament of Lies with Bald Monkey Theatre as well as co-creator and cook for The Dinner Table with Fail Better Theatre (co-created and produced by Ali Richardson). Last year, Hayward played the elusive Andy Warhol in last summer’s Fringe success Andy Warhol presents: Valerie (presented by Fail Better Theatre.)

The bereaved cast of characters, “who are wacky and wide-ranging” says Ben, include: “a guy hung up on the dead girl, two people who work at a bottle recycling plant, a hipster cab driver, a drunk dude who hates funerals and her ex-lover.” One of the characters in the show is a diary entry, “which was an interesting abstract moment, everyone else is somehow connected to the sphere of the dead girl Alex, but this one is outside of that, so we had to figure out that voice,” says Ben. The bereaved are played by Owen Fawcett, Brandon Gillespie, Hannah Jack, Iain LaCourt, Sarah Marchand, Lindsey Middleton, Sarah Robbins and Jonathan Walls.

The Multi-Faith Centre feels like it could host a memorial—it’s has a sense of decorum, it’s non-descript and to a degree, clinical. But from a theatrical standpoint, there’s no backstage area, no hidden props on a table, nor is there a lighting grid. So it was up to the cast and crew to create the magic. “One of the best parts was transforming the space, and I don’t want to give away too much,” says Ben, “but for example we have a runner of LED lights around the room so that as the show proceeds and becomes more theatrical the lights change with that. My approach to the show has been about magic – that life is about those moments of magic and it’s about the things that don’t have logical or linear explanations.” They’re hoping to surprise their audience out of their initial thoughts. They want the audience to engage, to be invested and hopefully delighted.

Ben is constantly seeking ways of pushing the boundaries of theatre creation in a way that doesn’t need the proscenium arch. “I want to avoid making ‘movies on stage’, ” laughs Ben. When I ask Ben to describe A Tournament of Lies in five words, he pauses and says “loss sure is unpleasant, right?”

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Alex’s friends and lovers gather at her funeral to make sense of her death. Once together, they compete between themselves to see who can grieve the best. How do you make sense of your life when the person who defined it is gone? A Tournament of Lies examines the unsavoury nature of grief, fragmentation of memory, and self-preservation.

By: Evan Brown
Company origin: Toronto, Ontario
Director: Ben Hayward
Cast: Owen Fawcett, Hannah Jack, Iain LaCourt, Sarah Marchand, Lindsey Middleton, Sarah Robbins, Jon Walls

Warnings: Mature Language

Where: (site-specific) Multi-Faith Centre (The Quiet Room)

Capacity: 15

When:
July 02 at 09:00 PM  sold out
July 03 at 09:00 PM  sold out
July 06 at 09:00 PM  sold out
July 07 at 09:00 PM  sold out
July 08 at 09:00 PM  sold out
July 09 at 09:00 PM  buy tickets
July 10 at 09:00 PM  sold out

Show length: 60min.

Jul 6

In Conversation with Sophia Fabiilli – Adaptor & Performer of The Philanderess in the 2015 Toronto Fringe

Interview by Hallie Seline

I had the pleasure of chatting with the Fabulous Fabiilli. I call her that as 1 – her twitter handle is FabFabiilli and I want it to catch on and 2 – she’s inspired me to think that should be her superhero name. Currently wearing the many hats of adaptor/writer, producer, actor etc. etc. in her show The Philanderess in this year’s Fringe Festival, Sophia shares her inspiration for the adaptation, the strength of her team around her and some very good advice for surviving the ever-necessary evil of wearing those multi-tasking shoes in indie theatre. #FringeFemmeTO power!

HS: What inspired you to adapt George Bernard Shaw’s The Philanderer for the 21st century?

Sophia Fabiilli: Want to know my little secret? I didn’t have a project when I applied for the Fringe (gasp!). I was trying to find the perfect play to produce, but nothing felt right and my gut told me I was trying too hard. So, I sat down in my front of my bookshelf and said: “What do you really like, Sophia?” (out loud, alone, and creepily in my apartment). And there was my copy of Shaw’s Plays Unpleasant. I loved working on a scene from The Philanderer in theatre school and I realized what I really like are plays that make me laugh and make me think. I’m also very passionate about the representation of women on stage and in the media, so thought it would be interesting to re-invent the play with a woman at the centre of a modern love triangle, while trying to let Shaw’s smart, funny, and witty writing inspire my own. Then I realized this idea would involve writing a PLAY, so I went around telling myself I couldn’t possibly do THAT. Then, I finally told someone the idea, they said “DO IT”, and I started writing (and I haven’t slept a full night since).

What resulted is a weird, little farce. Our tagline is “Open relationships, ballsy sexcapades, and weeping men… What would Shaw think of that?”. Laugh? Cry? Throw rotten tomatoes from the grave? Come see the show and tell me what you think over a Steamwhistle after.

HS: You have a great group of artists working on this play. What was it like bringing something that you had been working with so intimately as an adaptor to the team you have around you?

SF: My amazing director/dramaturg/work wife, Michelle Alexander, was the first person I asked to help me with this project and I will sing her praises to anyone willing to listen. It’s been her and I since the get-go and we have slowly built our mighty little team together.

HS: What’s it been like?

SF: As an actor and producer: AWESOME. Work with great people. They’ll make you look like you know what you’re doing.

As a writer: AWESOME. And, to be honest, a little overwhelming. If you hire smart actors, they will ask hard questions about your weird little play baby, which in the moment is challenging, but in the long run is invaluable. There were a few humbling rehearsals where discrepancies were pointed out and questions were asked and I had to go back to my laptop and figure it out. Overall though, everyone’s profesh (that’s how I say professional without sounding pretentious); they all know what they’re doing and they’re all invested. I’m extremely lucky to be working with them.

HS: As you mentioned, you wear many hats for this production – adaptor, writer, producer, actor – what was your experience taking on so many roles in this show and do you have any words of advice for others who are or might one day be in the same kind of multitasking shoes?

SF: Full disclosure: writing, acting, and producing this show is by far the most challenging thing I’ve ever done. It is as difficult as everyone tells you it is (Michelle and I answer each other’s calls “Hello! Panic Attack Central” which gives you an idea of what our lives have been like leading up to opening).

Even now that we’re open, I’m STILL working on trying to separate my different roles, but things always come up! For instance, once we started rehearsals, I was trying really to “hang up my writer hat”, but then… the ending needed a major rewrite. And then… the show was too long. And then… it was still too long. And then… it was still too long… Layer in a never-ending producing to do list and slaying my demons as an actor, and… yes, Panic Attack Central really should have been the name of my theatre company now that I think of it.

So, here’s my humble advice:

1) Just like in real life, wearing more than one hat isn’t a “good” idea. But wearing multiple hats in this crazy biz is often unavoidable, so: prioritize and carve out time in your schedule for the creative things. Often there are harder deadlines for the producer things and will take priority sometimes (okay, a lot of times), make time for the creative stuff (for writing, learning lines, warming up for your show)… because chances are the creative part is probably why you’re producing your own show in the first place.

2) Ask for help. This one is so hard! It’s hard to trust other people with your weird play baby (no one understands her like you do). Surround yourself with awesome people and let them help you. My stage manager, Laura Paduch, offered to take on producer-y things from the get-go and I will forever love her for that. I also ended up bringing on my awesome co-producer, Vikki Velenosi, who keeps forcing me to give her items off my to do list, which she then magically accomplishes. I will love her forever, too. And then there is my small army of friends who I call for advice, for help postering, or for free therapy sessions. Oh, and Mom built my set. So, yes, I would definitely recommend having handy (and retired) parents.

3) Think less, just do it. This became my weirdo Nike-inspired mantra. It’s very easy to get overwhelmed. Do one thing at a time. Make a to do list and start checking things off. Just do it.

4) Budget extra time. For everything. Yep.

5) Take care of yourself. Take breaks. Take your vitamins. Sleep. Eat well. Call your mom (especially if she built your set).

Please note: I did not do these things unless we count eating Nutella off a spoon at 2am as “eating well”.

6) Remind yourself to enjoy the process. Half way through rehearsals I realized I was stressing so much about making a play. A PLAAAY. Even though I am totally the CEO of Panic Attack Central, making theatre isn’t heart surgery, so I tried my best not to stress about it like it was (and failed, but this sounds like excellent advice, doesn’t it?).

HS: Tell us about your favourite aspect of the Fringe Festival.

SF: The lottery system. “Breaking into the scene” is really daunting and can feel impossible, but anyone can get into the Fringe! It doesn’t matter what’s on your resume!! I just love that. And the beer tent is pretty fun, I guesssss…..

HS: Describe The Philanderess in 5 words.

SF: Silly. Sexy. Weird. Ridiculous. Unicorn.

HS: We’re loving the #FringeFemmeTO hashtag you ladies started! As Femmes who are Fringing, any other shows you think we should check out?

SF: It caught on! Woohoo! I feel like an old lady who got her DVD player to work! Honestly, I have a very on-again/off-again relationship with Twitter, but this really is evidence of its power to connect people.

So many #FringeFemmeTO shows to see and so little time! Here are just a few in no particular order:

In Case We Disappear, Bout, Hanger, Adventures of a Red Headed Coffee Shop Girl, Morro and Jasp do Puberty, Waiting for Alonzo

The Philanderess

Presented by Truth ‘n’ Lies Theatre as part of The 2015 Toronto Fringe

PHILANDERESS G1

Meet Charlotte. She has a PhD in feminist philosophy, just asked her lawyer boyfriend to be her life partner, and authors a wildly famous blog about sleeping with men on the side. She has it all!
Until one of her lovers – and his entire family – crash her engagement party.
An outrageous, sexy, fast-paced farce inspired by G.B. Shaw’s ‘The Philanderer’!

By: Sophia Fabiilli
Company: Truth ‘n’ Lies Theatre
Company origin: Toronto, Ontario
Director: Michelle Alexander
Cast: Amos Crawley, Seth Drabinsky, Jakob Ehman, Sophia Fabiilli, Deborah Tennant and Suzanne Bennett
Creative team:
Stage Manager: Laura Paduch, Co-producers: Sophia Fabiilli and Vikki Velenosi, Designer: Laura Gardner, Fight Director: Nate Bitton

Where: Annex Theatre

When: 
July 02 at 07:00 PM  buy tickets
July 04 at 11:00 PM  buy tickets
July 06 at 01:30 PM  buy tickets
July 08 at 07:30 PM  buy tickets
July 10 at 05:45 PM  buy tickets
July 11 at 12:30 PM  buy tickets
July 12 at 04:00 PM  buy tickets

Warnings: Sexual Content, Mature Language

Tickets: fringetoronto.com

Connect with them: @truthnlies
@FabFabiilli

#FringeFemmeTO

sophiafab.com

Connect with us: @intheGreenRoom_
@HallieSeline

#GetYourFringeOn

Jul 3

1 Comment

Interview with Rachel Blair – Playwright & Performer of “A Man Walks Into a Bar” at the 2015 Toronto Fringe

by Bailey Green 

“A woman, with the help of a man, tells a joke: A man walks into a bar and meets a waitress. As lines between the performers and the characters blur, a tense and funny standoff about gender, power, and selling sex emerges.” – A Man Walks Into a Bar

Presented by Circle Circle and written by Rachel Blair, A Man Walks into a Bar is a stark exploration of the ways men and women interact. Inspired by current events, collected stories and her own experience, the play is a frank conversation about masculine and feminine interaction. The location— the loaded and often hyper-sexualized environment of a bar.

Rachel wanted to discuss inequality, for example: how from a very early age women are taught coping strategies to avoid violence and protect themselves. “In these kinds of conversations, about gender or race, someone has privilege and someone does not,” Rachel says, “and you might not realize how privileged you are until you hear how someone else isn’t.” She strove to make each character identifiable but challenging. In her own words, she describes the play as “funny, feminist, masculine, urgent and accessible.”

The play slips between two worlds, between interaction with the audience and absorption into the woman’s story. Rachel performs the role of the woman. Blue Bigwood-Mallin plays the man, and Rachel comments on his willingness to stretch as a performer, committing to the strong opinionated nature of his role. The play began as a satire on how men negatively respond to women’s stories— corrections, suggestions, interruptions, etc. Rachel did extensive research, using Reddit and message boards to examine the ways men dismantled women’s arguments. Now before I go further, let me introduce a hashtag conceived by the cast and crew:

#NotAllMenwhoWalkIntoaBar

One of Rachel’s challenges was to make the piece as balanced as possible, “I’m trying open up a discussion that happens often, and clearly sometimes blows up in our face and creates animosity—between men and women, women and women, men and men. I wanted to be very respectful to both voices without making them caricatures or demonizing them.” Rachel mentions White Ribbon for their work, men working to end violence towards women, and expresses her gratitude for the feminists in her life.

One of whom is her director, David Matheson (Artistic Director of the Dora nominated Wordsmyth Theatre) who was a mentor of Rachel’s while she studied at York. Their friendship grew from there. “David’s great about drawing out new aspects and finding moments while being very respectful of the work,” Rachel says. When Rachel was selected from the Fringe lottery, she proceeded to write the play in two months, going through multiple drafts with her dramaturg Andrew Cheng—who she has worked with for years.

After June 1st, Rachel officially switched over to acting the role as opposed to writing the show. She initially found it challenging to let go of the male character’s justifiable opinions at points in the story.“We’ve played a lot with my character’s volition and how much she needs to keep the conversation with the man amicable and light. As a playwright I’ve written this piece, and I’m outspoken and opinionated” Rachel says, “but for the character, this is a big brave thing to talk about this idea and tell this joke to a man. I think a lot of women may have huge opinions about who they are as women and where they stand but are scared to speak up for fear that they won’t ‘do it right’ or rock the boat or to encourage judgement.”

As for her intention for the audience, she hopes people hear an opinion different from their own and find themselves understanding even though they still may disagree. She hopes women find a sense of comfort in hearing any part of their experience heard. Let’s keep the dialogue going.

A Man Walks Into a Bar

A Man Walks In 3 Lo Res

A man walks into a bar and asks a waitress for a drink. A tense and funny metatheatrical look at gender dynamics.

From Rachel Blair, 2008 New Play Contest winner for Wake (NNNN, ***** Eye Weekly, Best of Fringe) and David Matheson, Artistic Director of Dora-nominated Wordsmyth Theatre and director of [sic] (Best of Fringe) and Bluebeard (Patron’s Pick).

By: Rachel Blair

Company: Circle Circle

Company origin: Toronto, Ontario

Director: David Matheson

Dramaturg: Andrew Cheng

Warnings: Mature Language

Where: Tarragon Theatre Extraspace

When:
July 01 at 06:30 PM
July 03 at 01:15 PM
July 04 at 07:00 PM
July 05 at 03:30 PM
July 06 at 08:30 PM
July 08 at 12:00 PM
July 11 at 05:15 PM

Tickets: http://fringetoronto.com/fringe-festival/shows/a-man-walks-into-a-bar/

 

 

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