Out the Window Coming to the Theatre Centre

Crow's Theatre just finished our first workshop of Liza Balkan's startling documentary theatre piece Out the Window. Liza - along with director Chris Abraham, lighting designer Michelle Ramsay and associate director Philip McKee - spent two weeks working with students at the National Theatre School in Montreal.

In May, Crow’s Theatre will partner with the Theatre Centre for another two-week workshop that will culminate in a limited number of public presentations. Details will be announced shortly.

This innovative piece of documentary theatre investigates the events of August 9, 2000 when Toronto resident Otto Vass died during an altercation with police officers outside of a convenience store at Lansdowne Ave and College St. Using court transcripts, interviews, and Liza's experience as a witness to the altercation, Out the Window asks the audience to scrutinize the decisions and testimony of the four officers involved and to consider the challenges of re-creating past events – both as witness, and as artist.

Getting Over It: Amiel Gladstone breaks up with the BC government

It’s over.  No warning.  

I was not in favour of this break up. I knew that things weren’t perfect but I felt like they still could be fixed. We’d worked through some hard times. I thought I had good arguments of why we should stay together. I felt like I was understood and appreciated. My achievements were trumpeted. International visitors were invited from around the world and my art was part of the incentive to come. I thought we would all be able to celebrate together. Now all our international visitors are coming, but it can feel a bit strained to plaster on the smile and pretend I’m happy to be at the party since The Government of British Columbia no longer wants to continue our relationship.

Some nights it’s hard to leave the house.

Everywhere I go I am reminded of how things were.  Just around the corner from me, the Vancouver East Cultural Centre has a brand new huge renovation. Downtown the Queen Elizabeth Theatre received a facelift. There are openings all over town filled with people. Memories of how we were in synch. And now? I feel like a failure because I couldn’t make this work.

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Anthony Black at UNder the Radar

In January, I had the honour of bringing my one-man show to the Under The Radar festival, presented by the Public Theatre, and curated by Mark Russell. We spent two weeks there and saw roughly half of the 20 shows the festival had to offer.

Here is how the festival describes itself on its facebook page:

UNDER THE RADAR is a look at new theater on shuffle mode - examples from around the world and the U.S. that spotlight artists ranging from emerging talents to masters in the field. The festival is a wild mix of works by ensembles, solo artists, writers, and creators. UNDER THE RADAR will offer a crash course in theater that is exciting, independent, and experimental, created by some of the most dynamic artists working today.

I think this description is apt. The program is certainly diverse in artistic form, intent, and execution. I mostly appreciated this diversity.

I saw a staging of a song cycle comprised of verbatim text; the reinterpretation by Anne Bogart of a Martha Graham choreography, performed by a mixture of dancers and actors; a solo puppet and ventriloquism performance depicting the most violent and perverse acts I've ever seen represented, with the performer foaming at the mouth; a spoken-word performance trying to solve once-and-for-all the problem of racism in America; a Polish interpretation of a Brecht play with young attractive performers in their underwear (who periodically foam at the mouth); a hand puppet re-enactment of the Apollo 11 moon landing; a marionette re-telling of a Faustian American tale; a dramaturgical mash-up of Chekhov; and neuro-science, and a play about a guy doing short performances for small audiences in his basement apartment.

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Voices from Gaza at the Launch of Beit Zatoun House

A big thanks to everyone who came out to the January 30th reading of Seven Days from a Gaza Diary.

The night was a huge success. People packed into the Beit Zatoun House on Markham St. to hear the words of Khulood Ghanem, a Palestinian diarist living in Gaza during last year’s Israeli Offensive. The event was organized to commemorate a year passing since the “Gaza War”, which decimated infrastructure in the Gaza Strip and left 50, 000 Palestinians homeless.

The reading of Seven Days from a Gaza Diary was directed by David Jansen, and featured Liza Balkan, Liisa Repo-Martell & Severn Thompson.  It was followed by an amazing performance from pianist John Kameel Farah.

The night also marked the launch of Beit Zatoun, Toronto’s newest venue for the justice and human rights community. It is a beautiful space located in the heart of Mirvish Village, and they are available to rent for exhibitions/readings/screenings/etc – visit their website for more information.

More pictures are available on Beit Zatoun’s flikr page

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Talk About Push: Claire Calnan in Vancouver

Earlier this year I decided to travel out west to the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival in Vancouver. I was suffering from a serious case of burnout and the PuSh program promised me inspiration, rejuvenation and conversation.

Perfect.

I saw five shows at PuSh. I will talk about the two shows that most moved me…in very different directions.

But first, I do think it is important to contextualize the climate in Vancouver when I arrived there in mid-January (and I don’t mean the mild temperatures and the lack of snow…)

At the time in question the entire city was going about its business rather frantically as it prepared for the influx of several hundred thousand visitors from around the world. The looming shadow of the approaching Winter Games was growing ever closer.

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Geometry in Venice Wraps up in Montreal

Almost 20 years after Michael Mackenzie’s seminal play was first staged, The Segal Centre/Crow’s Theatre production of Geometry in Venice played to the delight of audiences and critics in Montreal.

"A superb cast... a lucid visual style... Abraham's production is beautifully understated."
-Montreal Gazette

"A great example of literary adaptation... Fulton is magnificent."
-Rover Arts

"Subtle and intelligent... a sophisticated and elegant drama from start to finish."
-The Hour

"Excellent... will make you use your brain at the same time it is tugging on your heartstrings."
-Orcasound

Geometry in Venice is currently available for touring. Please contact Crow's Theatre for more information.

More pictures are available on our Facebook page

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Throughout our 09/10 Season, Crow’s Theatre is working with our largest ever team of Writers in Residence - five renowned and award-winning playwrights - to develop six exciting new projects.

Each year, we invest significant resources in new play development through workshops, readings and residencies - providing artists with the tools to create and a place to explore. Developing this number of new works requires significant investment, which is why we rely on the support of arts councils, sponsors and private donors.

This is where we need your help.

We are now mid-way through our season and only $12,000 short of our fundraising goal for the further development of these incredible new works. Our writers are working on plays that are critical, daring and funny. They are also thrilling diverse in their points of view and expression. With your support they will be shared with audiences in Toronto and across Canada.

Click here to learn more about the projects that your donation will support, and please consider getting involved by making a contribution. All money raised goes directly to the artists and the production costs associated with their project; so the more we raise, the more we can realize.

For more information on giving, please contact Crow’s Theatre. Or click the CanadaHelps button to donate on-line.

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Community Events

Physical Performance Intensives with Adam Lazarus and guest instructors

Working in the tradition of French Master Teachers Philippe Gaulier and Jacques Lecoq, these 5 day courses challenge students to take risks, hone their improvisational skills and push through performance inhibitions to find the pleasure of being present, space, rhythm, fixed point, complicity, focus, flop and play. These techniques are useful for performers in all disciplines/writers/teachers and critical thinkers.
 
Intro to Bouffon: April 19 - 23, 2010

The fine art of satire. Games and exercises are used to discover students’ pleasure to mock social hypocrisies while simultaneously making audiences love you.  Historically and culturally, Bouffon sat outside mainstream society, watching human hypocrisies and laughing.  Now and then, they came back to do a play for the hypocrites.  No subject, person or institution was spared their mockery.
 
The Bouffon helps students embrace the power of being seen and listened to.
 
Building Performance: April 26 - May 2, 2010

Students come with ideas they want to work on and perform. Regardless of form, the focus is on writing, directing and presenting. This is a deeper exploration into the world of physical performance, culminating in 2 informal public performances on May 1st and 2nd.
 
$315 1wk ($250/equity)
$600 2wks ($480/equity)
 
Info/reservations: www.quiptake.com, thebouffon@rogers.com, 416-821-3833