CROW'S THEATRE WELCOMES MONICA ESTEVES AS NEW MANAGING DIRECTOR And Bids Farewell to our Producer Gillian Hards

Crow's Theatre is very excited to announce that Monica Esteves will be
joining the company as our new Managing Director. Monica will begin her
tenure in September when we say goodbye to the magnificent Gillian Hards -
who is returning to school to complete a Masters Degree in Public Policy at
Ryerson University.

Monica joins Crow's Theatre after four years as Producer and General Manager at Nightwood Theatre in Toronto. Prior to Nightwood, she has been a busy arts manager about town, including at Canadian Stage, Birdland Theatre's The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Producer), as well as A Whistle in the Dark with the Company Theatre where she was a founding member and Artistic Producer. Upon graduation from the National Theatre School of Canada, Monica was a stage manager on over 30 productions across the country, including a bunch with Crow's Theatre Artistic Director Chris Abraham.

“Gillian has been with Crow’s Theatre for the past five seasons and welcomed me to the company three years ago. She has been a brilliant manager and a steadfast partner. I wish her the very best this fall, and want to thank for her friendship and congratulate her on her many achievements with the company.

I am thrilled to be embarking on this new relationship with Monica - that has its roots in the many memorable productions we worked on together while she was still a stage manager. Monica has achieved so much in her career so far, and I have admired her accomplishments as an arts manager from afar for some time - particularly her work at Nightwood Theatre. Monica will bring her signature energy and talent to Crow’s Theatre - I couldn’t be happier.”
         -Chris Abraham

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Chris Abraham on Out the Window

Crow's Theatre recently finished our two-week workshop of Liza Balkan's Out the Window, developed in partnership with the Theatre Centre with associate director Philip McKee, and featuring performances by Stewart Arnott, Liza Balkan, Tom Barnett, Claire Calnan, Stephen Gartner, Lwam Ghebrehariat, Micheal Healey and Jeff Meadows.

Using court transcripts and interviews with experts, this documentary theatre piece looks at the death of a 55-year old-man, Otto Vass, during an encounter with four police officers 10 years ago. Witness to several minutes of the "altercation" from her apartment window, Liza Balkan spent portions of the subsequent years following the incident, being interviewed and testifying at hearings and trials involving the four officers, all of whom were eventually found not guilty.

Together, we have been examining what it means to witness, to be policed in a democracy, our dependence on, and fear of those who are meant to serve and protect us, as well as the mechanics of the legal system in the context of police violence.

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I, CLAUDIA RETURNS TO TORONTO FOR TWO SHOWS ONLY - July 28 & 29 - BEfore Heading to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Crow's Theatre is taking our critically acclaimed production of I, Claudia to the 2010 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. To celebrate this important milestone for Canada's favourite pre-teen, Toronto audiences can see Kristen Thomson reprise her Dora Award winning performance July 28 & 29 at The Theatre Centre. Whether you missed it last time or you just want to see it again, don't miss your chance to see this iconic Canadian show.

Tickets are just $60
Call The Theatre Centre box office at (416) 538-0988 to get your tickets before they're gone

Ticket price includes HST and a $2 Facility Fee to invest in the planning and construction of The Theatre Centre's new facility at 1115 Queen St. West.

"Blissfully funny, unexpectedly touching... a must see"
-Toronto Star

"I, Claudia is a masterful character study and a miracle of unforced comedy"
-Globe & Mail

"Extraordinarily engaging and entertaining... a tour de force knockout"
-Calgary Herald

I, Claudia will play at the Assembly Room's prestigious Edinburgh Suite August 5 - 30, 2010.
For more info on the festival, visit edfringe.com

Click here to make a contribution towards Claudia's trip to Edinburgh.

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Chris Abraham Directs Michel Tremblay's For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again at Stratford this Summer

Artistic Director Chris Abraham will direct Michel Tremblay's hilarious and heartbreaking tribute to his mother at this year's Stratford Festival. A stunning theatrical exploration of that most primal and complex of human bonds, For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again is a tribute to the often turbulent relationship between mother and child.

The show stars Lucy Peacock and Tom Rooney, with designs from Julie Fox, Antoine Bedard and Leigh Ann Vardy.

July 27 - September 26 at the Tom Patterson Theatre
Tickets and info available at stratfordfestival.ca

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TED DYKSTRA AND GEMMA JAMES SMITH JOIN THE COMPANY FOR MICHAEL MACKENZIE'S NEW PLAY

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Misha Shulman's Night of the Broken Eye On Stage in New York City

Night of the Broken Eye by Misha Shulman, developed at Crow's Theatre in 2009, has been in continued development in New York City this spring. Excerpts from the play were performed at Dixon Place Theater as part of Jeff Jones' Little Theatre, Theater for the New City as part of the Lower East Side Festival for the Arts, and Barbes, with the 25 Cent Opera of San Francisco.

The Pharaoh was played by Misha Shulman, the role of the Director by Anthony Johnston, and percussion by Meredith Soffrin. The excerpts were directed by Billy Yallowitz.

Development will continue this summer in Jerusalem, and in the fall in New York City, leading toward a full production in Spring 2011.

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TICKETS NOW ON SALE FOR THE TORONTO RETURN OF ETERNAL HYDRA

Anton Piatigorsky's gripping literary mystery returns for a run at Factory Theatre January 22 - February 13. Tickets are on sale now - call (416) 504-9971 or visit factorytheatre.ca to get yours today.

After picking up 4 Dora Mavor Moore Awards at its 2009 premiere, Eternal Hydra is back by popular demand. Cast members David Ferry, Sam Malkin and Liisa Repo-Martell return to their original roles and are joined by the amazing Cara Ricketts, who takes on the role of Pauline Newberry.

"Every new play should have a production as wonderful as the one that Crow�s Theatre has given Eternal Hydra."
-Toronto Star

"A Stoppard-like display of intellectual drama."
-Globe & Mail

"Challenging... Evocative... Fascinating for its mix of the epic and the intimate."
-Play Anon

Rumoured to encapsulate all of human history in its 99 chapters and 999 pages, the manuscript for Eternal Hydra disappeared over half a century ago, following the death of its author, Gordias Carbuncle. When a young scholar discovers the missing novel in Paris it sparks an academic controversy that reaches as far back as the American Civil War and irrevocably entwines all those who come in contact with it.

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COMING UP IN 2010/11

In partnership with theatres across the country, Crow's Theatre will present a season highlighted by two world premieres and a tour to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Audience favourites I, Claudia and Eternal Hydra return to the stage, and we are premiering two new works from our Writers in Residence  -Liza Balkan's startling documentary Out the Window, in partnership with The Theatre Centre, and internationally celebrated playwright Michael Mackenzie's Instructions to any future socialist government wishing to abolish Christmas, in a co-production with Centaur Theatre.

For more details about our upcoming season, click here to download the press release.

We will also be continuing to develop new work for the years ahead with projects from Kristen Thomson and Anton Piatigorsky. There will be several chances to sneak a peek at this work throughout the year, so keep checking crowstheatre.com for the latest news.

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May 8th Fundraising Event a Success

On May 8th, Crow's Theatre hosted a fundraiser reception in conjunction with our workshop presentation of Out the Window to support the continued development of new Canadian work at Crow's Theatre. The event would not have been possible without the inspired work of our Fundraising Committee - Yvette Lam, Tara Nicodemo, Noni Rabinovitch, Liisa Repo-Martell, Ava Roth, Carolyn Silver and Jodi Tanenbaum. We also want to extend a huge thanks to both the committee and our Board of Directors for making the evening such a success and introducing so many new audience members to our work.

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Crow's Theatre has been very busy in our 2009/10 Season seeding exciting new work with our Writers in Residence, but we need your support to make them bloom.

Please consider getting involved by becoming a member of Crow's Theatre at one of the following levels:

Every donation makes a difference. Click here to learn more about the projects that your donation will support - all money raised will go directly to the artists and the production costs associated with their project; so the more we raise, the more we can realize.

Donations can be made on-line through Canada Helps, or by sending a cheque to Crow's Theatre.

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