CharPo-Toronto's Picture of The Year, 2012

There is very little to say about the initial reaction to the poster art for Dying Hard by Dahlia Katz except that it grabs the eye and doesn't let go. After the initial shock - the head trying to decipher what is happening (and this remaining a mystery to be revealed by the play itself) - you note the icy blue-green eyes, the left with flecks of blood in it. You notice, too, the red rims of those eyes and how - despite the theme of death this all represents - that this face is vigourously alive. Indeed, Ms Katz - as with much of her work - has created a stand-alone photo of - may we suggest - survival?

[Each of our principal sites - CharPo-Montreal and CharPo-Toronto - will be presenting their photo of the year today. Tomorrow we will be presenting THE photo of the year for all sites.]

CharPo-Toronto's Pictures of the Year, 2012, Runners-Up

From December 22-28 we will be presenting the best photos of the year at CharPo-Toronto, CharPo-Montreal and CharPo-Canada (different photos on each site so check them all out). On December 29 we will announce the finalists for the first CharPR Prize (for best PR) including best photographers. On December 30, 2 runner-up photos will be presented on each site (separate from finalists). On December 31 the best photo of the year for each site will be presented. On January 1 the single Photo of The Year will be announced. Finally, on January 2, the CharPR winners will be announced including best photographer, best PR (small, medium, large and indy). 

The Best of CharPo's Real Theatre!

The Best of CharPo's Real Theatre!

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The Best of CharPo's Real Theatre!

CharPR Prize Nominations, 2012

Nominations: CharPR Prize, 2012

The Charlebois Post is in a unique position in the Canadian cultural landscape. First, we are small, so there are only about five of us who have direct contact with publicists at the various companies we deal with. Secondly, with reviewers in Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver and Quebec City, we are in almost continual contact with companies large and small, and because we publish articles about and from many companies outside of those centres, we have a fairly large reach. This is why we decided to create the CharPR Prize (pronounced Sharper).

It would be unfair to say that the PR of some companies makes the PR at others shine all the brighter. But it would be absolutely fair to say that the companies nominated below represent the best for reasons very specific to new media. You won't find any companies among the noms, for instance, who ask new media outlets like CharPo to prove and reprove their credentials every step of the way. You will also find no companies who have been reticent to put us in contact with their artistic directors, managers, technicians or artists. All of them understand the value not just of working with CharPo but - ask around - with new media in general. 

CharPo-Toronto's Pictures of the Year, 2012, Finalists

From December 22-25 we will be presenting the best photos of the year at CharPo-Toronto, CharPo-Montreal and CharPo-Canada (different photos on each site so check them all out). On December 26 we will announce the finalists for the first CharPR Prize (for best PR) including best photographers. On December 30, 2 runner-up photos will be presented on each site (separate from finalists). On December 31 the best photo of the year for each site will be presented (separate from finalists and runners-up). On January 1 the single Photo of The Year (all sites included) will be announced. Finally, on January 2, the CharPR winners will be announced including best photographer, best PR (small, medium, large and indie). Two special awards will be announced at that time as well.

CharPo-Toronto Pictures of the Year, 2012, Finalists

From December 22-25 we will be presenting the best photos of the year at CharPo-Toronto, CharPo-Montreal and CharPo-Canada (different photos on each site so check them all out). On December 26 we will announce the finalists for the first CharPR Prize (for best PR) including best photographers. On December 30, 2 runner-up photos will be presented on each site (separate from finalists). On December 31 the best photo of the year for each site will be presented (separate from finalists and runners-up). On January 1 the single Photo of The Year (all sites included) will be announced. Finally, on January 2, the CharPR winners will be announced including best photographer, best PR (small, medium, large and indie). Two special awards will be announced at that time as well.

CharPo-Toronto, Pictures of the Year, 2012, Finalists

From December 22-25 we will be presenting the best photos of the year at CharPo-Toronto, CharPo-Montreal and CharPo-Canada (different photos on each site so check them all out). On December 26 we will announce the finalists for the first CharPR Prize (for best PR) including best photographers. On December 30, 2 runner-up photos will be presented on each site (separate from finalists). On December 31 the best photo of the year for each site will be presented (separate from finalists and runners-up). On January 1 the single Photo of The Year (all sites included) will be announced. Finally, on January 2, the CharPR winners will be announced including best photographer, best PR (small, medium, large and indie). Two special awards will be announced at that time as well.

CharPo-Toronto, Photos of the Year, 2012, Finalists

From December 22-25 we will be presenting the best photos of the year at CharPo-Toronto, CharPo-Montreal and CharPo-Canada (different photos on each site so check them all out). On December 26 we will announce the finalists for the first CharPR Prize (for best PR) including best photographers. On December 30, 2 runner-up photos will be presented on each site (separate from finalists). On December 31 the best photo of the year for each site will be presented (separate from finalists and runners-up). On January 1 the single Photo of The Year (all sites included) will be announced. Finally, on January 2, the CharPR winners will be announced including best photographer, best PR (small, medium, large and indie). Two special awards will be announced at that time as well.

CharPo's Real Theatre, December 21, 2012

The Still, December 20, 2012

This photo is all about the craft of Ann and David Powell, Puppetmongers, as they prepare Cinderella in Muddy York. 

In a Word... Charlotte Corbeil Coleman on Sudden Death (Next Stage)

Invading the Darkness

Charlotte Corbeil Coleman graduated from the National Theatre School of Canada (2008) in the playwriting program. Since then she has written for theatre, radio, film, and television. Selected writing credits include a CBC radio play, The Summer of February. The End of Pretending, which won the 2002 Summerworks Eye Audience Choice Award, and went on to do a run at the Regent Theatre in Picton, Ontario.  Scratch, which won the 2007 Herman Voaden Award, opened Factory Theatre’s 2008/2009 season.  Scratch was nominated for a Dora award in the category of Outstanding New Play in 2009 and a Governor General's Award in 2010.  She directed and co created Highway 63: The Fort Mac Show (Arts and Culture Tour of Newfoundland and Labrador, 2012, Theatre Passe Muraille 2011) a play about the Oil Sands and the people that live there. Most recently Ms Corbeil Coleman has written for CBC’s Afganada as well as for the Showcase TV series KING.

CHARPO:  We know the process is more complex than that but for some writers there is an "aha!" moment when you know: this is a play. Did you have such a moment?

CORBEIL COLEMAN: I woke up one morning and had this image of a man doing a thick line of coke and then looking up to the audience and saying, I want a baby.  

The Vid, December 19, 2012

Nightwood's highly-praised production of The Penelopiad returns in January!

See the rehearsal process as they prepared for their 2012 production.
(Read our interview with Kelly Thornton, company AD and director of the production)

After Dark, December 18, 2012

Lucky '13

Moving ahead by looking back

by Gaëtan L. Charlebois
@gcharlebois

There are goin' to be some big fuckin' changes around here!

That is the battle cry at The Charlebois Post, ltd., as we slide into our third year of life. But as we face our futures we look back at the past and try to make sense of it. That is a puzzle for the ages, dear friends.

One of the things we've done is try to figure out what draws eyes to these websites. We do that quite simply by checking out the stats for which articles, each day, draw the most readers. It didn't take long for us to realize that one thing that pleases readers are reviews. It's tempting to write raves all the time because then the production house receiving the praise will tweet and FB the heck out of the review and sometimes, even - jackpot! - quote a rave in their online and print ads. 

Review: Without You

5280 Wasted Seconds
by Shannon Christy
@schristy79

Without You is a show loosely dedicated to Anthony Rapp’s success in the musical Rent. Rent opened in New York in 1994 as Rapp's mother was slowly dying of cancer. We are treated to many songs from Rent and some anecdotal stories of his mother’s struggle but the play repeatedly fails to connect with the audience and it ends up feeling as if we are here to look at Anthony and his pain without being able to identify with him or the events he, like so many, has gone through.

There are instances when the magic of theatre almost works but then fails to do so as when Rapp describes how everyone at first avoids talking with his mother about her disease. He seems to feel there should be more honesty when dealing with a sick loved one. However, instead of digging in, he simply goes back to New York to prepare for the Off-Broadway production of Rent… while leaving us with this thought to carry on our own.

The Show, December 17, 2012

Sarah Wilson, Deborah Drakeford, Joseph Ziegler, Maggie Huculak & 

Sabrina Nardi (photo credit: Cylla von Tiedemann)

Yes, we've had a little fun with it (see our comic here) and it IS all over the place. But there is a reason A Christmas Carol is a staple and it's not just because Soulpepper does a goddam good job with their annual production. (Read our review) Beyond the beautifully drawn characters, the archetypes and the dark atmosphere of tragedy-in-waiting (which is swept away, thank keeerist!), is a tale that resonates more harshly today than ever before. The gulf between the haves and have-nots is growing and Dickens would be mortified to come back, 150 years later, and see that we have learned nothing from the lessons of the industrial revolution (the last time technology created a pauper-class). He would see in the CEOs of our corporations the miserliness of his Scrooge, he would see that as a society we seem to despise children as much as we did then (thank you America and Mr. Harper for our lax gun laws). He would see that we are, again, in a world where bleak times await those who do not heed the spirit of the season. You don't need to call it Christmas. Call it "Bringing our neighbours in from the cold and misery". Ask not for whom the ghosts come - they come for thee.

The Sunday Read: First Person - Chad Dembski on Farewell Aarhus! and The Sacrifice Zone

Farewell Aarhus! (photo credit: Martin Dam Kristensen)

Thankful for 17 years in a Canadian Theatre Heaven/Hell

by Chad Dembski

There are times when anyone involved in Canadian (or any country I imagine) theatre ask themselves, Why the hell am I doing this?.  I have been asking myself this question for the 17 years I have been working, creating, celebrating, suffering and surviving in this business.  I have been lucky enough to have certain experiences keep me believing in the future of theatre and possibility of a process that is more sustainable then the usual blood, sweat and tears stress-fest most of us go through.  Two of my most recent experiences have encouraged me to keep this faith.

Farewell Aarhus! [Aarhus Festival – Aarhus, Denmark]

After a 14 hour delayed flight from Montreal to London, a sleepless night at Heathrow (as bad as it sounds, only saved by UK Netflix), another flight to Copenhagen and a three hour train to Aarhus, I arrived at the train station and my venue for my site specific performance with Halifax artist Dustin Harvey.  Our piece “Farewell Aarhus!” was one of the few performances in the festival that was filled with music, films, a food festival, children’s activities, the building of a new park, art exhibits and collaborations with the local architecture school that changed an entire portion of the downtown.  Staying at a local artist residency apartment hotel (Godsbaden) and having all our meals at the IKEA sponsored artist canteen (incredible home cooked organic local food), it was easy to feel welcome and taken care of.  Experiences at festivals (and on tour) can vary greatly but something that is not common is to feel taken care of.  We had a local guide to help us find the best place to have a coffee or beer, we had a producer to help us source all our local food and drink (we offer the audience treats before the show, and some local beer or juice during the performance) and make sure everything with the festival went well.  With an intense two day set up, rehearse, adjustments having all this support helped make our opening amazing instead of a disaster.  I love performing in front of complete strangers and this crowd was incredible because it was a complete mix of young, old, and most of whom had rarely seen much performance and never in an old train station travel agency.  This context helped our show immensely, as it is about saying good-bye to a city and saying farewell to those who have left (when you’ve stayed).  We did five performances and they were all different, exciting, bizarre, awkward, beautiful and engaging.  We use a live video feed in the show that is broadcast right outside the venue (in this case, the train station travel agency) that the outside audience can play with.  This sometimes is nothing, sometimes a curious passerby just looking in and sometimes a whole other performance that takes over the show (like a teenage boy eating a sandwich for 5 minutes) while we keep performing.  

For 10 years I wanted to tour more and now that I am (and have) I can say that is often an incredible experience that is exciting, fun, and a massive learning experience.

Theatre For Thought, December 15, 2012

YOUR THEATRICAL XMAS GUIDE
Or What to Get the Struggling Actor in Your Life
joel fishbane

Snow is falling, carollers are singing and cities everywhere are a-glow with lights. The politically correct people of the world are wandering around with “Happy Holidays” on their lips, but let’s call a spade a spade: it’s Christmas-time and everyone knows it. And whether you're giving someone Hanukah gelt, Kwanza contributions, or winter solstice souvenirs, chances are you’re wandering through the stores with your hand on your wallet.

So without further ado, here’s six suggestions for theatrical gifts for the performer in your life who doesn’t have everything…

6. Headshots

All actors need new headshots all the time. This is an expensive fact of life for the busy artist – so why not help them out? Find out who their favourite photographer is and surreptitiously get a gift certificate – they’ll thank you, I guarantee it!

5. Food

Artists are physically incapable of turning down a free meal. So now’s the time to take them out for dinner or, better yet, cook them one of your own. 

Index - Next Stage Theatre Festival, 2013

CharPo's Real Theatre! December 14, 2012

The Still, December 13, 2012

Well, dammit, could you have a picture more Christmassy than this featuring Scrooge, Tiny Tim AND holly! Once again Cylla von Tiedemann captures a perfect moment in Soulpepper's A Christmas Carol. (Joseph Ziegler is the miser, Anton Gillis-Adelman is the little boy who changes everything)

(Read our review)

In a Word...Tara Litvack, composer/arranger/musical director

The process is constantly breaking it down to its bare bones and building it up

Tara Litvack, Musical Director, Pianist, Conductor and Vocal Coach has most recently worked on One Song Glory (Acting Up Stage Company), Into the Woods (Bravo Academy), and Set Those Sails – A Night of William Finn. Upcoming productions include Robin Hood: A Legendary Musical Comedy.

CHARPO:  Let's talk about arranging, first. Every time we read that title, we can only imagine a daunting task of note-writing. What happens in your head as you set a score.

LITVACK: I love arranging. I don't really consider myself a composer and find a blank page quite scary. But re-inventing a song with my stamp on it gives me such satisfaction and I think is an important skill for a music director to have nowadays with lower budgets for bands and orchestras. Maintaining the character of the song and not changing it for the sake of just being different is the challenge. It needs to enhance the song or bring out other textures and layers that may have been a bit more hidden before. The instrumentation itself also can't be haphazard. It needs to set a tone as a show and not song by song. I re-arranged Sondheim's Into the Woods about a year and a half ago for string trio and piano. It created an intimate story book setting...more Brothers Grimm than Disney. I could have gotten percussion or trumpet for extra sounds and fanfares, but it wouldn't have been cohesive to the whole concept.

The Vid, December 12, 2012

While promoting his book, Without You, actor Anthony Rapp recorded this video for his publisher. Since, the book has been turned into a one-man-show and it is coming, this week, starring Rapp, to Toronto. It's a fascinating tale of a life in, and beyond, Rent.

After Dark, December 11, 2012

Dirty Work

Lessons we've learned and here comes The CharPR Prize!

by Gaëtan L. Charlebois

I love it when old movies have terrific quotes. In Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte, Bette Davis, playing the crazy Charlotte, bellows at her elegant cousin, played by Olivia de Havilland, "Let me see, what is it you call your job? Oh yes: Public Relations. Sounds like something pretty dirty to me."

Well, it is dirty. It's a dirty job. It is setting the foundation of a show, keeping the plumbing clean and making sure that the company's next show gets eyes on it. It is the job of making sure critics and directors and actors don't go to war. It is one of the most important - if not THE most important job- linked to every production and it is the one thing small companies think they can do without. And they learn the hard way...

The Show, December 10, 2012

Yes, there is A Christmas Carol - now and forever. But if you want to delight an audience full of families, profoundly fatigued by the season and feeling the stress to the ends of their hair, you gotsta have a panto. Theatres across Great Britain know this well, Canadian theatres less so. Which is why we need a madman like Ross Petty who, each year, shimmies into a dress (the archetypal "Dame"), grabs whatever fairy tale that comes along (this year it's Snow White), gets some decent writers (including the great Rick Miller, for this outing) and throws enough silliness at the crowd that all worries dissolve. A good panto cast - and by all reports (including our reviewer Stuart Munro) this is a good one - will play the audience, ad lib like mad, change the script to respond to today's news, and toss out vulgarity that flies over the kiddies' heads and hits the grownups in the gut. Celebrate the season with a panto. You're not likely to regret it. (Photo via Facebook)

The Story: Interview - Ken Gass

Eyes on the Future

A new chapter opens in a turbulent life

by Christian Baines

@XtianBaines

It was the story that dominated Toronto theatre all Summer. The Board of Factory Theatre had decided the company’s future would be better served without the vision of its founding Artistic Director and one-time rescuer, Ken Gass. What escalated in the wake of that decision was the kind of bitter feud most theatre professionals will only face in their nightmares. Artists from across the country swore to boycott the Factory. Prominent Canadian playwrights George F. Walker and Judith Thompson withdrew their plays from the 2012-13 season. And while opinions flew from both sides, the outpouring of support for Gass, one of Canadian theatre’s loudest and most respected advocates, was tremendous, and ongoing. 

While the Board would ultimately not be moved, the incident has wreaked massive damage on the Factory’s reputation, something Gass addressed in a September press release, which confirmed he would not be returning to the troubled company. 

“I think for survival, I needed to just cut the cord and move onward,” he says. “I think it’s astonishing that it’s that same Board of Directors that are still in place. What’s happening now seems to be that Board is trying to find a way to salvage its self-esteem or something, and not really thinking in terms of what’s the answer for the Factory. How does the Factory renew itself? How does the Factory regain the confidence of the community?”

Review: This Lime Tree Bower

Gray Powell, Matthew Gorman and Anthony MacMahon (photo credit: Scott Gorman)

Giving the finger to what you have

by Jason Booker

The Toronto premiere of this early Conor McPherson work features actress Sarah Dodd in her directorial debut. The fact that Dodd comes from a thespian background clearly shines through since the performances she helped create are fantastic against the uninspired design elements. 

A compelling series of monologues, This Lime Tree Bower features three young Irishmen: Joe, the schoolboy who remains vulnerable and curious, Frank, his older brother who shelters his family and provides in the family’s chip shop, and Ray, the devil-may-care philosophy professor. These men will see things they never wanted to, lust after things they can’t have and give the finger to what they’ve got. Without consciously knowing it, the characters all seem to want but have no idea of where to go. And maybe that’s part of the problem of the show. Unlike Terminus (selling out at the Royal Alex, another monologue-based Irish show), This Lime Tree Bower is told in past tense, the tale never becomes immediate or urgent and doesn’t quite justify why these characters needed to be seen or heard by the audience. While the production contains strong performances – also heavily accented – nothing else in the production (and possibly even in the script) demands attention, especially at this moment in time.

Theatre For Thought, December 8, 2012

MASHING UP SHAKESPEARE

joel fishbane

Raised on a literary pedestal, hailed as the greatest playwright that ever lived, poor William Shakespeare has long been a victim of his own reputation. Traditionally seen as the domain of the theatrical elite, it usually takes a gimmick or a radical re-interpretation of the text to get the average audience involved in his work. Last year, the Stratford Festival shoved Seanna McKenna into the title role of Richard III while down in New York, audiences can still see Sleep No More, Punchdrunk’s site-specific, immersive re-telling of Macbeth. 

Now, for those who don’t fancy a night in the theatre, there’s a new adaptation in town: To Be Or Not to Be: That is the Adventure, a choose-your-own-adventure version of Hamlet by Canadian comic book writer Ryan North.

The idea is as simple as it is brilliant: readers can opt to be Hamlet, Ophelia or the ghost of Hamlet’s father and then follow that character through the story (Yes, Hamlet’s father dies right away and, as a ghost, you are tasked with solving your own murder). While readers can follow the same choices as Shakespeare’s counterparts, there is plenty of leg room to change everyone’s fate. “You can battle pirates or invent indoor heating or both,” says North on the video found on his fundraising page at Kickstarter.com. Each storyline is written by North, who founded Dinosaur Comics and co-edited the bestselling short story anthology Machine of Death

CharPo's Real Theatre, December 7, 2012

The Still, December 6, 2012

May we draw your attention to Binti's Journey, heading into its final performances at YPT. This Theatre Direct production is everything you want youth theatre to be: energetic, resonant and instructive without speaking down to anyone or compromising - for one moment - theatre art.

(Read our review)

Review: A Christmas Carol

Joseph Ziegler (photo credit: Cylla von Tiedemann)

Bah, Humbug!

by Cassie Muise

Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserly old man, visited by three Christmas Ghosts who try to help him see the error of his ways before it is too late. A Christmas Carol is as thought-provoking, touching, and relevant today as it was when it was first written. 

Soulpepper rarely disappoints, and this is no exception. A Christmas Carol is a beautiful production from start to finish. It is just eerie and other worldly enough to honour the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, without being too scary. The few effects are strategic and effective, if simple.  I particularly enjoyed the dance component which allowed for interesting scene changes. It balances in a seamless way the comedy, joy, and love of Christmastime with the thought-provoking consequences of a life consumed by greed and selfishness. 

In a Word...Jason Hand, lighting designer

In The Right Light

Jason Hand is a Toronto-based lighting designer working in theatre and opera. This past season he received a Dora nomination for his design of The Ugly One for Theatre Smash. He also lit the acclaimed productions of La Bohème and Turn of the Screw for Against the Grain Theatre, and The Arsonists and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Canadian Stage. In 2011, he collaborated with director Joel Ivany and designer Camellia Koo to conceive a production of I Capuletti e i Montecchi that placed third in the biennial European Opera-Directing Prize. Upcoming projects include Morris Panych’s new adaptation The Amorous Adventures of Anatol (Tarragon Theatre) and Joel Ivany’s The Tales of Hoffman (Edmonton Opera). Mr. Hand holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours from York University. (Source: jasonhandlighting.com)

CHARPO:  When it comes to a lighting designer, how does the process work? For instance, who has the most input into your work, director? set designer? costumes? 

HAND: That's a big question!  Here's the Cole's Notes answer.  The process starts with a phone call from either my agent or the director with a check of availability and interest.  That is, do I have space in my schedule for the show, and do I find it interesting.  I usually ask for a script at this point so that I can get a sense of what I'm getting myself into.  But there are some directors who I trust to choose good projects.  With them, I don't even have to read the script to know that it's going to be an interesting show!

After that, it's a totally different ride for each show.  Usually, I have a meeting with the director to get to know them and maybe talk a bit about what they want the piece to be.  Sometimes I'll meet with the director and the set designer to start to conceive the shape of the show.  We talk about the story a lot.  I have set design ideas, the director has lighting ideas, the set designer has staging ideas... it's all a bit of a mess at first... fingers in everyone's pies.  After a few of those meetings, the set designer will go away and build a more refined scale model of the show.  On these types of shows, we often have the whole thing figured out before we even start rehearsals.

The Vid, December 5, 2012

It's the show everyone is talking about. It's been extended to December 16. Everyone suspects it will figure on a lot of top-ten lists for 2012. And we've reviewed it...twice.

It's Terminus.

(Read our SummerWorks review. Read our review for the latest remount.)

After Dark, December 4, 2012

The Terrible Twos

We celebrate and look to the future

by Gaëtan L. Charlebois

On November 30, The Charlebois Post celebrated its second anniversary. Since Estelle Rosen and I launched a little local blog in Montreal, we have grown to three active websites, two in test stage and probably a sixth and seventh to come. We have 30 regular contributors (reviewers, profile writers, interviewers), over 100 artists and theatre people who have contributed to the sites, and have published thousands of items. Each day our sites receive hundreds of visitors and over a thousand pages are viewed. 

And we at CharPo are all, to a person, volunteers. Some of us have contributed money to cover the expenses and all have worked hard to keep the sites hopping with activity. 

Now we are exploring options for expansion and as we do are trying to take into account the kindness of our contributors and to reward them. The reason for this is simple: most of our writers are or have become some of the finest commentators and theatre writers in the country and we'd like to hang on to them. I have already had several of them ask me to write references for them and although I am exuberant in my praise, I am heart-broken to see them move on.

The Show, December 3, 2012

(photo by Jason Strang)

In their blog, Old Trout Puppet Workshop asked the public to help them create their new work, but in a footnote was this: "We’ll take all the credit, and make all the profits, just so you know up front. And there’s no guarantee that your idea will make it into the show – even if everybody in the world can tell it’s a way better idea than we ended up using – we’ll make the final decisions. After all, we’ll be the poor bastards actually making the puppets and spending the money. You have to contribute for the love of it, or not at all." 

This is precisely the kind of surprising and gently mordant humour evident in the work that arose from the consult: Ignorance. Behind the ha-ha, though, there is depth and our reviewer, Stuart Munro, spotted it when he concluded, "There are more serious moments to be sure and even (dare I say it?) pathos. But make no mistake, the absurdity of Ignorance’s narration and the skill of its performers will leave you smiling and in awe of just how much can be done with so little. Anyone looking for a different but spectacular night out at the theatre would do well to head down to Berkeley St." (Read all of Stuart Munro's review)

Review: Les 3 exils de Christian E

(photo credit: Nicola-Frank Vachon)

Me, Myself and I
by Shannon Christy
@schristy79

In this play, one guy alone on the stage successfully draws you into his world and shows you your own.

Les 3 exils de Christian E. is a one man show actually based on the experiences of actor Christian Essiambre and his own exiles: from his family, his old job and professional environment, and his past. 

This is a travelogue of a recently arrived immigrant from McKendrick, New Brunswick to Montreal. It develops as an introspection about the choices made when leaving the stability of a small town to try to make it in the big city, Montreal, and failing… and it is also a mystery and a family drama.  With all this at hand, it would be easy to assume that it is way too much for one man to handle but Christian Essiambre’s energy makes for a remarkable show and with humour to boot.

The Story: Matt Gorman on Cart/Horse

Matthew Gorman in Rum and Vodka

Remember...Everything
Actor, Audience, Story is the tag line we’ve chosen to define our mandate.
by Matthew Gorman
(all photos by Scott Gorman)

We’re a very old fashioned theatre company made up of very old fashioned people. We have very simple tastes, and unfortunately, simple tastes are the hardest to satisfy. When you’ve had the best scotch in the world, it’s hard to get that flavour to leave your memory. As soon as you catch a hint of that smell your mouth waters as you remember not just the taste, but the experience of having that glass. You remember the people you were with, the coziness of the pub, the conversations. When I think of the best plays I’ve ever seen, I think of the whole night, I remember the atmosphere, the collective experience. I remember the story I was told, that feeling that comes from being invited into someone’s life for an evening.

This is what I wanted to create with Cart/Horse.

The plays we’ve chosen to produce have all been deceptively simple. A simple setting or premise. But there’s always much more going on once you enter the room. Like that cozy pub, once you’re inside you get to see the people around you for what they really are, with nothing hidden.

Actor, Audience, Story is the tag line we’ve chosen to define our mandate. Challenge the actor, trust them with difficult material and push them to invest in the work. Invite the audience in, talk to them, not at them. The audience is part of the company, not its customers. Tell a good story, don’t sugarcoat and don’t hide away from difficult truths.

First Person: Aria Umezawa on Opera Eats

Ready, Set, Taste!
Opera Five Serves Up a Tasty Opera

by Aria Umezawa

Three shows. Three courses. One evening you’ll never forget! 

Introducing Opera Eats, an evening of three one-act operas tantalizingly paired with a mouth-watering three-course meal. Presented by Opera Five, this is the first opera series of its kind to feature a unique Five Sense Experience to indulge your appetite. Opera Five’s sensory experience will thrill and charm you in unexpected and exciting ways. Get ready to taste some of the most beautiful performances you’ve ever seen or heard! 

Theatre For Thought, December 1, 2012

THE WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST END
joel fishbane

Stop me if you’ve heard this one. A Producer, a Marketer and a Quantitive Analyst walk into a bar. “I want to produce a hit show,” says the Producer. “No problem,” says the Marketer. “We just need to take a known product that appeals to children while touching the nostalgia lurking within all middle class adults.” The Quant promptly crunches some numbers. “You’ve got a choice,” she says. “You can produce a musical based on Alice in Wonderland or The Wizard of Oz.” The Producer thinks about it. “Musicals based on Alice in Wonderland have never worked,” he says. “And best of all, The Wizard of Oz is already written.”

Flash forward a few months and we have Andrew Lloyd Webber’s adaptation of the famous 1939 MGM musical of what happens when a girl from Kansas realizes she’s definitely not in Kansas anymore. The show hits Toronto in a few weeks and while I’m usually pretty open-minded when it comes to theatre, I’m having trouble finding anything redeeming to say about this production. At the risk of hyperbole, it strikes me as the greatest evil to appear on stage since Mephistopheles first graced us in the inaugural production of Faust. 

Review: Snow White

Deliciously Dopey and Delightfully Good
Ross Petty’s Snow White has a little bit of something for everyone
by Stuart Munro

Now in their 17th year, the Ross Petty Pantos have become something of a holiday tradition here in Toronto, and it's no wonder – these high-energy productions have managed to thrill and delight audiences of all ages for close to two decades, and last night’s opening of Snow White: The Deliciously Dopey Family Musical was no exception. That rare blend of just right for the kids but oh-so-vulgar for the adults make this an evening everyone can enjoy.

The Panto tradition is an import from England where it is a holiday staple. A classic, well known story is mixed with contemporary music and jokes, and headlined by a few well known names to create an unforgettable night out for the family. The plot of the original story tends to be little more than a jumping off point, as is evident here. Seven Dwarves? Who needs ‘em?! This year we have Snow White and 007! 

CharPo's Real Theatre! November 30, 2012

Review: Binti's Journey

L-R: Ijeoma Emesowum, Sodienye Waboso, Allison Edwards-Crew, 

Thomas Olajide (Photo: Greg Edwards)

The Untainted Heart
by Gregory W. Bunker

Binti’s Journey is a journey worth taking, young or old. The story is set in present-day Malawi and is centred on the changes 13-year-old Binti endures after losing her father, her only surviving parent, to AIDS. Based on the young adult book The Heaven Shop by internationally acclaimed Canadian author Deborah Ellis, and produced by Theatre Direct at the Young People’s Theatre, you might be forgiven if you’d think such a play was only for youth. And in the beginning, the slight overdramatization suggests this. Certainly, young people have the most to gain from seeing the play—it is, after all, about the multi-faceted and far-reaching consequences of HIV/AIDS on the individual, family, community, and our generation at large. But this play is so well-crafted, and its message of HIV/AIDS awareness so well-delivered, that anyone who sees it will find it to be an entertaining, thought-provoking piece that educates in the best kind of way.

The Still, November 29, 2012

What's not to like in this portrait by Jason Strang of one of the puppets from Old Trout's Ignorance at Canadian Stage.

(Read our review)

Review: Ignorance

(photo credit: Jason Strang Photography)

Ignorance is Bliss
The Old Trout Puppet Workshop amazes with its new production

by Stuart Munro

What is happiness? Is it really just a simple matter of winning or losing? These questions, and some slightly more complex ones related to them, are purportedly the subject matter of Ignorance, the new piece by the Old Trout Puppet Workshop, now playing at Canadian Stage’s Berkeley Street Theatre. Created by the Workshop, Ignorance also received input from anonymous contributors via the company’s website during its development, resulting in a uniquely collaborative piece.

In a Word...Erin Brandenberg on BOBLO

Audiences seem to respond to our work, but it seems to be more of a personal connection.

by Christopher Douglas

Erin Brandenburg, creator of festival hits like Reesor, Pelee and Petrichor, ventures into a new direction with her latest piece, BOBLO. Co-created with her partner, Andrew Penner of The Sunparlor Players, BOBLO plays for the next two weeks at The Great Hall Black Box Theatre. Inspired by personal memories and collected stories about the Bob-Lo Island Amusement Park, their collective, Kitchenband, has created a unique way to take an audience back in time while staying in the present, to pay tribute to a place that is gone but not forgotten through songs and remembrances, photos and field recordings. When asked about how this ghost story came to life, Erin had a few things to say.

CHARPO: Shows seem to require an awfully long workshop period these days. How do you feel about the years it can sometimes take to have a fully realized performance before a paying audience?

BRANDENBURG: This is the first show we've developed in this way – with a two year period dedicated to development before presenting it as a co-production with The Theatre Centre. Having the time to experiment and try out ideas, or even having the time to really delve into an idea and throw it out if it doesn't work, has been really important for this project. But it’s also a challenge to sustain the creative drive over such a long time period. With this show, I don't think we could have done it in a shorter time period - we were really fortunate to have a residency at The Theatre Centre to allow for that time.

The Vid, November 28, 2012

Teaser for Ordinary Days. The production, now playing Winnipeg, is on its way to the city. 

(Read Joel Fishbane's preview of the production)

After Dark, November 27, 2012

Lemons, Lemonade and The Sour Taste That Stays

Dutchman hangs around for a bit

by Gaëtan L. Charlebois

I have invited the contributors at CharPo to, when the mood strikes them, write what we are going to call "Reconsidered". The idea is that, after thinking about it, many people will revise opinions about a work of art. We come out of a play with friends, we go to a café, and over the carrot cake we parse what we have just seen. The others put ideas into our head, we into theirs and then - hours, days, weeks later - we are hit by a new idea about the show. Those ideas remain largely unexpressed. However, I feel they form the foundations of future considerations not just of the piece seen but of the art itself.

The "Reconsidered" pieces will not be, "I thought it was shit, but now I think it's great!" - though that's okay too. It will be along the lines of a comment a colleague made last year when he was considering his top ten for the end of the year. He said that the plays that he was remembering for his list were, more often than not, the ones he had not raved about.