In A Word...Joel Ivany, Artistic Director, Against The Grain Theatre

Why, Joel, Why?

Joel Ivany, Artistic Director of the supremely innovative Against The Grain Theatre, has directed for The Canadian Opera Company, The Aventa Ensemble, The Canadian Children’s Opera Company, The Centre for Opera Studies in Italy, The U of T Opera Division, Wilfred Laurier University, Opera Nuova and The Banff Centre.  

CharPo: Why should anyone who hasn't, attend an opera? It's just people shrieking in each others faces!

Ivany: Well if you only have 30 seconds...Opera has the ability to connect with people the way no other art-form does.

If you have 3 minutes, read on.

So why don't people go to opera?  Some people inside opera think it's a fashion thing that scares people away.  I personally don't think so.  Many companies try to "dress down" opera making it more accessible.  Our company encourages our audience to wear what they feel comfortable in.  To be fair, some people (even young people) go to the opera to dress up.  Growing up, the only time I ever dressed up, was for church. On the other hand, opera companies shouldn't be offended if people show up in jeans and toques as well.  Opera, for some, is a chance to clean up and dress up and for others it is a chance to unwind and enjoy.  

The Story: Joel Ivany on Against The Grain's new season

L-R Joel Ivany, Nancy Hitzig, Cecily Carver, Christopher Mokrzewski and Caitlin Coull

A Diary of One Who Appears
by Joel Ivany Artistic Director, Against the Grain Theatre

I’m an opera director. I often work with acting singers who are among the best in the world. This is an area of comfort for me. But budgeting, ticketing, licensing, website designing and dealing with agents are not skills I had as I emerged from opera school, but inevitably they come with the job of running your own theatre company.

Thankfully I have a wonderful team, which over the past year and a half has enabled Against the Grain Theatre to become what it is today.

We’re currently preparing our 2012/2013 season, and I’m constantly aware of how much thinking goes into every single decision. AtG is a unique ensemble that requires intimate venues to give our events that special je ne sais quoi. It takes time to scout out these niche locales and vet them for our unusual purposes. 

First-Person: Joel Ivany on Turn of the Screw

Killing Curiosity

Staging Britten's brilliantly dark piece

by Joel Ivany

It is a curious story.

Benjamin Britten’s chamber opera, The Turn of the Screw, opened in 1954 at Teatro La Fenice in Venice.

Against the Grain Theatre will be producing the eerie tale from May 24-27 at the Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse, on U of T campus.

It’s quite an exciting theatrical piece to be preparing.  Described primarily as a ghost story, it can also be interpreted, though rarely is, as a love story.

First-Person: Joel Ivany on The 7 Deadly Sins

Holier Than Thou

Going beyond Weill

by Joel Ivany, Artistic Director and Founder - Against the Grain Theatre

On Friday March 16 and Saturday March 17, Against the Grain Theatre will be presenting a concert entitled The Seven Deadly Sins (And Holier Fare). As the title suggests, the program features Kurt Weill’s ballet chanté Die Sieben Todsünden (The Seven Deadly Sins), but it also includes Benjamin Britten’s Canticle II: Abraham and Isaac and two contemporary two-piano pieces. 

To give you a taste of what we’ve been delving into to prepare for this production, allow me to introduce you to “the sins,” AtG style: