Just the Facts: Next Stage Theatre Festival Edition v2
Take It Back
Who: Solid State Breakdance
Where: Factory Theatre Mainspace, Toronto, Canada
What: A combination of the high physicality of B-boying (Breakdance) with the partnering structures of Lindy Hop (Swing) and the aesthetics of Contemporary Dance.
Why: Asks the question: “Why don’t we dance in couples anymore?”
Web: Solid State Website.
Hype: “So organic and fun-loving that it manages to invent a dazzling new vocabulary, make statements on gender roles, and get the audience members whooping like they’re at a full-blown battle.” Straight.com
L’Ange Avec Les Fleurs
Who: Beth Marshall
Where: Factory Theatre Mainspace, Toronto, Canada
What A troupe of vagabond performers their band, tell the tale of a clown’s journey to become a real man through an explosion of song, dance, puppetry, clowning and use of a BIG FRENCH BEAR!
Why: It’s a clown show derived from a synthesis of Henry Miller and Herman Hesse.
Web: L’Ange Avec Les Fleurs MySpace Page.
Hype: WINNER: Best Production, Acting and Set – Orlando Fringe
HAPPY 2009, PRAXIS! and all readers!
Praxis, howabout some noms for 2008theatre heroes and 2008 theatre suckrags?
MK “Nurse Ratched” Piakasmovsi (sic)? All due respect. I’m still waiting for my Happy New Year.
ANON.
Hi Anon,
Happy 09 to you too. As you can see, Ian has already created a top 10 list for your enjoyment. I would venture to say that determining “best” and “worst” (or heroes and suckrags) is neither our purview nor our interest however. That’s something best left to critics and the media is full of these lists right now.
J Kelly Nestruck had a good round up of 2008 in the globe a couple of days ago. I liked it because although it does hand out some “awards”, in general it is devoted to the context of what happened in theatre in Canada over the year. And because although I am somewhat biased, I also thought the National Wrecking Ball taking place simultaneously across the country was “the most electric theatrical event of the year”.
My only quibble is that I would like to stop seeing the Alec Scott toronto life article used persistently as the barometer of all that ails theatre in Toronto. From what i’ve seen, “quirky self indulgence” is not the major thing ailing us. I think it’s money, which equals the time to get serious work done.
Completely agreed on that last point, MW. I nominate Alec Scott as media suckrag of the year. That hateful screed he wrote for “TO Life” was a smug, complacent, demonizating attack on all artists who dare to march to the beat of their own drum.
Alec, if you hate the Arts, you shouldn’t write about the Arts. Your small, lazy mind is the problem. Suckrag.
Hi Michael,
Glad you liked the round-up. I mentioned the Alec Scott article because, regardless of what anyone thinks about it, it certainly did generate a lot of discussion in 2009… Also, what was actually going on in theatre in 2009 seemed to disprove his thesis.
But enough about 08. How about a post on what everyone is looking forward to most in 2009?