Date: 2012 June
Present Laughter by Noel Coward launched The Shaw Festival 2012 Season. Click to enlarge.
by Krista Jackson
May 28, 2012
I just did Tara Rosling‘s yoga class on the day off. Delicious. Opening week has ended! Six shows opened with dinners and parties while we continued to rehearse and set levels for His Girl Friday and assembled for the first day of Hedda Gabler on Thursday. I was only able to see Wednesday’s opening of Present Laughter– which was fabulous and I attended the pre show dinner and performance with old pal Neil Barclay.
I cannot write this post without mentioning how humbled and honoured I am to be in the room assisting Martha Henry on Hedda Gabler. She brings such compassion, insight and humour to the table. We begin blocking tomorrow.
Krista Jackson photo by David Cooper
Meanwhile, His Girl Friday: Jim Mezon and I will be spending 24/7 together in the coming weeks. He is playing Judge Brack in Hedda and we will run back and forth to rehearse, tech and preview his production of His Girl Friday – He is a goldmine of Farce 101. I have loved my rehearsals with the reporters – who act as a Greek chorus in the play – hashing out the text and drilling the lines while Jim works on other scenes. It is a huge play that demands a lot of precision.
In preparation for writing my His Girl Friday pre-show chat – some thing both Intern Directors do before evening shows at the Festival Theatre – I dug up Neil Munro‘s directors notes from The Front Page’s production program. This show is the 1928 Ben Hecht/Charles MacArthur play His Girl Friday is based on.
I was SO inspired by those notes, that I took a list of all the shows Neil has directed here to Jean – who creates all the Shaw programs. She gave me copies and I spent an afternoon with Neil Munro – reading his brilliant notes on Ibsen, Miller, Chekhov, Williams, Barker, Shaw etc. Here is his definition of farce from The Front Page notes:
“Farce feeds on insurrection, and its characters stand outside the boundaries of civilized behaviour. Farce also contains elements of rage – rage at the inability to better one’s circumstances, rage at the deceit of false friendships, rage at why Right seems Wrong and the other way around. All of this is usually coupled with a healthy dose of domestic violence and almost always capped with the power of True Love to rise above all and serenely conquer.”
I also started my Academy classes last week. We have chosen Act 1: Scene 1 from Shaw’s Candida and John Bull’s Other Island to work on. I love Shaw! As for my one act choices for the project, I have more than three and am trying to narrow it down. Ionesco, Inge, Williams, Gerstenberg, Kaufman and Galsworthy… Thanks for reading!
xo Krista
Krista Jackson and Michael Wheeler are the 2012 Neil Munro Intern Directors at The Shaw Festival. You can read all their blog posts about this by clicking here.
INDEPENDENT THEATRE PRODUCTION DIVISION
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION
A Fool’s Life – Ahuri Theatre in association with Why Not Theatre
The Story – Theatre Columbus
The Ugly One – Theatre Smash
Morro And Jasp: Go Bake Yourself – U.N.I.T. Productions
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MACKENZIE KING – Videocabaret
OUTSTANDING NEW PLAY OR NEW MUSICAL
Adam Paolozza & Arif Mirabdolbaghi (original adaptation) – The Double – TheatreRUN
Eric Woolfe – DOC WUTHERGLOOM’S HAUNTED MEDICINE SHOW – ELDRITCH THEATRE
Heather Marie Annis, Amy Lee & Byron Laviolette – Morro And Jasp: Go Bake Yourself – U.N.I.T. Productions
Hume Baugh – Crush – Optic Heart Theatre
Jules Lewis – Tomasso’s Party – Rooftop Creations
OUTSTANDING DIRECTION
Ashlie Corcoran – The Ugly One – Theatre Smash
Dan Watson – A Fool’s Life – Ahuri Theatre in association with Why Not Theatre
Ed Roy – His Greatness – independent Artists Repertory Theatre (iArt)
Jennifer Brewin – The Story – Theatre Columbus
Michael Hollingsworth – THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MACKENZIE KING – Videocabaret
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE
Clinton Walker – Ditch – Sometimes Y Theatre
Cyrus Faird – The Jones Boy – Surface/Underground Theatre
Daniel MacIvor – His Greatness – independent Artists Repertory Theatre (iArt)
Eric Woolfe – DOC WUTHERGLOOM’S HAUNTED MEDICINE SHOW – ELDRITCH THEATRE
Richard Donat – His Greatness – independent Artists Repertory Theatre (iArt)
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE
Amy Nostbakken – The Big Smoke – Theatre Ad Infinitum in association with Why Not Theatre
Astrid Van Wieren – This Wide Night – Mermaid Productions
Lesley Faulkner – Dying City – Surface/Underground Theatre
Melee Hutton – Brothers Karamazov – Wordsmythe Theatre
Shannon Taylor – The Jones Boy – Surface/Underground Theatre
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE IN A FEATURED ROLE / ENSEMBLE
The Ensemble – A Fool’s Life – Ahuri Theatre in association with Why Not Theatre
The Ensemble – Stockholm – Seventh Stage Theatre Productions in association with Nightwood Theatre
The Ensemble – The Story – Theatre Columbus
The Ensemble – Morro And Jasp: Go Bake Yourself – U.N.I.T. Productions
The Ensemble – THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MACKENZIE KING – Videocabaret
OUTSTANDING SET DESIGN
Andrea Mittler – Brothers Karamazov – Wordsmythe Theatre
Camellia Koo – The Ugly One – Theatre Smash
Catherine Hahn – The Story – Theatre Columbus
Kimberly Purtell – His Greatness – independent Artists Repertory Theatre (iArt)
Sean Frey and Sonja Rainey – A Fool’s Life – Ahuri Theatre in association with Why Not Theatre
OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN
Astrid Janson – THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MACKENZIE KING – Videocabaret
Camellia Koo – The Ugly One – Theatre Smash
Catherine Hahn – The Story – Theatre Columbus
Lindsay Anne Black – Peter and the Wolf – Theatre Rusticle
Sean Frey and Sonja Rainey – A Fool’s Life – Ahuri Theatre in association with Why Not Theatre
OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN
Andre du Toit – The Double – TheatreRUN
Andy Moro – THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MACKENZIE KING – Videocabaret
David DeGrow – Hallaj – Modern Times Stage Company
Jason Hand – The Ugly One – Theatre Smash
Kimberly Purtell – His Greatness – independent Artists Repertory Theatre (iArt)
OUTSTANDING SOUND DESIGN/COMPOSITION
Gaisha Ishizaka – A Fool’s Life – Ahuri Theatre in association with Why Not Theatre
John Gzowski – The Ugly One – Theatre Smash
John Millard – The Story – Theatre Columbus
Patric Caird – Peter and the Wolf – Theatre Rusticle
Thomas Ryder Payne – Hallaj – Modern Times Stage Company
Hello Intrepid Fringe and SummerWorks Artists,
This year we are trying something new over the busy summer months when the city’s two biggest theatre festivals play host to roughly two hundred indie productions over July and August. As YouTube trailer and promo vids become the norm in indie theatre promotion, simply creating a video is not enough to attract the interest of potential audience members.
For these videos to be effective they have to be seen, and seen by people who conceivably would buy a ticket to some indie theatre. This year, we at praxistheatre.com would like to help ensure that your video will be seen by a wide number of potential audience members through exposure on our site.
What we provide:
1) Your own blog post with your video embedded, published over the ten days leading up to your festival.
2) A video listing with a playable thumbnail version of your video that will live in the sidebar of praxistheatre.com for the duration of your run.
What you provide:
1) An embedable video no more that 4 minutes long from YouTube, Vimeo or comparable site.
2) $100
Email us at info@praxistheatre.com to sign up. There are a limited number of slots available.
The basic math on this is that if you think having your video on praxistheatre.com will sell 11 Fringe tickets, this is an opportunity worth taking advantage of. (11 tickets @ $10 = $110)
Bloor St. Manif
by Crystal Skinner
From the first scurry of red squares into Dufferin Grove, Montreal’s spirit was felt in Toronto. As the park filled it became evident; Quebec’s struggle is our struggle. We are united.
Yesterday, I joined Toronto – pot and wooden spoon in hand – to participate in Casseroles Night in Canada. I donned my red apparel and arrived at Dufferin Grove, where a camera crew asked: “Why Toronto? Why participate?”
I thought of all the connections:
Ontario suffers the highest tuition rates in the country. Canadians, deserve affordable accessible education. A threat to freedom of speech and the right to assembly is a threat to us all.
But, as the sun set over our march, on Bloor St., I glanced back over the crowd of thousands and my answer was simple – I march because I am inspired.
Montreal has shown us it is possible.
In the last glimmer of sunlight, I watched the students hand out flyers while I reading the messages carried overhead. There were Occupy banners, signs rejecting Bill 78, posters against C-38, flags in support of railway workers. We are a crucible of intersecting movements.
What began as student strike against tuition hikes is transitioning into a united fight for social economic justice and a struggle against austerity.
In theatre, we often explore what it means to be human and what it means to be Canadian. For me compassion, equality and being a citizen are at the route of both. We have an opportunity to fight for fairness and democracy.
This is the beginning.
Crystal Skinner is a CAEA stage manager, arts activist and rabble rouser. She is currently in her fourth season with The Stratford Shakespeare Festival, as assistant stage manager, on Much Ado About Nothing.
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