Volcano’s Africa Trilogy: Part II

Glo workshop video

Video by Deanna Downes

Josette Bushell-Mingo, Artistic Director of Tyst Theater in Sweden, speaks about the Spring 09 workshop of Glo by Christina Anderson. Glo is one of three plays being produced as part of The Africa Trilogy by Volcano Theatre for the Luminato Festival in Toronto in 2010.

Click here for an overview of the project and process.

Don’t mess with the cast of Tim Buck 2

Photo by Meredith Whitten

The cast of Praxis Theatre’s upcoming production of  Tim Buck 2 at the Toronto Fringe Festival reacts to a suggestion by Praxis GM and performer Margaret Evans that the show could be something less than totally awesome. 

Want to know more?  You can read the media release here.

Unconference unbelievably well-attended

Unconferencers get their dialogue on at the all-day event hosted by The Festival of Ideas and Creation and Small Wooden Shoe.  Photo by Amanda Lynne Ballard

by Michael Wheeler

When I looked out my bedroom window at torrential downpour at  8am on a Saturday morning, the first thing that occurred to me was, “Damn, I’m going to be one of five people at the Unconference.”

I was a little astonished to arrive at a lobby teaming with artists eating danishes and doubling down on coffee, ready to meet people and set their own agendas.  The hell with traditional models and top-down thinking – these folks were all here looking for dialogue and the tools to create action-based solutions! Judith Thompson and Daniel Brooks were participants too. It was pretty cool frankly.

Here’s my highlight list:

• Getting the names and emails of 11 people that want to help me fix the back room of a gallery into a rehearsal/performance space. (Coming late summer/fall.) 
• Misha Glouberman facilitating while sitting on the stage in a suit. (An appealing mix of off-hand professionalism.)
• An indepth conversation about how to get a new theatre company off the ground.  (Artistic vs. administrative goals.)
• Feedback from several people about this new re-vamped website. (Range from great to overwhelming amount of information.)
• Several different and interesting conversations about how to not be overwhelmed by the administrative and logistical nightmares of being an Artistic Director. (With other ADs and people who don’t want to be because they don’t want the responsibility.) 
• Some good non-theatre related stories over beers at the pub afterwards. (The biggest clue to the success of these things is enthusiasm to keep talking when the event is officially over.)

Unconference this Saturday

What is the deal with this so called “Unconference?”

It is a one day meeting of Toronto’s groundbreaking professional artists, arts workers and arts leaders to talk about the future(s) of performance practice and our city’s stages. Facilitated by Trampoline Hall’s Misha Glouberman using techniques drawing from open-space technology and world cafes (the “Un-” denotes a conference with no panels, guest-speakers or pre-determined outcomes), the agenda is crafted by participants and the issues on the table are the ones you want to talk about. All who have stake in the evolution of performance are encouraged to attend to strategize, explore and identify what we can do right now to address our most challenging and exciting opportunities.

Misha Glouberman will unfacilitate.

Click here to register. 

Click here for more information.

Saturday, June 20, 2009, 10 a.m.- 6 p.m., $10 including lunch – Reception to Follow

And we’re back!

Hello Gentle Reader,

Welcome to the new and improved Praxis Theatre Blog and Website.

As you can see we’ve integrated the whole thingamabob into one site here at praxistheatre.com. If you haven’t (re)bookmarked us yet, please take the time to do so. 

What can you expect on this newfangled webpage?

• A brand new series that will focus on interviewing Artistic Directors from Canada and around the world by Praxis Theatre Co-Artistic Director Simon Rice. The first of this series will be launched Wednesday June 17th.
• Praxis Theatre Co-Artistic Director Michael Wheeler will continue his dialogue with artists involved in the creative process behind The Africa Trilogy, currently being created by Volcano Theatre, premiering at Luminato in June 2010. 
• More artists participating in Praxis Theatre’s Variations on Theatre. 
• Even more Celebrity Theatre posts by OCTP* Greta Papageorgiu.
• Increased long-form content by arts journalists like the piece Lindsay Schwietz just wrote on Eat The Street.
• Lots of other stuff we haven’t even thought of or can’t tell you about yet.

Please enjoy and give us your feedback. Special thanks to the many-talented Graham F Scott for his patience and skill bringing about this exciting new stage of online Praxisness.

* Original Canadian Theatre Paparazzi