Greta takes on one of her most difficult interviews yet. Although the Prime Minister seems rather disappointed that it is Greta and not Peter Mansbridge, she does manage to cajole him into singing a song that shows his love and support for the arts.
Greta Papageorgiu is an actor, writer, teacher and director. She performs and teaches throughout Ontario and Quebec. Greta loves the theatre and hopes to share some of her love with you through 2 Minutes With Greta Papageorgiu.
Anti-Fascist activists at The Battle of Cable Street (London, 1936)
by Michael Wheeler
This post continues my efforts as a director of Senora Carrar’s Rifles to stage the piece as per Brecht’s instructions “with a documentary film showing the events in Spain, or with a propaganda manifestation of any sort.”
First made famous by French GeneralRobert Georges Nivelle at the Battle of Verdun in WW1, They Shall Not Pass became an expression associated with anti-fascist movements around the world during The Spanish Civil War. It became the central refrain by La Pasionaria (Dolores Ibárruri Gómez) in her speech to Republican forces defending Madrid while it was under siege by Franco’s fascist troops in 1936.
A militant activist and communist politician, La Passionaria was widely regarded as one of the greatest public speakers of her era. When she returned to Spain after Franco’s death forty years later, she was re-elected as a deputy to the Cortes – the same region she had represented during the Second Republic when she delivered ¡No Pasarán!
Only months after the speech was first delivered it became the rallying cry of more than one hundred thousand anti-fascists who flooded the streets of London, England during The Battle of Cable Street, which successfully thwarted a march by The Union of British Fascists through Jewish neighbourhoods.
The phrase recently leapt back into international awareness when it adorned the T Shirt of Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova during their August 2012 trial in Russia for creating anti-Putin art.
¡No Pasarán!
Speech by Dolores Ibárruri, translated by Fabien Malouin.
Confronted with the fascist military uprising, all must rise to their feet, to defend the Republic, to defend the people’s freedoms as well as their achievements towards democracy! Through the statements by the government and the Popular Front (parties), the people understand the graveness of the moment.
In Morocco, as well as in the Canary Islands, the workers are battling, united with the forces still loyal to the Republic, against the uprising militants and fascists. Under the battle cry ‘Fascism shall not pass; the hangmen of October shall not pass!’ workers and farmers from all Spanish provinces are joining in the struggle against the enemies of the Republic that have arisen in arms. Communists, Socialists, Anarchists, and Republican Democrats, soldiers and (other) forces remaining loyal to the Republic combined have inflicted the first defeats upon the fascist foe, who drag through the mud the very same honourable military tradition that they have boasted to possess so many times.
The whole country cringes in indignation at these heartless barbarians that would hurl our democratic Spain back down into an abyss of terror and death. However, THEY SHALL NOT PASS! For all of Spain presents itself for battle. In Madrid, the people are out in the streets in support of the Government and encouraging its decision and fighting spirit so that it shall reach its conclusion in the smashing of the militant and fascist insurrection.
Young men, prepare for combat! Women, heroic women of the people! Recall the heroism of the women of Asturias of 1934 and struggle alongside the men in order to defend the lives and freedom of your sons, overshadowed by the fascist menace! Soldiers, sons of the nation! Stay true to the Republican State and fight side by side with the workers, with the forces of the Popular Front, with your parents, your siblings and comrades! Fight for the Spain of February the 16th, fight for the Republic and help them to victory!
Workers of all stripes! The government supplies us with arms that we may save Spain and its people from the horror and shame that a victory for the bloody hangmen of October would mean. Let no one hesitate! All stand ready for action. All workers, all antifascists must now look upon each other as brothers in arms. Peoples of Catalonia, Basque Country, and Galicia! All Spaniards! Defend our democratic Republic and consolidate the victory achieved by our people on the 16th of February.
The Communist Party calls you to arms. We especially call upon you, workers, farmers, intellectuals to assume your positions in the fight to finally smash the enemies of the Republic and of the popular liberties. Long live the Popular Front! Long live the union of all anti-fascists! Long live the Republic of the people! The Fascists shall not pass! THEY SHALL NOT PASS!
Kate Fenton guest blogs for Praxis Theatre about the interactive photography exhibit inspired by the themes of Mister Baxter.
by Kate Fenton
Lost 2 by Akas Tarmaji
Set in Toronto’s subway system, Mister Baxter is a new work I’ve written, which had a previous run at the 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival.
One of the themes that emerged for me while writing the play was that of displacement. In the play, I look at displacement from a psychological perspective, as a sub-conscious defense mechanism. Often a character feels something or experiences something that they are unable to deal with and as a result they transfer that emotion on to another person in potentially harmful ways. In my experience, social crisis, conflict and trauma are endlessly displaced into sexuality, often resulting in a chain-reaction, with people unwittingly becoming both victims and perpetrators of displacement. In Mister Baxter, a teacher crosses an inappropriate boundary with one of his students and as a result many people are traumatized and left to deal with the aftermath of his actions.
Loss Connection by Jim Mallen
As I continued to explore this theme, I thought it would be useful to hear what other people thought or experienced when struggling with displacement. The Bring the Buzz Festival at Theatre Passe Muraille, Which Mister Baxter is a part of, is dramaturgical in nature and we will be hosting a question and answer period and live discussion after every performance to encourage audience feedback about the play and the ideas it presents. To follow this interactive concept further, we came up with a campaign that we could create with our audience.
Photography is a beautiful art that captures a moment in time. In a photograph, the experience is frozen. Similarly, a traumatic experience can hold a person captive in a particular time or experience. The events that lead to that moment cannot be changed but what will happen after is what defines us and is what fascinates me most about being alive. There is no other art form that can distill a real and immediate experience in quite the same way as photography.
So here is what we did….
Photographers, artists and creative people were encouraged to submit up to three photos to The Quickening Theatre Photo Contest reflecting their experience of displacement. Their photos are posted on our website. A jury of professionals selected five winning photographs. Those photos are being used by Artist Mariuxi Zambrano to create an art installation that will transform the Mainspace to reflect ‘displacement’ in an interactive and compelling way.
Two Worlds Meet by Karl Janisse
Mariuxi has taken the winning photos and created a collaged image that will make up the walls of a tunnel structure that the audience will be encouraged to walk through on their way to their seats. The installation will be accompanied by a soundscape and live music performed by Melanie Brulee.
Winners will be announced at the Opening Night Art Gala.
opensSeptember 20 and closes September 29 at Theatre Passe Muraille’s Mainspace as part of their Bring the Buzz Festival. The run also includes an Opening Night Art Gala on September 20, beginning at5:30pm and features anart exhibitandphoto auction.
In the construction of a country, it is not the practical workers but the idealists and planners that are difficult to find…powerful people have liberty.
~ Sun Yet-Sen, revolutionary who help throw down the last emperor of China
Image:
Sound:
Gein Wong is an interdisciplinary director, playwright, composer, poet and video artist. Her show Hiding Words (for you), delves into nushu, a secret language created in 400 A.D. when Chinese women were not allowed to read or write. It runs from September 13 – 23 at Harbourfront Centre’s Enwave Theatre, and tickets can be purchased here.
Devised in collaboration with youth from Eva’s Phoenix, the production explores the area’s relationship to homelessness, mental health and regeneration.
In this production, a small area of Queen West in Toronto is the theatre for audience members wearing headsets. As they move through and participate in Queen West, they are not necessarily aware of who they encounter are part of the production and who are other Torontonians going about their lives.
My name is Aislinn Rose, and I used to be a political staffer to a cabinet minister within the Mike Harris Government.
I began in 2000 as the Correspondence Assistant to the then-Minister of Transportation, where it was my job to infuse our letters (drafted mostly by the Corporate Correspondence Unit on the bureaucratic side) with the messaging of the party, and to make the letters sound like a human being had written them. And, in many cases, I may or may not have got out the old AutoPen.
The AutoPen essentially recreates a signature with a pen even when the signer isn’t in the country. In my day, the minister was getting over a thousand letters a month, most of which crossed my desk and the AutoPen could be useful for the bottom of a letter explaining why you’ll just need to get over yourself and take your G2 driving test again.
Click the image to read Aislinn’s entire confession on the website for Proud, by Michael Healey.
Costuming The Directors Project at the Shaw Festival, as with any show, presented unique challenges. We rely on making the best use of the incredible stock of garments we have at our costume storage, and must create a unified look that helps to elevate the work and enhance the experience for audience and actor alike.
For Señora Carrar’s Rifles, I had the opportunity to get great inspiration from historical documentation of the Spanish Civil War, and the flexibility to take cues from – but not necessarily strictly recreate – the images I found. Images of militia fighters in work wear, children in oversized jackets, and group photos from orphanages helped to inform the look for Carrar’s son Juan, a primary figure in the play.
He looks young, unprepared for war. We can understand why his mother tries to shelter him and keep him from the front. His clothes are not a perfect fit; perhaps they were once his father’s. Despite how bad things have become around them, Juan Carrar and his mother appear to be doing okay; as she says, “while it lasts, it lasts”. By keeping her fishermen sons at home, Señora has managed to stretch their food and clothing much longer than other families. The other families have suffered greatly and begrudge Señora this selfish act.
Click to enlarge
Manuela is Jose Carrar’s girlfriend. A young woman in town, she is a strong militia supporter, and believes above all that their cause must be upheld; that freedom is worth dying for. I researched young women who fought for the militia, as well as the Nationalist army for inspiration.
Seeing the stark difference between the two groups of women was incredible. The Loyalists defiant, solemn, and rather rag-tag; the Nationalists exuberant, crisp, clean and uniform. It would only suit to put Manuella in clothes that made clear her poverty. As with Juan, she looks ill equipped for battle in impractical shoes. Perhaps the root of her anger at Señora’s pacifism is her anxiety over the sense of helplessness she feels over the war; there are few rifles left, and when the enemy arrives, the townspeople will have nothing to defend themselves with.
There’s a significant tonal change from Señora Carrar’s Rifles to “FourPlay”, a set of two pieces directed by Krista Jackson. FourPlay consists of If Men Played Cards as Women Do and Overtones. Overtones was a very interesting show to design, because it splits its primary characters into two halves: The refined, reserved “domestic” side, and the abrasive, primal “feral” side.
Harriet is the “domestic” side of the woman married to Charles. Her costume fits into the period the show was written in, 1915. She is constrained by her narrow skirt, a collar that comes up her neck, and she generally oozes a sense of rigid formality. Just from looking at her you’re not too sure if you should trust her. She’s too sweet, too well put together, you know that effortlessness is just a mask. She reveals that it is. Her outfit has been carefully selected to look beautiful but not gaudy. She must be attractive but not appear to be fishing for compliments; she’d rather manipulate you into giving her what she wants. She is the version of Harriet that is easy for us to swallow.
Click to enlarge
Hetty, on the other hand, may leave a bitter taste in one’s mouth. She is wild, free and rebellious. Krista and I talked very early in the process about setting the primals forward in time from the domestic women. Their 1920’s outfits are less restrictive, allowing the women to move freely and express themselves more boldly.
The feeling that they are unstuck in time adds the fantastical visual element that a show like this needs. The concept of the private face and public face is deeply rooted in the Japanese culture, which was one of the major inspirations for the primals, as well as for the set of the show.
Through this process it has been exciting for me to see the breadth of what we are capable of creating in The Directors Project. Using almost exclusively what already exists in Shaw’s costume storage, the directors and I have created cohesive looks for two vastly different pieces.
As all the design elements come together in these final weeks, it is reassuring to look back on the inspiration that has brought us here and the messages we are trying to express. Above all else, I hope the sets and costumes can help to convey the stories being told in this season’s Directors Project.
A recent grad of York University’s Theatre Production and Design program, Erin Gerofsky is thrilled to be completing her first season at The Shaw Festival with her solo design for the Directors Project. The Toronto native documents her creative endeavours and new-found small-town life, among other things, at her blog Predictions for the Past.
The news met mixed reaction on social media with some commenters noting that a mediation session with Ken Gass had been scheduled later in the week. For these commenters, making this announcement ahead of these talks reinforced the notion that the board was heading into these talks in bad faith.
Other commenters (myself included) applauded the selection of two artists that had a long history of working at Factory Theatre and were capable of carrying Ken’s vision forwards while infusing the institution with new ideas.
The news came later in a day when another Artistic Director, Buddies in Bad Times AD Brendan Healy, posted a popular Facebook note inspired by his first vacation after three years at the helm of the institution.
The note lays out “Four thoughts for my future self” (that are not about Ken Gass or the Factory Theatre but that have certainly been affected by Ken Gass and the Factory Theatre). They are expanded upon in the note, but the four thoughts are:
I am not the theatre company and the theatre company is not me.
The theatre company owes me nothing.
I will lose everything.
My work exists inside the people that I have shared it with.
Los Cuatro Generales (The Four Generals) – an anti-Franco song from The Spanish Civil War
by Michael Wheeler,
As mentioned in my last post, because Senora Carrar’s Rifles is atypically Aristotelean in its structure, Brecht recommends it be shown “with a documentary film showing the events in Spain, or with a propaganda manifestation of any sort.” Doing this at the actual performances would be nigh impossible for a number of reasons.
Online is a different story though, and I hope to post some relevant info about The Spanish Civil War in a way that relates to the piece between now and when we open on September 20th.
French members of the International Brigades
Early in the play, Senora Carrar’s house is passed by The International Brigades. These were made up of volunteers from Western countries who wanted to stop the spread of Fascism in Europe and often paid their own way to join the fight against Franco. Orwell, Hemingway, and Jim Watts (the principal inspiration behind Praxis Theatre’s Jesus Chrysler) all went to Spain in the 30s to join the fight. Orwell would later write Homage To Catalonia about his experience, while Hemingway would pen For Whom The Bell Tolls.
The Canadian contingent were The Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion. Canadians are one of the few contingents that don’t pass by the house in the play, but many other nationalities do, and each is identified by the song they are singing on the way to the front. In our production, all of the sounds are made onstage by Beau Dixon who acts as a drummer/foley artist/performer, so we took these songs and distilled them down to a few core rhythmic bars that are played on a snare drum as each brigade passes.
Due to the magic of YouTube, anyone can hear these songs now. If you have a favourite, let us know why.
Hoarding of Resources and Deprivation of Government Funding: For the 2012 fiscal year, the NEA awarded $3,216,000 in grants to 119 theater companies. Only 7 (5.88%) have been in existence for less than ten years. Government funding is essentially not available to the under-35 set.
Exploitation of Young Labor through Un/Underpaid Internships: Out of the sixty LORT companies that advertise professional internships/apprenticeships/fellowships, only thirty–four of these companies (56.66%) claim to pay interns a weekly stipend. The average weekly stipend offered by these companies is $149.50.
Profiting from the Peddling of Impractical Degrees: Similar to Mike Daisey’s American MFAs as Ponzi Scheme critique. Botvinik wonders if many US MFA programs would meet the standards of The Gainful Employment Act which is applied to new programs and asks them to prove that their students will be able to find work in their field after graduating in order to be eligible for financial aid.
Toronto Theatre: 5 Points of contention
U of T prof Holger Syme and director and artistic director Jacob Zimmer have had an in-depth discussion that has bouncedback and forth between Syme’s dispositio and Zimmer’s Small Wooden Shoe site. The 5 Points of contentions with ‘approved’ summaries are:
Our theatre needs classics: There are not enough plays from before the 20th century done in Toronto. This is in part due to false notions of relevance and nationalism.
Our theatre is predictable: There is not enough diversity of practice and approaches to work – new or old. Every play should be treated as new. Timidity is bad and a healthy competition for innovation would help.
There is never enough time: You can’t be innovative, or radical, or especially deep, or especially thoughtful in a three-week rehearsal process. It’s just not enough time.
Our theatre is a deeply immoral institution: It is immoral and unsustainable for theatre to be in a continual semi-pro status. It leads to under-realized projects, one person self directed shows and jack-of-all-trades master-of-none “theatre artists.”
Money isn’t doing what money should be doing: The funding distribution is broken and supports an unsustainably large number of companies with unsustainably small amounts of money. There are options other than direct Council funding to projects.
This conversation seems significant to me not because Syme and Zimmer agree about all these ideas, but because I’m hoping it could denote a turning point in the Canadian theatrosphere: Maybe long-form intelligent discussion and exchange of ideas is possible online after all?
Factory Theatre Battle for Hearts and Minds Continues
Some major pieces of information have come out about the ongoing controversy surround the firing of Ken Gass, The Factory Theatre and its Board of Directors:
Board chair Ron Struys confirmed: “We recently met with Ken with the help of an outside facilitator and agreed to get the wheels in motion for mediation in order to find common ground.” No information was given as to whether the search for a new artistic director, which is still on the Factory Theatre homepage, has ben halted.
The Actors Fund of Canada is accepting donations for the artists who just lost their jobs weeks before opening, with little hope of finding a replacement gig this late in the game. Social media commentators estimate lost wages to artists from the show’s cancelation to be approximately $80,000.
“After the years and years of weaker and waterier imitations, we now find ourselves rejecting the very notion of a holy stage. It is not the fault of the holy that it has become a middle-class weapon to keep the children good.”
Greta Papageorgiu is an actor, writer, teacher and director. She performs and teaches throughout Ontario and Quebec. Greta loves the theatre and hopes to share some of her love with you through 2 Minutes With Greta Papageorgiu.
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