Confounded
By HyeM.
In a state of cognitive dissonance.
When nothing aligns.
When emotions run amok.
When the brain is on overload.
I’m confounded — lost in thought,
and lost in time.
Poetry Corner: HyeM – Confounded
Confounded
By HyeM.
In a state of cognitive dissonance.
When nothing aligns.
When emotions run amok.
When the brain is on overload.
I’m confounded — lost in thought,
and lost in time.
Given the waves of frosty weather we are having in Toronto, it is tempting to give in and stay home with a good book or even getting cosy to watch a great film. Especially when you have a one of the high speed HDMI cables from this site that lets you connect your laptop to the big screen. There’s nothing better than having a home cinema day and so I know this is a great option. Yet there are plenty of theatre shows opening this week / weekend, and more coming up next month too. I see it my ‘duty’ to inform you of these and coax you into venture out for a play, or two, or more…
 |
| Irene Poole and Richard McMillan Phot by: Cylla von Tiedemann |
Manon, Sandra and the Virgin Mary
Pleiades Theatre
Written by Michel Tremblay
Translated & directed by John Van Burek
Starring: Richard McMillan & Irene Poole
Design: Teresa Przybylski
Lighting: Itai Erdal
Composer: Debashis Sinha
Dates: On stage now until February 2
Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
Tickets: 416-975-8555 or online at buddiesinbadtimes.com
The quietly pious Manon (Irene Poole) contemplates her purchase of an extravagant new rosary, while Sandra (Richard McMillan), the irreverent, devil-may-care drag queen, tries to decide what she will wear tonight. Penned by one of our country’s most celebrated and prolific queer writers, these parallel monologues shed light on the sacred and the profane that exist within us all.
I attended the premiere of Manon… last weekend. A linear play, it is not. However, Sandra and Manon’s parallel monologues are very personal, funny, and sad all at once. Poole and McMillan embody their characters quite well. The staging including lighting and music works subtly well within the realms of the ‘stories’. Why would I suggest this play? Because the words and characters draw you in. Because it is challenging in its nature, as well as, in the themes it discusses.
The … Musician: An Étude
Toronto Laboratory Theatre
Produced by Art Babayants, Mark Rochford and Dmitry Zhukovsky (Theátrus)
Conceived and directed by Art Babayants
Based onV.G. Korolenko’s classic novella
Featuring: Clayton Gray, Kevin Kashani, & Shelley Liebembuk
Scenic and Lighting Designer: Paul J. Stoesser
Dates: On stage now until January 26
Dancemakers Centre for Creation – Distillery District
Tickets: themusician.brownpapertickets.com
The … Musician: An Étude is an inventive new play that tells the powerful story of a boy born without sight who learns to communicate through music. The sixty-minute drama explores the senses and their limitations through the innovative interplay of lighting, spoken text, physical gestures and live classical piano music.
I attended a performance of The … Musician: An Étude and enjoyed it very much. If you’re looking for a more immersive type of show, this is the one. You can also read my thoughts on the production at BeMused Network’s blog.
Arlecchino Allegro
Toronto Masque Theatre
Led by: Artistic Director Larry Beckwith
Featuring: Soprano Laura Pudwell,
Diana Kolpak & David-Benjamin
Dates: January 23-25
Enoch Turner Schoolhouse
Tickets: 416-410-4561 or online at torontomasquetheatre.com
Arlecchino Allegro has been describes as “a chaos of clowns and chamber music.” This is a re-imagining of a show from the company’s first season, Tears of a Clown. It features Laura Pudwell alongside the clown performers Diana Kolpak & David-Benjamin Tomlinson. I mentioned this production on my page last week. Go here to read more about it.
I’ve attended other Toronto Masque Theatre productions and they are always a delightful blend of music, dancing, opera…and sometimes a little wine, too!
The Lady’s Not For Burning
Alumnae Theatre Company
Written by Christopher Fry
Starring: Chris Cocoluzzi, Andrea Brown
Directed by: Jane Carnwath
Set Design: Ed Rosing
Sound: Angus Barlow
Costume: Margaret Spence
Dates: Friday January 24 – Sunday February 8
Alumnae Theatre, 70 Berkeley Street
Tickets: 416-364-4170 (box 1) or e-mail reservations@alumnaetheatre.com
For cash purchases, Box Office opens one hour prior to each performance.
The Lady’s Not For Burning is about a witch-hunt and a world-weary veteran — Jennet, an eccentric young woman accused of witchcraft and Thomas, the soldier in search of oblivion, confront each other and a world that seeks to destroy her, and their lives.
For all its comic quirkiness and poetic fireworks, this play aims to highlight some of the dark corners that still haunt us today: mob paranoia and violence, fear of the other, religious hypocrisy, the wielding of tradition and bureaucracy as weapons of defense or aggression.
Idiot’s Delight
Soulpepper Theatre Company
Written by Robert E. Sherwood
Director: Albert Schultz
Set & Costume Design: Lorenzo Savoini
Lighting Design: Steven Hawkins
Sound Design: John Gzowski
Music Director: Mike Ross
Choreography: Julia Aplin
Dates: January 23 – March 1
The Young Centre for the Performing Arts – Distillery District
Tickets: 416-866-8666, in person, or online
A cast of wonderfully eccentric and international guests – countesses, arms dealers, showgirls, revolutionaries, charlatans and lovers – spend a fateful weekend in a resort hotel in the Italian Alps. While songs are sung and dances danced and loves rekindled, the dark clouds of war come rolling in. Sherwood’s mad-cap romance won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1936.
Madeleine Robin Known As Roxane
A new play inspired by Cyrano de Bergerac
Theatre Double Take
Written by Grace Smith
Starring: Tennille Read and Alexandra Simpson
Set & Costume Design: Claire Hill
Dates: Wednesday, February 5 – Sunday, February 9
Lemontree Creations Studio, 196 Spadina Ave – lower unit
Tickets: At the door or at roxane.eventbrite.ca
Madeleine Robin Known As Roxane is an imaginative ‘what if’ inspired by Edmund Rostand’s classic, Cyrano de Bergerac. Playwright and director, Grace Smith states, “I always wondered, ‘How does Roxane really feel about all this new information?’ We never find out in the original, so I decided to write a play set a couple years after the events of Cyrano.” I’m curious, are you not?
These are but a few theatre shows that have piqued my interest. As you can tell, the options and styles are diverse. Come out, catch a play, and enjoy a different venue. Stay tuned for more updates, recommendations, and reviews here, or via my other social media pages.
The Canadian Alliance of Film & Television Costume Arts & Design (CAFTCAD) is an association of individuals interested in promoting costume design for film, television and media from both an artistic and technical perspective. Their vision is “to increase awareness and the value of costume arts and design as a powerful element in the collaborative process of filmmaking; furthering international recognition of the creative talent we have in Canada”.
This week, CAFTCAD brings Susan Claassen in A Conversation with Edith Head to Toronto. This one woman play is written by Paddy Calistro and Susan Claassen. The play is based on the book Edith Head’s Hollywood by Paddy Calistro and Edith Head. The play, created when Susan Claassen was inspired by watching a television biography of Head, comes to Toronto directed by Claassen and produced by CAFTCAD.
CAFTCAD’s President Joanna Syrokomla took the time to answer some questions about the organization, its resources, and Edith Head.
HM: Being a costume designer yourself and being a founding-member, could you please share how CAFTCAD has grown over the years?
Joanna S.: CAFTCAD has grown not only in its membership since our incorporation in 2008, but through the creation of new seminars and new events to bring a greater awareness of Canadian costume design and arts and of our members and their work. Through the success of our bi-annual Movie Wardrobe Sales and our social events at TIFF, the film and fashion communities are becoming very familiar with our organization and our members are creating stronger relationships with fashion retailers to get their products to the screen.
HM: CAFTCAD offers some great resources for members, including a Resource Library. Perhaps you could say more about these?
JS: Our resource library is made up of mainly donations from members of the costume film community. We’re quickly building an exceptional collection that members can access as well as non members for a voluntary donation fee. Another huge resource for members is our online forum where we can ask questions, share contacts and information and look to hire other members for our film and television projects.
HM: Edith Head is an inconic figure in the industry. How did the stage production A Conversation with Edit Head come to CAFTCAD’s attention? Was it difficult to bring to Toronto?
JS: Our past president, Luis Sequeira had heard great reviews of the show in Los Angeles and suggested we look into bringing it to Toronto as Edith Head is an icon to costumers everywhere. When speaking to Susan, the show felt so right for CAFTCAD and we wanted to present its Canadian premiere. The desire to bring it here was never in doubt but the challenges of producing the show in Toronto have been based purely on the fact that CAFTCAD is a not for profit association run entirely by enthusiastic volunteers.
HM: Since Head worked for six decades in the industry and seeing as many costume designers are women, any thoughts on how this show can help more of us learn about costume design and those who work in the field?
JS: Every time I’m even in the room with another designer, whether female or male, I learn something new. There are so many tricks, so many stories that each have that we can learn from and laugh about. Because the more we laugh, the easier it is to get through what is often quite a challenging profession. I look forward to hearing ‘Edith’s’ stories of dressing some of the most famous people in the world. I think this show will inspire and remind many of us in the industry why we decided to do this in the first place.
For any of us who love films, or performing arts in general, costumes become an added character in the stories. It is always interesting to learn who plans out the costumes so meticulously, and creatively. Joanna’s responses definitely share some light in the local talent as well. At a reception CAFTCAD hosted for Susan this week, Joanna also shared with me that several CAFTCAD members have been nominated for the Canadian Screen Awards in the category of Costume Design — announced Monday this week. Congratulations to all the nominees this year:
Lea Carlson- The Colony
Gersha Philips- The Mortal Instruments, City of Bones
Debra Hanson- Bomb Girls season 2
Delphine White- Copper
Laurie Drew- Orphan Black
In terms of the play, A Conversation with Edith Head is a behind-the-scenes feast of great movie lore and delicious stories providing insight into Hollywood’s legendary costume designer, Edith Head. Audiences hear Miss Head tell her own story. It’s a tale filled with humour, frustration and glamour. After speaking with Susan at the reception earlier this week, I am very much looking forward to it.
It is playing in Toronto, until Sunday, January 19th at the Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. Due to high demand, they have added one more show for the 19th. The showtimes are Saturday, 8pm, and 2:30pm & 8pm, Sunday at Buddies…, 12 Alexander St. For tickets, call the box office between 12-7 pm at 416-975-8555 or online here.
Following a fall festival tour for her latest feature film, The Animal Project, Ingrid Veninger returned to Toronto with a desire to see more fiction features written and directed by Canadian women. On November 18th, she proposed the idea of a screenwriting lab on her Facebook page, and received 20 submissions.
“I want to galvanize the Canadian women who have already completed at least one feature film”, says DIY Queen Ingrid Veninger, “and who want to pursue their filmmaking with an eye on taking bigger creative risks.”
“When I won the EDA Award for The Animal Project at the Whistler Film Festival from the Alliance of Women Film Journalists,” adds Ingrid, “I decided to take a chance at the podium. I offered a first look at the 6 scripts written in the Femmes Lab, to the first person who stepped up with $6000… The room was stone silent until Melissa Leo stood up and shouted, “I’ll do it!”… she’s is a true champion. Over the holidays I received Melissa’s cheque, which will be shared between the participating women. Then TIFF offered us a place to meet at the Lightbox. So it’s on!”
The result is pUNK Films FEMMES LAB — A of six months intensive ‘lab’, from January to June, 2014, where 6 participants will meet once a month. At the end of the six months, six feature film screenplays will be complete. What an excellent idea and opportunity!
Veninger has produced six feature films: ONLY (TIFF 2008, Slamdance), Nurse.Fighter.Boy (TIFF 2008, Karlovy Vary, Warsaw), MODRA (TIFF 2010, Canada’s Top Ten), i am a good person/i am a bad person (TIFF 2011, MoMA, Goa), The End of Time (TIFF 2012, Locarno, IDFA), and The Animal Project (TIFF 2013, Canadian Theatrical Release March, VOD June 2014). She also received the Jay Scott Prize from the Toronto Film Critics Association in 2012. She used this award money to executive-produce five features. She is not only a doer, a giver, but she delivers on her word!
Along with Veninger, the other Femmes Lab members are: Danishka Esterhazy, a graduate of the Canadian Film Centre and the National Screen Institute. Michelle Latimer, a Métis/Algonquin filmmaker, actor, and curator. Sophie Deraspe, who came into cinema through visual arts and literature. Mars Horodyski, an alumnus of the Canadian Film Centre’s Director’s Lab and the Berlinale Talent Campus. Anais Granofsky, a veteran performer, having starred in the original CBC series, Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High as Lucy.
Veninger shares that, “Anais and Mars have ideas for their scripts so their feet are already in the water…We had our first lab session the other day, and each of us defined our goals for February. It’s going to be intense, but I am so excited about this Lab…” Sounds exciting.
Initiatives such as these, allows Canadian writers and filmmakers an opportunity to further their craft. For women in film, it certainly opens a new door. Not only will this Femmes Lab provide a sounding board for all members, but it will also foster a mentoring relationship. I am, for one, looking forward to the projects that will emerge from this group of six talented women. Kudos to all!!
*Photo courtesy of GAT PR.
For this year’s Toronto Masque Theatre‘s annual cabaret, they have decided to share their stage with the internationally esteemed Gorgonetrevich Corps de Ballet Nationale (GCdBN).
In 2003, Toronto Masque Theatre collaborated with GCdBN on Tears of a Clown. It was a tremendous success with both audiences and critics. Now that Toronto Masque Theatre is celebrating its Tenth Anniversary, they decided to invite GCdBN back to reprise this production. They are also excited to have mezzo-soprano Laura Pudwell rejoin them for this production as well.
Arlecchino Allegro is an improvisational comedy mixed with Renaissance music and witty interpretations of the music of Mahler, Mozart, Debussy, Leoncavallo, Schubert as well as some unexpected hits. This is a comic depiction of a glittering event gone awry, and plenty can go awry or array at such events. The evening will feature musical selections on the themes of love, laughter, joy and celebration. The hosts from GCdBN will be Artistic Director Nicholas Denoument and prima ballerina Mina Rafaella Kalishnikova. The house band will be led by Toronto Masque Theatre’s Artistic Director, Larry Beckwith.
What is different about this cabaret experience is that it is set up differently from a regular theatre performance. Guests can enjoy the show from their own candlelit table with a glass of wine in the lovely environment of the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse. Last year’s cabaret, Les Roses de la Vie, was also a huge success. Arlecchino Allegro promises to be an evening of music, dance, laughter, and surprises.
 |
| Nicholas Denoument & Larry Beckwith |
*Photos By: Tarik Kieran.
The TIFF Next Wave 24-Hour Film Challenge, presented by RBC Royal Bank, challenges teams of high school aged youth to make a short film in just 24 hours.
The Challenge is set to kick off on the morning of February 8, 2014 at 9:00 am, when 20 teams gather for breakfast, and receive their challenge theme and toolkit. Teams will receive a prop, “challenge” shot, and line of dialogue that must be incorporated into the final film. These ingredients are also drawn from the theme.
The team behind the winning film will be awarded $500, courtesy of RBC. All teams will receive up to three tickets to the TIFF Next Wave Talent Lab on February 15, 2014, and up to three tickets to the TIFF Next Wave 24-Hour Film Challenge final screening.
Jennifer Tory, RBC regional president for Greater Toronto has this to say about the challenge, “It’s one of many ways we take an active role in supporting and mobilizing the next generation of filmmakers and artists.”
Every year, the TIFF Next Wave 24-Hour Film Challenge follows a theme that’s reflected in the festival’s Movie Marathon and Opening Night Party. Last year featured a John Hughes Movie Marathon. This year’s theme is Cult Classics: Teen Rebels. Marathon films include Juno, Rushmore, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Donnie Darko and Mean Girls. With this lineup, many of us will also be in line for this year’s screenings. I attended last year, saw some old faves, and found a new fave with Ghost Graduation / Promoción Fantasma.
 |
| Still from Donnie Darko Source: TIFF |
“The TIFF Next Wave 24-Hour Film Challenge is a really fun chance to make your own film and share it with other teen filmmakers —it’s a good start to life in the professional film world!” explains seventeen-year-old Maiesha Zarin, who is in her second year on the TIFF Next Wave Committee. This is a voluntary advisory team made up of 12 youth dedicated to bringing quality film programming and film-related events to youth across the city.
The Challenge accepts a maximum of 20 teams to participate. The winning team is determined by a jury of professionals selected by TIFF. Submissions are assessed based on originality, creativity, challenge criteria and overall proficiency in form.
To register for the TIFF Next Wave 24-Hour Film Challenge, a team can purchase one ticket online (“add to cart”), over the phone or in person as of January 15, 2014. Team members should be between 14-18 years old and registration opens January 15, 2014. All films meeting the competition criteria screen Sunday, February 16, 2014 as part of the TIFF Next Wave Film Festival.
If you or someone you know is interested in participating, be sure to go to the TIFF website for full details. You can also find more information on the Challenge via Facebook. And if curious, here is last year’s challenge winner, SPACEMAN.
The Snake Pit is a 1948 American drama film directed by Anatole Litvak and stars Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, Celeste Holm, Beulah Bondi, and Lee Patrick. It is based on the 1946 best-selling novel of the same name, written by Mary Jane Ward, who had been confined to a state mental hospital for over eight months. The novel was adapted for the screen by Millen Brand, Arthur Laurents (uncredited) and Frank Partos. The film tells the story of a woman who finds herself in an ‘insane asylum’ and cannot recall how she got there.
In the late 1940s, 20th Century Fox produced several dramas dealing with social issues including this film, as well, as Pinky (1949), Gentleman’s Agreement (1947) before it. [T]his type of drama, dubbed the “problem picture” in promotion and publicity, in which an urgent social issue such as racial prejudice, anti-Semitism, juvenile delinquency, or alcoholism was dramatised in a major production with major stars. This was Hollywood’s attempt to deal with serious subject matters.
Litvak insisted upon three months of research. He asked the entire cast and crew to accompany him to various mental institutions and to lectures by leading psychiatrists. In her research, de Havilland also attended therapy sessions (when allowed), and social functions at the institutions, including dinners and dances. Much of the film was filmed in the Camarillo State Mental Hospital in California.
For its time, The Snake Pit is a film that portrays women with mental health issues fairly well. In watching the film, de Havilland (as Virginia Cunningham) draws us into her despair, her inner turmoil. It is hearbreaking to watch how she cannot remember how she came to be in this institution nor siginificant details and people in her life. Her mental breakdown leans toward the severe end of the spectrum, if we think in clinical terms.
At the hospital, Virginia is treated by the good Dr. Kik (Leo Genn), who using Freudian psychoanalytic methods, commit to help his patient recover. Virginia’s husband, Robert (Mark Stevens) also proves to be quite supportive during such a difficult time. Virginia’s stay at this ‘asylum’ is not a short one, and it’s certainly not an easy one either.
We see how over-crowded the institution is. The staff is not horrible, but they are not the friendliest types either. There is a scene where all of the psychiatrists are discussing the number of patients, the lack of beds, and how they have to figure out who to discharge to make room for still more patients. Sadly, the state of mental health centres these days is still dealing with not enough space.
In the film, we see Virginia receive electro convulsive therapy to help ‘open her mind’ a little more. Thank goodness this type of treatment has evolved since then! Her sessions with Dr. Kik are interesting, with a portrait of Freud behind him, Dr. Kik is able to slowly piece the puzzle together and help Virginia figure out the ’cause’ of her breakdown. While doing this, Virginia is moved around from one ward into the next. Hearing Virginia’s thoughts (as voice overs) clearly makes us ‘feel’ for her in terms of her state of confusion, sadness, and lucidity as well. Over time, she realises she is not ‘the worst’ and that others may benefit from her while she’s in this institution. As well, her friendship with Hester (Betsy Blair) is endearing to watch, as Hester has become almost mute due to her severe condition.
My reasons to write about this film are twofold. One, I wanted to explore how social issues were portrayed on film in 1948. And two, I work in the field of mental health research, and films that deal with the topic are always of interest. The Snake Pit did not disappoint. The scene which gives the film its title truly stands out, and it serves as an excellent visualisation of how unsettled and out of place someone with mental health issues may feel. De Havilland’s performance is remarkable. But her supporting cast also does a tremendous job in making this film more believable, if you will. The cinematography and sound design work quite well. The crane shot of the ‘pit’ is very, very well done. As a cinematic experience, it is a film that I highly recommend, whether you know much about mental health issues or not.
It is also important to mention that not only did this film garner five Academy Award nomination; winning for Best Sound Recording. But along with the novel, it helped in changing legislation passed in many states to better the conditions of state mental institutions and provide better treatment for the patients. This is certainly most commendable.
** This review is part of The Classic Movie History Project Blogathon.
Sources: wikipedia, tcm.com.
This past weekend I made my way to the Next Stage Theatre Festival (NSTF). I chose four plays to attend that were different in story, style, and length.
 |
| Daniel Krolik and Amanda Baker Photo: Marco Timpano |
Release The Stars: The Ballad of Randy and Evi Quaid
Company: God is in the Dairy
Rating: 3 / 5
Tue Jan 14 9:00pm
Wed Jan 15 6:45pm
Fri Jan 17 7:15pm
Sat Jan 18 2:45pm
Sun Jan 19 5:15pm
Daniel Krolik and Amanda Baker reprise the roles of the famous (or should I say ‘infamous’) couple in the title. They premiered this show at the Toronto Fringe in 2012. The Quaids even attended their last performance. Krolik and Baker decided to re-tell their story at NSTF in this latest version.
The play is funny, sad when it needs to be, and confusing at times. This makes sense given the people Krolik and Baker are portraying. They were both good in their respective roles and feed off each other’s energy, which is to be expected.
At times, I felt lost in the story. In the beginning, Krolik and Baker would take ‘time outs’ and address the audience. They also played the role of brother and sister in a parallel story, which took me some getting used to. Not to worry, I’m not spoiling things for you. I am hoping I was not the only one with a sense of confusion. Perhaps it is also intentional; the play is after all, about finding hope, becoming a happier person, and finding new beginnings.
On a technical front, the lighting and set design work well within the Studio set up at the Factory Theatre. The use of digital media, video clips and photographs, also works relatively well. All in all, I would rate this an entertaining show.
A Misfortune
Company: Common Descent
Rating: 4 / 5
Tue Jan 14 7.00pm
Wed Jan 15 8.45pm
Thu Jan 16 10.00pm
Sat Jan 18 4.45pm
Sun Jan 19 7.15pm
A musical based on a short story by Anton Chekov. This is a story about love, fidelity, and taking chances. It begins with Sofya (Trish Lindström) and Ivan (Jordan Till) taking a walk. It all seems rather lovely until Ivan decides he must tell Sofya he’s in love with her. The only problem is that Sofya is married to an older gent named Andrey (Réjean Cournoyer).
Here is where things get a little prickly. Sofya does not want to leave her husband and family. Ivan is determined his love for her is the ‘real deal’. And halfway through we meet another married couple, Masha (Kaylee Harwood) and Pavel (Adam Brazier), who make everyone question what marriage is all about.
I am picky about musical theatre, but in this case I will say I chose well. I enjoyed watching the cast interact with each other. My favourites were Harwood and Brazier as the married couple who love and hate each other so intensely, it’s just perfect. Lindström and Cournoyer are also quite good in portraying the young wife / older husband who behave more like father and child. Till, as Ivan, fell short in my opinion, in contrast to the other four actors. He does portray Ivan’s romantic nature well enough but it is in the singing that I felt a disconnect. The passion just wasn’t there for me.
I am a sucker for ‘impossible love’ stories; I call it the ‘Hemingway Effect’. A Misfortune is this type of story but much more as well. Delectably witty, funny lyrics, and a strong cast. The set and lighting design are minimal but work well given the space. The music is well suited and matches each of the characters quite well. It was definitely a treat.
 |
| Stephanie Jung and Nicole Ratjen Photo: Lauren Vandenbrook |
Polar Opposites
Company: TiltHAUS
Rating: 3.5 / 5
Tue Jan 14 8:30pm
Thu Jan 16 8.45pm
Fri Jan 17 8.45pm
Sat Jan 18 6:15pm
Sun Jan 19 4.15pm
Two bears are all alone stranded on a melting iceberg. What could be going through their minds as they try to stay alive and survive the ever changing weather? Stephanie Jung and Nicole Ratjen play these two polar bears caught in the middle of nowhere. The “entirely absurd” part applies to this show. The bears are running out of time, out of space, and out of food. They play a game of ‘chess’ to pass the time. They try to make each other feel better, to no avail. Somehow, the audience knows the story cannot have a happy ending.
The show takes place in the Antechamber of the Factory Theatre. This space is small, perfect for two bears trapped on a piece of ice. As audience members, we are given a bucket of ping pong balls. We are to throw them at the bears representing the harsh weather conditions. In a way, we are also to blame for the climate change and how it’s affected the bears’ habitat. Interesting premise.
There are minimal props, little use of light and music, but it works. I believe this show is to make us think about what it would be like to have no place to go; no food nor shelter because of changes in our surroundings. As absurd as the dialogue between these polar bears is, it is not the main point, I think. The point is for us to think, watch, and ponder our relationship to each other, the planet, and its inhabitants. For a 30-minute show, I think I got a lot out of it.
 |
| Kate Hennig and Cyrus Lane Source: Praxis Theatre |
Rifles
Company: Praxis Theatre
Rating: 4 / 5
Mon Jan 13 9:15pm
Wed Jan 15 7:00pm
Thu Jan 16 5:00pm
Sat Jan 18 7:00pm
Sun Jan 19 9:30pm
Set in Franco’s Spain, Señora Carrar (Kate Hennig) refuses to have his sons, José (Araya Mengesha) and Juan (Wade Boge-O’Brien) join the militia to fight against the fascists. She already lost her husband and is not about to lose her children as well. Her brother Pedro (Cyrus Lane) believes they should fight. How else can the poor survive without fighting? Others in this quiet fishing village are doubting Señora Carrar’s motives. She must stick to her resolve, but as the military gets closer to their town, can and will she?
From the first few seconds, composer and performer Beau Andrew Dixon sets the tone and mood for the show. This is going to be tense. This show is very dialogue-heavy, which is not a bad thing. We meet several characters but it is Señora Carrar, José, and Pedro whom we interact with most of the time. José and Pedro are trying to sort out how to convince the matriarch to change her stance. There is shouting, there are insults, and towards the end, heartache and courage.
Director Michael Wheeler has done a great job in leading the cast. Dixon’s percussion and his voice as Franco mix very well within the story. The set, all in brown tones, places us in a humble home. The lighting and costume design also add another element to the story. Not one actor stood out to me more than the other, and that is alright too. They work well together. There were some parts where I lost my connection to Señora Carrar, but it was not long lasting. This is the first version of Rifles adapted by Nicolas Billon. It is a story that demands attention, and it’s one I’d recommend to those who are unfamiliar with the Spanish Civil War, and those who like dramatic stories.
NSTF continues until January 19th at the Factory Theatre. I’ve listed all of the shows here. Take a look at the list, and find a show to suit your taste. There is plenty to be sampled.
As part of The Classic Movie History Project Blogathon, I chose to write about American film in 1948. For this introductory post, I share some interesting events within the industry to put things in perspective. I also thought it pertinent to list the Top 10 Films in the USA in that year.
In 1948, the followig major events in the cinematic industry in Hollywood took place:
That same year, the Top 10 Grossing films in the USA were:
 |
| Source: moviepostershop.com |
There were certainly some great films released in 1948. And it’s also interesting to see the array of themes and topics that these Top 10 films depict. One can see how things are beginning to change and evolve in American cinema at this juncture.
I will continue contributing to this blogathon in the next day or so with my thoughts on a film from this particular film. Please stay tuned.
Sources: wikipedia, filmsite.org.
Variations on the Word Love
By Margaret Atwood
This is a word we use to plug
holes with. It’s the right size for those warm
blanks in speech, for those red heart-
shaped vacancies on the page that look nothing
like real hearts. Add lace
and you can sell
it. We insert it also in the one empty
space on the printed form
that comes with no instructions. There are whole
magazines with not much in them
but the word love, you can
rub it all over your body and you
can cook with it too. How do we know
it isn’t what goes on at the cool
debaucheries of slugs under damp
pieces of cardboard? As for the weed-
seedlings nosing their tough snouts up
among the lettuces, they shout it.
Love! Love! sing the soldiers, raising
their glittering knives in salute.
Then there’s the two
of us. This word
is far too short for us, it has only
four letters, too sparse
to fill those deep bare
vacuums between the stars
that press on us with their deafness.
It’s not love we don’t wish
to fall into, but that fear.
this word is not enough but it will
have to do. It’s a single
vowel in this metallic
silence, a mouth that says
O again and again in wonder
and pain, a breath, a finger
grip on a cliffside. You can
hold on or let go.
 |
| Source: theironwriter.com |
Margaret Atwood was born in 1939 in Ottawa, and grew up in northern Ontario and Quebec, and in Toronto. She is one of Canada’s most prominent novelists and poets.
Atwood is the author of more than forty volumes of poetry, children’s literature, fiction, and non-fiction, but is best known for her novels, which include The Edible Woman (1969), The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), The Robber Bride (1994), Alias Grace (1996), and The Blind Assassin, which won the prestigious Booker Prize in 2000.
