tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87535547263401736792024-03-05T10:10:25.785-08:00Bateman Reviewsbettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13290969725890141122noreply@blogger.comBlogger345125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753554726340173679.post-46835982503867926492024-03-03T08:49:00.000-08:002024-03-05T10:09:52.610-08:00<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3vCtt0CERG3t04xLhIs-n1CjFZWowYDrgp-ZcLgMjm4mnNtdSYtuel2JuL2OaA5hOgSJSPfXQm41mpl_dybZno_l6OU2gDjZ5-RVejKrjd9TvbM8RSMkYHBCPrBwpE7kpWBs9zx2CpLwOa1rx-FuzKMTqd1PQuY-s7QpzR-ewwZVlrJb9U9VnuenAEQ0/s2560/EN-FRONTcover-ATOMKINDER-scaled-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1525" height="483" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3vCtt0CERG3t04xLhIs-n1CjFZWowYDrgp-ZcLgMjm4mnNtdSYtuel2JuL2OaA5hOgSJSPfXQm41mpl_dybZno_l6OU2gDjZ5-RVejKrjd9TvbM8RSMkYHBCPrBwpE7kpWBs9zx2CpLwOa1rx-FuzKMTqd1PQuY-s7QpzR-ewwZVlrJb9U9VnuenAEQ0/w394-h483/EN-FRONTcover-ATOMKINDER-scaled-1.jpg" width="394" /></a></div><div class="page" style="text-align: center;" title="Page 2"><br /></div><div class="page" style="text-align: center;" title="Page 2"><br /></div><div class="page" style="text-align: center;" title="Page 2"><br /></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 2pt; text-align: center;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 16pt;">about kaeptnbeer<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">the first life of Swiss poet Pascal Beer ended at the age of 33, when he decided to give away all of his posessions and walked direction west without money for as long as it took him to figure out one thing or another. When he returned from Costa Rica after a year of adventures, he sat down at the typewriter and started his second life. The collections of poems was later to become his first book of narrative poetry entitled “knives in a flower vase, waiting for the lover to return” (2013). </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Helvetica Neue;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-size: 17.3333px;"><br /></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmv0567uChXv41Wi-q9KF8K80k8cvDTRonxC4xENwgRsM0FiJIIbCaPteaK1k_AnbhJVTvK0kLopUdvxtiKOl_CKnjTYNEHUeW0zdninWNwJF-IkdzNuNDuxBB1X5SNhCPbiJ03vXRNSmhia66ju42yZRgRHgd22ETOTUHt_Bq7qhQeMqnZqSEfAdwzxE/s1274/kaeptnbeer.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1274" data-original-width="978" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmv0567uChXv41Wi-q9KF8K80k8cvDTRonxC4xENwgRsM0FiJIIbCaPteaK1k_AnbhJVTvK0kLopUdvxtiKOl_CKnjTYNEHUeW0zdninWNwJF-IkdzNuNDuxBB1X5SNhCPbiJ03vXRNSmhia66ju42yZRgRHgd22ETOTUHt_Bq7qhQeMqnZqSEfAdwzxE/w393-h320/kaeptnbeer.png" width="393" /></a></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Within the next ten years, he founded his own publishing house Muskat Media Press (2013) specialized in dirty realism, transgressive fiction and experimental prose, published a novel called “journey to the end of the world” (2017) and a second tome of narrative poetry, “the angriest man in town” (2020).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">His new poetry collection is entitled “WE ATOMKINDER” deals with a generation that spent its childhood in the shadow of the cold war and a potential nuclear holocaust. A topic now more relevant than ever. The book has been published by the author’s publishing house Muskat Media Press in February 2024. This is the first book of hopefully many to come being published in English and German.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Pascal Beer lives in Aarau, Switzerland, when he is not sailing the seven seas, living this one big adventure called living.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13pt; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ZnSIMLj1-1xT91pK2uAzkpU-l5WOpe1tqWOavekLUXkM7_xQsDIp3crp0NqQ1rV7Y-0gGigBhSc7gjOjpDduC2Kvk3m8WbfaFcs1wLerAakI-InLB48cXxF_54kkwFoFpxd0b7gYXXNvD2D5sSFrqmLTU1WTUBlvib3Z1wQ17R2z5iVSd3hbJjS3MwY/s6240/ATOMKINDER-PRESSE_03.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6240" data-original-width="4160" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ZnSIMLj1-1xT91pK2uAzkpU-l5WOpe1tqWOavekLUXkM7_xQsDIp3crp0NqQ1rV7Y-0gGigBhSc7gjOjpDduC2Kvk3m8WbfaFcs1wLerAakI-InLB48cXxF_54kkwFoFpxd0b7gYXXNvD2D5sSFrqmLTU1WTUBlvib3Z1wQ17R2z5iVSd3hbJjS3MwY/s320/ATOMKINDER-PRESSE_03.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;">During a recent North American tour Pascal Beer took part in the open mic at the Eagle <i>(Church Street, Toronto)</i> as part of the monthly <i>Dirty Queer Poetry</i> series founded by Patricia Wilson and hosted by David Bateman. The series welcomes poetry of all kinds, and Dirty Queer poetry, when it is frequently presented, is a welcome feature of the evening. At our recent Christmas edition a number of poet's presented their dirty queer revisions of popular Christmas poems such as <i>T<span style="color: red;">he 12 Days of Christmas</span></i><span style="color: #38761d;"> & </span><i><span style="color: red;">The Night Before Christmas. </span></i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;">The premise behind our idea of dirty queer poetry is to re-appropriate negative, homophobic connotations surrounding conservative notions regarding perspectives on sexuality and queerness, thereby giving LGBTQ2S+ people the opportunity to present and celebrate their diverse sexualities in a supportive queer positive space.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;">Pascal Beer's work, as you will see in the following review, embodies a kind of -</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"</span><span style="font-size: medium;">queer heteronormativity as it simultaneously uplifts and diminishes the male gaze, always acknowledging the possibility of a woman's power over her potential detractors, enchanted observers, and chosen lovers."</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi6WUBlOGuDPbrA33955YMzzWHOOiSjegssgXibBn7aGpjvtLhWCG71x9c04v1M-i6893I4lGpRJy5W1pkT-mOZFXWRQ0mOInByxbJxrPT9Zbht58a96T6u0uVix0eHSQm8ljr7p2r9OgYnwntlqq7cfFACYnpBb378HGkwnxEPO13RYyadjjeKHOu2SI/s640/dirty%20queer%20poetry%20logo%20copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi6WUBlOGuDPbrA33955YMzzWHOOiSjegssgXibBn7aGpjvtLhWCG71x9c04v1M-i6893I4lGpRJy5W1pkT-mOZFXWRQ0mOInByxbJxrPT9Zbht58a96T6u0uVix0eHSQm8ljr7p2r9OgYnwntlqq7cfFACYnpBb378HGkwnxEPO13RYyadjjeKHOu2SI/s320/dirty%20queer%20poetry%20logo%20copy.jpg" width="256" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: medium;">Pascal Beer's new collection of poetry, WE ATOMKINDER, is an engaging, at times explosive critique of the world that the poet inhabits, the ways in which he navigates and negotiates each new situation, and how he finds himself in a kind of existential space that he appears to be comfortably uncomfortable in – always inquisitive and ready for a new encounter within a world he tries to find a place to observe, critique, and somehow enjoy.</span><div><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: medium;">The opening poem (A True Friend) illustrates the speakers need to stay both distant and close within a conflicted but valued childhood friendship, while the final poem (Sarah) echoes the discomfort of a specific situation with a self-proclaimed marriage partner - quickly becoming a somewhat comic, yet violently overpowering encounter that places the female presence within a deceptively dominant pose.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: medium;">This focus upon women in a world of deification & objectification - and at one point, a connection to the iconic figure of Barbie – appears at various points throughout WE ATOMKINDER and creates a form of queer heteronormativity as it simultaneously uplifts and diminishes the male gaze, always acknowledging the possibility of a woman's power over her potential detractors, enchanted observers, and chosen lovers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="font-size: medium;">An especially evocative piece (A VIEW OF SCHÖNENWERD) speaks of beauty and potential doom within an everyday setting where the poet's skill for creating a direct and engaging narrative epitomizes the general themes of the overall collection. This thematic strain surfaces as both warning and delight in a profoundly fractured world of nuclear power plants, beautiful women, and the peace and the smiles that help us move through frequent views of chaotic natural and unnatural landscapes.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;">A VIEW OF SCHÖNENWERD<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;">realizing<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;">everything that<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;">once was free<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;">now comes at a price.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;">toys<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;">food<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;">tv<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;">a roof over your head<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;">love.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;">now I take advantage of these last<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;">few things that cost me nothing<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;">like the sundown<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;">outside my window<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;">with a view of the<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;">nuclear power plant.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;">seeing all of these<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;">beautiful girls walking past<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;">my window,<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;">I feel adrift and at<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;">peace, knowing that<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;">their smiles<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;">are not meant<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">for me.</span><o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: medium;"> </span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"> Even the sudden line break between -<span> <span> </span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">I feel adrift and at</span></i></span></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>peace...<span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span> <span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">speaks of the overall collections narrative power and engaging consistency, as it both startles and enlightens,</span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"> </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">separating a sense of disconnection and formlessness through the clear focus that Pascal Beer maintains throughout</span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"> WE </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">ATOMKINDER. He both joins & separates the positive and the negative images and connotations of a single </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">thought, showing that a fragile yet comforting sense of peace may come with the potentially explosive nuclear baggage of a world always on</span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"> </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">the edge of disaster.</span></span></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBnYK3MVWPCJc_KtcOobePg1wLt3-5Sd7VK8lu6taDwVD4Ltepq4LaROCjbU5hTbjgfYcq-ZesC36WSvA1BSQpPtuWxQjvqL2qE78qiqaTrATm7hsOzgq5a4MeLquhTxpaEsv1CW8F-q1VX8lfUoGpfzbXEKwDAefh6NGecdvVRqbs98t-nbI35Qz1_wA/s2560/EN-FRONTcover-ATOMKINDER-scaled-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1525" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBnYK3MVWPCJc_KtcOobePg1wLt3-5Sd7VK8lu6taDwVD4Ltepq4LaROCjbU5hTbjgfYcq-ZesC36WSvA1BSQpPtuWxQjvqL2qE78qiqaTrATm7hsOzgq5a4MeLquhTxpaEsv1CW8F-q1VX8lfUoGpfzbXEKwDAefh6NGecdvVRqbs98t-nbI35Qz1_wA/s320/EN-FRONTcover-ATOMKINDER-scaled-1.jpg" width="191" /></a></div><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>copies of WE ATOMKINDER can be ordered through - </span><p></p><p class="Textbody" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40);"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">www.muskatmedia.ch</span></span></p><div style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); outline: none;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">or by writing to Pascal Beer's Canadadian agent at</span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); outline: none;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); outline: none;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">carrotmarch@gma<b>il.com</b></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); outline: none;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); outline: none;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>for a link to Pascal Beer's blog go to - </b></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); outline: none;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); outline: none;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>www.pascalbeer.ch</b></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); outline: none;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); outline: none;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; outline: none;"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></div><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><br /></p><p class="Textbody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p></div>bettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13290969725890141122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753554726340173679.post-73453886420294730852024-01-10T14:09:00.000-08:002024-01-10T22:53:59.375-08:00<p> <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifoREwiF3DCAIQB9E9gWRIhhKeEj34v6oP2Gt_dWNbWJQmLGHidI4LUiLAqWyEPpQ-N8TS4Uz21Lh3OQsTCw2iEPhhSkqC2amYl1cJo9YISMLDrAqndtdq7K44vaZHnbYU7OGTBHcLLlqLYY65mKU20fz9aZy4lxQt1Ln-C_h_Yj-1tixJv6M7Vh4XuOY/s2000/mail.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="2000" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifoREwiF3DCAIQB9E9gWRIhhKeEj34v6oP2Gt_dWNbWJQmLGHidI4LUiLAqWyEPpQ-N8TS4Uz21Lh3OQsTCw2iEPhhSkqC2amYl1cJo9YISMLDrAqndtdq7K44vaZHnbYU7OGTBHcLLlqLYY65mKU20fz9aZy4lxQt1Ln-C_h_Yj-1tixJv6M7Vh4XuOY/w428-h208/mail.png" width="428" /></a></div><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 26); font-family: Circular-Book, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Created by<span face="Circular-Bold, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> Dave Malloy</span>, who was first introduced to Toronto audiences with his whisky-fuelled song cycle <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Ghost Quartet </em>at Crow’s Theatre, <span face="Circular-Bold, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box;">NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812</span> is choreographed by <span face="Circular-Bold, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Ray Hogg</span> (<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Dixon Road</em>), the critically acclaimed artistic director of The Musical Stage Company and directed by <span face="Circular-Bold, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Chris</span> <span face="Circular-Bold, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Abraham</span> (<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Uncle Vanya</em>).</span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 26); font-family: Circular-Book, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">The celestial cast includes<span face="Circular-Bold, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> Divine Brown </span>as Hélène,<span face="Circular-Bold, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> Evan Buliung </span>as Pierre,<span face="Circular-Bold, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> Rita Dottor </span>(Ensemble), <span face="Circular-Bold, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Camille Eanga-Selenge </span>as Sonya,<span face="Circular-Bold, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> Donna Garner</span> (Ensemble),<span face="Circular-Bold, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> Hailey Gillis </span>as Natasha,<span face="Circular-Bold, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> George Krissa </span>as Anatole,<span face="Circular-Bold, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> Lawrence Libor </span>as Dolokhov,<span face="Circular-Bold, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> Marcus Nance </span>as Andrey (and Bolkonsky),<span face="Circular-Bold, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> Heeyun Park<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </span></span><span face="Circular-Bold, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box;">박희윤 </span>as Mary,<span face="Circular-Bold, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> Andrew Penner </span>as Balaga,<span face="Circular-Bold, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> Louise Pitre </span>as Marya D., and <span face="Circular-Bold, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Brendan Wall </span>(Ensemble).</span></b></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 26); font-family: Circular-Book, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">from; <a href="https://www.crowstheatre.com/whats-on/view-all/natashapierregreatcomet">https://www.crowstheatre.com/whats-on/view-all/natashapierregreatcomet</a></span></b></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 26); clear: both; font-family: Circular-Book, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv86QX355pAq2cZbFj03kmQBG2KTjpjsFexfKL6cTLcW5b6bE703NfjWjUYtx7isRiBgSSw7OsBgmN4Y-DGRgKrxmT45GmzdK1aIVBU-86HFI4s8SVIlwDq1cE08uuLlDWrxC1voEFiKAdDOl8YIfpHNnAWGvaIN7y4etCA3bzdtPzVGBB64mjIwUZRjM/s750/6585f3cc30f17.image.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="750" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv86QX355pAq2cZbFj03kmQBG2KTjpjsFexfKL6cTLcW5b6bE703NfjWjUYtx7isRiBgSSw7OsBgmN4Y-DGRgKrxmT45GmzdK1aIVBU-86HFI4s8SVIlwDq1cE08uuLlDWrxC1voEFiKAdDOl8YIfpHNnAWGvaIN7y4etCA3bzdtPzVGBB64mjIwUZRjM/w551-h332/6585f3cc30f17.image.jpg" width="551" /></a></div><p></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: verdana;"><b>In 'Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 are,' Divine Brown (left), Camille Eanga-Selenge, George Krissa (at back) and Hailey Gillis. </b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 26); font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"><span class="caption-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); display: block; font-size: 14px; padding: 10px 0px; text-align: center;"></span><span class="credit" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: smaller;"></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #cc0000; font-family: verdana; font-size: smaller;">Photographed by Dahlia Katz</b></div><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 26); font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: verdana;">_____________________________________</span></b></p></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In the opening moments of this spectacular show a cacophony of sound hints at a jumble of indecipherable word and mashed up music, and yet only for a moment - a moment long enough to simultaneously alienate (as in Brecht) and impress with the beautiful, complex and skilfully articulated noise about to unfold - yet gradual enough to prepare the audience for an in your face, frequently environmental, and always action-packed musical evening that flies by even at its two and a half hour, one intermission breakneck pace. And there are Russian inspired cocktails available for pre-order at the bar. Vodka galore! The Kahlua however is a delightfully distracting and slightly bewildering addition. Order double vodka and you will be fine.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">There were times when I felt like I was trapped in a Meatloaf concert. Having seen two Meatloaf concerts in the 70's and 80's I can't imagine, even at an advanced age, a better and more pleasing soundscape to be trapped within. A cross between rock opera, cabaret, operetta and techno-type sounds I am not well versed in but singularly impressed by in this particular production, the score is a masterpiece of seamless ballads, deceptively melodic recitative-cum-conversation and internal meditation - infrequent melodic spoken word laced exquisitely by an ensemble without a single weak performance. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Standout moments come from every cast member - with intense highlights soaring from the lungs of Evan Buliung, Divine Brown, Heeyun Park <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;">박희윤 </span>, Louise Petrie, George Krissa. Marcus Nance, Hailey Gillis, and Lawrence Libor - among others, too numerous to mention.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Buliung (as Pierre) delivers a show stopping, marked by intimacy and booming emotion, in a ballad-like piece near the middle that joins the ranks of impeccably written and performed stand alone songs from the greatest of musicals. A spectacular and diverse hodgepodge of lyric and music, with appropriately anachronistic words and phrases, transports this wildly entertaining musical version of Tolstoy's novel War and Peace into a welcome yet startling testament to the sad endurance of war over centuries of struggle between soldiers and civilians. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4clWmu29VElhN-KTBBKjdwI6vl_E-DnPaYlNxbYCG67-MGTe_CTUVH8J8ufOjTrTcJuOQ8oeI3rZHPfF73ubNO21t8HCpIPBHRD-4g2snfaxG95xgIn3TJvH9z5wK2bsbXjzXevQDIlawHqjD4HLyQpomtal31QXn5jheCarKklLhPez3SkbrT9ppdME/s1024/npgc-cmsc.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1024" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4clWmu29VElhN-KTBBKjdwI6vl_E-DnPaYlNxbYCG67-MGTe_CTUVH8J8ufOjTrTcJuOQ8oeI3rZHPfF73ubNO21t8HCpIPBHRD-4g2snfaxG95xgIn3TJvH9z5wK2bsbXjzXevQDIlawHqjD4HLyQpomtal31QXn5jheCarKklLhPez3SkbrT9ppdME/w617-h420/npgc-cmsc.png" width="617" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: georgia; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: verdana;"><b>set design by Julie Fox and Joshua Quinlan - costume design by Ming Wong - lighting design by Kimberley Purtell - sound design by Ryan Borshuk</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: georgia; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">George Krissa as Anatole bears his well-toned, audience-pleasing chest in a fleeting and unforgettable scene, giving substance, comedy, and craft to his many winking, satiric sideways glances, poses and musical prowess. And he does this with an incredibly diverse range of both voice and physical bravado/virtuosity. Krissa's performance pairs brilliantly with the equally as alluring and emotionally varied, beautifully sung performance by his romantic conquest Natasha (played by Hailey Gillis) - who, even in her iconic misogyny- based shame, culled from the great themes and novels of Tolstoy's time period, she manages to boldly and powerfully disavow full guilt as something she can never recover from. It was far too thrilling for her to fully forget. The villainy too subtle and intriguing to resist, the romance too fine. The chest too beautiful and bare to bear without barely swooning. . . Sorry, I couldn't resist.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8yZFBo7ja3wJp17ulQUVaqzeC94Goa3RNwicvDS0LYma0_ZVKhI60Yd6Mg3zhR5iST7_9Ss5TGOiDozrGK1Oz8w-1Utt7QPgWujXkONEm9QcUESHPmJyfaS7u6SDanBxLZ8GnK9n0O-A0NHgwglPj7y3dqdN_MDeAiKJraQQ-oG2n9AA_aaeDuJYPjrI/s1024/CometCastAnnouncement_WordFly-833x1024.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="833" height="453" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8yZFBo7ja3wJp17ulQUVaqzeC94Goa3RNwicvDS0LYma0_ZVKhI60Yd6Mg3zhR5iST7_9Ss5TGOiDozrGK1Oz8w-1Utt7QPgWujXkONEm9QcUESHPmJyfaS7u6SDanBxLZ8GnK9n0O-A0NHgwglPj7y3dqdN_MDeAiKJraQQ-oG2n9AA_aaeDuJYPjrI/w430-h453/CometCastAnnouncement_WordFly-833x1024.png" width="430" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span face="Circular-Bold, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 26);">NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 shines brightly through the work of an ingenious technical crew and design team - directed with brilliant detail and nuance by Chris Abraham - bringing gorgeous sets, </span></span></span></span></b><span face="Circular-Bold, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 26);">costumes, lighting, choreography, sound and music, into a simultaneously intimate, lush and grand romantic setting - making it all worthy of this 12 TIME TONY NOMINATED spectacular Canadian premiere of a highly acclaimed musical.</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span face="Circular-Bold, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 26);"><br /></span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span face="Circular-Bold, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 26);"><br /></span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Circular-Bold, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #a64d79; font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 26);">HELD OVER AT CROW'S THEATRE </span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Circular-Bold, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #a64d79; font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 26);">UNTIL FEBRUARY ELEVENTH</span></b></span></div>bettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13290969725890141122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753554726340173679.post-84109138165892657482023-12-06T11:32:00.000-08:002023-12-06T11:45:05.115-08:00<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi72zxxR5iBTa2D-ipp2a3ySS6vxk2Lo_0wFjcc8DvKju-gcIloDJ2UoxZ_kyoglJQtbY3x0Fth_utrmviD145P23zw_m1MgjiB0zjbbi5H2afkjBPwTV7awBnZ4wqBQahdPNCxM0pzL6sLeQKiaFrhrwiv3no0We-e7Ce4BwOwmaL6WsZRfrcX25iOrQI/s1600/F98RuVsXcAMdqJC.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi72zxxR5iBTa2D-ipp2a3ySS6vxk2Lo_0wFjcc8DvKju-gcIloDJ2UoxZ_kyoglJQtbY3x0Fth_utrmviD145P23zw_m1MgjiB0zjbbi5H2afkjBPwTV7awBnZ4wqBQahdPNCxM0pzL6sLeQKiaFrhrwiv3no0We-e7Ce4BwOwmaL6WsZRfrcX25iOrQI/w528-h322/F98RuVsXcAMdqJC.jpeg" width="528" /></a></div></div></div><br /><br /></div><span style="color: #990000;">The current double bill of Daniel MacIvor's <i>Here Lies Henry </i>and <i>Monster</i>, running at Factory Theatre until mid-December, is a seamless and action packed study in the art of the emotional roller coaster - with touches of stand-up, horror movie, psychological word play, and a very complex perspective on ways in which story-telling and truth-telling inhabit (and 'un' inhabit) each other in unexpected ways that both thrill and perplex spectators in a moving and entertaining way. </span><p></p><p><span style="color: #990000;">The presentation of these two very different 70 to 80 minute scripts compliment each other through the power of solo performances by Karl Ang (Monster) and Damien Atkins (Henry...), and reveal MacIvor's (<i>with Daniel Brooks as collaborator</i>) timeless talents for delving into the psyches of complex personalities, and their takes on the world at large.</span></p><p><span style="color: #990000;">Karl Ang takes on, in a skilful and engaging way, the voices of several characters that inhabit a harrowing childhood experience, and the accompanying graphically described scene from a gruesome film that has informed the central characters lives, as well as the intersectional presence of the horror film as a genre and a life experience. Ang is a master of vocal versatility and draws spectators in with a clear and powerful performance.</span></p><p><span style="color: #990000;">Atkins delivers a more playful, yet equally as mesmerizing performance thorough the character of Henry - a complicated mess of a man who is simultaneously endearing and infuriating as he rambles through a series of meditations on being alive, confused, and intent upon telling truth through lies, laced with the looming presence of mortality though another form of lying - as in horizontally inclined. He is especially engaging through the use of extreme physical agility as he is directed by Tawiah McCarthy with a very clear and expertly calculated finesse - at times dancing and moving about with an elegant comic grace and diverse physicality. Soheil Parsa's direction in <i>Monster </i>is equally adept at bringing precise and punctuating blocking, as well as fine emotional layering to the characters Ang so brilliantly inhabits.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRb5qRbAy78y9t0Gms9WQPRVD5pSZ96yAoFX4fYWLRlhpbrVXupOFhLbNCTVzjwBDeSWYS5LBK7hbBs086rDZfM6afwAXHFxEzV3Cj64RQrX23lxDiE2QdYb0t1SQp6sJW0ujmvdC-gAC1ui7nCv4WV4Z-bDXWdy1A4NB8FfWsFSyCX_VmRcc_ridzSSY/s500/Here-Lies-Henry-2008.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="379" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRb5qRbAy78y9t0Gms9WQPRVD5pSZ96yAoFX4fYWLRlhpbrVXupOFhLbNCTVzjwBDeSWYS5LBK7hbBs086rDZfM6afwAXHFxEzV3Cj64RQrX23lxDiE2QdYb0t1SQp6sJW0ujmvdC-gAC1ui7nCv4WV4Z-bDXWdy1A4NB8FfWsFSyCX_VmRcc_ridzSSY/w550-h379/Here-Lies-Henry-2008.jpg" width="550" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="color: #cc0000;">Having seen the original productions with MacIvor in the roles, it might make sense to compare the varied performances. And yet there is no comparison. Gifted actors like MacIvor, Ang, and Atkins do justice to these complex scripts. From what I can remember, MacIvor brought a unique and singular energy to the roles that gave the theatrical solo performance experience a meta-theatrical tone and through-line, brought about by MacIvor's prolific output as writer and performer. Ang and Atkins bring more of an actor'ly presence, delving into specific character and emotional layers, while MacIvor inhabited the voice of the writer and actor through a kind of performance monologue technique that defies traditional notions of theatrical enterprise. Clearly, it is difficult to articulate the differences, and yet the mounting of these two productions reveals the timelessness of the scripts, and the ways in which they can be brought to life decades later by a brilliant production team.</span></p><p><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>The shows can be seen as a double bill or on separate evenings. For dates and times see;</b></span></p><p><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://www.factorytheatre.ca/whats-on/">https://www.factorytheatre.ca/whats-on/</a></b></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5c77beI0yTajdEi_ulvDfoVqeZGKnpYtKZK592w-CZM35Wmsu4LPx5Jo_W2-BUKfHFBEj3dyRYumIufo_1uPRQHd8sSXya663dnzNs24EqXDV7xmPbJFuEukVoG_MvooxZ903z0U-CcfQWPrd61-ixJ_Hla_f4bHdTYQEdSmO4_GMJE7e2m8VEunLaAw/s240/monster_cover_180x.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="157" height="515" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5c77beI0yTajdEi_ulvDfoVqeZGKnpYtKZK592w-CZM35Wmsu4LPx5Jo_W2-BUKfHFBEj3dyRYumIufo_1uPRQHd8sSXya663dnzNs24EqXDV7xmPbJFuEukVoG_MvooxZ903z0U-CcfQWPrd61-ixJ_Hla_f4bHdTYQEdSmO4_GMJE7e2m8VEunLaAw/w582-h515/monster_cover_180x.jpg" width="582" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>SPOILER ALERT; </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE EARLY PRODUCTIONS OF 'HERE LIES HENRY' AND 'MONSTER'</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #f7f7f7; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 30pt;">Here Lies Henry (2006</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 30pt;"><span style="color: red;">)</span><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #f7f7f7; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 30pt;"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #f7f7f7; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15.5pt;">Produced by<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #f7f7f7; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm;"><a href="https://ttdb.ca/companies/da-da-kamera/"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #83010a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0cm; text-decoration: none;">Da Da Kamera</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #f7f7f7; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15.5pt;">Presented by<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #f7f7f7; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm;"><a href="https://ttdb.ca/companies/buddies-in-bad-times-theatre/"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #83010a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0cm; text-decoration: none;">Buddies in Bad Times Theatre</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #f7f7f7; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm;"><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0cm;">Playwright</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.5pt;">: </span><a href="https://ttdb.ca/people/daniel-macivor/"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #83010a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0cm; text-decoration: none;">Daniel MacIvor</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0cm;">Director</span></b>: </span><a href="https://ttdb.ca/people/daniel-brooks/"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #83010a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0cm; text-decoration: none;">Daniel Brooks</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #f7f7f7; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15.5pt;">Venue<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #f7f7f7; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm;"><a href="https://ttdb.ca/venues/the-alexander-street-chamber-theatre/"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #83010a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0cm; text-decoration: none;">The Alexander Street Chamber Theatre</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #f7f7f7; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15.5pt;">Run<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #f7f7f7; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 7.5pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.5pt;">September 19th, 2006 – October 15th, 2006<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #f7f7f7; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15.5pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #f7f7f7; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15.5pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #f7f7f7; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15.5pt;">Synopsis<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #f7f7f7; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 7.5pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.5pt;">An idyllic SORT OF miserable SORT OF nightmarish SORT OF story book SORT OF remarkable SORT OF regular SORT OF story. A man alone in a room with a mission to tell you something you don’t already know.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #f7f7f7; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: #741b47;">With Here Lies Henry, MacIvor gives voice to the character of Henry, a self-confessed liar. Henry rambles with a mixture of energy and fun. He’s a thirty-something optimist who ponders the meaning and pointlessness of life. He begins slowly by revealing things about himself, such as his childhood, his homosexuality, and his lies. He claims his assignment is to tell the audience something they don’t already know. Since Henry is a professional liar, it’s difficult to distinguish between his lies and the truth. Presented in a minimalist style familiar to da da kamera audiences, one actor, light and sound combine to give an atmosphere of intimacy breaking down the fourth wall and making the audience feel like they are part of the drama. That is to say, making them feel like they are part of Henry’s world which of course, they are. MacIvor cannily distills the human condition and seesaws hilariously between truth and lies, and more lies. <i><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0cm;">(buddiesinbadtimestheatre.com, 2006</span></i>).</span><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #f7f7f7; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 7.5pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.5pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p><div style="border-style: solid none none; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-width: 1pt; padding: 1pt 0cm 0cm;"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm; padding: 0cm;"></p></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; vertical-align: top;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; vertical-align: top;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>MONSTER</b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: top;"><span style="color: #777777; font-family: Raleway; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“<i>Monster</i>, a one-man play, begins in the total darkness of a movie theatre. After a long silence, someone in the audience rudely shushes his neighbour, and the show begins. Daniel MacIvor transforms himself into a series of characters whose lives seem eerily related. There’s the young boy who tells the story of the neighbour lad who hacked up his father in the basement. There are alcoholic Al and shiny Janine, the lovers who quarrel, make up, and decide to marry after seeing a movie about a lad who … well, same thing. There’s the ex-drunk who dreamed up the movie, but got no credit because he was said to have stolen the idea from a famous unfinished film, a claim that so angered him that he went back on the sauce. And there’s the movie maker who made that incomplete epic.” </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>- Philadelphia Inquirer</span></i><span style="color: #777777;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>bettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13290969725890141122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753554726340173679.post-22385605443848219652023-11-19T10:00:00.000-08:002023-11-19T10:00:17.150-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTsh8rPHqH9OEkqrczmfSaAGAptl-jbghmz1EyYST3wGBlbHdJfj_8o09Tx70NtotM5XFz2uuICic8FX8cwDKh2DXJl8r4yI1bWK58JWpuVOiHgpTDYJbJWa3XGZMLf1ZT1T9qa2_tXq1PCuAaZz85YCO9kvUWq_moogkx2aB03Xz2RBsh5JAI9kvsvRs/s375/monetpye%20bateman%20poster%20copy%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="375" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTsh8rPHqH9OEkqrczmfSaAGAptl-jbghmz1EyYST3wGBlbHdJfj_8o09Tx70NtotM5XFz2uuICic8FX8cwDKh2DXJl8r4yI1bWK58JWpuVOiHgpTDYJbJWa3XGZMLf1ZT1T9qa2_tXq1PCuAaZz85YCO9kvUWq_moogkx2aB03Xz2RBsh5JAI9kvsvRs/s320/monetpye%20bateman%20poster%20copy%202.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">l-r - Pye, Bateman, Monet "The Very Unauthorized biographies - available at a fictional bookstore near you</span></b></div></span><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>Jono Pye - ARTIST WEBSITE BY </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>Rob Wilkes OF BIG SKY DESIGN</b></span></p><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;"><a href="https://jonopye.ca/?fbclid=IwAR1jPdlSchfP-wJ1jsLKoCS-s7zwVG1u2v0x3IKywYZnToS4hHJHudsgK34">https://jonopye.ca/?fbclid=IwAR1jPdlSchfP-wJ1jsLKoCS-s7zwVG1u2v0x3IKywYZnToS4hHJHudsgK34</a></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">Rob Wilkes, of Big Sky Design, has created a thoroughly engaging and aesthetically beautiful multi-faceted structure for Jono Pye’s new website - highlighting in diverse ways through the use of moving images, and easily accessible categories, a variety of work ranging from still life to landscapes, portraits, bicycles, and comic book characters. <br style="outline: none !important;" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;"><br style="outline: none !important;" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">Pye’s immense energy and love for an eclectic array of styles is brought together through a combination of the serious and the playful found in any given work - whether it be the colourful countenance of the most infamous member of The Group of Seven, or the ways in which landscape simultaneously separates and coheres in a decidedly Cezanne’esque manner, through the use of carefully executed, delicately divided brush strokes that display vibrant depth and infectious colour.<br style="outline: none !important;" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;"><br style="outline: none !important;" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">In his design for the website Wilkes has showcased his keen sense of continuity and visual engagement, making an online tour of the artists work a refreshing journey through hue and form. <br style="outline: none !important;" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;"><br style="outline: none !important;" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">Pye continues to create work that gives life and enjoyment to the perception of everyday objects, from saxophones to apples, peaches, pets, bikes, barns, and the never ending serio-comic qualities of the human body in all its complicated glory. <br style="outline: none !important;" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;"><br style="outline: none !important;" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">Rendering portraits of revered artists from the past, as well as favourite characters from the beloved Archie comic book series reveals a paradoxically cohesive eclecticism that is brilliantly showcased in a website that adds a new layer of creativity and imagination to a lifelong process.<br style="outline: none !important;" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;"><br style="outline: none !important;" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">And writing Pye’s unauthorized bio for the site, with notes and ideas provided by Jono, was a new and delightful adventure for me as I wove memories, both factual and fictive - like much of life - from the career of an artist whose work attests to commitment, playfulness, and a seemingly endless capacity to create.<br style="outline: none !important;" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxIzy65yu-HuB3e0PsX0F2j6t70pSEWq0m6DWrnhFHQTiR2LeH8Ij3nWwXJpy7csfN37OS2p0ChU-kYDFIF_fszD1OHbLSFjvLF2UQ9577YddbBxJCGrIIcmRGuh58PYikqajAU9dufh4neWbcEkUlRHBahcOnHr90myJoDPZ1RUtDgX4QMzQaOJ_bORU/s375/archie%20poster%20copy%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="375" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxIzy65yu-HuB3e0PsX0F2j6t70pSEWq0m6DWrnhFHQTiR2LeH8Ij3nWwXJpy7csfN37OS2p0ChU-kYDFIF_fszD1OHbLSFjvLF2UQ9577YddbBxJCGrIIcmRGuh58PYikqajAU9dufh4neWbcEkUlRHBahcOnHr90myJoDPZ1RUtDgX4QMzQaOJ_bORU/s320/archie%20poster%20copy%202.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; outline: none !important; text-align: center;">poster from 2022/2023 Toronto exhibit</div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;"><br /></div>bettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13290969725890141122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753554726340173679.post-38371078931266711862023-09-22T11:44:00.003-07:002023-09-23T12:55:28.599-07:00<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYDpDbhVwh737MPIzlBe9qIEGi5ip24pX8MApW-VbYLB7_wGTS20kStpD8Qp_f0h2J7NbJlhOrolmjaVeV_dsTEHzbEkhw2M_hwGo4XrwK-EZ685p48c5cYN7v0PIi4w1GVuWXtHEOujZwqUuCilIqXjWpyVmfZuhVktYQq7xEygv8inPrew7OSbRzm0Y/s2000/hero_MP_Desktop.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="2000" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYDpDbhVwh737MPIzlBe9qIEGi5ip24pX8MApW-VbYLB7_wGTS20kStpD8Qp_f0h2J7NbJlhOrolmjaVeV_dsTEHzbEkhw2M_hwGo4XrwK-EZ685p48c5cYN7v0PIi4w1GVuWXtHEOujZwqUuCilIqXjWpyVmfZuhVktYQq7xEygv8inPrew7OSbRzm0Y/w479-h291/hero_MP_Desktop.jpg" width="479" /></a></span></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">A masterful ensemble takes the stage and immediately draws the audience into a mesmerizing kind of corporate rapture, doublespeak, and high stakes ecological impairment as one watches Michael Healey's brilliant new script take flight in a unique blend of theatre and high tech power point presentation that balances evenly and seamlessly with the onstage action scrambling below.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVtJRsZ5MbUN5BQcC1yb7gVYZJnq-VdPg1uttpsbNEegwltuFoK26XDnxAv-z75BhzRiSfXKBb4NO9fEf61lXxziCnSOjnOtjP1WpbRw7EF-S5IOA_NGaJOVkBp8DQiwjn8h1hfu3Jp1BvSmckmpb7UBimJ3eKQOexmWs8EAzseUO1e0DmduNBHPn_wWs/s6048/CrowsTheatre_TheMasterPlan-photobyDahliaKatz-6178.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4024" data-original-width="6048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVtJRsZ5MbUN5BQcC1yb7gVYZJnq-VdPg1uttpsbNEegwltuFoK26XDnxAv-z75BhzRiSfXKBb4NO9fEf61lXxziCnSOjnOtjP1WpbRw7EF-S5IOA_NGaJOVkBp8DQiwjn8h1hfu3Jp1BvSmckmpb7UBimJ3eKQOexmWs8EAzseUO1e0DmduNBHPn_wWs/s320/CrowsTheatre_TheMasterPlan-photobyDahliaKatz-6178.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: #38761d;"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: #38761d;"> The entire cast shines with intense energy and a mistakenly placed birthday-cakeface standout moment nearing the end as one of the performers moves breathlessly and manically through intricate, breakneck blocking with their leg in a cast and a seamless, unbreakable, comic flair. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: #38761d;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIN3hbrZuPwlfQ6skfw3gBPwWSw6fhs4OSeaYQ7dH4ckMCU5WdZivfjOjQIRVCo4xBX1UjvU0tDACJRtCKW60Lgs4B3CUw2yxb7p66IkEEh9NaqUWfHwfd_cK--LeCQOec0qW4e6uDahLOZHx5TD1LyewHNeqGWUuRLrZoWq3F8pYPjsfwXx8FnKAMBps/s6048/CrowsTheatre_TheMasterPlan-photobyDahliaKatz-6266.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4024" data-original-width="6048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIN3hbrZuPwlfQ6skfw3gBPwWSw6fhs4OSeaYQ7dH4ckMCU5WdZivfjOjQIRVCo4xBX1UjvU0tDACJRtCKW60Lgs4B3CUw2yxb7p66IkEEh9NaqUWfHwfd_cK--LeCQOec0qW4e6uDahLOZHx5TD1LyewHNeqGWUuRLrZoWq3F8pYPjsfwXx8FnKAMBps/s320/CrowsTheatre_TheMasterPlan-photobyDahliaKatz-6266.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Recent news of the greenbelt debacle and its surprising yet welcome turnaround in the hands of a suddenly apologetic real estate mongering premiere, alongside frequent news regarding a plot of geodesic dome- covered, former semi-amusement park memories resting on island-like landfill being stolen from the 'public' by Northern European spa enthusiasts, when the landfill perhaps never should have been put there in the first place and the land was stolen land in the first place - all of these run-on monumental tidbits become the mocking merriment of earth-shattering dirt re-arranging that indirectly-cum-directly connects to the woes of Toronto as an ever-growing urban carnivale-like assortment of waterfront (and beyond) developments that have been littering the political and geographic landscape for decades. </span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn-k0L1wtJc6GKw2g3Ob1CbjvzYkeHyavYtddZEPlcCnzneM_TLedaw2t2gG0jF5B1ScUm43deuNViMfZ6xfrwYHPfaEWxlXIi2tJ0sQho_YfDMO2typAu47oM0n9TyP9qEP7mODXZlX_AvfZHcuDr45bxTjcFzFy9LtogbDmTdQipJZWHD2FPEHi_gtk/s6048/CrowsTheatre_TheMasterPlan-photobyDahliaKatz-6618.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4024" data-original-width="6048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn-k0L1wtJc6GKw2g3Ob1CbjvzYkeHyavYtddZEPlcCnzneM_TLedaw2t2gG0jF5B1ScUm43deuNViMfZ6xfrwYHPfaEWxlXIi2tJ0sQho_YfDMO2typAu47oM0n9TyP9qEP7mODXZlX_AvfZHcuDr45bxTjcFzFy9LtogbDmTdQipJZWHD2FPEHi_gtk/s320/CrowsTheatre_TheMasterPlan-photobyDahliaKatz-6618.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbmEEYjvrCY5q-mGeYqChrLudOIqUlfk0YP3LFuRZ6Q5MUJ9yVXOYZ0GHY7M_g_6XRytAvlro-S51bZCYbqKF3fFnMwx172LsAFcxIwbLYnQ7KnupVgqMmsUhjNPDGZUVR_o6oFvskPpwijoBl2WbudUXopVmzK0BB2f6iYwChRUlBD5t6hPQl3KQynt8/s6048/CrowsTheatre_TheMasterPlan-photobyDahliaKatz-6640.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4024" data-original-width="6048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbmEEYjvrCY5q-mGeYqChrLudOIqUlfk0YP3LFuRZ6Q5MUJ9yVXOYZ0GHY7M_g_6XRytAvlro-S51bZCYbqKF3fFnMwx172LsAFcxIwbLYnQ7KnupVgqMmsUhjNPDGZUVR_o6oFvskPpwijoBl2WbudUXopVmzK0BB2f6iYwChRUlBD5t6hPQl3KQynt8/s320/CrowsTheatre_TheMasterPlan-photobyDahliaKatz-6640.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghW-ZK8E6PcvRqHk0oTn1opCUIFLiGvUfXniG-4NnAT4_hlBWSDPOid4u2vZazN9XCjRyaU2HvOWjSN6g00V9p7SderNH6FV_exjPXcwqCcn4IDj1WyuE8LeqR4UpRj_4OJ_XNavJDVXN67pQnoEGrrhBaRupmpcqQKYFA6JZ2nmtCkvh50SBDF00wzJ4/s6048/CrowsTheatre_TheMasterPlan-photobyDahliaKatz-7027.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4024" data-original-width="6048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghW-ZK8E6PcvRqHk0oTn1opCUIFLiGvUfXniG-4NnAT4_hlBWSDPOid4u2vZazN9XCjRyaU2HvOWjSN6g00V9p7SderNH6FV_exjPXcwqCcn4IDj1WyuE8LeqR4UpRj_4OJ_XNavJDVXN67pQnoEGrrhBaRupmpcqQKYFA6JZ2nmtCkvh50SBDF00wzJ4/s320/CrowsTheatre_TheMasterPlan-photobyDahliaKatz-7027.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #38761d;"><br /><span style="font-family: Aharoni;"><span face="-webkit-standard">As Healey's script points out, with its impressive mass of historical/political information, the century old re-direction of the Don River, and the ensuing problems with that unsound environmental move, plays a part in Healey's satirically drawn script as the big waterfront players collide on a crash course with Google and its plans for a SMART future for urban centres replete with moveable sidewalks, potentially unwieldy data storage, and views of a lake that must be exhausted by all of the age-old, unnatural changes to its immense, breathtaking shoreline. Remember when Front Street was a beach and the island wasn't an island? Google it!</span></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-family: Aharoni;"><span face="-webkit-standard">And then there's the Gardiner Expressway as it makes a cameo </span></span></span><span style="color: #38761d;">appearance with its own tale of woesome, un-winsomely handled land acknowledgement - rich in colonizing intent within a not so subtle sub-text as the final moments refer to a deal made with indigenous land stewards that becomes redundant in the hands of the fumbling corporate players on both sides of the US/Canadian border.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(56, 118, 29);"><b>HELDOVER UNTIL OCTOBER 15TH, CROW'S THEATRE</b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">___________________</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVV2mPNuuP627UhPj7GAAvXybWudTVwLSm_cCsQ2FAW_BSQ2OzTC57fNxT7QBweVdiwde4aH79_FFxVKeExc6AOuaYjv2ItXxBOmHV6Al6vpoY6oJqppYOLv3_2o0ip91p7IOKaYf7syHSr9gwNOJjBsQRltySP8pqsT6K-Hj7dF82KJu0WftyW1L13W8/s450/9781039000780.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="299" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVV2mPNuuP627UhPj7GAAvXybWudTVwLSm_cCsQ2FAW_BSQ2OzTC57fNxT7QBweVdiwde4aH79_FFxVKeExc6AOuaYjv2ItXxBOmHV6Al6vpoY6oJqppYOLv3_2o0ip91p7IOKaYf7syHSr9gwNOJjBsQRltySP8pqsT6K-Hj7dF82KJu0WftyW1L13W8/s320/9781039000780.jpeg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Based on JOSH O'KANES book </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span face="Muli, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 16px;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Sideways: The City Google Couldn't Buy </b>THE MASTER PLAN is far beyond my reach of political </span><span face="Muli, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">intelligence</span></span><span face="Muli, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 16px;"> and information </span></span></span><span face="Muli, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #38761d;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">intake, </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">which</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> is a very good thing for challenged spectators such as </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">myself</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">, </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">because</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> it plays with the </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">facts, </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">delights</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> and appalls the imagination with ingenious theatrical </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">flair, and takes the stage in a </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">spectacular</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> array of blocking and technology </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">masterfully</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> arranged by director Chris Abraham and a team of actors and arts technicians/designers in a way that leaves one breathless with an entertaining mixture of disgust, dismay, bewilderment and glee with each new morsel of factually based big business repartee and real estate wrangling. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span face="Muli, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #38761d;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">And all of this motivates one to read the book, do the research, and learn more and more about the ongoing machinations of a city - of so many cities in turmoil - on a planet where urban development has consistently ravaged the land as we try to imagine climate change as just another challenge for the ages - and if there is anything we can possibly do about it.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span face="Muli, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #38761d;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">And then there's the priceless fleeting little remark about New York City's much lauded - yet infrequently critiqued as unremarkable - High Line (and surrounding over-priced environs) that jumps out at you and tickles the not so funny bone in a most delightfully scathing way.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span face="Muli, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #38761d;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Muli, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhet66pxVY2FLehC3PG7S-S-NbBfcw6OsOz80KkdPf969sgB8fdQbJnUJb_OoKwJu2DMHqukgDpAGGxbxW-CWiERbC353lsxI8Z9zQ9hGikcCsnecCzfwOdwy65rlajuQNYR-4RSdihmyjwbFuuGZ52SRFbNZj1iQ4qU86-ygRmxLzIiCSDDC52EkmhyQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="2000" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhet66pxVY2FLehC3PG7S-S-NbBfcw6OsOz80KkdPf969sgB8fdQbJnUJb_OoKwJu2DMHqukgDpAGGxbxW-CWiERbC353lsxI8Z9zQ9hGikcCsnecCzfwOdwy65rlajuQNYR-4RSdihmyjwbFuuGZ52SRFbNZj1iQ4qU86-ygRmxLzIiCSDDC52EkmhyQ" width="320" /></a></span></div><span face="Muli, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #38761d;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;">___________________________________________</span></p><header class="section-header" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Muli, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-top: 1px; padding: 1.5em 0px 0px;"><h1 class="h3" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 2.6rem; line-height: 1; margin: 12px 0px;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;">FROM CROW'S THEATRE PROMO</span></h1></header><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Muli, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">In 2017, when the public agency Waterfront Toronto decided to put up a parcel of land for development, Sidewalk Labs, a subsidiary of Google’s Alphabet Inc., swept in with a proposal to create the city of the future. Waterfront Toronto jumped at the opportunity to advance housing sustainability and affordability by exploring Alphabet’s innovative technology and data-driven techniques. But the project quickly started to fall apart from uneasy partnerships, sclerotic local politics, and an overwhelmingly negative public response.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Muli, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">In this biting comedy about the failure to build a smart city in Toronto, Michael Healey lampoons the corporate drama, epic personalities, and iconic Canadian figures involved in the messy affair between Sidewalk Labs and Waterfront Toronto. Based on the bestselling exposé, <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Sideways: The City Google Couldn't Buy </i>by Josh O’Kane, <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Master Plan</i> exposes the hubris of big tech, the feebleness of government, and the dangers of public consultation with sharp wit and insightful commentary.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGoKkhVaR_z__zbH4X1EArG5jT7hsJToPKWNPTn-P7H1rosNILIxcXKu9JmRh74FSMC9lLTGeEv59sbo0-691V24fs33Xamd8h8fyP__IwNHyioMLn3lqbfQi3vYpEXOb48ba1vLXky_L71oTXAM2NA5PveOuI0VZzRd0ldnSXCs5IWBfzJ4ropTZrnaw/s1200/AP5LPLKNQ5HTZHO5DZXJ26WXL4.jpg.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="1200" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGoKkhVaR_z__zbH4X1EArG5jT7hsJToPKWNPTn-P7H1rosNILIxcXKu9JmRh74FSMC9lLTGeEv59sbo0-691V24fs33Xamd8h8fyP__IwNHyioMLn3lqbfQi3vYpEXOb48ba1vLXky_L71oTXAM2NA5PveOuI0VZzRd0ldnSXCs5IWBfzJ4ropTZrnaw/w495-h402/AP5LPLKNQ5HTZHO5DZXJ26WXL4.jpg.webp" width="495" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span><p></p><div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Crow’s Theatre presents</span></span></b></div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: #38761d;">THE MASTER PLAN</span></span></b></div></b><p></p><p><b><span style="color: #93c47d;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></b></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #93c47d;"><b><span style="color: #93c47d;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The World Premiere of a New Comedy</span></span></b></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #93c47d;"><b><span style="color: #93c47d;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Written by Michael Healey</span></span></b></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #93c47d;"><b><span style="color: #93c47d;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Based on </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic;">Sideways: The City Google Couldn</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic;">’</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic;">t Buy </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">by Josh O’Kane</span></span></b></span></b></div><div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #93c47d;"><b><span style="color: #93c47d;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Directed by Chris Abraham</span></span></b></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #93c47d;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.666666px;"><br /></span></span></b></div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #93c47d;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt;">Featuring Christopher Allen, Ben Carlson, Philippa Domville, Peter Fernandes, Yanna McIntosh, Tara Nicodemo, Mike Shara</span></span></b></div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #93c47d;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt;">September 5 to October 8, 2023 (HELDOVER UNTIL OCTOBER 15TH)</span></span></b></div></b><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">ALL PHOTOS BY DAHLIA KATZ</span></b><br /></span></p></div></div></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-family: Aharoni; font-size: 72pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Aharoni; font-size: 72pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>bettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13290969725890141122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753554726340173679.post-81547105981587100462022-12-12T20:06:00.002-08:002022-12-12T20:10:30.526-08:00<p><span style="color: #660000;"> <b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span style="font-family: "Proxima Nova", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, 1833. Edmund Kean, the greatest actor of his generation, has collapsed onstage while playing Othello. Ira Aldridge, a young, Black American actor has been asked to take over the role, but a Black man has never played Othello on the English stage before. His groundbreaking performance upends centuries of British stage tradition and changes the lives of everyone involved.</span></i></b></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 7.5pt; min-height: 1px; min-width: 1px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Proxima Nova", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #660000;">As anti-abolition riots take over the streets of London, how will the cast, critics, and audience react to the race revolution taking place in the theatre?</span></span></i></b></p><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); clear: both; font-family: "Proxima Nova"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0px 0px 10px; min-height: 1px; min-width: 1px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #660000;">Director <strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; min-width: 1px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Cherissa Richards </strong>(<em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; min-width: 1px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Power of Harriet T</em>, Manitoba Theatre for Young People), recipient of the 2021 Crow’s Theatre RBC Rising Star Emerging Director Prize, returns to Crow’s after working as Assistant Director on <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; min-width: 1px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">MixTape</em> last season.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><b><span style="color: #660000;"><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> for more </i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>info</i></span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> and video footage see -</i></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><b><i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="color: #660000;">https://www.nowplayingtoronto.com/event/red-velvet/</span><span style="color: #202122;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0cm; text-align: center;"><b><i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">________________________________</span></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: 18pt;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJlY-N8QUkwDV4vxRsECBOxiqvKLTQ1Um8y8pVYDaX-jVaks7vr2Ib9HwEcRPkiVS_G9Fkrubi0_cy15Sx11831nfFLsOAN2UyPibgRzSjAkFO0aJGyPLJrv9a2Gh_F97eLfQv_6gqOM1kbShhAsXpgK5Ly4JBS-JkHMuAnlEWAfV7fClXc39VpA61/s400/event-featured-red-velvet-1655747618-400x400.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="489" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJlY-N8QUkwDV4vxRsECBOxiqvKLTQ1Um8y8pVYDaX-jVaks7vr2Ib9HwEcRPkiVS_G9Fkrubi0_cy15Sx11831nfFLsOAN2UyPibgRzSjAkFO0aJGyPLJrv9a2Gh_F97eLfQv_6gqOM1kbShhAsXpgK5Ly4JBS-JkHMuAnlEWAfV7fClXc39VpA61/w449-h489/event-featured-red-velvet-1655747618-400x400.jpeg" width="449" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: 18pt;">Lolita Chakrabarti’s 2012 play, Red Velvet, is a powerful two act tour de force for a cast of eight characters as they inhabit the world of 19</span><sup style="color: #202122; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">th </sup><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: 18pt;">century theatre where very particular styles of acting, and casting, dominated the consciousness of many theatregoers. This dominance, of course, was entangled with vehement racism and played an historical part in the long and arduous history of black actors being denied the possibility of playing black characters, Shakespeare’s Othello in particular.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: 18pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: 18pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: 18pt;">As director Cherissa Richards says in the program notes – “We often think Paul Robeson in the mid-twentieth century was the first Black man to play Othello in London” – and goes on to say that it was, in fact, Ira Aldridge (1807-1867), an African-American thespian who, at age 15, joined the Manhattan based ‘African Company’ and left New York in 1924 after finding it difficult to secure theatre work in the U.S. Aldridge was able to get roles at London’s Royal Cobourg Theatre (now The Old Vic), performing under the name of ‘Mr. Keane, Tragedian of colour’ -as a tribute to the acclaimed Shakespearean actor of the time, Edmund Keane.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 18pt; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLfB1JVz8SYicJJ5H9XIPtnHZRDtLlfsrNaxYKfZpTEQ02rKNf1zFM-1_nNe6P0hGwyTBgm1myI-fs7Q7-LGc9w9cSJgBNnOtc-2dejMtANr8SLpCJlZWQX88JgXzUjkA4XvLb5NDszxBML3V5-B_A3W8w_PpRXj8JSU6VXWvjR2MI6DoPWGgtyTMr/s725/ira-aldridge725px-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="725" data-original-width="442" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLfB1JVz8SYicJJ5H9XIPtnHZRDtLlfsrNaxYKfZpTEQ02rKNf1zFM-1_nNe6P0hGwyTBgm1myI-fs7Q7-LGc9w9cSJgBNnOtc-2dejMtANr8SLpCJlZWQX88JgXzUjkA4XvLb5NDszxBML3V5-B_A3W8w_PpRXj8JSU6VXWvjR2MI6DoPWGgtyTMr/s320/ira-aldridge725px-1.jpg" width="195" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>Ira Aldridge<br /><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: 18pt;">Becoming the first Black man to play Othello, over one hundred years before Robeson, Aldridge entered the theatre during a time of great change in acting styles, and an ongoing systemically racist time that begrudgingly allowed actors of colour to take roles clearly written for people of colour.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: 18pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: 18pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: 18pt;">This tendency, particularly in the case of Othello, continued well into the 20th century, with perhaps the most famous examples being Orson Welles’ contemporary adaptation in the 1952 film ‘The Other Woman’ and Laurence Olivier’s 1985 cinematic mess where he played the role in blackface, adopted an invented accent and a very particular way of walking. One could call it method acting, but by doing so, without revealing the racist tendencies frequently apparent in mimicry, a lot would be missing from the extremely problematic racialized equation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlWOFqyFX1W8UZb4DXXPkEU7UBMl-PXMw3Lroqjth06lvhowmJtu5OTLmenGj-_b0aU3tftaYaZn48L6Nl9Q1cQ5vEmGgaNl0otpHmEaAbwm7q1ds98pOpuvPisglL2bzUBw3F7MMNLIilPDoY-zIRy01k8w-axcaofFq5O8FJEYMmTJwXCUSfA-Gb/s580/othello-580.jpg.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="443" data-original-width="580" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlWOFqyFX1W8UZb4DXXPkEU7UBMl-PXMw3Lroqjth06lvhowmJtu5OTLmenGj-_b0aU3tftaYaZn48L6Nl9Q1cQ5vEmGgaNl0otpHmEaAbwm7q1ds98pOpuvPisglL2bzUBw3F7MMNLIilPDoY-zIRy01k8w-axcaofFq5O8FJEYMmTJwXCUSfA-Gb/s320/othello-580.jpg.webp" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Orson Welles in The Other Woman, 1952</span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDSNha_sa0_7wnynr2VXs89L1iC7AN-WQP4Us5YZZjSyBYDoC7S-V9PK1Y29WCyGPvII_7x2mQknRbisznEwff3PynYv9QvwKUk4hJpgeyu_KxHQVl63tstKe00SY7pWomkxMFD924vNMjcu7-Y3LDQzqnWBGV5a2W94fl-RGvEhtiqpNuzc2n8XUE/s326/Othello_Laurence_Olivier_1965_BHE.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="220" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDSNha_sa0_7wnynr2VXs89L1iC7AN-WQP4Us5YZZjSyBYDoC7S-V9PK1Y29WCyGPvII_7x2mQknRbisznEwff3PynYv9QvwKUk4hJpgeyu_KxHQVl63tstKe00SY7pWomkxMFD924vNMjcu7-Y3LDQzqnWBGV5a2W94fl-RGvEhtiqpNuzc2n8XUE/s320/Othello_Laurence_Olivier_1965_BHE.png" width="216" /></a></div><br /><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>Laurence Olivier in Othello, 1985<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: 18pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: 18pt;">But apart from all the deplorable historical detail, there lies Chakrabarti’s play, promoted by Crow’s Theatre as “an imagined version of true events.” The playwright has utilized, to powerful effect, Aldridge’s career, and the time period, within a traditional theatrical structure, in order to create a fable like kind of realism that heightens the intent and brings it to twenty-first century audiences in an effective, fast-paced journey through a moment in Aldridge’s career.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: 18pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: 18pt;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib7JERs5_TglcR9MVRpu7tT9hWxKsVV3_l-Bris_HDOlYPrj8XOEuaPVlwCR9hYJ68Mk4r9jLgokzfmA5EEsTMfDVjYF6GTs8t9ssT4FcY-QArUgXn3ybSTdPfXdOhoh8TyQPuhUc9mzqF0mNUk9XlkYYMSo66zrac0OSa1Xt4HNOw6rVUHy-ET4hp/s1024/Copy-of-REVIEW-Broken-Shapes.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1024" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib7JERs5_TglcR9MVRpu7tT9hWxKsVV3_l-Bris_HDOlYPrj8XOEuaPVlwCR9hYJ68Mk4r9jLgokzfmA5EEsTMfDVjYF6GTs8t9ssT4FcY-QArUgXn3ybSTdPfXdOhoh8TyQPuhUc9mzqF0mNUk9XlkYYMSo66zrac0OSa1Xt4HNOw6rVUHy-ET4hp/w469-h364/Copy-of-REVIEW-Broken-Shapes.png" width="469" /></a></div><p></p><span face=""Roboto Condensed", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); color: #999999; font-size: 15.3px;"><div><span style="font-size: 15.3px;">L-R: Patrick McManus, Nathan Howe, Amelia Sargisson, Ellen Denny, Starr Domingue, Allan Louis in Crow’s Theatre Red Velvet (Photo: John Lauener)</span></div></span><div><span face="Roboto Condensed, sans-serif" style="color: #999999;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); font-size: 15.3px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span face="Roboto Condensed, sans-serif" style="color: #999999;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); font-size: 15.3px;"><br /></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: 18pt;">The ensemble, led by Allan Louis in the lead role, is directed by Cherissa Richards with great intricacy as actors must move seamlessly in and out of nineteenth and twentieth century acting styles – styles that began to mingle and evolve during Aldridge’s career. This is no easy task, and is handled expertly by all of the actors. Jeff Lillico as Charles Kean and Ellen Denny as Ellen Tree enact flawless transitions between styles. Lillico, in particular, has intense and convincing moments of passion when his character reveals the racialized biases contained within the differing styles. Thomas Ryder Payne’s sound design punctuates, especially in the final dream-like moments, the non-stop struggle and conflict at the heart of the play.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: x-large;">Louis, as Othello, creates a <span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34);">highly</span> charged and diverse intensity as he inhabits the role of Aldridge, <span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34);">punctuating every scene with passion and emotional fervour that reveals layers of sensitivity and bewildering challenge in the face of his detractors, both on and offstage.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: 18pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBLuwIzEBPE5oKRtBXTLfH87Qx7wKrtpuF1KOoANSwojLRgoIv6sdofp4b_oESGuOWLr_YRPqewp5UsvEtcnQZD24KsfacqAzheBHB7DHzzBDe_PRpfr9hzGd5_Kkoh0rVRs8mBvmli-7RvmesasaF-JsPRRfUOPfFtdLp7KIJP3_Fw_Jtn5otYxzr/s1200/Crows-RV_1179.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="812" data-original-width="1200" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBLuwIzEBPE5oKRtBXTLfH87Qx7wKrtpuF1KOoANSwojLRgoIv6sdofp4b_oESGuOWLr_YRPqewp5UsvEtcnQZD24KsfacqAzheBHB7DHzzBDe_PRpfr9hzGd5_Kkoh0rVRs8mBvmli-7RvmesasaF-JsPRRfUOPfFtdLp7KIJP3_Fw_Jtn5otYxzr/w390-h254/Crows-RV_1179.jpg" width="390" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;">l-r Allan Louis, Ellen Denny</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: center;"> </div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOBSr_3vqw-04TAMBVfeD7tNA46euijFugQBj2dSl-SkxlqwpagIlBDUNVe9JH2k-qPRKAcNlCO21zRBVuIrZ3cy89Ifb38J_Y18hCMv9ZWvP3vy27RISV9Rjj9Lu1zzRuKoCco2sqSPiWBroq8kWQlnZZcCySF0-DbDVpUAcc9bK6Wi2Skz9rOfxE/s1200/OYZGLZJPKNHJFFW3YG3JAGKW4I.jpg.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="785" data-original-width="1200" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOBSr_3vqw-04TAMBVfeD7tNA46euijFugQBj2dSl-SkxlqwpagIlBDUNVe9JH2k-qPRKAcNlCO21zRBVuIrZ3cy89Ifb38J_Y18hCMv9ZWvP3vy27RISV9Rjj9Lu1zzRuKoCco2sqSPiWBroq8kWQlnZZcCySF0-DbDVpUAcc9bK6Wi2Skz9rOfxE/w431-h306/OYZGLZJPKNHJFFW3YG3JAGKW4I.jpg.webp" width="431" /></a></div><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;">l-r Amelia Sargisson, Allan Louis <span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2DCG2mFRgDSA8jyp8PM3umTpadIAanSO0D5Fv2zeS8SowmstXFCsf6UK3hxLJBerEnYMZTXaoCB6wpxrmrq7rUPvQM2Y-qmQUe9AIQ_46eMBaatyyfI29omdgBlLH0hCrK71eb7bg8EgUm7cpxPPpSV46ZcksQQjRuH1QnY1AaHvgZbdubNxUV-b6/s1200/E3DY3LAA3FFVFFPI4ZIJ37HLXQ.jpg.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="1200" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2DCG2mFRgDSA8jyp8PM3umTpadIAanSO0D5Fv2zeS8SowmstXFCsf6UK3hxLJBerEnYMZTXaoCB6wpxrmrq7rUPvQM2Y-qmQUe9AIQ_46eMBaatyyfI29omdgBlLH0hCrK71eb7bg8EgUm7cpxPPpSV46ZcksQQjRuH1QnY1AaHvgZbdubNxUV-b6/w386-h224/E3DY3LAA3FFVFFPI4ZIJ37HLXQ.jpg.webp" width="386" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></div>l-r Allan Louis, Nathan Howe, Ellen Deny, Jeff Lillico<br /><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><br /></span></span></div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: 18pt;">Coming in at around two hours, with one intermission, the Crow’s production is a compelling and timely reminder of an ongoing tragedy that still occurs on streets, live stages, and in the cinema worldwide. The imbalance around representation, and the actors chosen to</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: 18pt;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: 18pt;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: 18pt;">play various roles, continues to play a dominant part, despite notable exceptions, in the systemic racism of the 21</span><sup style="color: #202122; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">st</sup><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: 18pt;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: 18pt;">century, nearing two hundred years after Ira Aldridge became the first black man to play Othello.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: 18pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0cm; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: 18pt;"><b>________________________________________</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><i><b>"Why is Ira's legacy forgotten? Why did this man who changed the world of British theatre disappear into the ephemeral mist of our memory? Why <span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34);">aren't</span> theatres named after this iconic trailblazer? Why is he a mere footnote in the faded memories of our great Shakespearean actors?...</b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><i><b>Almost 200 years after Ira made his London debut as Othello we find ourselves asking the same questions, and more. When change comes banging at our door, will we be ready for it? When the flames of change come roaring through your door, whose hand will you reach out for?"</b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span style="color: #e69138; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span style="color: #e69138; font-family: trebuchet;"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;">Cherissa Richards, </span>DIRECTOR OF RED VELVET</b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34);">_________________________________</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;"><b>red velvet runs at crows theatre until December 18th</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0cm;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/16686673-red-velvet">https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/16686673-red-velvet</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPSPqDnEn3cRdwLboOP9jx1UHvtk-TkRvGU6IDzAKOk0YFlUtm_IsLoJ921TXgdu8J8QMPZJUaAU74ofFLP8EfrvQYSdfQtRxHkt9d9f5xoU3fdQnEeXahOsx3FMbm12cM8LnEKMmov4w-c0SRxAqkGVTPmyNYhngMvVaB0zupqsM8F7gXnFdZh9IJ/s475/16686673.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="310" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPSPqDnEn3cRdwLboOP9jx1UHvtk-TkRvGU6IDzAKOk0YFlUtm_IsLoJ921TXgdu8J8QMPZJUaAU74ofFLP8EfrvQYSdfQtRxHkt9d9f5xoU3fdQnEeXahOsx3FMbm12cM8LnEKMmov4w-c0SRxAqkGVTPmyNYhngMvVaB0zupqsM8F7gXnFdZh9IJ/s320/16686673.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: 18pt;"> </span></p></div>bettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13290969725890141122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753554726340173679.post-86231493424688966082022-12-11T08:51:00.004-08:002022-12-11T08:59:00.566-08:00<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ayurUFJ1_9lavU9hvi6_4RbCPdOOeNOskQkNzsWuk9DSjLD7YuUvAj_aEFa07X5OeC5IHqdM94Wy5oCT8CFkZm121-M1LyN47k-IeS6d87FQCBX-PKjrC9HcpfY1RsKEmr7Xi9vXv2XfFjIUvNtWxj1S06PgtRPmSgxnYfxE9a-A9Vfn2ZXXtJSI/s1455/71wHfeUk2sL.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1455" data-original-width="1000" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ayurUFJ1_9lavU9hvi6_4RbCPdOOeNOskQkNzsWuk9DSjLD7YuUvAj_aEFa07X5OeC5IHqdM94Wy5oCT8CFkZm121-M1LyN47k-IeS6d87FQCBX-PKjrC9HcpfY1RsKEmr7Xi9vXv2XfFjIUvNtWxj1S06PgtRPmSgxnYfxE9a-A9Vfn2ZXXtJSI/w407-h500/71wHfeUk2sL.jpg" width="407" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: x-small;"><b>cover illustration by Claire Fines (drawn in grade two when she was seven)</b></span></i></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><b><br /></b></span></i></span></p><p><i><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">Whether it be the whirling motion of a mesmerizing Sufi dance, the measured movement of a waltz or a polka, or the restrained abandon of a Virginia reel, PJ Thomas sets her sites upon a form of “ferocious dancing” that choreographs and gesticulates through vivid, striking images that gives her new collection</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Waves</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">a kind of eloquent, homespun surrealism that constructs poetic language out of everyday objects and occurrences.</span></b></span></i></p><p class="Default" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 34.2pt; margin-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 34.2pt; margin-top: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPNeLFZFnSek1JMSw_f7Y7nIE0YDi0eOkPO0hdDGkAzu_MnuQnCYRYLCaVypd9zyWT1eGJe07bf2ftJctVoXHJcb8C34-a22iv-mesI0sSfvZ7L2bB1uSrxT-PNsFDxDPAvfeXjbkw7fzY_l7DuVOobct1r3cjy99r51z7zg_Q4F0Zc6-vIFvaTNLB/s873/71TLxD8L0HL.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="873" data-original-width="600" height="527" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPNeLFZFnSek1JMSw_f7Y7nIE0YDi0eOkPO0hdDGkAzu_MnuQnCYRYLCaVypd9zyWT1eGJe07bf2ftJctVoXHJcb8C34-a22iv-mesI0sSfvZ7L2bB1uSrxT-PNsFDxDPAvfeXjbkw7fzY_l7DuVOobct1r3cjy99r51z7zg_Q4F0Zc6-vIFvaTNLB/w362-h527/71TLxD8L0HL.jpg" width="362" /></a></span></div><p></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">An anthropomorphic element surfaces at one point when fruit and vegetable </span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">become simmering enlivened symbols that glide out of the poet’s consciousness </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">and </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">create sharp, distinct ways of seeing the commonplace as both startling and </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">joyfully unsettling. Peaches, tomatoes, cracked peppercorn, crickets and ducks join </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">with mahogany rails, cut marble, aloe vera, and potted tropical plants that “festoon </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">the dining room / creating candour.” </span><p class="Default" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 34.2pt; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="Default" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 34.2pt; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ultimately the reader, accompanied by these mesmerizing inanimate things & beings, takes a journey through this object laden landscape that addresses layers of friendship, fruition, and the fear of future isolation where “everybody weeps differently” - both in and out of enforced and re-enforced solitude, both remote and intimate. It is an environment of surprising force and comfort that simultaneously calms and disrupts. PJ’s words embody varied and moving ‘waves’ of meditation. She creates movement and depth of emotion as witness to the intricacies of landscape - “fruit-bearing cherry trees, ginseng growing wild, and prickly pear mixed with the stand of oaks” as well as the broad, compassionate, searching swaths of human interaction, questioning, and evolving nature. </span></p><p class="Default" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 34.2pt; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="Default" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 34.2pt; margin-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbwn2WhFkWWhgdj8pRy6O7DPDD4WvSmBtKGQ_pmGgeG0U31bhchjRNJnBuD62HY_PepLckCSMbwqcQhWz9lkGse1QAlEg8ng1ziI7wGVIMZvZalVHocy3H6eYty_bLoKyzvt88omFnRM-jFUgGL2o1C8ouoAbcBpmFDFmQzwSzINaf8i-xlhB5VJKE/s1647/meta-eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==.jpg.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1479" data-original-width="1647" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbwn2WhFkWWhgdj8pRy6O7DPDD4WvSmBtKGQ_pmGgeG0U31bhchjRNJnBuD62HY_PepLckCSMbwqcQhWz9lkGse1QAlEg8ng1ziI7wGVIMZvZalVHocy3H6eYty_bLoKyzvt88omFnRM-jFUgGL2o1C8ouoAbcBpmFDFmQzwSzINaf8i-xlhB5VJKE/s320/meta-eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==.jpg.webp" width="320" /></a></span></div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><p class="Default" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 34.2pt; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254); color: #2b00fe; font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i>*</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> Rick Fines - 'Solar Powered Too' Juno nominee for best blues album, 2021</i></span></b></span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And a wonderful moment in the frequent & constant commingling of poetry and music when we learn that acclaimed Peterborough musician Rick Fines adapted one of the poems from the collection for his Juno nominated blues album. </span></span><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b>* </b></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thomas's poem, <i>Fundamental Nature</i>, provides a perfect combination of lyric poetic prose for what has been described as the "warm-hearted blues, juke joint folk, and dockside soul" that Fines' music embodies.</span><p></p><p class="Default" style="line-height: 34.2pt; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></p><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style></div>bettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13290969725890141122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753554726340173679.post-63151866992372974202022-11-11T18:39:00.000-08:002022-11-11T18:39:00.703-08:00<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYzWQhjutxybC3s63FvXD7SWUy8O_QLwjSxTwk66tol_uaEMvRNp4nasr_w8yuwXgsrT-EaNOz3NsMF5O2ewqZxbcME8f28rSAZrrNaao3EAavMVMwZWdNhLLpukZlbyDRz3YvUX15SJb15GSx3Kw1YVdiJVHjT2TPOcPeMIgJ5eDIY6Ktty-xEfKV/s599/9781771616249.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="400" height="597" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYzWQhjutxybC3s63FvXD7SWUy8O_QLwjSxTwk66tol_uaEMvRNp4nasr_w8yuwXgsrT-EaNOz3NsMF5O2ewqZxbcME8f28rSAZrrNaao3EAavMVMwZWdNhLLpukZlbyDRz3YvUX15SJb15GSx3Kw1YVdiJVHjT2TPOcPeMIgJ5eDIY6Ktty-xEfKV/w408-h597/9781771616249.jpg" width="408" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Without the fantasy/horror elements, there are times when The Gospel of Now reads like an especially thrilling, extended episode of Stranger Things, conjuring images of teenaged characters caught in a socio-cultural set of chaotic and frightening circumstances that may lead them into complex and highly engaging situations - becoming an epic journey given the nature of the central image of the mushroom cloud that becomes a haunting symbol brandished upon the most surprising spaces - from football helmets to high school logos.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVi4g44zMPiH5ZzyKAgsL_mGgbif1f2Sa1DFDY3tH5oGNH9xpySLPE19PupC9q1O7mTNsqEvXaGeUHB_h3XafAo9JyJ1yJ_qXfIn_ZPRvKYxGAUQ7A-vwarRsqQBW9NA2r6TETJkrVtLEx3GnuNyQ7CbTWWskYzi78HgjVMcjJS5GTVPUO4HlGaTGk/s838/helmet%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="838" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVi4g44zMPiH5ZzyKAgsL_mGgbif1f2Sa1DFDY3tH5oGNH9xpySLPE19PupC9q1O7mTNsqEvXaGeUHB_h3XafAo9JyJ1yJ_qXfIn_ZPRvKYxGAUQ7A-vwarRsqQBW9NA2r6TETJkrVtLEx3GnuNyQ7CbTWWskYzi78HgjVMcjJS5GTVPUO4HlGaTGk/s320/helmet%202.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBQSpln6eQkoyUAtKs7yHxB2XCqmh4eiYVA3ksSnlhKYk0KQgL_ARZfv8jElUuqCrqrKxTmZk9fGSyhmG7KQyUPk9BqogH4Q5PQWvhyOtk1UvsQ9mKP_bQzYNXyS7njsj7uNzia4hCt7zmMYCRRsOSeeGH639PHDclGHAThvRxfcIVZDnHdD8eoH_2/s994/logo%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="959" data-original-width="994" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBQSpln6eQkoyUAtKs7yHxB2XCqmh4eiYVA3ksSnlhKYk0KQgL_ARZfv8jElUuqCrqrKxTmZk9fGSyhmG7KQyUPk9BqogH4Q5PQWvhyOtk1UvsQ9mKP_bQzYNXyS7njsj7uNzia4hCt7zmMYCRRsOSeeGH639PHDclGHAThvRxfcIVZDnHdD8eoH_2/s320/logo%202.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">woodcut prints by the author, inspired by the work of Paul Gauguin and the German Expressionist</span> <span style="color: #5f6368; font-size: 14px;">Die Brücke</span></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>With woodcut prints by the author the book becomes an illuminated and illuminating journey chronicling one young man's journey through a particularly troubling period from history that changed the course of global destiny - an especially timely narrative in the midst of current international conflict.<div><br /></div><div>Occullis's writing is crisp and detailed and moves at a rapid pace with the skill of a seasoned storyteller in touch with the emotions of each character. Ready to reveal their most innermost emotions, sensitivities, proclivities - the narrative engages, saddens, entertains, and surprises with it's seamless sequential style as a cast of teenagers and their frequently hapless parents all rise to the challenge of growing up/living in the US in the eighties and dealing with the aftermath of a town selected as the site for the construction of a profoundly deadly force still at work globally in the 21st century. Harrowing cinematic scenes occur within toxic physical and emotional sites, and the sense of a counter cultural force trying to transcend daily chaos shines through with each passing chapter. </div><div><br /></div><div>The opening lines set the stage for an experience many may relate to, as drug dependency, fashion, and music become, simultaneously, an environment about to be travelled through at high speed - ultimately becoming both a way in and a way out of social and cultural madness in all its glory and all its loss.</div><div><br /></div><div><i><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>he day I quit taking Ritalin, I realized was fucked.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Eighteen, uneducated, and dependent on a drug I couldn't afford without my father's health insurance - I was already a loser...</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>It was 1986, and my generation was the first in a century that wouldn't do as well as their parents. The music sucked, the clothes were shitty, and everything people valued seemed ridiculous. This is what happens when you elect a movie star as president.</i></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">Despite the intense trials and frightening global conditions that prevail - the microcosm and the macrocosm of this simultaneously local and global narrative - there is a strong sense of joy and survival underlying the seriousness and the challenging nature of the protagonist's intense trajectory. </span><i><span style="color: red; font-family: arial;"><b>The Gospel of Now</b></span></i><span style="font-family: times;"> shines brightly with poignancy and electrifying storytelling as a testament to survival in a world where survival seems more and more fragile every day.</span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGZAsmeWzJuOPWo1TCtJM3TsKqqzNXjdq7vTqOV2DxPfKK2WK0Sp1-mSMW4sC0hQBRRoDgJjwqvZUZxTP4_oiIrsWSUcN46kpFkXL61FwDqGhsf65SsB2Xc-NbjLMhPZS28TbZQr_ulhZ5wVQbqyqeCFo-P7UFB9h-F3RgPQFEJyq3Ub8pzZqJ39Fh/s2604/backcover%20occulis.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2604" data-original-width="1661" height="643" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGZAsmeWzJuOPWo1TCtJM3TsKqqzNXjdq7vTqOV2DxPfKK2WK0Sp1-mSMW4sC0hQBRRoDgJjwqvZUZxTP4_oiIrsWSUcN46kpFkXL61FwDqGhsf65SsB2Xc-NbjLMhPZS28TbZQr_ulhZ5wVQbqyqeCFo-P7UFB9h-F3RgPQFEJyq3Ub8pzZqJ39Fh/w489-h643/backcover%20occulis.jpeg" width="489" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><b style="color: #cc0000; font-family: helvetica;">for links to trailer and purchasing details go to -</b></p><p><a href="https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/9781771616249?gC=4cfad707612&gclid=Cj0KCQiAgribBhDkARIsAASA5bujuJL4X4g8_TS5StIbkHUXEZalcEfBPcAZd65VK4w8x1edCuAejRAaAhoLEALw_wcB"><span style="color: #cc0000;">https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/9781771616249?gC=4cfad707612&gclid=Cj0KCQiAgribBhDkARIsAASA5bujuJL4X4g8_TS5StIbkHUXEZalcEfBPcAZd65VK4w8x1edCuAejRAaAhoLEALw_wcB</span></a></p><p><a href="https://mosaicpress.ca/products/gospel-of-now"><span style="color: #cc0000;">https://mosaicpress.ca/products/gospel-of-now</span></a></p><p><br /></p></div>bettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13290969725890141122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753554726340173679.post-75001069543421837112022-11-04T08:54:00.001-07:002022-11-04T08:54:51.043-07:00<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span style="color: #843c0c; font-size: 72pt;"> DOUBT<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Currently running at The Church of the Holy Trinity, nestled along the edges of the mammoth Eaton's Centre complex and surrounding monoliths for mall shopping, John Patrick Shanley's explosive script DOUBT is a timely reminder that everything is open to debate - with no certainty as to when and how any given debate may or may not end. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXuLep_QL9OQzVKqvKwm7ZDt4yiy6MqEEuq-Oq_s3Ri60xcsoN79ws24z9MF2p_UCW-lbHkTjLXwgkaH5C9aXkmMXfqqYGQZMFqQxyqTBXpmxCnmbQMsPQo_rmtjxoMLS-X51HXvBmKi5cn0_Y2A6zX42JiA3OOhBlcqJjZOf7yN8UQBv0xuHmw8fX/s930/d_postcard.png.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="930" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXuLep_QL9OQzVKqvKwm7ZDt4yiy6MqEEuq-Oq_s3Ri60xcsoN79ws24z9MF2p_UCW-lbHkTjLXwgkaH5C9aXkmMXfqqYGQZMFqQxyqTBXpmxCnmbQMsPQo_rmtjxoMLS-X51HXvBmKi5cn0_Y2A6zX42JiA3OOhBlcqJjZOf7yN8UQBv0xuHmw8fX/w430-h295/d_postcard.png.webp" width="430" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Directed with a very effective stoic grace, only giving in to grey areas when this paradoxically spare and emotionally charged script allows - Stewart Arnott brings the characters to life with very measured and deliberate performances and sharply focused blocking that echos elegantly and frighteningly within the cavernous walls of this beautiful space. </span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf2tSzIZgtcZcC-_hAy71zMdp-8K3Dow39PIWSdKRYaC8HW468NyIaSi4_o91cKd1llo_bQNxmWOrg6mb9SbOz6IkpUUU1PxepU88aTX1pJgU66sVP6D52jn1_cR6UklmDcsbWOgx2Xw6ZTGXmBxAW_P7Pkui-yxSRiQJUv-xzyisLMoAKfcWCwrTz/s750/BE-Doubt-Photo-by-Dahlia-Katz.jpg.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="750" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf2tSzIZgtcZcC-_hAy71zMdp-8K3Dow39PIWSdKRYaC8HW468NyIaSi4_o91cKd1llo_bQNxmWOrg6mb9SbOz6IkpUUU1PxepU88aTX1pJgU66sVP6D52jn1_cR6UklmDcsbWOgx2Xw6ZTGXmBxAW_P7Pkui-yxSRiQJUv-xzyisLMoAKfcWCwrTz/s320/BE-Doubt-Photo-by-Dahlia-Katz.jpg.webp" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p>When Father Flynn stands in the huge carved wooden pulpit, the authority of a permanent 'set piece' speaks volumes, giving his simple words and stories a kind of power that an ordinary setting would be hard put to provide. Brian Bisson's Father, and the rest of the ensemble, deliver complex performances that never falter. Vocal tone is crafted impeccably, making its way into reserved concern and peaking by the end in outright emotional intensity and powerful sobbing. Bisson is especially skilled at delivering passionate dialogue and prolonged speeches with a mixture of sensitivity, personable comfort, and subtle tinges of discomfiting authority.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Using the parable as a delineating form that simultaneously simplifies and elaborates upon the narrative, the playwright has taken the skilful liberty of creating the stark, direct language of composure, conflict, and compromise, mixed with the uncomfortable presence of doubt. A kind of wary jaded approach surfaces as character's make their way through complex situations. And yet at the heart of the drama is the single word that gives the play its title and its dramatic urgency. Doubt reigns supreme, and even in moments of great change and muddled success on the part of a dominant character, doubt continues to stand in for a basic and prevailing human strategy. Infuriatingly so as issues range from homophobia to domestic violence, male domination in the church, and the fearful subservient lives enforced upon women employed by both glorified ritualistic and daily gods/Gods of dogma and distress.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMznX071k--SmOMvieqxwQc-u0JgOkB4d6F9e-mUZ-cHR5LN_sQ7lgwfz7R_gkPk6jArAlCdxkwO6Jpxy4rdYDXWqUnNscD8ZlZ_x82ExKfzJqZlPN0FusdKdhvQwUiknzB8-uBnPlsupwgTnpp9RZu9rVjpKB-HDCkddxvLY0CnCaS-xcIPdlHV3q/s820/doubt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="527" data-original-width="820" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMznX071k--SmOMvieqxwQc-u0JgOkB4d6F9e-mUZ-cHR5LN_sQ7lgwfz7R_gkPk6jArAlCdxkwO6Jpxy4rdYDXWqUnNscD8ZlZ_x82ExKfzJqZlPN0FusdKdhvQwUiknzB8-uBnPlsupwgTnpp9RZu9rVjpKB-HDCkddxvLY0CnCaS-xcIPdlHV3q/w492-h321/doubt.jpg" width="492" /></a></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><p>Deborah Drakeford as Sister Aloysius brings the strongest portrayal of stoicism and great suffering to the scene, very gradually releasing layers of emotion she seems unable to fully reveal due to the power of the men overseeing her every move. As the younger novitiate, Emma Nelles' Sister James creates a very complex and vulnerable character moved by her own commitment to her vocation, yet torn between the seemingly benevolent power of Father Flynn and what appears to be the less flexible views of Sister Aloysius.</p><p>And yet nothing is as at seems on the surface in Doubt. Kim Nelson as Mrs. Muller, in a powerful smaller role, provides a kind of questioning and enduring position as she deals with the inner machinations of a church that can give her child some hope for the future - and yet the same environment both questions and potentially compromises the quality of the boys position, for what is framed as a relatively short period, within the church. </p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">John Patrick Shanley, in his preface to this Tony Award, Pulitzer Prize winning work (published 17 years ago) gives us nothing to soothe the searing doubt that courses through the veins of the play. He only heightens them as he provides a timely reminder of what the world increasingly sees as ongoing global moments of profound uncertainty concerning the future of so-called civilization - in every facet of daily life -</span></p><p><i style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-small;">Doubt requires more courage than conviction does, and more energy; because conviction is a resting place and doubt is infinite - it is a passionate exercise. You may come out of my play uncertain. You may want to be sure. Look down on that feeling. We've got to learn to live with a full measure of uncertainty. There is no last word. That's the silence under the chatter of our times." *</span></i></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The last word is doubt. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy563Hgl--cJIzzFIHIfPhFxL9VMRPKaZ9mEuThaLHwyBAdXTumUi8VTquCX3PnT909Hxsj2_AyO2HkO-D37_soSGSo0iPo9XIpXc-CTsuns2177LE3hIQmnWSR2C-uZncX9VG8cHC6LqfaVWETVxiO-Ukh2shKaOHKrTIbDkCSseJgYI-OK5wBspJ/s317/Doubt,_A_Parable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="317" data-original-width="200" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy563Hgl--cJIzzFIHIfPhFxL9VMRPKaZ9mEuThaLHwyBAdXTumUi8VTquCX3PnT909Hxsj2_AyO2HkO-D37_soSGSo0iPo9XIpXc-CTsuns2177LE3hIQmnWSR2C-uZncX9VG8cHC6LqfaVWETVxiO-Ukh2shKaOHKrTIbDkCSseJgYI-OK5wBspJ/s1600/Doubt,_A_Parable.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg0rkKyXfcZspjHYloEhN6MNqzz-BX4D0lqE5uGEIewnp7HiJbQkgoIO2B1zuTvdpGpaxyMdPvZ5FDHLPG2MFjY376mAs7FP2THOhsDG2Px0jmCNcWv_KD-QwkaiBEQf997C5OedZOYtXGDPbJmauMz474ijIUUxz1hLDWEtjg7LzIv2PMzuAg6cY2/s279/images-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="279" data-original-width="181" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg0rkKyXfcZspjHYloEhN6MNqzz-BX4D0lqE5uGEIewnp7HiJbQkgoIO2B1zuTvdpGpaxyMdPvZ5FDHLPG2MFjY376mAs7FP2THOhsDG2Px0jmCNcWv_KD-QwkaiBEQf997C5OedZOYtXGDPbJmauMz474ijIUUxz1hLDWEtjg7LzIv2PMzuAg6cY2/s1600/images-1.jpeg" width="181" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_dUSgXVmh8sCxSnLh1jN-yKhqzfkMxRk93QGbqsMWoU0BqK4hkostkmPie9RlYcFoT1qMOR-p5z5uzmnJpRoAqhCK0EmgpX7fL2Nl4gpbmV5-xFida0ddSO7qz1Q1AiPQScdtv1TEZn7SUrUO8HyZL-J_B00H1ZrcuCM5-VXnEphafu6nZFFdaiT6/s282/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="282" data-original-width="179" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_dUSgXVmh8sCxSnLh1jN-yKhqzfkMxRk93QGbqsMWoU0BqK4hkostkmPie9RlYcFoT1qMOR-p5z5uzmnJpRoAqhCK0EmgpX7fL2Nl4gpbmV5-xFida0ddSO7qz1Q1AiPQScdtv1TEZn7SUrUO8HyZL-J_B00H1ZrcuCM5-VXnEphafu6nZFFdaiT6/s1600/images.jpeg" width="179" /></a></div><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i><p><span style="color: #e69138;">_____________________________________________________</span></p></i></b><p></p><p><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="color: #f1c232; font-size: x-large;">running at the Church of the Holy Trinity until November 13th</span></i></b></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b>* John Patrick Shanley, Brooklyn, New York, March 2005</b></span></p>bettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13290969725890141122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753554726340173679.post-7519371288263667062022-11-03T13:27:00.003-07:002022-11-03T14:20:06.843-07:00<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBSEsMfbyf4am98sbjKAF9CqI_BDOxpOsk65wUKiYBr7WnvhoVWeamVWo93JWZoZcGiZV_xFZQzsD2mfkfHU6jvnpMUk37Lk6Bz8fDFus6ICFTIGI2MeMO9gmY2uDpV7OBUjMbW88LD1Vu4fktOTtL22FD2Fl76kri1UeYT6wxSSzVuWqEe4SkL4I6/s339/Unknown-3.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="149" data-original-width="339" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBSEsMfbyf4am98sbjKAF9CqI_BDOxpOsk65wUKiYBr7WnvhoVWeamVWo93JWZoZcGiZV_xFZQzsD2mfkfHU6jvnpMUk37Lk6Bz8fDFus6ICFTIGI2MeMO9gmY2uDpV7OBUjMbW88LD1Vu4fktOTtL22FD2Fl76kri1UeYT6wxSSzVuWqEe4SkL4I6/w551-h418/Unknown-3.jpeg" width="551" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">Running at the Fleck Dance Theatre at Harbourfront until November 5th, the 2022 ProArteDanza fall season program is a four tiered powerhouse of nuanced meditative dance, intense athleticism, and lyric engagement that simultaneously brings all four choreographers together in an evening of excellence, and a mixture of flowing and staccato movement that both blends and abruptly divides in visually exciting and provocative ways.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Program notes for all of the choreography suggest ideas reflective of both conflict and harmony. Opening with Lesley Telford's ONLY WHO IS LEFT begins the tour de force with what Telford terms an exploration of "the heroism and beauty of plugging on, the futile sensation of the fight and the acceptance of where we end up." Lyrical bouts of free flowing movement are interspersed with a paradoxical sluggishly empowered agility as almost robotic forms and gestures represent "personal conflicts, protests, and day to day struggles." The use of music by Mozart, Beethoven, and Michael Gordon adds a deep elegance to the overall mood and rend<i>ers </i>the piece a beautiful meditation on a quote by Bertrand Russell that inspired the piece - </span></p><p><i><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: arial;"><b><span><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span><b>"War does not determine who is right - only who is left."</b></i></p><p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL-_B8qwuSlR9EoRLzqlUNEf3aqdbkOBNwbtnLTGKNvDb4wOSRnpHHCftMv2U5JBRHdbwXh7Ts683VVkHJUBf0agri8G0YVDYDh-zN-Pw1tNDcimHP4Dc8UAQU9-fHqPZ9XfowQBB0GmqNebsnJVIqQ6oITBBlY8ET-iGc0wamfGVYARdQ2D049tsJ/s792/event-featured-proartedanza-presents-its-fall-2022-season-performance-1664807658.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="792" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL-_B8qwuSlR9EoRLzqlUNEf3aqdbkOBNwbtnLTGKNvDb4wOSRnpHHCftMv2U5JBRHdbwXh7Ts683VVkHJUBf0agri8G0YVDYDh-zN-Pw1tNDcimHP4Dc8UAQU9-fHqPZ9XfowQBB0GmqNebsnJVIqQ6oITBBlY8ET-iGc0wamfGVYARdQ2D049tsJ/w480-h390/event-featured-proartedanza-presents-its-fall-2022-season-performance-1664807658.png" width="480" /></a></i></div><span style="font-family: arial;">Syreeta Hector's BEAST A LA MODE delivers, through vibrant costume, and independent and ensemble gestural liveliness-cum-athleticism, a kind of "environmental identity...revealed or concealed depending on different locales and social context." A pleasing comical element arises throughout the piece and attests to Hector's idea of "the uneasy contradictions of character we develop to survive everyday life and highlights our essential need to compete, depending on circumstance." The diverse range of musical accompaniment, form Mozart to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stevie Wonder, and Cris Derksen offers up a seamless kind of varied energy throughout.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlkm0L_IAY_YjxZl_fc6VhkOcuOre2HgqoI0qgSL0bnm-z6ZQjHDNGv_mbKqWp0iZq5oeKR-9N-engyxnBsiFCTrRChMKK6Oai13E01hGO9t6AmusnLURUML2AFiaN0Q8c3KUDpZSdQlCT6i-rapjY4KpsaFgfIFI3zWzR9a8ycBF_cm5O-AoSAzrY/s1200/Pro-Arte-Danza-FEATURE-7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="1200" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlkm0L_IAY_YjxZl_fc6VhkOcuOre2HgqoI0qgSL0bnm-z6ZQjHDNGv_mbKqWp0iZq5oeKR-9N-engyxnBsiFCTrRChMKK6Oai13E01hGO9t6AmusnLURUML2AFiaN0Q8c3KUDpZSdQlCT6i-rapjY4KpsaFgfIFI3zWzR9a8ycBF_cm5O-AoSAzrY/w445-h333/Pro-Arte-Danza-FEATURE-7.jpg" width="445" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>TETHERED TO YOUR PALMS, by Chantelle Good, furthers this seemingly connected yet individually unique quartet of dance with a breathtaking assembly that "explores the act of preserving memories both within ourselves and with others." The dancers move in and out of intimacies that do precisely this through profoundly personal moments that join, divide, and ultimately conquer the spaces that come between bodies and emotions, both posing and answering the choreographers question - "How can we hold someone's memory of a shared encounter, even when it is different from our own?" </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Roberto Campanella, founding artistic director of the company, ends the evening with his 2016 FEARFUL SYMMETRIES, giving the overall program a spectacular finale that speaks of both symmetry and divergent imagery, yet always attuned to the idea that the mirror image may at one point diverge and become the inspiration for yet another reiterative formation - simultaneously frightening, fragmentary, solidifying and joyful. Dancers present impeccably formed mirror-like relationships that appear to inspire singular images that electrify and soothe as music by John Adams <i>(Fearful Symmetries)</i> resounds throughout to a powerful conclusion.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoJS2Z60zL5YFTfQx1PTIg2_zzYxis73Lo92Wc6Ux6mQTO_m6RwcSdZNu6uXFbjkSWgYW2aoJuAaVQILK6q9D2scLaFrtENpV8InQ_tug2dqlPNsqmGzJ49kuq2xR9Sm5F0N8u092AyLQCFsHQt9lrtsN42ewhMW_x8GCYvlfsraP-ykYYiU2xtcqo/s284/Unknown-2.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="178" data-original-width="284" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoJS2Z60zL5YFTfQx1PTIg2_zzYxis73Lo92Wc6Ux6mQTO_m6RwcSdZNu6uXFbjkSWgYW2aoJuAaVQILK6q9D2scLaFrtENpV8InQ_tug2dqlPNsqmGzJ49kuq2xR9Sm5F0N8u092AyLQCFsHQt9lrtsN42ewhMW_x8GCYvlfsraP-ykYYiU2xtcqo/w558-h210/Unknown-2.jpeg" width="558" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><br />bettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13290969725890141122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753554726340173679.post-52028333129678518332022-11-02T12:51:00.006-07:002022-11-03T14:14:30.777-07:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF2RCoZhenUZIhHTO-sd-wBAlWa-m6EocVNpwYX5XlkvizBVbttZ-byA4Le-XNXrCO4TgVZb_76QwCC-GZYyHWbj4fqb_cxtIw2N16f2DhLl8QDiq7T-3md-efoiSjT6WMo97pb0rev6zOq92okkMGi694I2JG8OE0OywUK4PpIqSEb6ubqNjdsf7C/s2000/hr_BengalTigerWebBanner.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="2000" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF2RCoZhenUZIhHTO-sd-wBAlWa-m6EocVNpwYX5XlkvizBVbttZ-byA4Le-XNXrCO4TgVZb_76QwCC-GZYyHWbj4fqb_cxtIw2N16f2DhLl8QDiq7T-3md-efoiSjT6WMo97pb0rev6zOq92okkMGi694I2JG8OE0OywUK4PpIqSEb6ubqNjdsf7C/w584-h352/hr_BengalTigerWebBanner.jpg" width="584" /></a></div><b><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><p><b><span style="color: #e69138; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">"It's a black comedy, a grisly horror show, and a metaphysical ghost story."</span></b></p></span></b><p></p><p><b><span style="color: #e69138; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>-The Hollywood Reporter</b></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">The current production of Rajiv Joseph's <i>Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo</i>, in it's last week at Crow's Theatre, and mounted by Modern Times Stage </span></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Company, bears a somewhat less grisly, horror filled, and metaphysical ghost story </b></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><b>ambience than one might expect from this montage-like script. When read on your handy kindle reader, the 100 page play clips along at a breakneck/jigsaw-like pace with ample opportunity to imagine how a production might become precisely what the Hollywood reporter suggested in its early productions.</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><b>Modern Times Stage Company's version of this puzzle-like story of war and senseless suffering requires a more rapid-fire rhythm and a setting that evokes the macabre carnivalesque quality that the Baghdad Zoo seems to have had in its heyday. Even the topiary animals, major set <i>'character's'</i> throughout the piece, are hung high above the heads of the audience and dimly lit. By the end we are able to laugh lightly, in a sad kind of recognition, at the absurdity of hedges and trees shaped like living creatures. But the dark comedy essential to the script barely shines through at crucial moments that lapse into somewhat bewildering shouting matches.</b></span></p><p><b><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">The performances are solid for the most part, with Kristen Thomson as a frequently wily often understated tiger - at times too much subtly and not enough wiliness. Ali Kazmi as Uday Hussein steals the scenes he enters into with the perfect mixture of brash, murderous authoritarianism, and a darkly comic edge to his immense bravado, sprinkled generously with a taste for brutality. He inhabits the stage with the wild abandon of a truly frightening, and shockingly confident character hell bent on validating his horrific choices.</span></b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTeToIx0wlzdo-I5RYJ8hCBAfjyW6s7gC3i2IjeLWGjhgOiUtW7mNfV1n53_ul3CYrMyhECigWAV0T9X7bvL1Kxb2pNpVwoxfJRI1v5ac-QEtre8fyUwL1fCkZmMabrp5K15cq6p1Mu0tx5NmaxtkfTMjSVTNfGJedLREHxCi60K_TElNUV8s2iq5B/s1200/bengal2.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTeToIx0wlzdo-I5RYJ8hCBAfjyW6s7gC3i2IjeLWGjhgOiUtW7mNfV1n53_ul3CYrMyhECigWAV0T9X7bvL1Kxb2pNpVwoxfJRI1v5ac-QEtre8fyUwL1fCkZmMabrp5K15cq6p1Mu0tx5NmaxtkfTMjSVTNfGJedLREHxCi60K_TElNUV8s2iq5B/w482-h324/bengal2.webp" width="482" /></a></div><i><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: helvetica;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>l-r - Ali Kazmi as Uday Hussein, Ahmed Moneka as Musa</i><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><p></p><p><b><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">Although the other actors (Christopher Allen as Kev, Andrew Chown as Tom) do a skilful job at </span></b><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><b>moving in and out of blurred living and ghost scenes, and playing the horror and the comedy as it comes, they do tend to respond with a kind of shouting that could have used a bit of moderation and/or vocal range in order to make their suffering a little less blustery and a little more pathos inflected. </b></span></p><p><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ahmed Moneka's Musa is a convincing and powerful topiary artist-cum-war ravaged temporary zookeeper and assistant to roaming American soldiers, and yet his scenes with the soldiers tend to be overpowered by too much high-pitched vocal warfare. Mahsa Ershadifar as the Iraqi woman and the leper, and Sara Jaffri as Haida/Iraqi teenager give the ensemble a layered sense of the people affected in the bombings, and provide a fuller sense of the lives being led by women within a profoundly compromised environment. When an American soldier laments the loss of a limb, and asks the character of the leper woman "how long she's not had any hands", she replies simply in Arabic, and is translated by Musa when he exclaims -</span></b></p><p><span style="color: #999999; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><i>Since she was fourteen.</i></span></p><p><span style="color: #999999; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><i>She said they slowly just fell off.</i></span></p><p><span style="color: #999999; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnzadbPAoCZVkC6VE_4XliS3mWzMe96__vQyU_CjBTzgUZN45Ol5LYWtO3tTGtUc5UN4l351OJkRUDhy3pUVnfv1B0-dOS1ZkrqI1V4rYupuvGv5HAtKaCx-3KSTWqGlNmv5FeDVsPKeGTluc0XVI5WenrmG6QFDEbPQcwgY9CK3G2J5k_2XarTRTP/s1024/CrowsBengalTiger-photobyDahliaKatz-6319-1-1024x683.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnzadbPAoCZVkC6VE_4XliS3mWzMe96__vQyU_CjBTzgUZN45Ol5LYWtO3tTGtUc5UN4l351OJkRUDhy3pUVnfv1B0-dOS1ZkrqI1V4rYupuvGv5HAtKaCx-3KSTWqGlNmv5FeDVsPKeGTluc0XVI5WenrmG6QFDEbPQcwgY9CK3G2J5k_2XarTRTP/w551-h352/CrowsBengalTiger-photobyDahliaKatz-6319-1-1024x683.jpg" width="551" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;"><p><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">middle- Kristen Thomas as the </span></b>Tiger, Andrew Chown and Christopher Allen as the soldiers (Kev & Tom)</span></p>The format of the play matches, in a sense, the ways in which America and some of its allies barged in under very suspicious pretences on the heels of 9/11, dropped thousands of bombs, and destroyed the lives and surroundings of innocent people, including animals living at the Baghdad Zoo. The double horror of animals already 'imprisoned' in unnatural </span></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>surroundings far from their original homes creates a connection to the military presence in Baghdad, and yet this connection is never present enough in a very darkened atmosphere and in the hands of a tiger that frequently captivates yet never quite captures the essence of its entanglement until the end. </b></span></span><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span><b>*</b></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>The second act is worth waiting for in this sombre, at times too serious production, as it manages to rise above the first act's at times sluggish yet noisy rhythms. This is where the script reaches its peak and embraces the full senselessness of war in an </b></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><b>environment haunted by too many gods -</b></span></p><p><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="color: #999999;">MUSA: Don't pray to God. Don't you pray to any god, you piece of shit man. No god is going to hear you. Not out here. Not anymore . . . no god is going to . . . no god is . . . </span></i></b></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(153, 153, 153);">The irreverence toward the presence of some godly power-cum-rationale comes to a climax by the end and allows the tiger to find their way and stake their claim upon a script and a land they can never feel fully comfortable within. By the end one has the sense of a very moving and frightening piece of theatre that somehow lost its way in a production that only finds a fraction of the immense absurdity and darkly comic images that solid gold toilet seats, terrified animals wandering the streets, and war-torn zoos once adorned by hedges, bushes, shrubs, and trees shaped like giraffes and elephants could evoke. Large backlit projections might have given the overall experience a more </span></b><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(153, 153, 153);">animated, layered tone. As it stands, <i>Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo</i> finds itself confined within a frequently pleasing, </span></b></span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"><span style="font-size: x-small;">yet off kilter cage that doesn't quite fit.</span></span></b></p><p><b style="font-family: verdana;"></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN46wYiBzD_eEEsN79clKzLhKYON7GHsFgYGbFDebiZQviw3PILbh8_VydOIz-qdFbUKK3baRI2-4kmgM78bZchSfq0BQfRRmetGTpN4NhTf5gUB3v7DATeryq-LvlsZCx-0kqccU776j9nFhevlwj1GnBMcX_dlRAAQToQ6fkz_Grntpl7E9kuf15/s1200/bengal1.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN46wYiBzD_eEEsN79clKzLhKYON7GHsFgYGbFDebiZQviw3PILbh8_VydOIz-qdFbUKK3baRI2-4kmgM78bZchSfq0BQfRRmetGTpN4NhTf5gUB3v7DATeryq-LvlsZCx-0kqccU776j9nFhevlwj1GnBMcX_dlRAAQToQ6fkz_Grntpl7E9kuf15/s320/bengal1.webp" width="320" /></a></b></div><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><p><b style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: -webkit-standard;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); color: #783f04;"><i>Director Rouvan Silogix captures a frequently poignant mixture of the absurd and the tragic in his version of Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. When he speaks, in a program note of "comedy, especially when it undeniably erupts in our most human moments, and it's relation the to the Tiger's existential journey" his vision becomes a layered and empathetic way into a complex script. </i></span></span></span></b></p><p><b style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: -webkit-standard;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); color: #783f04;"><i>The Modern Times/Crows production gives us a look at this complicated play and the complex horror that inspired it, and despite lacking some of the tragicomic nuances needed, is a powerful and thought-provoking piece of theatre.</i></span></span></span></b></p><span style="color: #e69138;">RUNNING AT CROW'S THEATRE UNTIL NOVEMBER SIXTH</span></span></span></b><p></p>bettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13290969725890141122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753554726340173679.post-51665066787230839342022-09-13T07:08:00.007-07:002022-09-13T07:08:42.562-07:00UNCLE VANYA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><h3 style="background-color: #e7e7e7; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 26); font-family: Circular-Bold, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 28px; font-weight: bolder; line-height: 1.1; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></h3></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQmtvEPFlToOmTb9H8UqLpHT54dO2xN-gXSwkpxGxSHxvJKA1zbhnSVLxm1fkVPpo920uKOoIjDLli7l3D50mu66_tLZIt6kY4aHqMefKizo1PLT2HlXLdcoCYzzrHS696hJtdGEqD616aODls4UsHUtJn96TJB4ANszSIUzkzgIjqUgCnLKdVoksb/s2000/hr_CROWS_UncleVanya_FINAL-2000x880-02_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="2000" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQmtvEPFlToOmTb9H8UqLpHT54dO2xN-gXSwkpxGxSHxvJKA1zbhnSVLxm1fkVPpo920uKOoIjDLli7l3D50mu66_tLZIt6kY4aHqMefKizo1PLT2HlXLdcoCYzzrHS696hJtdGEqD616aODls4UsHUtJn96TJB4ANszSIUzkzgIjqUgCnLKdVoksb/w582-h239/hr_CROWS_UncleVanya_FINAL-2000x880-02_2.jpg" width="582" /></a></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;"><b> CROW'S</b> <b>THEATRE UNTIL OCTOBER 2ND</b></span></p><p><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: helvetica;"><b><i> </i></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: helvetica;"><b><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfk-DtTqlTG1v7DzSmgjbQyuUJ5EdIlscQ5YcolIjDapXNGroK64G_PGbmjETPI7LU7vwJbb52xcNc3zmvEr0ENpy9ZtPi_7M2LZ3hZa0g0nFsrigfW7gWEduemwjJrH8TtzGLKbdUKLtxMT-PRmKj4AuBHIm617zhiB_8rNDJuhZLPhWuP1Ni23zN/s600/uncle.vanya.2022.square.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfk-DtTqlTG1v7DzSmgjbQyuUJ5EdIlscQ5YcolIjDapXNGroK64G_PGbmjETPI7LU7vwJbb52xcNc3zmvEr0ENpy9ZtPi_7M2LZ3hZa0g0nFsrigfW7gWEduemwjJrH8TtzGLKbdUKLtxMT-PRmKj4AuBHIm617zhiB_8rNDJuhZLPhWuP1Ni23zN/s320/uncle.vanya.2022.square.jpg" width="320" /></a></i></b></span></div><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: helvetica;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span><p></p><p><i><b><a class="quote_link" href="https://libquotes.com/anton-chekhov/quote/lbw6z7m" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-decoration: none !important;"><span class="quote_span" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.8;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Those who come a hundred or two hundred years after us will despise us for having lived our lives so stupidly and tastelessly. Perhaps they'll find a means to be happy.</span></span></a><br style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;" /></b></i><i style="caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><b><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>Anton Chekhov</b></span></i></p><div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); color: #555555; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"><span class="fda" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #9fa3a5;"><br /></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); color: #555555; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"><span class="fda" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #9fa3a5;">_______________________________________________________</span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); color: #555555; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"><span class="fda" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #9fa3a5;"><br /></span></div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">The </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>current</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> Crow's Theatre </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>production</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> of Uncle Vanya captures all of the comic pathos essential to a script that can seem bleak at the best of </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>times</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">. Lisa Repo Martel's brilliant adaptation contains a slick </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>contemporaneity</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> that allows the dialogue to move quickly, with flashpoint </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>moments</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> of quick-witted dialogue - words and emotions </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>combust, ignite, and become the flame of language Chekhov so eloquently exemplifies in his work. </i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> </i></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>Matched</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> by fast-paced, expansive direction by Chris Abraham, the overall experience becomes an epic </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>portrayal</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> of a </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>decaying</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> culture </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>wrought</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> by the conflict between city </i><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">and country. The </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>devastation</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> of nature becomes a thematic testament to the playwright's concerns for an earth ravaged by </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>over-development</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> and a thirst for </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>capital</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">. The only thing Chekhov got </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>wrong</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> was the timeline. It did not take a </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>hundred</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> years for the world to acknowledge the damage that has been done - the stupidity and the </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>tastelessness</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> that litters both urban and rural landscapes. But it is taking forever for reparations to materialize in any </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>profound</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> way.</i></b></span></p><p><b><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;">A </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"><i>beautiful</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> and </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"><i>engaging</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> semi- </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"><i>environmental</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> set by Julie Fox allows the </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"><i>audience</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> to feel as </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"><i>though</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> we are part of the action as </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"><i>actors</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> sweep to and fro in </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"><i>the midst</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> of a </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"><i>large</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"><i>playing</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> space </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"><i>that</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"><i>inhabits</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> every corner - within and beyond the </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>viewer's</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> eye and yet always a sensory and scenic success. Lighting (Kimberly </i></b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Purtell) and sound (Thomas Ryder Payne) collaborate in a smoky, enticing haze of aural and visual </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>delight</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> and atmospheric annotation.</i></b></span></p><p><b><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;">The ensemble is remarkable as they play and squabble with </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>fast-paced</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>conversational</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> flair and intense </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>emotional</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>fervour</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;">. Scenes near the end with Sonya </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>begging</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> Vanya to cooperate reach peaks of </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>poignant</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>pleading</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> that could have </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>seemed</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> too emphatic in </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>the</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> hands of another, less </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>layered,</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>performer</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;">. And yet Bahia Watson's Sonya </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>somehow</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> delivers a </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>seamless</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>performance</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> that allows the </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>most</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>pessimistic</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> of Chekhov's lines and sentiments to </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>soar</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> into a believable and </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>engaging</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> characterization.</i></b></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Eric Peterson's Alexandre </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>brilliantly</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> portrays the brilliant, blustering and boorish gadabout dominating a </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>family</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> that has selflessly </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>responded</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> to his every need. Shannon </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>Taylor's</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> Yelena </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>creates</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> an elegant, subservient young wife to Alexandre's infamous fading charm - </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>engaging</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> with Sonya and Astrov with varied and complex emotion as she navigates her </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>position</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> as the bored beauty. Ming </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>Wong's</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>costumes</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> excel </i><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">in </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>Yelena'</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">s simple classic dress forms, and move into varied tones and </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>beautifully</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>contrasting</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> patterns and vibrancies in </i></b><b><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">dtaborah </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>johnson'</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">s layered ensembles.</i></b></span></p><p><b><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;">Anand Rajaram, dtaborah </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>Johnson,</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> and Carolyn Fe take on secondary roles that provide the solid sense of family and </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>community</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> that holds the overall </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>structure</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> together, delivering </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>performances</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> that punctuate the emotional </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>narrative,</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> and fill the </i><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;">space with layered characterizations of a </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>family</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> dependent and devoted to all the </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>people</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> they must love in a day.</i></b></p><p><b><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;">Together, as </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>warring</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> friends ultimately separated by their </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>love</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> for </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>the </i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;">same </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>woman, Tom Rooney as Vanya and </i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> Ali Kazmi as Astrov bring two emphatic kinds of romantic energy to the stage that makes for a complex and </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>thrilling</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> way of perceiving love and desire. Their physicalization and vocal diversity create such </i></b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">convincing portrayals that one might wish they </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>could</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> both win in this tortured game of love, or better yet, fall in love with each other's grand desires.</i></b></span></p><p><b><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;">But of </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"><i>course</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;">, no one </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"><i>fully</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"><i>triumphs</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> in Chekhov, but still, the emotion engages, runs high, and overflows in a </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"><i>boiling</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> pot of </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"><i>tragicomic</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> familial stew - </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"><i>simmering,</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> </i><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;">bubbling, and overcooking </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>emotion</i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> for an audience </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"><i>whose</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> tastebuds are never disappointed in this </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"><i>wonderful</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> adaptation of a </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"><i>timeless</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"><i>play addressing the humanity and the inhumanity of so-called civilization.</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica;"> </i></b></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">How's that for a string of menu metaphors creating </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>fabulous</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> and </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><i>theatrical</i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> food for thought.</i><i style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> Alliterative. Dramaturgical. Delicious!!!</i></b></span></p><p><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: helvetica;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></p><p><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: helvetica;"><b><i><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>PHOTOS BY DAHLIA KATZ</i></b></span> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIn28UBurZqcGDcS75YCyBdW8h0EF_EQIgxZyoPeMXaX_OJESuvfdWhyJc8RGXITRqSh3yd2cCDQMVQ6ttMieOD5gYmsvk1khovfrq7dN2rgZmxehzSg3-LzywuvHVE08RcikjtL2FKwMATU1jT0VL-j8kpxAkdb71o7t7MDJlXIvB7-0ftjFstNWk/s512/YQgOiApU.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIn28UBurZqcGDcS75YCyBdW8h0EF_EQIgxZyoPeMXaX_OJESuvfdWhyJc8RGXITRqSh3yd2cCDQMVQ6ttMieOD5gYmsvk1khovfrq7dN2rgZmxehzSg3-LzywuvHVE08RcikjtL2FKwMATU1jT0VL-j8kpxAkdb71o7t7MDJlXIvB7-0ftjFstNWk/s320/YQgOiApU.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Eric Peterson as Alexandre</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0THNtY27la96vDRqcGW_kW2QktFZ9TY5bEFn-sEdOULqVY4akS3gsht3SUA4oGqu08otYMCsR56IqS_-7yYA10j3dogrf8xxADZtkEEGtA0K0mXMcvqHyAPlsZ-YRXT29jev4MsmxamWg_eOCH60aCXSAaapMC85WLApGlX-lOIA61SOim-Ay3uVT/s512/UH5oh_LA.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0THNtY27la96vDRqcGW_kW2QktFZ9TY5bEFn-sEdOULqVY4akS3gsht3SUA4oGqu08otYMCsR56IqS_-7yYA10j3dogrf8xxADZtkEEGtA0K0mXMcvqHyAPlsZ-YRXT29jev4MsmxamWg_eOCH60aCXSAaapMC85WLApGlX-lOIA61SOim-Ay3uVT/w295-h320/UH5oh_LA.jpeg" width="295" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div> Bahia Watson as Sonya<p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpIgiRngt6gRkLWxju6hxvHNiQOghUyrEONxZCQeScQRh0u4s09TnddMLpXstDNyKhukAvpAP5JjfadgT3x7lcNuGyic2JGjRTOjuCIBs9_Ci-WndtFB9_LCn8OknQWC57v87LVHBAHAMxDsqvk1oh39HU1T2vAPSoi52cRJKTcn38a2XQlHrsfBNc/s512/ROVVHYiE.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpIgiRngt6gRkLWxju6hxvHNiQOghUyrEONxZCQeScQRh0u4s09TnddMLpXstDNyKhukAvpAP5JjfadgT3x7lcNuGyic2JGjRTOjuCIBs9_Ci-WndtFB9_LCn8OknQWC57v87LVHBAHAMxDsqvk1oh39HU1T2vAPSoi52cRJKTcn38a2XQlHrsfBNc/s320/ROVVHYiE.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> Shannon Taylor as Yelena</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTJNkdsJMaoCN917pFGD4FQCt0rDv-8StS_TfQjFykF0223_IFXSkIp6itsA8vsnW52rIJ7A9eiBFRGBx27W0ifdE0V9X5P3quYuvKz2XlXkPfl7byuEQqVYhTM-BUAL05Q_VMu4jAhREe2tv_nEnAoUdyPpNxoh9hZ8kNBIZsC94_DEMxB0xgVhWH/s512/eutKV_4Q.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTJNkdsJMaoCN917pFGD4FQCt0rDv-8StS_TfQjFykF0223_IFXSkIp6itsA8vsnW52rIJ7A9eiBFRGBx27W0ifdE0V9X5P3quYuvKz2XlXkPfl7byuEQqVYhTM-BUAL05Q_VMu4jAhREe2tv_nEnAoUdyPpNxoh9hZ8kNBIZsC94_DEMxB0xgVhWH/s320/eutKV_4Q.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p><p> Carolyn Fe as Marina</p><p></p></blockquote><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMq-WuQlR6KfaIzKr70ptRpY8vT7629E0xp1Bo2z_eudvW30v6z-4-JGU2oqmLJuZ8pXlVH1Vgnz54AM0xl1ynudhQInr7b3eM3oVCKzx7lY4hgLHCajkmrEQuVaMkfgQLp15p_RpwDcKej7qUxTOAAwUgynJ8bHKmY-bTOWfZJmZxGHLIPI-Wfdmm/s512/9E9vPwvw.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMq-WuQlR6KfaIzKr70ptRpY8vT7629E0xp1Bo2z_eudvW30v6z-4-JGU2oqmLJuZ8pXlVH1Vgnz54AM0xl1ynudhQInr7b3eM3oVCKzx7lY4hgLHCajkmrEQuVaMkfgQLp15p_RpwDcKej7qUxTOAAwUgynJ8bHKmY-bTOWfZJmZxGHLIPI-Wfdmm/s320/9E9vPwvw.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div> <p></p><p><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>Ali Kazmi asAstrov</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcn_YSiPpmq1oZWDX_m6aEhND_R62Lc6DJZXWgXDkWW5vND2O1mRlNPAKlV2p0f4Zud47AnlmOB83OhXKTTMoWg79AHWBf2qUn24SKT7353_3a7jKyXI1erf7FPEPEOMOLhPLi7wc5hD9KnxW8nFq1udQNe37COBUN7k7NX_kVRnLPDifMLhU1nTcs/s512/7gUwoybs.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcn_YSiPpmq1oZWDX_m6aEhND_R62Lc6DJZXWgXDkWW5vND2O1mRlNPAKlV2p0f4Zud47AnlmOB83OhXKTTMoWg79AHWBf2qUn24SKT7353_3a7jKyXI1erf7FPEPEOMOLhPLi7wc5hD9KnxW8nFq1udQNe37COBUN7k7NX_kVRnLPDifMLhU1nTcs/s320/7gUwoybs.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div> <p></p><p><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>dtaborah johnson as Maria</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeQm3ETpzbvhcg8PDyiz297v4wMlF94gP5sDacJjId-ZSpJZOVrkm_kMRKX5-1ZP5s84gviUlKynneGByMyh9hMlnd459ix6Iku9vp3UtAiNkpkmxrvNvWk_y_tPOplH713PzhajoUMuFPKoEXwr9z7aI2TTCSca2oecpYEAC_G-9O5sRv4hqt_y3C/s512/-koIEJSM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeQm3ETpzbvhcg8PDyiz297v4wMlF94gP5sDacJjId-ZSpJZOVrkm_kMRKX5-1ZP5s84gviUlKynneGByMyh9hMlnd459ix6Iku9vp3UtAiNkpkmxrvNvWk_y_tPOplH713PzhajoUMuFPKoEXwr9z7aI2TTCSca2oecpYEAC_G-9O5sRv4hqt_y3C/s320/-koIEJSM.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div> <p></p><p><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>Tom Rooney as Vanya</p><p><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><i><b style="font-family: helvetica;">RUNNING AT CROW'S</b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">THEATRE </b></i></span></p><p><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><i><b style="font-family: helvetica;">UNTIL OCTOBER 2ND</b></i></span></p>bettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13290969725890141122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753554726340173679.post-10465750687276070772022-09-01T09:45:00.010-07:002022-09-03T08:00:56.773-07:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEina98Hv9a8GaQ2eAZnE-_J8_fCXgGjR1yhmRYScCjbr__rssi9VU3qakMIvTJep8UKS1tekAMf_bXJ6h5rHl-Pl9TZzZOJmK4WFvULEdrJJe3Hxjp4HpX9Y2qV6zsfV9ZPwdaD5HEJjaga6J7kGfUzZ-i3qD2kqLw5oVS9bYRsg9xKDwa8VV-dCdPX/s500/Whos-Afraid-of-Titus.jpg.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="433" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEina98Hv9a8GaQ2eAZnE-_J8_fCXgGjR1yhmRYScCjbr__rssi9VU3qakMIvTJep8UKS1tekAMf_bXJ6h5rHl-Pl9TZzZOJmK4WFvULEdrJJe3Hxjp4HpX9Y2qV6zsfV9ZPwdaD5HEJjaga6J7kGfUzZ-i3qD2kqLw5oVS9bYRsg9xKDwa8VV-dCdPX/w606-h433/Whos-Afraid-of-Titus.jpg.webp" width="606" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="background-color: #faf9f5; caret-color: rgb(54, 52, 49); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Baskerville, "Book Antiqua", Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">Artwork “Stewardess Fight” by Kirsten Johnson </span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="background-color: #faf9f5; caret-color: rgb(54, 52, 49); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Baskerville, "Book Antiqua", Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">@kirstenjohnson_art_film </span><span class="skimlinks-unlinked" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(54, 52, 49); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Baskerville, "Book Antiqua", Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">kirstenjohnson.com</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><b><span class="skimlinks-unlinked" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(54, 52, 49); color: #e06666; font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Baskerville, "Book Antiqua", Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><br /></i></span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Inter, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #e06666; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;"><b><i>O, had the monster seen those lily hands</i></b></span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Inter, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;" /><span style="color: #e06666;"><b><i><span face="Inter, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-size: 16px; text-align: start;">Tremble like aspen leaves upon a lute </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Inter, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;" /><span face="Inter, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-size: 16px; text-align: start;">And make the silken strings delight to kiss them,</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Inter, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;" /><span face="Inter, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-size: 16px; text-align: start;">He would not then have touched them for his life.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Inter, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;" /><span face="Inter, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-size: 16px; text-align: start;">Or had he heard the heavenly harmony</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Inter, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;" /><span face="Inter, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-size: 16px; text-align: start;">Which that sweet tongue hath made,</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Inter, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;" /><span face="Inter, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-size: 16px; text-align: start;">He would have dropped his knife and fell asleep...</span></i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Inter, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #e06666; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Inter, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #e06666; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;"><b><i>Titus Andronicus, Shakespeare, Act 2,Scene 4</i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Inter, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Inter, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-size: 16px; text-align: start;"><b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">______________________________</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></div></div><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Alongside the intense violence that marks Shakespeare's critically acclaimed, frequently maligned play, there is the trademark beautiful and startling poetry that has become his signature trait as a playwright of extreme poetic capabilities coupled with intense and violent murder enactments. The many graphic killings in the play reaches a peak in the character of Lavinia. An especially brutal incident is replayed as the ravaged body is viewed and pontificated upon with exquisitely arranged words and images form nature. In the hands of Sky Gilbert, the body being poeticized and grieved upon is a complex and re-arranged portion of the text, given to a character who does not speak the words in the original, thus becoming an overtly and extremely successful example of post-modern adaptation that adds new life to a very complicated text. The "lily hands...like aspen leaves" refer to severed fingers, revealing the bard's ability to take even the most gruesome of acts and make them somewhat palatable through a kind of brutalizing beauty - like nature. Making the gruesome palatable comes across in Gilbert's adaptation through simple stylized props representing gore, and skilful performances that begin with a high camp entrance and gradually move into the spoken, conversational tones that serve Shakespeare's contemporary audiences so well.</div></div><p></p></blockquote><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3VUOqQ_4CwEtUThYnK_dA0HLIs92CQE2mGFKWV68zXmfukCbpgfjxPw84BOMrlyi7vRUglYkLfrTajnd9DbxPkMmM8gXccQ2gphq61LQislrCj139QSCePxq3J6-upCpMW8Pp9YbldWxYghlyABzy53-Ls27NrhGY26nHzPByut0EnGtyGn6KhGbE/s4032/IMG_8810.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3VUOqQ_4CwEtUThYnK_dA0HLIs92CQE2mGFKWV68zXmfukCbpgfjxPw84BOMrlyi7vRUglYkLfrTajnd9DbxPkMmM8gXccQ2gphq61LQislrCj139QSCePxq3J6-upCpMW8Pp9YbldWxYghlyABzy53-Ls27NrhGY26nHzPByut0EnGtyGn6KhGbE/w453-h340/IMG_8810.jpg" width="453" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Elley-Ray Hennessy enters in the first scene in a kind of Rocky Horror, Sally Bowles, Cruella DeVille costume persona and manically measured physical poise, speaking lines with an animated camp intensity that draws you immediately into the character's enraged state. Gradually she joins the other cast members in a heightened yet metered conversational tone that allows the poetry to find a rhythm that will take us through the many scenes of violence, lament, and revenge.<p></p><p>Some have insisted that the original was a parody - Shakespeare's attempt to match-cum-mimic the very popular and bloody revenge plays of his contemporaries. He has been accused of "mocking and exploiting Marlowe", and it has been suggested that the best director for Titus Andronicus might be Mel Brooks. Sky Gilbert rises to the occasion and becomes a skilful and clever director for this bloody tragedy, bringing out the comedy, the horror, and the supposed parody in an engaging blend of stylized forms. </p><p>The final scene gives pink balloons a poignant and comic presence as spectators are asked to join the cast in the outdoor space, alongside a parking lot, to watch the final moments take a signifying plunge into the hideous beauty of the central plot. The blue of the mid evening sky and the solemn playfulness of ascending air-filled hearts punctuate the closing moments as the audience descends back into the black box playing space.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAtHPYVdHTRtOvSw3qWR4iJFwr6ct3ere1H0SeW6jeqpFyGk07eubzGbHgQoWmBmCatPTvu_XtlXJK8WWN_Du3Vxx70PBmMbO1DAg-O9d1Ev4PSpD6SdKzzUI7wzsWzp4PNt1SeX9klV4Pq_xWAkAUS2_ady8rld2oreW53oqSsHvie9pWIe0sO-HH/s4032/IMG_8718.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAtHPYVdHTRtOvSw3qWR4iJFwr6ct3ere1H0SeW6jeqpFyGk07eubzGbHgQoWmBmCatPTvu_XtlXJK8WWN_Du3Vxx70PBmMbO1DAg-O9d1Ev4PSpD6SdKzzUI7wzsWzp4PNt1SeX9klV4Pq_xWAkAUS2_ady8rld2oreW53oqSsHvie9pWIe0sO-HH/s320/IMG_8718.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p><span style="color: red;"><b><i> Elley-Ray Hennessy as Tamora (Queen of the Goths and later Empress)</i></b></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Standout </span>performances<span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> by Veronica Hurnik (Narrator/Saturninus/Young Lucius/Nurse) and Augusta Monet (Lavinia 1) reveal the necessary additions and alterations to the original script that Gilbert has expertly inserted, bringing the audience into a world of observation and delineation as the director/playwright creates a mesmerizing take on the ways which violence can become an aspect of unmanaged fear and unbridled lust. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuJGuvNudgqdakkJKpCQxNPF27Jmv7HxkJlIsSIZd0k2j_pg1aybIbwNvkA_Lf3Hka3IDhlXM-TiZfX6IIAI8BWrmuxpto3sIfV2pZzfhfUxBHyrDkPBSdsYhPvXSNlUnhJJN_z7X0Q7PjjsRs2j4OMVbhCMiuvoNylG2_l2KpLKh4EWoxWn3pGS3Z/s800/Lavinia%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="800" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuJGuvNudgqdakkJKpCQxNPF27Jmv7HxkJlIsSIZd0k2j_pg1aybIbwNvkA_Lf3Hka3IDhlXM-TiZfX6IIAI8BWrmuxpto3sIfV2pZzfhfUxBHyrDkPBSdsYhPvXSNlUnhJJN_z7X0Q7PjjsRs2j4OMVbhCMiuvoNylG2_l2KpLKh4EWoxWn3pGS3Z/s320/Lavinia%201.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><b><i><span style="color: red;"> Elley-Ray Hennessy, Augusta Monet, Max Ackerman</span></i></b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF3UM4UShKECWTvpg533kwYTGbrTAJbp-QnTfqWAwOXaMN3OC3OfVdDTqCexVQXsPagMkEyimQzjoyFORYFG45aL8ICzciL08h2A0LX0yPbvDSHnXLHEGigAJGm-wN7IBIQYF3KZzpiC_KBFixBQzI0lVTHU7xJEmDfAjhR5FYHqyPSNVISo9E7umQ/s1798/veronica.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1798" data-original-width="1137" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF3UM4UShKECWTvpg533kwYTGbrTAJbp-QnTfqWAwOXaMN3OC3OfVdDTqCexVQXsPagMkEyimQzjoyFORYFG45aL8ICzciL08h2A0LX0yPbvDSHnXLHEGigAJGm-wN7IBIQYF3KZzpiC_KBFixBQzI0lVTHU7xJEmDfAjhR5FYHqyPSNVISo9E7umQ/s320/veronica.jpg" width="202" /></a></div><b><i><span style="color: red;"><br /><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> Veronica Hurnik </span></span></i></b><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoANg7K2K1bqyfnL_Cie2QyuDNCMO0sJLYQwTMRV3PN_npBCiSJa4TxdMveExycW2txold3qOBiwZ5d6nMWiyVySqGkrh7w-BsP9f7qUu6D3ujeVaW3OxBFn7IFVOKmnJ588gRwVB8dwaWdEsSrIYnRgZyAkP6soT8ENCKvueXXaaHOzWEhfJiOK2f/s4032/IMG_8749.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoANg7K2K1bqyfnL_Cie2QyuDNCMO0sJLYQwTMRV3PN_npBCiSJa4TxdMveExycW2txold3qOBiwZ5d6nMWiyVySqGkrh7w-BsP9f7qUu6D3ujeVaW3OxBFn7IFVOKmnJ588gRwVB8dwaWdEsSrIYnRgZyAkP6soT8ENCKvueXXaaHOzWEhfJiOK2f/s320/IMG_8749.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); color: red; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); color: red; text-align: left;"><i>George Alevizos' as Lavinia 2</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); color: red; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></b></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Elley-Ray Hennessy's Queen of the Goths and George Alevizos' Lavinia 2 create intense moments of great expression and presence that consistently demands engagement, and instills great pathos and rage. Max Ackerman and John Humeniuk as the sons add varied masculine prowess as they skilfully insert bumbling, hapless personalities into the action.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgajFNGZtvfzx39CF6zR9VqS5Stn8KBSLO9nGfXnMHH46O47van4Sxb8IhnG77PJAPaNg6_pqf6ntRJkyVSd_hCTTqtmMOOu5nNU1WUQ4w1OFUVKIDy0gkAJk8WYxqnQzVC7HGvGyUOWBIDOWdgUHo6zpkiBj96caEojGkHiu8jTzER2yui-eVz6kzG/s4032/IMG_8710.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgajFNGZtvfzx39CF6zR9VqS5Stn8KBSLO9nGfXnMHH46O47van4Sxb8IhnG77PJAPaNg6_pqf6ntRJkyVSd_hCTTqtmMOOu5nNU1WUQ4w1OFUVKIDy0gkAJk8WYxqnQzVC7HGvGyUOWBIDOWdgUHo6zpkiBj96caEojGkHiu8jTzER2yui-eVz6kzG/s320/IMG_8710.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><i><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><div><i><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /></span></b></span></i></div> l-r - Joe Humeniuk, Veronica Hurnik, Max Ackerman</span></b></span></i><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Ray Jacildo as Aaron the Moor (Tamora's lover) creates powerful land poetically charged presence with his eloquently delivered lines and his agile physical presence. More physical entanglement might have been made of the connection between him and Tamora, adding what appears to be a slightly absent sexuality in a play all about lust, blood, power, and revenge. And yet, there are some titillating homoerotic moments that come to a gruesome end.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3w5Agd_X5MHApb31tKBSWCo8aXfLdbFwojn0uxlmMjO094J4c4u3bR2SQkImWYK-3y10F6SQqj4VlvDhL2CjYEObnImpHztIUmzc4IuCBCHgGjZHxVJ348EJryANN-g4fYgUgWdAzmrRiaNN9Y_NqbBljl_huzf1Opk3YL_MHS0JGWO6DKEHQqcMK/s420/ray_jacildo-1579118419.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="420" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3w5Agd_X5MHApb31tKBSWCo8aXfLdbFwojn0uxlmMjO094J4c4u3bR2SQkImWYK-3y10F6SQqj4VlvDhL2CjYEObnImpHztIUmzc4IuCBCHgGjZHxVJ348EJryANN-g4fYgUgWdAzmrRiaNN9Y_NqbBljl_huzf1Opk3YL_MHS0JGWO6DKEHQqcMK/s320/ray_jacildo-1579118419.png" width="320" /></a></div><b><i><span style="color: red;"> </span></i></b><p></p><p><b><i><span style="color: red;"> Ray Jacildo as Aaron the Moor, (Tamora's lover)</span></i></b></p><p><b><i></i></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiiW6UoOYVCvO0IZJY0GB4viCtNjtaRP1Jm7rc9nV8HcXRodFJkhFIIBJlWavMUrsvLQ2dAOZr0t4xhTx39_8pVNHl5J9STtz2W_7cjYiezErxpr8gRQSFsLufEoL8ZYXTzzSHw-hgi-ZEm2W5xNesCH6iL11c79HZNYT2B8lC-yngIfIVaDevKFCA/s640/ray%20and%20elley-ray.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiiW6UoOYVCvO0IZJY0GB4viCtNjtaRP1Jm7rc9nV8HcXRodFJkhFIIBJlWavMUrsvLQ2dAOZr0t4xhTx39_8pVNHl5J9STtz2W_7cjYiezErxpr8gRQSFsLufEoL8ZYXTzzSHw-hgi-ZEm2W5xNesCH6iL11c79HZNYT2B8lC-yngIfIVaDevKFCA/s320/ray%20and%20elley-ray.jpg" width="240" /></a></i></b></div><b><i><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></i></b><p></p><p><b><span style="color: red;"><i> (rear) Ray Jacildo as Aaron the Moor, (Tamora's lover) (front) </i></span></b><span style="color: red;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><b><i>Elley-Ray-Ray Hennessy (Tamora)</i></b></span></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Brian Smegal's Titus is an understated, emotionally complex performance that gives the title character a kind of complicated and engaging shallow-depth, which serves perfectly Gilbert's notion that Shakespeare was trying to tell his audience that plays do not need a message, or 'depth', or justification. They simply need to instil something, be it fear and loathing or delight in parodic gore - satiric bloodthirstiness in the hands of a gruesome cast of characters hell bent on causing as much mayhem as humanly possible. Which is precisely what happens in this production, with the aid of Glibert's original narration that, in the hands of a skilful and sympathetic narrator (Hurnik) makes for a diverse and frequently environmental evening of theatre. </span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">At one point the narrator guides the audience into a basement area for a brief scene where Titus contemplates and endures the infamous fly killing scene with manic grace and a violent exit back to the main playing space. Youtube links accessible through cell phones are provided for any spectators who cannot go into the basement area, providing yet another intriguing element to the drama.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinwzOa7155iVWBLbXaKou25L_vZijtG3Fb5kJTsVPYG5VwMa6LRwVWsPVlfMZqCXCnj4Nwi3KR0S0pCwrKU854sWr40js3aDYcuqISoHzelhFLRgAN3dpeYW1VKwbFlRWHZpp4AXvdIXOsBSvexEg45bYOFUEBB8LIeaMMl4Jd14a90lR3iGpBJXeO/s4032/IMG_8728.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinwzOa7155iVWBLbXaKou25L_vZijtG3Fb5kJTsVPYG5VwMa6LRwVWsPVlfMZqCXCnj4Nwi3KR0S0pCwrKU854sWr40js3aDYcuqISoHzelhFLRgAN3dpeYW1VKwbFlRWHZpp4AXvdIXOsBSvexEg45bYOFUEBB8LIeaMMl4Jd14a90lR3iGpBJXeO/s320/IMG_8728.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><i><b><span style="color: red;"><div><i><b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></i></div> Brian Smegal as Titus Andronicus (a noble roman general)</span></b></i><br /> <p></p><p><span><i><b><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">And set them upright at their dear friends' door</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Even when their sorrows almost was forgot,</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">And on their skins, as on the bark of trees,</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Have with my knife carved in Roman letters</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">'Let not your sorrow die, though I am dead.'</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Tut, I have done a thousand dreadful things</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">As willingly as one would kill a fly;</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">And nothing grieves me heartily indeed</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">But that I cannot do ten thousand more.” </span></span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: red; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></b></i></span></p><p><span><i><b><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><span><span style="color: red;"> </span><span><span style="color: red;"> </span><span><span style="color: red;"> </span><span><span style="color: red;"> </span><span><span style="color: red;"> </span><span><span style="color: red;"> </span><span><span style="color: red;"> </span><span><span style="color: red;"> </span><span><span style="color: red;"> </span><span><span style="color: red;"> </span><span><span style="color: red;"> </span><span><span style="color: red;"> </span><span><span style="color: red;"> </span><span><span style="color: red;"> </span><span><span style="color: red;"> </span><span><span style="color: red;"> </span><span><span style="color: red;"> </span><span><span style="color: red;"> </span><span><span style="color: red;"> </span><span><span style="color: red;"> </span><span style="color: #c27ba0;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></i></span><i><b><span style="color: #c27ba0;">― <span class="authorOrTitle" face="Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 14px;">William Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus</span></span><span id="quote_book_link_72978" style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"></span></b></i></p><p>And thus ends/begins the old and the new - Shakespeare's penchant for the blood and guts of beautiful and unsettling drama. Mixing comedy, tragedy, violence, and tender poetic rants-cum-meditations on the beauty and the terror of human nature. And the new - Sky Gilbert's innovative preoccupation with the study of the iconic bard in a rigorous and enlightening attempt to instil new life and energy into the work of one of the most produced playwrights in the history of theatre.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlP0EtGm0xYEsWGc9xsVIQpiX8kUqE0pFOaTt-Jozjzdjg4e1bB4Wcgd5rqs5pQcQrEIQVDXtYuG27ya_t9ZiMPneLbIaFkzbrkdHfPjGtwa_2SEviZrsb6rbteBPJPewQTXYjgcrIO707enQmHZV7NDNzEOSNf4c-a3XFE5VG85vZzgDiFYoWWaLd/s756/Whos-Afraid-of-Titus-1.jpg.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlP0EtGm0xYEsWGc9xsVIQpiX8kUqE0pFOaTt-Jozjzdjg4e1bB4Wcgd5rqs5pQcQrEIQVDXtYuG27ya_t9ZiMPneLbIaFkzbrkdHfPjGtwa_2SEviZrsb6rbteBPJPewQTXYjgcrIO707enQmHZV7NDNzEOSNf4c-a3XFE5VG85vZzgDiFYoWWaLd/s320/Whos-Afraid-of-Titus-1.jpg.webp" width="317" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em style="caret-color: rgb(92, 97, 117); font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 15.6px;"><span style="color: #800180;">Max Ackerman, Ray Jacildo, Elley-Ray Hennessy, John Humeniuk and George Alevizos in ‘Who’s Afraid of Titus?’</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div><br /></div><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b><i> WHO'S AFRAID OF TITUS</i></b></span><div><br /></div><div> <div><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">RUNS AT THE RED SANDCASTLE THEATRE (922 QUEEN STREET EAST) UNTIL SEPTEMBER THIRD<br /></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p></div></div>bettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13290969725890141122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753554726340173679.post-88185173208659610222021-11-22T10:36:00.005-08:002021-11-23T11:21:08.820-08:00<p style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40);"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>FIVE ANGELS ON THE STEPS</i></b></span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw_raXcjtCjYXW_oP3XYSWJ5ehvdujmGAWgfu8Eju1ixLDvc_7Bi28k3P5b8eeC7NwYPNmvg7eBXgQqED-GAR_RzNauERpHrL6Moseyv3VmIj0oyImBbkPB1p52qwcqjfwufNmPT0j_QU/s1920/Five+Angels+on+the+Steps++Output_Moment.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="477" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw_raXcjtCjYXW_oP3XYSWJ5ehvdujmGAWgfu8Eju1ixLDvc_7Bi28k3P5b8eeC7NwYPNmvg7eBXgQqED-GAR_RzNauERpHrL6Moseyv3VmIj0oyImBbkPB1p52qwcqjfwufNmPT0j_QU/w579-h477/Five+Angels+on+the+Steps++Output_Moment.jpg" width="579" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40);"><span style="color: #1d2228;"><p style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40);"><span style="color: #1d2228;"><br /></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">Beginning with the dancer lounging, at times precariously, on a long modernist-like couch'ish shape comprised of yellow and red octagons, Kathleen Rea (dancer) and Newton Moraes' (choreographer) conspire to bring their new work, </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><i><b>Five Angels On The Steps</b></i></span><span style="color: #1d2228;"> into diverse, at times harrowing, frequently delicate and classical realms.</span></span></span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguD1PioVcEM-Z_o-h0iMwgf_LVThPUHFa8Ljre5b95OMQF3FlhhrO9lWrgvJ-WW8eIEXf65dk8-dhbJI5Z2FnUELEgAzoRKNcqMq5CKf70l3Kazw0njxACuKFe8Rbq0GkgznWpb5fahQ8/s1920/Five+Angels+on+the+Steps++Output_Moment%252829%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguD1PioVcEM-Z_o-h0iMwgf_LVThPUHFa8Ljre5b95OMQF3FlhhrO9lWrgvJ-WW8eIEXf65dk8-dhbJI5Z2FnUELEgAzoRKNcqMq5CKf70l3Kazw0njxACuKFe8Rbq0GkgznWpb5fahQ8/w365-h303/Five+Angels+on+the+Steps++Output_Moment%252829%2529.jpg" width="365" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCHu4vc0eJsy70dOHYOWtLrrhJEl95jeXDc9xYKgDxYvTBoqSNSEIfvleB-W-lQ7J7ZAWOjo-skedqmzwtjfI2JMeimFB0m2tvOZS6GXxYcvnY3kHvZwhoEX9JOfZeza2K-bE3RsgYkzg/s1920/Five+Angels+on+the+Steps++Output_Moment%25284%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCHu4vc0eJsy70dOHYOWtLrrhJEl95jeXDc9xYKgDxYvTBoqSNSEIfvleB-W-lQ7J7ZAWOjo-skedqmzwtjfI2JMeimFB0m2tvOZS6GXxYcvnY3kHvZwhoEX9JOfZeza2K-bE3RsgYkzg/w400-h297/Five+Angels+on+the+Steps++Output_Moment%25284%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Although there are moments when the collection of varied segmental, musically accompanied interludes may seem to long for more haunting shapes, fully augmented by Sharon DiGenova's brilliant lighting effects, the red &yellow octagonal forms are most effective when the recorded narration regarding skeletal formations and corporeal sensation are accompanied by a musically framed, recorded voiceover that becomes a poetic movement combining scientific terms and a rhythmic commingling of spoken word and factual data. <br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">One section where the dancer applies red tape to the octagons utilizes these somewhat anomalous shapes to good effect and becomes a jarring battle between five identical props that provide a simultaneously sombre and playful stage conglomeration. <br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5pzzwhCabuFENEvq16x1kn4RPa4nHL_qy6vNWaD0RiKzIZ04A2YczonIcCSL9TlmFEgm4L8K9fp56kcD9MFv4N_uDoUBZZ_Mqpe-hcrmOvXPXE5ubWXmBLTIQg6cZRGth0T5VuLBz0Z8/s1920/Five+Angels+on+the+Steps++Output_Moment%252839%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5pzzwhCabuFENEvq16x1kn4RPa4nHL_qy6vNWaD0RiKzIZ04A2YczonIcCSL9TlmFEgm4L8K9fp56kcD9MFv4N_uDoUBZZ_Mqpe-hcrmOvXPXE5ubWXmBLTIQg6cZRGth0T5VuLBz0Z8/w465-h316/Five+Angels+on+the+Steps++Output_Moment%252839%2529.jpg" width="465" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">Nearing the end of the piece, atop one of the octagons, in sharply distilled, tightly focused lighting, and surrounded by a drum inflected soundscape, Rea is at her most vibrant and rigorous, befitting a finale for this deeply moving, endlessly engaging sixty minutes of movement inspired by a near death experience. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The beautifully arranged collection of choreographic moments, facial expressions, lilting limbs and a skeletal partner, make for what ultimately becomes a dance theatre journey, ending in a kind of chamber music scene where both skeleton and human body face each other full on for a final movement of love, death, and corporeal acknowledgement - allowing for five octagonal angels, one skeleton, and one dancer to come to terms with the unresolvable spectre of mortality, out of body experience, and that ongoing battle with our physical selves and our earthly lives that angels may comfort us within as they inhabit their dual roles as guardians and fatal companions.<br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbFN97FT6LoqQehM9Foozu6hMrO6rCG3wIZR3WvknHqs4BhxodmbsejfDCMBKCQbNVKSk3zAZgIIyTsKJpIy5qwBnvDegGnOtG4_b9hg1DQGQDQE63ZQ_2r_Nlt9Q5yrt1YGvo33FLFEc/s1920/Five+Angels+on+the+Steps++Output_Moment%252846%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbFN97FT6LoqQehM9Foozu6hMrO6rCG3wIZR3WvknHqs4BhxodmbsejfDCMBKCQbNVKSk3zAZgIIyTsKJpIy5qwBnvDegGnOtG4_b9hg1DQGQDQE63ZQ_2r_Nlt9Q5yrt1YGvo33FLFEc/w431-h264/Five+Angels+on+the+Steps++Output_Moment%252846%2529.jpg" width="431" /></a></div><br /><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>A complex, moving, and haunting new work that ran at the Wychwood Barns TYT theatre from November 19th to November 21st.</i></span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><br /></i></span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><br /></i></span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>for program details see;</i></span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="https://www.flipsnack.com/contactdancefilmfest/five-angels-on-the-steps-program.html" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #196ad4; font-size: 16px;" target="_blank">https://www.flipsnack.com/contactdancefilmfest/five-angels-on-the-steps-program.html</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />bettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13290969725890141122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753554726340173679.post-22887427362800254942021-11-04T18:31:00.004-07:002021-11-04T19:00:40.448-07:00<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #ff00fe;"> </span><span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;">Monsterpiece </span><span style="color: #800180;">&</span><span style="color: #ff00fe;"> </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">Tramps Like Us </span></i></span></b></span></p><p><span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br /></i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><b><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Steve Keil & Paul Bellini bring us two distinctly </i><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><i>different</i></span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> novels </i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b>with similar themes in their recent books</b></i></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></i></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_mawgGSpYmXOfE05ovCumLtV6Ab1_xxXxjG2DGm90iMVQgm-apJ8tw8t_8zjUzTbw8ZwcNxSdTUcijKHWOlTZqUY2vzlJsTSn_bS19-Ks1g2CI9dMWbsAEy0ty8MgaGDYpvpL_gaAi4I/s600/logo1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_mawgGSpYmXOfE05ovCumLtV6Ab1_xxXxjG2DGm90iMVQgm-apJ8tw8t_8zjUzTbw8ZwcNxSdTUcijKHWOlTZqUY2vzlJsTSn_bS19-Ks1g2CI9dMWbsAEy0ty8MgaGDYpvpL_gaAi4I/w448-h300/logo1.png" width="448" /></a></div><p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></i></p><p class="Standard" style="margin: 0cm;"><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ-nVUfq7m9bCxjbj1vSthtTs4A5fJcFi6WhzVOdarIUMJaB_FyifkGO1b4UkA2R5xmbvtn9WkiLPe2pZcoNkD5Z5rEv1YJlaGT6BAjei0T2IRYYRs-RJw7ouq4tQN-lCh3r-L3n9yaxY/s481/logo3.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="481" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ-nVUfq7m9bCxjbj1vSthtTs4A5fJcFi6WhzVOdarIUMJaB_FyifkGO1b4UkA2R5xmbvtn9WkiLPe2pZcoNkD5Z5rEv1YJlaGT6BAjei0T2IRYYRs-RJw7ouq4tQN-lCh3r-L3n9yaxY/s320/logo3.jpeg" width="200" /></a></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></i></div><p></p><p class="Standard" style="margin: 0cm;"><i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia;">Oh, baby this town rips the bones from your back<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="Standard" style="margin: 0cm;"><i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia;">It's a death trap, it's a suicide rap<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="Standard" style="margin: 0cm;"><i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia;">we gotta get out while we're young<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="Standard" style="margin: 0cm;"><i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia;">Cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="Standard" style="margin: 0cm;"><i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia;">Yes, girl, we were<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="Standard" style="margin: 0cm;"><i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia;"> </span></i></p><p class="Standard" style="margin: 0cm;"><i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia;"> Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">Summer is long gone and fall is in the balance, so let’s take a moment to remember some of our favourite summer reads. I read Zoe Whittal’s <i>The Spectacular</i>, Jordan Tannahill's <i>The LIsteners</i>, am still moving through Brad Frasers wonderful memoir, just finished Michelle Berry’s 9/11 semi-thriller <i>(Everything Turns Away)</i>, am continuing to occasionally immerse myself in Elena Ferrante's <i>The Lying Lives of Adults</i>, and have just under a hundred pages left of Colm Toibin's <i>The Magician</i>. I'm fickle. Sometimes I have to start a book all over again because I left it alone for too long in order to dive into something else. I'm planning on plunging into Sky Gilbert's <i>I, Gloria Grahame</i> any day now.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNzDXVqiNv2Yyu7R4Wm-kNYPzJSPu0ZIntY6gDGrXYmTiu96uOJjtjn7ixlfeOY5MhO00q4eJDz4glYjSTX9F-h3nTnSGFfEWg2NfBLF32EQuWwpPSM0wXjYVSpWqydjNsiDjhjCf9E1A/s1000/614WGJZmXHS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="647" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNzDXVqiNv2Yyu7R4Wm-kNYPzJSPu0ZIntY6gDGrXYmTiu96uOJjtjn7ixlfeOY5MhO00q4eJDz4glYjSTX9F-h3nTnSGFfEWg2NfBLF32EQuWwpPSM0wXjYVSpWqydjNsiDjhjCf9E1A/s320/614WGJZmXHS.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><br /><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPrRNLYN6T67nqPFOflyM7LKJTXkhq2Y6Wpeix96xfWAEAsoOg1DSVxK4eD8LhyphenhyphenN5LPNZpFrZ2gWkzIxxWS8BBG3GdxLYwVaPaSoH_A_6BCD5Wa5J36cuGBhaYn5h6Bt0bTqsuhbN0vYc/s266/41fHc-hEosL._SY264_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_QL40_ML2_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="184" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPrRNLYN6T67nqPFOflyM7LKJTXkhq2Y6Wpeix96xfWAEAsoOg1DSVxK4eD8LhyphenhyphenN5LPNZpFrZ2gWkzIxxWS8BBG3GdxLYwVaPaSoH_A_6BCD5Wa5J36cuGBhaYn5h6Bt0bTqsuhbN0vYc/s0/41fHc-hEosL._SY264_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_QL40_ML2_.jpg" width="184" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWmoSGP_rou6I3EgBedrHty-hbleV0Xu5cZbrJ6mOhz5-88ZeaifP61wdT17wsn0HexI7zQnd7vbna2nNQTZkhseRVmYnIg1yAPIGDR3V9HJ3vZP7tF2JoVK59XU6rY_oKh_Ch71-tVmU/s266/41Q1jmZUaxL._SY264_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_QL40_ML2_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">But rather than reviewing any of them at length at this particular petticoat juncture, I want to focus on two wonderful local novels that entertained me wildly during the late summer heat waves when I chose my outdoor time carefully for fear of sun stroke, or worse, a blowjob in a back alley on a humid late summer evening. I haven’t done anything like that in years - not since youth, and the middle decades following, that left me satiated and happy to live on the memories of a thrilling sex life. But why ramble mindlessly on about sweltering days long gone. Well, memories of sex and all its encounters, in hidden, frequently dank urban spaces, and the corners of cosy bars, are enticing parts of Paul Bellini's <i>Monsterpiece </i>and Steve Keil's <i>Tramps Like Us</i>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">While Bellini's title speaks directly to the particular length and girth of a favoured body part, Keil's title takes on a more prosaic tone culled from the lyric of Springsteen's iconic restless tale of a <i>“runaway America dream.” </i>Both novels are set in periods not so far from each other. Keil's structure takes on a seasonal tone beginning n the summer of 1998, chronicling the intersecting lives of various gay men in Toronto's Church/Wellesley neighbourhood, and venturing into gay suburban respites in upscale areas of London Ontario and semi-conjugal kitchens in Guelph.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">Set in the same neighbourhood of Toronto as Keil's book, Bellini focuses on three connected characters, moving from summer through to Christmas. An occasionally gay, frequently straight hustler-cum-porn actor, and the man and woman who become precariously involved with him, intersect throughout the book in an unconscious game of hide and seek that offers up some prime sex scenes that reveal the writers knack for describing a particular setting in titillating detail that punctuates the sexcapades, in one instance, with a nostalgic, almost camp, comic ending conjuring visions of classic porn settings -<o:p></o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b> </b></span></o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>At one point, when Alvin coincidentally looked into the lens while his shaft was deep in Renatos hole, Perry froze the image and jerked off to it.<o:p></o:p></b></span></i></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b> <o:p></o:p></b></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b> Then he went to sleep, wishing he could wake up in a sun-dappled 18th century hayloft. (p123)</b></span><o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">Lively lines create vivid descriptions that lure us into webs of popular culture references and concisely drawn porn settings as sexual playgrounds for marginalized trysts. After a rendezvous in a theatre back alley a main character finds solace in a a cosy hearth and home scenario;<o:p></o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><i>"It came fast, the sky changing like a drag queen changing between sets” </i></b></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><i>– </i>leading quickly over the course of a three page chapter to a wonderfully indirect Judy Garland citation after the sex has happened and the satisfied participant wanders</b></span><i><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b> “home to chill out with his new kitten, Baby Gumm. (p29)</b></span><o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><i> </i></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">Both novels negotiate, in brisk and lively prose that is quick to engage and never let go, the frequently conflicted, frequently joyful interactions between people living in a bold & vibrant neighbourhood. Bellini never shies away from creating characters and intervening narration that speaks directly of specific types, shapes, sizes, etc, crafting characterizations that are simultaneously unsettling, precariously hilarious. soothingly sexual - all examples of the writers unwavering and uncompromising eye for human detail and forthright observational intimacy.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">Keil embarks on somewhat more dramatic narratives woven into the lives of journeys he describes on the back cover as <i>“<span style="color: #741b47;">A tangled web of friendships, mistakes and assorted mixed drinks.”</span></i><span style="color: #741b47;"> </span>He describes, early on, a scene in a bar that indirectly conjures contemporary moments watching <i>Canada's Drag Race </i>in a crowded drinking/drag establishment on Church - subtly revealing that queer activities change over the decades and yet, at times, bear striking resemblances to each other as a sense of community through popular culture has, and continues to thrive, in various queer day and night spots. But for Keil and his characters, in 1998, it becomes <i>The Price Is Right</i> being watched in bars by eager patrons - a kind of consumerist drag race of its own brand, replete with bevies of coveted prizes rather than gorgeous bedecked queens competing for fame and top dollar. By the end of his narrative, however, Keil lands some of his primary characters in <i>“the first warm weekend of the post vernal equinox” </i>in a welcoming home on Gloucester Street with a drag breakfasty/brunch in full swing, not so unlike some of the activities we enjoy in the Church/Wellesley area some twenty years later.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">Both writers have taken similar themes and given their own unique and engaging take on aspects of queer identity two decades ago. <i>Monsterpiece</i> and <i>Tramps Like Us</i> are great reads for anyone interested in reliving and/or taking an intimate glimpse into particular times in a community that continues to mount and re-mount the hunks and the hurdles, the highs and the lows, of a thriving, at times stumbling, queer neighbourhood during challenging times. </p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">Decidedly more pornographic with a light comic edge, Bellini treats us to a fast ride through 181 pages of heartbreak, sex, connect, disconnect, and camaraderie. Keil clocks in at 214 pages, illustrating the complexities of love, loss, connection and re-connection among a group of friends trying to make it in the city and in the regions as they reconcile their queer lives with the lives some of them never quite choose to leave behind, all the time noticing the delightful details marking the culture they populate, from The Price Is Right to Richard Burton and Popeye's <i>"spinach eater meat hooks".</i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><i><br /></i></p><p class="Standard" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><i>Vibrant</i></span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> images, intimate connections, pictures, frozen in time, of an iconic Toronto neighbourhood.</i></p><p class="Standard" style="margin: 0cm;"><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br /></i></p><p class="Standard" style="margin: 0cm;"><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">_______________________________________</i></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><br /></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;">Monsterpiece & Tramps Like Us are available at;</span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><span style="text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Monsterpiece-Paul-Bellini-ebook/dp/B098WLTZL3"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>https://www.amazon.in/Monsterpiece-Paul-Bellini-ebook/dp/B098WLTZL3</b></span></a></span><div><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tramps-like-us-steve-keil/1139430287</b></span></div><div><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>_________________________</b></span></div><div><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>also find Steve Keil's poetry collections at Barnes and Noble & Amazon:</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrfkBhMH4o7aG6dKSFk4xKMyHCe6mxeIxiLZPkxyUwe1Txt9U2KZQsaPhPMxH5gL6OoAzaOhzKIer5rdRDPg3I7YU2RD7GuInym2F3XcFNyKxwKQggtuCVnWW7dUVc5LW2dhpXjgjFXvw/s293/31ANbr1wSbL._SY291_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_QL40_ML2_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="184" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrfkBhMH4o7aG6dKSFk4xKMyHCe6mxeIxiLZPkxyUwe1Txt9U2KZQsaPhPMxH5gL6OoAzaOhzKIer5rdRDPg3I7YU2RD7GuInym2F3XcFNyKxwKQggtuCVnWW7dUVc5LW2dhpXjgjFXvw/s0/31ANbr1wSbL._SY291_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_QL40_ML2_.jpg" width="184" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>bettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13290969725890141122noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753554726340173679.post-66303469703222777492021-11-02T15:28:00.004-07:002021-11-02T15:30:26.696-07:00in the headlights . . . artist statement<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGRxJfBEeisYhOcRK1j8HKX6db-sLOoxQZVs6aalhvLONPEtyQob_ss-05f-QxNSDfludPgJWmoEcM2bI8_Po9Z50ZsVEe1d4CQHSssq-s8E-JiaLeUFf-TQimILWV_wiJH4ZyDB6Odic/s540/250063080_1576692112670761_1804637914937597773_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="508" height="443" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGRxJfBEeisYhOcRK1j8HKX6db-sLOoxQZVs6aalhvLONPEtyQob_ss-05f-QxNSDfludPgJWmoEcM2bI8_Po9Z50ZsVEe1d4CQHSssq-s8E-JiaLeUFf-TQimILWV_wiJH4ZyDB6Odic/w538-h443/250063080_1576692112670761_1804637914937597773_n.jpg" width="538" /></a></div><p><b style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: red; font-family: verdana; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">for virtual viewings of my current exhibit see link below - for live visits to the gallery at 276 Dundas Street East DM me here on Facebook and we can setup a viewing - gallery hours will be thursday to sunday, two to six - please message first to set up an appointment</b></p><p></p><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto"><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl oo9gr5id gpro0wi8 lrazzd5p" href="https://www.facebook.com/artistdavidbateman/photos/a.286108058395846/1579790245694281?__cft__[0]=AZV6N2D46tL_b_xacsN0s5vDkYT1vdLAt90AEijyJKL0Gu2Pk4LDu8NTT400b69O_Bo8OFH8nMnMmOXDoGu8uLXsH52ev0M6D7GPpj0ucPUQ89xg0qwGtk1UJTgN2ksyLMMVd2VwT_sD0B9dFyY8tGfwR59GCmJE913U2Qkd-XWGQCunljFh1sG4y4k1vnZtEl8&__tn__=-UK-R" role="link" style="border: 0px; 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box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: verdana;">https://www.facebook.com/artistdavidbateman</span></a></span></div></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><i><span face="Verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 18pt;">IN THE HEADLIGHTS - perhaps not<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><i><span face="Verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span></i></b></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">In a recent series of paintings entitled <i>Abstract Impersonations</i> I attempted to give abstraction a specific narrative. In some of the works I added text from various poems I have written over the past several years. The presence of textual language, painted into a field of often vertical strips of vibrant colour, suggested mood and tone. For example -<i> “alone in the half light of my kitchen / i am haunted by dishwater” </i>from my 1990's solo performance piece Salad Days, embodies the simultaneously haunting yet lyrical discontentment felt by the speaker in the performance and intimated by sharp intense oranges streaked with narrow black, pink, turquoise and yellow strips in the painting.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><br /></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #e69138;">for images of the paintings from ABSTRACT IMPERSONATIONS go to;</span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #ffa400; font-size: medium;"><b>https://atelierludmila.com/david-bateman-abstract-impersonations/</b></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #ffa400; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #ffa400; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ2X_cfkcOcmsEKrkjZQoFfKHK5jMhmyZDpgcxtvtSOPvqK3XRiOmHrcPRoQxm3C2bf7Qlk0zY3uBxeg0EkWxGMtGHBY_Jn4a8qrxxesmesvWp0NvU1pYg2MD-4QJYVaNb6Qb1fHPca5Y/s1023/4-2.jpg.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1023" data-original-width="854" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ2X_cfkcOcmsEKrkjZQoFfKHK5jMhmyZDpgcxtvtSOPvqK3XRiOmHrcPRoQxm3C2bf7Qlk0zY3uBxeg0EkWxGMtGHBY_Jn4a8qrxxesmesvWp0NvU1pYg2MD-4QJYVaNb6Qb1fHPca5Y/s320/4-2.jpg.webp" width="267" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: 18pt;">In another painting a similar mood and tone are suggested, through a similar technique, but the absence of text leaves any supposed narrative up to the viewer. Viewing all of the works together in a single exhibit may lend this somewhat conflicted domestic narrative the ability to bleed into other paintings, suggesting an over-arching sense of the seemingly mundane yet haunted kitchen task that only a dishwasher can help to assuage.</span><p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Perhaps not.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0kDCAFIXcX8bd4QHYc8TEyoWtr9NMWtn1h4q4afdc-pYlCKeFv1jwuHDC8ZeN_Jv0v022_JS-X3xnpTdgFenl1hD1pfLDro6BTOUgwET1yqOBfL3vEie8RNeX_cLh04d3MnGK9sq8exo/s2048/IMG_0256.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1479" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0kDCAFIXcX8bd4QHYc8TEyoWtr9NMWtn1h4q4afdc-pYlCKeFv1jwuHDC8ZeN_Jv0v022_JS-X3xnpTdgFenl1hD1pfLDro6BTOUgwET1yqOBfL3vEie8RNeX_cLh04d3MnGK9sq8exo/s320/IMG_0256.jpeg" width="231" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> <br /></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Nevertheless, I am constantly drawn in and out of this play between narration and abstraction, and my current exhibit. <i>In the Headlights </i>continues my quest for meaning and collaboration between words, fields of colour, and images. As i suggested in the artist statement for <i>Abstract Impersonations, </i>any given viewer, any number of viewers, may stand in front of any given abstraction and find a multitude of images within the same space in the same field, like gazing into clouds and finding poodles, snakes, and wind gods blowing cumulus bursts into the stratosphere. The absence of text however opens up the field - the sky - and allows for individual and varied perceptions to roam and to fly.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">As i began the canvasses for the current showing of eleven new paintings and four older pieces I had no idea where I was going, beyond the over-riding urge to apply paint to the canvas in abstract strips of colour using painters tape and acrylic substance. A few years ago an exhibit entitled <i>Just Paint </i>began my pre-occupation with flinging paint around in a sometimes measured, sometimes splatter-like Pollock'esque manner. I just love paint and its ability to be flung into a variety of positions. Pollock on the other hand, I both love and grow tired of his dominant position, like dishwater – perhaps.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Once I finished the mixture of measured splattering and random taping I was feeling discontented, like I do when I wash dishes by hand. It begins as a welcome chore and ends in exhaustion and a sense of necessary yet somewhat hollow achievement. Alas, the existential plight of the unhappy home maker. I am not an especially unhappy homemaker, but there are moments of weariness around my continuing efforts to stay afloat in a sea of murky intention and an increasingly self aware world frightened by its </span><span style="font-size: 18pt;">own reflection and inner workings. I could begin with an exploration of the sustainability of acrylic matter on a floundering planet, but will save that for another artist's statement.</span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Well, that was a bit heavy handed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">So I give you<i> In the Headlights</i>, abstract fields of colour marked, in over half the paintings, by a visual image of a saying I was haunted by for years, and in middle age, before I moved into old age, haunted further by a now deceased loved one who described himself to me as <i>“a courtesan caught in the headlights.”</i> <a href="applewebdata://407CCEE5-15F0-4F11-84C6-0A8E8000C185#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">[1]</span></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGavBp0-lMAt1Lwugc-YLoQpyTJ47ace4YCG6KfeyYkXsSO7CXsyY1mWuprLjguHdXgXXTBSRdLTpdb-K0K9vQVUfVUgS3Pq9gx7VzwPTWzvTMus0gREBRHLQfVZbro-BYLAG1SJ6TJ7g/s2063/243450256_10159045072590379_6184734148178761386_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="2063" height="99" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGavBp0-lMAt1Lwugc-YLoQpyTJ47ace4YCG6KfeyYkXsSO7CXsyY1mWuprLjguHdXgXXTBSRdLTpdb-K0K9vQVUfVUgS3Pq9gx7VzwPTWzvTMus0gREBRHLQfVZbro-BYLAG1SJ6TJ7g/s320/243450256_10159045072590379_6184734148178761386_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; text-align: left;">At his celebration of life in New Orleans three years ago, amongst a bevy of his ex-lovers, all eager to tell stories of his life, with them, I</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; text-align: left;">was tempted to read a very sexual poem about him where the courtesan metaphor appears. But I was uncharacteristically bashful, and ultimately thought better of my brazen disclosure on that very warm, sunny, funereal afternoon in the Faubourg Marigny among tears, laughter, friends, boyfriends, and grieving blood relatives who may not have appreciated the imagery.</span><span style="font-size: 18pt; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18pt; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18pt; text-align: left;">Perhaps they would have loved to hear about his perfectly formed penis and his sex life, with me.</span></div><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span></p></blockquote><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Perhaps not.</span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">But as I finished these paintings I felt discontent again, and wanted something in the middle of those fields of colour to speak to my life, and possibly the lives of others in an open ended, interpretive fashion - like memory and past emotion. For some reason the image of a deer came into my consciousness, and then a few days later, coincidentally, I was watching HBO, and during an episode of the recent series <i>American Rust</i>, there was a scene of a deer caught in the headlights of a vehicle that came to a sudden stop just in time to avoid tragedy. I photographed the screen image and then created a hand drawn replica of the image, constructed a cardboard silhouette, and applied the image to each canvas. And at some point during the process I thought of my beautiful friend, his self-professed courtesan status, and his tragically shortened life, in middle age, in a beautiful home, in a beautiful and conflicted city ravaged by history and weather, graced by art and culture.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span></i></p><p align="center" class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 18pt;">But what of Venice and her people when the kissing had to stop<a href="applewebdata://407CCEE5-15F0-4F11-84C6-0A8E8000C185#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><b><span style="font-size: 18pt;">[2]</span></b></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Currently we all live in a global culture intensely aware of so many troubling issues - being caught in the headlights or our own disarray. In my life gender and sexual identity have been sharply focussed<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">upon in oppressive - gradually moving into liberating - ways of seeing and believing. Various identities in this country, and the ways in which they have been marginalized, even destroyed, and then revisited and regained by degree - revitalized in the midst of a pandemic that brings us all together in conflicted and collaborative - but not always cooperative - ways.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">We are not all in the same boat, as some have tried to argue, but we may all be in the headlights, by degree, in various ways, being asked to examine the positions we have held – and held onto - and continue to hold within this vast abstraction we call a country.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">The metonymic ways in which a single image can attempt to shed light upon...<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Perhaps not.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><table align="left" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="color: black;"><tbody><tr><td height="0" width="82"></td></tr><tr><td></td><td><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br clear="ALL" /><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span></p><div><br clear="all" /><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" /><div id="ftn1"><p class="Footnote" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 14.15pt; text-indent: -14.15pt;"><a href="applewebdata://407CCEE5-15F0-4F11-84C6-0A8E8000C185#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[1]</span></span></span></a>From the poem <i>Stella – Invisible Foreground, David Bateman, Frontenac Press Calgary, 2005</i><o:p></o:p></p></div><div id="ftn2"><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm;"><a href="applewebdata://407CCEE5-15F0-4F11-84C6-0A8E8000C185#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[2]</span></span></span></a><i> Paraphrased wildly from the 14<sup>th</sup> stanza in 'A Toccata at Galuppi's – from Robert Browning's 1855 collection 'Men and Women'<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm;"><i><br /></i></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm;"><i><br /></i></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm;"><i><br /></i></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">__________________________________________________________</span></i></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span></i></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span></i></p></div></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiFhDCq3KWffvlBhfu477YnwpuvmEopCr9mwzyXuulWUj-kinbzX0m2q5_qnT8MPujWjeKPIg4upxAnW1fSl5HRWfH-LKnjS1ek7NWLcRS-eNvzDlj4W3oTuzdzFYSuZ74SFFxwe3IZso/s960/250487646_1576638452676127_5560631306273803933_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="960" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiFhDCq3KWffvlBhfu477YnwpuvmEopCr9mwzyXuulWUj-kinbzX0m2q5_qnT8MPujWjeKPIg4upxAnW1fSl5HRWfH-LKnjS1ek7NWLcRS-eNvzDlj4W3oTuzdzFYSuZ74SFFxwe3IZso/w565-h393/250487646_1576638452676127_5560631306273803933_n.png" width="565" /></a></div><br /><span style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div></div>bettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13290969725890141122noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753554726340173679.post-61536353838007280842021-10-25T11:44:00.004-07:002021-10-27T08:46:15.975-07:00<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHWyrcx6PSyfwIMM6_cyyuiKVYWh05tomBaLChcrH2Oty14IK1Mc0m4rEJDwbld_tKxaV9GRRoB-EwWr3hm0bf8whrFB5Z6EpZ0lkO4g1T28j1lAqlKCPYvKMx2g6h1UjBI2XNLGfwmZs/s1536/little+show+image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1536" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHWyrcx6PSyfwIMM6_cyyuiKVYWh05tomBaLChcrH2Oty14IK1Mc0m4rEJDwbld_tKxaV9GRRoB-EwWr3hm0bf8whrFB5Z6EpZ0lkO4g1T28j1lAqlKCPYvKMx2g6h1UjBI2XNLGfwmZs/w480-h319/little+show+image.png" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span face="Archivo-Regular" style="color: #262626; font-size: 17pt;">Sky Gilbert's current theatre/cabaret offering, at the fabulous Chez BonBon on Queen East, is a rollicking interrogation of our current dilemma regarding the many modes of human behaviour we are treated to, and perhaps mistreated by, during pandemic times. The series of loosely connected scenes, performed by a cast of three gifted performers, tackles not only our current covid pandemic predicament but also the much earlier – and ongoing – social/sexual tragedy of AIDS. Indirectly related issues including addiction and gender identity surface throughout and make for a form of thought-provoking, comical satire that at times evokes degrees of poignant reflection in the hands of a talented ensemble.</span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span face="Archivo-Regular" style="color: #262626; font-size: 17pt;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Archivo-Regular" style="color: #262626; font-size: 17pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZz2AqZvdWTshR2UgVbepV3CIcSKgYNlXYxV9Bf2k9p3PkCrtZz3dfR5IjsGWX6qk5KJa5AJMtX6Vtys-l1YXq9zSL7ICXczhhryvUAi7GRmRe1Qmwi5gfw_HU2MkQGXx84wkX_K2Rtp4/s402/Unknown.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="402" data-original-width="310" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZz2AqZvdWTshR2UgVbepV3CIcSKgYNlXYxV9Bf2k9p3PkCrtZz3dfR5IjsGWX6qk5KJa5AJMtX6Vtys-l1YXq9zSL7ICXczhhryvUAi7GRmRe1Qmwi5gfw_HU2MkQGXx84wkX_K2Rtp4/s320/Unknown.jpeg" width="247" /></a></span></div><span face="Archivo-Regular" style="color: #262626; font-size: 17pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span face="Archivo-Regular" style="color: #262626; font-size: 17pt;">Keith Cole opens the show with an energy packed, highly nuanced rhyming monologue very indirectly based on a much traveled 'camp' song that was revised, sung by Clifton Webb, and used in the 1929 musical sketch revue that inspired Gilbert's version of <i>The Little Show.</i> Gilbert adds a decidedly – yet subtly - more political edge to his take. Originally, the song that inspires the opening monologue, was titled <i>I Love to Lie Awake in Bed (1920's)</i>, with music by Arthur Schwartz and lyrics by Lorenz Hart</span><i><span face="Archivo-Regular" style="color: #262626; font-size: 13pt;"> (a camp song they wrote together as young men when they worked as musical and drama directors in a camp at Brant Lake in the Adirondacks).</span></i><span face="Archivo-Regular" style="color: #262626; font-size: 17pt;"> The original brief ditty has made the rounds, in various versions, through Fred Astaire movie musicals to the Broadway show <i>The Band Wagon,</i> as well as a song sung by Marsha Mason and Kristy McNichol in the film <i>Only When I Laugh</i> in 1982 (originally a play, <i>The Gingerbread Lady</i>, by Neil Simon). In Gilbert's hands, and performed by Keith Cole, the song becomes a lengthy rhythmic, spoken monologue that warns yet revels in the complexities of love and its varied implications, irritations, and delights – both carnal and carnivalesque. In alluring black sequin, spandexy-like tights and a pink glittering jacket Cole enchants with a booming voice and the necessary softer tones that move him through with an essential breakneck pace. He brilliantly sets the stage for indirectly related performance sketches about love lust and some of the profound social issues that become entangled within the over-arching vessels of romance, relationships, and outright riveting disclosures regarding gloriously unbridled sexual appetites.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span face="Archivo-Regular" style="color: #262626; font-size: 17pt;">As a near relation to vaudeville sketches – just over an hour – the overall piece could benefit from more distinct separations between scenes in order to cue the audience on the somewhat disconnected nature/narrative of each sketch – perhaps a decorative vaudeville sketch poster or a silent film text projection. And yet, Stewart Borden's live piano accompaniment provides a powerful cinematic-cum-Broadway-esque pastiche that both weaves and separates the proceedings in a highly effective, lively, and engaging way.</span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span face="Archivo-Regular" style="color: #262626; font-size: 17pt;">At one point Keith Cole joins his cast mates in a memorable intervention into a conversation about varied gender and sexual identity, inserting a brief speech that chronicles the characters movement from gay, to rainbow identified, to princess warrior. This is perhaps the strongest and most scathing moment of identity satire in <i>The Little Show. </i>Superbly handled by Cole, with his signature highs and lows, his skill for combining campiness and realistic dialogue-delivery, the piece becomes both comical and moving as he enters in tears and deftly frolics both fearlessly and fearsomely through a speech that could have lapsed into pointless mockery had the performer not been able to skilfully tap into the simultaneously delicate and powerful gradations individuals experience when they examine and navigate their own personal movement through various forms of being, changing, and evolving in a complicated world – a floundering planet.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxTykdrGwebF_WR4vMMX_FWErkA5kNCKVUUuZM1xwB5LkTSMd4jqdhXIuaWUYXwATDRbS0yBjppsOgiIzdpg5Gqqt_0Lzt5hMstHNiW04Z528DXr_M9rSyr3swrbGJN7AOEeTPoO5B6vA/s1080/thumbnail.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxTykdrGwebF_WR4vMMX_FWErkA5kNCKVUUuZM1xwB5LkTSMd4jqdhXIuaWUYXwATDRbS0yBjppsOgiIzdpg5Gqqt_0Lzt5hMstHNiW04Z528DXr_M9rSyr3swrbGJN7AOEeTPoO5B6vA/s320/thumbnail.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p class="Standard" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: left;"><o:p><span style="color: red; font-family: verdana;"><b><i>l-r - Veronica Hurnik, Sky Gilbert, Shaun McComb, Keith Cole</i></b></span></o:p></p></blockquote><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #262626; font-size: 17pt;">Shaun McComb and Veronica Hurnik match Cole's seemingly effortless and engaging presence. McComb embodies a varied and charming persona in characters that move from a subtly fey vocal and physical aura to a more socially neutral, yet harrowingly seductive journey in a speech about an especially conflicted parental relationship that ends with a dark satiric punch.</span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span face="Archivo-Regular" style="color: #262626; font-size: 17pt;">Hurnik is endlessly engaging to watch as she navigates addiction addled characters who never fail to see how liberal attitudes can cloud the movement from friendship to judgmental response, to women frustrated by the proclivities of lively bi-curious connections that corner her and take up more couch time than the character might have imagined or desired. And her final song, lyrics by Gilbert with original music by Borden, is a lovely and effectively punctuating finale - a subtle nod to the original inspiration where Libby Holman sang the iconic torch song, <i>Moanin' Low </i>near the end of Act One in the original version of <i>The Little Show</i> by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span face="Archivo-Regular" style="color: #262626; font-size: 17pt;">Adding to his large catalogue of theatrical offerings, Sky Gilbert has given us yet another vastly entertaining, beautifully performed, and immensely thought-provoking little show to be entertained, engaged, and politically aroused by.</span><o:p></o:p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span face="Archivo-Regular" style="color: #262626; font-size: 17pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm;"><span face="Archivo-Regular" style="color: #262626; font-size: 17pt;">_____________________________________</span></p></blockquote><p><b><span style="color: red; font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;">and as an added bonus;</span></b> </p><p><span style="color: #f4cccc; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Sky Gilberts latest novel, available at Dundrun Press</span></p><p>https://www.dundurn.com/books_/t22117/a9781459748286-i--gloria-grahame</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioSy6BBzHLD9mvwKAyOVQHDQ_4bvz7EKai2qNPs3bnDhsF8FHqxSaD7gNsOhOClYovcjhozpsOcVIrb25A9szV811Aflp9QBDKd64R-6RVztrN7a3T3RVeMts6IO_WrXyGB1H6MJQdpDs/s425/Unknown-1.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="425" data-original-width="275" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioSy6BBzHLD9mvwKAyOVQHDQ_4bvz7EKai2qNPs3bnDhsF8FHqxSaD7gNsOhOClYovcjhozpsOcVIrb25A9szV811Aflp9QBDKd64R-6RVztrN7a3T3RVeMts6IO_WrXyGB1H6MJQdpDs/s320/Unknown-1.jpeg" width="207" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: "Arial,Bold"; font-size: 12pt;">THE NOVEL: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">Denton Moulton, a shy, effeminate male professor, lives inside his head, where he is really a long-dead movie star: the glamorous Gloria Grahame, from the golden age of Hollywood. Professor Moulton is desperate to reveal </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">Gloria’s shocking secret before he dies. Does he have the right to tell this woman’s story? Who, in fact, has the r</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">ight to </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">tell anyone’s story at all? I </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">Gloria Grahame is a scandalous, humorous novel of taboo desires and repression. Published under the imprint Rare Machines by Dundurn Press.</span></p><div class="page" title="Page 3"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic";">“Brilliant. An im</span><span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic";">portant addition to Two-Spirited </span><span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic";">literature.” </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">- Tomson Highway</span></i></b></span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic";">“A sharp satire of these tremulous times that actually makes one laugh. It’s brave, it’s shocking, it's compelling and best of all, it’s not too long. It’s 'De Profundiis' for the beach.” </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">- Scott Thompson</span></i></b></span></p></div></div></div><p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">Om Sunday October 24th at 5pm Sky Gilbert shared a reading from his new novel. Following the reading attendees were able to buy the book for $22.99.</span> </p>bettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13290969725890141122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753554726340173679.post-49213013137934323472021-10-06T20:26:00.011-07:002021-10-13T23:14:55.175-07:00AS YOU LIKE IT - CLIFF CARDINAL'S RADICAL RETELLING - CROW'S THEATRE September 22nd to October 24th 2021<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix_QDmfv5plxpKjlMbQQbctLph88fP_eAY3KF1BCRT4BRyLs4JVV7ZlC3JkDeCs9FctNA2m-7rDd62W-notnhWr6zAJDr80RaPTimQPZYA9YK4swSefq4HaszCSSikJlIg4fUR-8zTZSs/s600/lt_AYLI_WEB.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="443" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix_QDmfv5plxpKjlMbQQbctLph88fP_eAY3KF1BCRT4BRyLs4JVV7ZlC3JkDeCs9FctNA2m-7rDd62W-notnhWr6zAJDr80RaPTimQPZYA9YK4swSefq4HaszCSSikJlIg4fUR-8zTZSs/w650-h443/lt_AYLI_WEB.jpg" width="650" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S</span></b></div><b><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">AS YOU LIKE IT</span></b><div><b><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">A RADICAL RETELLING BY CLIFF CARDINAL</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><b><i>SEPTEMBER 22ND TO 0CTOBER 24TH </i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><b><i>CROW'S THEATRE</i></b></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>It is not the fashion to see the lady as the epilogue;</i></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>but it is no more unhandsome than to see the lord`</i></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>the prologue... As You Like It (epilogue excerpt)</i></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">When Rosalind delivers her gender commingling epilogue to <i>As You Like It</i>, written by a lesser known playwright (William Shakespeare), she deftly dances through iambic pentameter in an attempt to shed light upon the fluidity of gender, red wine, and men dressed as women kissing bearded men<a class="sdendnoteanc" href="#sdendnote1sym" name="sdendnote1anc" style="font-size: 0.57px;"><sup>i</sup></a> – among other things. When Cliff Cardinal delivers his gender specific 'epilogue' in his radical retelling of <i>As You Like It, </i>amongst an ensemble cast of singular multiplicity and complex diversity, he frames the unofficial finale/epilogue of his 90 minute tour de force with stories about strong, proactive indigenous women, and how they participate and take action within their communities. These stories act as powerful - at times comical - frequently moving reminders that community action can become a defining force within daily struggles to stay afloat in the midst of profoundly troubling social issues.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLrDb7gYES90RuCfYcpOngqNKH079xXlnIV_dUrwlRw7vF1rm6FCQYhdHmmqmCMYhnAs7W45nDwKoefqPxpVgPa6NaVCZRzCaoqFBAT_cKO0XiCxZNhqGrbjXtKqpTskBQr8BAsk-6tHk/s2048/AsYouLikeItCC-photobyDahliaKatz-7341.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1363" data-original-width="2048" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLrDb7gYES90RuCfYcpOngqNKH079xXlnIV_dUrwlRw7vF1rm6FCQYhdHmmqmCMYhnAs7W45nDwKoefqPxpVgPa6NaVCZRzCaoqFBAT_cKO0XiCxZNhqGrbjXtKqpTskBQr8BAsk-6tHk/w501-h259/AsYouLikeItCC-photobyDahliaKatz-7341.jpg" width="501" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p>Like Shakespearean comedy and drama, Cardinal's closing stories about women are being told by a man. But in Shakespeare, of course, the woman played by a man is dressed as a woman. Cardinal wears casual, contemporary Elizabethan-esque-ish attire giving his stage presence a subtle sense of neutral gendered fluidity as far as costume is not concerned.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">*<br /></span><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">If I were a woman, I</i></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>would kiss as many of you as had beards that</i></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>pleased me<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span></i></span></span></span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">- Rosalind, epilogue</i></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Rosalind and Cardinal, in their respective retellings of life lived within unacknowledged sites of bodily, geographic, and national disavowal, give their audiences a double sided look into the nature of urban and rural identities.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Within Cardinal's venture into national/global geographic tragedies that might be considered 'Shakespearean' in their intensity and profound social injustices, there are many moments in this incredibly engaging performance that can be aligned with the city and the forest and all that lies between these inevitably land-based sites. In Shakespeare the city is the royal court and the forest is the forest of Arden. In Cardinal's version the city and the forest is Canada, with familial sojourns into specific locales in the U.S.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Not being able to see the larger picture - the forest for the trees – is a primary problem in Canada when one attempts to discuss the breadth and intricacies of ongoing crimes made against indigenous sites (Canada as a singular/multiple vast indigenous site). We could start with clean water and take it from there. But let's not. Let's stop for a moment and ask, what on earth is this reviewer talking about? He is trying to talk about the history of a country as long as Cliff Cardinal is "good looking." Cardinal says as much about his own physical presence within his take on one of Shakespeare's most popular/attractive comedies.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Like Rosalind, Cardinal is a dual entity – both compassionate and wryly critical - self aware, self assured, quick to make complex, simultaneously comical and thought-provoking over-arching claims, and then skilfully able to unpack them and deconstruct the intricate and complicated histories behind them. His onstage persona is filled with charm, physical prowess, and agility as he navigates tightly conceived, subtle blocking and emotional expression that takes him from centre stage and back again throughout the show.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">After all - the world is a stage, as Jacques so aptly puts it in his famous <i>As You Like It </i>soliloquy, and the men and women merely players. Cardinal - and his deceptive ensemble - is a truly gifted player as he entertains, enlightens, and effectively 'tricks' his audience into believing in the power of theatre as a vehicle for social change, when in fact, as he mentions slyly at the beginning of the show, social change in so many theatre productions is made possible through the support of large oil bearing entities and/or banking institutions – among other funding bodies. Bodies that are not always the friendliest of allies when it comes to claiming and saving the land that is nature's greatest alliance with all of us.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Like Duke Senior in Shakespeare's Act Two, Cardinal </span>“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>finds tongues on trees, books in the running brooks / Sermons in stones / and good in everything” - </i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and yet, within those very same places he finds the corruption and crime that underlies so much of our national history.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #1f2122; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Cardinal's radical retelling of </span></span><span style="color: #1f2122; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>As You Like It</i></span></span><span style="color: #1f2122; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> topples statues, ideologies, apologies, and recent theatre 'prologues' - ultimately exclaiming something along the lines of - 'well, now at least we know how easy they are to tear down.' </span></span><span style="color: #1f2122; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">At one point he describes himself as "not a particularly compassionate person” - and yet he does this in the context of a performance - a radical retelling - that is filled with complicated double-sided forms of compassion that boldly ask us to listen carefully and be aware that everything we hear may not be quite enough - like an epilogue, a prologue, or perhaps even a land ackn`owledgment. We need to stop hearing and seeing in over-simplified ways - as we like it – to consider and to become more attuned to the very complex nature of language, land, and ownership - and to acknowledge our parts within those vast and increasingly compromised stages.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #1f2122; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><div id="sdendnote1"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrbWTZsvlgYPiOQlk5Ck36nb2ePmKmC4Ue7I2ad5Vo2GZC_116sI-b8POEc_iUo3Tgn89KVWm0J9jEpcq0JfmouFl0EG5Mu_XQaLxCDlmn-ExxkXqAa39ZeMNyhq1M4mMCMrzveconqGU/s2048/AsYouLikeItCC-photobyDahliaKatz-7419.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1362" data-original-width="2048" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrbWTZsvlgYPiOQlk5Ck36nb2ePmKmC4Ue7I2ad5Vo2GZC_116sI-b8POEc_iUo3Tgn89KVWm0J9jEpcq0JfmouFl0EG5Mu_XQaLxCDlmn-ExxkXqAa39ZeMNyhq1M4mMCMrzveconqGU/w499-h275/AsYouLikeItCC-photobyDahliaKatz-7419.jpg" width="499" /></a></div><br /><p class="sdendnote" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.5cm; text-indent: -0.5cm;"><span style="color: red; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><b>RUNNING AT CROW'S THEATRE UNTIL OCTOBER 24TH</b></span></div><br /></div>bettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13290969725890141122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753554726340173679.post-48347915811095740722021-07-03T12:14:00.000-07:002021-07-03T12:14:18.899-07:00<p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; margin: 0cm;"><b style="font-size: 11pt;"></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: 11pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFXv_itC_x8ZmZgxOj7KnH-mXZQwJPDdHXp6VzQ48YzlOMLIl_3PwHCpVWFBV1gSGazT0rtKKMeq7kbjFfbL741Z_PReIGAV_EWbOXcGCRq16I34bLof7UcydBNc_of24Hf1LNHi5DKpE/s1200/StarsNeedCountingEbookCover_1200x1200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="800" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFXv_itC_x8ZmZgxOj7KnH-mXZQwJPDdHXp6VzQ48YzlOMLIl_3PwHCpVWFBV1gSGazT0rtKKMeq7kbjFfbL741Z_PReIGAV_EWbOXcGCRq16I34bLof7UcydBNc_of24Hf1LNHi5DKpE/w324-h486/StarsNeedCountingEbookCover_1200x1200.jpg" width="324" /></a></b></div><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">https://www.gordonhillpress.com/products/stars-need-counting</span><p></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Avenir Book";"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">“There is but one truly philosophical problem, and that is suicide.” Albert Camus</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span><i style="font-size: 11pt;">The Myth of Sisyphus</i></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-US"> </span></i></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-US"> </span></i><span lang="EN-US">For those who have attempted suicide and failed, those who have lost someone they have loved because of self-killing, and those who keep their suicidal ideation a secret: there is no greater shame than the one who thinks evil of this. <i>- (Honi Soit qui Mal y pense.)<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p align="center" class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><i><span lang="EN-US"> </span></i></p><p align="center" class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><i><span lang="EN-US">_______________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-US"> </span></i></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">In the epigraphs before the preface to Concetta Principe’s rigorous and brilliantly poetic meditation on suicide, she is careful to set up subtly contrasting sentiments that begin this impressive and thoroughly researched collection of essays, sprinkled heavily with startlingly beautiful segments of poetic prose. This may be a simultaneously difficult and breathtakingly comforting read for anyone who has questioned the complex and horrific death toll that the twentieth century and the first two decades of the twenty first century have amassed. An important read for anyone interested in discovering how one articulate being looks closely at suicide and its myriad implications. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">One particularly haunting segment occurring halfway through the essay entitled <i>Afghanistan Is Not Suicide </i>possesses the signature poetic strains that rise up throughout the collection -<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> As per the soldier</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">’s training, he keeps the facade of marble and hides the depression room at all costs. Makes it so that no one sees Afghanistan as a room inside, projected on the night, porous with dreams. I can imagine this but I don’t understand. I was not deployed; I was never interested in <i>pro patria mori; </i>I was not born a fighter coming of age in a post-9/11 world. Honestly, army life is an enigma, but I can see it is full of the promises of belonging, which everyone wants. It also offers a pretty structured system around honour and shame, so that you know what is right and what is wrong, and you know a mistake when you make it. The soldier is told it is Afghanistan that is the cause, but then is treated as if everything he is suffering is his fault. The gaslighting forces the corporal inwards.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> The fact is, even if I can get inside because I know how these rooms are built, I would not know where to start dismantling the room that the Military</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">’s Afghanistan built around him. <i> </i></span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></i></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> *<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></i></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> There is a closed response to suicide, like a room around the soldier</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">’s room. This outer room, a shield perhaps with some bricks slipping, is the room that surrounds the inner room, as if it is a device for quarantine. The slipping of outdated mortar. This room, it has no doors so they can’t get in and she won’t leak out all over the place. But she keeps her window with which to hear the world. She’s not totally inhuman. And humanity comes in, distorted, through these layers of judgment, thick and sturdy. She doesn’t even know the mortar is crumbling. Even if the outside started tearing down what’s coming apart, they won’t get in. There is nothing she can tell him. <i> [pp 33-34]</i></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Principe dares to move in and out of notions clearly related to suicide, and instances where suicide becomes an indirect yet pivotal global spectre, looming over many cultures in a world hell bent upon destroying itself and its inhabitants via complex socially conceived structures - ranging from war, to commodification, motherhood, anorexia, Sylvia Plath, and “THE BLOOR LINE.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">In the essay entitled CASE STUDY: KATE SPADE a designer silk scarf becomes a vaguely comforting yet frightening signifier within a brief yet harrowing encounter with the news of a celebrity designers suicide by hanging. Including herself in this essay, and elsewhere throughout the collection, the author reveals a simultaneous fear/fearlessness regarding confronting the ghost of suicide that plays a part in so many lives.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">The sheer range of topic and emotion packed into 159 pages may be compared to that cliched roller coaster ride of sentiment we so often feel when someone close to us makes the decision to take their own life. Sentiments including anger, shame, grief, and regret. Principe moves deftly through and beyond the sorrow of the individual, honouring all of the grief and complexities of dealing with the loss of a loved one to self-killing. She provides her reader with a heart-wrenching yet vastly engaging mediation on one of life’s most dire mythologies, or as Camus says in the epigraph - the “one truly philosophical problem.” A difficult read for some perhaps, but a must read for anyone interested in attempting to understand how suicide is a deeply complicated mechanism built into living. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">She closes with a beautiful and lightly hopeful paragraph, relating to parts of her own subject position as woman and mother, indirectly citing the collections title in her final words -<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">… At school he learns to count to one hundred, then he is bringing home stars for excellence in math, for his spelling.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> Slowly the grinding in me fades and I start to hear things. A cardinal, twittering and trilling. The whining of my sweet feral cat to be let out. The cackle of squirrels. My love, back from school, running in the door. [p159]<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">‘Cackle, twitter, trill, whining, sweetness, feral…My love…running in the door.’ <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt;">A cacophony of life’s joy and heartbreak, as it begins and ends, as it counts each star.</span> </p>bettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13290969725890141122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753554726340173679.post-71888750310663385272021-03-10T08:27:00.009-08:002021-03-12T07:39:49.620-08:00<p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmJrTpkAU1u9Bj7JLa47L09JipW9VdYdQ3rHrvXb5hxI7V0Ohf3vS9EMSimlPqKrxt3fmesA-4pmuxVqpmcpNsAavr2UIIxUt9JfbznWX600L5tOszZYI-FT4pv-nOYKjDB39XN6Yhlxg/s600/The-Pleasures-of-this-Planet-Arent-Enough-COVER-Mock-up-400x0.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="400" height="616" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmJrTpkAU1u9Bj7JLa47L09JipW9VdYdQ3rHrvXb5hxI7V0Ohf3vS9EMSimlPqKrxt3fmesA-4pmuxVqpmcpNsAavr2UIIxUt9JfbznWX600L5tOszZYI-FT4pv-nOYKjDB39XN6Yhlxg/w509-h616/The-Pleasures-of-this-Planet-Arent-Enough-COVER-Mock-up-400x0.jpg" width="509" /></a></span></i></div><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;">in your bleak, times of trouble, &</span></span></i><p></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">the uncertain Years to,</span></i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">Come,</span></i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">My two skeletal, well lotioned</span></i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>hands,</span></i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">Could be the ones,</span></i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">That free your famished tiger, from its</span></i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">Bird…..cage</span></i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">& Hoist in</span></i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">Your Wayward</span></i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">direction, the stark, White -</span></i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">un-onion skinning light,</span></i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>of….</span></i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">The Black, Lactating</span></i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sun.</span></i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="color: #ea9999; font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #ea9999; font-size: medium;">from the poem 'Olga' - Stedmond’ Pardy’s </span></i></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #ea9999; font-size: medium;">The Pleasures Of This Planet Aren’t Enough</span></i></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #ea9999; font-size: medium;">Mosaic Press, forthcoming, July 2021 (official release)</span></i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the final stanza of <i>Olga</i>, Stedmond Pardy brings together a romantic declaration of unbridled adoration and a general missive for these wearying times. His uncut declaration of a vivid gaze spent upon a <i> “Criminally Un-venerated girl”</i> creates a capsule of thematic suggestive versification running through the collection, in parts surreal observation of a city and a planet gone terribly ‘wrong,’ and an unabashed caring for and loving toward the bodies he encounters in urban, semi-dreamscapes - poetic sites that poet Dane Swan has called a debut collection by a writer “As heavily influenced by surrealism as he is the Beat Generation . . . full of awes, beauty, wonder, darkness, despair and much more."</span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;">Pardy’s romantic declarations take on a beautifully skewed heteronormative tone, making inroads into a more marginalized gaze when he speaks, through simile, of ‘Olga’ </span><i style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">“Being like a refugee in the brutal cold, in urgent need of, winter…..clothes/or a Transgender/boy Forced to wrestle…” </i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">A form of </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;">queer normative</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;">gazing</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> refracts </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;">through</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> urban corporeal views as the observer </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;">revels</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> in and describes, with </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;">elegantly</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> crafted abandon, the bodies that move him.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A gorgeous tension between landscapes, both human and geographic, changing with time and torrent, exists throughout the collection, becoming, simultaneously, a staccato, fluid, rhythmic and seamless series of poems that meander energetically in and out of each new title, subtly linking and dividing them as the writer speaks candidly of his impressions.</span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And the titles stand alone as enticing invitations into this intimate mindset, ranging from the present nostalgia of <i>A free jazz poem for Joan Baez</i> and <i>Ode to Liza Minelli, </i>to “<i>The Script for Taxi Driver scared the shit out of Everybody”</i> and <i>A Fragment of a Long poem written whilst walking down Yonge Street.</i></span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What begin as engaging icons, in their titular presence (Baez & Minelli), become journey poems far away from the subject of initial desire, and into a kind of free associative map of specific moments in specific times.</span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">Ah, I can clearly remember The</span></i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">The Nebulous Vistas of our lunar earth!</span></i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">Us</span></i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">Self exiling Ourselves along the</span></i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">Seashores of that OTHER <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>World,</span></i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">David Bowie & Nine Inch Nails Touring,</span></i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">Together in 1995,</span></i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">The St, John, St. Vitus Mania,</span></i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">of 1518,</span></i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">You dating Steve Jobs? & Bob Dylan,</span></i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">& you locking arms with Me,</span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">After</span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">Your <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>performance, at Roy Thomson </span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">HALL.</span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="color: #cc0000; white-space: pre;"> </span><i><span style="color: #ea9999;">A free jazz poem for Joan Baez</span></i></span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Evocative, beautifully broken line breaks, capital letters in a sea of free verse and jazz-like meditations, blank spaces elegantly littered throughout, suggesting breathlessness and pause, saturate the pages of this collection with a literary performance heralded as a potentially “landmark” moment "in Canadian literature.”<i> (Dane Swan, back cover)</i></span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In some ways these are Toronto poems that speak to a global audience from the perspective of a writer whose life has been profoundly affected by the physical changes of a city he has spent much of his life in (e.g. Yonge Street). And then the time, intimated in his work, when his global visitation was about to expand, and the next pandemic arrived, and everything changed, except for the poet's passion for putting words to paper and giving them a vivid, rich, and startling life of their own.</span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">____________________________</span></i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="color: #fb0007; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><b><i>EARLY ACCESS</i></b></span></p>
<p style="color: #fb0007; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><b><i>30% Off Till Official Release Date!</i></b></span></p>
<p style="color: #434343; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="color: #434343; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">“The joy of publishing is discovering a totally original and new voice…here in Stedmond Pardy we have found ONE!”</span></p>
<p style="color: #434343; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="color: #434343; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">“This first collection of poems by <b>Stedmond Pardy</b> has the potential to become a landmark in Canadian literature – to encourage you to become lost inside a painting. No street is just a street, no addict, an addict with Pardy.Reading Stedmond Pardy’s jazz-infused poetry is to be pulled into a different world, whether you wish to be there, or not. As heavily influenced by surrealism as he is by the Beat Generation, the worlds Pardy creates can be full of awes, beauty, wonder, darkness, despair and much more. Pardy the poet is willing to take risks, beyond vacuous, redundant mimicry; Pardy dares to swim in the deep end of the pool.”</span></p>
<p style="color: #434343; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">Dane Swan, author of A Mingus Lullaby, 2017 Trillium Book Award for Poetry Finalist.</span></p>
<p style="color: #434343; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="color: #434343; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">“<b>Stedmond Pardy’s</b> is a barbaric voice. No mere versifier, his lines and cadences come from deep in his body where the imagination lives. A walk down Younge Street becomes an Daliesque voyage, the poem’s imagery conjured from an inner world where beached whales coexist with Joan Baez, the Pyntian Oracle at Delphi and the corrupted premier of Italy. A psychedelic rant, Pardy’s poetry is also the utterance of a well-informed, streetwise, passionate voice, prophesying doom and hoping for peace in long, lyric lines that sing. “</span></p>
<p style="color: #434343; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">Stanely Fefferman, author of Heart of all Music & Home was Elsewhere.</span></p>
<p style="color: #434343; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="color: #434343; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><b>Stedmond Pardy</b> is a self educated, Left handed Poet of Mixed Ancestry ( Newfoundland & St. Kitts/Nevis ). Originally from the Lakeshore, Mimico area & now residing…Dionysus knows Where?…He got into the literary scene AFTER THE Mysterious music Reviewer the Lonely Vagabond got hold of some of his work, & Hooked him up with The late great poet & Host of the radio show “Howl on 89.5 CIUT”. Since then He has performed his work Around the Greater Toronto Area & has appeared on stages In Montreal & Washington state. The Quotes “An artist is an instrument through which the Universe reveals itself” & “Word poetry Is for every man, but soul poetry alas, Is not Heavily distributed” Are the words he tries To live by.</span></p>bettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13290969725890141122noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753554726340173679.post-44138145710782352792021-02-17T08:39:00.007-08:002021-02-18T17:53:11.670-08:00<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"></p><br /><strong><br /></strong><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><strong><br /></strong></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><strong><br /></strong></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><strong><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></strong></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><strong><i><span style="font-size: large;">presents</span></i></strong></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><strong><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></strong></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><strong>THE WORLD PREMIERE OF THE INTERNATIONAL THEATRE INITIATIVE </strong></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"> </p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 24px;"><strong>SOLICITING PROPHECY</strong></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioyGL-hmW9x7qFK_1lPMNs1AaVn7wdvVPLwsjIUROLG6JXMeU_bc1tV4m3poaOMB-VJSbJ4Xc3HhncCNvxLICNq64Pr_p5AS5iR7JNzMz9ztZNLf240RPR3XeO3IbcHFeoqaEZCs-AQ7c/s1800/486c56a8-b414-44a0-80f9-60a4f4021ffd.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="1800" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioyGL-hmW9x7qFK_1lPMNs1AaVn7wdvVPLwsjIUROLG6JXMeU_bc1tV4m3poaOMB-VJSbJ4Xc3HhncCNvxLICNq64Pr_p5AS5iR7JNzMz9ztZNLf240RPR3XeO3IbcHFeoqaEZCs-AQ7c/w683-h332/486c56a8-b414-44a0-80f9-60a4f4021ffd.jpg" width="683" /></a></div><br /><strong>AN ARTISTIC RESPONSE TO COVID 19</strong><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"> </p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><strong>LAUNCHED ONLINE VIA SCAPEGOATCARNIVALE.COM </strong></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><strong>FEBRUARY 15, 2020 AT 8PM </strong></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"> </p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><strong>WRITTEN BY ALEXIS DIAMOND, MARY JANE GIBSON, GITANJALI JAIN,<br />JULIE TAMIKO MANNING, ALEXANDER NEMSER, OMARI NEWTON, AND CONOR WYLIE</strong></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><strong>CONCEPTION AND DRAMATURGY: ALISON DARCY AND JOSEPH SHRAGGE</strong></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: red;"><b><br /></b></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><b><b>_____________________________________________</b></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><b><b><br /></b></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3RGej3rqb7Ya-K_YHA0HlA1KNlf_YOiC3L_XI2WixjjVj9ELWIxj1R4QxZy3ilMwqm-LtOK5m9FX0Hauju-lT_hn0voq7IIg38MCdC9lejE-6qUQ-Skd4hnsY2McgzInq_ZsVGjpWgvg/s1500/0f6422_b0af99f384424e83ad0b2fccfe2afb61%257Emv2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="910" height="552" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3RGej3rqb7Ya-K_YHA0HlA1KNlf_YOiC3L_XI2WixjjVj9ELWIxj1R4QxZy3ilMwqm-LtOK5m9FX0Hauju-lT_hn0voq7IIg38MCdC9lejE-6qUQ-Skd4hnsY2McgzInq_ZsVGjpWgvg/w411-h552/0f6422_b0af99f384424e83ad0b2fccfe2afb61%257Emv2.png" width="411" /></a></b></span></div><span style="color: red;"><b><strong style="color: #202020; text-align: left;">SCAPEGOAT CARNIVALE </strong><span style="color: #202020; text-align: left;">is proud to present its new international digital commissioning initiative in response to Covid 19,</span><span style="color: #202020; text-align: left;"> </span><strong style="color: #202020; text-align: left;">SOLICITING PROPHECY,</strong><span style="color: #202020; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: #202020; text-align: left;">being launched online February 15, 2021</span><em style="color: #202020; text-align: left;">. </em></b></span></div><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOcUTtmgnwmjpmcOT7uz23njM68y9c1adNbzoddu-tbZM7qS8LZM74Knst9q3izj0X-Tn56yQV0ftSCG4OOPoSmXzA1DuFJ8lcZp-YJr0VLJvMjhRp2RgCnar83MHYzS2rSlHrSmDB3OQ/s1294/08efacd1-3a3f-42ab-8aa5-3349a816c675.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1294" data-original-width="1000" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOcUTtmgnwmjpmcOT7uz23njM68y9c1adNbzoddu-tbZM7qS8LZM74Knst9q3izj0X-Tn56yQV0ftSCG4OOPoSmXzA1DuFJ8lcZp-YJr0VLJvMjhRp2RgCnar83MHYzS2rSlHrSmDB3OQ/w413-h490/08efacd1-3a3f-42ab-8aa5-3349a816c675.jpg" width="413" /></a></div><span face=""open sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #212121; caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: white; font-size: 14.625px;">The artists of </span><span face=""open sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #212121; border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: white; font-size: 14.625px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Soliciting Prophecy. </span><span face=""open sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #212121; caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: white; font-size: 14.625px;">Clockwise from top left, ending in centre: A.Diamond, O.Newton, J.T. Manning, MJ Gibson, Conor Wylie, A. Darcy, J. Shragge, G. Jain, A. Nemser.</span><br /><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">Scapegoat Carnivale's current production of <i>Soliciting Prophesy </i>is a magical attempt to bring audiences back to the theatre before theatre doors can open again. Although much closer to video art and animation at times, with successful forays into outdoor solo monologues, and an online intimate and intensely powerful, claustrophobic encounter, this varied collection of short performance pieces provide engaging and thought provoking looks at a variety of ways of perceiving potential doom and destruction.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">High points include a conflicted, animated conversation between fraternal twins as they await the end of the world. An animated cityscape through a condo window gradually reveals, through image and dialogue, an oncoming threat to the planet's existence and the very fraught relationship between siblings.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">More childlike, magical animation occurs in the underwater drawings that create the beautiful and hauntingly melodic setting and narrative for "Prophette." (see illustration below)</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">Perhaps the closest example of live theatrical performance comes in the form of a layered and engaging piece from Alexander Nemser as an outdoor setting provides an expansive space for the well managed, subtly acted, and engaging storytelling narrative. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_2yzdh7QvwDx8VOawE_sEz7h0PzUWLi5QNH9Mkc1rBwBMafFRUZvt80iuwxRgW-noY6iLLy_S3udYmQKQzPUxSOxDSvW_lfkD0vsi_wZS5IKTGLfqXTfjPvxlQuzMdwvRmZ_JAdKjKEk/s1080/142559384_3659359330844295_684494132154414791_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="431" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_2yzdh7QvwDx8VOawE_sEz7h0PzUWLi5QNH9Mkc1rBwBMafFRUZvt80iuwxRgW-noY6iLLy_S3udYmQKQzPUxSOxDSvW_lfkD0vsi_wZS5IKTGLfqXTfjPvxlQuzMdwvRmZ_JAdKjKEk/w430-h431/142559384_3659359330844295_684494132154414791_o.jpg" width="430" /></a></div><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); font-size: 15px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>"Prophette" by Gitanjali Jain </b></span></div></span><i><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5);">Lula, a young girl, descended from whales, learns from her ancestors that she must play a role in altering the course of our climate crisis, as well as revive the well-being of whales on the planet. This hand-drawn, ethereal animation features real whale-songs as a central part of the soundtrack.</span><br /></span></i><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUBGZrx99zC1oNOEHPxp_YXftmvx1ymHm_uenzO0yZNtzLhuP2qWQOX7cqUBhIzfWsDcmxxFIMY6skSECbQPm3XY7FotEHHG9KcfjHQTm4PCjUXL3PM5db69tmcMK1BBECuCCa2JuM6IQ/s1800/486c56a8-b414-44a0-80f9-60a4f4021ffd.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="1800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUBGZrx99zC1oNOEHPxp_YXftmvx1ymHm_uenzO0yZNtzLhuP2qWQOX7cqUBhIzfWsDcmxxFIMY6skSECbQPm3XY7FotEHHG9KcfjHQTm4PCjUXL3PM5db69tmcMK1BBECuCCa2JuM6IQ/s320/486c56a8-b414-44a0-80f9-60a4f4021ffd.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></div><b><br /><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><br /></span></b><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">__________________________________</span></b></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">Faced with the repeated closures of Canadian and American theatres, Scapegoat Carnivale co-artistic directors <strong>Alison Darcy</strong> and <strong>Joseph Shragge</strong>solicited prophetic predictions from fellow artists in Montreal, Vancouver, Mexico City and Los Angeles. This new collaboration evolved into an online think tank/writer’s room with the aim of creating a series of contemporary responses as digital performance pieces on the theme of Prophecy. <br /> </p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">After a month of discussions ranging from Greta Thunberg, to treating trauma with psychotropic drugs, to utopian visions, and brushes with mortality, each artist produced a digital work reflecting their own interests and lines of inquiry. <br /> </p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">In these videos, which range in form and sensibility, prophets appear as nonhumans, children, botanica workers, non-believers, and stand-up comedians. The pieces include biblical and ancient Greek re-imaginings (Samuel, Kassandra), animation, direct address and Minecraft inspired creations. </p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong>SOLICITING PROPHECY SERIES:</strong></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /><strong>Alexis Diamond (Montreal, QC) </strong>: <strong><em>First Flush of a Gleaming New Age</em> </strong><br />In a near post-pandemic future, Myriam follows the signs revealed to her in a dream to fulfill the prophecy of the Great Flush.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /><strong>Mary Jane Gibson (Los Angeles, CA)</strong>:<strong><em> </em></strong><strong><em>Primordial Prophecy</em></strong><br />A dying woman seeking to find what awaits her on the other side pulls open an ancient door to another psychedelic dimension.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /><strong>Gitanjali Jain (Mexico City, MX)</strong>: <strong><em>Prophette</em></strong><br />Lula, a young girl, descended from whales, learns from her ancestors that she must play a role in altering the course of our climate crisis, as well as revive the well-being of whales on the planet. This hand-drawn, ethereal animation features real whale-songs as a central part of the soundtrack.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /><strong>Julie Tamiko Manning (Montreal, QC)</strong>: <strong><em>Whoever put me up here, you just wait ‘til I get down!</em></strong><br />A woman gets off of her pedestal.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /><strong>Alexander Nemser (Los Angeles, CA) </strong>: <strong><em>God's Eyebrows</em></strong><br />A retelling of the Bible story of King Saul and the Witch of Endor. Picture Larry David as a Trumpian King Lear who visits an illegal healer on the eve of his unraveling.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /><strong>Omari Newton (Vancouver, BC):</strong> <strong><em>You Know, You're Right...</em></strong><br />On the last day on earth, fraternal twins debate what awaits them on 'the Other Side'. The tension between the diametrically opposed lifestyles of these loving, but divided siblings, and how they choose to spend their last living moments, makes for an evening fraught with anxiety. </p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /><strong>Conor Wylie (Vancouver, BC): <em>Dimension in the Clouds</em></strong><br />The planets align, the bridge appears, and a brave child steps across to tell us what’s on the other side. Created and animated by a kid and a kid-at-heart.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"><br />The ancillary project <em>Pocket Prophecies </em>will feature short text prophecies, ruminations, and anecdotes, by writers from here and abroad including Claire Jenkins (Melbourne, AUS), Michael Mackenzie (Montreal, QC), Thami aka Mbongo (Johannesburg, SA), Earl Mentor (Cape Town, SA), Johanna Nutter (Montreal, QC), Rebecca Singh (Toronto, ON) and Anders Yates (Toronto, ON).</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjzV5_MqNTD1I29Sp6sM89zLo4iwXgXQeduRJFj5fPVcsJGPwLulZvAtT4VT7cfig5h_Ht01DI5aFl9BV3V_MYeBHQ9YGchyAZxkSQ0rot-Egu8LmnwcolB0zxutPd9AMZldLZaFiU4gI/s960/141007364_3647947915318770_3634015580772860338_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjzV5_MqNTD1I29Sp6sM89zLo4iwXgXQeduRJFj5fPVcsJGPwLulZvAtT4VT7cfig5h_Ht01DI5aFl9BV3V_MYeBHQ9YGchyAZxkSQ0rot-Egu8LmnwcolB0zxutPd9AMZldLZaFiU4gI/w639-h348/141007364_3647947915318770_3634015580772860338_n.jpg" width="639" /></a></div><br /><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">After two years of winning the Montreal META award for Best Independent Production (<em>Sapientia </em>2018, <em>Yev </em>2019) Scapegoat Carnivale was described by Montreal Gazette theatre critic Jim Burke as, “one of Montreal’s most original and enjoyably eccentric companies.” Founded in 2006, Scapegoat’s mandate is to produce theatre reflecting the diverse talents and extraordinary creativity of the Montreal artistic community. Their aesthetic interest is in the carnivalesque, and the highly theatrical. Whether producing new works or adaptations from the classical repertoire, they strive for theatre to be an unruly, visceral and authentic shared experience.</p><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />bettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13290969725890141122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753554726340173679.post-74280714145950942892021-02-07T20:39:00.004-08:002021-02-07T20:46:10.039-08:00<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">ORESTES</span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: medium;"> </span></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJmJfXo00cCGCsv_jP26lRyi87KaHUFnRPgB1VIcOuPIaNoaBbWJvZIAPCdC33PoYJHQ8bgpVApA1slGddUWO6VkfWKyZHwbeVMG8qyO2hwIkfit_zr_cf3BzIeHL_h209EN5hYmagt6M/s1024/Richard-Clarkin-and-a-cast-of-thousands-in-Orestes-Tarragon-Theatre-2021-1024x600.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1024" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJmJfXo00cCGCsv_jP26lRyi87KaHUFnRPgB1VIcOuPIaNoaBbWJvZIAPCdC33PoYJHQ8bgpVApA1slGddUWO6VkfWKyZHwbeVMG8qyO2hwIkfit_zr_cf3BzIeHL_h209EN5hYmagt6M/w697-h340/Richard-Clarkin-and-a-cast-of-thousands-in-Orestes-Tarragon-Theatre-2021-1024x600.jpg" width="697" /></a></div><br /><b> <span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: large;">playwright’s note</span></b><p></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">I demand so much of my screen. Sex, news, love, conversation, shopping. I’m addicted to my phone. And through the attention I lavish on it, a new someone emerges online, at least as real as the embodied me. Me and not me. A kind of ghost that shadows me, demands things of me, even on the bus or in the grocery store. I/not I takes form in the still-forming space of online, a space of whispers and shouts, intimate and vast at the same time. A spiritual space.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: medium;">In the original Orestes, there is a presence that stalks the shadows and emerges as Apollo at the end. Some demonic, god-like hybrid. I feel the same way about the internet. The perfect place for Greek tragedy.</span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: medium;">The rules kept changing as we put this together. I am so grateful that I got to gather (virtually) with the talented people who made this show. Working without any sort of net. None of us knew what we were saying “yes” to. When COVID took our spaces away, we made a space in here.</span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: medium;">Rick Roberts - Jan 2021</span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Powered by LIVELAB, the Tarragon online production of Orestes, adapted by Rick Roberts, is a vastly entertaining, engaging, and terrifying exercise in just about everything we are surrounded by in this day and age. A day and age apparently not so unlike so many bygone days and ages, as old as Greek tragedy and as debauched and humorous as Greek comedy. </span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A stellar cast take the stage, or rather, their very separate performing spaces transmitted through cyberspace, and they manage to pull of an amazing array of emotion and interaction over the course of a ninety minute tale of sex, lies, and messy dates with hubris, material wealth, and looking good in a bad situation.</span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Early on lists of high end products from clothing to everything capitliast, excessive, commodified and vainglorious, peppers the speeches of various characters - within which Roberts finds a rhythmic admixture of poetic and daily usage dialogue that never ceases to impress throughout.</span><span> </span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj01b9y1G6JIRfIJRG_f7-856EWjuhzrhtkwUiF75vbTSWvxpH3PhtiTACvLsrmxoEYsbmunU9zKTTX0HW6pVyTlkjuOpNTvJ2fbCd99zPOmEatrvFM3Is8_coUqTDsBAsLuzLKeJ0blOU/s1024/Gabriella-Sundar-Singh-in-Orestes-Tarragon-Theatre-2021-1024x589.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="589" data-original-width="1024" height="339" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj01b9y1G6JIRfIJRG_f7-856EWjuhzrhtkwUiF75vbTSWvxpH3PhtiTACvLsrmxoEYsbmunU9zKTTX0HW6pVyTlkjuOpNTvJ2fbCd99zPOmEatrvFM3Is8_coUqTDsBAsLuzLKeJ0blOU/w572-h339/Gabriella-Sundar-Singh-in-Orestes-Tarragon-Theatre-2021-1024x589.jpg" width="572" /></a></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span>When lengthy monologues move toward a booming finale, in the hands of actors as adept as David Fox, Cliff Cardinal, and Richard Clarkin, Robert’s reaches a peak of playwriting skill that sharply reveals a cultural awareness allowing opposing viewpoints to possess equal weight. These hefty and convincing speeches live within a complex and corrupted world where inter-generational warfare has the aged blaming youth for their millennial traits and youth blaming the aged for carelessly abusing a planet and its inhabitants within a bludgeoned environment </span><span>where constant, ever-increasing fear is the only emotion available. Thus a dramaturgical online sensibility that speaks of everything and nothing in a single breath. Notihng coming of nothing in the midst of it all. Lear-like, apocalyptic, and wildly entertaining.</span></span><p></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The entire ensemble excels, with Lisa Ryder as a glamorous somewhat bewildered Helen and Krystin Pellerin as a more ‘down to earth’ yet equally intense and captivating Electra. Cues are picked up seamlessly in this distanced theatre setting, creating an action-packed, breakneck tale. What could have been static boxes of histrionic self-satisfaction becomes a textured array of ensemble acting - supported beautifully by costume, sound, and set designers working within a whole new realm of theatre expertise and innovation.</span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg85cNpotgCXOj81Y848n-H6EMlROvYq-WcBdwRDqoUEfl82AUW-e2aSqSwFgZUCKvo8gRwIpp3uzpRRJhcgPCM7KFi5HAO1lsoLFW00Xeh8YFS26iD5rZlqwjbZQ-9mfFt98DEygoha90/s1024/Krystin-Pellerin-in-Orestes-Tarragon-Theatre-2021-1024x608.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1024" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg85cNpotgCXOj81Y848n-H6EMlROvYq-WcBdwRDqoUEfl82AUW-e2aSqSwFgZUCKvo8gRwIpp3uzpRRJhcgPCM7KFi5HAO1lsoLFW00Xeh8YFS26iD5rZlqwjbZQ-9mfFt98DEygoha90/w475-h288/Krystin-Pellerin-in-Orestes-Tarragon-Theatre-2021-1024x608.jpg" width="475" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue; font-size: medium;">Cliff Cardinal in the tile role creates a youthful, manic flow as his speech patterns sound alarmingly and appropriately like someone speaking in their influencer, branding, online dialect. His captivity is well caught in a simultaneously open yet claustrophobic 'cell' that ultimately becomes a screen for faces watching him - giving the production a high tech feel that could easily work onstage. Not so unlike techniques used by artists such as Robert Lepage, among others, this production holds the promise of a lush form of online theatre that borrows and utiliizes techniques we were already beginning to see in live theatre in recent decades. A live version with onstage actors in front of screens would create another layer of this already multi-layered yet, by necessity, one dimensional viewing space. Finding depth in a single dimension, director Richard Rose has orchestrated a rich array of sight and sound.</span><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue; font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;">A highlight of the show is a speech near the end where theatre veteran David Fox displays his typically eloquent and impeccable way of delivering a moving monologue, not so unlike the Lear he mastered at Theatre Passe Muraille not so long ago. An angry older despot making strong, seemingly articulate points through a textured yet narrow misidentifying gaze where he sees all the faults of one generation and misses the faults of his own, only to be lambasted by the impetuous yet spot-on declaration of the young, angry, and equally as articulate Orestes.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiod9aVPsqgh6DMFlUGrdfUVaTAtYnTgwMHDDrDT9a7vkyfdsqpdyw4evlPywm4TrzsPTJ1_50QdxAc4S613YAXaLwAaHI7hGdOMyXW2nRtiEmWbHdwl6SkHOA3YsI4DHj9mbBQgjaucNI/s1024/Tarragon_Theatre_Orestes-1024x536.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="536" data-original-width="1024" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiod9aVPsqgh6DMFlUGrdfUVaTAtYnTgwMHDDrDT9a7vkyfdsqpdyw4evlPywm4TrzsPTJ1_50QdxAc4S613YAXaLwAaHI7hGdOMyXW2nRtiEmWbHdwl6SkHOA3YsI4DHj9mbBQgjaucNI/w467-h225/Tarragon_Theatre_Orestes-1024x536.jpg" width="467" /></a></div><p></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Orestes, a tale for the ages, and the extremely altered stages of current theatre - is well worth seeing for the sheer skill of a production team that confronts the challenges of being 'live' in a pandemic and succeeding with immense power and the flawed tragic grace of characters more than half in love with themselves.</span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b>ORESTES</b> by Rick Roberts (Tarragon). Live-streaming at <a href="https://tickets.tarragontheatre.com/TheatreManager/1/tmEvent/tmEvent676.html"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">tarragon.com</span></a> through February 14, Wednesday-Saturday 8 pm, Wednesday 10 am, Thursday 1:30 pm, Sunday 2:30 pm. $15-$20. </span></span></p></div>bettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13290969725890141122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753554726340173679.post-72064243332000145412021-01-19T13:44:00.007-08:002021-01-19T15:47:53.722-08:00review of Steve Keil's 'Vanishing Fair'<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd0TAoHpTRBbCiyAi7hEfYBTHjj7f5n0gNOUzVFVpx3NWzHKlSBXfj570Dg7I0Ozo3zEILC1bbunXxvLpWaRk2DeNZ5bdEtumVuMtspatPdjW3fneTUrimNo5X5CU2TjkVhjH9q5adW9Y/s240/139977324_439074647242892_1802135489316027381_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="152" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd0TAoHpTRBbCiyAi7hEfYBTHjj7f5n0gNOUzVFVpx3NWzHKlSBXfj570Dg7I0Ozo3zEILC1bbunXxvLpWaRk2DeNZ5bdEtumVuMtspatPdjW3fneTUrimNo5X5CU2TjkVhjH9q5adW9Y/w365-h450/139977324_439074647242892_1802135489316027381_n.jpg" width="365" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p><i style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #073763; font-size: medium;"><b>"a collection of ruminations on the ruins of the last year and a half, so you can imagine how cheery it is. If misery loves company, you've come to the right place."</b></span></i></p><p><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><span style="color: #073763; font-size: medium;"><b>- Steve Keil on his eighth collection of poetry 'Vanishing Fair'</b></span></i><span style="color: #050505; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><span style="color: #073763;"><br /></span></i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><span style="color: #073763;">________________________________________________________</span></i></span></p><p><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><span style="color: #050505;"><br /></span></i></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; line-height: 25pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: trebuchet;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: x-large;">the binomial observer </span></i></b></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; line-height: 25pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: trebuchet;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></i></b></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; line-height: 25pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: trebuchet;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: x-large;">a review of Steve Keil’s Vanishing Fair</span></i><i style="font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 25pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><b style="color: #20124d; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 12pt;"> </b></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; line-height: 25pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Steve Keil’s recent book of poetry, <i>Vanishing Fair, </i>is a bold and unwavering examination of self doubt, self-critique, and an ever-observant eye for the quotidian effect of simultaneously subtle yet searing annoyance - annoyance emanating from the minds and mouths of what Keil somewhat bitterly describes in an early poem as “human interaction." </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; line-height: 25pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span lang="EN-US"> I use the word quotidian in order to - perhaps pompously - blithely draw attention to the infrequent yet remarkable peppering of a not so everyday word, among others, scattered throughout the 148 page collection. As seen, early on in </span><i><span lang="EN-US">A home that’s far from it - </span></i><span lang="EN-US">the poem sets the tone for a stark commingling of longing for and dismissal of the domestic trappings of fulsome relationships within a queer context. Line seven sports the lilting rhythms of the word <i>binomial, </i>a startlingly satisfying collection of syllables that marks the poem with a fine conscious rhythm.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Todd Haynes would have a field day / In this multi-acred plot / Of suburban New Jersey / </span></i><i><span lang="EN-US">Where countless down low lovers / Are looking to be experienced / I</span></i><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><i><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>’</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US">ve already had too many to count / Knocking on my binomial door / But, I</span></i><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><i><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>’</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US">m sorry / With all respect / I am not here to teach </span></i><i><span lang="EN-US">/ Remedial homosexuality / I have more than enough problems / </span></i><i><span lang="DA">At hand</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US"> / Without courting new ones / That could end in vengeance / Or a rope around the neck / So, I will let that parade /Pass me by /Along with all the others / Content to be on the side / For now / And take a much-needed respite / From human / If that</span></i><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><i><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>’</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US">s what you want to call it / Interaction </span></i><i><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US">A home that</span></i><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><i><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>’</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US">s far from it, p5</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span lang="EN-US">“Remedial homosexuality” follows “binomial’ a few lines later, comically intimating a kind of sexualized distribution with two possible outcomes (thus binomial), lending the poem a fine sense of the clinical, frequently impersonal, ways in which actual emotion attempts to insert itself, at times awkwardly, into our lives - casually, carnally, and maddeningly comic. The prefix bi, as part of a relatively uncommon word, allows for the hint of unnamed titillation, infusing the poem with the mystery of language, emotion, and sexuality that Keil interrogates throughout. </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span lang="EN-US"> Binomial appears again on page 14 in the title of an equally satisfying and sexually discontented poem through the use of a finely tuned title that casts off intimate physicality in search of a warmer connection - reprising the idea of human interaction that occurs in the first </span><span lang="EN-US">‘binomial’ poem. The following section displays the mixture of emotional longing and considered dismissal that lingers throughout the pages of <i>Vanishing Fair</i>.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US">So many lead with their jawline / Instead of their heart / And that</span></i><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><i><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>’</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US">s the part / That leaves me instantly cold / A connection that</span></i><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><i><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>’</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US">s dismantled / Before it begins </span></i><i><span lang="EN-US">/ </span></i><i><span lang="EN-US">Because what I need most / Right now /Or anytime for that matter / Is true human interaction / With complexities that come from / The conditions of living</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Binomial freeze out, p14</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US"></span></i><i><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US">These human/domestic trappings - these<i> “conditions of living”</i> - set in a home that is far from one near the beginning of the collection - are revisited in a decidedly more biting way in the wonderfully dry, acerbic observational poem <i>Stretching the canvas for more space</i> -</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Hey, the new issue of / Southern Living is in / There’s a sentence I never thought I'd say </span></i><i><span lang="EN-US">/ Mostly because I have never heard / Of the magazine before / But since I am in a current phase </span></i><i><span lang="EN-US">/ Of reading what I ordinarily wouldn</span></i><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><i><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>’</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US">t / And realizing that the Sunday New York Times / Was too much of a time hoover / To leave room for anything else / I picked up this magazine from the periodical shelf And dove in / It did have Octavia Spencer on the cover / Which was a good sign </span></i><i><span lang="EN-US">/ But I don</span></i><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><i><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>’</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US">t know if it was by accident / Or editorial design / That the first photo inside / </span></i><i><span lang="DE">Was</span></i><i><span lang="DE"> </span></i><i><span lang="IT">one</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US"> of a pie /Apple, I'm assuming / Without any other ingredients included / I zipped through the articles about / Throw pillows and Japanese maples / All pleasing enough in their scope / Only a clutched paw of more bits of string / To add to my ever-growing sphere / Which may or may not serve any value / In the W.H. Auden sense / Or inspire something of limited or lesser value / </span></i><i><span lang="EN-US">On my own </span></i><i><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #6fa8dc;">Stretching the canvas for more space, p39</span></i><i style="color: #20124d;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span lang="EN-US">There is a pleasing anti-bourgeois derision for the Martha Stewart-like list of throw pillows, Japanese maples, and apple pies, followed by the quick-witted unspecified insertion of Auden’s subtly queer sensibility - giving the finale of the poem a perhaps inadvertent query that challenges the the reader to reconsider and reexamine the images and texts we come across on a daily basis. Images and texts that, in this poem, are found on the periodicals shelf in, presumably, a library.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span lang="EN-US"> Keil</span><span lang="EN-US">’s work, in <i>Vanishing Fair</i>, could be considered a library of complaints - or as he so aptly puts it in the poem <i>Next stop, strong drink - </i>his<i> “angry dispatches.’</i></span><i><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Yet, there I was in my shorts and bowling shirt / Reading my angry dispatches to a crowd of / Mostly unknowns to me / Who Sally Fielded me when it was over / Then paid me the pass the bucket pay share of Forty-six dollars / All of a sudden, I thought / This might turn out to be something / I guess people are so starved for live performances / Of any kind / That even I will do </span></i><i><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #6fa8dc;">excerpt - Next stop, strong drink, p131 </span></i><i style="color: #20124d;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;">But these are not merely angry dispatches. They are a continuous narrative, story like, of one poet’s journey through self interrogation and discontentment in a world that serves up plenty on a daily basis. Seeing Keil perform his work live this past summer on an outdoor patio at <i>Buddies In Batshit Times (my typo, not Buddies, rather, the times) Theatre</i> served up a fine sense of performance that matches the acerbic and “angry dispatches” his current collection embodies on the page. One might consider these dispatches sly joyful moments of friendship and sharing, a somewhat begrudgingly accepted joy, but a kind of joy nonetheless, a joy found in poetry, both ‘onstage’ and off. Replete with “<i>Sally Fielded” </i> moments - a fine and funny turn of phrase - and a brief Norman Maine citing, Keil’s image/word choice also roots his artistry within a decidedly, yet subtle, sense of queer consideration as it intertwines with light pop cinematic camp. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;"> Ultimately </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;">Vanishing Fair i</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;">s a rigorous, frank, and absorbing journey through self critiques and the critiques of others - critiques so many of us simply bury in our consciousness and let them sour in our souls. Keil lets them out and they become a subtly soul -searching narrative romp, allowing readers to revel in his angry dispatches as though they were our own.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;"> And there is of course my favourite moment, a familiarizing moment regarding shared accommodation, when a room mate pleads, through alleged hard times, for another month of tenancy when the poet decides to move out following an especially annoying argument. And then one discovers the financial hardship, only days later, does not disallow the acquisition of </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;">“The big screen tv he just purchased / With my rent money / I didn</span></i><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><i><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="background-color: white;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>’</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;">t say anything I was thinking / I didn</span></i><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><i><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="background-color: white;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>’</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;">t follow any of my natural impulses / I only went into my room / Kept my mouth shut / And cried myself to sleep / Begging for help / Silently /With each hyperventilated breath </span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US">(excerpt) The end of all optimism, p17</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #20124d;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;"> </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;">Vanishing Fair </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;">is saturated with <i>“natural impulses” - </i>and not the end of all optimism by any means. Rather, a well-endowed series of poems, at times funny, frequently enlightening, and always dispatching - in measured, direct, and frankly poetic language - an articulate journey through someone’s way of grappling with some of life’s most irritating moments.</span></b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 36);"><i><b>Vanishing Fair is available at</b></i></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b>https://www.amazon.ca/-/fr/Steve-Keil/dp/B08P852236</b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b></b></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /> </b></span><p></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; 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line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; 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line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; 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line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: none; line-height: 26pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></span></p>bettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13290969725890141122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753554726340173679.post-51156951594993384432020-11-20T11:09:00.008-08:002020-11-21T13:39:58.764-08:00acts of faith<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHOVKUpooLribUyI96PwQMT4IjTxiRgX_bhKBdx4U9OmSZV1Nb6cum4x6aGgQ4FXii_M7tEv6xrGfFDnVKrd7MF7mmdNktPf5xhZk6Slf88TDGjMjtVCbR7dII6__rs3AoefPNLvO4tcI/s352/2290_ActsFaith_352x282_NEW_Title.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="282" data-original-width="352" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHOVKUpooLribUyI96PwQMT4IjTxiRgX_bhKBdx4U9OmSZV1Nb6cum4x6aGgQ4FXii_M7tEv6xrGfFDnVKrd7MF7mmdNktPf5xhZk6Slf88TDGjMjtVCbR7dII6__rs3AoefPNLvO4tcI/w506-h361/2290_ActsFaith_352x282_NEW_Title.jpg" width="506" /></a></div><br /><span face="Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"><span face="Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-size: 12.600000381469727px;">Pictured: Natasha Mumba; Photo by Dahlia Katz (all photos by Dahlia Katz)</span></span><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 14.66670036315918px;"><b><i>program synopsis;</i></b></span></p><p><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 14.66670036315918px;">From the African Copperbelt to the back woods of Muskoka,</span><b style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 14.66670036315918px;"> acts of faith</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 14.66670036315918px;"> tells a story about the power of belief, the disillusionment of youth and the eternal struggle between good and evil. The story follows Faith, a young woman who gets mistaken for a prophet. When a revered religious leader attempts to take advantage of her plight, she begins using her ‘gift’ to right wrongs and punish the wicked. As her spiritual notoriety grows, her own faith gradually erodes, driving her away from her home and the church in a quest for justice. Part Passion narrative, part modern retelling of David and Goliath, </span><b style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 14.66670036315918px;">acts of faith</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 14.66670036315918px;"> is an action-adventure in the skin of a catechism. Far from home, Faith will come up against the ultimate test of her convictions in a final confrontation between sin and sainthood, morality and godliness.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: helvetica;"><b>for cast, crew, and production details see;</b></span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: helvetica;"><b>https://www.factorytheatre.ca/shows/acts-of-faith/</b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGSP-QfNoJHAwJXaux36wgKdFDthwF2ue1pr02rPvKvXlVPuNawSbCXoMyisGp3v3uiRmAMy7Hdz3bOaYRRVvhypSopySCX8adQ33ifV_g6dz5XcfgSY4WfB3dErU5pOiyNaL9mq78Sz8/s2048/actsoffaith-photobyDahliaKatz-0807.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1363" data-original-width="2048" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGSP-QfNoJHAwJXaux36wgKdFDthwF2ue1pr02rPvKvXlVPuNawSbCXoMyisGp3v3uiRmAMy7Hdz3bOaYRRVvhypSopySCX8adQ33ifV_g6dz5XcfgSY4WfB3dErU5pOiyNaL9mq78Sz8/w451-h341/actsoffaith-photobyDahliaKatz-0807.jpg" width="451" /></a></div><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">David Yee's 75 minute tour de force, for a single actor, is a compelling collection of vignette-like monologues linked by one young woman's experience as she walks the fine line between the miraculous being and the socially conscious activist whose own life traumas allow her to reach out and ultimately help others to escape from forms of victimization that can occur when power dynamics become unwieldy and profoundly abusive.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJIVc9k1JAm0SoaUwKijeM_GN0ayId0c1mfG6w8tOXWwAIWW1-CEk8w-lFruml4yMrRhX8Um2mv3mLVD-Afn3ame7Mg0jCa74a86CSqlJaI1ChOiyQlHv3gIT6QKugexLu_GXRxp5zrqI/s2048/actsoffaith-photobyDahliaKatz-0798.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1363" data-original-width="2048" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJIVc9k1JAm0SoaUwKijeM_GN0ayId0c1mfG6w8tOXWwAIWW1-CEk8w-lFruml4yMrRhX8Um2mv3mLVD-Afn3ame7Mg0jCa74a86CSqlJaI1ChOiyQlHv3gIT6QKugexLu_GXRxp5zrqI/w373-h255/actsoffaith-photobyDahliaKatz-0798.jpg" width="373" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">What could appear at first glance to be a scathing critique of [poorly] organized religion, becomes, by the end, a delicate and powerful balance of stories and almost punch-line-like beginnings to a series of memories that all start with a parable of sorts. This gives the script a strong layered effect, allowing the performer to deliver, with mesmerizing focus, intricate ways of seeing the grey areas between religious experience and the harsh challenges of daily life - the boundaries that move us in and out of personal spirituality toward a realization of how sacred and how profane the world can be.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB1q7exXaOmBxRDmMbMvMlj28lnNxPeMlgfW455Lpa9vxoDcH0duUuYqCOW9SS0Qx156jB6LK5HHJfVW22ARmVsgzbDF07Xx0FGBVMebi-I29DiY0LjsNcaXMx-tSa0ALA_q8NLNn8ilY/s2048/actsoffaith-photobyDahliaKatz-0755.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1363" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB1q7exXaOmBxRDmMbMvMlj28lnNxPeMlgfW455Lpa9vxoDcH0duUuYqCOW9SS0Qx156jB6LK5HHJfVW22ARmVsgzbDF07Xx0FGBVMebi-I29DiY0LjsNcaXMx-tSa0ALA_q8NLNn8ilY/s320/actsoffaith-photobyDahliaKatz-0755.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">Natasha Mumba gives an extraordinary performance, beginning with relatively subdued, storytelling qualities, always tightly focused on her online audience, and framed exquisitely by the work of impeccable costume, lighting, and set designers. There is an elegant background, a sea of beige'ish folds and sharp-edged walls and windows, that portray a simultaneously open yet cloistered environment - a room the performer/character is confined yet somehow liberated by as she tells her story.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYZgouug41m_sTQGG42GOiAkqVuGH3DRlXwL34Mr0JEqFOJWfhp2-yv3rxltPrxvd-UQkGCLYZmFp0R869sst4SR2ph5GvV76sAcezcDcfRnmoJJ0n7xyU0ekEkdDcVAkVtnHzD0oAz4k/s2048/actsoffaith-photobyDahliaKatz-0754.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1363" data-original-width="2048" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYZgouug41m_sTQGG42GOiAkqVuGH3DRlXwL34Mr0JEqFOJWfhp2-yv3rxltPrxvd-UQkGCLYZmFp0R869sst4SR2ph5GvV76sAcezcDcfRnmoJJ0n7xyU0ekEkdDcVAkVtnHzD0oAz4k/w462-h341/actsoffaith-photobyDahliaKatz-0754.jpg" width="462" /></a></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">About 45 minutes in - marked seamlessly by subtle shades lifting into pink-ish overtones - the lighting sharply shifts to a strong red hue that enhances the moment and moves us toward a climactic end. Nina Lee Aquino's direction shows an outstanding attention to what is needed in this new era of pandemic - live yet distanced - constrained yet vast - productions. Mumba never falters as the blocking and facial expression is tightly deployed, giving each spectator a front row centre seat to be moved and engaged within.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzfaeQXOiiY-w5oYaLm2jVuc-zJI0itaeofU4F94HR8VzWT-xsbjWtgtW22NPP0eq80uRg0-anh1az6kJZAyUT3VU8nldTv6axfEW7GLDlhUOGUJnd6AF2d1ar9dserG3L3e1Yxanf62c/s2048/actsoffaith-photobyDahliaKatz-0401.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1363" data-original-width="2048" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzfaeQXOiiY-w5oYaLm2jVuc-zJI0itaeofU4F94HR8VzWT-xsbjWtgtW22NPP0eq80uRg0-anh1az6kJZAyUT3VU8nldTv6axfEW7GLDlhUOGUJnd6AF2d1ar9dserG3L3e1Yxanf62c/w469-h388/actsoffaith-photobyDahliaKatz-0401.jpg" width="469" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><div><span style="font-size: large;">The script embraces a global geography, yet frequently frames it all within a specifically Southern Ontarian, decidedly colonialist context that is both critical and enduring - at times indirectly illustrating the particular ways in which mythic national identity-mongering creates faulty iconic truths out of national mythology.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>References to Etobicoke, Toronto in general, and the Muskoka Lakes area, give the overall piece an engaging and fascinating topical tone - by the end haunting - that conjures images of the iconic places some audience members may perceive - through David Yee's articulate and poetic narrative gaze - as simultaneously bountiful, beautiful, and banal. </span><div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIq9InxTFMrnnKJZmWNr4SbC48FL9rn7TTP7QgN8xnlhXto5ko5-Y_5y-Lr2Z9ly_ZEIAA-9LK4y0ZF5_7oUDwSKZO-f7PJEWnJk0Is-rlbRuhQsnloAavc6en6pqnTzyCAs48yXudrEE/s2048/actsoffaith-photobyDahliaKatz-0174.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1363" data-original-width="2048" height="405" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIq9InxTFMrnnKJZmWNr4SbC48FL9rn7TTP7QgN8xnlhXto5ko5-Y_5y-Lr2Z9ly_ZEIAA-9LK4y0ZF5_7oUDwSKZO-f7PJEWnJk0Is-rlbRuhQsnloAavc6en6pqnTzyCAs48yXudrEE/w569-h405/actsoffaith-photobyDahliaKatz-0174.jpg" width="569" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: #800180;"><b>Acts of Faith</b></span></i> is a timely season opening during these very challenging and frightening times, as we witness the journey of a young woman both embraced by and resistant towards a world she struggles to have some control of - despite the ongoing overwhelming forces that confront her. Forces that both belittle and worship her as a harbinger of spirit, wisdom, and a need to tell a story that may help those who find themselves within similar positions.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGGAOSQ2b7uGjz-Lfw1UmRvNgHTXd76sA3oFLx0cAAjo7zYMS-JRFZYKARKx2dTV5-q-Z_YDU5LEo4r6pp78XBADvmNxAdCa3esFq9eXg-jMTXqJRmV62RUbxJfHvc_APLYG5O0UW9ooE/s1600/2290_ActsFaith_1600x600_Image.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1600" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGGAOSQ2b7uGjz-Lfw1UmRvNgHTXd76sA3oFLx0cAAjo7zYMS-JRFZYKARKx2dTV5-q-Z_YDU5LEo4r6pp78XBADvmNxAdCa3esFq9eXg-jMTXqJRmV62RUbxJfHvc_APLYG5O0UW9ooE/w472-h184/2290_ActsFaith_1600x600_Image.jpg" width="472" /></a></div><b style="caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); color: #cc0000; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji"; white-space: pre-wrap;">Admission is free of charge, however audiences will have to register in advance on Factory Theatre's website to secure a spot for their preferred performance night (https://www.factorytheatre.ca/shows/acts-of-faith/). Information on how to access the live streamed performance will be sent out to registered audience members via email 24 hrs before the performance. acts of faith will be performed for six nights - NOVEMBER 19, 20, 21 & 26, 27, 28 at 7:30PM. Each show is performed live and will be streamed to registered audience members watching from home via Factory Theatre's website.</b><p></p><h4 style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: ITCBaileySans, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.65rem; line-height: 1em; margin: 0.75em auto 0.3em; max-width: 1242px; padding: 0px 21px; width: 1083px;"><br /></h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ycxyI-DphQ-51_hELOK1MKzsh27zhEYC1_frTDh1fbzQQJmiz25u_afKkKaw2Up9AcEMX_oyPNmMV_CUzouR9JZf64n67xWT7sdiJlhvCoWUAfajw05xsEEaGUd9LWvio_CpmyzYhJU/s440/David-Yee-Headshot-352x440.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="352" height="669" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ycxyI-DphQ-51_hELOK1MKzsh27zhEYC1_frTDh1fbzQQJmiz25u_afKkKaw2Up9AcEMX_oyPNmMV_CUzouR9JZf64n67xWT7sdiJlhvCoWUAfajw05xsEEaGUd9LWvio_CpmyzYhJU/w602-h669/David-Yee-Headshot-352x440.jpg" width="602" /></a></div><h4 style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: ITCBaileySans, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1em; margin: 0.75em auto 0.3em; max-width: 1242px; padding: 0px 21px; width: 1083px;"><a href="https://www.factorytheatre.ca/people/david-yee/" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ac1c17; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;">David Yee</a></h4><p style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px auto 1.2em; max-width: 1242px; padding: 0px 21px; width: 1083px;">David Yee is a mixed race actor and playwright, born and raised in Toronto. He is the co-founding Artistic Director of fu-GEN Theatre Company, Canada’s premiere professional Asian Canadian theatre company. A Dora Mavor Moore Award nominated actor and playwright, his work has been produced internationally and at home. He is a two-time Governor General’s Literary Award nominee for his plays lady in the red dress and carried away on the crest of a wave, which won the award in 2015 along with the Carol Bolt Award in 2013. He has worked extensively in the Asian Canadian community as an artist and an advocate. He has been called many things, but prefers ‘outlaw poet’ to them all.</p></div>bettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13290969725890141122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753554726340173679.post-7579224502416762002020-03-06T20:55:00.005-08:002020-03-06T21:00:44.790-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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BOX 4901</h4>
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by <strong style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">BRIAN FRANCIS</strong><br />
directed + co-created by <strong style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">ROB KEMPSON</strong><br />
starring <strong style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">BRIAN FRANCIS, COLIN ASUNCION, HUME BAUGH, SAMSON BONKEABANTU BROWN, KEITH COLE, DANIEL JELANI ELLIS, JEFF HO, MICHAEL HUGHES, INDRIT KASAPI, DANIEL KROLIK, ERIC MORIN, G KYLE SHIELDS, CHY RYAN SPAIN + GEOFFREY WHYNOT</strong><br />
set design <strong style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">BRANDON KLEIMAN</strong><br />
lighting design <strong style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">COSETTE PIN</strong><br />
sound design <strong style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">ADRIAN SHEPHERD-GAWINSKI</strong><br />
producer <strong style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">STACEY NORTON</strong>associate producer <strong style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">CURTIS TE BRINKE</strong><br />
stage management <strong style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">LUCY MCPHEE</strong>production manager<strong style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> KATHERINE SMITH</strong>communications <strong style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">KATIE SAUNORIS</strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As co-creator and director of Box 4901, Rob Kempson gives a simple and engaging script a vibrant elegance that shines throughout this enthralling 75 minute tour de force. Brandon Kleiman's set is a glaringly effective and creatively arranged space for the men to move within and energetically amble through their tightly choreographed moments within just over a dozen skilfully performed short monologues.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Writer Brian Francis stands at a basic white lectern and comments on the action, integrating his autobiographical presence into a form of creative non-fiction that draws in viewers from start to finish.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1MtZu2lpid1jCwjWGkOv_wA6R_HnFDQdZ4UQ2w5H_9QjqWKd3HGEggkZQhngTxgHxy5uujr2KDu6eXIxphHKLqv2x5XjnGBoDtpm7Fyh4jtktc_xcJ751ubTs7dICcWlrK5t4SBoT6OY/s1600/Unknown-3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="227" height="624" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1MtZu2lpid1jCwjWGkOv_wA6R_HnFDQdZ4UQ2w5H_9QjqWKd3HGEggkZQhngTxgHxy5uujr2KDu6eXIxphHKLqv2x5XjnGBoDtpm7Fyh4jtktc_xcJ751ubTs7dICcWlrK5t4SBoT6OY/s640/Unknown-3.jpeg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Too numerous to mention, the ensemble is impeccable, with standout performances by Chy Ryan Spain, Keith Cole, and Hume Baugh.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Placing Cole near the middle of this 13 actor cast and Baugh at the end, gives diverse rhythm and balance, with Chy Ryan Spain adding an energetic 'intergenerational' narrative touch to the proceedings. Cole presents an irresistible character in his well managed interpretation of the character Snuggles, while Baugh ends the piece with a lovely and layered young man in pursuit of all the fame and good fortune that money and self-perceived looks can buy. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm096vXHCUQ6Rmg0Nsrf4BOSW6jDePzcLzEspmuHPVFPNqY_2H7PaKu7x-3RDFSsCWGYzUK1wCECMGO3ldGWB9wN2nhmQNz34AOms9Xq0eE8a-lhlrwmMq-uVdAt9myy2svrXq5Cb0LXQ/s1600/Unknown-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm096vXHCUQ6Rmg0Nsrf4BOSW6jDePzcLzEspmuHPVFPNqY_2H7PaKu7x-3RDFSsCWGYzUK1wCECMGO3ldGWB9wN2nhmQNz34AOms9Xq0eE8a-lhlrwmMq-uVdAt9myy2svrXq5Cb0LXQ/s640/Unknown-1.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Basically, the playwright's response to long forgotten personal ads brings a wonderful kind on historical continuum to a play that speaks to past and present gay 'lifestyle' in a detailed and eloquent manner. Francis's 'narration' and responses to each of these long lost near attachments takes on a kind of David Sedaris quality - as both charming and cutting reminiscences via superb storytelling surface throughout. Chy Ryan Spain's older character, while sensational through Francis' somewhat scathing response, reveals an amazing generational gap that is both sculpted dearly and critiqued with much less endearment. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But such is life and deeply felt memory in Box 4901, sold-out for the run, with only three more performances. So call the box office, or show up, maybe someone will cancel and you'll have the chance to see this nostalgic and surprisingly current look at the past the present and the future of being queer in a world of ever evolving sex management, mayhem, glory, and casual hookups based in a fabulous form of call and response theatre at its most engaging.</span><br />
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<br />bettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13290969725890141122noreply@blogger.com0