Theatre > News and Events

Kit Brennan's Whip Smart series to be released as audio books

2013-06-13T13:32:14Z

At this year's BEA (BookExpo America) in New York, the first four books of Whip Smart: The Lola Montez Series were signed by Astor+Blue Editions to a contract for audio books with Audible.com. After eBooks, audio books are one of the fastest growing areas in bookselling.

Casting and production for Whip Smart: Lola Montez Conquers the Spaniards is now underway. The audio publication is due to be released in September.

The second book in the series, Whip Smart: Lola Montez and the Poisoned Nom de Plume, will now be launched simultaneously as eBook, Paperback and Audio Book in mid October.

About Whip Smart:

http://theatre.concordia.ca/news-and-events/news/kit-brennan-to-launch-debut-novel-in-montreal.php

Read the reviews:

http://queensu.ca/news/alumnireview/female-flashman

https://www.forewordreviews.com/reviews/whip-smart/

Rachael Van Fossen awarded SSHRC funding as part of a national team

2013-06-10T13:48:13Z

Rachael Van Fossen, part-time faculty member in the Department of Theatre, will be working as part of a national team for a five-year research initiative in art for social change (ASC) in Canada. ASC refers to the broad spectrum of ways in which the arts are used to engage people and encourage positive change.

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Funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) through its Partnership Program, Art for Social Change: A Research Partnership in Teaching, Evaluation and Capacity-Building, is the first large-scale, systematic project of its kind in Canada. Lead researcher Judith Marcuse, whose International Centre of Art for Social Change/Simon Fraser University partnership made the funding possible, says that "the work we complete and the resources we create will benefit not only artist-researchers, but also individuals and organizations in diverse sectors who are already using arts-based practices in their work for positive change as well as those who are interested in adopting these approaches."

The research program will involve the participation of community members, students and change makers from a wide variety of sectors, including the health and justice systems; civil society, environmental, intercultural, elder and youth-focused organizations; and professionals working in the fields of social innovation, social enterprise and public policy.

Case study projects involving arts-based dialogue, performing, visual arts and social circus, as well as the creation of a learning institute, will enrich both research and the resources to be created. On-line videos, publications, public gatherings, exhibitions and performances will contribute to the work of ASC practitioners while bringing knowledge of this potent and effective form of change work to a wider public.

In addition to her role as co-investigator with the national team, Van Fossen will head up The Encounters Project, one of five field studies in art-for-social-change practices. In collaboration with Concordia's Theatre and Development program, Encounters aims to link research creation and public performance more fully with social activism. An ensemble of professional artists and students from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds, life experiences, and values will, through a series of workshops in both undergraduate and community settings, assess in what ways the act of performing another person can build relationship, and lead to transformed understanding. Encounters will also investigate how these experiences may be effectively communicated through public, theatricalized performance. Concordia undergraduate and graduate students will be involved in intercultural exchange across differences of racialization, immigration, gender and gender construction, sexuality, age and other common marked and unmarked perceived and actual differences. The Encounters research initiative proposes that we can move beyond ideas of assimilation through two deceptively simple acts: a mutual listening to the very human stories of others; and the impossible but necessary task of attempting to see the world through another's eyes.

Related links:

'Sarah préfère la course' headed to Cannes

2013-05-03T13:13:00Z

The short film, Sarah préfère la course, featuring art direction by Design for the Theatre student Bruno-Pierre Houle is headed to Cannes! ]]> The short film, Sarah préfère la course, featuring art direction by Design for the Theatre student Bruno-Pierre Houle is headed to Cannes!

Sarah préfère la course, a film by Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema alumnae Chloé Robichaud and Fanny Malo, both BFA 10, tells the story of a young woman (Sophie Desmarais) who moves from rural Quebec to Montreal with her boyfriend to run on the McGill track team. But big-city life and her passion for the sport put pressure on their relationship. It will be screened in the Un certain regard ! section of the famed film fest, which runs from May 15 to 26, 2013.

Watch for Sarah préfère la course in Quebec theatres June 7.

Related link:

Seeking tenure-track faculty position in Theatre Performance, History and Theory

2013-04-25T19:31:47Z

Deadline: May 10, 2013
The department offers BFA Majors and Specializations in Theatre, Design for the Theatre, Playwriting, Theatre and Development, and Theatre Performance as well as a Minor in Theatre to approximately 200 students every year.

The department has made a significant contribution to the Quebec and Canadian theatre landscape for more than 25 years, providing the educational foundation for many award-winning actors, directors, designers and playwrights. Situated in the heart of downtown Montreal, the department and faculty enjoy strong ties with the city's vibrant arts community and has developed academic and artistic partnerships with the Bread and Puppet Theatre (USA), the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts (Beijing) and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (Germany). Reflecting the realities of theatre today, our programs encourage initiative and personal creativity, and prepare students for self-employment and entrepreneurial roles both nationally and internationally, as well as post-graduate studies.

We are in the process of developing an MFA in Interdisciplinary Performance, in conjunction with the Departments of Contemporary Dance and Music. The successful candidate will be expected to assist in the development and implementation of the new MFA and, in this regard, will demonstrate an energetic commitment to program development.

The successful candidate will normally be expected to teach history, theory, and studio-based courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, advise graduate students in Concordia's interdisciplinary MA/PhD programs, and perform administrative duties related to the undergraduate curriculum as well as Faculty governance. The candidate will also be expected to forge links through teaching and research with other departments across the university and take a leadership role in developing future interdisciplinary curriculum at the graduate level.

We are seeking a scholar-practitioner with the capacity to integrate contemporary performance theory with traditional theatre practices, and with a demonstrated interest in interdisciplinary and intercultural research-creation. The preferred candidate will have expertise in the following areas: performance studies, performance theory and history, directing, and non-method based acting techniques.

Applicants should possess a completed terminal degree in the discipline (PhD preferred), a demonstrated research profile including professional theatre experience as an actor and/or director and published scholarly work, evidence of teaching within a university environment, and administrative and committee experience.

Submissions should consist of a letter of application; up-to-date curriculum vitae; a statement of teaching philosophy and interests; evidence of teaching effectiveness (including course syllabi and evaluations); and a research statement. In addition, three letters of recommendation must be sent directly from referees to the department chair as indicated below. Applicants who currently hold a teaching position will require a letter of reference from their department chair or a senior faculty member at their home institution.

Applications should be submitted by May 10, 2013 directly to:

Mailing address:
Robert Reid, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Theatre
Concordia University
1455 De Maisonneuve Blvd. West, GM 500.01, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3G 1M8
Fax: (514) 848-3155

Civic address for in-person and courier delivery:
GM Building
Sir George Williams Campus
1550 De Maisonneuve Blvd. West, GM 500.01, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3G 1N2

All inquiries regarding this position should be directed to:
Robert Reid, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Theatre
Tel: (514) 848-2424 ext. 4725
Email: robert.reid@concordia.ca

For further information, applicants are encouraged to consult:

Subject to budgetary approval, we anticipate filling this position for the 2013-14 academic year (start date to be negotiated). Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents of Canada will be given priority. Concordia University is committed to employment equity.

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Winter directing outcomes

2013-04-11T15:47:26Z

April 11, 2013]]> A diverse showcase of performances developed by the department.

When:
Apr. 11, 2013 at 8 p.m.

Where:
F.C. Smith Auditorium
7141 Sherbrooke St. W.

Box office:
Please contact tickets.finearts@concordia.ca to reserve tickets.

April 4 to 7: Peer Gynt

2013-04-04T15:36:21Z

Peter Batakliev's adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's sweeping epic allows audiences to witness the universality of life's big acts and to explore the meaning of being oneself.
]]> By Henrik Ibsen
Adapted and directed by Peter Batakliev

Peter Batakliev's adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's sweeping epic allows audiences to witness the universality of life's big acts and to explore the meaning of being oneself.

When:
Apr. 3, 2013, at 8 p.m. (Preview)
Apr. 4, 2013, at 8 p.m. (Opening night)
Apr. 5, 2013, at 8 p.m.
Apr. 6, 2013, at 2 p.m. & 8 p.m.
Apr. 7, 2013, at 2 p.m.

Where
D.B. Clarke Theatre, Concordia University
1455 De Maisonneuve Blvd. W.

Box office:
Tickets prices are $10 regular, $5 students and seniors.

To reserve tickets, send an email to tickets.finearts@concordia.ca with the following information:

Name
Phone number
Number of tickets requested
Preferred date and time of performance

A box office representative will contact you by email regarding ticket availability. This service is available until April 4, 2013, at noon, after which tickets are only available at the venue on the day of the performance.

Tickets will be held under your name at the door until 20 minutes prior to the start of the performance, at which point they will put on sale.

Tickets will also be available at the door; the box office opens one our prior to each performance.

Description:
Written in 1867 by Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, Peer Gynt originally contained five acts, a total of 47 characters and a running time of five hours, bringing a whole new meaning to the term epic. Originally, it wasn't even meant to be staged. Nonetheless, it hasn't stopped artists from trying their hand, including Concordia University theatre instructor Peter Batakliev, who's directing a new version of Peer Gynt at the D.B. Clarke Theatre in April 2013 with an all-student cast and crew.

Featuring a story line filled with trolls, flying bucks, giant pigs and button-molders, not to mention the fact that the plot spans the course of a lifetime, Peer Gynt can be an enormous mountain to climb for anyone who decides to take on the challenge.

"It's a monster piece that not many people dare to put on stage," says Batakliev, who also adapted Ibsen's poetic text for the production. "But this monster has so many hidden qualities that can be quite interesting to discover and explore as an artist."

In Batakliev's version of the play, protagonist Peer Gynt's life is split in three distinct parts, and played by three different actors. By following major moments in Peer's life - boy who leaves, man who stays, elder, who returns - the audience witnesses the universality of one man's choices, successes and failures. Batakliev believes that the story of Peer Gynt permits us to examine the journey of human being's restless search for one's self, and of who and what is the self.

"In loving, hating and being shocked by Peer, I ultimately want the audience to see themselves in the character to question the lines that all of us have drawn for ourselves," explains Batakliev. "

"Certainly, when we grow older," he continues, "we can look back and see all the different choices we've made, and assess our lives as the sculpted and formed the person we've become. All this without denouncing the, perhaps unorthodox and complex, choices that each of us make."

Despite the introspective subject matter of Peer Gynt, audiences of the Concordia play can also expect moments of Batakliev's signature humour during the production.

Director's biography:
Peter Batakliev, artistic director of Théâtre Décalage, is a renowned Montreal actor, director and educator, having taught at the National Theatre School and the Conservatoire de musique et d'art dramatique de Québec, as well as at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and Concordia University.

A graduate of Bulgaria's National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts, Batakliev is the recipient of an Montreal English Critics Circle Award for his performance as Lucky in Ben Barnes' Waiting for Godot (Centaur Theatre) and has appeared as an actor in productions directed by Alexandre Marine, Wajdi Mouawad, Yves Desgagnés, Claude Poissant and Denis Marleau. As a director, notable works include Le Colonel oiseau (Théâtre de Quat'sous), Les mains noires, Exécuteur 14 (Théâtre Décalage), La dernière nuit de Socrate (Théâtre Décalage, Usine C), Wulustek (Théâtre Ondinnok), A month in the country side (UQAM) and Play no. 27 (Concordia University).

March 19 and 20: So-Called Outcomes

2013-03-27T18:51:09Z

A highly imaginative ensemble creation devised by students and Montreal-based musician, puppeteer, composer, filmmaker and magician, Josh Dolgin aka So-Called.
]]> A highly imaginative ensemble creation devised by students and Montreal-based musician, puppeteer, composer, filmmaker and magician, Josh Dolgin aka So-Called.

When:
Mar. 19 and 20, 2013
Doors open at 7:30 p.m. - Performances begin at 8 p.m.

Where:
La Sala Rossa
4848 St-Laurent Blvd.

Box office:
Tickets available at the door: $5 general admission, $2 for students.

March 7 to 10: SIPA/Short Works Festival

2013-03-07T16:53:48Z

The Student-initiated production assignment (SIPA) is a showcase of short plays written or adapted, directed and produced by students. The Student-initiated production assignment (SIPA) is a showcase of short plays written or adapted, directed and produced by students.

Five teams of theatre students from different backgrounds and levels each produce a 20- to 40-minute play. After initiating their own project, they manage all aspects of a production at a very fast pace. Instead of leading the project in a competitive perspective, all teams and key collaborators meet weekly to discuss progress, ongoing challenges and generate inspiration for all involved.

When:
Mar. 7 to 10, 2013
(see festival schedule below)

Where:
Cazalet Studio, F.C. Smith Auditorium/Chapel Building (FC), 7141 Sherbrooke St. W., Loyola campus

Box office:
Tickets available at the door: $5 general admission, $2 for students.

Festival schedule:

Thursday, March 7

7 p.m. Untitled
8 p.m. Idem Eadem Idem

Friday, March 8

6:30 p.m. Not Suitable for Children
7:30 p.m. Whirligig
8:45 p.m. The Yellow Wallpaper

Saturday, March 9

3 p.m. Untitled
4 p.m. Whirligig
5:15 p.m. Idem Eadem Idem
7:30 p.m. Not Suitable for Children
9 p.m. The Yellow Wallpaper

Sunday, March 10

2 p.m. The Yellow Wallpaper
3:15 p.m. Whirligig
4:30 p.m. Not Suitable for Children
6:30 p.m. Idem Eadem Idem
8 p.m. Untitled

Related links:

Visit the SIPA Facebook page

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Short works in short time

2013-03-06T17:58:20Z

Plays written, directed and produced by Concordia theatre students in only two months: onstage starting ]]>
The SIPA/Short Works Festival features a variety of theatre: from a movement-based collective creation to the reworking of classic existential and feminist literature to a play based on material so exclusive, it can't be promoted by name.

The event (SIPA stands for Student-initiated Production Assignment) is a showcase of short plays written or adapted and directed by students. By opening night on March 7, five teams of Concordia theatre students will have each produced a 20-to 40-minute play in two short months, while managing all aspects of the production.

"Once you leave behind the simplicity of putting together shows in your best friends' basements, you realize that there is a lot more that goes into the full realization of a show," says Sydney Shapansky, writer and director of Not Suitable for Children, a new play based on the real-life murder of toddler James Bulger.

Twice a year, students in the Department of Theatre can submit a proposal for writing, directing, designing, stage-managing or acting in a play of their choice. Once a proposal is accepted, students form their own production teams comprised of both theatre peers and students from other areas of study. All SIPA participants receive academic credit for their participation.

The assignment also allows students to take on tasks that they wouldn't otherwise perform in their respective areas of study. Performance major Natasha Perry-Fagant broke away from her usual role as an actor to adapt Charlotte Perkins Gilman's landmark 19th-century short story The Yellow Wallpaper. "The SIPAs allow you to take work that you previously started, further," she says. "I'd been working on my adaptation for a year, but I wouldn't have been able to produce it without this opportunity."

Vishesh Abeyratne, who majors in playwriting, adapted a short story by a well-known author last fall. He chose the source material because of its compelling subject about the dark side of human nature and is now rehearsing the play for the festival. But in preparing the piece for production, he ran into an unexpected problem. "My adaptation ended up staying pretty true to the original - and I'm proud of it. But at first, the publishing house said that the rights to adapt the story for the stage weren't available," he says.

After several follow-up emails to the publishing house by Raymond Marius Boucher, SIPA supervisor and assistant professor, Abeyratne obtained permission to stage the play, but without promotion or documentation. As such, his play is being billed as Untitled. Still, he's been able to stretch his creative wings further than he originally imagined.

"I'm actually acting in the play too," he says. "As a writer, it's not always easy to hear actors say your words but it is thrilling. And in an acting role, it's interesting to explore how each character plays off of each other."

Vanessa Caicedo's Idem Eadem Idem is all about people riffing off one another. Her movement-based piece was created by a six-person collective. "When you design a collective creation from scratch, it's nerve-wracking but really rewarding," she says. "In fact, we're still in the creation process. We expect that our play will only be ready a few days before opening night!"

Helena Roy Magee, stage manager of Whirligig, an adaptation of Jean Genet's The Maids, said that the Idem Eadem Idem team wouldn't be the only team in a state of last-minute panic. "In theatre, nothing is ever really final when you put in on stage," she says. "You just always have to be as prepared as possible. If you don't try it, then how will you know what will work? You have to be open to the fact that your play may bomb."

Whirligig director and soon-to-be graduate Chloé Luchs Tassé concurs. "In the SIPA environment, there is room to make mistakes. But you need to be open to your team and their feedback or criticism, without the authority of a professional or faculty director," Tassé says. "This is my last show at Concordia so I'm cradling it ... I really want it to be good."

When: Thursday, March 7 to Sunday, March 10, 2013 (See full festival schedule on the theatre web page)
Where: Cazalet Studio, F.C. Smith Building, Loyola Campus (7141 Sherbrooke St. W.)
Box office: Tickets are available at the door; $5 general admission, $2 for students.

Related links:

Story by Renée Dunk. Photos: Top, actor Natasha Perry-Fagant also took a leading role in adapting The Yellow Wallpaper. Bottom, feedback from peers is essential to the SIPA production process. Photos by Concordia University.

Posted on March 6, 2013

Kit Brennan launches debut novel in Montreal

2013-02-04T16:57:24Z

When: Wednesday, February 27, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Where: Upstairs Jazz Bar, 1254 McKay Street, Montreal ]]> When: Wednesday, February 27, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Where: Upstairs Jazz Bar, 1254 McKay Street, Montreal

Book Review: Smart as a Whip
By Marisa Lancione

The life of Lola Montez reads like a story of a Hollywood starlet. Her seductive dances, royal entanglements and exploits with whips and pistols made her fodder for the gossip mongers of the 19th century. However, she was not always known as the infamous Lola Montez.

Born in Ireland in 1818 as Eliza Rosanna Gilbert, she spent her early childhood in India with her parents before they shipped her off to school in Britain. During her childhood, she was known for her miscreant and hot-tempered ways, which resulted in expulsion from boarding schools and a life in which she was shunted among relatives. At 16, Gilbert eloped with Lt. Thomas James, but they divorced five years later.

Then she disappeared for a year.

Historians and biographers do not know what happened to Gilbert between 1842 and 1843 that transformed her into Lola Montez, the Spanish dancer. What is known is that the 21-year old Gilbert travelled to Spain and returned to London in the spring of 1843 as Lola Montez.

It is this gap in Montez's life that sparked the interest of Kit Brennan, an award-winning playwright and associate professor in Concordia's Department of Theatre, to pen her debut novel Whip Smart: Lola Montez Conquers the Spaniards (Astor + Blue Editions, 2013, $16.50).

"History books and biographers are silent on the hows and whys of Lola's sudden transformation," says Brennan. "This deficiency of facts, of course, gave me plenty of room to imagine something big for her to journey into and through, as fiction."

Brennan first encountered Montez while reading the novel Royal Flash by George Macdonald Fraser, in which she figures as one of the main characters. "From the first moment I read about her, Lola Montez made me laugh," says Brennan.

Montez's allure stayed with Brennan but it was not until she wrote the award-winning play Tiger's Heart that she conceived of writing about her. In Tiger's Heart, Brennan explored the life of Dr. James Barry, a 19th-century woman who spent her life disguised as a man to become a doctor.

Brennan says writing Tiger's Heart was an important step toward writing Whip Smart because she views the two characters - Barry and Montez - as "bookends to each other." Both have secret, unremarkable Irish backgrounds and each was struggling to claim her place at a time when there were few paths for women.

"I have always been fascinated by the 19th century - it was a time of unbelievable change, and of modernity," Brennan says. "This restlessness and desire also ultimately spurred women to seek new fortunes, new ways of being, so I became fascinated by stories of women from that time. Men were in charge of almost everything, and kept their power closely guarded. How did women make a difference?"

Barry made a difference by representing herself as a man so she could pursue her dream. Tiger's Heart explores the "price she might have paid for following her dream." Lola Montez used the opposite strategy. "She entered the man's world, defiantly female. She used her femininity, beauty and wits, to take power in that world," says Brennan. "She, too, paid quite a price for such boldness - but oh, the adventures along the way!"

Whip Smart began as a short one-woman play called Lola Shuffles the Cards. But the larger-than-life Montez was too big a character to be contained within a play. So Brennan wrote the novel. The story sets off at a breakneck pace as two mysterious gentlemen, holding Montez captive after her disastrous debut as a dancer in London, demand Lola "tell us in your own words."

And tell she does!

In the first 15 pages, Eliza Rosanna Gilbert chases her lover's mistress out of the house with a crack of a whip, begins a brief but torrid romance with a lord and encounters a dancing master with an alluring proposition: he wants Eliza to spy on Spanish royalty. Events become increasingly dangerous as Montez finds herself in the crosshairs of a major political upheaval and in a love affair with a Spanish general.

It's hard to dislike the witty and sexually aggressive Montez. She is funny and has an ideology about sex that is more reflective of the 21st century than the 19th.

From the first page, the reader is whisked away on an adventure fraught with danger, suspense and some sex à côté. And Brennan delivers it with impeccable wit and intelligence.

This is not your mother's bodice-ripper. Whip Smart is a sexy, adventurous and intelligent tale that is best dubbed a bodice-ripper for the literary mind.

Related links:

Kit Brennan's faculty bio

60x60=one frenetic hour of performance

2013-01-07T17:28:47Z

Departments of Music, Theatre and Contemporary Dance join forces to present 60 multidisciplinary works packed into 60 minutes on Jan. 16, 2013.
]]> Music, dance and theatre students to stage a fast-paced hour of minute-long works

by Liz Crompton

Sixty musical works, 60 seconds or less, played in succession for a total of 60 minutes, with a giant clock keeping count.

That's 60x60, an event concept that's spread across the world in the decade since it was created to showcase a maximum amount of new music to the largest possible audience. Initially featuring music only, the format lends itself to collaborations with artists from other disciplines such as video and dance, each work of which also lasts 60 seconds.

On January 16, Concordia's departments of Music, Theatre and Contemporary Dance will be joining forces at the D.B. Clarke Theatre to present 60x60 +Dance +Theatre 2013.

"It's a multi-sensory production/performance," says Eldad Tsabary, a lecturer in the music department and former Canadian director of 60x60 who brought the event to Concordia.

"The opportunity to work with artists of other media is very inspiring," he says. "It's interesting to see dance and electroacoustic students discussing and using the same terms - such as 'texture' - but meaning different things. This process expands their concepts of creativity."

A dozen of the 60 juried compositions in the January show are by Concordia students, while the rest are from composers across Canada. The works were arranged into a macro-composition exactly one hour long and then uploaded, in sequence, to a private webpage. The participating dance and theatre students chose the pieces they wanted to interpret by visiting the page to listen to the music and read the brief descriptions of the composers and the works.

"It's a bit like online dating," says Silvy Panet-Raymond, acting chair of the Department of Contemporary Dance. She's made the event part of the curriculum for the third-year choreography class, while it's optional for those in second year.

Erin Hill is one of the almost three dozen dance students who'll be involved. "I think it's great, especially because of the constraints: the more precise the rules, the more creative you can be, because you can't question - as in, doubt - the time or the music."

Several 60x60 events have been held at Concordia since 2008, including the Canadian debut in 2009 of 60x60 Dance, for which dance students choreographed works to accompany each composition. For the first time at Concordia, theatre students will also take part. They can use their voices as long as it serves the music, not compete with it.

"I took into consideration the level of difficulty and how directing a small group of performers could be easily done. Then I applied my specialization in clown and worked off visuals," says student Kendall Savage of her approach, which resulted in her creation of three separate 60-second performances that could be inserted into any piece of music.

Hill appreciates the rare opportunity to collaborate with her fellow students in music and theatre. "It's such an important thing for people in different disciplines to come together," she says. "It stimulates creativity and community - and it's so much fun."

What: 60x60 +Dance +Theatre 2013
When: January 16, 2013, from 6 to 7 p.m.
Where: D.B. Clarke Theatre, Hall Building (H-0050), 1455 De Maisonneuve Blvd. W., Sir George Williams campus

Free of charge. Everyone welcome.

Related links:

60x60
Research lecture by Eldad Tsabary (Jan. 17)

Photo of a 60x60 event at Concordia University by Patryk Stasieczek.

Posted on Jan. 7, 2013

My Corona: students take lead

2012-12-03T19:24:00Z

The PROD 211 class has been busy planning a 100th anniversary celebration of the iconic Corona Theatre. The event takes place at the Little Burgundy theatre on December 3 and 4. ]]> The whole theatre's the stage for the student-driven centennial celebration of the iconic Corona Theatre.

A Concordia theatre class will stage a once-in-a-lifetime production on December 3 and 4.

PROD 211 students Kevin Collie, Mike Carrozza and Samantha Bitoni rehearse a piece inspired by the Corona Theatre's balcony.

The undergraduate students have been creating a special performance to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Corona Theatre, an iconic building on Notre Dame St. West that has been a silent movie house, a vaudeville theatre, a movie location, and, for several decades, an abandoned building. They became involved in the project after their professor, Shauna Janssen, was asked by members of the Point St. Charles Historical Society to create an event to mark the theatre's centenary.

"It got me thinking about the pedagogical possibilities. It is very valuable for students to do a hands-on project," says Janssen, a theatre practitioner, curator and part-time faculty member of Concordia's Department of Theatre.

The result is that her 70 students are creating a series of short performances and installations inspired by the Corona's spatial history. The class will stage its production, called After/Après Les petites filles aux allumettes, in early December at the theatre. The event's title is a nod to Canadian artist Martha Fleming and Lyne Lapointe, aka Les petites filles aux allumettes. They staged an installation in the Corona in 1987, when it was still abandoned.

The students visited the theatre early in the semester. "The idea was to let us explore the space ourselves, let ourselves be inspired by its history," says Jessica Alley, a first-year theatre student.

They took reference photographs of the theatre's nooks and crannies as well as its grand spaces, and in a subsequent lecture learned about the historical and cultural context of the surrounding St. Henri/Little Burgundy neighbourhood at the turn of the 20th century.

The class has been divided into groups of four to five students, each of which is responsible for an element of the event. Fifteen groups have created short performances or installations in areas throughout the structure, including dressing rooms, bathrooms, the box office, and different areas of the main stage.

One group will lead the audience (in groups of 15 at most) through each space. "We want it to be a narrative, with the audience going through the areas in a specific sequence," explains first-year theatre student Michelle Soicher. Taken together, these short sketches shed light on the broader tapestry of the theatre's rich history.

It's an unconventional aspect of theatre space and performance that the students seem to relish.

"This course has made me re-evaluate the way I understand the word 'theatre''," says Alley. "The emphasis on site-specific performance spaces has broadened my perspective on where theatre can be performed, how a space can inform the creative process, and especially, what constitutes 'theatre'."

Evenko, the event promoter/producer that manages the venue, is donating the Corona for two nights, while the $5 tickets will offset costs.

Janssen recognizes she asked a lot of her students, and she's proud of the way they've risen to the challenge.

"This is the students' event: they are championing this celebration of the Corona's 100-year history, they are making it happen."

What: After/Après Les petites filles aux allumettes
When: Monday, December 3, and Tuesday, December 4, starting at 7 p.m.*
Where: Corona Theatre, 2490 Notre Dame St. W., Montreal
Cost: $5. Tickets must be purchased in person at the Corona Theatre box office between noon and 6 p.m., Monday to Saturday. Information: 514-931-2088

*Tickets are limited. Spectators will be guided through the site in groups of 15 at 15-minute intervals beginning at 7 p.m. and ending at 8:45 p.m. The public is invited to spend time the theatre's cash bar before and after the tour, which lasts about half an hour.

Bottom photo: The group of Jessica Alley, a first-year theatre student, has worked on a performance specific to the Corona's dressing room.

Related links:

Story by Liz Crompton. Photos by Laurence Poirier.

Posted on Nov. 27, 2012.

Peleus and Thetis

2012-11-29T16:26:13Z

November 29 to December 2, 2012

Script by: Harry Standjofski

Directed by: Robert Reid and Suosen Lu

Shapeshifter ensemble conducted by: Sandeep Bhagwati

]]> For information in Mandarin, download the PDF.

A heady mix of Jingju (Chinese opera) and western drama.

Script by: Harry Standjofski
Directed by: Robert Reid and Suosen Lu
Shapeshifter ensemble conducted by: Sandeep Bhagwatii

When:
Wed., Nov. 28, 2012, at 8 p.m. (preview)
Thurs., Nov. 29, at 8 p.m. (opening night)
Fri., Nov. 30, at 8 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 1, at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Sun., Dec. 2, at 2 p.m.

Where:
D.B. Clarke Theatre
1455 De Maisonneuve Blvd. W.

Box office:
Tickets prices are $10 regular, $5 students and seniors.

To reserve tickets, send an email to tickets.finearts@concordia.ca with the following information:

Name
Phone number
Number of tickets requested
Preferred date and time of performance

A box office representative will contact you by email regarding ticket availability. This service is available until November 29, 2012, at noon, after which tickets are only available at the venue on the day of the performance.

Tickets will be held under your name at the door until 20 minutes prior to the start of the performance, at which point they will put on sale.

Tickets will also be available at the door; the box office opens one our prior to each performance.

Description:
A synthesis of different sources, cultures and art forms, Peleus and Thetis fuses Eastern and Western theatre to create a new way of looking at the epic representation of Greek myth.

Peleus and Thetis is the product of a five-year partnership and student exchange program between Concordia University and the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts (NACTA). Since 2008, a total of 23 university students have travelled to Beijing to study Jingju (Chinese opera) at NACTA, and countless more have had the chance to take a studio course at Concordia.

Born of an innovative collaboration between co-directors Robert Reid (Concordia) and Suosen Lu (NACTA), Peleus and Thetis is a ground-breaking production that features a storyline inspired by a popular Greek myth and showcases Jingju's beautiful and intricate costuming, spectacular acrobatic fighting and dancing, and ornate language. Using the story of the marriage of Peleus and Thetis to root the production in theatre more familiar to North Americans, the play makes connections between the western understanding of theatrical form and the complex modes of performance inherent in Jingju.

In western theatre, "we try to attract an audience with the story but we often sacrifice the poetic aspect of the performance," says Reid, an associate professor in the Department of Theatre. "In Chinese opera, artist and audience come forward with knowledge of the story. Jingju has a detail and a poetic quality that we just don't have in western drama. Peleus and Thetis is our way to bridge the gap between these two art forms."

Drawing from another principal of eastern theatre - combining artistic disciplines into one fantastical form - , the Peleus and Thetis creative process has created partnerships between different art forms in Montreal. By commissioning Sandeep Bhagwati, an associate professor in the departments of Music and Theatre, to assemble a group of musicians from both Concordia and McGill University, Peleus and Thetis features two of Concordia's three performing arts departments. Under Bhagwati's direction, student composers have incorporated traditional melodies found in Jingju into the original score, which will be performed live during the play.

Related links:

Fall directing and Erlangen exchange outcomes

2012-11-16T16:40:45Z

November 16 and 17, 2012

By invitation only

]]> A diverse showcase of performances developed by the department and an original piece in collaboration with the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg in Germany.

When:
Nov. 16 and 17, 2012

Nov. 16

5 p.m. - Group 1

6:40 p.m. - Group 2

8:20 p.m. - Group 3

10:00 p.m. - SIPA

Nov. 17

1 p.m. - SIPA

2 p.m. - Group 3

3:40 p.m. - Group 2

5:20 p.m. - Group 1

9 p.m. - SIPA

Where:
F.C. Smith Auditorium
7141 Sherbrooke St. W.

Box office:
Admission to this event is by invitation only.

Persephone Productions presents Hamlet

2012-11-01T21:04:14Z

Persephone is very proud to present an energetic and passionate production of this great tragedy. Directed by Gabrielle Soskin and featuring Christopher Moore as Hamlet. ]]>

Persephone is very proud to present an energetic and passionate production of this great tragedy. Directed by Gabrielle Soskin and featuring Christopher Moore as Hamlet.

Hamlet is a play that questions. Did Shakespeare intend it to be the tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark or Hamlet the tragedy of man? What is it about this great masterpiece that continues to fascinate us? Is it a political play about power and corruption in an oppressive political system? Is it a play about human relationships and the baffling mystery of these? Is Hamlet's journey and introspective search ours too? Is there a universal truth in the play that resonates with us all? The play is so multi-layered that many approaches and valid interpretations have been made throughout the play's history; each generation bringing a different perspective. Each Hamlet reflects its own time.

When:

November 1 to 3, 8 pm

November 3, Gala Benefit Performance, 7 pm

November 2, 7, 9 12:30 pm

November 4, 2 pm

November 6 to 10, 8 pm

and

November 17, 8 pm

November 18, 2 pm

Where:

Calixa Lavalée Theatre, Parc Lafontaine

and

Victoria Hall, 4626 Sherbrooke St. W.

Cost:

Adults, $25

Students, $15

Tickets available online.