Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Well this is very interesting -Fringe Festival '10
Now Magazine is reporting that the Toronto Fringe Festival is joining forces with Mirvish and the Randolph Centre for the 22nd year of the Fringe Festival. This partnership is hoping to establish the Bloor/Bathurst area, and Mirvish village as a hub for the annual festival. "The Randolph Centre, just across the street from the new Fringe Club, will host over 180 performances by 26 companies. The centre, which includes the Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts, the Bathurst Street Theatre and the Annex Theatre, will also be the site of the Fringe’s central box office... The new plan makes Bathurst Street the spine of the Fringe, with direct access to venues to the north (the two Tarragon spaces) and south (Theatre Passe Muraille and Factory)." Click here to read the full article from Now Magazine
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Kristen Chenoweth coming to Toronto this Thursday
According to The Star actress Kristen Chenowith is coming to Toronto this Thursday to help kick off the Christmas season, by singing carols on Bloor St at Holt Renfrew. Check out the info from The Star below or click here to see the full article. (image courtesy of The Star)
Forget the fact that it's more than seven weeks until Dec. 25: the festive season will hit Toronto this Thursday at 6:30 p.m. when Kristin Chenoweth appears on Bloor St. to sing her way through a half-dozen yuletide tunes, marking the opening of the Holt Renfrew holiday windows.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Back on Track
As you have probably noticed EAP has been pretty negligent of our duties here lately. It started last February when Justin our most active blogger took an incredible trip to India to study yoga. ( A trip that the whole EAP team is going to repeat this winter, yeah!) And our decline continued when Liza went out west for the summer after a hard year of grant writing rejection and a general lack of confidence that we could get a production off the ground. But we have both been home since September and have failed to really make a concrete plan about our next step. It is not to say that we haven't been following theatre news, and going to local productions and cabaret.
In fact quite the opposite, considering our work schedules and financial limitations we've seen a number of great productions here in Toronto. Goodness, The Boy in the Photograph, The Turning of the Screw, as well as a host of cabaret acts, Scott in the City, Sharron Mathews, Curtain's Down at Statler's and a few others. And we have been genuinely excited about all the theatre news we've been hearing. Factory is having a great season, and we are hoping to get over to see something there. I like what CanStage is doing this season, especially Art, which I am sad I am gonna miss. Plus a bunch of small production companies doing new musicals!
The cast of Jerry Springer was in at Statler's a few weeks back, and were super fun. Alter Boys just finished a Toronto cast run. The new off-Broadway show Toxic Avenger is in town. As well as the exciting double bill of Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Debbie Does Dallas. Both casts have done teasers at Statler's recently. I saw the cast of Debbie last Monday and they were awesome. (Sadly I missed Hedwig last night.) EAP is also really proud of our friends at the Junction Art Collective, an up-and-coming production team who are busy getting their first production Rent off the ground. And we are going to follow their progress with interest.
Therefore it is a bit baffling for us why we haven't gotten back into the blog. We know it is an important tool to stay connected and a great way to disperse theatre news. And the more you use it the more useful it is. But lately we haven't been maximizing its potential. I think one of the reasons is because right now we are focused on individual projects and EAP doesn't have a timeline for any new productions. EAP itself is reevaluating what we want to do and how we'd like to see ourselves in the Toronto theatre community.
Some of you may know, but the reasons for our grant failure last fall were eye opening for us. And were glad to say, they were not related to the material at all. In fact we got lots of good feedback on Wood. But we also learned that we aren't in the position to receive any Federal, Provincial or City money. Which needless to say meant we couldn't produce a show. Mostly because the work and many of our connections aren't local, or even Canadian. But also because we weren't looking to be a profit venture, and hadn't really figured out where the money was going to come from. That is a hard sell for grant subsidies. They want you to balance the books. So we've taken a step back as far as our own projects. But we want to affirm to you, our loyal readers that we are committing until we leave and after we return, to stay on top of theatre news and local goings on. We're in this for the long haul.
And to that end we have been doing some theatre research lately, mostly via twitter, and came across this excellent piece written by Alan M. Berks, about "making it work." His piece was inspiring for me, because it reminded me that everyone in theatre goes through highs and lows, and that you have to just keep at it. If you are really committed to working in theatre, as opposed to television, film, or some other offshoot than you are going to always have to work at it, not just in it. And we would like to leave you, but not for too long, with this lovely quote from his piece about working in theatre as opposed to film or television. Something which is very poignant for us here at EAP.
In fact quite the opposite, considering our work schedules and financial limitations we've seen a number of great productions here in Toronto. Goodness, The Boy in the Photograph, The Turning of the Screw, as well as a host of cabaret acts, Scott in the City, Sharron Mathews, Curtain's Down at Statler's and a few others. And we have been genuinely excited about all the theatre news we've been hearing. Factory is having a great season, and we are hoping to get over to see something there. I like what CanStage is doing this season, especially Art, which I am sad I am gonna miss. Plus a bunch of small production companies doing new musicals!
The cast of Jerry Springer was in at Statler's a few weeks back, and were super fun. Alter Boys just finished a Toronto cast run. The new off-Broadway show Toxic Avenger is in town. As well as the exciting double bill of Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Debbie Does Dallas. Both casts have done teasers at Statler's recently. I saw the cast of Debbie last Monday and they were awesome. (Sadly I missed Hedwig last night.) EAP is also really proud of our friends at the Junction Art Collective, an up-and-coming production team who are busy getting their first production Rent off the ground. And we are going to follow their progress with interest.
Therefore it is a bit baffling for us why we haven't gotten back into the blog. We know it is an important tool to stay connected and a great way to disperse theatre news. And the more you use it the more useful it is. But lately we haven't been maximizing its potential. I think one of the reasons is because right now we are focused on individual projects and EAP doesn't have a timeline for any new productions. EAP itself is reevaluating what we want to do and how we'd like to see ourselves in the Toronto theatre community.
Some of you may know, but the reasons for our grant failure last fall were eye opening for us. And were glad to say, they were not related to the material at all. In fact we got lots of good feedback on Wood. But we also learned that we aren't in the position to receive any Federal, Provincial or City money. Which needless to say meant we couldn't produce a show. Mostly because the work and many of our connections aren't local, or even Canadian. But also because we weren't looking to be a profit venture, and hadn't really figured out where the money was going to come from. That is a hard sell for grant subsidies. They want you to balance the books. So we've taken a step back as far as our own projects. But we want to affirm to you, our loyal readers that we are committing until we leave and after we return, to stay on top of theatre news and local goings on. We're in this for the long haul.
And to that end we have been doing some theatre research lately, mostly via twitter, and came across this excellent piece written by Alan M. Berks, about "making it work." His piece was inspiring for me, because it reminded me that everyone in theatre goes through highs and lows, and that you have to just keep at it. If you are really committed to working in theatre, as opposed to television, film, or some other offshoot than you are going to always have to work at it, not just in it. And we would like to leave you, but not for too long, with this lovely quote from his piece about working in theatre as opposed to film or television. Something which is very poignant for us here at EAP.
...I’d sleep better if I accepted that scenario, but I don’t. In reality, I believe that television and movies, even the good ones, are analogous to nationwide chain restaurants. They can be good— though often they aren’t— but the experience they provide is very different than the experience a nice local restaurant provides.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Debbie Does Dallas
The Toronto theatre scene is heating up again. Thank goodness. It has taken years for the theatre economy in this town to turn around. But lately there have been lots of shows in town, and even better lots of them are good, and still better, a lot of them are new! One show that has recently caught EAP's attention is Debbie Does Dallas which is running until Nov. 8th at the Theatre Centre on Queen st. w. Last night we were out at Statler's and got to hear some of the cast perform a few of the numbers and they were awesome. The music is super catchy and the ladies are nice to look at. I wouldn't miss this show if I were you. Plus the run is also a double bill featuring Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Amazing two awesome shows in one evening. Click here for ticket and general info.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman in "Can you get that"
Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman are currently staring in A Steady Rain, on Broadway. And this lucky, albeit disrespectful, theatre goer caught an ad lib mother load the other night. Jackman visibly loses focus when a cell phone begins to buzz loudly, and requests that the theatre patron please answer the phone. Unfortunately our rude theatre-goer does not respond to Jackman's request and the phone continues to buzz. Eventually the vibrating becomes so distracting that even Daniel Craig gets in on the act and we have a truly live theatre moment. Check it out.
I think videos like this bring up an interesting question for theatre followers. Are these videos, which themselves are very disrespectful of the actors and production team, worth posting? On the one hand to see an audience member berated for their inappropriate behaviour is highly entertaining, and actually informative. Because truthfully cell phones and proper phone etiquette have been around long enough for incidents like this to not occur. But, on the other, the act of watching pirated theatre videos only perpetuates unseemly audience behaviour. And so, while we at EAP will probably continue to post them, because they are news worthy and hilarious - I would say as someone who would NEVER record a professional production in this manner, that doing so offends the production and takes away from the intimate quality theatre affords. Every experience in the theatre is unique, including the one above. Is it fair to record that moment? Theatre in its nature is for the individuals present and them alone. By bootlegging live theatre you not only water down the experience, because let's face theatre on film is yucky usually, you rob the audience, actors and crew of what's theres' in a profoundly deceitful way. That's just my opinion. What's yours?
I think videos like this bring up an interesting question for theatre followers. Are these videos, which themselves are very disrespectful of the actors and production team, worth posting? On the one hand to see an audience member berated for their inappropriate behaviour is highly entertaining, and actually informative. Because truthfully cell phones and proper phone etiquette have been around long enough for incidents like this to not occur. But, on the other, the act of watching pirated theatre videos only perpetuates unseemly audience behaviour. And so, while we at EAP will probably continue to post them, because they are news worthy and hilarious - I would say as someone who would NEVER record a professional production in this manner, that doing so offends the production and takes away from the intimate quality theatre affords. Every experience in the theatre is unique, including the one above. Is it fair to record that moment? Theatre in its nature is for the individuals present and them alone. By bootlegging live theatre you not only water down the experience, because let's face theatre on film is yucky usually, you rob the audience, actors and crew of what's theres' in a profoundly deceitful way. That's just my opinion. What's yours?
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