“Divine Wrecks” review

LifeWithMoreCowbell called Chloë Whitehorn’s Divine Wrecks (directed by Pamela Redfern) a “heartbreaking and powerful tale of forbidden love”. Read the whole review at https://lifewithmorecowbell.wordpress.com/2015/11/05/fireworks-divine-wrecks-a-heartbreaking-powerful-tale-of-forbidden-love-erotic-wickedly-funny-engaging/

This play has 5 more performances – tonight through Saturday at 8pm, also Sat and Sun at 2pm.

Next week Wednesday (Nov 11), the FireWorks series continues with Taylor Marie Graham’s Cottage Radio.

 

TICKETS:   $15 except Sun – PWYC.

Purchase tickets online (except for Sunday PWYC matinees) or reserve seats and pay cash at Box Office.  No credit or debit cards accepted for in-person sales.

 

RESERVATIONS:   E-mail reservations@alumnaetheatre.com or phone 416-364-4170 Box 1.

POST-SHOW TALKBACKS – “Behind The Curtain”:
Thursdays: Directors Pamela Redfern, Julia Haist or Neil Affleck with their Assistant Directors Melissa Chetty, Lisa Alves, Ingryd Pleitez.
Fridays: Lighting Designer Gabrielle D’Angelo and Sound Designer Bill Scott.
Saturday Matinees: Costume Designers Peter DeFreitas, Toni Hanson, Trish Worrall.
Saturday Evenings: Set Designers Marysia Bucholc, Mark Cope.
Sunday Matinees: Playwrights Chloe Whitehorn, Taylor Marie Graham or Charles Hayter.

“Divine Wrecks” in FireWorks 2015 – Director interview

Alumnae Theatre Company’s third annual FireWorks series kicks off tomorow with Chloë Whitehorn’s Divine Wrecks (Nov 4 – 8), directed by Pamela Redfern.   Divine Wrecks is the “dark and disturbing” story of a high school jock who falls for his teacher. Bloggergal asked them some questions; here are Pam’s responses.

Q:  How did you get involved?  What drew you to this play?

A (director Pam Redfern):  I became involved with Divine Wrecks after being asked to look at another of the plays first. Fortunately Divine Wrecks was offered to me to direct and soon after a rich creative journey began.
This play speaks to the depth of feelings that lie within us all, rearing up from time to time in our lives…uncomfortable feelings including lust, desire, fixation, confusion, secrecy, realization, heartbreak and despair. Somewhere in that mix lies true, peaceful love but often only for a moment. In Chloë’s play each of these moments are operatic in scale and I was drawn to that intensity.

Q: Anything specific you would like the audience to know, or to watch out for in the production?

A:  Look for the lightness and humour that the Chorus brings to this otherwise dark drama. We chose to intensify the lighter side of the Chorus to create texture and add comic relief to the production.   We decided to set some of the writing to music and it had a doo-wop rhythm to it so a fifties sound emerged there. With more time we would love to take the musical component much further. Divine Wrecks provides endless opportunities for layering and expansion but at a certain point we needed to polish what we had discovered and solidify this production.  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153061039792172&set=gm.1063381273714094&type=3&theater

Photo of the Chorus:  Bruce Peters.

FIREWORKS SHOWTIMES: 8pm Wed – Sat; 2pm Sat & Sun.

TICKETS:   $15 except Sun – PWYC.

Purchase tickets online (except for Sunday PWYC matinees) or reserve seats and pay cash at Box Office.  No credit or debit cards accepted for in-person sales.

Or consider a 6-play Flex Pass – for $75, you get 6 admissions to be used however you wish. So one person could see 6 plays, or share the tickets with friends and all 6 of you come to one play.

 RESERVATIONS:   E-mail reservations@alumnaetheatre.com or phone 416-364-4170 Box 1.

 POST-SHOW TALKBACKS – “Behind The Curtain”:
Thursdays: Directors Pamela Redfern, Julia Haist or Neil Affleck with their Assistant Directors Melissa Chetty, Lisa Alves, Ingryd Pleitez.
Fridays: Lighting Designer Gabrielle D’Angelo and Sound Designer Bill Scott.
Saturday Matinees: Costume Designers Peter DeFreitas, Toni Hanson, Trish Worrall.
Saturday Evenings: Set Designers Marysia Bucholc, Mark Cope.
Sunday Matinees: Playwrights Chloe Whitehorn, Taylor Marie Graham or Charles Hayter.
For more into, and to purchase  tickets online to Divine Wrecks and the other FireWorks plays – Taylor Marie Graham’s Cottage Radio (Nov 11-15) and Charles Hayter’s Radical (Nov 18-22) – please go to http://www.alumnaetheatre.com/fireworks.html

“Divine Wrecks” in FireWorks 2015 – Playwright interview

Alumnae Theatre Company’s third annual FireWorks series opens Wed Nov 4, and runs to Nov 22.  Haven’t heard of it?  Like our popular New Ideas Festival, it takes place in the Studio Theatre and runs for 3 weeks.   But FireWorks takes full-length plays that had their beginnings at an Alumnae event (like New Ideas or Big Ideas), or in the company’s New Play Development Group and runs them in conjunction with Talkbacks, workshops and other events. Each week, there will be a different play.

This year’s FireWorks kicks off with Chloë Whitehorn’s Divine Wrecks (Nov 4 – 8), directed by Pamela Redfern.   Bloggergal asked them some questions; here are Chloe’s responses.

Q: What inspired you to tell this story?  What was the germ of the idea?
A (Playwright Chloë Whitehorn): I am fascinated by love. There’s something about the intensity of the emotions connected to loving someone and how viscerally we feel them. A lot of my work is about someone finding their soulmate, the one person they want to be with, and then for some reason not being able to be with them. I think that’s tragic. I imagine the hardest thing is loving someone you’re not supposed to love. And then I wonder who society thinks it is telling people who they can and cannot love. The “rules” are always changing. Think back through history (even the last few years) and things like race, social standing, gender… These things used to dictate who you were ALLOWED to love. I don’t think you can really control who you fall in love with. Maybe it’s fate.

So that’s where my head is always at, and a few years ago I started seeing all these news stories popping up about female teachers being fired or imprisoned for having relationships with their students and it got me thinking about the prominent love stories that have been told and retold throughout time about lovers who are ripped apart because society deemed their relationship inappropriate. I really wanted to include society’s imposing opinions (with different viewpoints for audiences to see themselves represented in the story) on the stage and the role of a traditional theatre chorus does that, and I thought who better than a group of gossiping high school teenagers to represent that.

Q: FireWorks is a showcase for full-length plays which have been workshopped and/or dramaturged through Alumnae Theatre Company.  What’s the history of your play?

A:   Two years ago I brought a scene from Divine Wrecks to the Alumnae Theatre New Play Development Group thinking that is was totally not the sort of thing the ladies would like but I wanted to hear it read so I could see if the dialogue was working. And it went over pretty well. So I submitted it to Big Ideas for a staged reading and the response there was overwhelmingly positive and I was encouraged to submit the play to FireWorks for the following year. And here we are.

 
Q: Anything specific you would like the audience to know, or to watch out for in the production?

A:   An earlier draft was a more vague, romantic version of the story, because who doesn’t love a good romance right? Well, I did a reading with some actors and asked for feedback and the room basically said a) it wasn’t dark and disturbing enough to have been written by me because, hey have you read my other plays? and b) I wasn’t doing the source material justice. Essentially, “Don’t be afraid of the darkness. If you’re going to go there, GO THERE!” So I have. So, if you’re offended know it’s because you’re supposed to be. But think about WHY you’re disturbed and learn from that.

 
Q:   Do you have future plans for your play?

A:   I think there are many many different ways to do this play. Except maybe Children’s Theatre. That really wouldn’t go over well. So, obviously I’d like to see it produced again, and often.

 

Thanks, Chloë!

Watch this space for interviews with the other FireWorks playwrights and directors!

 

FIREWORKS SHOWTIMES: 8pm Wed – Sat; 2pm Sat & Sun.

TICKETS:   $15 except Sun – PWYC.

Purchase tickets online (except for Sunday PWYC matinees) or reserve seats and pay cash at Box Office.

No credit or debit cards accepted for in-person sales.

 You might want to consider a 6-play Flex Pass – for $75, you get 6 admissions to be used however you wish. So one person could see 6 plays, or share the tickets with friends and all 6 of you come to one play.

 RESERVATIONS:   E-mail reservations@alumnaetheatre.com or phone 416-364-4170 Box 1.

 POST-SHOW TALKBACKS – “Behind The Curtain”:
Thursdays: Directors Pamela Redfern, Julia Haist or Neil Affleck with their Assistant Directors Melissa Chetty, Lisa Alves, Ingryd Pleitez.
Fridays: Lighting Designer Gabrielle D’Angelo and Sound Designer Bill Scott.
Saturday Matinees: Costume Designers Peter DeFreitas, Toni Hanson, Trish Worrall.
Saturday Evenings: Set Designers Marysia Bucholc, Mark Cope.
Sunday Matinees: Playwrights Chloe Whitehorn, Taylor Marie Graham or Charles Hayter.

 
For more into, and to purchase  tickets online to Divine Wrecks and the other FireWorks plays – Taylor Marie Graham’s Cottage Radio (Nov 11-15) and Charles Hayter’s Radical (Nov 18-22) – please go to http://www.alumnaetheatre.com/fireworks.html

 

Shirley Barrie to be honoured with Playwrights Guild of Canada Lifetime Membership Award

From the PGC website https://www.playwrightsguild.ca/news/shirley-barrie-be-honoured-pgc%E2%80%99s-2015-tom-hendry-awards

Shirley Barrie

Playwrights Guild of Canada is proud to announce that Shirley Barrie will be awarded PGC’s Lifetime Membership Award.

She was selected as PGC’s Lifetime Membership Award recipient for her outstanding body of work as a Canadian playwright, in addition to her years of service to Playwrights Guild of Canada. Shirley was the president of PGC from 2009 – 2011, but she served on the board in various positions for 8 years. Shirley’s work is expansive, multifaceted and truly unique, including award-winning plays such as Straight Stitching, Carrying the Calf, and Revelation. Her extensive use of female historical characters (Beautiful Lady, Tell Me…, Queen Marie, etc.) is particularly noteworthy. As a producer, she co-founded the Tricycle Theatre in London, England with Ken Chubb and from 1989 to 2003 she was co-artistic director with Lib Spry of Straight Stitching Productions. Shirley’s most recent play, I am Marguerite, premiered at the Alumnae Theatre in 2015. She has recently been nominated for Best Toronto Playwright in NOW Magazine’s 2015 Best of Toronto Reader’s Choice Awards. Her creativity and diversity of artistic expression is greatly admired by her fellow playwrights.

 *****

Alumnae Theatre Company is delighted that one of its members is so honoured.  In addition to the credits listed above, Shirley’s play The Pear is Ripe was produced at Alumnae Theatre in 2001 – one of our first member-written plays to grace the Main Stage.  Measure of the World was part of Fireworks 2013, and most recently, Shirley dramaturged Chloe Whitehorn’s Divine Wrecks, which is part of this year’s FireWorks series in November.

Casting Call for FireWorks 2015

The FireWorks Festival runs November 4-22, 2015 with three plays each running for one week of the festival. For more information on the festival please see the FireWorks page of www.alumnaetheatre.com.
Below are the character breakdowns for each play. Auditions will be scheduled August 17-23, and callbacks the last week of August.

TO REQUEST AN AUDITION: e-mail FWauditions@gmail.com
Be sure to include your RESUME, HEADSHOT, AGE RANGE and your PHONE NUMBER.  Candidates selected to audition will be contacted. Please come prepared with a monologue. Directors from more than one play may be present at the audition. Callbacks will be done separately for each play.
Members of Alumnae Theatre Company will be given priority consideration.
The scripts are available at the Toronto Reference Library, 5th floor, Performance Desk, 789 Yonge Street.
Auditions will be held at the Alumnae Theatre, 70 Berkeley Street (at Adelaide).
AUDITION DATES:                       August 17-23
CALL BACKS:                                  August 26-31
REHEARSALS:                               September 10 – November 3, 10, 17
PERFORMANCES:                        November 4-8, 11-15, 18-22.

Divine Wrecks by Chloe Whitehorn
(performances November 4-8, 2015)
Synopsis:
​A high school god falls for the wrong girl, his teacher.  A dark tale of heart break and revelations, Divine Wrecks explores the nature of love without boundaries. A modern take on a classic tale.

Character Breakdown:
(Note: We expect to cast actors in their early twenties for the teenage roles due to the mature nature of the roles)
EDDY: male, sixteen, troubled star athlete. After a tragedy he feels disconnected from everyone and is looking for meaning.
CASS: female, thirties, high school English teacher. Is haunted by her past.
CHORUS 1: male, teenager, confident jock. At the top of the school hierarchy but not the “steal your lunch money” type.
CHORUS 2: female, teenager, fluffy pretty cheerleader. Extremely confident and used to getting her way.
CHORUS 3: female, teenager, alternative look. Bit of a slacker “f**k-the world if the world doesn’t care” attitude.
CHORUS 4: male, teenager, prep nerd. Shy but eager to be included.

Cottage Radio by Taylor Marie Graham
(performances November 11-15, 2015)
Synopsis:
Inspired by the true events of the Goderich, Ontario 2011 F3 class tornado, Cottage Radio explores the effect of the horrific storm on the fictional, yet very recognizable Marley clan. The family is forced to deal with the horrific events of the storm that is currently bringing them together, while confronting all the past events that kept them apart for so long. The play includes gorgeous original indie rock songs performed by members of the collective live on stage, while the play gently and graciously combining humour and drama in surrounding scenes. The premiere production in Goderich, Ontario left audiences moved and the Toronto re-imagining is sure to do the same.

Character Breakdown:
Gordon Marley – 55 years old. Uncle to Christina and Nadine; son of Susan. Recently lost his house in the tornado. Over-indulges with alcohol, silence, and solitude. Past competitive rower.

Christina (Chris) Marley – 32 years old. Sister of Nadine, granddaughter to Susan, niece to Gordon, childhood best friend of Jasper.   Past drummer in the band Huron Haven; host of COTTAGE radio.
Would prefer to be 17 and full of potential again rather than 32 and full of pain and regrets, so
she stifled her maturity at 17 years old and expects everyone around her to do the same. Uses sarcasm to deflect.

 

Nadine Marley – 27 years old,. Sister of Christina, granddaughter to Susan, niece to Gordon, friend of Jasper. Guitar and vocals in the band Huron Haven. Is afraid to admit she misses everyone, has made some poor choices in the new people in her life away from family, and can’t handle everything all by herself all the time.
Jasper Taylor – 30 years old. No blood relation to the Marleys. Guitar and vocals in the band Huron Haven. Can’t let go of a fantasy version of reality where actions do not have consequences, and
everything is ok if it feels right. Very charming. Adventurous.
Susan Marley – 84 years old, grandmother to Christina and Nadine, mother of Gordon. Is getting old and sees her family being ripped apart and unable to make proper adult decisions. All she can do is try to remind them of their ties to each other and their home before she passes on. Very dedicated to the tornado clean-up effort.

 

 Radical by Charles Hayter
(performances Nov 18-22, 2015)
Synopsis:
The story of a forgotten Canadian hero, Dr. Vera Peters, and her fight to alter breast cancer treatment. Spurred on by patient outrage, memories of her mother’s suffering, and her own diagnosis of breast cancer, Peters embarks on a quest to find a gentler alternative to the mutilating radical mastectomy – and in the process sets the surgical world against her.

Character Breakdown:
HELEN, female, sixtyish, prim, conservative, fiercely loyal, wryly humourous nurse.
ROSE, female, early fifties, brash, earthy, fiesty, feminist, political, professor of sociology.
VERA, female, early fifties, caring, compassionate, yet quietly driven, chain smoking cancer specialist, accomplished medical professional, very “put together”.
FRANK, male, early thirties, young, impressionable, thoughtful, ambitious greenhorn surgeon.
BERNIE, male, fifties, conservative, intelligent, chauvinistic, surly, blunt, yet vulnerable Chief of Surgery.

Alumnae Theatre encourages diversity in its membership and casting. This is a non-paying engagement.

 

Playwright Profile: Catherine Frid

Playwrights Guild of Canada posted the latest edition of a feature called “Follow the Playwright” on their website today.  The subject is Catherine Frid, a member of both Alumnae Theatre Company and Playwrights Guild of Canada.  Frid’s long one-act play Burying Toni was presented last November as part of Alumnae’s FireWorks series, and a shorter work, (En)Lightning, is upcoming in Week Two (March 18 – 22) of the New Ideas Festival at Alumnae Theatre.

Here’s the link to PGC piece:

http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=2ca5b5e280d1f81507240586d&id=1309b85088

 

and here’s some info about (En)Lightning at the New Ideas Festival:

http://www.alumnaetheatre.com/nif-week-two.html

New Ideas Festival runs March 11 – 29, with 15 short works making their world premieres.  It’s a different lineup each week – come check them out!  Tickets $15 per week, or $40 for a Festival Pass.  http://www.alumnaetheatre.com/tickets.html

 

 

New Ideas Festival 2015 lineup, etc.

Auditions for the 2015 New Ideas Festival take place January 7-11. To book a slot, please see the instructions at http://www.alumnaetheatre.com/auditions.html

To brush up on audition tips, it couldn’t hurt to read this post from 2013 –https://alumnaetheatre.wordpress.com/2013/01/07/tips-for-actors-from-now-completed-new-ideas-festival-2013-general-auditions/

And now – the lineup for the 2015 Festival.   Plays and writers and directors, oh, my!   The names in bold font are members of Alumnae Theatre Company.

 Week 1 – March 11 – 15, 2015

Inheritance by Tabitha Keast, directed by Matthew Hines

The Indigo Forest by Bridget Erin, directed by Sandra Banman

Lost Connection by Lindsay Finnie, directed by Zita Nyarady

Devices by Meredith Taylor-Parry, directed by Ingryd Pleitez

Saturday Reading: Surrender Dorothy by Liz Best, directed by Eric Benson.

 

Week 2 – March 18 – 22, 2015

(En)Lightning by Catherine Frid, directed by Sandra Burley

Canis familiaris by Carolyn Bennett, directed by Brenda Darling

Sandworms! by D.J. Sylvis, directed by Stacy Halloran

You Can Ask Me How I’m Doing by Norman Yeung, directed by Meg Moran

Saturday Reading: Buy My House by Natalie Frijia, directed by Emily Nixon.

 

Week 3 – March 25 – 29, 2015

Rowing, Onward by Eugenie Carabatsos, directed by Anne MacMillan

Grief Circus by Crystal Wood, directed by Kelsey Laine Jacobson

A Death and the Marias by Rose Napoli, directed by Clara McBride

Friends with Benefits by Neil Naft, directed by Donald Molnar

Saturday Reading: The Creases in My Sari by Sindhuri Nandhakumar, directed by Joanne Williams.

 

New Ideas Festival Co-Artistic Director Carolyn Zapf reported that a total of 375 script submissions were received this year – 105 from Canada and 270 from the rest of the world. Most of the international scripts were from writers in the U.S., but we also received scripts from the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, Argentina, Bulgaria, and Iran.

Carolyn believes that the “huge increase” in scripts received this year is partly because the submission fee was eliminated (originally free since the Festival’s inception in 1988, $10 per script had been charged for submissions to NIF 2012, 2013 and 2014). There is a movement among playwrights, especially in the United States, to boycott festivals with script submission fees.  Many more Canadian scripts than usual were received this year, which she attributes to some targeted invitations and the article about NIF in the Playwrights Guild of Canada e-journal.

Two of the 15 selected scripts are by U.S. writers: The Indigo Forest by Bridget Erin (Louisiana) and Rowing, Onward by Eugenie Carabatsos (New York).  Of the 13 selected Canadian scripts, all are by writers from Toronto & environs, except Devices by Meredith Taylor-Parry, who is from Calgary.

Three scripts are written by members of Alumnae Theatre Company – note that all submissions are read blind:  Inheritance by Tabitha Keast and Surrender Dorothy by Liz Best in Week 1, and (En)Lightning by Catherine Frid in Week 2.  Catherine is a 3-time NIF veteran; Tabitha and Liz are experienced actors, but these are the first plays they have written. Congrats, ladies!

 

In addition to Catherine Frid (Buff – 2010, Over the Edge – 2013; Burying Toni – FireWorks 2014), several other writers from prior years also have plays in NIF 2015:

Norman Yeung (see Week 2) – his play Theory was workshopped in NIF in 2010, expanded and remounted later that year in the SummerWorks Festival, and then staged as part of Alumnae Theatre Company’s first FireWorks festival in 2013.

D.J. Sylvis (see Week 2) – three previous NIF plays:  Godzilla on Sundays (2008), Chance (2009), and Act I of An Inked Heart (2010).

Eugenie Carabatsos (see Week 3) – two previous NIF plays:  In Their Glory (2012), Stalled (2013).

 

Returning directors are Sandra Banman, Eric Benson, Sandra Burley, Brenda Darling, Stacy Halloran, Anne MacMillan, and Joanne Williams.

 

New Ideas Festival runs March 11 – 29. Tickets ($15 each week; readings extra) or passes ($40 for everything) can be purchased online at http://www.alumnaetheatre.com/tickets.html

FireWorks opening for “Burying Toni” tonight; “You Have To Earn It” tomorrow

Last night (Nov 12) FireWorks 2014 kicked off with the first meeting of the group of writers selected to participate in a Playwrights’ Intensive with Maja Ardal.

Tonight is the opening of the first play, Catherine Frid’s drama Burying Toni, directed by Ginette Mohr. It features Glenda Romano as Emma Jung (yes, wife of psychoanalyst Carl), and Natalie Kulesza and Jillian Welsh as elements of her personality.

Glenda Romano, Jillian Welsh (and the hands of Natalie Kulezsa!) in “Burying Toni” at FireWorks 2014. Photo by Dahlia Katz.

The two FireWorks plays are running in repertory (alternating performances), so tomorrow  – Friday – will be the opening night for a madcap comedy by Ramona Baillie and Maria Popoff, You Have To Earn It, directed by Jennifer Radford.  In keeping with the play’s 1930s influence, filmmaker Nicholas Porteous created this great black & white teaser. Enjoy! http://youtu.be/JFF5khWINgE

FireWorks runs to Nov 29 – check http://www.alumnaetheatre.com/fireworks.html for the schedule.  Running time of each play is approx. 70 minutes.

FireWorks series opens Nov 13

Have you heard about the FireWorks happening at Alumnae Theatre? FireWorks started last season – an initiative to showcase full-length plays which have been developed by Alumnae Theatre Company’s New Play Development group of playwrights (the NPD) or which have gone through dramaturgy in Alumnae’s New Ideas Festival.  FireWorks’ mandate is to promote the work inside, around, and after playwriting, and to “pull back the curtain” on the work of bringing new scripts to stage.   Last year it featured three plays, plus associated workshops and panel discussions.

This year, FireWorks presents two plays: the drama Burying Toni by Catherine Frid, and the comedy You Have To Earn It by Ramona Baillie and Maria Popoff.

Plus, in addition to the plays themselves, audiences can attend a couple of fascinating events – included in ticket price! In the “Playwrights Speak” sessions, writers Ramona Baillie, Maria Popoff and Catherine Frid discuss what inspired them, how their scripts evolved and developed from draft to draft, and how they coped with feedback, advice and criticism at various stages.

In the “Roundtables”, audiences can take part in a spirited and provocative symposium.  Scholars and experts, with experience and expertise in the issues raised by the play, will exchange their thoughts with each other and with you.
Instead of a third play, FireWorks producer Dahlia Katz arranged for renowned playwright and director Maja Ardal to conduct a Playwrights’ Intensive series of workshops, on the theme of “There is no such thing as Writer’s Block”.   There was an overwhelming response to this event – only 20 applicants were selected to participate, based on submitted samples of their work. Check out http://www.alumnaetheatre.com/playwrights-intensive.html for an idea of what’s going on.

Tickets: $15.00 – Sunday Matinees PWYC – Festival Pass: $25.00
* Note that the ‘Playwrights Speak’ and the ‘Roundtable Sessions’ are free to attend and occur immediately after the matinee performance on the dates noted.
MooneyOnTheatre is currently running a contest to win tickets to either play – check it out at http://www.mooneyontheatre.com/category/toronto-theatre-contests/

Here is a little info about the plays, and a schedule of when you can see what!

BURYING TONI by Catherine Frid, directed by Ginette Mohr.
Burying Toni explores the complexities within Emma Jung as she grapples with her history, real and imagined, after 50 years of marriage to psychoanalyst Carl Jung. Emma conjures up her husband, Sigmund Freud, and others as she struggles to understand the truth about her past.  Check out photos at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.947601685267809.1073741839.212563355438316&type=1
YOU HAVE TO EARN IT by Ramona Baillie and Maria Popoff, directed by Jennifer Radford.
This madcap roller-coaster ride pays homage to the screwball comedies of the 30s and 40s. A philandering boss, a scheming new employee and a wacky mail room clerk, to name just a few, all with hidden agendas. Can the unassuming Betty survive the intrigue of the corporate world?

See photos athttps://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.948152735212704.1073741840.212563355438316

 

BURYING TONI Thursday, November 13, 8pm – Opening Night Saturday, November 15, 8pm Sunday, November 16, 2pm Wednesday, November 19, 8pm Friday, November 21, 8pm Saturday, November 22, 2pm Thursday, November 27, 8pm Saturday, November 29, 2pm *Playwrights Speak Saturday, November 22 *Roundtable Session Sunday, November 16

YOU HAVE TO EARN IT Friday, November 14, 8pm – Opening Night Saturday, November 15, 2pm Thursday, November 20, 8pm Saturday, November 22, 8pm Sunday, November 23, 2pm Wednesday, November 26, 8pm Friday, November 28, 8pm Saturday, November 29, 8pm *Playwrights Speak Saturday, November 15 *Roundtable Session Sunday, November 23

 

By the way, when you tweet about what you saw at FireWorks @alumnaetheatre, please use the hashtag #FireWorks2014.

Alumnae Theatre Company’s all-Canadian 2014-2015 Season

FROM THE MEDIA RELEASE:
Alumnae Theatre Company proudly announces our completely Canadian 2014-2015 season featuring Escape From Happiness by George F. Walker; the return of last year’s explosively successful FireWorks Festival premiering two original full-length plays; Blood Relations by Sharon Pollock; the 27th annual New Ideas Festival; and the WORLD PREMIERE of Shirley Barrie’s I Am Marguerite.

We launch the season on the Mainstage with Escape From Happiness by George F. Walker, directed by Andrea Wasserman (September 26-October 11, 2014). A bizarre event in a dysfunctional family prompts an incident of brutality in this intensely dark Canadian comedy. Part of Walker’s East End Trilogy, this play explores the most tender moments at the most violent times.

Up in the Studio Theatre, two original full-length plays will be running in repertory as part of the FireWorks Festival (November 12-30, 2014). After last year’s explosive success, FireWorks is back with two plays written by members and developed at Alumnae Theatre: Burying Toni by Catherine Frid and You Have To Earn It by Ramona Baillie and Maria Popoff. A festival of creativity, FireWorks will also feature discussion panels, playwright talkbacks, and we’re delighted to announce that Maja Ardal, renowned Canadian playwright and director, will spearhead the Playwrights’ Intensive Workshop series to run for the duration of the Festival.
Burying Toni explores the complexities within Emma Jung as she grapples with her history, real and imagined, after 50 years of marriage to psychoanalyst Carl Jung. Emma conjures up her husband, Sigmund Freud, and others as she struggles to understand the truth about her past.
You Have To Earn It is a madcap roller-coaster ride that pays homage to the screwball comedies of the 30s and 40s. A philandering boss, a scheming new employee and a wacky mail room clerk, to name just a few, all with hidden agendas. Can the unassuming Betty survive the intrigue of the corporate world?

Our “Countdown to 100” Retrospective Choice originally produced in the Alumnae Theatre Company’s 1994/95 season is Blood Relations by Sharon Pollock, directed by Barbara Larose (January 23-February 7, 2015). In this Governor General’s Award–winning play, Sharon Pollock’s original perspective takes us on a psychological journey, bringing the past to life in a search for a possible answer, a motive. The only suspect, the real Lizzie Borden, was acquitted of murdering her father and stepmother, but in Blood Relations, the chilling question still repeats.

In its 27th season, New Ideas Festival 2015 (March 11-29, 2015) is a three-week, juried celebration of new writing, works-in-progress and experimental theatre, with a different program of plays each week and staged readings on Saturdays at noon. New Ideas is a crucible for original plays, some of which have gone on to full productions elsewhere. As such, they are must-sees for avant-garde Toronto theatre-goers. Writers from all over Canada and beyond submit original short plays which have never before been produced, so every play in the festival is a world premiere.

We are thrilled to close the season with the world premiere of I Am Marguerite by Shirley Barrie, directed by Molly Thom (April 10-25, 2015). Written by one of our members, the script has “grown up” at the Alumnae through various dramaturgical changes and we’re excited to now present this play based on a true story in Canadian history. For choosing love over duty, Marguerite de Roberval was banished to the Isle of Demons off the north coast of Newfoundland. After two years on the desolate island and driven half mad by loneliness, hardship and memories, she now has a chance of rescue.

MAIN STAGE SHOWTIMES: Wed – Sat at 8:00 pm; Sunday matinees at 2pm. TICKETS: Wed 2-for-1; Thurs-Sat $20; PWYC Sundays.
FIREWORKS SHOWTIMES: Wed – Sat at 8pm; Sat & Sun matinees at 2pm. TICKETS:  $15; Sunday Matinees PWYC; Festival Pass $25.
NEW IDEAS FESTIVAL SHOWTIMES: Wed – Sat at 8pm; Sat & Sun matinees 2:30, Noon PWYC reading on Saturdays. TICKETS: $15; Festival Pass $40.
Advance Tickets and season passes available online at www.alumnaetheatre.com
For more information & media kits, contact Chloe Whitehorn at marketing@alumnaetheatre.com

 

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