Workshop: The Directors’ Showcase and Exchange, Crow’s Theatre and the National Theatre School of Canada

In partnership with the National Theatre School of Canada, Crow’s Theatre will host The Directors’ Showcase & Exchange in Toronto May 15-17. All events are free, but seating is limited. Register today to reserve your seat.

THE NATIONAL THEATRE SCHOOL SHOWCASE

A unique initiative launched by Crow’s Theatre Artistic Director and Co-Director of the NTS Directing Program, Chris Abraham and Program Co-Director Sarah Stanley, The National Theatre School Directors’ Showcase will feature a slate of innovative contemporary work, helmed by a trio of exceptional young directors: Philip McKee, Vahid Rahbani and Anita Rochon.

A stellar ensemble of actors from across the country – including Clare Coulter, Waneta Storms, Steve Cumyn and Brian Dooley – perform in works by some of the world’s most startling contemporary dramatists. The projects were originally mentored by award-winning director Jennifer Tarver, choreographer Deborah Dunn, and Dora Award-winning designer Julie Fox.

Click here to download a full schedule of performances

This rare celebration shines a spotlight on some of the country’s hottest young directing talent:

• Anita Rochon directs In the Solitude of Cotton Fields by French bad boy Bernard-Marie Koltès – a dazzling psychological drama, immediately hailed as a contemporary classic at its 1987 premiere. It plays in the parking lot at 90 Lisgar Street.

• Philip McKee directs UK innovator and legend Caryl Churchill’s Far Away – a howl of anguish at the increasingly accepted levels of inhumanity in a world perpetually involved in conflict – in the TPM Backspace.

• Rounding off the program at the Theatre Centre, Vahid Rahbani works with acclaimed performers Waneta Storms and Brian Dooley, directing them in a daring and incendiary work, and Anita Rochon directs and performs in her original piece Now he belongs to the ages (angels) for an intimate audience of 16.

As a part of the showcase, Crow’s Theatre will present staged readings of Caryl Churchill’s latest play Seven Jewish Children: A Play for Gaza, directed by NTS alumnus Rose Plotek. Ann-Marie MacDonald, Philip Riccio, Rosemary Dunsmore and R.H. Thomson highlight an incredible cast that will perform in Churchill’s 10-minute drama about a group of adults trying to explain pivotal moments in Jewish history to an unseen child.

THE DIRECTORS’ EXCHANGE

Curated by 2b Theatre’s Christian Barry, The Directors’ Exchange invites some of the country’s top artistic leaders to reflect on ideas of director training, cultural leadership and their own path from emerging artist to Artistic Director.

Crow’s Theatre will present the Directors’ Exchange on Saturday May 16th at the Theatre Centre. Register today to reserve your seat.

PANELISTS INCLUDE:

PETER HINTON – National Arts Centre
MATTHEW JOCELYN – Canadian Stage
JACKIE MAXWELL – Shaw Festival
JILLIAN KEILEY – Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland
YVETTE NOLAN – Native Earth
DANIEL BROOKS – Necessary Angel
RICHARD ROSE – Tarragon Theatre
LISE ANN JOHNSON – Great Canadian Theatre Company

The discussion will be moderated by Die in Debt Co-Artistic Director Sarah Stanley.

Space for Rent: 750A Queen Street East, Roxanne Reads New and Used Books

Rehearsal Space Available!!!

We have an open and versatile 800 sq ft space in the downstairs of our bookstore available for rent. It’s – great for workshops, classes, rehearsals, readings or performances – there’s even have a little stage built right in. Reasonable hourly, daily and weekly rates.

We are located at 750A Queen Street East (just east of Broadview) in the Riverside District.

Contact us at Roxanne Reads New and Used Books for more details at 416-466-6999 or email us at info@roxannereads.com

* Special rates for Fringe Festival/SummerWorks participating companies.

Workshop: Free Learning Series for Individuals Looking to Begin a Career in Theatre, Canadian Stage Company

Learning Series for Individuals Looking to Begin a Career in Theatre – FREE three-part series features guest speakers and networking opportunities -

The Canadian Stage Company is pleased to announce a FREE three-part learning series called Beginning a Career in Theatre that emphasizes the artistic, technical and corporate aspects of theatre. The series runs May 11 to July 6 at the Berkeley Street Theatre, 26 Berkeley Street, and is aimed at members of the community interested in theatre experience and making valuable contacts for the future. Through guest speaker presentations, participants will learn about becoming an artist or theatre professional and how to jump start a career, as well as have the opportunity to network with professionals by way of an exciting and provocative lecture in a lively question-and-answer format. Registration is required: intern@canstage.com.

Beginning a Career in Theatre as an Artist with Trey Anthony, playwright, ‘da Kink in my Hair, award-winning play & television series. Monday, May 11, 6 to 7 pm

Berkeley Street Theatre, 26 Berkeley Street – Rehearsal Hall
In part one of The Canadian Stage Company’s FREE three-part learning series, Trey Anthony shares her experiences in launching her career, and the ins and outs of becoming an artist.

Beginning a Career in Theatre: Behind the Scenes with Gail Packwood and Weyni Mengesha. Monday, June 1, 6 to 7 pm

Berkeley Street Theatre, 26 Berkeley Street – Rehearsal Hall
In part two of The Canadian Stage Company’s FREE three-part learning series, Gail Packwood, Associate Producer for The Canadian Stage Company, and Weyni Mengesha, Director/Dramaturge, provide valuable insight on how they broke into the field.

Beginning a Career in Theatre: Operations and Creative Management with Andy McKim and David Abel. Monday July 6, 6 to 7 pm

Berkeley Street Theatre, 26 Berkeley Street – Rehearsal Hall
In part three of The Canadian Stage Company’s FREE three-part learning series, Andy McKim, Artistic Director of Theatre Passe Muraille and David Abel, Executive Producer & General Manager of The Canadian Stage Company discuss the business aspects of running a theatre and how to cultivate artistic vision.

The Canadian Stage Company is Canada’s leading not-for-profit contemporary theatre company. Nationally acclaimed, the Company was founded in 1987 with the merger of CentreStage and Toronto Free Theatre. The Company is dedicated to producing international contemporary theatre and to developing and producing landmark Canadian works which have been awarded some of the country’s most prestigious literary and performing arts honours, including the Governor General’s, Chalmers and Dora Mavor Moore Awards. The Company presents the richest variety of Canadian and international plays and musicals – from edgy and provocative work at the Berkeley Street Theatre to productions with universal appeal at the Bluma Appel Theatre and a summer of Shakespeare at the TD Dream in High Park. Canadian Stage has a long-standing commitment to education and enhancement programs for the public, nurturing theatre professionals, and developing new Canadian plays, while producing thought-provoking theatre and quality entertainment in Toronto, one of North America’s largest theatre centres. For more information, refer to canstage.com.

BEGINNING A CAREER IN THEATRE
FREE three-part learning series presented by The Canadian Stage Company
Berkeley Street Theatre, 26 Berkeley St. – Rehearsal Hall
May 11, June 1 and July 6 at 6 pm
REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED: RSVP to intern@canstage.com
MORE INFO: intern@canstage.com

Call for Submissions: The 2010 Next Stage Theatre Festival, Toronto Fringe Festival

Presented by the Toronto Fringe, NSTF is designed to give Fringe artists a new platform to showcase their talents. Running in early January 2010, Next Stage is a curated event.  A panel of judges will select eight participating companies based on the merits of a finished script and past artistic successes.

In just two years, NSTF has seen incredible growth, received critical acclaim and established outstanding resources for independent companies looking to reach a wider audience.

Past participants include:

• Single Threat Theatre, A Quiet Place (FOUR Dora Award Nominations)
• gay4pay co-op (Edmonton), Bash’d (Off-Broadway run at The Zipper Theatre)
• New Fangled Stages, Random Acts of Love (multiple remounts across Ontario)
• Monster Theatre, Jesus Christ: The Lost Years (Vancouver remount)
• Green Pea Collective, Conservatives in Love (regional tour and Ottawa and New York remount)
• Reesor Productions, Reesor by Erin Brandenburg and Lauren Taylor, music by Andrew Penner
• The Anonymous Co-op, Humans Anonymous by Kate Hewlett
• MackenzieRo, The Rake’s Progress
• Solid State Breakdance, Take it Back
• Convergence Theatre, Yichud/Seclusion

At Fringes and other festivals across the country every year, thousands of artists create work of remarkable quality and diversity.  They contribute to the cultural ecology of our country, and within the context of the emerging artist community often succeed in reaching new audiences in a way that larger institutions envy.  There remains however a gap between “Fringe” and “established” companies.  One of the major challenges for Fringe companies is to take the leap to full production models, especially considering the significant costs related to self-producing.

The goals of the Next Stage Festival are to:

• Maintain and build on the creative momentum of emerging and established artists
• Give promising artists development resources and another chance to present their work in front of a sophisticated, supportive audience
• Offer local audiences more opportunities to enjoy affordable, high-quality theatre
• Showcase innovative works to local artistic directors and producers

NSTF Provides:

• Some financial assistance for rehearsal space and access to a professional lighting designer
• Limited travel assistance for national or international artists
• A “no-cost” participation fee (only a reading fee of $30 is required)

Applications are available at www.fringetoronto.com
Don’t miss this chance to develop your work!
Application deadline is Sunday May 10 at 11:59pm.

Event: Free Concert Series, Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts

The Free Concert Series in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre includes concerts, performances and presentations by young artists, Canadian and international opera stars and COC staff.  This is an exciting opportunity for Torontonians to experience the artistic excellence and cultural diversity of the city.  All performances are free to the public.

May 5, 2009
12 – 1 p.m. – Chamber Music Series. The members of the chamber ensemble Duo Concertante, Nancy Dahn (on violin) and Timothy Steeves (on piano) present It Takes Two. This performance includes popular favourites and rarities from across the centuries, from Beethoven’s third sonata (Op.12, No. 3) to R. Murray Schafer’s only work for violin and piano, written especially for the Duo Concertante.

May 6, 2009
5:30 – 6:30 p.m. Chamber Music Series. Four members of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, Aya Miyagawa, Bethany Bergman, Joshua Greenlaw and Elspeth Poole unite to perform Mozart’s String Quartet in E-flat major, the third of the “Haydn” quartets, and Prokofiev’s rarely-performed and exotic String Quartet No. 2 in F major, “on Kabaradian themes.” The quartet captures the verve and exoticism of Kabardino-Balkar folk themes, frequently imitating oriental plucked and percussion instruments.

May 7, 2009
12 – 1 p.m. World Music Series. Join Subhadra Vijaykumar for Introduction to South Indian Violin. Discover the technique and culture of traditional Carnatic violin: how it differs from the Western style of violin and its important role in South Indian classical music.

May 12, 2009
12 – 1 p.m. Piano Virtuoso Series. Grand Prize winner of the Montreal International Musical Competition, Piano 2004, Ukrainian pianist Serhiy Salov creates true excitement with Oriental Fantasy. The program features works by Scarlatti, Beethoven, Ravel and Balakirev’s exotic virtuoso showpiece: Islamei: Fantaisie Orientale.

May 14, 2009
12 – 1 p.m. Dance Series. COBA (Collective Of Black Artists) present excerpts from three of its most popular works, Maa Keeba, Cross Currents and Doun Doun and gives insight into its upcoming collaboration with the U.K.’s Tavaziva Dance.

May 19, 2009
12 – 1 p.m. World Music Series. Experience the melting of a woman’s heart in exquisite love songs.  Maryam Toumrai performs songs from her debut CD, Under Your Spell.  It’s a collection of Middle Eastern/Mediterranean sounds in a series of spellbinding settings of Persian texts and older traditional Persian songs.

May 21, 2009
12 – 1 p.m. Vocal Series. Under the direction of conductor/composer Thomas Bell, the Mississauga Children’s Choir performs Earth, Wind, Fire and Water, with music by Schubert, Mark Sirret, R. Murray Schafer, Stephen Hatfield, and Thomas Bell.

May 26, 2009
12 – 1 p.m. Renaissance Festival. The Tallis Choir presents Palestrina’s exquisite masterpiece, the Missa Papae Marcelli. Conducted by Peter Mahon, the choir performs the entire mass combined with Gregorian chant and a selection of motets and anthems of the period.

May 27, 2009
12 – 1 p.m. Piano Virtuoso Series. East-West Folk and Fantasy, featuring pianist Elaine Lau, is a varied program including Tan Dun’s evocative Memories in Watercolour and Schumann’s epic tribute to Beethoven, Fantasie in C.

June 2, 2009
12 – 1 p.m. World Music Series. Classical guitarist Raffi Altounian presents The Art of Spanish Guitar, a selection of music from Spain and Latin America including works by Joaquín Turina, Vincente Asencio and Heitor Villa-Lobos.

June 3, 2009
5:30 – 6:30 p.m. Renaissance Festival. Under the baton of its new music director, Mark Vuorinen, the Toronto Chamber Choir explores the eternal duality of heaven and earth in this program of a cappella repertoire, Caelum et Terra!  Drawing from the choir’s selection of music by the Renaissance masters, the singers juxtapose sacred motets with earthly, modern part-songs by Benjamin Britten and Irving Fine.

June 4, 2009
12 – 1 p.m. Vocal Series. Under the direction of Kevin Mallon, the Aradia Ensemble presents the North American premiere of Haydn’s comic opera Lo Speziale in a German version reconstructed by Gustav Mahler as Der Apotheker and last performed at the Vienna State Opera under Mahler’s direction over 100 years ago.

June 9, 2009
12 – 1 p.m. World Music Series. Four female taiko drummers, Laura Chambers, Laura Savage, Trish Mangat and Charlene Jack and four male percussionists Richard Burrows, Adam Campbell, Jamie Drake and Daniel Morphy present A Celebration of the World of Drumming, a high-octane program featuring percussion instruments from around the world, from ancient times to the modern day.

June 11, 2009
12 – 1 p.m. Dance Series. Dancers from the National Ballet of Canada present Choreographic Explorations, a series of newly created works and works-in-progress featuring dancers from the company.

Workshop: Getting Started for Actors, Theatre Ontario

Getting Started for Actors: Theatre Ontario Workshop, Wednesday May 13, 2009, 2:30 – 4:30 pm Two hours with Tim Chapman, our professional theatre coordinator, answering the most frequently asked questions about the BUSINESS of acting.

Find out about:

• The realities of showbiz
• Pictures and resumés
• Equity and ACTRA
• Agents & casting directors
• Maintaining and improving your acting skills

FREE! ***Theatre Ontario Members Only*** Reserve your spot now – info@theatreontario.org 416-408-4556, x10