Tickets: PWYC (Pay What You Can)
Monday May 30th ● 7pm (Doors open at 6:30) ● Detour Bar ● 193 ½ Baldwin Street
Foundry Theatre Company and TD Bank proudly presents the reading of: Pullyupullus by Tololwa Mollel
Play Synopsis:
Inspired by African/ Tanzanian folktale trickster tradition, the trickster hare — a land creature — strikes up an unlikely and forbidden friendship with the dupe hippopotamus — a water creature. Together, they cleverly get rid of their respective rulers and work to resolve implacable differences between land and water creatures.
This story will be presented to the children of St. Josaphat’s Catholic School on May 27th, 2011.
The Writer:
Tololwa Mollel is a children’s author, dramatist and storyteller, who has written sixteen books and several plays as well as stories that he created or adapted for performance. His books, which include award-winning titles such as Rhinos for Lunch and Elephants for Supper, Big Boy, and My Rows and Piles of Coins have been published in Canada, the U.S., Australia, England and Tanzania where he was born. His books have been translated into various South African languages and into Korean.
In Tanzania, Mollel was a University lecturer and an actor in a touring company that performed as far as Germany and Sweden. He continued acting in Canada but came to devote himself to writing and to the literary scene in Edmonton, serving as President of the Writers Guild of Alberta in the late 1990s.
The Dramaturg:
Thomas Morgan Jones is a Toronto-based playwright, director, dramaturg, fight and movement choreographer and instructor. A former Associate Artistic Director of Theatre Direct, recent credits include: director, Waking the Tightrope (two Dora awards), Theatre Direct; director, Roshni by Anusree Roy, Theatre Passe Muraille; member of the inaugural Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Direction at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival (Assistant Director to Marti Maraden on The Winter’s Tale, Director of Troilus and Cressida workshop); Co-Artistic Director of Theatre Jones Roy where he directed Pyaasa (two Dora awards), Letters to my Grandma (two Dora nominations), and Macbeth Reflected. With Theatre Passe Muraille, Pyaasa and Letters appeared for full runs in Toronto before touring nationally. Other highlights include three seasons as movement coach with Modern Times Stage Company and six seasons as a company member with The Charlottetown Festival. He is currently the Playwright-In-Residence at Cahoots Theatre Company where he is creating a new piece titled Sam in Three, is developing a new musical with Canadian composer Nicky Phillips and is co-writing a new play with actor Michelle Polak. A Full Member of The Playwrights Guild of Canada he lives in the Leslieville area of Toronto with his wonderful wife, Josie.
The Director:
Andrea Donaldson is a director, theatre creator and performer. Directing highlights include Atomic Weight of Happiness for Stand Up Dance, Montparnasse for Groundwater in association with Theatre Passe Muraille (SummerWorks Spotlight Award – Directing), Dora nominated Offensive Fouls for Theatre Direct, Dora nominated The Unfortunate Misadventures of Masha Galinski in Winnipeg, Victoria and twice in Toronto, The Blyth Festival’s Young Company, Howard Barker’s The Possibilities at SummerWorks in Toronto and in Vancouver, and Rob Baker’s Crack in Toronto and Vancouver, as well as her own play Garden at Rhubarb. Andrea is presently developing The Dark, a new work that she initiated as Theatre Direct Canada’s Playwright in Residence, performing and creating Switched with Anna Chatterton, developing and directing Mourning Amsterdam with Michelle Polak and Thomas Morgan Jones and will direct Tyumen, Then by special invitation of The Toronto Fringe Festival.
Click here to learn more about Pullyupullus with Tololwa, Thomas and Andrea in our video series, Forging Ahead.
The company: Foundry Theatre Company is a non-profit charitable organization that produces eight full-length readings, selected by a jury, over the course of its season. Our main objective is the development of Canadian full-length works that reflect the cultural diversity in Toronto, Ontario and across the nation.
