The Rice Report returns

Good news
Praxis Theatre Co-Artistic Director Simon Rice has resurrected his widely beloved U.S. politics journal The Rice Report.

A Rice Report primer
The Rice Report started back in 2004 – a reaction to Simon’s growing distress with the state of American politics and its questionable foreign policies. His Rice Report newsletter series used the 2004 U.S. presidential election as a springboard to foster rigorous (and informed) discussion of an increasingly compromised democratic process.

His weekly reports became wildly popular among a small group of followers – and included a live play-by-play “performance” of the controversial Kerry-Bush showdown on election night: Tuesday, November 11, 2004.

A new blog
We are thrilled to welcome Mr. Rice to the blogosphere and announce the return of The Rice Report. Among the topics he’s promising will be in the cards:

Who’s running? From Hilary to Huckabee, the A-Z on 2008!
2004 Aftermath – Was the general election stolen?
The Hidden History of 9/11 – A weekly crash course for beginners and/or skeptics.

And if you’re wondering what any of this has to do with theatre, check Simon’s response to one of our 10 questions:

6) How has your interest in American politics influenced your ideas about theatre?
American politics have all the great elements of drama – farce, tragedy, absurdity, heroes, villains, clowns – the stakes are always high and although much focus has been put on the circus-like atmosphere of modern American politics, we all want to know what the next Act will bring. The Bush administration has felt like the usurping power in one of Shakespeare’s histories. With Donald “Rummy” Rumsfeld emerging as chief rhetorician, uttering such poetic lines as, “The absence of evidence, is not evidence of absence,” when no WMDs were found in Iraq. That’s a beautiful line!

I guess what I’m saying is that my passion for American politics deepens my understanding of theatre, and vice-versa.

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Click here to get to The Rice Report, then hit “Bookmark” on your browser. You’ll be glad you did.

Sentences 55-59

The series continues:

55) Why do I have to become a film star before people will come to see me in the theatre?

56) Theatre is better than movies because you can travel through time, space, gender and class using only the actors and the audience’s collective imagination.

57) One is transported to a different space and time with little recognition that one is simply watching a performance, instead they are experiencing and performing along with the artists.

58) The best theatre misses being terrible theatre by a hair.

59) Theatre creates dialogue and community.

---

Click here for the series introduction and for a complete list of sentences so far.

Out and about

Donna-Michelle St. Bernard and Catherine Hernandez
(both of Native Earth Performing Arts)
seen here leaving their offices in Toronto’s Distillery District.

The pair were seen later in the day shopping at
Toronto’s upscale MarieJosette wearable art boutique.

---

Spotted any hot theatre talent out and about
in your neighbourhood?
Send us your starstruck theatre photos:
celebrity@praxistheatre.com

Sentences 50-54

The series continues:

50) Theatre is the art of bleeding in public.

51) What is most interesting about theatre is seeing/experiencing the collective mind in action – no right, no wrong, just the ‘attempt’ at working through a vision honestly.

52) The human spirit is viscerally attracted to and innately seeks out stories; theatre is just one medium to tell a story.

53) I’m tired of seeing B-list TV celebrities on Broadway who can’t act “taking a break” from their lousy careers and making me suffer.

54) To change the landscape of what is revered and what is questioned.

---

Click here for the series introduction and for a complete list of sentences so far.

Sentences 45-49

The series continues:

45) Dialogue is useful but action is eternal.

46) Theatre is one of the few things in my life that is sacred and ceremonious.

47) It is theatre that stops me from having a 9-to-5 job.

48) Transgression and betrayal of the senses and the accepted reactions of society.

49) Theatre is pornography with your clothes on.

---

Click here for the series introduction and for a complete list of sentences so far.

Sentences 40-44

The series continues:

40) The theatre is one of last sources of mystery left in the modern world.

41) Theatre dies when it is not played HERE, NOW, TODAY.

42) If a single sentence could contain the essence of theatre, that sentence would surely cause the universe to collapse.

43) Alive: If it weren’t then this blog wouldn’t exist.

44) How many theatre artists does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

---

Click here for the series introduction and for a complete list of sentences so far.

Out and about

Actor Cole J. Alvis seen here leaving Equity Showcase Theatre.
(Toronto, Canada)

---

Spotted any hot theatre talent out and about
in your neighbourhood?
Send us your starstruck theatre photos:
celebrity@praxistheatre.com

Sentences 35-39

The series continues:

35) Theatre is a museum of the human being’s visceral state; perhaps it could compete with the ROM or AGO if patrons had to observe the piece blindfolded.

36) Theatre is awfully fun to make when you’re working with good people.

37) Theatre is a singularity.

38) Theatre is usually the most magical when its practitioners have small budgets.

39) When someone tries to undermine an actor’s job by labeling it ‘easy’, an appropriate retort would be: “Making it look ‘easy’ is one of the most difficult parts of the job.”

---

Click here for the series introduction and for a complete list of sentences so far.

Sentences 30-34

The series continues:

30) Theatre brings artists of all genres together to tell a story – or many stories – of the human experience, perhaps seeking to create community.

31) Theatre is most compelling when it engages both the audience and the performers as much in their pinky toes as it does in their brains.

32) When a theatrical performance really and truly grabs hold of me, it becomes very dangerous, and I realize that if the actor jumps off a cliff I’m going to jump with them.

33) Bad theatre is usually the audiences fault.

34) A one-hour piece of theatre can put your materialistic concerns on ice; come feel the warmth inside the theatre community and let some of that freezing cold ice melt.

---

Click here for the series introduction and for a complete list of sentences so far.

Sentences 25-29

The series continues:

25) Sport is theatre.

26) Theatre is a dish best served with a post-show pint.

27) Theatre lives and breathes everywhere that an audience gathers; no matter if it’s one person, 400, or 2000.

28) This is frustrating.

29) In some respects, those little black-box theatre productions, ubiquitous in the vibrant cities of the artist, can represent some of life’s most disturbing and darkest corners; so the theatre can be a place where you should enter at your own visceral risk.

---

Click here for the series introduction and for a complete list of sentences so far.

Now playing: The Prince of Hamlet

Click here for more info and here for tickets.

Sentences 20-24

The series continues:

20) At its worst, the theatre mimics self-exploration, and does it so convincingly that even it believes in its own magical powers, and then heads straight to the pub for a rousing self-congratulatory drink!

21) Boys and girls may come and go, but theatre will never leave me.

22) Exploration of how, why, searching for answers yet finding more questions.

23) There is nothing worse than listening to a group of actors talk about their agents and the industry.

24) Theatre is sport.

---

Click here for the series introduction and for a complete list of sentences so far.

Sentences 15-19

The series continues:

15) Unable to turn away from what is disturbing or triumphant, one feels complicit somehow, the journey is real yet imagined and accepted because we are all here at once taking it all in together.

16) Bad theatre is a particularly embarrassing form of public self-flagellation.

17) The basic moral outline of Christianity and, therefore, society’s principal template, has blatantly shown us how to repress our feelings and fall back or rely on a state of emotional denial; while theatre shows us how to identify and exhume that specified and odious feeling, to scrutinize its causes and origins, and then simply to express it.

18) Theatre is not an empirical science.

19) The power of theatre is exemplified when artists answer a production they disagree with, or just plain didn’t like, with “I can do that better” – and when they actually get off their asses and do it.

---

Click here for the series introduction and for a complete list of sentences so far.

Sentences 10-14

The series continues:

10) At its best, theatre is a form of communal self-betterment, pulling us and pushing us, exposing us, and maybe, if we’re lucky, healing us.

11) Gorilla theatre – rarely seen of late – any ideas?

12) If you strive for financial security and you want a career in the theatre, you are likely to be disappointed.

13) Theatre has been “in trouble” for 10,000 years.

14) Theatre resists the universality of mass media, and withers under the glare of glossy magazine spreads.

---

Click here for the series introduction and for a complete list of sentences so far.

The Fort at York

Opens in Toronto this Thursday, September 20.
Click here for more info and here to buy tickets.

Sentences 6-9

The series continues:

6) Even theatre that is done poorly or fails in its original intent has the wonderful effect of getting people talking and stirs artists to action.

7) The theatre tends to mirror social and political trends in the world around us, making the vast majority of it either hopelessly conventional or radical to a fault.

8) What are the best questions to ask ourselves about this form?

9) The thing about theatre is that even the reruns are a little different.

---

Click here for the series introduction and for a complete list of sentences so far.

Praxis Theatre email outage

A quick housekeeping note: Over the course of this past weekend, Praxis Theatre made a transition to a more robust email server. As a result of this process, any email sent to our praxistheatre.com email addresses during that time (approximately 5pm EST on Friday, September 7 until 5pm EST on Sunday, September 9) would have been lost to the ether.

In other words, if you sent us any email this weekend . . . we didn’t receive it. Sorry for any inconvenience. Please resend if applicable.

Thanks!

101 sentences about theatre

The idea:
Inspired by George Hunka’s wonderful 95 sentences about theatre project (which was itself inspired by Martin Luther’s Catholic church-challenging 95 theses), Praxis Theatre has decided to put together its own list of sentences about theatre.

We’re not saying we know where these sentences will take us – or what it will all mean when we’re done. We’re just saying . . . so to speak.

Here’s how it’s going to work:
In a series of blog posts over the next few months, Praxis Theatre will create and make public a list of 101 original (or, as original as possible) sentences about theatre. These sentences will be composed by various members of our creative team. They will be published anonymously and without regard for the order in which they have been submitted. In this way, we hope these sentences will grow to be a manifesto of sorts for our company – a true-ish representation of our collective voice.

---

And so here begins, Praxis Theatre’s 101 sentences about theatre:

1) The best thing about theatre is that you can’t do it by yourself.

2) Theatre can make anybody feel instantly educated.

3) Bad theatre rubs its own hands together in a public display of self-comforting false modesty.

4) The circus of humanity is explored.

5) The theatre of the gimmick is giving the children chocolate cake when they haven’t even tried the vegetable stir fry; after the cake has been digested, will they even consider the stir fry; or will apathy be the victor . . . again and again?

6) Even theatre that is done poorly or fails in its original intent has the wonderful effect of getting people talking and stirs artists to action.

7) The theatre tends to mirror social and political trends in the world around us, making the vast majority of it either hopelessly conventional or radical to a fault.

8) What are the best questions to ask ourselves about this form?

9) The thing about theatre is that even the reruns are a little different.

10) At its best, theatre is a form of communal self-betterment, pulling us and pushing us, exposing us, and maybe, if we’re lucky, healing us.

11) Guerrilla theatre – rarely seen of late – any ideas?

12) If you strive for financial security and you want a career in the theatre, you are likely to be disappointed.

13) Theatre has been “in trouble” for 10,000 years.

14) Theatre resists the universality of mass media, and withers under the glare of glossy magazine spreads.

15) Unable to turn away from what is disturbing or triumphant, one feels complicit somehow, the journey is real yet imagined and accepted because we are all here at once taking it all in together.

16) Bad theatre is a particularly embarrassing form of public self-flagellation.

17) The basic moral outline of Christianity and, therefore, society’s principal template, has blatantly shown us how to repress our feelings and fall back or rely on a state of emotional denial; while theatre shows us how to identify and exhume that specified and odious feeling, to scrutinize its causes and origins, and then simply to express it.

18) Theatre is not an empirical science.

19) The power of theatre is exemplified when artists answer a production they disagree with, or just plain didn’t like, with “I can do that better” – and when they actually get off their asses and do it.

20) At its worst, the theatre mimics self-exploration, and does it so convincingly that even it believes in its own magical powers, and then heads straight to the pub for a rousing self-congratulatory drink!

21) Boys and girls may come and go, but theatre will never leave me.

22) Exploration of how, why, searching for answers yet finding more questions.

23) There is nothing worse than listening to a group of actors talk about their agents and the industry.

24) Theatre is sport.

25) Sport is theatre.

26) Theatre is a dish best served with a post-show pint.

27) Theatre lives and breathes everywhere that an audience gathers; no matter if it’s one person, 400, or 2000.

28) This is frustrating.

29) In some respects, those little black-box theatre productions, ubiquitous in the vibrant cities of the artist, can represent some of life’s most disturbing and darkest corners; so the theatre can be a place where you should enter at your own visceral risk.

30) Theatre brings artists of all genres together to tell a story – or many stories – of the human experience, perhaps seeking to create community.

31) Theatre is most compelling when it engages both the audience and the performers as much in their pinky toes as it does in their brains.

32) When a theatrical performance really and truly grabs hold of me, it becomes very dangerous, and I realize that if the actor jumps off a cliff I’m going to jump with them.

33) Bad theatre is usually the audiences fault.

34) A one-hour piece of theatre can put your materialistic concerns on ice; come feel the warmth inside the theatre community and let some of that freezing cold ice melt.

35) Theatre is a museum of the human being’s visceral state; perhaps it could compete with the ROM or AGO if the patrons had to observe the piece blindfolded.

36) Theatre is awfully fun to make when you’re working with good people.

37) Theatre is a singularity.

38) Theatre is usually the most magical when its practitioners have small budgets.

39) When someone tries to undermine an actor’s job by labeling the description as ‘easy’, an appropriate retort would be: “Making it look ‘easy’ is one of the most difficult parts of the job.”

40) The theatre is one of last sources of mystery left in the modern world.

41) Theatre dies when it is not played HERE, NOW, TODAY.

42) If a single sentence could contain the essence of theatre, that sentence would surely cause the universe to collapse.

43) Alive: If it weren’t then this blog wouldn’t exist.

44) How many theatre artists does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

45) Dialogue is useful but action is eternal.

46) Theatre is the one of the few things in my life that is sacred and ceremonious.

47) It is theatre that stops me from having a 9-to-5 job.

48) Transgression and betrayal of the senses and the accepted reactions of society.

49) Theatre is pornography with your clothes on.

50) Theatre is the art of bleeding in public.

51) What is most interesting about theatre is seeing/experiencing the collective mind in action – no right, no wrong, just the ‘attempt’ at working through a vision honestly.

52) The human spirit is viscerally attracted to and innately seeks out stories; theatre is just one medium to tell a story.

53) I’m tired of seeing B-list TV celebrities on Broadway who can’t act “taking a break” from their lousy careers and making me suffer.

54) To change the landscape of what is revered and what is questioned.

55) Why do I have to become a film star before people will come to see me in the theatre?

56) Theatre is better than movies because you can travel through time, space, gender and class using only the actors and the audience’s collective imagination.

57) One is transported to a different space and time with little recognition that one is simply watching a performance, instead they are experiencing and performing along with the artists.

58) The best theatre misses being terrible theatre by a hair.

59) Theatre creates dialogue and community.

60) Please forgive me for my weak performance.

61) There are no lines across which good theatre is afraid to travel.

62) If one could truly do theatre by oneself, from scratch to sculpture, there would be a lot of more it.

63) There are numerous differences between going to the cinema and going to the theatre, but the most pressing difference that is endangering the life of theatre as a mass artform in North America is the respect needed/demanded by both the audience and performer(s) to exist in a room together selflessly.

64) Theatre is like throwing Christians to the lions, except the lions have to pay to get in.

65) When the lights go down and I walk out on stage, I feel most alive.

66) Renewal.

67) To turn one’s stomach upside down and then laugh.

68) This shit is addictive.

69) Live bodies moving and making sound to tell a story to other bodies in the same space is a unique experience which has no comparable substitute.

70) Where are our First Nations performance traditions?

71) Theatre can fail.

72) Movies are better than theatre because they pay you more.

73) Boring theatre is bad theatre.

74) Canadian theatre has unprecedented opportunity for growth: It takes place in a society that values the arts, has an educated and relatively wealthy potential subscriber base and a whack-load of talented artists.

75) Applause.

76) Visual ecstasy explored.

77) Own your shortcomings.

78) Theatre is the playwright’s medium; film is the director’s.

79) Canadian theatre is in a deep, but not irreparable state of affairs: It has decreased funding, an aging audience base and a reputation for being boring and elitist.

80) Where are my glasses?

81) Theatre is better than movies because it can respond to the now (if you’re not waiting for a grant).

82) If a company does become larger and acquires more funding, hopefully they don’t fuck things up by using money to take the short cut around a problem.

83) I’m always afraid that someone is going to forget their lines.

84) Standing ovations aren’t always necessary, it’s nice to take a moment to absorb in silence.

85) The best theater happens unplanned.

86) True theatre experience: I clenched my fists and alternated between wanting to fall asleep and wanting to scream.

87) Theatre is not now, nor has it ever been, in trouble.

88) The tingle in my arm hair when theatre transcends the gap between performer and spectator – to be truly challenged and truly included even for a split second.

89) You have to want to make the other person feel good.

90) Theatre is the medium that requires the most cooperation and the most conflict.

91) Movies are better than theatre because they can reach a wider audience.

92) Theatre is better than movies because each show only happens once.

93) Think about it.

94) Is it possible to watch theatre that’s performed in a language I don’t understand?

95) Where are the new forms of theatre that give way to exciting changes and that shock and titillate?

96) Are we simply recycling bad ideas?

97) The heart of exploring what one bottles up and censors.

98) Theatre is stymied by the fact that it is an insider’s game that rewards connections over merit.

99) Theatre ought to get its game face on, as there is a lot of competition for entertainment dollars.

100) Nobody is going to give you a medal for being poor.

101) Theatre is being comfortable with asking those uncomfortable questions.

Script submission guidelines?

Here’s a quick link to an interesting post at Mr. Excitement News on script submission guidelines for smaller theatre companies. Check it out here.

Further questions:
Do most small theatre companies have firm script submission guidelines? What works? What doesn’t? Any tips?

UPDATE:

More further questions:
What works for playwrights? How do you prefer to send your scripts (email or hard copy via snail mail)? Do playwrights prefer sending PDFs or Word documents? What is the minimum response you expect from the theatre company? Other than having the company produce a full production of your script, are there any secondary benefits a playwright can hope for when submitting a script (workshop, reading, feedback, etc.)?

George Hunka’s 95 sentences about theatre

George Hunka over at Superfluities started this great project back in March ’07 . . . and finished it a couple of days ago.

A sampling:

20. In taking into the theatre the languages of mass culture, of advertising and marketing, we prove we have fallen in love with our screens.

30. The language of the stage must lose its stammer.

69. The typical member of the community does not throw the first stone; but he eventually reveals his ego, if not his self; he throws the fifth or sixth, then gleefully jumps around, telling everyone that he was the first.

Click here to read all of Hunka’s 95 sentences about theatre. (Thank you to Isaac Butler and Matt Freeman for the head’s up.)

Dyad at the Fringe

Click here for more info on the Fringe Festival show.

Dual of Ages at the Fringe

Click here for more info on this Fringe Festival show.

Distruthed at the Fringe

Click here for more info on this Toronto Fringe Festival show.

Moat & Castle at the Fringe

Click here for more info on the Fringe Festival show.

Dickens of the Mounted at the Fringe

Click here for more info on this Fringe Festival show.

Two acts of violence at the Fringe

From left to right, the cast of Dyad:
Laura Nordin, Glen McDonald, David Tompa, Margaret Evans.

dyad

Two acts of violence
directed by Michael Wheeler

George Ignatieff Theatre
15 Devonshire Place (S.of Bloor)
Click here for a map

55 Min.
Wed, July 4 @ 10:30 pm
Sat, July 7 @ 7:30 pm
Sun, July 8 @ Noon
Tue, July 10 @ 9:00 pm
Thu, July 12 @ 11:00 pm
Fri, July 13 @ 2:15 pm
Sat, July 14 @ 5:15 pm

Tickets:
Adults: $10 At The Door
$10 Advance ($8 + $2 SC)
Passes: $6.50 - $8.00

A Trouve North production
Produced by Margaret Evans, Philip Graeme
and Michael Wheeler Stage manager Meredith Scott
Lighting design Nicolas A. Greenland
Marketing Ian Mackenzie, Poster design James Morrow

In Adequacy at the Fringe

Click here for more.

We advertise your show for FREE!

Sounds impossible – and slightly suspect – we know. But here’s what we’re thinking: Send us a digital version of your 2007 Toronto Fringe Festival postcard or poster, and we’ll post it here on our blog. Simple.

We get to learn more about your show, look at your awesome postcard, and everyone wins.

Please send your Fringe Festival postcards here. (Hi-resolution versions are preferable, but we’ll gladly take whatever you’ve got handy.)

Thanks a lot. We love you dearly.

Dora Award winners

Awesome to be nominated, awesome to win . . . here are the winners in the Independent theatre category for the 2007 Dora Awards:

New Play or New Musical
Bruce Alcock, Kate Alton, Rafael Barreto Rivera, Nichol, Paul Dutton, Steve MacCaffrey and Ross Manson – The Four Horsemen Project

Production
The Four Horsemen Project – Volcano in association with Crooked Figure Dances, Factory Theatre and Global Mechanic

Direction
Kate Alton and Ross Manson – The Four Horsemen Project

Performance by a Male
Ryan Kelly – Will the Real J.T. LeRoy Please Stand Up?

Performance by a Female
Sarah Dodd – Marion Bridge

Set Design
Camellia Koo – The Sheep and the Whale

Costume Design
Robin Fisher – 36 Views

Lighting Design
Itai Erdal – The Four Horsemen Project

Sound Design/Composition
Waylen Miki – SARSical

Congratulations to all the winners and nominees!

11 questions: Ian Mackenzie

Praxis Theatre’s Director of Marketing and resident “10 questions” asker had the tables turned on him recently – fielding a series of theatre-related questions from Vancouver-based playwright Simon Ogden. Click here to read the interview at Ogden’s The Next Stage theatre blog.

Cooking Fire Theatre Festival is in full effect

The Cooking Fire Theatre Festival is a week-long performance extravaganza celebrating theatre, food and public space in Toronto’s Dufferin Grove Park.

Using the park’s celebrated community bake ovens, the festival combines each evening’s performance with an affordable organic meal made with fresh, local, organic ingredients. This year’s festivals hosts companies from Toronto, Halifax, Chicago and Bellingham.

What’s not to love? Please check it out if you get a chance.

Crate is site-specific at Luminato

Crate Productions is doing an “open rehearsal” of its site-specific Fort York piece this weekend at Toronto’s Fort York.

Fort York: The Play
Friday, June 8 and Saturday, June 9, 2007.
Toronto, Canada.
(Each of the performance’s three sections
will be presented simultaneously three times over.)
@ 8:00pm, 8:30pm and 9:00pm.
Come for one or stay for all three,
you can see them in any order.

Click here for more details and here for directions.

Workshop notice: Theatre de complicite in Toronto

The folks at Theatre de complicite are putting on a workshop here in Toronto toward the end of July. They’ve asked us to post notice of said event. Here it is:

Click through to see a full-sized version of the flyer, and for contact and application information.

Build Your Own Theatre – Part One

A proposition
by Michael Wheeler

One of the great laments of the Toronto indie theatre artist involves our chronic lack of performance space. For a city of 2.48 milion people, there are just six or seven rentable theatre spaces, many of which must be reserved more than a year in advance – and only after you have secured a considerable amount of funding. New condo developments have replaced the Artword Theatre and they’re moving in fast on The Diesel Playhouse and The Theatre Centre.

This lack of space does not make for a spontaneous, intense or particularly hardcore artistic process. 100-seat black box theatres – the bedrock of any theatre community that is creating and experimenting with its own work – are suddenly on the endangered species list.

I have a new job I believe presents an opportunity to change this dynamic. (Oh god, I sound like Roma – just pretend we’re in a Chinese restaurant). Before I get to the idea, let me tell you a little bit about the Queen West Arts Centre.

After rehearsing, teaching, and then directing a play at the Queen West Arts Centre – the powers that be have finally just put me in charge of developing, administrating and promoting the space.

The Queen West Arts Centre in the uber-trendy heart of Toronto.

It is the best of spaces; It is the worst of spaces.
There are a couple of rehearsal spaces, which are fairly nice (actually one of them is gorgeous). There’s also a 2,000 sq.-ft. room with 20-foot ceilings that really should be an awesome theatre, but isn’t yet. It has a massive double-lobby that should be the jewel of the building, but feels more like the entrance to a poorly funded community centre. Instead of a costume shop, it has a room with a large pile of costumes.

It is my job to fix these and other problems. Of course, this being theatre, funds are scarce. And since the Queen & Ossington neighbourhood is going from shabby to chic quicker than you can say “unemployed actor”, this theatre’s 10,000 sq.-ft. of prime real estate does not come cheap.

Change is needed to get this theatre up and running, yes. But, the trick is in making that change happen without incurring additional expenses to the overhead. All I have to work with as capital is the one resource the Queen West Arts Centre provides in abundance: space. Well kept, very well located space.

With these parameters in mind I have begun:

Build Your Own Theatre (BYOT)
Throughout this summer and fall there will be a series of weekend projects around the Queen West Arts Centre. Lots of painting, maybe some drywalling, some building of things . . .

And, here’s the proposal: Artists, theatre companies, and community members who contribute to these projects will be compensated in kind.

By this I mean:

1) Free rehearsal space; and/or

2) A box office-sharing arrangement, where we waive the theatre’s rental fee during your production’s run in exchange for a percentage of ticket sales.

Can you help Mike turn this 2,000 sq.-ft. space into a gleaming theatre?

Who’s in?
If this project appeals to you, check out the Queen West Arts Centre website and send me an email to the contact info provided. Let us know:

1) Who you are and your organizational affliations, if any (individual artists and lovers of theatre, generally or more than welcome, too); and

2) Your initial reaction as to whether you would like your labour to be compensated by way of rehearsal time or performance space.

There are only a couple of “performance” spots left. Of course, people who want to come help out – meet some people, contribute to your artistic community – are also welcome. It could be for a single afternoon, or for a longer, more involved commitment. We’re open to any and all proposals.

And for those of you playing along at home, I will be writing about our progress here on the Praxis Theatre blog. Comments and suggestions are appreciated almost as much as sweat and a good idea.

Now playing: Twilight Cafe

Twilight Cafe
by Tony Hall

“Trinidadian playwright Tony Hall’s Twilight Café serves up heaping portions of domestic violence, and director Rhoma Spencer’s theatrically vivid production presents the material with honesty and depth.” – NOW Magazine

Who:
Directed by: Rhoma Spencer
Featuring: David Collins & Raven Dauda
Set, Costumes and Props: Julia Tribe
Sound Design: Nicholas Murray
Lighting Design: Michelle Ramsay
Movement Consultant: Erika Batdorf
Fight Director: Richard Lee
Graphic Design: Jackie McAlpine
Community Marketing: Karen Richardson
Produced by: STAF

Where:
at The Great Hall Downstairs (formerly The Theatre Centre)
1087 Queen Street West (At Dovercourt)

When:
May 16th - 27th 2007
Tuesday to Saturday at 8:00pm Sundays @ 2:00pm

Price:
Tickets are $25, $17 Students and Senior
(Group rates available: call 416.703.2773 x202 or email Amber.)

Tickets:
Tickets will be available at T.O. Tix,
by phone at 1-888-222-6608,
in person at the T.O. Tix booth at Dundas Square
or one hour before showtime at the Door

Special Victoria Day offer!

Get FREE* headphones
with any purchase of a 24-bottle pack of
Praxis Theatre Beer!

Praxis Theatre Beer – Good enough for a Queen.

*Must be legal drinking age to purchase or consume Praxis Theatre Beer. Free headphone offer cannot be combined with any other Praxis Theatre offer. Praxis Theatre reserves the right to modify or discontinue this offer at any time without further notification. Praxis Theatre cannot be held responsible for outlandish acts performed while consuming Praxis Theatre Beer. Praxis Theatre Beer may contain trans-fats, carbohydrates and too much salt. Praxis Theatre Beer, Praxis Theatre Lite Beer, and the Praxis Theatre Beer logo and case artwork are registered trademarks of Praxis Theatre, Praxis Theatre Beer, its Agencies and their Partners.

Now playing: Have I None

Have I None

by Edward Bond

April Productions has gathered a group of award-winning collaborators for a journey into the future where the comic and tragic blend into a hallucinatory vision of the new world.

Who:
Director: Lary Zappia
Starring: Dusan Dukic, Martin Julien i Dragana Varagic
Set Design: Jelena Djuric
Costume Design: Andjelija Djuric
Stage Manager: Sandra Henderson

When:
May 8 - May 20
Tuesday-Saturday @ 8:00 pm.
Sunday @ 2:00

Where:
Captain John’s Harbour Boat
1 Queens Quay West
at the foot of Yonge Street
(meeting point Captain’s Quarters, door opens 1 hour prior to the show)

Tickets:
www.artsboxoffice.ca

Phone:
416-504-7529

Price:
$20 – Sunday 2:00 pm matinee and Tuesday-Wednesday 8:00 pm
$25 – Thursday 8:00 pm
$30 – Friday-Saturday 8:00 pm

We’re looking for guest bloggers

It’s true
When we started this theatre blog in October of 2006, we set out to plot our own little map of Toronto’s independent theatre scene. Through this collection of interviews, surveys, roundups, announcements, questions, answers, comments, listings, Steel Diaries and theatre quotes, we feel we’re a little closer to understanding the terrain.

But here’s the thing: the deeper we look, the more we see how much there is to know and how many different methods there are for collecting and interpreting all this information. It’s like the good book says – what you see depends on where you stand.

Classism and the theatre cat
So, we’re looking for guest bloggers to help us see what we’re not seeing, and maybe to ask the questions we’re not asking. No idea is too silly (does anyone remember theatre cat?), or too serious (anyone want to do a series on theatre and class?).

Our community spends a lot of time looking for inventive ways to offset its relative lack of resources – same goes for this blog. And in a way, blogging about theatre is a lot like making theatre: You’re only as good as your last post. (Thank God Simon Michellepis gives good interview.)

Hopefully, some of you feel as we do: that this exercise in theatrical cartography is worthwhile. And that it’s worth considering – if only for a moment – what you might have to offer as a guest blogger.

So here it is:
An open invitation to guest bloggers. Got a column idea? A theatre-related top-five list? Feeling soap-boxy? Good with a camera? Could be a snappy one-off or a wordy academic series. Whatever it is, please drop us a line with your theatre-related idea and start guest blogging on Theatre is Territory today!

Thanks so much for reading this.

Now playing: The Tempest

Ariel & Prospero

Alchemy Theatre, Toronto’s urban Shakespeare company, presents The Tempest – its 10th production of Shakespeare’s works over the past four years.

The Tempest is directed by founding Artistic Director Simon Michellepis. This production remains faithful to Shakespeare’s text while at the same time integrating exciting multimedia stagecraft to evoke the aura and mystery of a magical isle under Prospero’s watchful eye. The Tempest will continue Alchemy’s goal of producing engrossing, small scale, reasonably priced productions of Shakespeare’s works in downtown Toronto.

Stephano, Trinculo & Caliban

When:
April 27 - May 13, 2007
Wednesdays - Saturdays @ 8:00pm
Sundays @ 2:30pm

Where:
Alchemy Theatre
133 Tecumseth Street
(1 block south west of Queen and Bathurst)
Toronto, Canada

Box Office:
Phone: 416-998-7503
Email: info@AlchemyToronto.com

Tickets:
$20 ($5 discount for the underemployed)
2-for-1 Wednesdays & PWYC Sundays

Tonight!

Three one-act plays:

Bloody China
by Kris Elgstrand

Sheila, Herbert, Claire Danes and The Man On My Roof
by Florencia Lozano

Bed Logic
by Gavin Drummond

---

When:
Wednesday, May 2nd @ 7:30 pm
(doors open @ 7 pm)

Where:
Chino Bar
1378 Queen St. W
(Queen and O'Hara)
Click here for a map.
Toronto, Canada
416.915.8883

The players:
Leah Wahl, Jo Chim, Laura Nordin,
James Murray, Greta Papageorgiu, Tania McCartney
and Danny Waugh

Booze:
Cheap drinks and $5 Martinis

Cost:
$5.00 at the door

Hope to see you there!

Ready, set . . . opening tomorrow!

Ready, Set, Life!

This is the Rest of Your Life!
written and performed by Geoff Kolomayz
directed by Alison Lynne Ward

Quarter Life Crisis
written and performed by Alison Lynne Ward
directed by Geoff Kolomayz

Showtimes:
April 13th @ 8pm
14th @ 5pm and 8pm
15th @ 2pm
April 20th @ 8pm
21st @ 5pm and 8pm
22nd @ 2pm

Location:
Diesel Playhouse
56 Blue Jay Way, Toronto, Canada
416.971.5656

Tickets $15
can be purchased at Diesel Playhouse Box office

Assistant Director: Stephen Low
Co-producers: Sedina Fiati, Geoff Kolomayz, Alison Lynne Ward
Photography: Mark Kneeshaw
Graphic Design: Dale Wells
Lighting Design: Geoff Kolomayz
Stage Management: Michael P. Taylor