Theatre Encounter’s Production of The Dumb Waiter Disappoints

December 2, 2014December 3, 2014Leave a comment

Directed by Ben Charland and Val Duncan, Theatre Encounter’s production of Harold Pinter’s The Dumb Waiter is a frustrating experience marked by questionable direction and lackluster performances.

The Dumb Waiter opens with Ben and Gus (Rachel Gilliatt and Meredith Pritchard respectively), two assassins waiting for their target in an old, abandoned basement. The two fill the time discussing current affairs, idioms, and the details of this particular job. But when a dumb waiter starts to mysteriously send down food orders, Gus begins to question just who exactly they answer to while Ben tries to stay focused on the job.

Charland and Duncan’s first misstep is the preshow which leads into the main action. Gilliatt begins by walking on stage, exploring the space and performing some movement. Pritchard follows suite and does her own routine alongside Gilliatt. All the while, the audience sits unsure of whether to go quiet or continue talking – after all, the house lights at this point are still on and new audience members are still entering the theatre and finding their seats. It becomes hard then to focus on the action on stage with the theatre door wide open and chatter outside the theatre entering in. Continue reading →

SCPA’s Bloody Poetry Is A Tense, Fascinating Affair

November 28, 2014December 9, 2014Leave a comment

The poet – an elusive figure whose voice demands to be heard; a visionary with ideas that challenge the status quo. But the poet and his or her new realities labor against the weight of the world – and their own humanity.

Directed by Brian Smith, The School of Creative and Performing Arts’ production of Howard Brenton’s Blood Poetry is an engaging spectacle supported by strong performances.

Brenton’s Bloody Poetry follows the strange company of Percy Bysshe Shelley (Brett Tromburg), Mary Shelley (Fatima Zaroual), Claire Clairmont (Onika Henry) and Lord Byron (Connor WIlliams). The scandalous nature of their private lives – Percy abandoning his wife Harriet Westbrook (Bianca Miranda) for Mary – has made them social outcasts of 19th c. English society. Starting their lives anew in Switzerland, the crusaders for revolution chase their vision of utopia. What ensues in the following years, however, is failure and disappointment – crushed spirits and broken hearts.

Brenton is mindful of historical accuracy, but, at the same time, he is not afraid to push those limits to explore serious questions about the relationship between poet and society.

Percy concerns himself with writing about social injustices, supporting the people’s struggle through verse; he thinks himself to be the voice of the people. But of what value is the poet in a world so cruel, where massacres continue and the people bleed for revolution? Ideas, talk, (words, words, words) – what the world needs is action.

Interestingly, Brenton shows us the early blueprints of what will eventually become one of Mary’s most famous works – Frankenstein. A thematic reminder of the poet as reject, struggling to find his or her place in the world.

Percy Bysshe Shelley (Brett Tromburg) Spirals Into Madness. Photo Credit: Citrus Photography

Percy Bysshe Shelley (Brett Tromburg) spirals down into madness. Photo Credit: Citrus Photography

Lighting designer Kerem Cetinel’s work is phenomenal. The set – designed by Patrick DuWors – is clean and effective for the theatricality of the piece.

The company uses a long white sheet to simulate ocean waves. The sound of crashing waves though overpowers the actors who are shouting to be heard. In the process, we lose some of the actors’ dialogue – an unfortunate shortcoming of an otherwise great scene.

Where the technique is particularly effective though – as Miranda and Tromburg demonstrate – is when the sheet serves as an extension of the body – a visual representation of the character’s inner turmoil.

Williams captures our attention with his entertaining rock star flair – no doubt inspired by Keith Richards. Given that, Williams’ dark eye makeup feels unnecessary given the already dominant presence of the character. Tromburg is commanding in the play’s second act, although his anger rings hollow at times. Zaroual and Henry are hesitant with their lines when we first meet them. Fortunately, the pair come to hold their own as the play goes on. Zaroual stands out with her quiet intensity – which makes one of her character’s final moments hit especially hard.

On a whole, the actors work very well off each other. They commit themselves to the demands of the script and, together, bring an edge to Brenton’s already sharp script.

SCPA’s production of Brenton’s Bloody Poetry is sure to entertain with its brilliant script, visuals, and strong ensemble.

The School of Creative and Performing Arts production of Howard Brenton’s Blood Poetry runs Nov. 25-Dec. 6, 2014 in the Reeve Theatre (University of Calgary Campus).

For more information about the show and how to purchase tickets, visit: http://scpa.ucalgary.ca/events/bloody-poetry

Why We Remember: Jake’s Gift Is a Heartfelt Tribute to Veterans

November 25, 2014December 9, 2014Leave a comment

One woman. Two characters. Thousands of soldiers who never made it home. But for playwright/performer Julia Mackey, the shores of Juno Beach were never meant to be their final resting place.

Presented at Lunchbox Theatre, Mackey’s one-woman show Jake’s Gift delivers a moving dramatic experience.

Directed by Dirk Van Stralen, Jake’s Gift tells the story of Jake, a Canadian WWII veteran who (reluctantly) returns to Normandy, France for the 60th anniversary of D-Day. The trip brings back painful memories for Jake who lost his older brother Chester during the war – a difficult loss he has been unable to deal with in the years since. Jake develops an unlikely friendship with a 10-year-old local named Isabelle. Isabelle’s innocent fascination with D-Day, though first met with resistance, pushes Jake to confront his past and, in doing so, come to terms with his brother’s death.

The weight of the war and its personal impact is marked all over Jake’s body – from his difficulty walking to his shaking arm and curled fingers. Continue reading →

Celebrating 45 Years: Dance Montage and The Importance of Community

November 20, 2014June 5, 2015Leave a comment

For Wojciech Mochniej, Dance Montage’s Artistic Director, dance is more relevant than ever in our fast-paced, modern society. “[What attracts people to dance] is the connection to the human, to the three-dimensional world. With TV, we can cook, clean, and pick up the phone at the same time…but we are not meeting anyone. We are disconnected,” says the full-time dance instructor at the University of Calgary.

Celebrating its 45th anniversary this year, Dance Montage – presented by U of C’s School of Creative and Performing Arts – is an opportunity for both beginning and experienced dance artists to come together and create new work. Auditions are open to everyone of all skill levels; an invitation that extends to the community at large.

The secret to Dance Montage’s longevity, says Mochniej, is the opportunity it gives community members who are not thinking of dance as a profession to perform, to share ideas, and, in doing so, connect with their community.

It is the importance of community that inspired Matthew Hall to write and direct (Mis)Communication, one of several new dance pieces which will be presented at Dance Montage. “My uncle…he’s always sparking conversation with people on the C-Train,” the fourth year drama student shares, “no one is used to it nowadays, Everyone thinks he’s weird. Or they’re too busy or plugged into their phones.” It this disconnect brought on by technology’s rising influence that Hall explores in (Mis)Communication.

(Mis)Communication. Choreography by Meghann Michalsky. Directed by Matthew Hall. Music composed by August Murphy. Photo Credit: Wojciech Mochniej

Of course, the dance piece would not have been possible without Meghann Michalsky and August Murphy, Hall’s choreographer and musical composer respectively.

In July 2013, the School of Creative and Performing Arts was created. Bringing together the former departments of dance, music, and drama under one school has allowed students more opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration. Hall, Michalsky, and Murphy met last year during a production of Aesop’s Fables.

“To work with people outside my discipline…they challenged me way more to push my art and myself out of my comfort zone,” says Michalsky, a U of C dance alumnus (‘14). Murphy, a fourth year music student, nods her head in agreement. “I’ve worked with actors and dancers onstage as a performer, but this type of work…I learned how something may be clear to me as a musician, but it may not necessarily be clear to the dancers onstage. “We think of things differently, and I [needed] to find how to communicate in such a way that everyone understands,” explains Murphy who says this is her first time composing. The quality of their final product, all three agree, would not have been possible without the support of their fellow artists.

What does the future of dance and Dance Montage look like for Mochniej? Neither, he believes, are going anywhere any time soon, even with the rapid growth of technology. “I’ve been dancing for over 30 years…[and] even when you repeat the same things, you still discover something new about yourself, your potential, and your strength” says the dancer as he prepares to go teach one of his classes. “The community will always feel the need to perform, because dance is an organic experience.”

What else, Mochniej closes with, can give you such a connection to what makes us human?

The School of Creative and Performing Arts will present Dance Montage, from Thursday, Nov. 20 to Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014 in the University Theatre, located on the University of Calgary’s campus.

This 45th production will celebrate the life of Sigurd Hagen-Torn (1927-2011) who began his involvement with Dance Montage at the age of 50, dancing for the next 32 years until his last performance in 2009. He is remembered for his great spirit and passion for dance.

For more information on Dance Montage and how to purchase tickets, visit: http://scpa.ucalgary.ca/events/dance-montage-0

Chromatic Theatre’s Debut Production Shows Promise, but Just Misses The Mark

November 18, 2014January 21, 2015Leave a comment

Presented at Motel inside the EPCOR Centre and directed by Jenna Rodgers, Chromatic Theatre – Calgary’s newest theatre company – makes its debut with Michael Golamco’s Cowboy Versus Samurai.

A modern re-telling of Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac, Cowboy Versus Samurai tells the story of Korean-American Travis Park (Mike Tan), a high school English teacher who lives in the fictional town of Breakneck, Wyoming. Besides Travis, there is only one other Asian in this predominantly white rural town: Chester (Richard Lee Hsi) – his friend and brother in Asian solidarity. When Asian-American Veronica Lee (Carmela Sison) moves into town, Travis immediately falls for the school’s new Biology teacher. There is, however, just one problem: Veronica only dates white men. Soon, Travis finds himself ghostwriting love letters to Veronica on behalf of his friend Del (Mat Glessing), a Caucasian P.E teacher, while struggling to reconcile his inner “Cowboy” and “Samurai.”

Golamco sets out to dismantle racialized stereotypes, and he does so very explicitly with Chester – an amalgamation of pop culture Asian stereotypes. Chester’s extreme, over-the-top expression of “Asianness” is a confrontation of how our culture operates with regards to race. Just as Chester embodies sweeping generalizations about Asians, so too does he paint his own broad strokes about white people. These assumptions effectively erase the individual out of the picture.

Chester breaks down in front of Travis. Front to Back: Richard Hsi, Mike Tan. (Photo Credit: Miquelon Rodriguez)

Chester (Richard Lee Hsi) breaks down in front of Travis (Mike Tan). Photo Credit: Miquelon Rodriguez

Chester eventually comes to realize that his preoccupation with being Asian has obscured his own individual identity.

What is interesting, though, is that Breakneck, Wyoming remains a homogeneous, bigoted “sea of white” throughout. It is, of course, the small rural town and its small-minded residents that are Golamco’s obvious culprits for prejudice. And Del – the play’s spokesperson for white people – is part of the problem. Yes, by the end of the play, Del makes significant progress in terms of how he thinks and talks about race, but the fact remains that Golamco’s attempt to subvert stereotypes falls short of rising above the very thing he sets out to criticize.

Despite this, Golamco’s does manage to bring forward some insightful observations surrounding identity and inter-racial dating – the latter being a topic rarely discussed as earnestly and with such vigor as it is here.

But the script lacks character depth. Awkward dialogue does nothing to help characters who struggle to say anything interesting when race is not involved. And it does little to help us truly care about Travis and Veronica’s relationship. There are some sharply written moments to be found, but character development, for the most part, takes a backseat to the play’s major ideas.

Hsi fully commits to the ridiculous nature of his character during both scenes and scene transitions. Tan is a great straight man to Hsi’s antics, while also being entertaining in his own right. The duo are a good pair.

Jennifer Lee Arsenault’s set design is aesthetically pleasing with its waterbrush look. The use of spinning cardboard boxes, hung on tubes in rows of three, is an ingenious way of changing scenery. (Though they are prone to getting stuck in mid-spin).

A questionable production choice is the company’s use of a live cap gun. The gun’s loud bang is deafening inside the small studio space – which only seats 50. A sound cue would suffice.

While the company could have chosen a tighter script, Chromatic Theatre’s production of Golamco’s Cowboy Versus Samurai fares well enough as a first impression. It will be interesting to see how the company develops from this point on.

Chromatic Theatre’s production of Michael Golamco’s Cowboy Versus Samurai runs at Motel (EPCOR Centre) from Nov 13 – 22, 2014.

For more information about the show and how to purchase tickets, visit: http://chromatictheatre.ca/cowboy-versus-samurai/

WORLD PREMIERE: Theatre Calgary’s Liberation Days Is a Sentimental Look at the Past

November 10, 2014December 9, 2014Leave a comment

The war is over. Celebrations erupt across Europe. This victory, though, has come at a great cost. And for the Netherlands, the fight is far from over.

David van Belle’s new play Liberation Days is more than a lesson in history, it is a meditation on perseverance in the face of extraordinary struggle. Although, despite its strong performances and stunning set design, Theatre Calgary’s latest production fails to leave a lasting impact.

The bulk of the play centers around the romantic relationship that develops between Canadian soldier Alex King (Byron Allen) and Emma de Bruijn (Lindsey Angell), a young Dutch woman. The language barrier is not the only thing that stands between them. Emma’s mother Aaltje (Valerie Planche) strongly disapproves of her daughter’s relationship with the Canadian. And if that were not enough, there is also the problem of Emma’s fiancee Jan van Egmond (Jonathan Seinen) – a Dutch soldier presumed to be dead by his community.

Meanwhile, the Canadian forces struggle to gain the trust of the locals they have been assigned to help with rebuilding. The clash between the two cultures plays out between Cpt. Miles Cavendish (Garett Ross) and the village’s religious leader Dominee Herman van Egmond (Duval Lang).

The play is narrated by Marijke Bos (Kelsey Gilker) – the village outcast who dared fall in love with a German soldier during occupation. Continue reading →

“If Only We Could Let It Be What It Is”: MacIvor’s A Beautiful View Asks What’s In A Name

November 9, 2014November 25, 20141 Comment

Would a rose be as sweet if it had no name at all? Presented at The Studio (Vertigo Theatre), Daniel MacIvor’s A Beautiful View criticizes our need to label relationships. Thanks to the chemistry of its two leads, Sage Theatre’s production of A Beautiful View, directed by Jason Mehmel, captures MacIvor’s signature wit.

The play begins with L (Stacie Harrison) and M (Monice Peter) who, rather cryptically, decide to revisit their past together, all the while being aware of the audience. Their story begins when they meet each other in a store while shopping for camping gear. From this meeting, an attraction develops between the two. The attraction, though, is neither totally friendly or romantic; it just simply is. But, as the years go on, the question of defining what they are soon makes its way to the forefront of their relationship and, as a result, breeds tension between the two.

MacIvor confronts his audience with a deceptively simple question: what is in a name? For the playwright, the act of naming something, especially something so personal as a relationship, is political. Continue reading →

Heavy, Challenging: Nicolas Billon’s Butcher Commands Our Attention

October 27, 2014November 25, 2014Leave a comment

A police station. Christmas Eve. An inspector, a lawyer, and a “John Doe” dressed in military uniform and a santa hat with a butcher’s hook hung around his neck. This is Nicolas Billon’s new play Butcher, presented by Alberta Theatre Projects at the Martha Cohen Theatre. Directed by Weyni Mengesha, Billon’s Butcher deals with heavy themes surrounding the nature of justice in an (un)civilized world.

Billon’s play begins simple enough: Inspector Lamb (Eric Nyland) has called in Hamilton Barnes (Andrew Musselman) in order to solve the identity of Josef Dzhbrilovo (John Koensgen), a old man mysteriously dropped off at the police station in the middle of the night. Lamb is unable to make any progress in the case because Josef speaks only in Lavinian (a fictional language co-created for the play by Dr. Christina Kramer and Dragana Obradovic). Meanwhile, Barnes has no idea who the man could be, despite the fact his business card was attached to the butcher’s hook found on Josef’s person. Elena (Michelle Monteith), a Lavinian translator, is called in by Lamb to help with the case, but her arrival does anything but. On this night, the Butcher will finally answer to his crimes. Continue reading →

“Never Tell Maritimers The Odds”: Fire Exit Theatre’s Halo Sparks Discussion About Faith and Family

October 15, 2014October 16, 2014Leave a comment

Fire Exit Theatre opens its 2014-15 season with Halo, a comedy by Josh MacDonald. Directed by Mark Lewandowski, Halo asks questions about faith, family, and miracles. While the script is weak in some areas, Fire Exit Theatre’s production of Halo proves to be an emotional piece that just misses the mark slightly.

Set in the fictional small town of Nately, Nova Scotia, Halo tells the story of Casey (Jamie Matchullis), a sarcastic, newcomer from the “big city” of Halifax. Casey works at the local Tim Hortons where she is visited regularly by her boyfriend Jansen (Jacob Lesiuk) who helps ease the pains of dealing with the town’s interesting residents. One day, the image of Jesus appears on the side of the building. The town comes to see the divine picture as a miracle. Meanwhile, Donald (Randall Wiebe) prays for his own miracle at the bedside of his youngest daughter who has been in a coma for the past three years. When his eldest daughter Lizzy (Kendra Hitchinson) comes to visit from Toronto, Donald’s faith and hope for his daughter’s recovery are put to the test. Continue reading →

“It’s A Scary Old World”: Lunchbox Theatre’s The Life History of The African Elephant Delights

October 6, 2014November 21, 2014Leave a comment

First performed in 1989, then again in 2001, Clem Martini’s The Life History of The African Elephant returns to Lunchbox Theatre to open the company’s 2014-15 season. Directed by Bartley Bard, the production sees the original cast returning for this third outing of Martini’s comedy.

The Life History of The African Elephant stages the unlikely friendship that develops between accident-prone, ceramic artist Florence Bond (Barbara Gates-Wilson) and Glen Beddoes (David LeReaney), a reserved elephant trainer. After crashing her car through Glen’s backyard and into his shed, Florence goes to the zoo enclosure where he works to apologize. Inside the enclosure, Florence discovers that Glen is trying to help an elephant overcome its depression. Florence tells Glen that she will return again, but next time with her older brother Phillip (Brian Jensen) who will be visiting on his day pass from prison. Over a late-night picnic at the zoo, Florence, Glen, and Philip try and sort out their childhoods and anxieties about the future.

Martini’s play has a great deal of heart. Continue reading →

Joyful Magpies

Tag: calgary