| The RED Letter, Jan 2007 |
Table of Contents
1. Words from Lisa Pijuan-NomuraOkay, so I have a secret. But it's time to fess up. In the past few weeks of holiday and such, I have discovered the world of the BLOG! Sounds like a bad word, doesn’t it? I know, I thought so too. I had a very clear idea that anyone who had a blog must obviously be a bit of a loner, or at least someone with questionable social skills. And yet, I have been proven wrong. You see, a lot of my work of curating RED and creating and writing shows require that I am online a lot... and as some of you may know, I, at times can become easily distracted. And as we all know, this could be a fatal flaw for someone on the World Wide Web. One day, while I took a break, I found thimble (www.thimble.ca). Thimble is a blog run by a very lovely woman named Laural. She makes some great crafty bits and live here in our lovely city. She shares recipes, stories, photos and she creates a wicked sound track monthly! She is pretty cool. Anyhow, after reading her blog for quite some time, I began to click on other peoples blogs and although I had many questions, I began to like this world and the people who created it. These were cool woman with brains and thoughts and ideas! When I was little my mom used to go next door and drop me off to my babysitter. She would sit with Tracy's Mom and Gus's Mom and they would sit and have coffee and talk about adult things. This continued until I was 15 years old and wasn't being babysat anymore. And if we hadn't moved away, I am sure that they would still be doing the same thing. These women met every day, and shared, and vented and just spent time with their friends on a daily basis! Nowadays, this seems impossible to do. “Spend about 45 minutes daily with the same people! I mean, I wish I had the time!” Doesn't that sound familiar? I think people blog to create a community that will share, communicate, and listen to each other. And if you check it out, that is what is happening. And there are blogs about everything! Arts and crafts, politics, photography, computers, music, literary blogs, the list goes on forever! Ideally, people would create community in real time but if that doesn't happen, I think there is a bit of magic in creating a space where you can share your thoughts and stories, and silly photos. No? The other great thing is that you can often do at 2 o clock in the morning! That is awesome! If any of you are curious about my blog go and have a look at www.girlcancreate.blogspot.com Let me know what you think! Be brilliant. Be shiny and I hope to see you soon in the new year! Hugs and wishes, Lisa 2. Feature Theatre: And What Alice Found ThereStranger Theatre's And What Alice Found There is an exploration of the encounter between the eccentric genius Lewis Carroll and Alice Liddell, the girl who served as the inspiration for his greatest work. Stranger Theatre has performed to audiences in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York City, Halifax, and will now receive a production in Toronto for the first time at the The Great Hall Downstairs, 1087 Queen St. West. And What Alice Found There brings to life Lewis Carroll's writing of Alice in Wonderland, the real Alice, and the world in which they lived. Using a mixture of sources from Carroll's two famous novels, letters and other writings, we begin with a sunny day on the river and travel to far darker places. The story examines childhood, love, and the nature of creation. Alice Liddell's journey through Victorian times mirrors Alice in Wonderland's journey through the hallucinatory landscape of her author's imagination, where nothing is as it seems. Stranger Theatre was founded in Toronto in 2001, has toured extensively in Canada and the United States, and produces The Cooking Fire Theatre Festival. This new work is a collaboration between an all-female group of performers, puppeteers and video artists, reworking a classic text to create a multi-media theatrical adventure using physical theatre, puppetry, slide images, video, stop-motion animation, and a little tap dancing. Bizarre, visually stunning, funny and absurd, this is an enticing look at the troubled friendship that gave birth to a masterpiece. Written and directed by Kate Cayley Performed by Sarah Cormier, Simone Rosenberg, and Christina Serra. Puppeteered by Lea Ambros and Sarah Klein. Video by Simone Rosenberg and Adrienne Connelly . Puppets designed and built by Kate Cayley and Lea Ambros with lighting design by Lea Ambros. Opens Tuesday, January 23 - February 4 Tuesday to Saturday at 8:00pm and Sundays at 2:30pm Tickets: Advance - $15/$8 (students/seniors) At the door- $20/$10. Tuesdays and Sundays pay-what-you- can. The Great Hall Downstairs , 1087 Queen St. West.
For tickets and general information call 416-538-6084 3. Feature Festival: Weesageechak Begins to Dance XIXNative Earth Performing Arts19th annual Weesageechak Begins to Dance Festival, features new, cutting edge choreography by emerging and established Aboriginal dancers from all over Canada. January 17-21, 7:30pm Co-presented with the Theatre Centre Uqquaq, the Shelter co-created by Genevieve Pepin and Laurentio Q Arnatsiaq. In a performance installation taking place off-site at 409 Front Street East, this intimate duo expresses itself through the creation of a mystical shelter which continues to transform throughout the piece as Genevieve and Laurentio punctuate their actions with drum dance, an anecdote in Inuktitut and dance movement. January 26th, 8:00pm The Young Voices Showcase Serpent - by Waawaate Fobister Serpent is movement and storytelling inspired by the legend of Meegwun, passed down from generation to generation in Fobister's family on the Grassy Narrows Reserve in Ontario. Created in collaboration with Mozambique dancer Muchochama Pulga , Serpent is directed by Earth in Motion Alejandro Ronceria. Skin of Water - by Amy White Under the direction of Michael Greyeyes , Amy White has developed this movement-based theatre piece set on Brandon Oakes and Cheri Maracle. January 27th, 8:00pm Three Visions Embodied Spirits, Beings and Life Forces - by Christine Friday-O'Leary Nothing changes until something moves. Using the elements of contemporary dance combined with martial arts and traditional dance, Spirits seeks to explore concepts of universal truth and understand how the forces and passions of life affect our daily lives. This piece features Tales of an Urban Indian's Brandon Oakes and direction by Alejandro Ronceria. To Overcome - by Nadine Jackson Jackson performs her own work and explores the feeling of being trapped and the challenge of overcoming personal obstacles. Overcome moves towards self-healing through the recognition and acknowledgment of the need to leave... My Father Told Me - by Gaetan Gingras Gingras strives to explore his relationship with his father, and address the information that is continually shared between generations. He is fascinated by what is passed down and what is kept a secret. Features dancers Marie-Eve Demers and Patricia Iraloa from Quebec. $10/night, $25 festival passes, group discounts available Dancemakers Centre for Creation, 55 Mill St, the Cannery, Building #57, Studio 313 Info at www.nativeearth. ca Book tickets at 416-531-1402
4. Read this Book! With Book Lady Sarah SeleckyReading Like a Writer: A Guide For People Who Love Books and For Those Who Want to Write Them by Francine Prose
Even if you're not a writer trying to improve your craft, there is such great pleasure in learning to read carefully and closely, paying attention to nuances in language and sentence structure, to gesture and dialogue, to figuring out how an author does it. And this process is often overlooked when we talk about books. Even in the most devout book clubs, discussion tends to focus on character and plot – who did what, and why – not a word-by-word, sentence-by-sentence critique. It's a slow process. But it can be transformative. Francine Prose has written an eloquent and intelligent guide to the art of reading that encourages book lovers to take it to a deeper level. In each chapter, Prose selects inspired passages from both contemporary and classic authors to illustrate a particular element (Chapter 2: Words, Chapter 3: Sentences, Chapter 4: Paragraphs). What makes this book so beautiful is her ability to step back and let the writing speak for itself. She doesn't explain everything, but she deftly presents the opportunity for deep, close reading. You discover this pleasure for yourself as she facilitates your relationship with the authors she introduces. Instead of feeling like you're listening to a lecture, Prose invites you into the dialogue. Take your time, and enjoy.
On Beauty by Zadie Smith
Zadie Smith's first novel, White Teeth , was an incredible labyrinth of a story, full of crazy tangents and side notes, hilarious and unwieldy. We loved it, but – wow – what unbridled written energy. In her second novel, The Autograph Man , Smith set up a kind of scaffolding (each chapter contained a reference to the Kabbalah) in what seemed to be an attempt at structure and containment for a writer who, perhaps, struggled with brevity and focus. Finally, On Beauty arrived – her third and most successful work to date. Inspired by her love for E. M. Forster, this story is concentrated and tightly-written, funny, smart, and utterly devourable. Howard Belsey is an Englishman teaching in a small college town in New England. He's hit a rocky path – he and his African American wife, Kiki, have lost their passion for each other, he can't seem to finish writing his book, and his academic nemesis, the Trinidadian right-wing professor Monty Kipps, has moved to his neighbourhood and is trying to get rid of the equal opportunity movement that Howard's leading at the college. Meanwhile, Kiki and Howard's teenaged children, Jerome, Zora and Levi, are struggling to establish their own moral and political codes – what it means to live in their family, in their town, and in the world itself. The plotlines come together spectacularly – I won't say anything else. The story is about identity – or the ambiguity surrounding identity – just what do we tell ourselves about who we really are, and at what cost? 5. RED UpdatesThe RED Festival planning is fully underway and things are exciting at RED Festival headquarters! However, before we get to the festival, I would urge everyone to mark their calendars for the RED Fest Fundraiser on February 28 at 8:30!
We will see the regular brilliant performances and there will also be a most brilliantly wonderful silent auction and raffle that will give you a chance to win some great prizes just when you might need them in cold icky February!
If you would like to donate to the RED Festival in either monetary funds or by donating a prize for the raffle please contact Lisa Pijuan-Nomura at lisa (at) girlcancreate.com (Trying to keep all of those darn spam artists far away!) Keep your eyes peeled for the website for more information!
6. Classes, Workshops and ConferencesAfro-Fusion Dance Classes January 10th-February 28th @ Street Dance Academy Every Wednesday 8-9pm 160 Spadina Ave. - 2nd floor (corner of Queen and Spadina) A fun and funky dance class combining West African, Afro-Cuban, Contemporary and Street Dance - Get ready to sweat! **Please note that this is not a traditional African dance class $12 drop in or $90 puch card of 8 classes Bring comfortable clothes, a bottle of water and a good attitude! No shoes required The Stanislavski Tool Kit with Hume Baugh April 20 - April 22 Fri, 7 - 10 pm, Sat & Sun 10 am - 6 pm CAEA $220 Non-CAEA $265 Deadline for application: Apr 12 'Action', said Stanislavski, 'is the basis of the art followed by the actor.' The basic tools that Stanislavski believed were necessary to keep an actor 'active' on stage will be the subject of this weekend intensive. Our Stanislavski Toolkit will include: analyzing text for meaning and character; defining objectives; breaking scenes down into units; choosing compelling and varied actions; identifying obstacles; listening and being present in the moment; and opening up to what your scene partner gives you. In a positive, supportive environment we will look, through work on selected scenes, at the tools that will help you stay active and focused and out of your own way on stage. For more info see www.equityshowcase.ca
7. Calls for SubmissionsIn the Mix is a gallery based performance series focused on live video mixing and its improvised intersection with music. It will take place August 24-26th, 2007 at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA) in Toronto, Canada. The three-day series will feature: - Live video mixing performances during the evenings. - A curated program of short video works by artists working with live video mixing as part of their artistic practice. Works that are representative of each artist's approach to live mixing will be displayed with audio in a separate viewing space as loops - each a maximum length of 15 minutes. - An audio/video midi-drum-circle open to public participation in the daytime. Interested artists need not have formal artistic training or come from the contemporary arts community. Clubbers, scientists, bedroom-based independents, commercial media makers, collectives and interactive audio/video groups, all will be appraised from an open and curious perspective! If you would like to be considered for this series, please submit a short video (15 minutes or less) on VCD, DVD, VHS or MiniDV, or on CD (quicktime movie format), along with a completed submission form. The submitted piece should either be a live recording of a section of a video mix or strongly representative of your live work. Get your submission form here: http://inthemix.tinytoad.com/ Questions? Hri Neil Independent Curator/Artist 416-270-9207 mashdownmedia@gmail.com
NEW DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: JANUARY 31, 2007
NEW PROGRAM START DATE: MARCH 3, 2007 Are you a girl between the ages of 18 - 24?
DO YOU WANT TO: -make a difference and share what you have to say? -train with professional artists? -create theatre? -learn how to make documentary videos? -create web projects to showcase you and your art? Then we want YOU to be part of THEATRE REVOLVE! Theatre Revolve is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating a vibrant community of young women and professional artists collaborating on projects that cross boundaries in culture, economics, education and experience, of artistic and visionary excellence. As part of the program you will: - Be mentored by a Toronto-based professional theatre artist - Take a professional theatre-creation workshop with an artist from Columbia - Learn how to make documentary videos - Create a web site to showcase YOUR work and collaborate online with girls in Colombia - Create a theatre production that is presented at the FACTORY THEATRE - Be employed to create and run a youth arts program for teen girls in June and July What is the time commitment? - Training sessions Saturdays 10am - 3pm from March 3 - May 5, 2007 - 3 week-long intensives in theatre and video production, in April, May and July - Saturdays in June and July, culminating in a week-long teen arts program - Meetings with your mentor, scheduled based on when YOU can meet What it costs: Nothing - this program is FREE!!! PLUS we can employ you to work for Theatre Revolve, and we will employ you to create and run our summer teen arts program. This FREE program is made possible by the Laidlaw Foundation, ArtReach Toronto and the Canada Council for the Arts. How do I apply? Send us a short letter via email to tell us who you are and why you want to be part of this new project. It doesn't have to be long or fancy - we just want to know more about you.
Don't forget to include your: Name, Age, Phone Number and Email Please email your letter to natashamyt@hotmail.com by January 31, 2007 If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call Natasha Mytnowych, Theatre Revolve's Artistic Director at 416-407-7301 Help Create the Shapetionary ! What is the Shapetionary? Its a visual index of objects! It started from looking at the dictionary and wondering why some words are illustrated and others aren't and thinking it would be interesting to illustrate the whole dictionary, or all the object nouns...then organize them by shape.
So I extracted all, or most (aprox 9500), of the object nouns, now I am setting out to get them illustrated by as many different people as possible. I am interested in our subjective/collective understandings of objects. So far over 400 people are participating, I estimate that between 1200-1500 drawers are needed.
If you are interested in illustrating some words, velvetbicycle@hotmail.com and I will send you a list of 6-8 words, along with full instructions.
Thanks for you interest, please feel free to pass my email/ this idea along to other artist/ non-artist you know who may be interested. Margaret Flood 8. Websites I likeSwapbot - www.swap-bot.com - Okay, I will not be held responsible for what happens after checking out this website. You must know that it is very addictive. Swapping is like the modern day pen palling but with swaps with art, chocolate, zines and a bunch more stuff! Improbable Research- www.improb.com - Research that makes people Laugh and Think! A very funny site! Check it out! NOVA - www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/programs - I don't have a television and I do miss the science shows that my dad used to watch all the time. Nova produces some really interesting science bits. I was fascinated by the Mayan Ruin piece. Go get some muchies and then sit down with your computer for some good science TV! 9. Interesting Bits!GirlCanCreate Studios will be facilitating Weekly Creativity Boosts Tuesday nights in February. Themes will be collage, visual journaling, Artist Trading Cards, Paper Dolls and more. The boost will provide participants with instruction, supplies and a cup of tea and some cookies! It will also give you a creative and crafty chill time to relax with some lovely folks! The details aren't nailed down but please do let Lisa know if you are interested in participating! *****
SPEAK: An evening of visual and verbal storytelling will be back on February 5 th at It's Not a Deli at Queen and Ossington! Keep your eyes open for the details to follow! ****** Photographing something interesting or beautiful has become a natural reflex . Non-Photography Day is a calendar sculpture, a day formed for action and awareness. Taking part in Non-Photography Day is simple, on the 17th July leave your camera or recording equipment at home and abandon your photo shoots. Whatever your activities that day, appreciate the life and dimension of the moment you are in rather than documenting the appearance of it. For more info, see www.nonphotographyday.com 10. Upcoming Performances of InterestJanuary 11 to February 3 Half Life Bluma Appel Theatre, 27 Front East For tickets and info call 416-368-3110
January 11 to Feb 4 Monster by Daniel MacIvor and Daniel Brooks The last time MacIvor perform his solo show. For more info see www.buddiesinbadtimestheatre.com
January 11 to January 28 Singkil by Catherine Hernandez Factory Theatre, 125 Bathurst For tickets and Info call 416-504-9971
January 16 to February 18 Cabaret U-mano "Wickedly Playful Puppets in a Seductive Musical Revue"! The Diesel Playhouse, 56 Blue Jays Way For more info see http://www.cabaretu-mano.com January 16 Part conversation, part talk show, part performance. Pick 7 makes curiosity public. The HUB 14 curatorial team selects artists whose art and process is of interest. HUB 14 invites seven artists a season, and asks each artist to pick a guest they are curious about to share this one time only performance opportunity. Featuring Erika Hennebury and Laura Nanni Admission: $7 7:00 p.m Hub 14, 14 Markham Street, Ground Floor South Unit, Getting there: Located one block west of Bathurst on Markham Street, north of Queen For reservations contact: 416-203-7719 January 19 Salon Party Fundraiser! Help us celebrate seven years of fearless independant dance theatre and our newest work in development " relative gravity "! Anandam hosts a provocative evening of caberet performance in support of their new project "relative gravity ". This piece was first workshoped as part of fFIDA 2005 and will continue extensive development for presention in the fall /winter of 2007/08. In order to do this we need your help! Performances include aerial arts, dance, live music, comedy and a puppet adoption!!!!..... all hosted by Anandam's own Kris Pedlar! We welcome you into our home studio for an intimate evening of performances and fun, all in support of a great cause! Friday January 19th 8pm -1pm Doors open at 8pm Show : 9pm Anandam Studio located at 512 Lansdowne Ave Studio #3A. $10 at the door cash bar 50/50 cash draw Puppet adoption Sponsorship Program !!!!!!!!!! Finger Puppets for Sale!!!!!!! for information please contact : Artistic Director: Brandy Leary info@anandam.ca Studio : 416.516.9246
January 20 coexisDance series .3 8:00pm arraymusic studio, 60 Atlantic Avenue (four blocks east of Dufferin, just south of King) 6-10 sliding scale The coexisDance duet series features eleven of this city's most talented dance improvisers along with the Association of Improvising Musicians of Toronto, defining the art ofcollaboration at its finest. visit www.myspace/ coexisdance. com
January 21
4pm: DuoDuo (Rob Piilonen on flute, Mitch Yolevsky on clarinet ) play a set of improve and a few tunes. 5pm: Colin Anthony; piano, Mike Overton; bass, Paul Newman; saxophones . 6pm: Rob's Collision featuring Colin Anthony (piano) Dan Goldman (guitar) Cheryl O (cello) Rob (flute, compositions) Mitch Yolevsky (clarinet) NOW Lounge (Church and Shuter) 11. Photography by Dave Pijuan-Nomura
12. Last ThoughtIf you can't laugh at yourself, my grandpa told me, you're not doing enough stupid things. I told him I didn't usually run out of stupid things, but it's hard to laugh that long at anything.
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