Table of Contents

1. Words from Lisa Pijuan-Nomura
2. Park Pieces
3. Interview with Helen Donnelly from Posey’s Wig
4. The Third Annual Cooking Fire Theatre Festival
5. Feature Butoh Performance: Liver with Claudia Wittmann
6. Feature Art Gallery: Channel Gallery
7. Read this Book! With Book Lady Sarah Selecky
8. RED: An Night of Live Performance June 14th
9. Classes, Workshops and Conferences
10. TOP10 with Matthew Payne from Theatre SKAM
11. Calls for Submissions
12. Websites I like
13. Upcoming Performances of Interest
14. Worth a Thousand Words - Photography from David Pijuan-Nomura
15. Last Thought

1. Words from Lisa Pijuan-Nomura

Whoo Hoo! It's Summertime in the City!

And so that brings us an amazing array of art, theatre, music, and film. And more importantly it's time that we PLAY!

Yesterday, I was at Dufferin Grove Park working on my latest project. Meagan O'Shea and myself spent a few hours watching the wading pool. (See Park Pieces if you want to know what it's all about!) Watching the intensity with which kids play is a great reminder that play is serious business. These kids weren't thinking about the thousand things that had to be done, they were there and that was the only place they wanted to be. These kids seemed to be oblivious to the should have, could have and would have that often rule our adult world. I think we could learn a bit from these kids...

This summer, I am planning to have a lot of what I call work play. This is one of the advantages of working for yourself! In two weeks I go to Halifax as a guest speaker to the Halifax Multicultural Festival to talk about the importance of art in life! In July, I am off to Italy to study with the 7^th Director's Symposium produced by LaMama E.T.C. For those of you who don't know who LaMama is check out the website to find out about the amazing Ellen Stewart and her theatre company.

Dave and I are moving to our new house next week and we can't wait to have a garden again and in August we are going on a two week road trip to San Francisco! Road trips are great ways to play!

For your information, I will take a hiatus in July and August from both RED and RED Letter. (I might be inspired to put together quick reference lists of going on's as there is some really good art around during the summer festivals.

I wish you all brillinant hazy days or summer and hope you find time to play!

Have an amazing summer!

Warm Wishes,

Lisa Pijuan-Nomura

P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Noah Kenneally who is one of the most serious players I know... (player as in artist of play, not a smooth slightly creepy operator kind of player! ...heehee) He inspires with his art, heart and soul! Have a great day on June 4^th Noah!

2. Park Pieces

A few years ago, Meagan O'Shea and myself formed a collective called 22TOES. We wanted to create dance theatre pieces based upon community stories. After both of us had spent a good amount of time at Dufferin Grove Park, Meagan with Dusk Dances and myself with Clay and Paper Theatre, we came up with the idea for Park Pieces.

Dufferin Grove Park is a diverse city park jam packed with interesting events. Did you know that they have a weekly organic market every Thursday that boasts some of the best produce in the city, not to mention the cities best cinnamon buns? They also have Friday night community dinners alongside theatre festivals next to the basketball players next to the dog walkers. For info about the going ons in the park check out www.dufferinpark.ca

Meagan and I are proud to be working alongside community members and professional dancers to bring you Park Pieces!

Park Pieces is a site-specific dance theatre project that collects, reflects and retells the stories of Dufferin Grove Park.

Join 22 Toes in a unique dance theatre project that invites local community members to share some stories, participate in a dance workshop and perform in the final show on June 23 rd and 24th!

When: June 23 and 24, at 7:00 p.m

Where: Dufferin Grove Park
Located on Dufferin just south of Bloor St.

What: Community Dinners at the Bake Oven from 6:00p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Performance begins at 7:00 in the Picnic Area South of the Rink House

Tickets: Suggested Donation of $10

For more info contact Lisa at lisa@girlcancreate.com

Calling all Dancers and Storytellers!

Dance Theatre Artists Meagan O'Shea and Lisa Pijuan-Nomura will be facilitating workshops in the park leading up to Park Pieces rehearsals and two performances.

The workshops will introduce and explore story telling, story-dancing, and creative movement with the participants. Those interested and available will learn and contribute to a group "score" that will be performed in Park Pieces June 23 and 24 at 7:30 pm.

The workshops are
Thursday June 1, 6 -7:30 pm
Monday June 19, 6-7:30 pm

2 rehearsals to be scheduled for the week of June 19 th to the 23 rd . . These rehearsals will be 1.5 hours in length and the participants will decide the dates. Ideally you would be available for one workshop and two rehearsals.

There will be a dress rehearsal on Thursday June 22 in the park.
Performances will be June 23 and 24, at 7:00 p.m.

Participation is on a volunteer basis.
Please come prepared to move in comfortable clothing.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Lisa at
lisa@girlcancreate.com or call 416-591-0225

No dance or theatre experience is required.
All Ages Welcome

Please note:
The workshops are weather permitting.
We will meet at the picnic tables just south of the bake oven in Dufferin Grove Park.

3. Interview with Helen Donnelly from Posey's Wig

How did you become a clown?
I remember I was in a Fringe show in '93 (with Fiona Griffiths and a bunch of other yummy performers), and another actor in that show was telling me all about taking Baby Clown, (Clown Through Mask, the oft-named “Pochinko” method). She said it was completely changing her attitude about clowning and at the same time feeding her as an artist, as this approach deals with real emotions, real reactions and is rooted in the “authentic self”. She then encouraged me to take the next course, and though I put it off for a few months, I finally took her advice. Happily, I have never looked back, and in hindsight I went from dreaming about Shaw and Stratford, to creating my own shows and working for Cirque du Soleil.

In Posey's wig, you play a wealthy diva and a meek maid. How did you create the show? Could you let us know about your creative process?
This show was conceived when I was first on the road with Cirque du Soleil, when I created 2 clown characters specifically for the VIP tent of Dralion . Over the 1.5 years of touring, I realized that these clowns should have a show of their own. It dawned on me that the two could be in a show together, which would involve many quick-changes, and that concept made me giggle. So I just followed their existing storyline of what I'd discovered about them; that the drunken diva Miss Posey is from fictitious Tubegosh, and that her overworked, under-appreciated maid Mildred was taken in as a child, and that Mildred has always admired her. The plot of this show was literally written on the train en route to Montreal one day in 2004. And a week later, I realized that it was a musical and I promptly enlisted the help of composer Matthew Reid, (musical director for Second City Mainstage). I have to highlight his talents here: for instance, I'd say to him: “Ok, Matt, I need a song for Mildred. It's all about her longing to be a star, though she is just a maid. Maybe something in 4/4 time, gentle, plaintive...” And within a week, he'd come back with a flawless number which needed no rewrites whatsoever! And so it went for all the numbers.

You are off to Montreal to work with Cirque du Soleil? Tell us about your experiences with them and what you will be doing in the upcoming show.
Well, I’ve been hired for their newest touring production, to be launched in 2007. I can’t tell you anything more about it for if I did, I'd have to kill you. But I can tell you that it's been 7 years since I entered their talent bank, and since then I've toured with them and also worked for their Special Events worldwide; Brazil was the most exotic local by far — great coffee — and I'm thrilled to be rehired; it's literally like winning the Great Clown Lottery, if there was such a thing.

You have been involved in the Sick Kid's Therapeutic Clown Program. Is it like Patch Adams and the work he does? How do clowns heal?
A lot of people have only Patch Adams as a reference, and it’s understandable. While there are some similarities to his work, there are major differences too. Patch parodies the doctor in his clowning, while at Sick Kids we model ourselves after the child: we are not in authority, nor are we parodying authority. We are one-on-one with the child; we are their peers, childlike and youthful. The approach is very gentle and intimate, with the focus being solely on the child's needs. (I do have more raucous plays with kids I've known for over a year; one of them is a 13-year old and we like to air-band to hip hop music). We structure the play so that the child has maximum control; everything is done in order to offer choices for them. E.g.: “Would you like a visit?” or “what colour would you want your tattoo to be?”, whether these concepts are brought about verbally or non-verbally (we have both types of clowns at Sick Kids). The American model overall is more performance-based. But our approach is less about performance and all about building a real relationship with children. As to how does the clown heal, well, I feel if the play is entered into with truly an open heart and zero ego, and if the only motivation is service, then children tend to guide the play to suit their needs. Babies to 17-year olds all have the capacity to tell you what they want and how much they need. We have seen blood pressure drop, heart rates stabilize, and distraction play succeed during a painful procedure. There are many ways the clown can be of service for the psycho-social well-being of the child, and it's a rare privilege to offer my services there. It literally has changed my perspective on life. Please check out our website: www.sickkids.ca/therapeuticclownprogram Advice for baby clowns? Train, train, train, and book yourselves into as many venues as you can to get your nose wet and fail, fail, fail as often as you can. Then, get a director!

4. The Third Annual Cooking Fire Theatre Festival

Wednesday, June 14th – Sunday, June 18th , 2006

We are pleased to announce the third annual Cooking Fire Theatre Festival, a weeklong performance extravaganza celebrating theatre, food and public space in Toronto's Dufferin Grove Park. From Wednesday, June 14 th through Sunday the 18 th , innovative theatre companies from Toronto, Victoria, Halifax and New York City will present original work that promises to delight, provoke, and inspire. Each evening, Toronto's Number Eleven Theatre will lead the audience from site to site throughout the park to see performances ranging from an ancient Japanese folktale to a modern cowboy musical, from grand spectacles to intimate puppet pieces.

Delicious organic meals will be served to the audience over cooking fires and from Dufferin Grove Park's two wood-fired outdoor community bake ovens. Building on the success of the last two years, this year's Cooking Fire Theatre Festival will offer the experience of enchanting and challenging theatre, wonderful food and the beginning of summer.

Zuppa Circus Theatre (Halifax) Open Theatre Kitchen: all possible futures – 6:30 PM nightly
In a kitchen in the desert, a couple desires a child so deeply that they imagine one into existence. Equal parts human, part onion, mischief and mythology, the child transforms and threatens the life they have made. Presented by celebrated Halifax company Zuppa Circus, this new piece is a generous, wild theatrical feast celebrating a relentless appetite for the world. www.zuppacircus.ca

Drama of Works (New York City) On the Backs of Fishes – 8 PM nightly
Part two of their epic puppet drama Warrior, On the Backs of Fishes tells the story of Jingo, the warrior empress of Japan, and uses marionettes, rod puppets, overhead projections and storytelling. On the Backs of Fishes won an award for Original Adaptation at the World Festival of Puppet Art in Prague. Drama of Works is an experimental puppet company, and company in residence at New York City's HERE Arts Centre. www.dramaofworks.com

Theatre SKAM (Victoria) Billy Nothin' – 8:30 PM nightly
Trapped in a world of leather chaps and cowboy boots, five Wild West characters collide, encountering murder, metamorphosis, and mayhem alongside a meta-whore who may or may not have the answers to set them free. This cowboy musical, presented by the wildly popular BC company, is a quintessential Western with more twists than a lasso. www.skam.ca

Stranger Theatre (Toronto) K ä the Kollwitz – 9:45 PM nightly
A new piece using marionettes, shadow puppetry and toy theatre, based on the life and work of German printmaker and sculptor Käthe Kollwitz, her depiction of life in working class Berlin, and her struggles as a pacifist in Nazi Germany. www.strangertheatre.ca

Performances begin at 6:30 PM every night and dinner is served from 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM. Dufferin Grove Park is located two blocks south of Dufferin and Bloor.

Admission is pay-what-you-can ($10 suggested contribution).

The Cooking Fire Theatre Festival acknowledges the support of the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council, and the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

Cooking Fire Theatre Call for Volunteers

When: June 14-June 18
Where: Dufferin Grove Park, 875 Dufferin Street S of Bloor Across from the Dufferin Mall
How (you can help):

We need volunteers before and during the festival to:

• Distribute posters and flyers
• Run the information table
• Act as Ushers
• Help with the food
• Assist with theatre tech during the festival

To volunteer or for more information please contact
Mayssan at mayssan@dufferinpark.ca

5. Feature Butoh Performance: Liver by Claudia Wittmann

 

Liver

Butoh performance by Claudia Wittmann
Created and performed with sound artist Jeff Luciani, lighting designer Chad Dembski, and dramaturge Paul Couillard

Friday, June 2, 8 pm
Saturday, June 3, 8 pm
Sunday June 4, 6 pm
Xpace
303 Augusta Ave.


$15 general admission
$12 CADA-students-seniors

"Liver" is about habits our body repeat over and over in order to cope with our vulnerability, in order to hide it, to become blind to it. When we are blind, it is somehow as if we had lost some freedom, as if our mind were sticking to this vulnerability instead of seeing it. We cannot even see how beautiful, tender and human it is. With "Liver", I expose some of my habits to an audience. I go as close as my mind can. I listen, I follow, I move, I try to look. I use my butoh skills and tools borrowed from the experimental theatre of Jerzy Grotowski.

6. Feature Art Gallery: Channel Gallery

Mom and Child by Susan Leopold

For EPK including downloadable images, visit www.channelgallery.ca

They're ready to Spar
5 Local Artists Launch Distillery District Art Gallery

On Thursday, June 8 th from 5 to 9 pm, the Distillery District's best kept secret, Channel Gallery , officially opens its doors to the public.

Channel Gallery is a partnership of 5 Toronto based artists whose work includes sculpture, photography, mixed media and installation. Themed Spar , their current exhibit explores the tensions between support systems and conflict.

The 5 artists are;

• Helena Frei – artist and poet, deals with words, colour and change – working primarily in textiles, she examines the stresses that usage and history bring to bear on the material environment.
• Melanie Gordon – photographer, whose images reveal glimpses of dream and reality and negotiate the space in between motion and paralysis, clarity and chaos, strength and vulnerability, light and dark.
• Sunmi Jung – sculptor, whose art serves as a bridge through which she integrates the human limitations of her physical self with the free-flowing vital energies of nature.
• Susan Leopold – mixed media artist, focuses on the dynamic between past and present, conscious and unconscious, what is visible and invisible and how we interpret what we see.
• Peggy Mersereau – mixed media and installation artist - captures the ephemeral in her work and elicits the essence of light, shadow and passing time.

While their personal and professional backgrounds are as far apart as Korea, the Maritimes, California, Ontario and the Czech Republic, this group of five women shares an awareness of the importance of materials and process in the making of their art.

Together, they present a group of powerful works that look at the world from very different points of view and yet come together in a dynamic balance.

In keeping with the theme Spar, a Capoeira (Afro-Brazilian martial arts) troupe will perform in the lobby of Channel Gallery at 6:30pm and 7:30pm .

About Channel Gallery
Channel Gallery is located in the Case Goods Warehouse in the heart of the Distillery Historic District, founded in 1832. The gallery is located on the ground floor, studio 109 – building 74 on 55 Mill Street.

Ph: 416.840.0187. For complete directions, visit www.thedistillerydistrict.com, and click on Location.

About Capoiera
An Afro-Brazilian martial art developed initially by African slaves in Brazil during the colonial period, it is marked by deft, tricky movements. Some versions have a strong acrobatic component, and it is always played with music. Physically demanding yet fluid, Capoeira relies heavily on feints, subterfuge, as well as sweeps and kicks.

7. Read this Book! With Book Lady Sarah Selecky

Stanley Park by Timothy Taylor
If you're like me, and you have been known to read cookbooks at leisure (sometimes, yes, even bringing them to bed), you will enjoy this novel about 30-something year-old chef Jeremy of The Monkey's Paw Bistro in Vancouver, BC. This is a very Vancouver book: most hilariously, see Starbucks thinly disguised as “Inferno” coffee (reference to Hell noted) and, of course, there is an extensive exploration of the depths of Stanley Park and the people who live there. There's a touch of romance, a bit of stealth and mystery, and – oh! – the food, the food. Long passages of food porn punctuated with detailed and delicious backstage kitchen notes will make you want to spend quality time browsing in your local market for special ingredients to inspire your evening meals. Note: Timothy Taylor is the only writer to have had three of his short stories nominated for the Journey Prize in the same year (2000).

Sweet Land Stories by E.L. Doctorow
E. L. Doctorow is best known for his novels - particularly Ragtime - but it would be a shame to overlook his short fiction. These stories are some of the most well-crafted, haunting, stick-with-you stories I've ever read. Since reading this book, I've pushed it on almost everyone I know. Each story is a meticulously crafted world in itself. When you finish a story, you're left feeling like you've just read a novel in 20 pages. They're that satisfying, that visceral. Often the protagonists are desperately flawed characters, and Doctorow's magic is in making you relate to them, root for them, and understand them. Highlights: the story about the contemporary cult leader and his following; the series of murders covered up by a mother-and-son team; the man who agrees to take a baby his crazy girlfriend has stolen from the hospital, pretending it is her own; the life and times of a foster child-turned-prostitute-turned-tattoo artist-turned trophy wife-turned Christian housewife. And that's just the beginning.

Alligator by Lisa Moore
Oh, how I love Lisa Moore's language, sentences, paragraphs, stories. I've been in awe of her two short story collections, Open and Degrees of Nakedness, for years, and I was admittedly a little bit nervous about this, her first novel. I had nothing to fear. In Alligator, she continues to do what she does best, working image by startling image, word by perfect word, weaving a variety of voices together (each chapter is from the point of view of a different character) to create a vivid picture of contemporary Newfoundland and the people who live there. It may not be what you expect, but I dare you to put it down once you've started it.

8. RED: An Night of Live Performance June 14th - A Fundraiser!

Join us for a spectacular of RED Artists as they perform to raise money for “The Paradise Project” An Ekphrastic Collision which will be created and performed in Fall of 2006!

June 14th, 2006
Lula Lounge, www.lula.ca
1585 Dundas Street West, One block west of Dufferin
Doors open at 7:00 Performance at 8:30
Tickets; $12 Adults, $10 Artists, Students or Seniors

Featured Artists are:
Ilse Gudino – Flamenco
Lucy Rupert – Modern Dance
Ann McDougall – Storytelling
Erin Shields – Theatre
Noah Kenneally – Puppetry
Chris Gibbs – Comedy
And visiting from San Francisco – Niki Berkowitz – Clown!
Art Rodeo with the Sunday Jammers – Contact Dance
And a few more suprises!

There will be a raffle with tonnes of great prizes!

 

9. Classes, Workshops and Conferences

Butoh: Dance of Transformation
with Yukio Waguri

Due to popular demand we have added a second workshop with Yukio Waguri.

Monday June 5 & Tuesday June 6
6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

400 Jarvis Street
National Ballet School

Cost: $70 or $45/day

SPACE IS LIMITED!

For registration and more information call: 416-593-8455 or e-mail:
meaghan@canasiandancefestival.com

A special introduction to the distinctive Hijikata Butoh method that awakens vivid imagery in dancers using poetic words to inspire the practice of moving the body.

Yukio Waguri danced for Butoh's brilliant co-founder, Tatsumi Hijikata from 1972 to 1979 and then again in 1985 at Asbestos kan in Tokyo.

In 1990 "Yukio Waguri and Kohzensha Butoh Company" was organized to support his choreography and performing in Japan and internationally.

His choreography is "constructive" rather than improvisatorial, using "Butoh-fu" notation or the poetic words that were taught by Hijikata and which are used to awaken the dancers' imagery.

Waguri is also an educator who continues to work diligently to unveil the essence of Butoh that has been hidden from public knowledge until now.

http://www.canasiandancefestival.com

 

Introductory CLOWN Intensive
with Edith Tankus and Adam Paolozza

Explore your clown and discover your own unique sense of humour. What makes you ridiculous, loveable and compelling. The clown is you unmasked. Your idiosyncratic, ridiculous, vulnerable, contrary you.

Through improvisation and games enter the world of play and discover how to have immediate contact with your audience, how to expose the ridiculous in yourself and how to become a channel for the unexpected.

Explore the vocabulary of the clown, vaudeville and circus-style physical comedy, understand why something is funny or not and learn how to follow an impulse to its fullest. This introductory workshop is the beginning of the journey: we'll dip in our toes, test the water and share our discoveries with our peers in an informal public showing on the last day, Thursday June 29.

The workshop is ideal for performing artists of all disciplines but we also welcome non-performers and anyone with a strong desire to discover their inner idiot.

WHERE : School of Toronto Dance Theatre
80 Winchester St. (East of Parliament and North of Carlton on Winchester St.)
WHEN : June 23-29
(6-10pm weekdays, 2:30-6:30 on Saturday 24th and 3:30-7:30 on Sunday 25th)
PRICE : $502 (GST incl.) Non-Union
$420 (GST incl.) Union (CAEA, CADA, ACTRA)
CONTACT : Adam Paolozza 416-454-3208 or clownworkshop@gmail.com

Check out www.edithtankus.com for more details.

**CLASS SIZE LIMITED**

ADAM PAOLOZZA is a graduate of L'École Jacques Lecoq and founder and co-artistic director of the award-winning international ensemble TheatreRUN , with whom he's created several shows and toured across Europe and America. He has worked with the Decroux Mime company Intrepido in Paris and created shows with Theatre Gargantua and Theatre Smith-Gilmour. Adam has taught clown, Mime, Greek Tragedy and physical theatre workshops in Europe, U.S.A. and Canada.

Edith Tankus is an alumnus of L'École Jacques Lecoq and L'École Philippe Gaulier . Her award winning solo shows tour nationally in schools and theatres as well as international theatre festivals. She leads workshops in clown and physical theatre and has Residencies performing and teaching in theatres across Canada.

 

Puppet Workshops in Prague.

For the past six years, Puppets in Prague has been running two-week workshops on the craft of creating wooden marionettes based on traditional Czech technologies. During these workshops, participants go through the whole process of making a wooden marionette: design, creating a technical drawing, woodcarving, puppet assembly, painting, costumes, stringing, making handle, and finally creating a short puppet show . The course is led by puppet designer Miroslav Trejtnar , and students are taught the different aspects of puppet making by a number of other Czech artists. The workshops also include visits to performances, museums, studios, etc.

Students in the November workshop will attend performances at the Czech National Puppet Festival in Prague, and those in the June workshop will be able to attend the international scene design exhibition, Prague Quadrenneil.

The dates of our upcoming workshops are are:
November 3-18, 2006
January 5-20, 207
June 1-15, 2007

For more information and an application, please go to www.kidpraha.cz
or
email info@kidpraha.cz

10. TOP10 with Matthew Payne from Theatre SKAM

(I met Matthew in February at a mutual friend's birthday party. And then I met him at the Theatre Centre and then every few weeks I would see Mathhew around town. Last week I had the pleasure of seeing him perform an excerpt from his Fringe Show called “The Lab”. Absolutely brilliant! If you see one thing at the Fringe this year make sure it's his show. Needless to say, I am now the official president of the Matthew Payne Fan Club.   Keep your eye out for this talented artist. You will be glad you did! – Lisa)

10. Monday night Scrabble.
www.scrabbleinthecity.com

9. Looking across the bow of a kayak at my tent, pitched on Mayne Island.
www.mayneisland.com

8. Local singer songwriters on my i-pod.
www.clairejenkins.com
www.corinraymond.com
www.treasalevasseur.com
www.lukedoucet.com

7. Being in a city where there's an arts scene with so much happening that it's almost too much to choose from. (I'm talking about Toronto.) Keep it coming.

6. Dinner theatre in a park.
http://www.dufferinpark.ca/cookingfire/wiki/wiki.php?n=CookingFire.FrontPage

5. The Prince of Darkness blend from Ideal Coffee in Kensington Market , 84 Nassau Street.

4. Talking to folks from B.C. on the phone
(For a cheap call dial 10 10 940 1 250 FUN SKAM. Tell Jen I said ‘Howdy’)

3. Riding my bike past cars.
http://www.freefoto.com/preview.jsp?id=21-93-2&k=Bicycle+Sign

2. Trying to convince people that it is okay to do a play inside a 53-foot semi trailer, and then trying to convince someone to tow a 53-foot trailer down streets too narrow, into the heart of the Annex.
www.fringetoronto.com/festival06/Indoor.htm (Scroll down to BYOV's and The Lab )

1. Double lime popsicles.
http://www.bluebunny.com/ProductDetail.aspx?currentcategoryid=59&productId=326

11. Calls for Submissions

Bad Dog Theatre Short Play Festival

Now entering its 3rd year the Bad Dog Theatre Short Play Festival is now accepting submissions.

This year's festival will run Oct 16-22. Details are at the link below:

http://www.baddogtheatre.com/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=208

Each 2 hour performance during the festival will feature two 45 minute plays.

Companies will be selected in a public drawing and each company will receive 2 performance dates. Each company will receive 50% of the total box office revenue per show (2 shows per performance date).

The Bad Dog Theatre is a 60 seat theatre centrally located at Danforth and Broadview.

For questions about the festival please contact
Jason Gemmill, Festival Director
At Jason@baddogtheatre.com

 

Art For Real Change - Toronto's Social Justice Arts Festival

ARCfest is a Social Justice Arts Festival that will be held from October 23rd-29th in multiple venues in the Queen West Art and Design District and Parkdale neighbourhoods in Toronto. As a multi-disciplinary festival, ARCfest features art events, panel discussions, speakers, and workshops addressing local social justice issues.

We are looking for provocative, radical, inspiring, empowering, innovative and/or enlightening works from across the artistic media (ie film, poetry, performing arts, music, visual arts and anything else you consider art).

Proposals must address local social justice/activist/human rights issues.

Our multiple venues allow for projects of diverse size and scale. We encourage projects that are co-created or co-produced by an artist together with an organization involved in social justice pursuits (though this is not a requirement)

*** DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: JUNE 12th, 2006***

For more information visit www.arcfest.org

 

Toronto Festival of Clowns

The 1st Annual Toronto Festival of Clowns - July 14/15 in the Distillery District, is looking for 40 minute shows and 5-10 minute opening acts.

Space is limited, so we require prospective production companies to submit a short proposal to the festival.

Performances will be held in and around the Young Centre Theatre.

Any type of physical theatre will be accepted.

For information and contact: festival@torontoclown.com

http://www.torontoclown.com

12. Websites I like

www.torontoist.com - A great blog that has neat links about art, culture and life in the big city.

http://storms.typepad.com - Booklust is a neat blog that satisfies my addiction to books..Oh and have you heard there is a new independent bookstore in Toronto? TYPE opened a few weeks ago on Queen St W and it's very exciting!

www.forests-forever.com - Sometimes I find a website that intrigues me for many reasons. This is one of them. Beautiful images in the gallery inspire and make me aware of the importance of forests

www.thimble.ca - If you like playing with crafty bits you will love thimble.

13. Upcoming Performances of Interest

 

May 19 to June 11
Cringeworthy
London 1912. The sinister tale of an Italian couple drawn into a web of secrets and deceit, spun by a calculating money lender. A yarn of deliciously dark proportions from the producers of This Hotel
Theatre Passe Muraille
16 Ryerson Ave
Starring Paul Fauteux, Tara Nicodemo and Alex Poch-Goldin
Info: 416-504-7529

June 1 to June 3
Series 8:08 Season Finale
Featuring choreography by Susan Kendal & Lindsay Zier-Vogel, Ilona Dougherty and Meghan MacNeil
8:08 pm
Winchester Street Theatre: 80 Winchester St. (N. of Carlton and E. of Parliament)
Reservations and information: 416-504-6429 x40

June 1 - June 10
aluCine Toronto Latin@ Media Festival
The 7th aluCine Toronto Latin@ Media Festival will run from June 1st to June 10th at the Workman Theatre Project (1001 Queen Street West), the National Film Board of Canada (150 John Street) and the Innis Town Hall (2 Sussex Avenue ).
The festival will offer 10 days of 200 border-breaking short films and videos from Latin America, Canada and across the world. Most of the films will be followed with discussions led by visiting film directors and by local filmmakers and industry professionals.
For festival details www.alucinefestival.com

June 2
Sultans of String
The Rex Hotel at 6:30-8:30 pm, , ,
http://www.therex.ca

June 2- June 4
Muhtadi International Drumming Festival
June 2 opens at Harbourfront Brigantine Room -$10
June 3-4 - Queen's Park
More info see http://www.muhtadidrumfest.com/Festival2006.html.

June 5
Separation Anxiety Party
Bid Farewell to The Theatre Centre at 1087 Queen West ....
Doors open at 7pm
pay-what-you-can (minimum $5)

Scavenger Hunt - take home what you find!
Coordinated by Clinton Walker
Items donated by Daniel McIvor, David Duclos, DNA Theatre, Richard Feren, Stephen Seabrook, Modern Times Theatre, Volcano, Oomph! and many, many more...

Theatre Centre Announces our plans for next season and our goals for the future. A Curious Cabaret - a lively evening of short entertainment by Theatre Centre alumni as well as our new Resident Artists...

June 6
Nicolas Hernandex CD Release
Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas Street West
For more info call 416-588-0307 or www.lula.ca

June 8
Toronto WordStage
Featuring readings by Corrado Paina, Rishma Dunlop, Dan Yashinsky, and Pike Wright .
Cervejaria at 842 College, Just West of Ossington
Doors open at 7:00, Performances begin at 7:30.

June 8 – June 11
Sun Ra Arkestra
Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas Street West
For more info see www.lula.ca

June 9 – June 11
androgyne
by d'bi young
Buddies In Bad Times, 12 Alexander Street, Toronto
performed by d'bi young & Ordena Stephens-Thompson
directed by ahdri zhina mandiela
Shows Fri & Sat 8pm, Sun 2:30pm
Tickets $15 Fri & Sat, Sun PWYC
416-975-8555 www.buddiesinbadtimestheatre.com

June 14
RED: A Night of Live Performance, A fundraiser for Ekphrastic Collision
Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas Street West
Doors open at 7:00, Performances at 8:30
Tickets: $12 Adults, $15 Artists, Seniors and Students.

June 18
Day of De Light
Dufferin Grove Park (on Dufferin Street south of Bloor Street West)
Artists, musicians and puppet performances to run repeatedly throughout the day from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m.
More info: www.clayandpapertheatre.org

June 22
Dub Poets Collective
Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas Street West
Doors at 7:00 p.m. Show at 8:00 p.m

June 23 –June 24
Park Pieces
Dufferin Grove Park
Dinner at 6:00, Performances at 7:00
For more information email lisa@girlcancreate.com

June 26- June 27
Lanzate Festival
An inspiring new festival showcasing the talent of Toronto's Latin American/Hispanic Youth.
Un evento inspirativo que exponera el talento de jovenes latino/hispano de Toronto.

Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas St. West
Performances by Oscar y Su Banda, Dirty Maria and performance by some of Toronto's Latin Artists.
Reservations : 416.588.0307
Event/ Program : 647-896-7482 or latinyouth2006@hotmail.com
Door: $5-10 sliding for youth/students
          $10-15 sliding for general public
          Families of 5+ $5/person

14. Worth a Thousand Words – Photography from David Pijuan-Nomura

15. Last Thought

Play keeps us vital and alive. It gives us an enthusiasm for life that is irreplaceable. Without it, life just doesn't taste good. – Lucia Capcchione