Montreal Playwright: David Fennario

Photo by: montrealmirror.com

Montreal born author and award winning playwright David Fennario (Wiper) was raised in the working class neighborhood of Pointe- St- Charles. His pen name, Fennario was taken from a Bob Dylan song titled,"Pretty Peggy-O."

In the early seventies Fennario enrolled in Dawson Collage. With his teachers encouragement, Fennario developed and fine tuned his creative writing skills. His journal, Without a Parachute caught the attention of then Centaur artistic director Maurice Podbrey , who introduced Fennario to the ins and outs of theatre.

On the Job, Fennario's first play was produced at Centaur in 1975 and became an overnight hit. As did his other plays, also produced at Centaur, Nothing to Lose (1976), Toronto (1978), Balconville (1979), Moving (1983), The Murder of Catherine Parr (1986) and the controversial The Death of Rene Levesque in (1990).

Balconville

Photo courtesy of www.playwrights.ca

Fennario continued to bring the working class issues to the public's attention through his art. Breaking away from mainstream theatre and concerned that his plays were not being heard by his working class audience, he co -founded the Blackrock Community Group. His agitprop work , Joe Beef (1984) was influenced by Bertolt Brecht and produced the show in Verdun.


Photo courtesy of www.amazon.ca

Another play, this time a one man show, Banana Boots (1988), is based on his life, and was developed at the Playwrights Workshop Montreal . Gargoyles another one man show dipicts a historical and working class view of life in Pointe St. Charles.

With Fennario's long awaited return to Centaur, he revisited Balconville's success 26 years later with the premiere in Novenber, 2005 with Condoville .


Photo courtesy of www.go-montreal.com

Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the invention of radio by CanadianReginald Fessenden , Fennario wrote Fessenden's Follies(2006). This was adapted for radio and performed live in December 2006 across Canada.

Stage Managing

Photo courtesy of www.cartoonstock.com

A stage manager's position is that of an organizer . An efficient stage manager(SM) is prepared for everything and anything. If your in a large theatre company there might be an assistant stage manager to help ensure the production runs smoothly. Usually though, you are one SM. The SM is responsible for the smooth running of the rehearsals . This job can be stressful given that you are working with many people and many different personalities.

Organization is Key

You can never have enough lists. Keeping a record of things will keep you ready for unexpected crisis that come up. So it's a great idea to keep everything handy, neat and available for verifying production and technical information. It does no good to have the necessary information if you can't get your fingers on it when it's needed right away. I suggest buying a clip board and a binder that you can put dividers in.

With your information divided into sections you will cut out unnecessary stress when you have to look up important information. This will save you valuable time and energy. Since one of your most important roles will be to record and document everything during the rehearsal process , I can't stress this point enough. Here are a few examples of lists that you will need to consider in order to be on top of the show.

Lists, Lists, and more Lists.

- Props
- Costumes
- Rehearsal schedules
- Lighting cues
- Sound cues
- Blocking
- Set changes or moves

The Stage Manager is always the first one to arrive and the last one to leave rehearsal. There is always something to do and to think about for the next day's work. The SM is responsible for contacting the actors regarding the call times for rehearsals. Also it is tradition that the SM supply and make the coffee during rehearsals. This also saves valuable time in the long run.

Theatre Parminou: Intervention Theatre Troupe

With permission of Parminou Theatre and Lester B. Pearson School Board

For over thirty years, Theatre Parminou has been the leader of intervention theatre in Quebec. The name Theatre Parminou is really a play on words meaning Theatre Among Us. Based in Victoriaville , Quebec, the company travels all over Canada performing their collective creations.

Another Friday Night , an original play by Theatre Parminou, was offered free of charge to all Lester B. Pearson School Board (LBPSB) grade six students and their parents. The play was presented at Pierrefonds Comprehensive High School on the evening of Tuesday, February 24th.



Partners in Prevention

This original play, Another Friday Night is produced by Le Theatre Parminou in collaboration with the Service de Police de la Ville de Montreal (SPVM), Lester B. Pearson School Board (LBPSB), Portage and the International Centre for Youth Gambling and High- Risk Behaviors.

Radio Drama: The Craft of Dramatic Storytelling

" A work of art is above all an adventure of the mind."
- Eugene Ionesco

Photo by jokerras

As with all stories, radio drama begins with an idea. The writer or dramatist then takes this idea and crafts it into a dramatic script, ready for the storyteller. In 1927, short stories scripts were made ready for broadcasting, launching the birth of radio drama programs.

Radio drama (not to be confused with radio diaries ) encourages imagination and visualization. The descriptive language used to explain action, setting, characters , time and place, creates opportunities for the audience to produce vivid images for themselves. These images, which are different for everyone, can reach far beyond the imaginative stage sets created for the theatre . Not to mention a whole lot less expensive.

With no set, the storyteller or radio dramatist relies on other creative tools such as, sound effects and background music. Appropriate sound sequences and music choices will support the mood and set the tone of the story . However, caution should be exercised so as not to over do it. Too many sound effects will distract rather than enhance the story. Here are some other tips for successful dramatic storytelling.

The 4 PPPP'S of Storytelling:

- Posture- Do not sit slouched over. Hold your head up and sit/stand straight. Even if the audience can't see you your voice will project clearer.
- Pitch- Do speak calmly and in a strong voice. Do allow yourself to be excited during the excited parts. Don't keep your voice on one level.
- Pause- Do remember silence is an important tool. It will give your audience a chance to keep up with you. Do emphasize important sections of your story with ... pauses. Know your story well and don't um and ah.
- Pace- Do alternate between fast and slow sections and use volume to pace your story. Do use short sentences to heighten tension. This allows the audience time to envision the story in their minds. Always remember to not speak to quickly.


Broadcast courtesy of Gospel Unlimited and CJLO

The Golden Age of Radio Plays

Photo credit Michelle Evans

Popular in the 30's and 40's radio plays entertained the public with highly realistic storytelling. Perhaps the most adventuresome and most famous radio broadcast program of all time was the invasion of aliens in War of the Worlds on October 30th, 1938, performed by Orson Welles and his troupe, Mercury theatre .

As with playwrights , effective radio performances depend on many creative efforts. One such talent was Norman Corwin , a respected writer of many radio dramas who was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1993. Ottawa's Carleton University multimedia artist, Jeff Green , (also a Radio Hall of Fame recipient) has made an impact on radio theatre as well. His science fiction writings, Soundings and the award winning production of Somebody Talking to you have helped bring radio drama back into the limelight once again.