Community Theatre Artist: Rachael Van Fossen

Photo courtesy of www.goddard.edu

The Theatre Department at Concordia University would not be the same without it including Theatre & Development programme teacher Rachael Van Fossen. In fact it would be downright sinful not to have her on board. An accomplished theatre director, professional playwright, and artistic director, Rachael Van Fossen is dedicated in producing participatory arts, interdisciplinary arts , collaborative and community play based theatre.

Ka'ma'mo'pi cik/The Gathering

The Calling Lakes Community Play project was co-written and co-directed by Rachael Van Fossen and Darrel Wildcat in Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan in 1992. This community play (which was published in an anthology) project involved professional theatre artists working side by side with many non theatre people from within the community. Rachael says, "The play was far from exclusive, that's for sure. The process was very collaborative."

Working on some difficult issues concerning both the Native and non- Native community members, The Gathering which was staged promenade style , was based on actual stories from the town's people. Rachael says, " ... the play was a departure point for discussion and dialogue, showing people the actual stories of the "Other" group, and in that way getting rid of some commonly held assumptions."

The Gathering won the National Race Unity Award in March 1993.

Other Creative Endeavors

- Founder and artistic director of Common Weal Community Arts in Regina. 1992 - 1999.
- Artistic director of Black Theatre Workshop. 2001 - 2005.
- Co - authored with Ruth Howard, "Easy to Say: Reflections on the roles of art and the artist in Canadian adaptations of the Colway Community Play form."
- Member of Stand Firm Quebec.
- Produced and directed several radio dramas for the CBC.
- Goddard College Professor in interdisciplinary arts.
- Dramaturge and panelist (Armenian heritage) for Untold Histories. Presented by Teesri Dunyia, "Courageous life stories of making home anew in Montreal."

Rachael Van Fossen lives in Montreal with her partner of over 20 years, Gordan Fisch, and their children Caitlin and Elijah.

Local French Theatre Events

French Theatre

36(Les). By Simon Boulerice, Olivier Choiniere, Julie Vincent, etc. Dir. Catherine Vallee-Gregoire, To Apr 11. Theatre La Chapelle. 3700 St-Dominique St, Mtl. (514) 843-7738.


Photo courtesy of www.stick.com

Edmond. By David Mamet, Dir. Germain Pitre, trans. Pierre Laville, Apr 1-4. Studio-d'essai Claude-Gauvreau . 405 Ste- Catherine E, Mtl. (514) 987-3456.


Photo courtesy of www.estuqam.ca

Charge de l'orignal epormyable (La). By Claude Gauveau. Dir. Lorraine Pintal. To Apr 4. Theatre du Nouveau Monde. 84 Ste-Catherine W, Mtl. (514) 866-8668.


Photo courtesy of www.quartierdesspectacles.com

Deni (Le). By Arnold Wesker. Dir. Martine Beaulne. Trans. Genevieve Lefebre. to Apr 11. Theatre Jean - Duceppe , PdA. 173 Ste- Catherine W. Mtl. (514) 842-2112.


Photo courtesy of www.tourisme-montreal.org

Alice sureXposee. Dir.Patrice Trembly. To Apr 4.Geordie theatre . 4001 Berri St. Mtl.

Bruit des qui craquent (Le). By Suzanne Lebeau. Dir. Gervais Gandreault. To Apr 25.Theatre d'Aujourd'hui . 3900 St-Denis, Mtl. (514) 282-3900.


Photo courtesy of camerapolaroid.blogspot.com

Local English Theatre Events

English Theatre

Le Code Noir By George Boyd, Dir. Richard Donat. To Apr 5. Segal Centre for Performing Arts , 5170 Cote-Ste-Catherine Rd, MtL. (514) 739-7944.Presented by: Black Theatre Workshop . Box Office:(514) 932-1104 ext. 225.


Photo courtesy of Black Theatre Workshop

City of Wine/Oedipus By Ned Dickens. Dir. Ulla Neuerburg-Denzer . Presented by Concordia University Department of Theatre . Apr 2-5. F.C. Smith Auditorium, Loyola Campus,7141 Sherbrooke Street West. Ticket purchase in person only at the Oscar Peterson Concert Hall (7141 Sherbrooke Street West, SC01-10). Box Office: (514) 848-2424, ext. 4742.


Photo courtesy of fineartsconcordia.ca

Julius Caesar By William Shakespear. To April 4. No show March 29-April 1. Moyse Hall 853 Sherbrooke W. (McGill Arts Building) . (514) 398-6070.


Photo courtesy of www.mcgill.ca

The Mystery of Edwin Drood. To Apr 4. Dir. Andrew Cuk & Jason Howell. Presented by John Abbott College Theatre Workshop . Casgrain Theatre 21275 Lakeshore, Ste-Anne-de Bellevue . Box Office (514)457-2447. Tickets also available at the door.


Photo courtesy of www.memphis.edu

OPENINGS

Age of Arousal By Linda Griffiths, Dir. Sarah Stanley . To Apr 19. Centaur Theatre, 53 St-Francois Xavier. (514) 288-3161.


Photo courtesy of Centaur Theatre

Rumors By Neil Simon. Dir. Irene Arseneault. To Apr 5. Hudson Village Theatre . 28 Wharf, Hudson. (514) 979-3570. Box Office: (450) 485-5361.


Photo courtesy of roslynschools.org

Hudson Village Theatre

Photo courtesy of www.themonitor.ca

Hudson Village Theatre was founded in 1993 by Concordia Theatre graduate Heather Markgraf-Lowe . The plays were originally produced in a large tent beside the Mon Village Restaurant in beautiful St. Lazare .

In 2000, under Markgraf-Lowe's leadership , loving guidance, fundraising extravagances and encouraged by their growing audience, moved the productions into their newly renovated , air conditioned theatre , the Hudson train station .

Artistic Directors

- Heather Markgraf 1993 - 2003
- Andrew Johnston 2004 - to present


Photo courtesy of Hudson-village.com

With over 25 successful productions, children's productions, comedy gigs , concerts, and fundraising events brought to the stage thus far, Hudson Village Theatre continues to draw loyal audiences from Montreal, Ottawa , and surrounding areas.


Coming Attractions

- Yonder Hill in Concert May 30th, 2009

- The Dik & Mitzi Anniversary Show. August 27th - 30th, 2009. Written & Performed by Wayne Doba and Andrea Conway. Directed by Mary Harvey.


Photo courtesy of www.villagetheatre.ca


Box office - 450-458-5361
www.villagetheatre.ca
Free parking and wheelchair accessible.

to Sea in a Sieve: Jumblies Theatre comes to Montreal

Photo courtesy of www.jumbliestheatre.org

What a special treat it was to have taken a workshop taught by Ruth Howard of Jumblies Theatre . Concordia theatre students were introduced to creating art collaboratively based on our own life experiences. These were created with pastels and passed onward to our classmates, hence becoming an artful team effort . With our stories colourfully illustrated it was time to build the script.

Given some time to organize ourselves and given a set of prepared questions we began the process of interviewing our classmates. Equipped with our new scripts we then formed groups or worked alone on our stories to present.

As the Concordia weekend was coming to a close we all presented our pieces authentically and creatively. Taking the designated time, patiently in exploring and listening to each other tell our stories was an especially favorite part of mine in the weekend's Jumblies Theatre workshop.

Jumblies Theatre


Photo courtesy ofwww.collectionx.museum
"Makes art in everyday and unexpected places for, about and with the people and stories found there." - Ruth Howard

Contact at www.jumbliestheatre.org
Telephone: 416-203-8428.

Theatre Ste Catherine

Photo courtesy of www.theatrestecatherine.com

Now Playing


Photo courtesy ofwww.blackmontreal.com

Cherry Docs - By: David Gow. A Persephone Production . Directed by: Gabrielle Suskin April 16 - 26, 2009.
Reservations call: 514- 481-1327.
www.persephoneproductions.org


Photo courtesy ofwww.persephoneproductions.org

Theatre Ste Catherine
264 Ste. Catherine E.
514-284-3939.
Berri UQAM Metro.

Porte Parole: Documentary theatre

Photo courtesy of www.porteparole.org

Co-founded in 1998 by Annabel Soutar and Alex Ivanovici , Porte Parole aims to draw attention to, and shed much needed light on serious social and political issues. Through their bilingual documentary plays, Porte Parole explores, interviews, researches, and challenges the information given in government and other official documents.

It is going beyond the spoken word to find the conflicts, searching for that moment that strikes you, the gestures, pauses, and the natural rhythm's of a person's speech patterns that contributes most to the story.

It is the breaking down in the person's syntax of speech , with the umm's and the aahhh's that play a major role in finding some of the real connections. The real story emerges behind the words and the gestures, the true feelings come through with the pauses and the breaking down in the syntax patterns. This is an important element at the center of creating authentic documentary theatre .

Up Coming Productions


Courtesy of www.porteparole.org

Sexy Beton - By Annabel Soutar and Carole Frechette . June 2009 - January 2010. There will be five shows which will be presented as one - act plays.

Past Works

Seeds - Schmeiser vs Monsanto - Written by Annabel Soutar. 2005.


Photo courtesy of www.montrealmirror.com

Montreal La Blanche - Written by Bachir Bensaddek. 2004.


Photo courtesy of www.porteparole.org

Sante! - Writers: Annabel Soutar, Angela Read, Chris Clark, Peter Farbridge, Alex Ivanovici, Giovanna Nicolo, Catherine Tasse, and Jacob Richmond. 2003. Presented in a seven part series. 2003.

2000 Questions - Written by Annabel Soutar. 2002.


Photo courtesy of www.porteparole.org

Novembre - Written by Annbel Soutar. 2000.

Contact Information

4060 St-Laurent Blvd, Suite 704
Montreal, Quebec H2W 1Y9

Telephone: 514-842-8883
info@porteparole.org

Fringe Festival

Photo courtesy of www.facebook.com

This summer's St- Ambroise Fringe Festival kicks off June 11th to the 21st.

The Fringe Festivals Four Principals

- There is no artistic direction. Artists are selected by lottery.
- Artists have freedom in what they are presenting. No Censorship
- Accessibility to the artists. Anyone is allowed to apply.
- Accessibility to audience. Ticket are kept low.

Jeremy Hechtman has been the producer of the Festival since 1996. He is also the Artistic director of MainLine Theatre .

Teesri Duniya Theatre: Change the World, One Play at a Time

Image by: typeleft

Through the creative works of theatre, Teesri Duniya, (which means "third world" in Hindi) is committed in producing and casting a multi ethnic, culturally diverse theatre. In supporting a multicultural agenda this professional theatre company promotes socially and politically relevant material.

Rahul Varma

Photo credit: eapnetwork.ca

A playwright, director and community activist, (born in India) Rahul Varma co-founded Teesri Duniya in 1981 and has been the artistic director since 1986. Mr Varma's plays, including his most recent works, Bhopal and Counter Offence have been produced in French, English and Hindi . A culturally diverse playwright, Mr Varma lives in Montreal with his wife and daughter.

Bhopal

Photo credit: Canada Council

Teesri Duniya's four inter-connected activities

- Main stage productions of original works that are translated into other languages.
- New play development.
- Publication of a quarterly magazine, alt.theatre: cultural diversity and the stage.
- Community based projects to help emerging visible minority artists.

Dr. Edward (Ted) Little

Photo by: Bo Photo


Dr. Edward (Ted ) Little is the associate artistic director of Teesri Duniya Theatre and Editor-in-chief of alt.theatre: cultural diversity and the stage. Dr Little is also Professor and Chair of the Department of Theatre at Concordia University . Dr Little is author of many publications and articles including, "Avoiding the Missionary Position: Ethics, Efficacy, and Interculturalism in a New Undergraduate Theatre Program and "Towards an Aesthetics of Community Based Theatre...Part II: Avoiding the Missionary Position."

Up coming event: Wednesday, March 25, 2009-7:00pm-Saturday, March 28, 2009-11:pm

Teesri Duniya Theatre Presents Untold Histories .

"Courageous life stories of making home anew in Montreal"

Repercussion Theatre

Photo courtesy of www.canadahelps.org

Founded by Cass Anvar in 1988, Repercussion theatre is Montreal's famous outdoor summer time Shakespeare in the Park festival. Producing classical theatre and bringing their productions into the communities,thereby introducing theatre to audiences that might not other wise have a chance to experience theatre.


Photo courtesy ofwww.repercussiontheatre.com

Artistic director Paul Hopkins, graduated from Concordia University with a BFA in Theatre performance.

Summer Theatre in the Park

William Shakespeare's As You Like It
July 23rd - August 16th, 2009. Directed by: Paul Hopkins.

Free - Donations accepted. For more details please call.
Information: 514-931-2644

Remember to bring a blanket or a lawn chair.

Centaur Theatre

Photo courtesy of www.tourisme-montreal.org

The Centaur Theatre company , which is housed in the old Stock Exchange building in old Montreal , was founded by Maurice Podbrey in 1969. Podbrey who was noted for supporting new emerging artists and their works, retired in 1997.

The next artistic director and executive director of Centaur Theatre was Gordan McCall. The current artistic director is Roy Surette.



Now Playing

Age of Arousal By Linda Griffiths. Dir. Sarah Garton Stanley March 24 - April 19th, 2009.

Coming Up

with bated breath World Premiere By Bryden MacDonald . Dir. Bryden MacDonald and Roy Surette . April 21st - May 24th, 2009.

ELVIS: One Night With You. Starring Stephen Kabakos . Saturday May 2nd, 2009. 8:30pm.

Centaur Theatre
453 St. Francois-Xavier
Box Office: 514 288-3161
Metro: Place - d'Armes

Black Theatre Workshop

Photo courtesy of www.themonitor.ca

Founded in 1972, Black Theatre Workshop (BTW) is the longest standing professional Black theatre company. Between 1972 and 1973 one play was produced due to financial struggles. Dream on Monkey Mountain. The newly formed theatre was then under the direction of Jeff Henry and Errol Sitahal.

BTW Artistic Directors To Date

- Terry Donald
- Don Jordan
- Winston Sutton
- Fleurette Fernado
- Nancy Delva
- Kate Bligh
- Rachael Van Fossen
- Tyrone Benskin

Other works presented by BTW are My Children, My Africa by Athol Fugard (1998), The Crossroad/Le Carrefour by Kossi Efoui (2000), Africa Solo by Djanet Sears (2002), and Wade in the Water by George E. Boyd (2004).


Photo courtesy of www.cbc.ca

More recent works produced by Black Theatre Workshop include, Shifting groung/Creons un Monde (2005), Blacks Don't Bowl by Vadney Hayes(2005/06, and The Lady Smith by Andrew Moodie (2006).

Currently playing is Le Code Noir , Directed by Richard Donat. Starring Tyrone Benskin. To April 5th, 2009.

Artist as Creator: The Role of Director

Photo by: electrichouse

Bryan James is both a playwright and a director , and he says this, "Could be a hindrance or a blessing." If you happen to be involved in a piece that you have written and are directing it could get a little hectic. James goes on to say that, "The two are really different."

Writing and Reading

As the director of any production you have to know what you want. This might seem obvious, but if the person directing the show doesn't know what they want, it doesn't work very well for the show or the other people working on the production.The process begins with knowing your material .

As James puts it, "read the script! reread, rethink, reread, research. What is it that you like about it? What is this thing about? Get reams of paper, start to write it out, disposable ideas. Sooner or later, and it better be sooner than later, we make choices, strong choices."

Breathing life into a script is an ongoing process with many creative people involved from pre to post production (strike set). James also says, "Be ready for change! things will and the more you try to hold on too tight."

This is where the team working on the project is important to be on the same page so to speak. James says," A great stage manager will make life sweet."

Ultimately, it is the director's vision that ties all elements into a finished piece. A director must be organized and be able to draw out the actor's potential. Paying attention to the many details is also a must for a director's success.

Geordie Productions Theatre for Young Audiences

Photo courtesy of www.geordie.ca

A professional theatre company for young audiences Geordie Productions was founded in 1980 by Elsa Bolam . The current artistic director is Concordia theatre graduate, Dean Patrick Fleming. Aside from their mainstage productions, Geordie's school tours continue to enlighten and entertain both children and adults across Quebec and Ontario.

Coming Up

Alice Through The Looking Glass. By Lewis Carroll. Adapted by Harry Standjofski . Dir. Dean Patrick Fleming. May 1 - 10. 2009.

Telephone: 514 845-9810

SaBooge: Thought Provoking Physical Theatre

SaBooge's Co- Artistic Director and founding member Andrew Shaver, along with fellow performing artist Attila Clemann, are dedicated in sharing their expertise through creative training workshops.

Creating Walls

Climbing a wall can be difficult. Climbing a wall that doesn't exist can be more difficult. Drawing on their training in mime both Attila and Andrew demonstrated to us how the climbing of a wall was not about the actor's struggle in climbing the mimed wall at all, but rather the focus being the mimed wall itself. As this workshop was made up of Concordia theatre students this proved to be somewhat of a challenge. A tip of the hat to both leaders who demonstrated the patience of Job with this particular exercise.

Miming

The introduction of a mimed improvisation swimming pool sketch was another exciting, creative, and educational experience. As this exercise progressed I felt the sudden urge to speak. This urge for dialogue was so strong that it was unbearable. I ended up forcing an untimely and unneededconflict into the scene to help ease, what I felt was an uncomfortable silence. Ultimately, this did not work for the scene or the audience.

When Less Means More

Attila explained that in waiting for an opportunity to present itself, rather than forcing a contrived conflict, we open ourselves up to more opportunities. With this perspective the "less is more" approach gives a chance for a more natural conflict to arise. In delaying unnecessary dialogue and therefore not rushing the scene, we keep ourselves open to giving the audience the conflict they would like to see happen instead of our own.

Throughout the SaBooge week-end workshop, Attila and Andrew taught us the benefit of using Lecoq's building spectrum of reactions to different sound levels while performing a movement. As Attila points out, "It's quite a bit different from just being aware because it is transmitted through the performers relationship to their actions. This is critical to make it visible and not just an intellectual or psychological range or 'gamme'." In using these different levels during a performance, an actor can build up to a moment in a scene realistically.


The 6 Steps of Reactions to a Growing Sound

1. A sound is heard and there is no notice and no change in the movement. (No importance)
2.A sound is heard and it is noticed but there is no change in the movement. (Little importance)
3.A sound is heard and is noticed, the movement does not change but the person checks where it came from and whether it will happen again. (Some importance)
4.A sound is heard, noticed, and the rhythm of the movement changes. The person checks for the sound source and is reassured that all is okay and resumes the normal rhythm of the movement. (Important)
5. A sound is heard, noticed but is not what was expected; a dramatic shift. The movement stops entirely but might resume. This is a moment of suspension. (Very important)
6. A loud sound is heard and the movement has to be completely abandoned. (Absolute importance)

Collective Visual Narratives

Another class exercise was concentrated on a filmic image - based approach. In this creation each group presented a scene from a movie of their choice. My group's pick was the film Titanic . We presented several key scenes that would be easily recognisable and opened with Jack Dawson winning the tickets onto the ship. We then transitioned into a jump cut image forming the outline of the Titanic. Another filmic image we used was in the scene with Jack drowning.

Imaginative Physical Performances

Because we couldn't have Jack sink into the floor, it was suggested we create his drowning by having him slide down onto the floor and rotate his body while being pulled off the stage area . At the same time we also had members of our group drowning and rotating in unison. This helped to sharpen the close up effect we wanted. We also transitioned ourselves in and out of the various scenes by turning ourselves away from the audience or action and freezing.

Andrew Shaver and Attila Clemann are two experienced, dedicated, patient and committed professional theatre artists whose enthusiasm for teaching their physical theatre techniques, created an ideal atmosphere for an amazing collaborative learning experience.