October 14 – 16, 2010, 8pm
Presented by MT Space
Registry Theatre, Kitchener
122 Frederick Street

Tickets here!

M’dea Undone
libretto by Marjorie Chan, composed by John Harris

*Free*

Spoken libretto excerpts from a forthcoming contemporary operatic adaptation of Medea with composer John Harris.

Directed by Tom Diamond
With Michelle Polak as M’dea
And Christine Horne, Patrick Kwok-Choon, Stewart Arnott and Sean Baek

Saturday May 22,

4:15 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
at the Canstage Festival of Ideas & Creation
26 Berkeley Street
Rehearsal Hall
(Parliament & Front Street)

In a world not unlike ours, M’Dea flees her war-torn country for the wealthy land of Jason, her new lover and her country’s conqueror. However well she dresses for the part, M’dea still feels the ancient pull of her homeland. With her loyalty and conscience divided, the once-strong M’dea unravels, with tragic consequences.

Marjorie was able to work on M’DEA UNDONE due to the generous support of the ONTARIO ARTS COUNCIL, as recommended by CanStage and Tapestry New Opera Works.

***** Please come see some of my early writing on this ‘chunky mother’ of a libretto (as the composer calls it!). It is early going, and I would love to hear what you think. Yes, I am weirdly motivated by public humiliation. Aren’t all playwrights? *****

MORE INFO HERE!

11.  When you lose power and all your cues in the board in the first moments of the play, your stage manager extraordinaire will calmly stop and thus not panicking cast nor audience.  After restoring power, the stage manager and house technician will run an amazing show with lights and sound on the fly with no cues in the board!  Many thanks to Natalie Moore and tech Jason Golinksy for ensuring that the show must go on!

Natalie in all her awesomeness - photo: www.myfriendjason.ca

Photo: www.myfriendjason.ca

I am in the midst of the Summerworks Festival, where I am performing in two plays. I’m having a good time, being challenged again as an actor, being stretched in different ways.  It is always a good reminder to me for me to perform, so that I don’t lose touch with actors’ needs as I write my plays.

The festivals, and in particular this festival, are great places for artists to experiment, and for emerging artists to make their first forays.  

But, these productions are low-to-no budget costumes and sets, with awkward rehearsal hours, and no pay.  Art certainly has its challenges. Sometimes unique to the play or the circumstances.  Here are a few random highlights.

A Random List  (Things I Didn’t Know Before, But I Do Now)

1.  When you are in a venue that also has bands in at night as a part of the music series, don’t be surprised if a band uses so much gold glitter that it makes its appearance onstage in your plays.  Even if your plays are set in Germany in the 1930s, and Burma/Toronto in 2007.

2.  When you are running lines and blocking by yourself in the park next to the theatre at CAMH, don’t be surprised that no one on the street or the grounds is surprised by your behaviour.

3.  When you are buying yards and yards of red fabric, and the nice counter lady asks what are you buying it for, it is not necessary to be absolutely truthful and tell her it’s for a Nazi banner.

Photo: www.myfriendjason.ca

4.  When time and money prevent you from finding an actual rehearsal space and you choose the park next to the theatre, don’t be surprised to cut rehearsal short when your director gets stung by a wasp.

5.  When sending the only actor with the afternoon off, who happens to also be the only Caucasian male cast member (with a period mustache, natch) – when you send him out to put up posters with a broken swastika,  he might get harassed.

6.  When cast members have to drop out because of illness or injury, all you can do is thank them for their contribution and soldier on. (Thanks Daniel! Thanks Simon!)

7.  When you have two shows back-to-back, and your two casts meet in transition, try not to feel like it is your two boyfriends talking to each other.

8.  When you only have a very limited time to load-in, it is better to cut-up your fruit simulating apple-vomit at home and not at the theatre.

Photo: www.myfriendjason.ca

9.   When you are running lines in your backyard, perhaps it would be prudent to not do the scene where you yell ‘Heil Hitler’ over and over.

10.  When everyone is working for free, try to be generous when you can.  It will all go much more smoothly if you do.

Photo: www.myfriendjason.ca

Only two more shows of each play until they close forever!  (Both at the Theatre Centre, 1087 Queen Street West at Ossington.)

7 Days 7 Days – Friday, August 14 @ 4pm, Sunday, August 16 @ 6pm

Fear and Misery of the Third Reich – Saturday, August 15 @ 6pm, Sunday, August 16 @ 8pm

www.artsboxoffice.ca for advance tickets.

Photo of Ella Chan in A NANKING WINTER by Guntar Kravis

Article from the Globe and Mail. This position is not an entirely new one from Nightwood Theatre, though they move to naming names. They, themselves, are then called out in the comments. Since my plays and my relationship with Nightwood are called into question, I will weigh in properly when I get the chance. In the meantime, have a read while it is not yet behind a pay wall.  

[Edited August 13.]  My response is now up. 

 NY Times article.

Powerpoint of the study.