THEATRE ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE ALIVE

ALBERTA THEATRE PROJECTS 2009/2010 SEASON

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 9th, 200912 PM (MT) ? Alberta Theatre Projects announced the 2009/2010 Season in an informal and playful season launch, on the ConocoPhillips STAGE in the Martha Cohen Theatre.

This launch marks Artistic Director Bob White?s final season announcement of his 22 year career at Alberta Theatre Projects and the last major announcement as the company?s Artistic Director. ?I am really proud of the eclecticism and diversity that will be seen in the playbill next year,? said Mr. White, ?I look forward to seeing all of these plays from the other side of the footlights.?

In attendance at the event, Artistic Director Designate Vanessa Porteous commented, ?"Bob's 09/10 season brims with theatrical excitement all year long. ATP is where you come for theatre about what it's like to be alive right now. I can't wait."? Ms. Porteous begins her term in May.

Alberta Theatre Projects season is comprised of four Cornerstone Plays interspersed with a Family Holiday Presentation and the 24th Annual Enbridge playRites Festival of New Canadian Plays. This season offers a staggeringly fresh cornucopia of theatrical adventure: a dog?s-eye view of Elizabethan England in a wonderfully absurd and insightful comedy Shakespeare?s Dog; one of the most endearing and emotionally affecting tour-de-force performances in I, Claudia; the classic Wind in the Willows inspired toady tale for the entire family in Toad of Toad Hall; four brand new Canadian creations in the 24thAnnual Enbridge playRites Festival of New Canadian Plays; and the work of two of Canada?s most celebrated and innovative contemporary theatre artists, Ronnie Burkett in Billy Twinkle: Requiem For a Golden Boy and Daniel MacIvor?s Communion.

Alberta Theatre Projects 2009/2010 SEASON

Shakespeare?s Dog by Rick Chafe, adapted from the novel by Leon Rooke

SEPTEMBER 22 ? OCTOBER 10, 2009

Get a fresh perspective on young William?s life ? straight from the eyes of Shakespeare?s dog. With four legs, a keen eye and a sharp tongue, Hooker the dog unleashes the story of how the Stratford rogue became the world?s most famous playwright. With his sights on London and his family in Stratford, Shakespeare is torn between the two loves of his life: the theatre and his wife. William?s family lives in a wild world full of unpredictable creatures: beasts, beggars, witch hunters and actors. In the Elizabethan era lust, love and lives collide, and it is anyone?s guess who is top dog.

?Behind every great man there may be a woman, but when it comes to William Shakespeare it seems there was a dog as well.? - Ottawa Citizen

I, Claudia by Kristen Thomson

A Crow?s Theatre Production

OCTOBER 20 ? NOVEMBER 8, 2009

This extraordinary one-woman show maps the raw but beautiful interior life of a misfit adolescent. Claudia, twelve and three-quarters, finds herself suffering from the triple afflictions of puberty, unpopularity and her parents? divorce. Using four astonishingly expressive masks, the performer evokes the anguished Claudia, her grandfather, her dad?s new girlfriend and the school janitor. Alternately wrenchingly sad and funny, I, Claudia casts a spell of rare power in the theatre. Speaking to us from her school?s boiler room, the place where she hides the treasures she smuggles from her father?s apartment and where she monitors her goldfish for the upcoming science fair, Claudia shares her startlingly poignant insight into the grown-up world that surrounds her.

??hilariously funny, totally unexpected and unimpeachably true.? - The National post

Family Holiday Presentation

Toad of Toad Hall by Philip Goulding, adapted from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

NOVEMBER 25 ? DECEMBER 27, 2009

Meet the famous trickster of Toad Hall: the sharp-witted, finely groomed Mr. Toad. A sucker for the finer things in life, Mr. Toad has gotten himself into a mole-hole that he may not be able to dig himself out of! After stealing one of the finest cars to toot down a dirt road, Mr. Toad is now an infamous outlaw, hopping trains and river rafts, trying to out scheme officials at every turn. But while he bounds about the countryside, trying to save his toady hide, he?s left behind a pack of friends that fret over him as the seconds tick by. What?s worse, without Toad around, Ratty, Badger and Mole haven?t been able to defend themselves against the scheming Weasels that have overthrown their home! Will this group of rogue rodents steal Toad Hall for good? Goulding?s wildly hilarious adaptation of Grahame?s classic takes us on a countryside ride with the most comical creatures to show us that we have to stick together if we don?t want things to fall apart.

24thAnnual Enbridge playRites Festival of New Canadian Plays

FEBRUARY 3 - MARCH 7, 2010

Abraham Lincoln Goes to the Theatre by Larry Tremblay, translated by Chantal Bilodeau

Scratch the surface of any story and underneath you find layer upon layer of fact?or fiction. Mark Killman?a feared but much admired director?draws inspiration from Abraham Lincoln?s assassination to create a show about the schizophrenia of America. He hires two actors to reenact the assassination through the comic characters of Laurel and Hardy. And he keeps for himself the role of Abraham Lincoln?s wax figure. Absurdly hilarious and haunting, this play is an unforgettable mystery that asks the question: how can we ever know who we are and what is true when the world we know is shifting beneath us?

How Do I Love Thee? by Florence Gibson

The union of poets Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning was a marriage of two of the most gifted artists and passionate lovers in literary history. Caught up in magnificent words, and each other, the couple escapes their dreary lives in England to a thrilling new life together in Italy. But when the bright romance and excitement of their whirlwind courtship fades, fears and addictions creep out of the shadows and threaten their work, their love and their lives. Two great poets struggle with the deep and mysterious forces that lie beneath their words of love and ask the question: How do I love thee? Vibrant and poetic, this play brings a contemporary energy to a classic tale of romance.

Tyland by Greg MacArthur

After she is arrested on a mischief charge, pregnant artist Ami is given the option of paying fines she cannot afford or going to live on a small northern island. This government program is part of a plan to claim the far north by ensuring it is inhabited by women and children. Ami shares the small, wild island with Karen, a woman desperate to build a meaningful life. When their uneasy co-habitation is rocked by tragedy, they must learn how to protect themselves against the hostile world around them and each other. This smart, surreal thriller tests our ideas about sharing and ownership.

BD&P Stage 2

The Highest Step in the World by David van Belle & Eric Rose

In association with Ghost River Theatre

Launch into space for a unique solo performance in an immersive environment created by aerial choreography, light and animated projections! Inspired by the true story of test pilot Joseph Kittinger and his historic 100,000 ft. jump from a weather balloon, our playwrights-in-residence explore the lives of several characters grappling with the nature of risk and the leaps of faith that we all make in our lives. An epic story that celebrates the ingenuity of our minds and the resilience of our hearts!

Alberta Theatre Projects presents

Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes in

Billy Twinkle: REQUIEM FOR A GOLDEN BOY Created and performed by Ronnie Burkett

MARCH 18 ? APRIL 11, 2010

Billy Twinkle is a middle-aged cruise ship puppeteer who dazzles audiences with his Stars in Miniature marionette niteclub act. His saucy burlesque stripper Rusty titillates the tourists, octogenarian Bunny invokes sidesplitting laughter with the inflatable balloon in his pants, Bumblebear juggles and rollerskates and steals the hearts of every audience, and society dame Biddy Bantam Brewster brings a bit of highbrow hilarity to the high seas with her drunken aria. Billy is the best in the business and on top of the world as he floats along through life. Until he is fired by the cruiseline. Standing at the edge of the ship contemplating a watery demise, Billy is abruptly called back to reality when his dead mentor Sid Diamond appears as a hand puppet. Sid literally will not leave his side, and forces Billy to re-enact his life as a puppet show in order to remember and rekindle the passion Billy once had for puppets, people and the dream of a life that sparkles. For anyone stuck in the middle ? mid-career, mid-love, mid-life ? caught between our own past and future, this requiem for a golden boy shines a little light on the wonder of youth meeting the wisdom of age with a kick in the pants to finish what we started.

Audience Advice: Not suitable for children

?A masterpiece. Billy Twinkle brings us a world class master at the peak of his powers.? ?Edmonton Sun

Communion by Daniel MacIvor

APRIL 27 ? MAY 15, 2010

?We?re all so desperate. We?re all so scared. We don?t really know anything.?

These are the words of Ann, a young woman who has been trying for years, in vain, to save her mother?s soul. Lida, a recovering alcoholic with a tumultuous past, seeks out her estranged daughter, Ann, to deliver some serious news that will affect both of their lives. But as Lida works toward mending the core relationship of her life, she also has a profound effect on her therapist, Carolyn. Carolyn once believed she had all the answers. After Lida, she isn?t so sure anymore. This funny and touching play is the latest from the esteemed and wildly popular 2008 Siminovitch Prize-winning playwright Daniel MacIvor.

For tickets, please call the Alberta Theatre Projects Ticket Office at (403) 294-7402 or visit www.ATPlive.com.

Mark Lawes, Executive Artistic Director of Theatre Junction GRAND, announces a new season of international theatre, dance and music which will feature leading performing artists from around the world gracing the stage at Calgary?s culturehouse of contemporary live arts. ?In the past few years I have been working closely with theatres and artists in Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia to create an opportunity for audiences in Calgary to come face to face with pioneers of contemporary live art,? says Lawes. ?Through the work of the artists this year, I hope to create opportunities for real encounters -- the kind that provoke confrontations and propel both parties into new territories so that they might see the world differently and share new dreams.?

The 09/10 season opens its doors to the world by including shows from Quebec, Toronto, Australia, and Belgium. The season opens September 22^nd with Orpheus and Eurydice by the luminary Compagnie Marie Chouinard from Montreal. Theatre Junction GRAND has presented Chouinard twice before to sold out audiences ? first in 2006 with bODY-rEmix / gOLDBERG_vARIATIONS and again in 2008 with The Rite of Spring. In October, hippies and punks unite when STO Union from Wakefield, Quebec, performs 7 Important Things, an exploration of the impacts of the major counter-cultural movements of the 20^th century through the eyes of George Acheson, now in his mid-fifties, who actively participated in both movements.

In November, Theatre Theatre Junction then teams up with Toro

nto?s Crow?s Theatre for the Canadian premiere of the highly lauded psychological thriller, The Country, written by Martin Crimp and directed by Chris Abraham. The show plays in Calgary November 17-28, with Toronto dates in 2010 to be announced. Lawes, who also performs in the show, says, ?By tackling the knife-like writing of Martin Crimp we will be offering Calgary the chance to be confronted with one of the great writers of contemporary theatre.?

February sees the return to Calgary by award-winning Australian photographer-storyteller William Yang with China, a meditative journey of reflection on the meaning of culture and belonging.Also in February and from the land down under, Splintergroup performs roadkill, a terrifying ride into the world of a couple who break down in the middle of the Australian outback and find that their greatest danger is not their isolation. In March, Theatre Junction GRAND celebrates the Calgary debut of acclaimed American choreographer Meg Stuart (currently based out of Belgium) who borrows from theatre, visual arts and music improvisation. Meg and her company Damaged Goods perform their latest work, Do Animals Cry, March 10-13, which includes six dancers addressing the family dynamic, with tension andunspoken comfort. The 09/10 season concludes in April by letting loose with the hilariously versatile and amazingly skilled Spaghetti Western Orchestra as they recreate the unforgettable classic Ennio Morricone film scores by using over 100 innovative musical instruments ? a sure-fire Western themed hit for Calgarians.

Theatre Junction?s Resident Company of Artists also keep busy in the new year as they tour last season?s new creation, On the Side of the Road, to Toronto in Marchas part of Harbourfront Center?s World Stage. Before the company embarks on its first national tour, they will remount the show, Mar 3-5, giving those who missed its premiere last March, another chance to see the show which The Calgary Herald gave four stars and called, ?a smart, big hearted, sexy, strange, hallucinatory, Franco-Western Canadian piece of cottage country mythology?. The show also recently received a Betty Mitchell Award nomination for ?Best Sound Design?.

VANCOUVER, B.C..... Artistic Director Christopher Gaze is delighted to announce that a gloriously sunny summer and strong audience support helped Bard on the Beach weather the recession for its 20th Anniversary Season.

Attendance exceeded 91,000, representing more than 99% of capacity and surpassing the all-time record of 87,271 achieved during the 2007 sold out run. The Comedy of Errors also broke Bard records for the most seats for any single production; it was seen by more than 41,000 patrons, topping 2008Twelfth Night at 40,040.

Committed theatre lovers, including an undiminished number of loyal US patrons and other tourists, gave rave reviews to the tongue-in-cheek Elizabethan version of The Comedy of Errors conceived by David Mackay, the passionate Renaissance staging of Othello directed by Dean Paul Gibson, Rachel Ditor’s clever Victorian take on All?s Well That Ends Well, and Christopher Weddell?s lucid and powerful medieval production of Richard II, which was the first play in Bard?s 3-year “The Kings” History Cycle.

More than 7,500 students from around the province were immersed in the brilliance of Shakespeare, attending either the Festival?s Student Matinee Series or the evening performances when matinee capacity filled up. Both the Bard-B-Q & Fireworks evenings and Celebrating Red & White wine tasting again sold out in advance. The popular Opera & Arias concerts, featuring UBC?s Opera Ensemble and members of Vancouver Opera Orchestra, this year presented four in-concert performances of Cosě fan tutte, delighting close to 2,000 patrons. New this year was the Bard Explored Lecture Series, whose success will prompt increased capacity in 2010. Once again more than 200 volunteers helped the Festival meet its “accessible, affordable” mandate, contributing over 12,000 volunteer hours to the event.

We are so blessed in the loyalty of our patrons and the great word of mouth that have ensured that the tents are always full and have again given us a virtually sold-out season,” says Artistic Director Christopher Gaze. However, Bard on the Beach was not entirely impervious to the downturn in the economy, with corporate sponsorship seeing a shortfall of about $30,000; government and foundation contributions were down about $15,000. Marvellously, individual donors did not stint in their generosity, exceeding last year?s giving. “Thank you so much Vancouver for your ongoing support, says Gaze.

For the upcoming Season which will run June 3 to September 25, 2010, the anchor production in the Mainstage tent will be the witty romance Much Ado About Nothing staged by acclaimed Bard director, Dean Paul Gibson. Playing in repertory with Much Ado… will be the passionate tragedy Antony and Cleopatra directed by long-time Bard actor and Artistic Associate Scott Bellis, making his Bard directorial debut.  In the intimate Studio Stage, Bard will continue with the second year of “The Kings” History Cycle. In a new adaptation by Errol Durbach, Henry IV, Parts I & II will be blended as Falstaff, which will be directed by former Playhouse Artistic Director, Glynis Leyshon. Falstaff will play in repertory with the third history play, the heroic drama Henry V, directed by the ever-imaginative Meg Roe.

Bernard Shaw once said: "When a thing is funny, search it carefully for a hidden truth." Reflecting on this quote, Artistic Director Jackie Maxwell acknowledged; "From the wit of Wilde, the gentle comedy of Chekhov to the barbed banter of Shaw and the cutting satire of Churchill, the Shaw Festival's 2010 Season is infused with many facets of humour. These brilliant playwrights' ability to subvert and challenge, while making us laugh, enables us to hold a mirror up to the human condition and reveal its true reflection." The Shaw Festival's 2010 Season resonates with the wit, social commentary and relevance for which Bernard Shaw himself was well known.

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, September 26, 2009 . . . Artistic Director Jackie Maxwell officially announced the Shaw Festival's 2010 Season playbill today. The 2010 Season includes ten productions, two of which are by the Festival's namesake, presented on the Festival's four Niagara-on-the-Lake stages: the Festival Theatre, the Court House Theatre, the Royal George Theatre and the Studio Theatre.

At the Festival Theatre, Morris Panych directs Bernard Shaw's The Doctor's Dilemma. This clever skewering of the medical establishment regarding the allocation of scarce medical resources and the perpetual debate as to whether society needs Science more than Art continues to have timely relevance. At the Court House Theatre, Artistic Director Emeritus Christopher Newton directs John Bull's Other Island; Shaw's unromantic look at the romance of Ireland and of the cultural misunderstandings and misconceptions that still thrive to this day between the English and the Irish.

The game of backroom politics, the notion of the "good" politician and his supportive wife take centre stage at the Festival Theatre when Artistic Director Jackie Maxwell directs Oscar Wilde's glittering intrigue, An Ideal Husband. Also at the Festival Theatre, director Alisa Palmer directs The Women, Clare Booth Luce's seductively sardonic peek into the inner sanctum of the fairer sex.

In addition to Bernard Shaw's John Bull's Other Island, the Court House Theatre hosts Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard and Canadian playwright Linda Griffiths' Age of Arousal. The gently comic Chekhovian tale of an eccentric family's half-hearted attempt to preserve their long-established way of life in the face of inevitable progress is given a new twist when Ireland's Jason Byrne directs Tom Murphy's adaptation. Ms. Maxwell directs Linda Griffiths' sensual story of female liberation
set in a secretarial school at the turn of the last century.

On the Royal George Theatre stage, Joseph Ziegler returns to direct the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Harvey by Mary Chase. The Shaw reinvigorates this classic story that dares ask: what truly is a "perfectly normal human being"? One Touch of Venus by Kurt Weill, Ogden Nash and S.J. Perelman, this season's musical selection, will also be presented at the Royal George Theatre. The Shaw's Associate Director Eda Holmes directs this absurd Manhattan caper that swayed New Yorker and Marx Brothers writer S.J. Perelman to combine his humorist writing talents with the brilliant lyrical wordplay of Ogden Nash and the stunning symphonic compositions of Kurt Weill. The production features such memorable Weill tunes as Speak Low, That's Him, The Trouble with Women, Foolish Heart and I'm a Stranger Myself Here.

Can a life change in half an hour? This season's lunchtime aims to answer this question in real time. J.M. Barrie's shocking one-act play Half an Hour will be presented at the Court House Theatre. Gina Wilkinson, who made her Festival directorial debut with the 2009 runaway hit Born Yesterday, returns to direct.

Continuing its ongoing look at contemporary Shavians, The Shaw presents Serious Money by Caryl Churchill in the Studio Theatre. Directed by Eda Holmes, this provocative no-holds barred satire is vintage Churchill exposing the lawless landscape of the 1980's stock exchange through the fusion of verse, music and the lingo and raunchy humour of the rising young traders and corporate raiders.

In the spirit of George Bernard Shaw, the Shaw Festival provokes the mind and stirs the soul through a theatre experience so compelling that, year after year, ever-broadening groups of actors, audiences and supporters are drawn to our work in Niagara-on-the-Lake and beyond.

Shaw Festival's 2010 Season at a Glance

Production
Author
Director
Stage

An Ideal Husband (1895)
Oscar Wilde
Jackie Maxwell
Festival

The Women (1936)
Clare Booth Luce
Alisa Palmer
Festival

The Doctor's Dilemma (1906)
Bernard Shaw
Morris Panych
Festival

The Cherry Orchard (1903)
Anton Chekhov
Adaptation by Tom Murphy
Jason Byrne
Court House

John Bull's Other Island (1904)
Bernard Shaw
Christopher Newton
Court House

The Age of Arousal (2007)
Linda Griffiths
Jackie Maxwell
Court House

Harvey (1944)
Mary Chase
Joseph Ziegler
Royal George

One Touch of Venus (1943)
Kurt Weill (music)/ Ogden Nash (lyrics)/
S.J. Perelman & Ogden Nash (book)
Eda Holmes
Royal George

Half an Hour (1913)
J.M. Barrie
Gina Wilkinson
Royal George

Serious Money (1987)
Caryl Churchill
Eda Holmes
Studio Theatre

Toronto, ON – September 22, 2009 – Albert Schultz, Founding Artistic Director of Soulpepper Theatre Company, today announced the company?s 2010 season. Comprised of 12 productions, the season includes eight new  stagings and a return of four of  Soulpepper?s celebrated productions: Eric Peterson and John Gray?s Billy Bishop Goes to War, David Mamet?s Glengarry Glen Ross, Lorraine Hansberry?s A Raisin in the Sun and Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Schultz establishes two new initiatives in Soulpepper?s 2010 season, including the introduction of a laboratory series as well as a deepened commitment to presenting outstanding Canadian plays.   

In 2010, Soulpepper will launch a lab series to expand the aesthetic palette of the company and to engender a spirit of exploration and discovery amongst the company?s artists.  The establishment of the Garland Schultz Artistic

Development Fund in 2007 has made this initiative possible.  Details on the lab series will be announced at a later date. 

Soulpepper presents four Canadian theatre classics in the company?s 2010 season: Peterson and Gray?s Billy Bishop Goes to War, Sharon Pollock?s Doc, David French?s Jitters and John Murrell?s Waiting for the Parade.

On the heels of the tremendous successes of John Gray and Eric Peterson?s Billy Bishop Goes to War and David French?s Mercer trilogy, Soulpepper will intensify its commitment to the inclusion of seminal Canadian works in our ongoing mission to present vital Canadian interpretations of history?s great plays, said Albert Schultz. “Joining the remount of Billy Bishop Goes to War in Soulpepper?s 2010 season, we have programmed three Canadian playwrights, from various regions of the country, whose work has been instrumental in the establishment of a Canadian canon over the last 35 years.”

Soulpepper?s 2010 Season

BILLY BISHOP GOES TO WAR
JOHN GRAY & ERIC PETERSON (JANUARY 22 – february 27)
Eric Peterson and John Gray make a return flight to Soulpepper where their last run was 100% sold out! oh what a lovely war
joan littlewood, theatre workshop & charles chilton (march 11 - April 10)
Pack up your troubles in the old kitbag… It’s a long way to Tipperary...Keep the homefires burning...” These were the songs that provided a soundtrack to the loss of millions of young lives during the war to end all wars. This seminal musical celebrates the spirit of a generation while skewering the absurdity and futility of war.

Glengarry Glen Ross
david mamet (april 22 –june 5)
The return engagement of the hit of 2009.   

Faith Healer
brian friel (april 29 - june 4)
One of the masterworks of twentieth-century Irish drama by the author of Translations (Soulpepper 2004).  Three fascinating characters a faith healer, his companion and his promoter tell conflicting versions of the same story in this disturbing and humorous meditation on relationships and the truth/lies that bind them together.

Waiting For The Parade
john murrell (april 29 - may 29)
In one of our country?s most enduring and best-loved plays, we look deep into the lives and loves of five Canadian women on the home-front during WWII.  With humour and pathos, Murrell reveals a delicious slice of Canadian spirit, fortitude and poignancy.  

Jitters
david french (june 24 - july 24)
For those of us who have enjoyed French’s masterful Mercer Trilogy (Leaving Home - 2007, Of the Fields, Lately - 2009 and Salt-Water Moon - 2008), Jitters is a very special and deeply funny inside look.  In one of the greatest of all “back-stage” comedies, French takes inspiration from the nerves and screw-ups of his own harrowing opening nights.

A Month In The Country
ivan turgenev (july 6 - august 7)
Hungarian master László Marton (The Guardsman - 2009, Uncle Vanya - 2008, 2002, 2001, Three Sisters - 2007, The Play’s the Thing - 2003, Platonov - 2000) returns to Soulpepper to direct one of the masterpieces of Russian literature.  In this richly textured, love-filled comedy, the magic of a summer holiday turns several hearts upside-down.

What the butler saw
joe orton (august 19 - september 18)
With his trademark blend of wit and irreverence, Joe Orton (Loot - 2009) blends sexual indiscretion and bureaucratic incompetence to create a seditious farcical romp.

Doc
sharon pollock (august 19 - september 18)
Winner of both the Chalmers Canadian Play Award and the Governor General?s Award for drama, Doc is a powerful and very personal play by one of Canada?s most celebrated playwrights.  With generosity and forgiveness, Pollock examines the scars and redemption of a daughter?s relationship with her parents and her younger self.

A Raisin In The Sun
lorraine hansberry (october 15 - november 13)
Weyni Mengesha’s award-winning production of this deeply moving and uplifting play returns with the original cast.  Three generations of a black American family discover love, dignity, courage, and hope amidst the tribulations of racial intolerance.   

Death Of A Salesman
arthur miller (october 16 - november 13)
One of the undisputed masterpieces of Western Theatre.
Real-life couple and Soulpepper founders Joseph Ziegler and Nancy Palk play Willy and Linda Loman in this homage to those disappointed by the promise of the American Dream.

A Christmas Carol
charles dickens, in an adaptation by michael shamata (december 6 - 30) Soulpepper?s perennial holiday family classic returns with Joseph Ziegler in his triumphant performance as Ebenezer Scrooge.

Current Soulpepper subscribers can renew their subscriptions now.  New subscriptions are available as of November 3, 2009, and single tickets are available as of November 10, 2009, by calling the Young Centre for the Performing Arts Box Office at 416.866.8666 or visiting soulpepper.ca.

In between mixed weather conditions and a garbage strike, 150 theatre productions hit various stages throughout the GTA for the 21^st annual Toronto Fringe Festival. The unjuried festival, with its $10 tickets and accessible locations throughout the city, claimed to be ?Cheap & Easy? and invited theatergoers and first-time-fringers alike to stroll around, buy a ticket, donate some change for the festival itself (ticket sales go directly to the theatre companies putting on the plays, and as such, the festival survives on donations), and check out a piece of theatre. You may not be sure what you are getting yourself into, as the play selection is done through a lottery process, but the mystery is part of the fun.

Having strolled around the fringe fest for the last few years, I?ve come to welcome it as a definite highlight of summers in Toronto. Posters are taped up to all poles, bins, and fences, enticing you to come see this show or that, though it?s impossible to check out all the shows within the July 1-12 run. The great thing about the festival is the many ways you can go out and fringe. Serious fringers can buy a pass for a certain amount of tickets, or if you want a specific show or two, tickets are sold at the door (but make sure to get their early, as shows with good word of mouth sell out somehow before you even can catch word of it). Bright yellow banners and helpful volunteers sit outside each venue and the homebase at the Tranzac is set up to offer any guidance on what can seem like a daunting task. And if it?s a particularly hot day, and you?ve been fringing the whole time and need a break, the Fringe Tent, set beside the Tranzac, is there to offer you a refreshing drink (I suggest the fest sponsored St. Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale for a solid summer drink) and you can even mix and mingle with fellow fringers and artists.

Now, amidst the tents and volunteers and venues, there are of course the shows themselves. You can pretty much get a full spectrum of theatre. Dance shows, puppet shows, and comedy shows are all laced in between the basic play narratives. The wide scope of productions may feel like you?re blindly gambling going into something. Some results are amazing. Some are mediocre. And some are downright awful. But that?s part of the charm. In some ways, you really hope to see one extreme or the other. The $10 ticket price is an affordable alternative to the regular prices of shows in the larger venues in the city.

With my experience, I saw two wonderful ensemble shows (36 Little Plays About Hopeless Girls and Politically Correct Bedtime Stories), two disappointing one-person shows (Zdenka Now!and Baggage), and one two-man show that fit somewhere in the middle (Killing Kevin Spacey). The plays were the perfect representation of the fringe fest experience, and often times what you can expect when you see a handful of shows. It sparked conversation and debate with my fellow fringe friends. Everyone was on their own journey, and we all tried to get each other to see various plays (and avoid certain other ones). You can?t see everything, but you also can?t miss out on one of the most interesting festivals Toronto has to offer.

Broadway Across Canada's The Lion King
July 2 to August 2, 2009

Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium Edmonton, Alberta

When: July 2 to August 2, 2009

Venue: Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium , Edmonton, Alberta

By: Xanthe Couture

The wait has been more than long enough for the Edmonton debut of the stage production of Disney?s The Lion King, a veritable animal menagerie that blends choreography with origins from all over the world.

The excitement of the Tony and Grammy award winning Broadway musical still remains a thrill for long time cast members, such as AndreJackson, who plays the lead role as Simba.

?I wanted to be in the show since I first saw it. It was a dream fulfilled,? he says. ?It goes so far beyond the cartoon. It takes it and ratchets it up ten notches visually and stylistically.?

Jackson had to audition in open casting calls several years in a row starting in 2002 until he was finally selected to be a temporary fill-in, working his way up to the lead role of Simba.

?Year after year, the process would start all over again. I would make it to the end of the audition every time.? Adding, ?It wasn?t until the third time that I got a call back four or five months later.?

The lead role also has its perks when he gets to see kids? reactions when he tells them what he does for a living.

?Its funny because when they see me out of the mask and the beautiful make-up, they either look at me and with a look that says, ?this is not you? or ?Wow!? he laughs.

The Lion King is now running its second sold-out decade on Broadway and includes many musical veterans such as director Julie Taymor, the first women in Broadway history to win a Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical.

?It?s a story that so many people are familiar with and visually there is no other show that is like it and hasn?t been anything like it since.?

Jackson?s favourite number from TheLion King is ?the Circle of Life?. ?I don?t want to give it away, but its very visually impressive,? he explains.

?We pull the audience in to a 360 degree performance. You are actually on the pride lands. Everyone feels apart of it.?

Although Jackson says every night he hears kids ??screaming their heads off laughing,? the show is also a great time for adults.

?I convinced my uncle in his sixties to come and see it and it defied all his expectations.?

Jackson?s one piece of advice for first timers to show? ?Don?t miss the opening scene, you want to be in your seat ready to go. You will kick yourself if you miss it.?

There are those intimidated by interactive theatre experiences. Some people avoid it altogether with this general fear that there are high expectations of them, and they do not feel comfortable being put on the spot. With this in mind, if you have ever been the type that has had even a remote curiosity for an involving artistric experience that doesn't threaten to alienate you, I strongly urge you to check out the New Waves Festival over at the Young Centre at Soulpepper.

I was fortunate to attend the opening weekend of the New Waves Festival, as part of Luminato, Toronto?s Festival of Arts and Creativity. The atmosphere, right from the start, was welcoming and thoroughly engaging. Initially it can seem a bit overwhelming as hundreds of artists are spread throughout every inch of the Young Centre. But the dizzying array of talent allows you to make your own unique festival experience.

I started off seeing an intimate two-handed performance between a Ukulele player and Upright Bass player who churned out a pair of intimate roots/folk numbers, as part of the ?Artist in a Closet? section of New Waves. The closet performances are meant for no more than 6-7 people each time, and depending on what nook you?re moved into, last a brief 5-15 minutes, giving off consistently charming moments of artistic creativity.

Throughout my two hour journey, I witnessed live karaoke, where audience members pick a song on a projected jukebox, and an undeniably talented troupe of singers perform the chosen songs a cappella while solo dancers freestyle to the sounds being heard (a highlight included a tap dance to Cyndi Lauper?s ?Time After Time?). I wandered into a room dressed up in construction paper and swing sets, where you were encouraged to pick up a crayon and scrawl down child-like dreams and thoughts on the walls, akin to the Post-Secret phenomena.

The festival promoted artists of all ages. Old pros were given the same amount of treatment and respect as young up-and-comers who were perhaps doing their first public performances ever. As I made my way through, there was no preferential treatment for anyone. It was entirely about artists performing what they love for anyone that is willing to join them for a few minutes.

You can still check out Luminato?s New Waves Festival at the Young Centre (at Soulpepper, in the Distillery District) for the closing weekend June 12-14.

But questioning the use of the nudity in La Pudeurs des Icebergs is part of the performance, and it works. After all, contemporary dance has always gravitated towards showing dance with more focus on the skilled controlled movements of the human body, without the distraction of an elaborate production that can occur in a ballet. Choreographer, Daniel Léveillé, explains ?By being naked, you are showing your own self and nothing else." Which was the case in Edmonton on October 10^th and 11^th as La Pudeurs des Icebergs was presented by the Brian Webb Dance Company.

Léveillé is a highly regarded Canadian dancer, choreographer and teacher who has created numerous commissioned works and independent projects through his own company, Daniel Léveillé Danse in Montreal. With many past works such as Traces I, II, III, IV, V, VI, which had the dancers spasms and shiver to show the action of emotions, La Pudeurs des Icebergs is a continuation of Léveillé?s efforts to show the human condition in its most organic and truthful form.

The first work he choreographed applying this concept began with Amour, Acide et Noix in 2001, and La Pudeurs des Icebergs is part of the same series. For Léveillé, choreographing is all about intuition. "There are differences in aesthetic, but it?s also about your intuition and thinking to yourself how you can make the performance stay interesting for an hour," he says.

The music played softly and intermittently, as the dancers go from a fervour of erratic movement to standing still in a straight line, is Chopin' Preludes op. 28. Léveillé desired a contrast between music, silence and the sound of the dancers? movements on stage.

La Pudeurs des Icebergs still tours around the world. Léveillé believes the nudity play a large part in drawing audiences. ?It makes sense in the dance and puts a colour on what they are doing that would otherwise not be there."

For those who appreciate dance to those who are interested in watching the avant-garde push the limits, La Pudeurs des Icebergs is a performance not easily forgot. The dancers, with Léveillé carefully constructed choreography, expose the juxtapositions of our bodies that while able to perform powerful feats of strength and endurance are always intrinsically vulnerable.

Title: La Pudeurs des Icebergs
Choreographer: Daniel Léveillé
Venue: Timms Centre for the Arts, Presented by Brian Webb Dance Company
Run of Show: October 10 -11, 2008

To Learn More about Daniel Leveille Click Here

To Learn More about the Brian Webb Dance Company Click Here

As of now, ticket sales for The Nutcracker are at 85%, and they have seen a surprising amount of generosity from arts lovers concerned about the Ballet?s future if they do not reach their goal. The company has avoided bankruptcy, but still needs $200,000 in pledged donations in order to bring Artistic Director John Alleyne and the dancers back to the studio next year. So far, supporters have pledged $25,000, and if every audience member who attends The Nutcracker donated $15, they will reach their goal. While they can now reorganize their finances and present a plan to their creditors, their future is still dependent on the generosity of the public.

The Chair and President of the Board of Directors, Graeme Barrit, is optimistic that the ballet will continue and re-emerge in 2009 as a stronger and better Ballet BC. John Alleyne is also very grateful for all the support that the company has gained thus far. ?Speaking on behalf of all the dancers and staff at Ballet BC, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the Board and most importantly, the people of Vancouver, for their unwavering support and commitment to the survival of Ballet BC. Moving forward, we are excited to begin preparations for the future, ensuring Ballet BC remains a vibrant and necessary part of the cultural landscape.?

The next scheduled production for Ballet BC is Carmen which will be staged February 26-28 as long as the dancers are able to return to the studio this January to begin rehearsals. With so many individuals and dance lovers supporting the ballet, it is hard to imagine the company ceasing to exist. So far, the public has shown that they want Ballet BC to continue by buying tickets to The Nutcracker and pledging their monetary support, but the company still has a lot of work ahead of them and they still need a great deal of financial help in order to continue without cancelling any more shows in 2009.