Sunday, February 27, 2011

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Matthew Yipchuck

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

The summer after he graduated high school, Matthew Yipchuck and his friend Catherine Bernardi founded their own theatre company. This past summer he directed their first full length production by an established playwright: Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie. Now he's nominated for a 2010 My Theatre Award for Best Director in the independent/local division. The Glass Menagerie is also up for Best Production.

Read on for Matthew's thoughts

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Adam Lauver

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

The Independent Drama Society's production of Romeo and Juliet is nominated in every category in the Local/Independent division of the 2010 My Theatre Awards: Best Production, Best Director (Sarah Gazdowicz), Best Actress (Megan Cooper) and Best Actor (Adam Lauver). Of the many award nominations the production has racked up since their September run, the vast majority of them have been for Adam, whose hilarious and touching portrayal of the nurse won't soon be forgotten.

Read on for my conversation with the charming and self-effacing actor.

ASP's Winter Festival- "The Hotel Nepenthe"

I wasn't so sure I wanted to see The Hotel Nepenthe. The description in the program sounds bizarre; it sounds scary and pretentious and weird. But I have never been so happy to have spent my night at the theatre.

The Hotel Nepenthe is brilliant. Absolutely, positively, insanely (in all senses of the world) brilliant. John Kuntz is the cleverest theatre writer I've encountered in quite some time. His dialogue is sparkling, his structure inventive, his stories poignant and his characters palpable. He's saying something but he's never saying anything so clearly that it doesn't merit hours and hours of analytic discussion. There were moments so tragic I almost cried. Then there were moments (lots of them) when I laughed so hard I literally cried- I've never done that at the theatre, ever.

The entire ensemble was phenomenal. All four of them played 3-5 characters each, every single one unique, not a single one a caricature. Daniel Berger-Jones was everything from a shy younger brother to a raunchy one-night stand to a stoic but paranoid bus driver, each one detailed down to facial twitches. Marianna Bassham shone as the funniest in the cast with insane comic timing. Her pitch-perfect Rent-a-Car Girl kicked off the show hilariously and her Senator's Wife character quickly became an audience favourite. Georgia Lyman was a true chameleon, disappearing into roles as funny as anything and then tragic the next minute. Playwright John Kuntz highlighted the cast with 4 performances that were so phenomenal that all I can call them (apparently, aside from "phenomenal" is "great"). I say great because I'm simply running out of adjectives to explain how brilliant everyone in this cast was. You have to see them to believe them.

See I've gone and gotten myself into a pickle now. The direction was also brilliant, the lighting design perfection and the sound extroardinary, but I'm starting to feel like you might not believe me anymore. So I'll say this- there was the occasional moment of over-the-top silliness, a broad touch here and there, a gimmick that gets played a little long. But that's all. Do I have my credibility back? Good, okay, so you can believe me when I say this: IF YOU DO NOT SEE THE HOTEL NEPENTHE YOU WILL BE SORRY! It really is one of the best things I've seen at the theatre ever. It's also an original play, so you can say you saw it before anyone else. I promise you won't regret it. I give you free reign to scream at me in the comments section if you disagree, because that's how much I want you see this show. Support original works, support small companies, but most importantly please just support awesome awesome theatre- see it!

The Hotel Nepenthe is playing until March 6th at the Storefront in Davis Square.
Visit www.actorsshakespeareproject.org for details.

Friday, February 25, 2011

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Eve Wylden

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.
   
Eve Wylden is the best actress in one of my favourite Toronto theatre companies, The Red Light District. The chameleonic actress was a highlight of the RLD's innovative production of The Witch of Edmonton in the Summerworks festival, but it was her off-kilter performance as the doctor in Ted Witzel's circus-themed production of Woyzeck that earned her a Best Actress nomination in the Local/Independent division of the 2010 My Theatre Awards.

Read on for my full conversation with Eve:  
 

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Agatha Babbitt and Chris Hamilton

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

One of the best student productions of 2010 was BU Stage Troupe's Rabbit Hole. The remarkably mature and thoughtful production is nominated for 4 My Theatre Awards in the student division including Best Actor (Dan Stevens), Best Actress (Madeleine DiBiasi) and Best Production. The Best Director nominees Chris Hamilton and Agatha Babbitt took some time out to talk about their collaboration. 

Read on for Agatha and Chris' thoughts

Thursday, February 24, 2011

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Keir Cutler

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

Keir Cutler is a fixture on the Canadian Fringe Festival circuit. His one man show Teaching Shakespeare was a highlight of the summer theatre season and earned him a My Theatre Award nominated for Best Actor in the Local/Independent Division

Read on for our full interview with Keir

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Jewelle Blackman

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

Jaques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris was the surprise hit of the the 2010 Stratford season. Of the 4 phenomenally talented performers who held down the show, Jewelle Blackman stood out for her beautiful voice and palpable emotion, earning her a My Theatre Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Read on for my full conversation with Jewelle:  

Saturday, February 19, 2011

My Theatre Nominess- Q&A with Trish Lindstrom

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

Trish Lindstrom created a truly memorable Miranda last season at Stratford opposite Christopher Plummer, a role she's now nominated for as Best Supporting Actress in the My Theatre Awards. The flagship production is also nominated for Best Actor (Plummer) and Best Supporting Actor (Dion Johnstone/ Geraint Wyn Davies) in the national/professional division.

Read on for my full conversation with Trish: 

ASP's Winter Festival- "Cymbeline"

The Actors' Shakespeare Project's Winter Festival kicked off this month with Shakespeare's excellent if obscure romance Cymbeline. There are only 3 performances left (tonight- Saturday Feb 19 at 8pm; and tomorrow- Sunday Feb 20, at 2pm and 7pm) but if you get a chance, this is not a production to be missed.

The bench depth at the ASP is pretty good for a small company, something they prove once again with Cymbeline. The 7 person ensemble ranges from the unreliable but good to the consistently excellent. On the unreliable but good side is Marya Lowry who's Queen hits certain notes perfectly and strains for others (her particular brand of enunciated acting is much more at home here than in the fall's Coveted Crown). She is better as Belaria, though both roles teeter instead of landing solidly. De'Lon Grant, on the other hand, falls into this category because of the assuredness he gives a strangely disjointed performance, creating two incredibly distinct characters for Posthumus and Cloten. He is to be commended for his impressive separation of character traits, for his charming and detailed Posthumus and for the strength and energy he brings to the stage. His Cloten however, though entertaining, slips into caricature at points. He has some moments of greatness as the whiny prince, but the silliness-prone Cloten is still overshadowed by the endearing Posthumus.

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Sochi Fried

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

This fall, Sochi Fried captivated audiences as the title character in Ibsen's complex tragedy Hedda Gabler with Toronto's Alumnae Theatre Company. Her layered performance earned her a Best Actress nomination in the local/independent division of the 2010 My Theatre Awards. The production's director Jane Carnwath also earned a nomination. 

Read on for Sochi's thoughts on the role.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

The UC Follies Present "The Threepenny Opera"

Last weekend I was excited to get the chance to see my first UC Follies show. The Threepenny Opera was in the lovely Hart House theatre, featured some excellent performers and had some good moments, but the overall production was shaky at best.

The unforgiving score from Kurt Weill and dark lyrics by Bertolt Brecht made the play, well, Brechtian, in the impossible-to-pull-off-not-to-mention-understand sense, an obstacle the underwhelming pit band was unable to overcome. The singers struggled too, prompting celebration whenever something sounded really great, because it didn't happen as often as you'd like.

While set designer Courtney Cathers made good use of space, director Viridi Odern used an annoyingly heavy hand, forcing low brow comedy at moments that didn't need it. Lighting and costume design by Travis LaHay and Heather Carlson respectively were decent but Shakir Haq's choreography proved too difficult for the cast (most of whom, I'd venture a guess, were not dancers), they bumbled inexpertly through the steps when most scenes would have been just fine without any dance at all.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Sophia Walker


Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

I've been following Sophia Walker's Stratford career since 2008 when she first caught my eye as Lady Capulet. Since then, she has lent her classical charm to wonderful portrayals of Lady Macduff (Macbeth), Hermia (Midsummer Night's Dream) and Juno (The Tempest) among others. In 2010, her winning performance as Julia in Dean Gabourie's excellent Two Gentlemen of Verona earned her a My Theatre Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress.

Read on for my full conversation with Sophia:

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Michael-David Blostein

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

Toronto actor Michael-David Blostein is one of My Theatre's favourite young performers. His pitch-perfect portrayal of Sweeney Todd in Love is A Poverty You Can Sell this summer at the Toronto Fringe Festival won him a My Theatre Award nomination for Best Actor in an independent production. 

Read on for our full interview with Michael-David

Sunday, February 6, 2011

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Dean Gabourie

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

Dean Gabourie, the Assistant Artistic Director of The Stratford Shakespeare Festival, directed my favourite Shakespeare production of their 2010 season: Two Gentlemen of Verona. The studio theatre production is nominated for Best Actor (Gareth Potter), Best Supporting Actress (Sophia Walker), Best Director (Dean Gabourie) and Best Production in the National/Professional category. In a lengthy and candid conversation, Dean shared his history with classical theatre, the process behind casting and rehearsing Two Gents and some inside scoop on the festival.

Read on for my full interview with Dean

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Scott Moyle

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

This summer I dubbed Urban Bard "Toronto's Coolest Classical Company". Now their artistic director, Scott Moyle, joins our interview series to talk about the company, his innovative approach to found-space Shakespeare and his My Theatre Award nominated production of Two Noble Kinsmen (Best Independent/Local Production, Best Director-Scott Moyle and Best Actress- Adrianna Prosser)

Read on for Scott's full interview

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Emily Kassie


Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

Before graduating highschool, Emily Kassie directed one of the most challenging pieces in the modern musical theatre canon- Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years. Her professional-caliber production is nominated for Best Student Production and Best Actress (Kate Ryan). Emily herself is nominated for Best Director.

Read on for Emily's thoughts