New Writing

This Is How We Die by Christopher Brett Bailey @ The Theatre Centre (For Progress Festival & Forest Fringe)

Toronto's Progress Festival hosted a number of performances from Edinburgh's Forest Fringe over a two-day period at The Theatre Centre in late January. With only limited time, I managed to squeak in one show on the recommendation of some friends in the UK, and was certainly not disappointed.

The stage space is mainly dark, with just a desk and microphone, with a script sitting on the desk. What follows is a stream of consciousness story-poem assault on the senses. The story weaves in space and time and focus, meandering through thoughts and ideas and most importantly, memories. Brett Bailey is a captivating performer, and his ability to use words (just words, no movement or set or props) to build an arch are outstanding. Without going too much away, the pace of the story races forward until it crashes into darkness, out of which emerges a meditation of sorts; in the dark with lights facing the audience and almost unbearably loud music, the audience sit. And think. And continue to sit and think and think.

Stunning stuff.

I do feel that the stories themselves could have been slightly more concise, just to trim slightly before the final, beautiful and unsettling moments.


Nirbhaya @ Harbourfront Centre presented by Nightwood Theatre



Yaël Farber's stunning play is one of the most challenging things you will experience. Beginning with  the real life attack and killing of a young woman who innocently boarded a bus in Delhi. From this horrific event, Farber and the cast of women (and one man) created a truth telling wherein the audience don't simply watch, but rather bear witness to the individual stories of objectification, abuse, and fear from each of these individuals. The bravery of the performers not only in sharing their truth, but in the sheer physical and emotional exertion of the performance is matched by the magical staging Farber provides, in which space and time conflate, objects come alive, and we are confronted with the loss of the joy in childhood and youth, which is the result of these terrible events.

The play is difficult to watch. The stories are graphic, and are not staged gingerly; rather we are reminded that these things happen around us, no matter where we are. Interestingly and with great effect, the stories initially are all in India however one of the last takes place in Montreal, a stark and shocking reminder that innocence and hope are at risk of being lost no matter where we are.

I strongly recommend that you seek our a production of this play. Thank you, Nightwood, for bringing this to Toronto.

A brief video is available here:  https://vimeo.com/110472670

Huff by Cliff Cardinal @ Native Earth Performing Arts


Cliff Cardinal's one-man show Huff isn't an easy night at the theatre, but that is what makes it so important. Beginning on stage with a bag duct-taped over his head, he proceeds through a monologue. This is no stage trick, the bag is really on his head, and we can really see the clear plastic contracting over the contours of his face as he tells us about the game. From this attention-getting starting point, Cardinal weaves through a story of a warrior and his wife, to their eventual children (Don't worry -- he takes the bag off his head before damage is done, but don't think that you're being let off the hook). The story weaves a large cast of characters and voices and perspectives, which aren't always completely clear; at times it was challenging to follow who was speaking, and Cardinal's mainly razor sharp physical and vocal transitions did sometimes lose their specificity. Nonetheless, the story that emerged was at once funny and emotionally shattering.

His playful use of comedy to lull the audience in positions us both as judge and possible saviour, and this is a challenging place to sit for 75 minutes. His jokes veer on the politically incorrect, edging the audience to take stock of when they are more prejudiced than they think they are, and point that judgement inward. Cardinal speaks the unspeakable loudly. And the audience have no choice but to notice.

I would be remiss not to speak of the elegant staging which transformed a small number of props and pieces of furniture into multiple locations and objects, through Cardinal's deft navigation of the world of the play.

This script is difficult. But it is difficult because it lays on the table and shouts all the things that we know in the backs of our minds but won't utter aloud. And it points to the flaws in the system we are all a part of and therefore share responsibility for. I urge you to read or see it if you can.

The show has closed in Toronto but is now embarking on a National tour. There isn't currently a Winnipeg stop, and someone should rectify this immediately.

How (I think) I've turned a rom-com into a pseudo concept piece

So, as you know, comedies are not usually my thing. So when presented with the opportunity to direct the lovely Clink, a new romantic comedy about youth and expectations, I looked for ways to innovate the means of telling the story. The play centres around 3 scenes in a public place -- the couple's wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, as well as the ceremony. The play has the typical lines interacting with other people in this public space, but lacks the characters to populate it. This sort of trope often gets under my skin, so I thought about how best to overcome that hurdle.

Bingo! If we stage this in a somewhat immersive fashion, using a thrust theatre space to create intimacy, and actually engaging the audience as the side characters in this family, we have a unique opportunity to create an audience experience unlike that which they'll get in a typical proscenium staging, therefore increasing their connection to these younger characters whom some older audience members may not identify with.

Thus the idea to stage Clink in thrust was born.

Now, when most people see and or stage a piece in thrust (at least in Winnipeg) they use the typical proscenium means of actor positioning, and then either just shove the actors really far upstage, or render the side sections "cheap seats". I don't ever feel these are the solution, so rather played with an almost cinematic style of staging, where each audience position will see a face in a given time, but it may not be the face of the actor speaking. It could be the actor who is being spoken to, or spoken about. What results is that depending on where you sit, you may sympathize with a different character in the story, and it may change somewhat for you versus a friend who sat on the opposite side.

Does it work? I think so, based on some audience feedback -- those who were willing to suspend expectation. Curiously the staging asks the audience to do what the characters are asking their families to do -- release expectation and accept them on their own terms, for what may be a bit non-traditional.

Come see for yourself how my little experiment has worked. I assure you the 4 young actors are worth the show, even if you find the experiment failed.

Detailed show times available here, including tonight at 8:45.


2015 Winnipeg Fringe!

 
After a 3 year hiatus from any fringe related work outside reviewing, I've plunged head first into things this year, with 3 projects. There is quite literally something for each of you.
 
Clink -- A new play by Hannah Foulger(Venue 11) - showtimes available here:https://www.facebook.com/events/495770420572675/
- This is a fantastic 4-hander which I've directed, world premiere. A brand new play by an emerging playwright, featuring four emerging actors from the city. It takes place at a wedding, and we've staged it in a surprising way, where the audience get to be the guests at the wedding! Come ready for a party. Drinks not included, but a pre-show drink is heartily encouraged. You'll feel like one of the wedding party.


Sea Wall - by Simon Stephens
(Venue 27) - showtimes available here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1627940270776127/
- Theatre By the River's offering for the fest. This is the opposite end of the spectrum -- a play by recent Tony award winner Simon Stephens, one man show featuring Rodrigo Beilfuss before he heads off to a season with Stratford's Birmingham Conservatory. I've co-directed this piece. It is only 30 minutes. Beautifully written, a devastating piece of theatre.
 

popART: Project Vapour -- Sunday July 19 from 1-4pm
- Finally, this is an odd little project of mine, the first in a series of installations I am doing. I call it theatre, some may argue that point... Essentially it is an immersive installation project that lasts 3 hours. You can come and go. It features music from John Norman, and a physical video installation by Pixel Pusher, all curated by me. The goal is to re-create that feeling of disorientation you get when you go into a movie or theatre in the daytime, then emerge into the light again, but in this instance you immerse into a warehouse party in an alley in the exchange. The whole thing takes place in the alley beneath artspace on Arthur Street. Stay tuned, there is another one of these coming for Nuit Blanche too, just learned we're an official selection for the next in this series, popART: Intersection!
 
Anyway, hope you can make it to one (or all!) of my projects.

catching up...

The manic nature of this winter-spring has caused a full halt on my blog. Not for lack of things to write about, but rather for lack of time for sleep, much less writing.

Since we last saw our intrepid explorer, she has kept herself busy.

My collaboration with selardi for Tonight at Eight O'Clock was a resounding success; we sold out (over sold in fact...shhh!!) and had around 70 audience members experience the piece, what one of our volunteers described as "confused transcendence". It was truly an experiment, and in many ways, our goal of pushing the envelope of what audiences in Winnipeg will attend was a huge success. In fact, I think we under-estimated the audience's willingness to play along, and could have offered more. I'm continuing to think about this experiment in the dialectic relationship between audience and performer, art and viewer as I am creating and refining my ideas on the subject.

The next major project was as Assistant Director for Clever Little Lies at MTC; an entirely different experience, working with (extremely) professional actors on a new "straight" play. For many this may seem like a departure from my usual interests, however the play dove in head first in to some of the ideas that rest at the very core of all my work; the relationship between our reality and our expectations, and what we do to cope with that gap. In the contemporary world, we have been sold lifestyles and ideas about ourselves, and crafted images, and this play was yet another outlet to investigate how this can be damaging to our relationships. It was a fantastic experience working under Steven Schipper, and I had so many opportunities to learn how to drive the car, so to speak, in what a fellow local performer described as "NASA". Truly the MTC MainStage has all the big toys, and the freedom to create in this milieu was unparalleled.

Also, a version of the dissertation paper I wrote for my final work Approaching Antigone at RADA has been published by the Humanities Education Research Association! You can see it here. After all the yammering on this blog about Antigone, I'm sure you'll enjoy (or at least feel resolution). More to come on that project as I intend to resurface work on it in late 2015.

What now? Well I've got a few projects on the go. First up is the next instalment of my experiments with the audience performer relationship -- popART: Project Vapour. This takes a different form than the previous, returning to an installation style work that although does not fit the traditional definition of theatre (EG having a story and actors) I do believe is highly theatrical. The theatrical experience, however, is played out for the viewers of the piece.

Come see for yourselves if you like -- June 14 in the alley behind Artspace (Arthur Street, Exchange district, Winnipeg). More details here. 

Will share more in the coming weeks about the new play I'm directing for the Fringe, as well as a very large scale adaptation project I'm working on. Hint: I have spent a lot of time recently reading about Plantagenet Kings.

Audition Notice - CLINK by Hannah Foulger


Currently casting for one of my upcoming projects.....Check it out!
Casting Call HER PRODUCTIONS
CLINK

A New play by Hannah Foulger 

Directed by Kendra Jones

Running July 15-23 at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival

Rehearsals will run on evenings and weekends starting in May. Times and lengths to be determined based on cast/crew availability

AUDITIONS: February 20, 5:30 - 10:00 at the Asper Centre for Theatre and Film


One role:
RACHEL: 20s, Smart, successful bride determined not to become a Bridezilla.


If interested please send your resume and headshot to herproductions2015@gmail.com 

 Profitshare to be determined. 

Cyber Monday by Kendra Jones


Oh, uh...

Umm...

Sorry? That's what I am supposed to say. Right? Sorry. Oh, em, gee am I sorry.

Except that I'm not

In 

The 

Slightest.

I'm busy, ya know? Screens flashing, sales could pass me by busy. Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! To get that thing you NEED but really. 

Take the photo, it lasts longer. 

But if you're going to, then Filter that image. Project yourself, not as you are but as you want people to think you are. Virtual reality mistakes itself for actual reality every day. More caught up by what happens on screen than the given scene. We spend so much time capturing the experience, we miss it altogether.

Pump that image, fill it with whatever you like. They'll only know if you tell them. One big fucking vanity project. Selfies in superstore. Seriously. In the cheese aisle. I guess that's glamorous? Who knows what that is. 

I miss people. Not pixelated images on a digital screen, but real, fleshy, messy, people.

It seems we’re people less and less nowadays. 

In this world where everything is a product, even our children become brands, not people.

Images projected sky-high through the eternal fame of 5 seconds on the internet.

Get the image out. Know your brand. Except that you're not...

A brand, I mean. 

C'mon. Reading this to you from my iPhone, must have gadget to make me an individual. Just like everyone else. 

But get the dress. Credit. Plastic. It's not real anyway. We are culturally bankrupt so why not financially bankrupt too? Complete the set.

Just look up. 

Once in awhile. 

Paris looks far more beautiful when not viewed through your phone screen.

UPCOMING: Special Reserve - A Wine & Words Launch Event -- Nov 19 @ ACI, presented by Theatre By The River


I'm very excited to share with you information about my first directing project with the company since joining Theatre By The River earlier this year. For those unfamiliar, the annual TBTR fundraiser is Wine & Words - a night of new writing read dramatically by local actors and celebrities. The Spring event this year had so many fantastic submissions that we've held on to what we're calling our "Special Reserve" and holding a smaller, more intimate event this month as a launch to the 2015 season including the Spring Wine & Words, as well as some other upcoming projects.

There are many performers to be excited about! Virgin 103's Pamela Roz, Winnipeg Free Press writer Bartley Kives, Singer/Songwriter Süss, as well as local performers such as Justin Otto (Armstrong's War - MTC Warehouse), Ellen Peterson (The Small Things - PTE), and the TBTR company who have just wrapped Cock & Bull in rep are joined by a host of others.

Prior to joining the TBTR fold, my own writing has been featured (in the 2013 event) and in the Spring 2014 event I was honoured to read a poem by Christine Fellowes. I'm very excited to get to lead this event this time around!

Please join us for a unique and informal night of words, wine, and music.

Tickets are $15 and available at www.theatrebytheriver.com 

Little Red by Frances Koncan @ Winnipeg Fringe

My 10th and final fringe outing was this beautiful gothic adaptation of the Little Red Riding Hood story. The well-cast group of 5 actors brought these twisted and dark characters to life in the tiny Playhouse Studio amidst a slightly cluttered but nice to look at space. The story was put together almost as if a dream, in which a small image or single world will spin out a complete change to the space and intent of the characters. Each scene on its own was well thought through, however the larger-picture fell apart a bit. The piece seemed to lack an outside eye, one which could string together the beads of the widely varying scenes through an overall sense of arch and style.

In short, the piece felt under-directed. The actors, being skilled, made the scenes come to life, however the play was not served by the scattershot sense of transition between the scenes. Transitions that could have been seamless were clunky, and some that should have been sudden and jarring were unclear (not always shifted by all performers at the same time). Thus the effect was lost overall. Whereas the audience should have left in a reverie, I personally left without this clouded and murky, dark feeling.

This was a great play, and a good production. Unfortunately you could see the potential for it to be a great production, which for me is always disappointing.

Only Just. . . by Megan Andres @ Winnipeg Fringe

Only Just. . . begins with the feeling of a typical romantic comedy. We have the "it girl" who has just broken up with the classic "nice guy" after his sweet and romantic (if not a touch forward) gesture, surrounded by the typical "goofy best friend" and "sweet but perennially single" female best friend. Andres provides a twist from the start, however, by playing with time. We quickly learn that we have actually begun at the end, and the subsequent scenes either explain or provide context to what came before, as we piece together the facts of what has occurred with these four friends. The result is that these characters, who in the snapshot moment at the start may seem like stereotypes, actually flesh out into real, living, and 3-dimentional characters. None are quite as simple as they initially seem.

The audience are left feeling the helplessness inherent in any situation when a choice is made, and upon reflection, we wish we'd chosen differently. By travelling backward through time, Andres' characters remind us that even if we did have a time machine as it-girl Naya dreams, when we go back, the past will play out in the same way. We can't change it. Fate, inevitability, or whatever you want to blame it on, we're doomed to make poor choices when it comes to handling other people's (and our own) feelings.

The performances were equally strong in this cast of four. In some moments the direction and staging did not serve the pace of the play suitably; for example some phone calls began in dark as the character came across into the space. A couple adjustments to the staging would have ultimately helped the piece hurl forward, and amplify the feeling of helplessness to ever fully fix the situation.

Subway Stations of the Cross by Ins Choi

This might well have been the least publicized performance in Winnipeg this year. I learned about Ins Choi's performance of his one-man show in a footnote to an invitation to a lecture I received via the University, and jumped at the chance to see this. While Choi's more commercial piece, Kim's Convenience, plays at MTC Mainstage I'm always far more interested in the work the artist creates to feed their soul.

Inspired by an encounter Choi had with a homeless man in a park in Toronto, he creates a character who is a beggar, and a rich man; insane, but a prophet. Touching on themes of faith, consumerism, and pop culture, Choi weaves a non-traditional piece of theatre through the use of song and poem causing the audience to truly introspect as the words circle around them. Accompanying himself on ukelele, and with the odd foot stomp, we see the character weave in and out of lucidity, at once making much sense and none at all. Echoes came to mind of Nietzche's ubermensch, descended from the mountaintop to share the truth, and yet no one listens or believes - so he must hide, in this case behind the mask of poverty and insanity.

A stunning piece of theatre, and one I strongly recommend seeking out. Choi mentioned in the talkback that he is doing a handful of performances in each city Kim's Convenience tours to, so look it up!

Wine & Words - Fundraiser for Theatre By The River

So, there is this snappy little theatre company in Winnipeg called Theatre By The River. It was formed by some awesome folks whom I was in undergrad with at the brilliant University of Winnipeg Theatre Department (seemingly ages ago...).

They are having a fundraiser! For only $20 you can have wine and listen to actors read brand new play excerpts. This year, I am honoured to be one of the writers whose work is featured in this year's event, as a piece of my new play in development Trying will be read.

Please come out if you can to support art, local theatre, and wine.


Dear Mama - 17-20 January

Can I just say how strange it is to move from the academic world back to a world where you need to promote your show?

Anyway, please see below for details. Come to the show!

Impel Theatre proudly present Dear Mama, a new one-act play in response to Sondheim, Gypsy, lost childhood, and stage mothers around the world.

"Not everyone is capable of being loved, Ruby. They are too selfish. They aren't willing to give themselves to the people who want to love them."

Inspired by Sondheim's lyrics in Gypsy, this new piece delves into the mind and body of a girl obsessed with fame, beauty and attention. Words have the power to build you up or tear you down. "Beautiful. I'm beautiful. Look, Mama, I'm beautiful." Mama will be proud.

No wheelchair access | Capacity 35 | 40 mins
Warning: Language, mature themes

Each performance will be followed by a 30-minute Q & A session with the creative team.

Written and Performed by Kendra Jones
Direction and Dramaturgy by Megan Andres
Stage Managed by Leah Borchert

Thursday 17 January - 8:00pm
Friday 18 January - 8:00pm
Saturday 19 January - 8:00pm
Sunday 20 January - 2:00pm

This production is part of the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre's SondheimFest - 2013 Master Playwright Festival

**To Reserve Tickets**
email: kendra@impelartists.com

>or<

call: 204.475.8747

Note that seating is limited to 35 per performance.

Review - Sonofabitch Stew @ FemFest 2012

This one-woman show tells the story of a Womens' Studies' tutor forced into retirement after her wild-west antics inspired by the life of Calamity Jane embarass the department for one last time. Jane regales the audience with her tales, and after a few minutes we learn that the audience have been given the role of her students at her penultimate lecture. Jane goes on to talk of her career, flashing into moments of Calamity herself. The show progresses back and forth, paralleling the professor's life with that of the Western Female archetype as we hear of her rise to infamy and her ultimiate demise resulting from the very acts which made her famous.

The script itself is intriguing as it twists these two lives together, playing on ideas about what femininity and ultimately feminism are made up of. I did find that the stylistic traits of the language between the two characters was not as distinct as it could have been; this, muddied the ability to distinguish which character was being inhabited at each moment. Ultimately I would have appreciated a clearer distinction between the two, as it would have defined the parallel more clearly. Without this, the two characters spun together a bit too much and made the piece difficult to follow at times.
 
Overall this was a nice, enjoyable script and one I would love to see further work on.

One Director's Perspective...

Between the dissertation, the move, resuming the day job and new projects here at home, I have been rather neglectful of the blog. That said, I have done a little guest-blogging for Sarasvati in the lead-up to Fem Fest (for which I am directing).

Check out my piece, "One Director's Perspective" on their blog here:
http://sarasvatitransforms.wordpress.com/2012/08/20/one-directors-perspective-on-directing-new-writing/#more-1188

Upcoming Project: Shorts! at FemFest 2012, Winnipeg

My first project upon returning to the fair 'Peg is to direct 4 excerpts from plays at the annual FemFest, presented by Sarasvati Productions. These 4 plays will each be presented once between 19 September and 22 September, as an offering in the studio theatre between the two full productions each evening. Tickets for the festival are available through the site; I strongly recommend checking out as much as you can at this excellent event!

I am extremely excited to be working on these 4 unique plays from female playwrights, and will be doing a guest blog about the process and the plays for Sarasvati's blog - which I'll share here :)

I recently did a Q&A for the festival's blog, which you can read here. Have a look to learn my favourite word, and my advice to actors.