Sunday, June 29, 2008
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Fantastic Arts line-up this summer!
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON: Dan and Erin's Blog
What an incredible summer line-up of arts and entertainment in Vancouver! And these are just some of the major highlights:
Bard on the Beach:
King Lear is our must-see, set in the “near future”, directed by James Fagan Tate to the always haunting and sublime music of Joelysa Pankanea, and starring Bard Artistic Director Christopher Gaze. Other very exciting Bard shows include a 1920’s, vaudeville-esque staging of Twelfth Night, a contemporary Titus Andronicus, and a classic rendition of The Tempest, set to live string music.
Spamalot:
It’s on tour already! While our visiting production won’t include the likes of Hank Azaria or David Hyde Peirce, the show, which musicalizes Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail (and injects a bunch of other, classic Python humour), will be a must for those of us who tend to insert random phrases into conversation like, “I’m not dead yet,” “What is the airspeed velocity of a swallow?” or “In the frozen land of Nador, they were forced to eat Robin’s minstrel… and there was much rejoicing (yay…)”.
JC Superstar:
Theatre Under the Stars in Stanley Park takes on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s first, and artistically sharpest, work. Amazing soundtrack. Intensely deep and passionate exploration of Christ’s human side. It’ll be interesting to see if the mostly “emerging artist” cast pulls it off.
Cirque du Soleil - Corteo:
Could be the best Cirque show yet to come to Vancouver – with a stronger storyline and a design motif based more in ‘Old World’, carnival-esque characters and vignettes. This incarnation may have brought the whole phenomenon back, full-circle to what the archetypal circus was originally about. But still with all that breathtaking Cirque wonder.
Orphans:
If you read the entry a few weeks ago about auditioning for cool projects, then seeing others play the role… well, this’ll be that. But the play is fantastic – gritty, dark and bristling with raw humanity. Directed by wonderman Stephen Drover, too. I hope he cast the right guys ☺
Metamorphases:
This truly gorgeous play retells the stories of Ovid with simplicity and power. The production uses an actual pool as the central setpiece. Playing as a rental at Pacific Theatre. And, oh! Directed by Christine Willes, one of Vancouver’s finest artists, who blew us away in Prodigal Son a few years ago, and who you’ve probably seen in shows like Reaper, Dead Like Me and countless other locally shot projects.
And that’s just the theatre, folks! The surface is only scratched. Major concert stops by Oasis and Radiohead; the Pemberton Festival, with performances by Coldplay, Death Cab for Cutie, Vampire Weekend, Tom Petty, Wolfmother, Interpol, The Tragically Hip, The Flaming Lips, Sam Roberts… and more than a dozen other acts.
And let’s not forget movies! Get Smart, Batman: Dark Knight, M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening, Ironman, Wall-E, Tropic Thunder, Prince Caspian, Indiana Jones, the Hulk… some of these we’ve already seen, but….
And now the lament. There is no possible %&@*ing way we can see all these things. Actually, with our budget, we can only afford one or two. How cruel is that?
Okay, for kicks I just added up what it would cost to attend all this stuff. Seeing all of our movies at the Clova (our newly discovered cheapie cinema), and only seeing two Bard shows, and just one night at the Pemberton festival, it will cost Erin and I $1,078, before taxes… and gas. Sigh. I know money can’t buy happiness. But it sure can buy a lot of other cool crap.
What an incredible summer line-up of arts and entertainment in Vancouver! And these are just some of the major highlights:
Bard on the Beach:
King Lear is our must-see, set in the “near future”, directed by James Fagan Tate to the always haunting and sublime music of Joelysa Pankanea, and starring Bard Artistic Director Christopher Gaze. Other very exciting Bard shows include a 1920’s, vaudeville-esque staging of Twelfth Night, a contemporary Titus Andronicus, and a classic rendition of The Tempest, set to live string music.
Spamalot:
It’s on tour already! While our visiting production won’t include the likes of Hank Azaria or David Hyde Peirce, the show, which musicalizes Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail (and injects a bunch of other, classic Python humour), will be a must for those of us who tend to insert random phrases into conversation like, “I’m not dead yet,” “What is the airspeed velocity of a swallow?” or “In the frozen land of Nador, they were forced to eat Robin’s minstrel… and there was much rejoicing (yay…)”.
JC Superstar:
Theatre Under the Stars in Stanley Park takes on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s first, and artistically sharpest, work. Amazing soundtrack. Intensely deep and passionate exploration of Christ’s human side. It’ll be interesting to see if the mostly “emerging artist” cast pulls it off.
Cirque du Soleil - Corteo:
Could be the best Cirque show yet to come to Vancouver – with a stronger storyline and a design motif based more in ‘Old World’, carnival-esque characters and vignettes. This incarnation may have brought the whole phenomenon back, full-circle to what the archetypal circus was originally about. But still with all that breathtaking Cirque wonder.
Orphans:
If you read the entry a few weeks ago about auditioning for cool projects, then seeing others play the role… well, this’ll be that. But the play is fantastic – gritty, dark and bristling with raw humanity. Directed by wonderman Stephen Drover, too. I hope he cast the right guys ☺
Metamorphases:
This truly gorgeous play retells the stories of Ovid with simplicity and power. The production uses an actual pool as the central setpiece. Playing as a rental at Pacific Theatre. And, oh! Directed by Christine Willes, one of Vancouver’s finest artists, who blew us away in Prodigal Son a few years ago, and who you’ve probably seen in shows like Reaper, Dead Like Me and countless other locally shot projects.
And that’s just the theatre, folks! The surface is only scratched. Major concert stops by Oasis and Radiohead; the Pemberton Festival, with performances by Coldplay, Death Cab for Cutie, Vampire Weekend, Tom Petty, Wolfmother, Interpol, The Tragically Hip, The Flaming Lips, Sam Roberts… and more than a dozen other acts.
And let’s not forget movies! Get Smart, Batman: Dark Knight, M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening, Ironman, Wall-E, Tropic Thunder, Prince Caspian, Indiana Jones, the Hulk… some of these we’ve already seen, but….
And now the lament. There is no possible %&@*ing way we can see all these things. Actually, with our budget, we can only afford one or two. How cruel is that?
Okay, for kicks I just added up what it would cost to attend all this stuff. Seeing all of our movies at the Clova (our newly discovered cheapie cinema), and only seeing two Bard shows, and just one night at the Pemberton festival, it will cost Erin and I $1,078, before taxes… and gas. Sigh. I know money can’t buy happiness. But it sure can buy a lot of other cool crap.
Friday, June 20, 2008
MTC in the Langley Advance
Ron, Tracy and Dan are featured in a Langley Advance Article here, highlighting the recent Jessie nominations, and their connection to Trinity Western University.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Long lost Quarrel Review
Just found a review of the Vancouver production... a deep, engaging article from a very Jewish perspective. Read it here, or download it here (right-click).
Okay, I'll admit I found this while googling myself. So sue me. I haven't quite figured out how google's inner workings... well, work. But I do know that the more certain keywords are searched, the higher priority they take on in OTHER peoples' searches.... Just trying to up the profile of the blog and www.danamos.net... vanity, vanity, all is vanity, I know.
Okay, I'll admit I found this while googling myself. So sue me. I haven't quite figured out how google's inner workings... well, work. But I do know that the more certain keywords are searched, the higher priority they take on in OTHER peoples' searches.... Just trying to up the profile of the blog and www.danamos.net... vanity, vanity, all is vanity, I know.
Friday, June 13, 2008
"Refuge of Lies" reading
I was very fortunate to participate in a workshop reading of Ron Reed's play, "Refuge of Lies" today. Ron is putting the script through a final round of tweaks before it is produced Off-Broadway this September at the Lion Theatre on 42nd Street. The play was first drafted during a 24 hour playwriting festival in the early 90's, and was subsequently developed and produced at Theatre & Company in Kitchener, Ontario.
Folks, this one's a gooder. Definitely on my own interest list... and watch for it to anchor a future season at Pacific Theatre. Much of the same thematic material as "The Quarrel", but with more of a thriller-esque framework, and a deep exploration of both the Christian and Jewish approaches to forgiveness and justice. The play follows an aging, Dutch ex-pat who is forced to revisit the sins of his youth when he suddenly finds himself accused of Nazi collaboration.
Spirited reads from fellow actors too - particularly Kerri Elcheshen, Anthony Ingram and especially Terence Kelly, who demonstrated huge passion and connection to the lead role. What a privilege!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
MTC Garners Jessie Noms!
We are proud to announce that two of our artists have been nominated for Jessie Richardson Awards for their work on our recent production - A Man For All Seasons.
Ron Reed has been nominated for "Outstanding Performance by an Actor in A Lead Role". Ron played the indefatigable Sir Thomas More, a man forced to choose between personal integrity and public duty.
Tracy Wright has been nominated for "Outstanding Costume Design". She successfully interpreted this 16th century story into a 20th century motif, picking up on director Jeremy Tow's parallels between Henry VIII's regime and modern fascism.
Congratulations Ron and Tracy!
The 2008 Jessie Richardson Awards take place in Vancouver on June 30, 2008.
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