Theatrefront News, August 2009

A Message from the Artistic Director

This has been a fantastic season for Theatrefront. After many workshops in both Toronto and Cape Town, this year we premiered our international collaboration UBUNTU (The Cape Town Project) at Toronto's Tarragon Theatre and Halifax's Neptune Theatre. I was so proud of the work our international cast did creating and performing this production. We received countless letters and emails from patrons who were incredibly moved by the show.

And now, Theatrefront is turning our sights to THE MILL, our most ambitious project ever. THE MILL is a series of four plays by four of Canada's finest writers Theatrefront Ensemble Members Damien Atkins and Matthew MacFadzean, as well as Hannah Moscovitch and Tara Beagan. We are producing the first two plays this fall at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts in the Distillery District. THE MILL is a ghost story about Canada's haunted history. It promises to be an exciting (and spooky!) evening of theatre. I hope you will join us!

Q & A with Hannah Moscovitch

Hannah Moscovitch is the award-winning playwright of EAST OF BERLIN, which has had two sold out runs at the Tarragon Theatre and will be touring nationally this year. Hannah is also the author THE MILL (Part Two): THE HURON BRIDE. We sat down with her to find out the story behind the story...

Without giving anything away can you give us a brief synopsis of The Huron Bride?

It’s 1834. One dark night, Hazel arrives in the new world at the mill of her cousin, James McGonigal. She’s braved the perilous journey across the Atlantic because her cousin has hired her to clean for the loggers who work in his mill. Hazel quickly adjusts to mill work, but she’s haunted by the eerie feeling that the mill doesn’t want her there. It’s not long before an attraction arises between Hazel and her cousin. Hazel came to the new world to make her fortune so a marriage with James would be highly desirable, but the ghost of James’ ex-wife may spoil their wedding plans...

THE MILL (Part Two): THE HURON BRIDE is a Gothic Victorian ghost story that exposes the dark edges of Canadian history and asks us to consider: is Canada a haunted house?

Writing is so often a solitary endeavour how was it to work with three other writers?

I’ve worked a little in radio so I’m familiar with the concept of writing in a group. In that scenario, there’s no author and no individual vision. What’s important is to serve the series arc. There’s something enjoyable about deploying your writing in the service of a style and story that are not your own. This project is different. We’re working as artists, with our own artistic visions for our plays, but finding ways to blend our ideas and thoughts about the story. So it falls somewhere in between writing a play by yourself and writing on a series team. It’s been extraordinary; it’s a very unusual process and we’ve been inventing it as we go along.

What do you take away from this experience?

The experience of writing with other writers? I think just that it’s possible to do this. I really enjoyed witnessing our four plays coming together as a whole, and the clever and moving ways that we’ve all found to incorporate elements of the other playwrights’ visions into our projects.

UBUNTU (The Cape Town Project)

Theatrefront's international collaboration UBUNTU (The Cape Town Project) had its exciting world premiere this season, to great critical and audience acclaim! The production opened at the Tarragon Theatre as part of its mainstage season, and then toured to Halifax's Neptune Theatre. Directed by Theatrefront's Artistic Director, Daryl Cloran, the production featured Canadian actors Holly Lewis, Michelle Monteith, David Jansen and Eric Goulem, joined by South African actors Mbulelo Grootboom and Andile Nebulane. Ensemble Member Lorenzo Savoini designed the set and lights.

MAKING CONNECTIONS...

The final Sunday of the tour of UBUNTU, I snuck into the back of an old church in downtown Halifax. It wasn’t long before my 10 month old son would no longer sit still. I was almost out the door when I heard the reverend ask his congregation if anyone had seen the show currently performing at Neptune Theatre. I stopped. He was talking about UBUNTU. The sermon was called “The Fallacy of Personal Salvation.” The reverend said that he was so moved by our production that he felt compelled to use the show to make a point about the interconnectedness of all people, about the importance of community. He urged his whole congregation to get out and see the show to experience what he had. I was very lucky to have stepped into the church that morning. It was a thrilling reminder of the impact theatre can have and the power of working together to achieve something greater than you could alone. — Holly Lewis, Ensemble Member

Get in Touch...

Daryl Cloran, Artistic Director
daryl@theatrefront.com

Sue Balint, Producer
sue@theatrefront.com

www.theatrefront.com

Who’s Doing What Where?
What the Ensemble is up to these days...

Damien Atkins is currently Playwright-in-Residence at Canadian Stage, where he is developing his new play MICHAEL RISING.

Dylan Trowbridge is performing in DIRTY DANCING in London, England.

Catch Shane Carty this summer in Newmarket starring in Resurgence Theatre's ROMEO AND JULIET.

You can see Patricia Fagan in both THE SYRINGA TREE at GCTC in Ottawa followed by THE PARFUMERIE at Soulpepper.

Christopher Morris is directing his international collaboration, NIGHT at the National Arts Centre this fall.

On June 5th, Kaija Corlazzoli gave birth to her son Arturo. Congratulations to Kaija and her husband Alex – and welcome baby Arturo!

Sue Balint has recently returned from Bosnia-Herzegovina with Modern Times Stage Company and will be helping to keep Kaija’s Producer seat warm this season.

Artistic Director Daryl Cloran was nominated for a Dora Award for Outstanding Direction of a Musical, for his work on the musical A NEW BRAIN.

Designers Dana Osborne and Lorenzo Savoini are both hard at work on Soulpepper’s upcoming production of ANTIGONE.

Special thanks to Theatrefront’s supporters...

Temple Rock Holdings Inc., TD Securities, Spreed Inc, Winnigton Capital, Community Lend Inc, FemMed Inc, Armstrong Szewczyk Tobias LLP, Slava Vodka, Constellations Wines, Starfish Restaurant, CIBC Wood Gundy, and The Ceili Cottage.

William & Lorna Anderson, Dan R. Baird, H. Mary Balint, Jennifer Birmingham, Daryl Cloran & Holly Lewis, Bryan & Toni Cloran, Barbara Fingerote, Tim Fort, Moya Green, Elizabeth Ketchum, Richard Kostoff, Paul & Clarissa Lewis, Raymond & Sheila Protti and Jane Worden.