Anya M. Wassenberg's Blog: Art & Culture Maven, page 138

An evening with Gustavo Santaolalla in Performance and Conversation February 8 2014 in Toronto

From a media release:

An evening with
Gustavo Santaolalla 
in performance and conversation

the Grand Opening of the Small World Music Centre - Saturday February 8, 2014 - Artscape Youngplace, 180 Shaw Street, Toronto

TORONTO - Gustavo Santaolalla is a man of many talents. A composer, performer, producer and film score writer extraordinaire, he returns to Small World four years after his last appearance here with the band he fronts, Bajofondo. Among his many accolades, his Academy Awards for Best Original Score in two consecutive years, for Brokeback Mountain in 2005 and Babel in 2006 stand out alongside a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award and multiple Latin Grammys.

In Toronto to open the new theatrical experience ARRABAL, for which he has composed the music, Gustavo will grace the new Small World Centre with an evening of performance and conversation about composing music for the stage. ARRABAL begins performances at The Panasonic Theatre on February 4. Tickets available at mirvish.com

Santaolalla has been a key part of the resurgent neo-tango movement, as prime mover behind the Bajofondo collective, who along with GoTan Project, helped define a new sound and spark a worldwide musical phenomenon. He aided the development of rock en español by acting as producer for Mexican acts, Neón, Maldita Vecindad, Fobia, Molotov, Café Tacuba, and Julieta Venegas; the Colombian singer, Juanes; Chilean rock trio, Los Prisioneros; Argentine rock bands, Divididos and Bersuit Vergarabat, and León Gieco's "De Ushuaia a La Quiaca" among many others.

The evening will be hosted and moderated by Mariel Borelli, host of CBC Radio One's Big City, Small World, which airs Saturdays at 5:00.

Dance Immersion Presents: Celebrating Our Men in Dance February 6 to 8 2014 in Toronto

From a media release:

DANCE IMMERSION PRESENTATIONS
"Celebrating Our Men In Dance"
February 6-8, 2014
 
8:00pm| Thursday Feb 6, to Saturday Feb 8, 2014
1:00pm| Saturday Feb 8, 2014
Enwave Theatre, Harbourfront Centre, Toronto
$18-30| Student, Senior and Group rates available

TORONTO - This special presentation brings to the forefront some of Canada’s finest male choreographers in a showcase that highlights the many ideas and expressions by dance artists of African Descent. This Black History Month Presentation features an inter-generational cast from across the country who will share their dance works displaying the many perspectives from our men in dance.  Nine diverse choreographers with a cast of over 45 dancers will grace the stage with works that include Traditional and Contemporary African, Breakdancing, Contemporary, Dancehall and more.  Audiences will embark on a journey full of dance works that will take you to the edge of your seat as you connect to the movement being presented.

Image by Christopher Cushman

Facing Our Truth: 10-Minute Plays on Trayvon, Race and Privilege February 5 to 10 2014 in New York City

From a media release:

Dr. Barbara Ann Teer's National Black Theatre 
in association with The New Black Fest Present
Facing Our Truth: 10-Minute Plays on Trayvon, Race and Privilege
February 5 - 10, 2014
Opening Night - Feb. 5th

Playwrights: Dominique Morisseau, Winter Miller, Dan O'Brien with Grammy Award-Winner Quetzal Flores, Marcus Gardley, Mona Mansour and Tala Manassah, and A. Rey Pamatmat
Directors: Ebony Golden and Axel Avin Jr.

NEW YORK CITY - Opening on February 5th 2014, Trayvon Martin’s birthday, this limited engagement is apart of National Black Theatre’s Black History Month programming. This is a great piece for the whole family to attend. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at www.nationalblacktheatre.org or by calling the theatre directly at (212) 722-3800

Originally commissioned by The New Black Fest, Facing Our Truth is a collection of plays written by eight (8) diverse playwrights: Dominique Morisseau, Winter Miller, Dan O'Brien with Grammy Award-Winner Quetzal Flores, Marcus Gardley, Mona Mansour and Tala Manassah, and A. Rey Pamatmat. In light of the George Zimmerman verdict, the playwrights were asked to write short plays that challenge all of us to question our positions on race and privilege in this country. Each performance has been paired with a special Community Engagement event which are listed on NBT’s website, nationalblacktheatre.org.

Actors include: Maechi Aharanwa (Artistic Associate at Classical Theatre of Harlem), TJ Allen, Paris Campbell, Khadim Diop (Member of Impact Theatre), Marisa Duchowny (Day Emmy Nominee), Renee Floresca, C.K. Kelly, Cedric Leiba and to round out the ensemble Chinaza Uche (last seen in NBT’s Last Saint on Sugar Hill).

The creative team for this production is comprised of Val Jeanty (sound designer), Alan Edwards (lighting designer), Paul Piekarz (projection designer) and Alfredo Macias (stage manager).

General Admission $25

Percentage of Proceeds will go towards the Trayvon Martin Foundation

The National Black Theatre
2031-33 National Black Theatre Way
New York, NY 10035?
212-722-3800
info@nationalblacktheatre.org

The Theatre Centre Toronto: New Home, New Works, New Season January 26 to June 14 2014

From a media release:

The Theatre Centre celebrates new home with new work, new artists

• Carbon 14: Climate is Culture Performance Series (January 26 to February 9 2014)
• Sea Sick: Alanna Mitchell (March 19 to 23 2014)
• Quebec’s L’Orchestre d’Hommes-Orchestres presents Cabaret Brise-Jour (Shattered Cabaret - March 26 to 29)
• Belgian theatre director Tine Van Aerschot’s one-woman/two-ghost show, We Are Not Afraid of the Dark (May 14 to 17 2014)
• Mammalian Diving Reflex and their youth-troupe The Torontonians, The Theatre Centre will co-produce an epic, interactive performance called Promises to a Divided City (May 30 to 31 2014)
• The Tracy Wright Global Archive (June 4 to 8 2014)
• Self-Conscious Theatre, in partnership with Abilities Centre and The Theatre Centre share The Book of Judith (June 12 to 14 2014)
• Studio 180 Theatre - the Canadian premiere of Mike Bartlett’s punchy comedic drama COCK (April 4 to 27 2014)

• Box Office: theatrecentre.org | 416-538-0988
 
Historic space transforms into live arts hub and incubator with programming featuring work by L’Orchestre d’Hommes-Orchestres, Alanna Mitchell, Cynthia Hopkins, Mammalian Diving Reflex, Tine Van Aerschot and more
Toronto, ON – The Theatre Centre recently announced a series of exciting partnerships and collaborations programmed to celebrate the organization’s move to their newly renovated home in the historic Carnegie Library on Queen St. West in early 2014. General & Artistic Director Franco Boni will animate the live arts hub and incubator with 10 new performance pieces presented from January through June, along with hosted rentals and a series of artistic residencies.

Formed in 1979, The Theatre Centre is committed to providing space, funding, public profile and mentorship to new work and new generations of artistic leaders by providing the infrastructure and resources needed to make art, from idea to production. In the past 35 years, the organization has had more than 10 homes, affordable only because of structural impediments, bad locations, or both. To find a permanent home, The Theatre Centre launched a capital campaign to raise $6.2 million to revitalize the space at 1115 Queen St. West, seizing the opportunity to move into a heritage building with a rich history as a cultural and community hub. The Theatre Centre will preserve the tradition of the building as a space dedicated to public use with a renovation of 11,797 sq. ft. that will include a main performance hall, a lobby café, a rehearsal hall, gallery space, green room, green-roofed terrace and office space. The fundraising campaign is almost complete, with a final push launched via an Indiegogo campaign on ovember 5.

“Since its inception, The Theatre Centre’s artistic and community leaders have been dreaming about space, imagining a fully-equipped theatre full to bursting with new ideas, fierce debate and great art,” said Boni. “In 2014, when we open the doors to our new home, we celebrate a renewed commitment to artists from all disciplines, devoted to the investigation of ideas, and serious about discovering surprising solutions to seemingly unsolvable questions. Of equal importance is our pledge to our community to make our new home accessible, responsive and welcoming. We feel a great responsibility to uphold the legacy of this 100-year-old building that has served as an anchor in our neighbourhood; it’s been a gathering place, a place for joy, learning and sharing stories, and a place for justice and provocation and we will celebrate this commitment with our 2014 programming.”

The year starts with Carbon 14: Climate is Culture Performance Series (January 26 to February 9), produced in partnership with Cape Farewell Foundation, and presented as part of Carbon 14: Climate is Culture Exhibition + Festival - a four-month long cultural engagement, addressing various aspects of climate change. Featured pieces include musical performances from internationally renowned Inuit artist Tanya Tagaq and experimental glam-pop duo Post-Normal; a solo performance piece by award-winning author/journalist Alanna Mitchell; a blend of live poetry and discussion led by UK performance poet Sabrina Mahfouz and Canadian spoken word artist Ian Kamau; a new performance art piece by Yellowknife, NWT based-artist Reneltta Arluk; and a live, cross-disciplinary performance with a 15-piece chorus and band led by a New York performance artist, composer and musician Cynthia Hopkins.

Another part of Carbon 14: Climate is Culture Performance Series produced in partnership with Cape Farewell Foundation, Sea Sick by Alanna Mitchell runs March 19-23. A powerful and deeply personal solo performance by Alanna Mitchell, adapted from her award-winning book. Mitchell discovers the secrets of the ocean, faces the demons of the deeps and finds hope.

From March 26 to 29, Quebec’s L’Orchestre d’Hommes-Orchestres will present Cabaret Brise-Jour (Shattered Cabaret), with eight musicians borrowing from the repertoire of Kurt Weill to sing about the best and worst of the human condition in a work at the crossroads of theatre, cabaret, visual arts and performance, creating “music that can be seen”.

In May, The Theatre Centre presents acclaimed Belgian theatre director Tine Van Aerschot’s intensely intimate one-woman/two-ghost show, We Are Not Afraid of the Dark (May 14 to 17). Inspired by the late actor Tracy Wright and her battle with cancer and performed by Valerie Buhagiar with two pre-recorded voices, Claire Marshall and Don McKellar, the piece is based on conversations between Tine and Tracy at the time of Tracy’s illness and offers a somewhat unusual guide to dealing with fear in an attempt to understand our transient lives.

Collaborating with culture production workshop Mammalian Diving Reflex and their youth-troupe The Torontonians, The Theatre Centre will co-produce an epic, interactive performance called Promises to a Divided City (May 30 to 31). Audience members (the citizens of the Divided City) will be counted, classified and asked to step up and save the city, with one hand firmly placed on a sacred book, chosen from the vast collection in the custom-curated ‘Library of Babel’ created in the space via a year-long book drive.

The Tracy Wright Global Archive (June 4 to 8) is a new project honouring the work and career of long-time Theatre Centre collaborator Wright that challenges five artists to explore a burning question and create a new work by engaging deeply with communities in locations around the world, seeking answers to their questions. Daniel Brooks, Jani Lauzon, Denise Fujiwara, Marcus Youssef and Nadia Ross will travel to the American South, the Mojave Desert, Japan, Egypt and India respectively, sharing their experiences through various forms of presentation – a lecture, a dance work, a shared meal, an installation, a soundscape, or a straight-up one-on-one chat.

Self-Conscious Theatre, in partnership with Abilities Centre and The Theatre Centre share The Book of Judith (June 12 to 14), created by acclaimed theatre artists Michael Rubenfeld and Sarah Garton Stanley in consultation with Judith Snow, an artist and former advocate with quadriplegia. The musical play about a self-anointed preacher who is passionately driven to change the lives of others before changing his own, will be presented in performance at Abilities Centre in Whitby, ON.

The Theatre Centre’s Residency Program, designed to support artists in developing new work and to facilitate collaborative creation, will welcome five new artists/groups with two-year partnerships. Tailored to the specific needs of each participating artist or collective and the idea or artistic impulse they wish to explore, incoming Residency artists include Jess Dobkin; Ian Kamau; Hannah Moscovitch, Maev Beaty and Tova Smith; Heidi Strauss / adelheid; and Dan Watson and Christina Serra. Playwright, director and actor Ravi Jain will serve as artistic director in residence, working with Boni to program work for the new space.

LTR (Long-Term Relationships), a unique long-term partnership opportunity that allows non-venued theatre companies to make The Theatre Centre their home base for several seasons, will also be launched with inaugural LTR partner Studio 180 Theatre. In addition to providing space to create and produce productions, this new program will offer partner companies the stability to make long-term strategic planning and programming decisions. The first of many companies to ‘move in’, Studio 180 Theatre, is an acclaimed Toronto-based company that produces hard-hitting, political, socially significant, contemporary theatre that provokes public discourse and promotes community engagement. In April, Studio 180 Theatre will present the Canadian premiere of Mike Bartlett’s punchy comedic drama COCK (April 4 to 27).

Rental productions hosted at The Theatre Centre over the course of the year will be carefully curated, in keeping with the organization’s mandate. Inaugural rentals, along with a Producing Series to be launched in the new home will be announced in the coming months.

CD Release: Toronto's Random Order with Black Lipstick Kiss January 30 2014

From a media release:

BLACK LIPSTICK KISS
TORONTO ALT-ROCK ‘N’ REGGAE THRILLER SKA BAND RANDOM ORDER RELEASES NEW CD
Thursday, January 30, 2014 @ Virgin Mobile Mod Club, 722 College Street, Toronto

• Tickets online

TORONTO – Alternative rock/reggae band Random Order release their new spine-tingling, zombie-fied CD Black Lipstick Kiss on Thursday, January 30  at Toronto’s Virgin Mobile Mod Club. Blending reggae, rock and ska influences, Random Order’s live performances are dynamite and the energy explosive.

There’s nothing random or orderly about this band Random Order. Sometimes described as “rock ‘n’ reggae” the group is one of Toronto’s best, longstanding underground treasures. And now with their third album plus a stunning video of the title track, the band is set to achieve new heights, exploring the dark links between pleasure and pain.

Lead vocalist/guitarist and founding member Lynn Phillips, is the driving force behind Random Order. The vocal style ranges from playful rap, to soulful reggae, to blow-you-away punk/funk and rawk – Lynn even barks and growls at times when the edginess ramps up in live performances. The meat and potatoes of this group are Lynn, who plays lead guitar with a definite Jimi Hendrix influence, and trombonist John Jowett, who adds memorable flavour, flourish and fun to the mix. Adding the groove are drummer Caterina Marchese, percussionist Anita Graciano and bassist Bryant Didier.

The new CD BLACK LIPSTICK KISS, features “Zombie-fied zigzagging pulp fiction tango-rock reggae, ”straddling the edge of thriller ska and a hint of ‘50s candy pop. Having drawn comparisons to bands such as The Au Pairs, The Slits, and The Clash in previous years, Random Order’s new music now reflects more of the Clash sound, circa London Calling. The title track “Black Lipstick Kiss” was spawned from lead singer Lynn Phillip’s passion for sexy, dangerous, spy soundtracks and movies like Dawn of the Dead and anything by Quentin Tarantino. The CD highlights high-energy tunes with complex arrangements, as in the epic “Black Heart,” the horn-driven surf rock instrumental “Do It In Quattro,” and also includes intricately layered vocal harmonies such as those in the ska-drenched “Spoiled.”

Random Order has toured all over the world, playing in Tokyo, Guatemala, Milwaukee, Holland, and Belgium. Their music has been heard on radio stations all over Canada, in Ireland and Berlin, and they played Milwaukee Pridefest where they opened for Salt-n-Pepa.

They are fast becoming known as a dynamic supergroup who pack floors quickly with politics you can dance to. But however they’ve been described, Random Order's sound is certainly unique.

Random Order
A CD Release party for Black Lipstick Kiss
The Mod Club, 722 College Street, Toronto / 416-588-4663
Thursday, January 30 – Doors @ 8:00 pm
$18 adv / $20 at the door

Theatre @ York Presents The Beggar's Opera January 28 to February 1 2014

From a media release:

The Beggar's Opera
Why are the Laws levelled at us? Are we more dishonest than the rest?
Theatre @ York embraces the question with edgy production of
The Beggar's Opera -  January 28-February 1, 2014

TORONTO - At its London premiere in 1728, John Gay's rollicking Beggar's Opera caused a sensation. Lampooning the politics and public morality of the day, it became an instant hit.

In 2014, York University's Faculty of Fine Arts brings together professional and emerging talent in theatre, music, dance and digital media in an edgy new production of this satirical masterpiece.

Adapted and directed by interdisciplinary theatre artist Gwen Dobie, Theatre @ York's Beggar's Opera previews January 28, opens January 29 and runs to February 1. It unfolds as a play within a play with a decidedly modern vibe, bringing the audience into the action. The show  transforms York University's Sandra Faire & Ivan Fecan Theatre into the Lincoln Fields Correctional Institute, where visitors are subjected to 21st century  surveillance measures to witness the 'inmates' performing within.

Well-known television host Pamela Parker reports live from Lincoln Fields, a medium-security prison for men and women in present-day Toronto. She's researching a story on the workings of the criminal justice system - in particular, the effectiveness of incarceration and the programs available to inmates to help them reintegrate into society once they're released.

The facility is run by the socially progressive prison warden Beckett Benjamin Graff, a lover of theatre who believes in the therapeutic power of the arts. Graff decides that the gang members, prostitutes, con artists and thieves serving their time at Lincoln Fields will benefit from the opportunity to put on a play that mirrors their plight: a play about the social ills, human failings and moral choices that have put them behind bars. The inmates have volunteered to design and perform a production of The Beggar's Opera.

The story revolves around the love triangle between the thief Macheath, Polly Peachum, the sheltered daughter of Macheath's fence, Mr. Peachum, and Lucy Lockit, the jailer's daughter. It's also a tale of corruption, social inequality, and malfeasance in high and low places. Thieves, gangsters, politicians, lawyers ... who can tell them apart?

Director Gwen Dobie's approach to the production is grounded in the concluding sentence of Gay's play:  The lower sort of people have their vices as well as the rich: the poor are punished for them.

"I considered The Beggar's Opera in relation to our 21st century world," said Dobie. "Is it just a period piece, a quaint relic of a rougher, tougher time? To find out, I researched the issues it deals with - politics and the law, poverty and social inequality, executions, body-snatching and dissections, financial crimes, embezzlement and stock market manipulation - in our time.

"And of course, all these things - even body-snatching! - are still with us today," said Dobie. "It's apparent that since John Gay set quill to paper, the social ills he writes about haven't been resolved. Issues of poverty, inequality and social justice remain at the forefront of our society."

Dobie teaches movement for actors and devised theatre in York's Department of Theatre. She is the co-founder and co-artistic director of Out of the Box Productions, a performance fusion company that creates original works integrating drama, dance and opera. Her directing credits with Out of the Box include Opera Erotique, which toured in BC (2004) and was remounted in Toronto (2010); Sound in Silence, which played at the Belfry Theatre in Victoria BC (2008) and the Theatre Centre in Toronto (2009); and Bugzzz ~ A Cautionary Tale at Toronto's Wychwood Theatre (2012). Other directing credits include the Aventa Ensemble's North American premiere production of the Danish opera On this Planet by Anders Nordentoft (McPherson Playhouse, Victoria BC, 2007) and the world premiere of Canadian composer Christopher Donison's opera Eyes on the Mountain (Opera Studio, Alix Goolden Hall, Victoria BC, 2001). Most recently, Dobie directed the well-received production of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas at York University (2012) and Handel's oratorio Solomon, conducted by Stephanie Martin, for Toronto's Pax Christi Chorale (2013).

Musical direction for Theatre @ York's Beggar's Opera is by music professor and noted choral composer and conductor Stephanie Martin, with musical preparation by renowned mezzo soprano Catherine Robbin, head of York's classical vocal music program. The singing cast features students in York's performance programs, with live accompaniment by a chamber orchestra led by Floydd Ricketts. Supporting the action are six members of the York Dance Ensemble, York's pre-professional repertory company, performing original choreography by Professor Michael Greyeyes. Digital media creative production is headed by interdisciplinary media artist Don Sinclair, coordinator of the Digital Media Program in the Faculty of Fine Arts. Theatre professor James McKernan, a specialist in sustainable theatrical scenographic technologies, is the producer.

A talented team of undergraduate theatre students is handling all aspects of the production design and execution, from sets and costumes to sound and lighting design. Live and pre-recorded audio and visual projections created by York's rising young digital media artists create an immersive environment where the audience's every move is tracked by the watchful eye of security cameras and controlled by disapproving prison guards.

York University's Faculty of Fine Arts is one of North America's premier schools for the visual and performing arts, media and design. With more than 3,400 undergraduate and graduate students and 245 faculty, it is the most comprehensive professional training and research institution in the field in Canada, offering conservatory and academic studies in all the fine arts: dance, design, digital media, film, music, theatre and visual art/art history.

Theatre @ York presents The Beggar's Opera
by John Gay, adapted and directed by Gwen Dobie
musical direction by Stephanie Martin
choreographed by Michael Greyeyes

preview January 28, opening January 29, runs to February 1
Tues-Fri at 7:30pm; matinees Fri & Sat at 1pm
Sandra Faire & Ivan Fecan Theatre, Accolade East Building, York University
4700 Keele St. Toronto | Map & Directions: http://maps.info.yorku.ca/keele-campus/

Performance Schedule:
Tues. Jan. 28, 7:30pm - PREVIEW
Wed. Jan. 29, 7:30pm - OPENING
Thurs. Jan. 30, 7:30pm
Fri. Jan. 31, 1pm & 7:30pm
Sat. Feb. 1, 1pm

Box Office: 416-736-5888 | http://finearts.yorku.ca/perform/boxoffice
Admission:  $17 | students & seniors $12
Preview: $5 Tues. Jan. 28
Groups: $7 (10 or more). Fri. Jan. 31 matinee group: $5

World Music: Mundial on the Road Showcase January 23 2014 in Toronto

From a media release:

MUNDIAL ON THE ROAD  SHOWCASE
PATRICIA CANO, JAFFA ROAD, MALIKA TIROLIEN
Thursday, January 23, 2014 at Lula Lounge, Toronto

Doors 7pm
$15 for three concerts
Dinner reservations guarantee seating, 416 588 0307 or lula.ca.
Special delegate dinner package and transportation available
10% discount on food for CAPACOA conference badge holders

TORONTO - The first of its kind in North America, MUNDIAL MONTREAL (November 18-21, 2014) is a world music conference & festival that celebrates our rich cultural diversity through a variety of showcases while creating an unprecedented network of world music presenters and professionals with a common goal: to develop professional opportunities!

Mundial is becoming the premier meeting place in North America for professionals in world music. The conference is crafted with a prime selection of artists, attended by some of the top presenters, and offers targeted networking activities for all involved. mundialmontreal.com

Three of the artists presented at last year's Mundial are coming to Toronto's Lula Lounge.

PATRICIA CANO, 8 pm
With roots in Peru and raised in Sudbury, Ontario, this stunning and powerful singer performs her own original material in Portuguese, Spanish, English and French. A favourite of Ontario presenters, Cano has performed at Sunfest, Luminato, Neruda Arts Festival and Lula Lounge. As an actress Patricia has worked with Tomson HIghway and Le Théatre du Soleil. Her debut album This is the New World was co-written with Brazilian guitarist Carlos Bernardo. patriciacano.com



JAFFA ROAD, 9 pm
WORLD MUSIC GROUP OF THE YEAR at the 2013 Canadian Folk Music Awards - two-time JUNO nominee Jaffa Road is a highly acclaimed ensemble comprising some of Canada’s most exciting and innovative interpreters of inter-cultural music. Their music creates a unique sonic landscape that draws inspiration from the worlds of Jewish music, Arabic and Indian music, modern jazz, electronica, rock, pop, and dub. Their genre bending fusion has delighted audiences from BC to Nunavut to Newfoundland gaining fans and prestigious awards along the way.  Their song, L.Y.G. won Grand Prize and the Lennon Award in the prestigious John Lennon Songwriting Contest and the band was also awarded Best World Music Artist at the  Toronto Independent Music Awards.jaffaroad.com


 
MALIKA TIROLIEN 10 pm
Malika Tirolien is fast becoming a new Caribbean star of soul and jazz.  The melodies of his young Antillean artist are enhanced by her mastery of the piano and gospel influences. While inspired by contemporary western music, Tirolein continues to explore the repertoire of her native country, creating a truly innovative style. Malika Tirolien has collaborated with many artists including Gregory Charles, Coral Egan, Nate James and Lara Fabian as well as part of the group Steel Pulse.  malikatirolien.com



JORGE MIGUEL 11 pm
Jorge Miguel’s mission is to offer the flamenco tradition through the fingers, voice and feet of an ensemble committed to its authentic spirit. Jorge Miguel is a Spanish Canadian guitarist and composer from Toronto. His family comes from Cadiz, a city in the flamenco heartland and he has spent much time living and studying there.

About CAPACOA
The Canadian Arts Presenting Association/l'Association canadienne des organismes artistiques (CAPACOA) serves the performing arts touring and presenting community through its commitment to integrate the performing arts into the lives of all Canadians. CAPACOA takes initiative in providing leadership, knowledge, communications, skills development and advocacy on behalf of its members and within the arts presenting community.

CD Release: Gregg Lawless 'Footnote' January 25 2014 in Toronto

From a media release:

From Garbage Heap to Honouring Hands -
Lawless’ ‘Footnote’ CD Coaxes New Music From Recycled & Discarded Instruments

Gregg Lawless CD Release – “Footnote”
with Mark Inneo -- drums (The Tenors), Fergus Marsh -- bass (Bruce Cockburn), David Matheson -- accordion, guitar, B3 (Ron Sexsmith), John Sheard -- piano (Vinyl Cafe)
                       
WHERE: Hugh’s Room, 2261 Dundas St W, Toronto
WHEN: Sat Jan 25th, 2014 - 8:30pm
TIX/INFO: $25 adv / $30   416-531-6604 

• Listen at the link

[Toronto ON]  Thomas Edison once said, ”To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.” Gregg Lawless takes this further with the release of Footnote – an homage to the discarded – at Toronto’s venerable Hugh’s Room, January 25th. 



The title song explores the feelings of rejection you're left with when a relationship ends - that you’re just a footnote in the larger chapter of life. At the same time, Lawless incorporates a passion for seeking out discarded guitars – those homeless, broken and damaged instruments that could be considered nothing but footnotes themselves. He brings them back to life in every sense - repairing them, then showcasing them on his songs – coaxing their old souls to shine through a dusty old tube amp – itself rescued from the garbage.

The tunes on this album, and the treatments Lawless gives them, are as varied and unexpected as the "resurrection" stories of the vintage instruments he plays. Footnote is a tasty smorgasbord of powerful moods and sentiments, incorporating everything from acoustic roots to blues-rock; power pop to country; ragtime to reggae – each song expertly recorded with the help of veteran musicians, including drummer Mark Kelso (Bonnie Raitt, Herbie Hancock), bassists Fergus Marsh (Bruce Cockburn) and Marc Rogers (Norah Jones, Sarah Harmer), Hammond  B3 player Denis Keldie (Etta James, Jeff Healey) and pianist John Sheard (Mary Margaret O’Hara, Ian & Sylvia Tyson), together with vocal assists from Lawless’ cousin Michael. Supported by this crackerjack cast, Lawless works musical magic.

The title track is an unabashedly lovely song, featuring great slide guitar work and a lethally-tender vocal from Lawless, as his guitar gently weeps.

“Piece of Me” is another keeper, with exceptional mandolin and Lawless’ flawless dobro, and those noteworthy backup voices in all the right places. Steve Briggs’ tasteful mandolin solo joins Lawless for a slightly country finish.

“You Ain’t Callin’” is the album’s shining star, showcasing compelling vocals, rich harmonies and phenomenal music – the ring of Lawless’ distinctive, Rickenbacker-like guitar melding with exquisite B3.

A completely irreverent cover of Elvis Presley’s “All Shook Up” – sounding more like Joe Walsh’s “Rocky Mountain Way” than anything swaggering out of Memphis – closes off the record. A barrage of dirty slide guitar meets a fat drumbeat, rich B3 and the gentle coo of backup vocals, making a convincing argument. Brimming with the confidence required to tackle such a sacred classic, this off-hand cheekiness is Lawless’ raison d’etre.

Perhaps it’s Lawless’ small-town roots in Aurora and Grafton that inspired him to not only dream big, but to dream differently. True to his name, Lawless went rogue, making unconventional career choices. For one thing, his musical tours took him far from the bright lights of the big city to rural Ireland and remote regions of Africa. He spent many a summer not playing music festivals, but running songwriting workshops as musical director for Camp Trillium, a camp for children and families affected by childhood cancer.

You can tell from these ten songs that Gregg Lawless is a believer, and no matter what condition we find ourselves in, there is shimmering potential within that can’t be glossed over or denied. Footnote is audible proof of that fact.

Atom Egoyan Directs Mozart's Cosi fan tutte - on Stage to February 21 2014 in Toronto

From a media release:

The Canadian Opera Company:
atom egoyan plays with farce, folly, love and fidelity in coc’s new production of mozart’s così fan tutte
January 18, 24, 29, February 1, 6, 7*, 9, 15, 18, 21, 2014

• Tickets here

Toronto – The Canadian Opera Company opens its 2013/2014 winter season with Così fan tutte (or The School for Lovers), Mozart’s wry comedy about romantic love, fidelity and temptation. Sung in Italian with English SURTITLES™, the COC’s Così fan tutte comes to the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts for 10 performances on January 18, 24, 29, February 1, 6, 7*, 9, 15, 18, 21, 2014.

Renowned Canadian director and filmmaker Atom Egoyan directs and COC Music Director Johannes Debus conducts this new COC production full of farce and folly.  Egoyan’s staging of this popular Mozart opera celebrates the common human experience of joyful, innocent love while also exploring deeper, more private complexities. Taking his inspiration from the opera’s subtitle, The School for Lovers, Egoyan sets the action in an academy where love is examined, dissected and manipulated to illuminate the characters’ struggles with fidelity and temptation. Debus leads the internationally acclaimed COC Orchestra and Chorus through Mozart’s sublime score.  In addition, the sections of recitative in the opera will be accompanied by Debus on piano.

Così fan tutte features an exciting cast of opera’s up-and-coming talent and established stars. Soprano Layla Claire, mezzo-soprano Wallis Giunta, tenor Paul Appleby and bass-baritone Robert Gleadow take on the roles of the four young lovers. World-renowned Canadian soprano Tracy Dahl makes her welcome return to the COC stage, after a 19-year absence, as Despina. One of opera’s most distinguished and sought-after lyric baritones, Sir Thomas Allen, makes his highly anticipated COC debut in the role of Don Alfonso.

Cast as the two sisters entangled in an explicit wager to test their faithfulness are two Canadians, and recent graduates of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Program. Soprano Layla Claire (COC debut), hailed for her interpretation of Mozart in performances across North America and Europe, is Fiordiligi. COC Ensemble Studio graduate Wallis Giunta, praised by the New York Times for her “chocolaty and penetrating mezzo-soprano voice,” is Dorabella.



Singing the roles of the sisters’ fiancés are two of the most exciting young male voices emerging on the world’s leading concert, recital, and opera stages. American tenor Paul Appleby (COC debut), also a recent graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Program, is one of the most inspiring new voices of his generation and sings the role of Ferrando. COC Ensemble graduate bass-baritone Robert Gleadow, who has continued to make his mark on the operatic and concert stages around the world since his graduation from the Jette Parker Young Artists program of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, is Guglielmo. As Despina, soprano Tracy Dahl helps instruct the young women in the ways of love and fidelity. Over the course of her career, Dahl has appeared on the operatic world stages of La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and the Châtelet in Paris, to name a few.

Baritone Sir Thomas Allen is the wily Don Alfonso, instigator of the fidelity-testing scheme. An established star of the great opera houses of the world, Sir Thomas Allen recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of his debut with Royal Opera House Covent Garden, where he has sung no fewer than 50 roles. Equally renowned on the concert stage, he appears in recital in the United Kingdom, throughout Europe, in Australia and United States and has performed with the world’s greatest orchestras and conductors, with many acclaimed recordings to his name.

Award-winning set and costume designer Debra Hanson makes her COC debut with Così fan tutte, drawing inspiration directly from the action of the opera, and tying the opera’s themes to a visual design that is at once period-specific and historically fluid. Michael Walton, whose work has been seen with opera and theatre companies across Canada and the United States, makes his COC debut as the lighting designer.

About Così fan tutte
Often described as Mozart’s most perfect score, Così fan tutte features some of opera’s grandest music for ensembles as well as breathtakingly beautiful arias. Così fan tutte premiered in Vienna in 1790. Due to some critics finding its subject matter too scandalous, the opera was rarely performed in subsequent years and only started to gain in popularity in the middle of the 20th century. It’s now one of the most popular operas across the world.

Così fan tutte was last performed on the COC mainstage in 2006.

*ENSEMBLE STUDIO PERFORMANCE OF COSÌ FAN TUTTE ON FEBRUARY 7, 2014
The exciting young singers of the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio perform the lead roles in their own performance of Così fan tutte on February 7, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the February 7 performance are accessibly priced at $25 or $55.  See ticket purchasing details below.

TICKET INFORMATION
Single tickets for Così fan tutte are $12 – $332 (includes applicable taxes). Tickets are available online at coc.ca, by calling 416-363-8231, or in person at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts Box Office, located at 145 Queen St. W.

For more information on specially priced tickets available to young people under the age of 15, standing room, Opera Under 30 presented by TD Bank Group, student groups and rush seating, visit coc.ca.

Dance in Toronto: 10 New Short Works by Marie-Josée Chartier January 24 & 25 2014

From a media release:

Petites danses
10 new short works by Marie-Josée Chartier
@ the TANK HOUSE THEATRE
Young Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto | Distillery District, Toronto

Friday January 24 and Saturday January 25 2014
Two different programs per night
Menu #1: 7p.m. | Menu #2: 8:30 p.m.

Tickets: $10, or $18 for both menus
cash at the door only ~ no advance sales

TORONTO - How do we see music? How do we hear dance? It is from this premise that Chartier has created a programme of petites danses in response to two specific works by Canadian composers Linda Catlin Smith and John M. Sherlock. This new production brings together a stellar mix of twenty-five performers, two lighting designers and one filmmaker to premiere these works all created by choreographer and director Marie-Josée Chartier.

The audience will experience four choreographic versions to each musical work assembled in two different menu programs.  Smith’s In the high branches will be performed as a quartet of men, a solo, an improvised trio and a duodectet (twelve) of young dancers. Necklace by Sherlock will take life in three short films and one solo dance. Each menu program will present two versions of each musical piece so the audience will witness the other versions in the later performance.  Each program (7pm and 8:30pm) will be complemented by one work choreographed to iconic minimalist musical works Coming together by Frederic Rwreski and I am sitting in a room by Alvin Lucier.

Chartier is intrigued at how we respond, react, compare or are moved by the performance as we become increasingly familiar with the music in the course of an evening.

The performance and creative team include a great mix of artists well known to Toronto audiences: Julia Aplin, Alex Bleim, Tom Brouillette, Cameron Buttrum, Caryn Chappell, Marie-Josée Chartier, Peter Chin, Emilio Colalillo, Peter Earle, Mairéad Filgate, Dayne Hamilton, Nicole Lavergne, Emily Law, Kathleen Legassick, Andrew McCormack, Claudia Moore, Kevin Ormsby, Rebecca Picherak, Michaela Reichenbach, Simon Rossiter, Kassandra Sciacca, Ashley Shimizu, Miko Sobreira, Heidi Strauss, Darryl Tracy, James Trowbridge, Dan Wild and Christopher Willes.

About Marie-Josée Chartier and Chartier Danse
A multi-faceted artist, Marie-Josée Chartier moves easily between the worlds of dance, music, opera and multi-media in the roles of choreographer, performer, director, vocalist or teacher. Her choreographic works have been presented in dance series and festivals in Canada, Europe and Latin America and have been featured on documentary films presented on national television and film festivals. Her choreographic repertoire is greatly influenced by contemporary visual art, music and literature in terms of concept, composition and dynamic structure. In 2003, Marie-Josée Chartier founded Chartier Danse in order to support her creative activities.

Images by Don Dixon & Bill Blackstone
Video from last year's tour of Stria (not one of the petites danses)