Anya M. Wassenberg's Blog: Art & Culture Maven, page 141

Afro-Latino Night at the African Diaspora International Film Festival in New York City December 13, 2013

From a media release:

AFRO-LATINO NIGHT: TANGO NEGRO & CANDOMBE
ADIFF Centerpiece Screening
Friday, December 13, 2013 @ 8:30pm -
Cowin Center, Teachers College

• Q&A after the screening followed by catered reception
• Tickets: $25
• TICKETS HERE

NEW YORK CITY  - The African Diaspora International Film Festival is in full swing in New York City and specially for music lovers, this Friday's Centerpiece Screening looks at the African roots of music we automatically associate with South America.

The African Diaspora International Film Festival NYC continues to December 15, 2013

TANGO NEGRO, AFRICAN ROOTS OF TANGO
US Premiere
Directed by Dom Pedro, 2013, 93 min., France, Documentary , French/Spanish/ English subt.
Tango Negro, African  Roots of Tango by Angolan filmmaker Dom Pedro explores the expression of Tango's Africanness and the contribution of African cultures in the creation of the tango. Tango was a reflection of the social life of the slaves that were taken to South America - including Argentina and Uruguay - mostly from central Africa, particularly from the former Kongo Kingdom. Director Dom Pedro reveals the depth of the footprints of the African music on the tango, through this rich movie combining musical performances and interviews from many tango fans and historians in Latin America and Europe, including the renowned Argentinean pianist Juan Carlos Caceres.

Shown with:CANDOMBE
Directed by Rafael Deugenio, 1993, 16 min., Uruguay, Docu-drama, Spanish/ English subt.
More than two hundred years ago, there was an influx into Uruguay of slaves from Africa who, after being freed, continued to make up the poorest and most marginalized strata in society. Fernado Nunez, a black man, a musician, and a maker of drums, sees himself as the heir to "Candombe", an important social and cultural legacy from his slave forefathers. The official history and culture of Uruguay, on the other hand, which has never acknowledged this contribution to the degree which it deserves, continues to marginalize expressions of black culture. Fernando Nunez and his friends from the Barrio Sur back street quarter of Montevideo have decided to fight to keep these important cultural roots alive in the consciousness of the Uruguayan people.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at New York City Center Dec 4 2013 to Jan 5 2014

From a media release:

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
at New York City Center
featuring 39 different performances
Dec 4, 2013 - Jan 5, 2014
Tickets start at $25

• Performances & Schedules
• Tickets

NEW YORK CITY - The world’s most popular modern dance company is “dancing better than ever” (The New Yorker) and Artistic Director Robert Battle “has injected the company with new life” (The New York Times). This holiday season, Ailey returns with an ambitious array of premieres and repertory favorites. New this year are Wayne McGregor’s sensory feast Chroma, Bill T. Jones’ exhilarating D-Man in the Waters (Part I), Ronald K. Brown’s powerful Four Corners, and LIFT, a world premiere by the audacious Aszure Barton. New productions of Pas de Duke and The River celebrate the extraordinary collaboration between Alvin Ailey and Duke Ellington, and most programs end with Mr. Ailey’s masterpiece, Revelations (performed with live music on select dates).

New this Season:
World premieres from Ronald K. Brown and Aszure Barton, company premieres of the groundbreaking Chroma by Wayne McGregor and and Bessie Award-winning work D-Man in the Waters (Part I) by Bill T. Jones, and two Alvin Ailey/Duke Ellington collaborations.



Returning Favourites:
The season also includes Ohad Naharin’s audience-grabbing Minus 16, Jirí Kylián’s breathtaking Petite Mort, Kyle Abraham's jazzy Another Night, Ronald K. Brown’s fan favorite Grace, the spirit-lifting joy of Revelations, and more.  

Special Programs:
At select performances, enjoy the added thrill of Revelations accompanied by live music, free Q&As with the Ailey dancers, a celebration of dancer Matthew Rushing, and more.

• Can't decide what to see at NY City Center, Dec 4-Jan 5? "Ask Robert Battle" and receive customized recommendations with our interactive webpage: http://ask.alvinailey.org/

OPENING NIGHT GALA
Ailey’s star-studded Opening Night Gala is one of the most spectacular events of the holiday season. All proceeds benefit the creation of new works, scholarships to The Ailey School, and Ailey's educational programs for children.

Program:Chroma C
The groundbreaking British choreographer’s contemporary ballet is full of sensory surprises: sumptuous movement, a driving score by Joby Talbot with orchestrations of songs by the White Stripes, and a luminous set by minimalist architect John Pawson.

Revelations with Live Music
Using African-American spirituals, song-sermons, gospel songs and holy blues, Alvin Ailey’s Revelations fervently explores the places of deepest grief and holiest joy in the soul. More than just a popular dance work, it has become a cultural treasure, beloved by generations of fans. See Revelations with live music at this performance.

Janak Khendry Dance Company Present: John Milton's Paradise Lost December 6 to 8 2013 in Toronto

From a media release:

JANAK KHENDRY DANCE COMPANY
Celebrates 35th Anniversary with World Premiere
dance presentation of one of the greatest works of poetry in the English Language:
John Milton's PARADISE LOST
Choreographed by Janak Khendry
December 6 - 8 2013 at Fleck Dance Theatre as part of Harbourfront Centre's NextSteps

TORONTO - The Janak Khendry Dance Company (JKDC), presents the world premiere of Paradise Lost, transforming the mysteries of this great literary work by John Milton (1608-1674) into the first-ever full-length dance production.

A monumental artistic undertaking, Paradise Lost runs December 6-8 at Harbourfront Centre's Fleck Dance Theatre as part of NextSteps celebrating both John Milton's 413th birthday (Dec. 9, 1608) and JKDC's 35th Anniversary.

Deemed one of the greatest works in the English language, Milton's epic poem is the story of the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

Original music is being created by three prominent composers: Canadian contemporary composer Eric Cadesky (Glass Orchestra) and renowned classical Indian composers Ashit Desai and Alap Desai from Bombay.

Says Khendry, "We intend to illustrate the struggle between God and Satan, between good and evil, the angels and Satan's army, to represent the story of original sin - the story of Adam and Eve - and the role of human beings as pawns in this great saga between Satan and God. Such scenarios are echoed in Indian scriptures including the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads. Juxtapositions of good and evil, and naivety and craftiness, as well as the act of falling from grace, are themes common both to Hinduism and Christianity. In short, audiences will witness a universal 'morality play' in our rendering of Paradise Lost."

Two world renowned Milton scholars are advising Artistic Director and Paradise Lost choreographer Janak Khendry: Mr. Philip Pullman from Oxford, England (author of Northern Lights, known as The Golden Compass in North America, adapted into a film of the same name) and Toronto's Dr. Tulsiram Sharma (whose PHD thesis from the University of London was on Milton's Paradise Lost). Drawing from a pool of distinguished Canadian dancers to play the characters of Paradise Lost, Indian classical and western modern dance styles will be blended to create a new dance vocabulary to present this great masterwork. With Allen Kaeja as SATAN, Eddie Kastrau as ADAM, Kala Vageesan as EVE, Daniel McArthur as GABRIEL, Austin Fagan as MICHAEL, Tyler Gledhill as RAPHAEL, Harikishan S. Nair as SON OF GOD, Mateo Galindo Torres as URIEL and Janak Khendry as GOD, Paradise Lost is poised to become a significant part of Canadian dance heritage.

Additionally, other noteworthy Indo-Canadian dancers assume the roles of angels and Satan's followers: Sinthuja Jeyarajah, Divya Divakaran, Rugsha Sivanandan, Meera Rajah, Keerthika Ravinthiran, Ishwaria Chandru, Harinnya Rajasekeran and Kalaisan Kalaichelvan.

Janak Khendry Dance Company presents the world premiere of Paradise Lost
Concept and Choreography by Janak Khendry
Costume Design by Janak Khendry
Sets and Lighting by Bradley Trenaman
Original Music by Eric Cadesky, Ashit Desai and Alap Desai
Performed by an ensemble of 17 including Austin Fagan, Tyler Gledhill, Allen Kaeja, Eddie Kastrau, Janak Khendry, Daniel McArthur, Harikishan S. Nair, Mateo Galindo Torres, Kala Vageesan

Friday December 6 - Sunday, December 8, 2013
Friday and Saturday at 8pm, Sunday at 3pm

part of Harbourfront Centre's NextSteps series at Fleck Dance Theatre, 207 Queens Quay W., Toronto
Tickets: $28-$36
Harbourfront Centre Box Office: 416-973-4000 OR online at www.jkdanceco.org or www.harbourfrontcentre.com

YeYe Asa Festival: Celebrating African Women feat. Floxy Bee December 7 2013 in New York City

From a media release:

YeYe Asa Festival/NY
Celebrating African women succeeding, changing their culture for the better
Saturday, December 7, 2013 at 8:30pm 
at Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Symphony Space 2537 Broadway at 95th St. New York, NY 10025

NEW YORK CITY - Every year in early December, there is a cultural festival in Ile-Ife Iyanfoworogi, in the heart of Yorubaland. At 2012 festival, Nigerian singer and entertainer FLOXY BEE — a.k.a the Hikosso Queen — became a Chief: the YeYe Asa (Mother of Culture) of Ile-Ife Iyanfoworogi. As it is not possible for her to participate in this year’s festival in Nigeria, it was decided that she would hold a parallel event in New York City. And because the YeYe Asa is a woman, the NY festival would focus on the cultural contributions of African women.

The YeYe Asa Festival/NY will link with participants in Nigeria via video clips and will feature a performance by the YeYe Asa herself, FLOXY BEE, with her band.

It is not easy for a traditional culture to adapt to the modern world. Throughout Africa, traditional roles and values have broken down and women have been particularly vulnerable in the transition. In music, the traditional genres are being replaced with hip hop and Western pop styles, and the spirituality, the other–worldness of African music, is being lost. The YeYe Asa Festival celebrates those African women who struggle to preserve the positive in their culture while adapting to the gender-equal modern world. Who is better than a woman to mother tradition into the modern age?

Tickets are $33 advance, $38 day of show; $30 seniors/students/members, available through the Symphony Space box office: 212-864-5400 or online

Glenfiddich Issues Call for Canadian Artists for the Coveted 2014 Glenfiddich Artists in Residence Prize (Jan 31 2014 Deadline)

From a media release:

Glenfiddich
Issues Call for Canadian Artists to Enter Competition for the Coveted
2014 Glenfiddich Artists in Residence Prize

• To apply and for more information, applicants are asked to visit  www.glenfiddich.com/ca/artistsinresidence

Toronto, November 28, 2013 – Glenfiddich is issuing a Call to Artists currently living and creating art in Canada to enter the internationally renowned competition for the prestigious 2014 Glenfiddich Artists in Residence Prize. The Canadian “Call to Artists” opens today, Thursday November 28, 2013 and closes midnight eastern time, Friday January 31, 2014.

The Canadian winner will be one of only eight artists worldwide to be awarded the art community’s coveted prize to live and work at the Glenfiddich Distillery in Dufftown, Scotland. It’s only fitting that the world’s most awarded single malt Scotch whisky honours distinction. The three-month residency valued at $20,000 per artist represents the Glenfiddich commitment to the pioneering spirit of the arts and the communities it serves. While living in crofts (traditional small Scottish farm houses), artists are encouraged to find inspiration from the unique setting in the Scottish Highlands. The experience provides an opportunity unlike any other for artists to work in an international community, share in a dialogue with other artists and foster cross-disciplinary ideas.

Now in its 12th year internationally and 10th in Canada, the Glenfiddich Artists in Residence Prize attracts nearly 150 submissions across Canada from the visual arts. The prize covers the cost of travel, living expenses and materials throughout the residency. From the submissions, five jury members choose eight finalists and ultimately one winner. 

The distinguished jury for the selection of the Canadian Glenfiddich Artists in Residence Prize includes, Dr. Sara Diamond, president of OCAD University, Gaetane Verna, director of The Power Plant, Kitty Scott, curator of modern and contemporary art at AGO, Julian Sleath, programming manager of special events, economic development & culture at the City of Toronto, and the Canadian 2008 Glenfiddich Artists in Residence Prize recipient, Dave Dyment.

Andy Fairgrieve, curator, Glenfiddich Artists in Residence Prize underscores that, “The program’s ethos is about encouraging people to take inspiration from their experience living at the distillery, whether that be the pioneering heritage of Glenfiddich, the surrounding environment, or the daily life of the distillery and local community, and to be as pioneering as possible – a mission our artists live and breathe during their three-month residency.”

The Glenfiddich Artists in Residence Prize has sponsored over 90 artists globally since its inception in 2002. Daniel Barrow, the 2013 Canadian Glenfiddich Artists in Residence Prize recipient – recognized for his use of obsolete technologies to present written, pictorial and cinematic narratives on the practices of drawing and collecting – has recently completed his three-month residency.

The past Canadian Glenfiddich Artists in Residence Prize winners include: Daniel Barrow 2013, Jillian McDonald 2012, Helen Cho (2011), Damian Moppett (2010), Arabella Campbell (2009), Dave Dyment (2008), Jonathon Kaiser (2007), Annie Pootoogook (2006) and Myfanwy Macleod (2005).

Image - Seven of the eight 2013 Glenfiddich Artists in Residence Prize recipients at the Glenfiddich Distillery in Dufftown, Scotland. Left to right: Daniel Barrow, Canada; Agi Chen, Taiwan; Jungho Oak, Korea; Marie Von Heyl, United Kingdom; Erick Meyenburg, Mexico; Jonathon Ehrenberg, USA; Zhang Yunyao, China. Yuvan Bothysathuvar, India, not pictured

William Grant & Sons Ltd
William Grant & Sons is an independent family-owned distiller founded by William Grant in 1887 and today still controlled by the fifth generation of his family. Named ‘IWSC Distiller of the Year’ in 2012 for the fifth consecutive year, William Grant & Sons distils some of the world’s leading brands of Scotch whisky, including the world’s favourite single malt Glenfiddich®, the handcrafted range of The Balvenie® single malts and one of the world’s best loved blended Scotches, Grant’s®, as well as selected other spirits, including Hendrick’s® Gin, and Sailor Jerry® Spiced Rum and Tullamore Dew®.

Jillian McDonald's Valley of the Deer (2013)

Songs of My Mother: A Celebration of African Women December 7 2013 in Toronto.

From a media release:

Batuki Music Society Presents:
Songs of My Mother: A Celebration of African Women
Saturday December 7th at Daniels Spectrum in Toronto.

TORONTO - Songs of My Mother concert will showcase a stellar diversity of voices featuring Tapa Diarra (Mali), Blandine Mbiya (Democratic Republic of Congo), Ruth Mathiang (South Sudan), Evelyn Mukwedeya (Zimbabwe), Memory Makuri (Zimbabwe) and dancer Mabinty Sylla (Guinea) with a supporting cast of musicians including Diely Mori Tounkara, Kofi Ackah, Adam Solomon, Ebenezer Agyekum, Tichaona Maredza, Ruben Esguerra and Amara Kante.

The first words or language that a child hears from its mother is a song.  This introduction to sound and words through song is a very common element in the bonding process between a mother and her newborn in most African cultures.  This is an intuitive process and it is done for each newborn and the songs are often an affirmation of a mother’s love for her child and also a celebration of motherhood.  Singing is a central element in most African cultures and traditions, and it is often associated with women.  A song is a motivator for a woman as she rises very early in the morning to clean her house and compound, goes to the river to fetch water, or sits down to feed her child.  Most chores such as grinding millet or sorghum, and cooking are usually accompanied by singing.  Singing is also used to celebrate occasions such as having a bountiful harvest, the start of the hunting season, fishing, or initiation ceremonies for young women and men.  There is also singing and dancing when death occurs in the family.

Though singing is not solely done by women in most African societies, it is true that the female voice is ever present and yet is not given a prominent role that it deserves.  Women are often relegated and discouraged from assuming leading roles especially as bandleaders.  Toronto has a good number of African female singers, and some of them lead their own bands and others as vocalists in various groups.  Songs of My Mother shines a light on the rich talent and the diversity of music that these women possess.  We hope it will help to inspire mothers, aunts, grandmothers, daughters, sisters and nieces to stand together and celebrate themselves as a major contributor to the arts and community, a celebration of African Women.

Songs of My Mother – A Celebration of African WomenAda Slaight Hall, Daniels Spectrum585 Dundas St. East, Toronto, M5A 2B7Doors 8 PM, Show 9 PMInfo:  info@batukimusic.comTickets: $15 advance / $20 door - available online at www.batukimusic.com and these locations:African Drum & Art Crafts – 618 Dundas St. W.Hidden Thrifty – 26 Roncesvalles Ave.New Bilan Restaurant – 183 Dundas St. E.Nharo – 543 Danforth Ave.

Royal Conservatory Toronto Presents Rokia Traoré: Beautiful Africa - November 27 2013

From a media release:

Royal Conservatory Toronto Presents: Rokia Traoré - Beautiful Africa
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
8:00 pm - Koerner Hall

Rokia Traoré, vocals & guitar, Fatim Koutayé, vocals, Ruth Goller, bass, Giovanni Ferrario, guitar, Mamah Diabaté, n’goni, Bintou Soumbounou, vocals, Dave de Rose, drums

• Get the album Beautiful Africa here

TORONTO - One of the most inventive female singer-songwriters in Africa today, Rokia Traoré is remarkable not just for the range of her powerful and emotional voice but also for the sheer variety of her work. Recently, she has written three very different sets of music: the acoustic Damou (Dream), the bluesy Donguili (Sing), and the rock-influenced Donke (Dance), in which she set out to show three different aspects of Malian culture and her own personality, and which were all performed at different London venues in one week.  

Rokia Traoré was criticized for not being a griot (from a family of traditional musicians), but a daughter of a diplomat, when she first set out to become a professional musician. Although she had no musical training, she gave up her studies in Brussels to return to Mali to create a new form of music, in which her songs would be backed by her acoustic guitar, along with n’goni and the xylophone-like balaba balafon, two instruments not normally played together in Africa.



Her breakthrough came when she was hailed as the ‘African Discovery’ of 1997 by  Radio France Internationale. In 2003, her album Bowmboï included a collaboration with the Kronos Quartet and was awarded a prestigious BBC Radio 3 World Music Award. Her 2009 album Tchamantché reflected her new fascination with the Gretsch electric guitar, and won a Victoires de la Musique, the French equivalent of a Grammy, as well as a Songlines Artist of the Year Award.

She has twice collaborated with director Peter Sellars, who in 2006 invited her to write and perform a work for his New Crowned Hope project, celebrating the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birthday. Traoré portrayed Mozart as a griot in the time of the 13th century African ruler Soundiata Keita, whose empire was centered in what is now Mali. She has also collaborated with Nobel Prize-winning novelist Toni Morrison and Sellars on the theatre piece Desdemona, bringing an African dimension to the story of Shakespeare's tragic heroine.

Her new release, Beautiful Africa, is an album of the powerful new songs first heard in her Donke project, reminding listeners it was rock music that first inspired Traoré’s remarkable career. The songs are in the West African language of Bambara, as well as French and occasional bursts of English, and the often personal lyrics are concerned with Traoré’s thoughts on her own life, and on her tragically battered homeland. Beautiful Africa was produced by English musician John Parish (PJ Harvey, Eels, Sparklehorse) and recorded at Toybox Studios in Bristol, UK

All artists are making their Royal Conservatory debuts tonight.
Presented in association with Batuki Music and Small World Music.
We are pleased that Gill Deacon, host of Here and Now on CBC Radio 1 will join us live on stage to emcee this performance. Click here to go to www.cbc.ca/toronto

Kaleidoscope Theatre Montreal Presents: None of the Above - November 26 to 30 2013

From a media release:

Kaleidoscope Theatre MONTREAL presents
NONE OF THE ABOVE
Written by Jenny Lyn Bader
Directed by Trevor Barrette & Michelle Lewis

• Tuesday, November 26 – Saturday, November 30, 2013
• Tickets online

Montreal, November 2013 – Kaleidoscope Theatre Montreal is proud to present their third production, the Canadian premiere of Jenny Lyn Bader’s None of the Above, directed by Trevor Barrette and Michelle Lewis. The company’s two successful past productions of the classic plays, Sophocles’ Antigone and William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, were presented at the Casgrain Studio Theatre in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue. They are very excited to be making their work more accessible by bringing None of the Above to Montreal’s MainLine Theatre from November 26th to the 30th. The show features a soundtrack created by Montreal musicians.

Set in present day New York City, Jenny Lyn Bader’s almost romantic comedy is a two-hander battle of the wits that deals with the stresses of student life, issues of entitlement and the assumptions we make about each other. Jamie Silver, 17, is in her final year at Billington, a high-end private school in the Upper East Side. She is a party-going socialite, a small time drug dealer on the side, and her very last priority is doing well on her SATs. Enter Clark, 22, a genius, no-nonsense scholarship kid with big debts, who is hired by Jamie’s father to get her score from an 1800 to a perfect score of 2400 or he sees none of the money. They seem to have very different values and priorities, but they may just have more in common than they think.

Every day we are faced with many pressures - the pressure to do well, to make ends meet, to stay up to date. Things are moving faster and faster with no sign of slowing down. “At its core, this piece is about two things for me: how we learn to trust, and how to play.” says actor Scott Humphrey, who plays Clark. He continues, “When we meet Jamie and Clark, they both feel pressured to work hard in order to succeed, but both have lost their willingness to just ‘play’.” Jenny Lyn Bader’s piece presents two characters who are faced with these issues and who learn how to overcome them together.

“One issue that we can all relate to is the growing gap between rich and poor.” says co-director Michelle Lewis. “The two characters in this play are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Jamie comes from a background where up until recently money was just something she always had. To Clark, money is something he's had to fight and work for; while he watched others throw it away. Whether we identify personally with either of their situations, the concepts of entitlement and the disparity between the richest and poorest is on the world's mind right now. If someone walks away from the play thinking they should be a little less quick to judge someone from a different background, social class, or whatever the case may be, then the play has done its job.”

For Lily Maclean, who plays Jamie, None of the Above’s relevance revolves around the way the characters experience pain together, boosted by the line in the play, ‘Pain is not quantifiable’.  She explains, “The play teaches us very simply that our pain cannot be greater or lesser than another's, but it can be an aid to helping us understand other people's pain, healing it, and through this, our pain gets better too.”

The text is witty and engaging. The plot is surprising and original. “The whole play is one big game,” says None of the Above co-director and Kaleidoscope Theatre Montreal founder, Trevor Barrette. “There are rules of course, but they are hard to catch since the characters are always breaking them. That is what draws me to the play. Jamie and Clark are constantly testing each other as they fight to break out of the mold they have been forced into their entire lives. Both are searching for something more meaningful in themselves.”

As part of Kaleidoscope Theatre Montreal’s mission to work with emerging and young professional artists in the community, the play features a soundtrack created solely by Montreal musicians. These contributing artists are taking the Montreal music scene by storm with performances at the Montreal Fringe Festival, Pop Montreal, M for Montreal and features on MuchMusic. Artists collaborating on the project include: Bent by Elephants, (www.bentbyelephants.com/blog/) Wind & the Wild (windandthewild.bandcamp.com), Shaharah Sinclair (www.shaharah.com), TEA (teaband.bandcamp.com/album/tea), Emily Skahan of Motel Raphael (emilyskahan.bandcamp.com), The JEM (www.thejemband.com), Jesse MacCormak (MAK) (listentomak.com/), Sarah Segal-Lazar (www.sarahsl.com) and others.

The cast and crew of None of the Above are looking forward to sharing the production with the student community, who are faced with many of the same issues as the play's main characters.  Graduating high school students, as well as college and university students will be quite familiar with the pressures of living up to the expectations of others, balancing their social and academic lives, and throughout it all, trying to keep some money in their pockets. The company is offering great rates for student groups, a Q&A period after certain shows, as well as visits to high schools to talk to students about the pressures of getting into the right schools, growing up and finding a way to do what it is you truly want to do.

META- nominated (Montreal English Theatre Awards) actress and member of Title 66 Productions, Lily MacLean will be taking on the role of the vivacious Jamie Silver who keeps the genius Clark on his toes. Clark will be played by Concordia University graduate Scott Humphrey. The production also features costume and set design by Kelly O’Toole and lighting design by Alex Smith.

None of the Above
Kaleidoscope Theatre Montreal
At MainLine Theatre, 3997 St-Laurent, Nov. 26-30 – 7 shows only!
Tuesday to Saturday at 8:00 pm, Tuesday and Saturday matinee at 2:00pm
Tickets for the preview, Tues. Nov. 26 at 2pm, are $12
Tickets for Saturday matinee, Nov. 30 at 2pm are 2-for-1 (at the door only)
Tickets: $20, $15 (students/seniors), $12 (groups)
Reservations:  514 849-3378 or online

Optic Heart Theatre Toronto Presents Hugh Baugh's The Girl in the Picture Tries to Hang Up the Phone Nov 27 to Dec 8 2013

From a media release:

Optic Heart Theatre presents
Hume Baugh’s searingly honest, and celebratory one-person show
THE GIRL IN THE PICTURE TRIES TO HANG UP THE PHONE
at Videofag (Toronto)
Nov 27 – Dec 8, 2013

• Tickets
  
TORONTO - Optic Heart Theatre presents Hume Baugh’s searingly honest, and celebratory one-person show THE GIRL IN THE PICTURE TRIES TO HANG UP THE PHONE - an intimate account of his mother’s remarkable life and the complexity of his relationship to the woman who bore and raised him. THE GIRL IN THE PICTURE TRIES TO HANG UP THE PHONE plays in the studio at Videofag in Kensington Market for 10 performances only from Nov 27 – Dec 8, 2013. Tickets are available online via EventBrite at thegirlinthepicture.eventbrite.ca or by cash sale only at the door. Seating is very limited.
 
Long before she died, my mother disappeared.
Inside herself. Into a fog of alcohol…
What is it like to grow up as the son of a dynamic, successful, charismatic alcoholic? And after her death, to try to find her, to see her whole - perhaps for the first time - through the tangled labyrinths of story and memory? Part remembrance, part exorcism, part investigation, part celebration, this one-person show chronicles a man’s struggle to understand his mother’s life and death. Intimate, honest, and finally redemptive, it is a testament to the power of love between a mother and son.  THE GIRL IN THE PICTURE TRIES TO HANG UP THE PHONE asks us to honestly examine what we think love is, and to imagine loving better.

First workshopped in 2006 at Rhubarb! and Buddies in Bad Times, and in 2007 at HATCH at the Harbourfront Centre, THE GIRL IN THE PICTURE TRIES TO HANG UP THE PHONE has toured across the country to great acclaim. Most recently it was showcased as part of the 2013 Theatre Kingston season. The performances at Videofag in November-December mark the first Toronto run of the fully-realized production.

Hume’s recent Toronto appearances include Dinner at Seven-Thirty (Theatre Rusticle), The Taming Of The Shrew and Macbeth (Canadian Stage), and The Charge Of the Expormidable Moose  (One Little Goat). He is the author of Crush, which was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award in 2012. THE GIRL IN THE PICTURE TRIES TO HANG UP THE PHONE is directed and dramaturged by Siminovitch Prize nominee Mark Cassidy (for Threshold Theatre: Change Room at the Toronto Fringe; Allistonian Brockvillian Dionysian at Q Space; Kafka & Son, European tour including The Hague, Prague, Budapest and Leeds, U.K.)

THE GIRL IN THE PICTURE TRIES TO HANG UP THE PHONE:
Videofag (187 Augusta Ave, Kensington Market, Toronto)
November 27 – December 8, 2013
(Opening Night Wednesday Nov 27)
(Tues-Sat @ 8pm, Sun @2:30pm)
Note there will be NO SHOW on Friday 29 November.
Tickets: $20 each
Sun Dec 1 Matinee is PWYC at the door (or $15 to reserve in advance online) via EventBrite at thegirlinthepicture.eventbrite.ca or by CASH SALE ONLY at the door

NFB Documentary Bad Coyote Screens at Planet in Focus Film Festival - November 24 2013 in Toronto

From a media release:

NFB DOCUMENTARY BAD COYOTE SCREENS AT PLANET IN FOCUS
Directed by Jason Young

Toronto ― The National Film Board of Canada selection at the 14th Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival in Toronto (November 21–24) will include Jason Young’s documentary Bad Coyote, on the controversy surrounding a new hybrid species of wolf and coyote. The film is an incisive look at the politics—and the price—of living and playing close to nature.

Bad Coyote
Written and directed by Jason Young and produced by Paul McNeill for NFB Atlantic Centre in Halifax, Bad Coyote looks at a hybrid type of coyote, thought to be part wolf, which has migrated to Eastern Canada. After a deadly mauling in Cape Breton, said to be the first such fatal attack against an adult human, alarm spreads across Nova Scotia. Trappers, scientists, sheep farmers and the mother of the 19-year-old victim, Taylor Mitchell, weigh in. Increasing media coverage and reports of coyote attacks and sightings prompt the provincial government to issue a controversial bounty for dead coyotes. To some, the only good coyote is a dead one. But others call for a more measured approach, seeking mutual respect between humans and animals.

• Bad Coyote is screening November 24 at 2:10 pm at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, Cinema 1.
• Check out the Planet in Focus Film Festival Here