Month: March 2009

This one goes to eleven: Bill Marchant

Simon Ogden8 Comments

Actor, Educator, Playwright, Poet, Songwriter...components of the sum of the Artist. Bill is the head of the acting department of the Vancouver Film School, and the premiere run of his new play Ashes just ended at the Firehall. It received the first honest standing ovation I have given a play in a long time. His… Continue reading This one goes to eleven: Bill Marchant

This one goes to eleven: Heidi Taylor

Simon Ogden1 Comment

I met Heidi for the first time a short while ago while she was in rehearsal for the play she just finished directing, and was immediately struck by her passion and directness on the topic of our independent theatre scene. She's completely immersed in it, as an actor, a director and as a Dramaturg; Heidi… Continue reading This one goes to eleven: Heidi Taylor

Celebrating World Theatre Day in my little corner of the planet

Simon Ogden2 Comments

This coming Friday, March 27, theatre artists the world over will spend part of their day acknowledging and honouring the larger community of the art form they share in. Designated "World Theatre Day" by the International Theatre Institute, this a marvelous opportunity for us to celebrate together an art form and a way of life… Continue reading Celebrating World Theatre Day in my little corner of the planet

The Real Thing: Stoppard’s cricket bat incites to write

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It's amazing to me how few still-composing A-list playwrights there are out there with work in heavy rotation. The Big Guns - the few that we waggish theatre-types gush about to each other about over the good glassware - seem to move in trend cycles through the Canadian stages and kind of define the period;… Continue reading The Real Thing: Stoppard’s cricket bat incites to write

Game day! 2 tickets to ‘Ashes’ up for grabs!

Simon Ogden2 Comments

Buzz is quickly building around the premiere of beloved local playwright Bill Marchant's new play Ashes, playing at the Firehall, and to keep it buzzing the producing team has made available a pair of tickets to give away to one lucky The Next Stage reader! Ready for it? Here we go... To claim your prize,… Continue reading Game day! 2 tickets to ‘Ashes’ up for grabs!

A lack of diversity on our stages, you say?

Simon Ogden2 Comments

There's been a lot of fantastic conversation here on the internets of late concerning the visible lack of cultural diversity in the theatre of our fair city. Basically the question was raised of why the traffic of our stages doesn't mirror the traffic in an average Skytrain car, and the back-and-forth on it has been… Continue reading A lack of diversity on our stages, you say?

This one goes to eleven: Jill Perry

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The Stage Manager: long the un-sung hero of the theatre. And it's time someone did some singing. Technical expertise, a will to get everything little thing perfect every single night, a precise eye for detail and the patience of Job are the requirements for this position, and we couldn't live without them. We have a… Continue reading This one goes to eleven: Jill Perry

The Return of the Blogfather

Simon Ogden2 Comments

Good news, everyone. Canada's primogenial theatre blogger Ian Mackenzie has migrated his ground-breaking blog Theatre is Territory to a new corner of the internets, and re-launched with typically discussion-provoking content. Click here to absorb and subscribe to Theatre is Territory 3.0 Good news Part II: The old URL has not been forsaken, Praxis Theatre co-ADs… Continue reading The Return of the Blogfather