If, as so many people say, theatre has become irrelevant (and I don't think it has; I think it's relevance has gone underground during the tornado of triviality that has swept through the last 25 years) it may be because theatre artists, in the desperate need to simply survive, have lost an awareness of the… Continue reading Talking Point
My First Impressions of Vancouver – by Guest Blogger Jessica Ruano
In the line-up for Sandra Oh's Celebrity Speakers appearance at Magnetic North the other week, I bumped into Emma Lancaster, the Festival's wonderful and hardworking publicist. "Hey Simon", she says to me while indicating the young lady she was talking to, "you should meet Jessica, you're both theatre bloggers." As if on cue, we both… Continue reading My First Impressions of Vancouver – by Guest Blogger Jessica Ruano
This One Goes to Eleven: Laura Efron
The key to the success of our industry, in my opinion, is dedicated and impassioned arts administrators. Laura has been a soldier in that cause for years now, and I'm thrilled to welcome her to TOGtE. She has worked with many Vancouver arts orgs, among them See Seven, the Jessie Richardson Awards Society, Pacific Theatre… Continue reading This One Goes to Eleven: Laura Efron
Well, that was fun. What’s next?
And so the (finally) sunny West Coast bids a fond adieu to Mag North (or 'Canada's National Festival of Contemporary Canadian Theatre in English' for long. Canafestconcanatheng? Seriously guys, nothing snappier jumps to mind?). Traditionally with me the close of a run portends a short bout of postpartum, so I suppose I'll be dealing with… Continue reading Well, that was fun. What’s next?
Fringe Marketing
With Mag North behind us, our festival thoughts turn towards the country's un-juried festival circuit: the Fringe is on its way. We'll be taking a look at Canada's other Fringes in anticipation of our own on in September, and looking for some advance on shows to watch out for. The Montreal Fringe is in full… Continue reading Fringe Marketing
No sets please, we’re Canadian.
When we talk about the value of theatre (and we do here in the theatrosphere, a lot), the heart of these conversations usually lands somewhere around the word 'experience'. As in: what experience does the theatre offer its patrons and practitioners that no other art form can provide? Ask this question of most theatre-makers and… Continue reading No sets please, we’re Canadian.
Talking Point
Theatre is everywhere. Theatre is that weird and wonderful conversation you overhear in a bar, the ugly argument you catch walking by an apartment window, the rope's-end meltdown you witness on the walk to work. We give money to theatre artists to see what happens next. Simon Ogden
This One Goes to Eleven: John Cassini
One of the great success stories of the Vancouver acting world, John started down his career path at Simon Fraser University, moving on from there to New York to study and work in theatre. He is a lifetime member of The Actors Studio. Returning to Vancouver, John helped found the storied Gastown Actor's Studio and… Continue reading This One Goes to Eleven: John Cassini
Nepotism Alive and Well in Ontario Public Arts Funding
Praxis Theatre Co-Artistic Director Michael Wheeler leaps out of the comments section of his company's blog and onto the front page with a lacerating and in-depth exposé of the Ontario government's biased financial support of the brand-spanking-new Luminato 'Arts and Creativity' Festival in Toronto. As if being an independent artist wasn't hard enough without bureaucrats… Continue reading Nepotism Alive and Well in Ontario Public Arts Funding
What do You Want From Your Critics?
There's been a lot of discussion about critics and their place in our theatre scene around here lately. Established critics are reaching out, new critics are popping up, and so I think the time is ripe to hear from you about what exactly it is that you expect when you take in a review. I'll… Continue reading What do You Want From Your Critics?
The Punks of the Industry
Resolved: In the interest of its proliferation and popularization, Canadian theatre needs more creative marketing solutions. Magnetic North kicks off its Industry Series tomorrow at 1 pm with a keynote address delivered by - wait for it - a real, live marketer! Richard Laermer is CEO of the New York marketing firm RLM PR and… Continue reading The Punks of the Industry
d’bi.young on Theatre and Service
As of today there are three more chances to catch d'bi.young.anitafrika's 'one-womban' play blood.claat at Mag North. Here's what's so great about d'bi: she works the way an artist should work (a lot), and she talks the way an artist should talk... I am becoming less pre-occupied with being served by the former definition of… Continue reading d’bi.young on Theatre and Service
Listen to Your Elders
Rebecca over at GreyZelda Land unearthed this story about the unearthing of a code for being a healthy member of a theatre company, a code inscribed on yellowing paper buried in the personal papers of a deceased actor and found by the executrix of her estate in 2001. You may recognize the actor in question.… Continue reading Listen to Your Elders
The Buzz is Back: HIVE 2 Sweetens Mag North
In November of 2006, 11 of our most progressive indie theatre companies joined forces to present Vancouver with the maiden version of HIVE in a retrofitted chapel in the downtown Eastside. And something in our theatre world shifted. Hailed by Colin Thomas as "the stuff of legend", and by me as the very future of… Continue reading The Buzz is Back: HIVE 2 Sweetens Mag North
This One Goes to Eleven: Britt Small
vaudeville (n) [vawd-vil]: a theatrical piece of light or amusing character, interspersed with songs and dances. Atomic Vaudeville: Vaudeville reconceived for the present age attempting to reach out to an audience that is ready for a live, entertaining and relevant theatrical art form. (From the company web site.) In 2004 Victoria-based actor/director Britt Small, together… Continue reading This One Goes to Eleven: Britt Small
Simon Ogden 