Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Toronto, ON… For 27 years, Nightwood Theatre’s Groundswell Festival has been bringing audiences provocative new works by women. Re-envisioned in 2012 as The New Groundswell Festival – A National Festival of Contemporary Women’s Theatre, the Festival takes place over 10 days starting on March 15th. It will feature two National shows including Adam’s Rib (La Memoire Du Corps) a devised piece by Odelah Creations, Montreal headed by the dynamic multidisciplinary team of Arianna Bardesono and Christine Khalifah as well as the multi Merritt Award winning God’s Middle Name by Jennifer Overton of In Good Company, Halifax. Nightwood is also pleased to present a workshop production of Who Killed Snow White? a new play by acclaimed Canadian playwright Judith Thompson.In addition, the Festival will feature Special Events, including an exciting masterclass with award-winning theatre artist and novelist Carmen Aguirre, as well as provocative dialogues and public readings of new work by Mary Vingoe, Susanna Fournier, Suvendrini Lena and Carmen Aguirre. Nestled midway through the Festival is Nightwood’s annual International Women’s Day celebration FemCab - this is the first time that Groundswell and FemCab will collide! The New Groundswell Festival performances take place at the Berkeley Street Theatre Upstairs with the Special Events occurring in Nightwood’s Studio in the Historic Distillery District.
The New Groundswell Festival focuses on female playwrights, and seeks to raise the bar in play creation, investing time and resources to explore work in development via production, while aiming to increase the dissemination of women’s work across the country, where female playwrights constitute only 29% of plays produced in Canada.
Nightwood’s historic Groundswell Festival is a nationally recognized forum for the production, creation and development of theatre bywomen. The festival boasts impressive alumnae including Morwyn Brebner, Marjorie Chan, Claudia Dey, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Sonja Mills and Djanet Sears, Jordi Mand and Lisa Codrington. The strength of these voices reflects Nightwood Theatre’s ongoing commitment to the development of artistic excellence among Canadian women theatre artists. We are proud to invite you to join us for The New Groundswell Festival – A National Festival of Contemporary Women’s Theatre.
The New Groundswell Festival - A National Festival of Contemporary Women’s Theatre
March 15 – March 24, 2013
The Berkeley Street Theatre Upstairs & Tapestry/Nightwood New Works Studio
Who Killed Snow White? By Judith Thompson – Nightwood Theatre, Toronto, ON
Directed by Kelly Thornton
Featuring Cynthia Ashperger, Matthew Gouveia, Carolyn Hetherington, Kate Maguire
Three generations of women collide when faced with their own ideas of good, evil and happily ever after. Judith Thompson tackles feminism and gender issues head on in this gritty new play.
Judith Thompson
Judith Thompson is one of Canada’s most highly regarded playwrights. A graduate of Queen’s University with a B.A. in English (1976), and of the National Theatre School of Canada ‘s acting section (1979), she worked only briefly as an actor before beginning to write. She has twice won the Governor General’s Award for White Biting Dog (1984) and the anthology The Other Side of the Dark (1989); and the Chalmers Award for I am Yours (1987) and Lion in the Streets (1991). Sled (1997), Perfect Pie (2000), and Capture Me (2004) all premiered at the Tarragon Theatre (all directed by Judith Thompson). In 2008 the Canadian Stage Company premiered Palace of the End (dir.David Storch) on its Berkeley Street stage. Such Creatures (dir. Brian Quirt) premiered at Theatre Passe Muraille in 2010, thirty years after her first play in Passe Muraille’s second space, The Crackwalker. Judith Thompson has written many radio plays, including Tornado (1987), which won the ACTRA award for Best Radio Drama, and White Sand (1991). In 2007 she was awarded the Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts. In 2008 she was awarded the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for Palace of the End. Thompson most recently created, directed and produced the acclaimed show Rare at the Young Centre for the PerformingArts. Judith is currently playwright-in-residence for Nightwood Theatre.
Adam’s Rib (La Mémoire Du Corps/ Body Memory) a devised piece by Odelah Creations,Montreal
Directed by Arianna Bardesono
Assistant Director: Christine Khalifah
Stage Manager: Isabel Faia
Performers: Francesca Barcenas, Christine Khalifah, Aurelie Pedron
Video Artist: Aurelie Pedron
Set Designer: Diana Uribe
Costumes: Francesca Novati
Sound: Diane Labrosse
Lights: Audrey-Anne Bouchard
Texts: Carolyn Guillet, Francesca Barcenas, Christine Khalifah and Arianna Bardesono
Adam’s Rib (La Memoire du Corps/ Body Memory) delves into the life, body and psyche of a modern day Eve as she tries to understand herself in aworld that wants to define her. A live painting ridden with evocative imagesmixes drama, dance and live projections.
Arianna Bardesono
A native of Italy, Arianna is a graduate of the directing program at the National Theatre School of Canada. She has been directing in Montréal (Théâtre de Quat’Sous; Repercussion Theatre; Infinitheatre; Teesri Duniya), Toronto (Theatre Passe Muraille), Mexico (Cuatro Milpas Teatro) and Italy, where she founded the Art Ensemble Grol de le Strie. As a performer, Arianna has trained in Milan, London and Paris, under the inspiring guidance of such teachers as Ariane Mnouchkine and Philippe Gaulier. As a puppeteer she has toured internationally with Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia. She is the founder of the Montréal-based Theatre Company Odelah Créations.
Christine Khalifah
Christine graduated from the Acting program of the National Theatre School of Canada and works in both French and English. Some of her recent theatre credits include: 9 Parts of Desire, by Heather Raffo (Seventh Stage Theatre); Ties, an original creation by Odelah Creations (Centaur Theatre 2010 Wildside Festival); Rahul Varma’s Truth and Treason (Teesri Duniya); 2.5 Breaths, a collective creation On a Wire (2008 Toronto SummerWorks Festival); David Gow’s Relative Good (Centaur Theatre) and Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman’s Cindy… A Perfect Circle (The National Theatre School of Canada). In 2009, she co-founded Odelah Creations with director Arianna Bardesono. Film/TV credits include: Denis Villeneuve’s film Incendies and television show Les hauts et les bas deSophie Paquin. Christine also holds a B.A. in Liberal Arts and Communication Studies from Concordia University.
God’s Middle Name by Jennifer Overton – In Good Company, Halifax, NS
Directed by Scott Burke
Featuring Jennifer Overton, Christian Murray
Designed by Denyse Karn
Lighting by Bruce MacLennan
Sound Design by Michael Doherty
God’s Middle Name is a vivid and honest portrait of one mother’s journey through the uncharted territory of raising an autistic child.
“…it was an absolutely unique theatrical experience…an extraordinary accomplishment.” Antigonish Arts
God’s Middle Name was showcased for three performances at Eastern Front Theatre’s On the Waterfront Festival. In March 2007, the play won the Theatre Nova Scotia Merritt Award for Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Production, and toured to the prestigious Magnetic North Festival in June 2007, as well as a Nova Scotia tour and National tour in 2007-08.
Jennifer Overton
Jennifer Overton is an actor, educator and writer living in Halifax. Her professional acting credits span thirty years with major roles in theatre, television, and film. She holds an M.F.A. in Theatre Performance from York University, and spent ten years on faculty in the Acting Program in the Theatre Department at Dalhousie University. Her initial writings about the challenges and joys of life with her autistic son aired to great acclaim on CBC Radio’s First Person Singular series. The success of these reflections has brought her publication in magazines and journals as well as her first book, Snapshots of Autism: A Family Album (2003, Jessica Kingsley pub.) Her award-winning play about her journey to acceptance of her son’s autism, God’s Middle Name (Scirocco Drama pub), enjoyed a very successful Canadian national tour, and it earned Jennifer the 2007 Robert G. Merritt Award for Outstanding New Play and the award for Outstanding Production for In Good Company Theatre, as well as being twice shortlisted for the prestigious Lieutenant Governor’s Masterworks Award. Jennifer’s play about autism aimed at school audiences, Spelling 2-5-5, premiered at Carousel Players in March 2012 and toured to Eastern Front Theatre's SuperNova Festival. It will receive its American premiere at Children's Theatre of North Carolina in September. She and husband David Overton’s one person theatre piece, My Titanic, about her experience working on the blockbuster film, premiered at the SuperNova Festival in Halifax in May 2011. Jennifer was a contributing writer on the CBC Radio drama Backbencher.
ABOUT NIGHTWOOD THEATRE
Nightwood Theatre – Artistic Director Kelly Thornton, Managing Director Denyse Karn and Chair Karon Bales.
As Canada’s national women’s theatre since 1979, Nightwood has launched the careers of many of the leading theatre artists in the country. We have won Canada’s highest literary and performing arts awards and more than ever our success proves the need for theatre that gives voice to women and celebrates the diversity of Canadian society. We remain actively engaged inmentoring young women and promoting women’s place on the local, national and international stage.
The New Groundswell Festival Details
DATES: March 15 – March 24, 2013
SHOW TIMES: Who Killed Snow White?: Friday March 15, 8pm; Saturday March 16, 8pm; Tuesday March 19, 8pm, Berkeley Street Theatre Upstairs
Adam’s Rib (La Mémoire Du Corps/ Body Memory): Thursday March 21, 8pm; Friday March 22, 8pm; Saturday March 23, 8pm, Berkeley Street Theatre Upstairs
God’s Middle Name: Sunday March 17, 8pm; Monday March 18, 8pm; Sunday March 24, 8pm, Berkeley Street Theatre Upstairs
INDUSTRY SERIES: PUBLIC AND INDUSTRY PROGRAMMING:
FemCab 2013: Wednesday, March 20, 8pm, Berkeley Street Theatre Upstairs, $15 until March 1, $25 after March 1
IN CONVERSATION:
With Mary Vingoe: Friday March 22, 7pm, Berkeley Street Theatre Upstairs, PWYC
With Carmen Aguirre: Saturday March 23, 7pm, Berkeley Street Theatre Upstairs, PWYC
SOLO SHOW MASTERCLASS with Carmen Aguirre: Saturday March 23, 11 – 5 pm, Nightwood Studio, *registration required (presented in partnership with Alameda Theatre Company)
READINGS:
The Enchanted Loom by Suvendrini Lena: Saturday, March 16, 5pm, Nightwood Studio, PWYC
Four Sisters by Susanna Fournier: Tuesday, March 19, 5pm, Nightwood Studio, PWYC
Refuge by Mary Vingoe: Thursday, March 21, 5pm, Nightwood Studio, PWYC
The Trial of Tina Modotti by Carmen Aguirre: Friday, March 22, 5pm, Nightwood Studio, PWYC *presented in partnership with Alameda Theatre Company
Write From The Hip - The Flood (Leah-Simone Bowen) &Bejide (Clara Pasieka): Friday, March 22, 5pm, Nightwood Studio, PWYC
TICKETS: Single tickets on sale now: $15.00
Tickets available by calling The Berkeley Street box
office at 416.368.3110
Twitter handle @nightwoodtheat, hashtag #Groundswell
Photo: Sterling Jarvis. ©2013 Adam Rankin.
2013-02-20
Toronto: Nightwood Theatre announces programming for the New Groundswell Festival March 15-24