Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Toronto, ON – Canadian Stage’s popular Shakespeare in High Park double bill closed on August 30, marking another successful summer of repertory theatre under the stars with productions of As You Like It and Titus Andronicus. More than 26,000 audience members visited the High Park Amphitheatre this summer.
Canadian Stage also announced today that the 2015.16 High Park season will feature a pair of Roman plays: the always funny Comedy of Errors coupled with the tragedy of Julius Caesar. The company’s collaboration with the Department of Theatre at York University continues with Master of Fine Arts candidates Matjash Mrozewski (an internationally recognized choreographer who trained at the National Ballet School) and Estelle Shook (former artistic director of the Caravan Farm Theatre and 2011 director of The Winter’s Tale at Shakespeare in High Park for Canadian Stage) directing the productions.
“This summer’s double bill in High Park hit the perfect balance of comedy and tragedy. Our productions had audiences coming back for more (and many, more than once), delighting countless families and guests and sparking important conversations,” said Matthew Jocelyn, artistic & general director, Canadian Stage.
The 2014 details at a glance:
•Of the 57 scheduled performances, four were cancelled due to rain. The average temperature at show time was 21.8 C, bringing unseasonably cooler nights in the park.
•An average of 21 planes flew overhead per performance with 27 planes counted on one night, marking a significant increase in air-traffic above the hill.
•Canadian Stage hosted a series of popular events this summer: four Youth Nights for audiences under age 16; five backstage tours; three workshop collaborations with the Design Exchange and DARE Arts; two pre-show violin performances; and many audiences came early to watch the company run pre-show fight rehearsals for Titus Andronicus.
•Over a 10-year average, box office revenues for this pay-what-you-can experience have grown by 20 per cent, marking this year’s productions as the second highest grossing High Park season (after last year’s record-breaking productions of Macbeth and The Taming of the Shrew).
•On average, 500 patrons attended per night and theatre-goers continued to take advantage of the option to reserve seats in advance by making a contribution with debit or credit, online or contributing in person at the gate.
•50 per cent more ticket subscriptions to Canadian Stage’s 2014.15 theatre season were sold on-site this year than last via a satellite box office.
“Next year, we look forward to continuing to excite audiences with two dramatically different shows, directed by the MFA candidates who are completing their final year in York University’s Graduate Program in Stage Direction in Collaboration with Canadian Stage,” continued Jocelyn. “Estelle will bring Julius Caesar to life for the first time in High Park, and Matjash will put his own unique twist on The Comedy of Errors, last presented as part of our 2006.07 season. We can’t wait to share another magical summer in the park.”
Casting details for next year’s Shakespeare in High Park productions will be announced in the coming months.
Canadian Stage opens the 2014.15 theatre season at the Bluma Appel Theatre with the critic and audience favourite Kiss & Cry, a production from Belgium created by choreographer Michèle Anne De Mey and filmmaker Jaco Van Dormael (Caméra d’Or, Cannes Film Festival). Two hands (one male, one female), filmed live in close-up, portray a pair of lovers as they dance around a set of miniature landscapes in a sumptuous mélange of film, dance, poetry and theatre.
Facebook: Canadian Stage
Twitter: @CanadianStage; #CS1415; #SiHP
Images: https://www.canadianstage.com/online/asyouphotos and https://www.canadianstage.com/online/titusphotos
Shows and Tickets:
2014.15 Subscriptions are now on sale with 4-show packages starting from $114, 6-show packages starting from $168 and full-season 14-show packages starting from $384. Subscriptions and tickets may be purchased by phone at 416.368.3110 or in-person at the Canadian Stage Box Office: Bluma Appel Theatre (27 Front Street East) or Berkeley Street Theatre (26 Berkeley Street). Full details on the productions, casting and subscription packages are available online at www.canadianstage.com.
Photo: Cast of Titus Andronicus. ©2014 David Hou.
2014-09-09
Toronto: Populatity of Canadian Stage's Shakespeare in High Park grows