Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Toronto, ON – Tangled Art + Disability presents PUSH! Real Athletes. Real Stories. Real Theatre., a stage production that highlights the passion and determination of elite Parasport athletes. PUSH! weaves together the culture and history of Parasport competition with intensely personal stories of six individuals who have accomplished incredible athletic feats, painting a remarkably diverse illustration of what it is to be a world-class athlete. PUSH! will run from August 11 to 14 at the Michael Young Theatre located at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts (50 Tank House Lane, Distillery District) as a part of the Pan Am/Parapan Am Games arts and culture festival, Panamania, presented by CIBC.
“For years, Tangled has been working to establish the significance of disability arts in mainstream spaces,” says Tangled Artistic Director Eliza Chandler. “By presenting PUSH! at this festival celebrating diverse cultures and artistic excellence, Panamania is recognizing the whole of disability culture which includes histories, sports and the arts.”
Set to a live musical score by Toronto-based Latin Percussionist Luis Orbegoso, PUSH! explores triumphs and challenges in both athletic competition and the fight for disability rights, in a still largely inaccessible culture. Written by Ping Chong (Undesirable Elements), Sara Zatz (Associate Director of Ping Chong + Company), and in collaboration with athletes: alpine skier Sarai Demers, swimmer Jenna Lambert, rower Victoria Nolan, sledge hockey goaltender Paul Rosen, multisport athlete Martha Sandoval Gustafson, and equestrian Jody Schloss, PUSH! is one chapter within the larger Undesirable Elements series. An ongoing series of community-specific interview-based theater works, Undesirable Elements examines issues of culture and identity of individuals who are outsiders within the mainstream community. Presented as an interview based theatre piece – a “seated opera for the spoken word” – the script is performed by the interviewees themselves. The show will also feature a media backdrop created by Vancouver-based filmmaker and former extreme athlete, Murray Siple.
“Theatre and sports are both team efforts leading to a common purpose,” says director Ping Chong. “Both can serve to bring communities together and bridge difference. The cast members of PUSH! have amazing stories to tell of triumph over adversity, and I am honoured to create this unique platform for them to share these stories with the audiences of Panamania.”
Rehearsals for PUSH! will take place at Ryerson University, which opened Canada’s first Disability Studies program in 1999. In partnership with Ryerson University PUSH! gives students from the Disabilities Studies program the opportunity to interact with the production and cast from start to finish.
PUSH! is on stage at the Michael Young Theatre at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts (50 Tank House Lane) August 11-14 with a preview of the production on August 10. Nightly performances begin at 7:30 p.m. and the show opens with two sold out performances on August 10 and August 11. A special 2:30 p.m. presentation of the show is available on August 12. The performance is approximately 90 minutes long with no intermission. Tickets are $30 and are available online at tickets.youngcentre.ca.
Website: tangledarts.org
Facebook: Tangled Art + Disability
Twitter: @TangledArtsTO
Hashtag: #Push
About PUSH!:
Venue: Young Centre for the Performing Arts (50 Tank House Lane)
Dates: Aug. 11 to 14; Media and opening night: Aug. 11 and Media: Preview
Tickets: Tickets are $30, available online at tickets.youngcentre.ca.
PUSH! is a Tangled Art + Disability production commissioned and presented by PANAMANIA presented by CIBC and developed in association with Ping Chong + Company, with special thanks to Ryerson University for their support.
About Tangled Art + Disability
Tangled Art + Disability (formerly Abilities Arts Festival) is a registered charitable organization dedicated to the advancement of artists with disabilities, and to enhancing access to arts and culture for all. For over twelve years, Tangled has developed, promoted and presented the work of artists with disabilities to a diverse public through a wide range of performance, media and visual arts events. Our annual festivals have employed hundreds of professional artists with disabilities, welcoming audiences in the tens of thousands and empowering a generation of artists through our youth programming. tangledarts.org.
2015-07-27
Toronto: Tangled Art + Disability presents "PUSH!" August 11-14