Stage Door News
Stage Door News
The 2016 US Presidential race has captivated the world’s attention. And by that we mean our attention is being held captive by media outlets’ non-stop coverage. Like the Hindenburg crashing into a circus, these campaigns have been horrifying and ugly, yet an entertaining distraction. Not a day passes where one of the two candidates (but let’s be honest, mostly Trump) have not been ensnared in another scandal. Whether it’s Hilary’s emails or leaked tapes of The Donald bragging about sexual assaulting women, the media coverage has been endless. And this has been at the expense of proper news coverage.
With Wrecking Ball #21, we decided to continue the conversation, or rather, start the more important conversations. We have invited the country’s best artists to address the issues that went ignored in 2016 by media outlets overly fascinated with the Presidential race between Secretary Hillary Clinton and a giant Turkey with a toupee. Which issues were invisible to the general public? Which issues did we collectively choose to ignore? Which issues were we distracted from even noticing?
Over the past two years, under a new generation of leadership, the Wrecking Ball has shifted its focus, presenting new work by not only esteemed playwrights from across the country, but also by comedians, dancers, storytellers, musicians, and performance artists of all kinds.
There is also an opportunity for you to have your say with “Time Bomb”! This new initiative gives individual WB audience members the spotlight for exactly 30 seconds to have their say on the issues, the performances, or just something they wanted to get off their chest.
Wrecking Ball #21 will feature:
Leah Simone Bowen (The Postman, Panamania)
Martha Chaves (Just For Laughs)
Jenna Harris (Mine, Next Stage Theatre Festival)
Graham Isador (RISK! Podcast)
Shaista Latiff (Graceful Rebellions, SummerWorks)
Jessie LaVercombe (Love Me Forever Billie H. Tender)
Miquelon Rodriguez (Cowboy Versus Samurai, Soulpepper)
And more!
With Wrecking Ball #21, we are once again going national. With simultaneous events also taking place in Ottawa and Vancouver, a selection of Canada’s most relevant and daring performance artists will have one week to create a piece, and one additional week to rehearse works connected to the spectacle that is the US Presidential Elections.
On the occasion of the previous three Canadian Federal elections The Wrecking Ball also went national; with ‘Wrecking Balls’ hosted by theatre artists in most major cities across the country. In 2008, 2011, and 2015 these pan-Canadian dramatic responses to our politics garnered widespread national media attention. The Wrecking Ball is no longer a Toronto phenomenon, but an autonomous theatrical movement joined by a desire to explore current political questions, issues, desires and dreams upon the stage.
Founded by director Ross Manson and playwright Jason Sherman in 2003, The Wrecking Ball has been the premiere event in Canada for showcasing political works for a decade. As the birthplace of new plays by Hannah Moscovitch, Michael Healey, Roland Schimmelpfennig, Erin Shields, Judith Thompson, Colleen Wagner, David Yee, Bea Pizano, Tara Beagan, Nicolas Billon, Donna-Michelle St Bernard, Jordan Tannahill, and Sky Gilbert to name a few - there is no other event like it challenging theatre artists to respond to and address the vox populi.
Photo: Andrea Valencia , Ender Duran and Nadia Tenorio.
2016-10-26
Toronto: See "Making Wrecking Ball Great Again" November 6 only