Stage Door News
Stage Door News
SpringWorks 2016 is shaping itself into another banner year, full of exceptional performances with companies joining us from across North America and the UK! From returning favourites to new connections, SpringWorks has something for everyone!
Flex Passes and Puppet Day & Weekend Passes are currently available.
Tickets for Individual Productions On Sale March 1, 2016
THEATRE
Big Shot
Written & Performed by Jon Lachlan Stewart
A shooting on the Vancouver skytrain is broken down from the six different perspectives involved, from the recovering heroin addict Killiger, to the police officer who fires the gun, all from the perspective of a 12-year-old witness. The boy, obsessed with Hollywood action movies, pieces it all together for you the audience, complete with slow-mo effects, freeze frames, and a gut wrenching, shocking climax to the puzzle. Check out the trailer here!
Charolais
Skipalong Theatre
Written & Performed by Noni Stapleton
The age old story of female jealousy with a new twist: the other woman is a cow, a literal one, a purebred Charolais (French) heifer. Siobhan’s (Noni Stapleton) boyfriend is a farmer who devotes considerable attention to his prize heifer at the expense of his very pregnant girlfriend. Siobhan has developed a homicidal jealousy for this Charolais and is feeling equally murderous towards her snobbish soon-to-be mother in law. A dark comedy of love and longing: rarely in theatre are the challenges of farming life and the joy of sex expressed so frankly or with such charm.
Dark Love
By Donna-Michelle St. Bernard
One long dark night that lasted for thirty days, the people looked for light. A series of monologues depicts sustained power loss in one small community. The play exposes the social and psychological impact of sensory deprivation, how our basic needs go beyond food and water, how power and privilege can diversify our shared experiences. Dark Love is a poetic, nonlinear narrative with tangible touchpoints and visceral drive. (This play is a part of the 54ology, inspired by incidents in Tanzania)
Fake Nerd Girl
Created & Performed by Chloe Payne
"Fake Nerd Girl" is a one-woman, character driven show with elements of clown and bouffon about women in nerd culture. A combination of original writing, content from interviews with nerds and verbatim text from message boards, comment sections and blogs, it features one character, our heroine the “lady nerd”. This show plots her journey from noob (newbie) to fan girl to feminist vigilante.
HOOKED
Based on the poetry of Carolyn Smart
Performed by Nicky Guadagni
Hooked is play featuring seven of the most notorious and eccentric females in 20th Century history – Women hobbled by history, powerful men and strong liquor. Performed by Dora award winning actress Nicky Guadagni and based on a book of brilliant poems by Canadian poet Carolyn Smart, , Hooked looks into the tumultuous lives of Myra Hindley, Unity Mitford, Zelda Fitzgerald, Dora Carrington, Elizabeth Smart, Carson McCullers and Jane Bowles. This is theatre of compulsion, addiction and love a production rich in language and history to be savoured for its humour, skill and intimacy.
How Often Do I Dream...
Written & Performed by Katie Dorian
Through multi-sensory story telling, How Often Do I Dream... is a piece which explores how memory functions, how it collapses, and what we become when our memory begins to fade. When actor/writer Katie Dorian’s beloved “Opi” developed dementia, she realized that her identity was interwoven with
his. Mapping her interactions with her Opi as he slowly disappeared, Dorian struggles with the loss, the change in family roles and the dissolving family history to draw universal truths about the nature of memory, identity and family.
Lavinia
Written & Performed by Jon Lachlan Stewart
Shakespeare's women are transported into the contemporary world in this bold piece examining sexual violence in the works of the bard. Sylvia (a character from Shakespeare’s Two Gentlemen of Verona) was recently attacked by a man named Proteus. After Sylvia’s attack, Lavinia, who in my story is close friends with Sylvia, brings Sylvia to the survival group to offer her support, but when Sylvia is too scared to speak up, Lavinia vows to bring Proteus to justice herself.
Le Devil's Canoe
Adapted By Roger Shank
The wonderful folklore of Honoré Beaugrand comes to life in this new staged reading by Roger Shank. The play is set in rural Quebec and written in a poetic format, utilizing song and music to underscore to this magical piece. It is a story about love and sacrifice. The play explores good and evil and how we contain a little of both in our souls. If one believes that God has given us free choice, then how do we handle the decision when both God and the Devil are holding up tantalizing options?
Maresfield Gardens
Theatre 33
Written & Performed by Susan Coromel
A solo play exploring the relationship between Mary “Mabbie” Burlingham Schmiderer, the eldest daughter of Dorothy Tiffany Burlingham and Anna Freud. At 8 years old and living in Vienna, Mabbie is taken on a journey that will change the course of her life forever.
Much Ado About Fecking Pirates!
Parry Riposte Productions
Created & Performed by Richard Gélinas & Margo MacDonald
It’s a romantic comedy, only with pirates, and no romance. Two pirates have been banished to the crow’s nest by their captain – and are to remain there until they’ve learned to get along. They’ve already been there for quite some time. Pirate clowns. A missing parrot. Rum. Improv. Shanties. Diddling. Stories. And probably a sword fight.
Outrageous Fortune
"Do you remember when you were new?" asks a child of an elderly resident. Set in the common room of a retirement home where the residents cope with the restrictions in bizarre and humorous ways. Full of the wild comings and goings if a quirky panorama of 40 characters (played by nine actors) that inspire some pathos and much laughter!
Silver Fish
Cheeky Magpie Theatre Company
The play intertwines two plots (inspired by real events) that both focus on immigration, community and confinement. The first story is about Khanh arriving from Vietnam to start a new life in a small Canadian fishing village. The second is about Gerhard leaving Angola as a stowaway on an airplane, and his unexpected arrival in Sue's British, suburban life.
Stupidhead! A Musical Comedy
Disorganized Productions
Written & Performed by Katherine Cullen
Original Music by Britta Johnson
About the glamour of failure. About the celebration of futility. About failing gloriously at all the ways society wants you to be successful. About being a kid with a lot of dyslexia and not being able to fit in. And yet – it is not really about dyslexia at all. It’s about how being a human is really embarrassing. Personal, chaotic, honest and funny. It’s part stand-up comedy, part musical comedy, and comes complete with buckets of glitter and probably a piñata in the shape of a brain.
The Elephant Girls
Parry Riposte Productions
Written & Performed by Margo MacDonald
“Without doubt, they were the most notorious girl gang Britain’s ever seen.” Clever, organized, devious & daring; they stole from the rich and gave to themselves. Only recently brought to light, this is the riveting story of the all-woman gang which terrorized London for over 100 years. Told through the eyes of Maggie Hale--the gang's suit-wearing, bloody-knuckled, girl-chasing "enforcer", you won't be able to look away.
The Immigrant
Created & Performed by Guiseppe Condello
The Immigrant is based on the theme of manual labour and of man’s quest for freedom. It's a collection of corporeal mime motifs and of authentic stories from immigrants who migrated to Canada during the 1940s and early 1950s. The body battles the forces of gravity, resistance and of effort applied to manual labour and becomes entangled in the surge of his own emotional and mental preoccupation.
The Leaves
Created & Performed by Beth Anne Cole
A performance piece with and about the poetry of 9th century Japanese poetess Ono Ino Komachi portrayed as a 100-year-old woman wandering derelict on the mountains and still writing poetry. There are 5 'leaves' or scenes and an original musical score and original poetry by Beth Anne Cole in traditional tanka form.
The Sama Kutra
Created & Performed by Jacqueline Russell & Jed Thomlinson
After endless years of marriage Spark and Sizzle Fandango are desperate to infuse some passion into their wilting relationship. Lost, afraid and confused, they blunder their way through a night of ridiculous erotic antics and kinky desires. Can the secrets of the ancient Sama Kutra save their marriage? Check out the trailer here!
The Second Life
Created by Trevor Copp
The online virtual world of ‘Second Life’ stretches thousands of kilometers and millions of visitors. While searching for her lost sister, Jessica struggles to find out what – and who – are real. Life and its double are at stake in this multi-media exploration of loss in the digital age.
CONCERTS & CABARETS
A Lover & His Lass
Complied & Performed by Charlotte Abbott & Michael Pare
A performance of Renaissance and Elizabethan art songs featuring the most famous composers of the 16th and 17th centuries. Performances by soprano Charlotte Abbott and classical guitarist Michael Pare. Poetry from Shakespeare and more!
Anna Atkinson in Concert
A musical adventure with multi-instumentalist and vocalist, Anna Atkinson - and possibly some special friends!
A Step Back Into Swing
Miles Avigdor & Ellie Edwards
Accompanied by The Bendy Straws
Whether performing current pop hits set in a retro style or standards from the American Songbook pumped up to have fresh sizzle, this tight ensemble is laced with wit and sass! Join some of Stratford's best young musicians in this exciting melding of musical styles and energies. Check out their sound here!
I Hear Music: The Lorraine Foreman Songbook
Complied & Performed by Lorraine Foreman
With Debora Joy, Robert Missen, & David Warrack
A celebration of Lorraine Foreman’s life and career, including her early experiences as a footloose young club singer in the capitals of Europe and the Middle East. Then on to her huge successes on both Canadian and American television. Finally, we get a taste of her theatrical successes. The songs interspersed among Lorraine’s stories include some of the great songs from the American Songbook as well as selections from musical theatre and cabaret.
Honey Is Good for You
The Honey's
Independent recording artists Kate Ashby-Craft and Caroline Burchill have joined together to form the musical duo "The Honey's". With Kate on piano and vocals and Caroline on acoustic guitar and vocals, they will take you on a musical journey through songs that will make you laugh, songs to make you cry but mostly songs that will inspire and uplift. You will hear everything from traditional to contemporary with a focus on their own original songs. Oh, and be prepared to sing as they like to throw in a couple of sing-a-longs!
Lara Loves Lightfoot
Compiled & Performed by Lara MacMillan
An exploration of select songs & musical stories of Gordon Lightfoot, seamlessly interwoven with stories from singer & pianist Lara MacMillan's own life as she moved, worked, studied and lived in various towns and cities in Canada. A humorous and poignant odyssey: looking for herself and a place of belonging and finding it occasionally in the presence of individuals who changed her life forever.
Sharron Matthews in Concert
Join this powerhouse cabaret artist as she kicks off SpringWorks 2016! With a "voice that could stop traffic" (Hamilton Spectator), Sharron Matthews serves up her signature irreverent wit with solid gold mash-ups by artists such as Lady Gaga, Guns 'N Roses, Radiohead, Beyonce, Queen and more in a comedic tour-de-force concert. Aptly described as the love child of Jack Black and Bette Midler, Sharron delivers jaw-dropping vocals, pop-culture punches and hit-melody mash-ups in a one-of-a-kind concert experience that defies age and gender barriers.
DANCE
Bone Rhythm & Infinity Dance
Neesa Kenemy and 3 surprise Toronto choreographers join forces, creating exciting new dance theatre works with variations on a theme! Making up the other half of the program is Stratford's own award-winning dance competition team from Infinity Dance with an all original piece.
ESSENTIA
0.6 Richochet
Choreographed & Performed by Hilary Crist & Janelle Hacault
A reckless, rigorous and relentless double bill featuring two brand new contemporary dance works. Choreographers Hilary Crist and Janelle Hacault connect corporeal instinct with the cerebral conflict of identity in this athletically charged premiere. Revealing the secrets of the silent self, ESSENTIA exposes raw fundamentals and embodies the struggle when all is thought to be lost. Prepare to confront and question your inner reality as Hacault and Crist transport you to a precarious place between the known and the invisible.
The Sneak
Choreographed & Performed by Lucy Rupert, Angela Blumberg & Lisa Pijuan-Nomura
Blue Ceiling dance presents three works of dance theatre/storytelling suitable for all ages. Angela Blumberg's duet "The Four Seasons" presents pristine contemporary dance and the beauty of the elemental world. Lucy Rupert's "Lighthouse" is inspired by award-winning children's book Elsa and the Night and looks at insomnia, the life of elephants and the beauty of sleep. Lisa Pijuan-Nomura a movement/storytelling performance work about food, family and first love. There's something for everyone in this integrated dance show performed by these unique, articulate artists.
POETRY & LITERATURE
Across Canada By Story
Written & Performed by Douglas Gibson
With maps and music and the caricatures of Anthony Jenkins, former Canadian publisher Douglas Gibson shares about Canada's greatest authors he has known including Alice Munro, Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, Robertson Davies, Alistair MacLeod, W.O.Mitchell, Margaret Laurence, Guy Vanderhaeghe, and many others.
A Joker, A Toker, A Real Estate Broker
Written & Read by Charles Mountford
Funny and quite often thoughtful. Charlie is a prize winning poet who has had 9 books published. The critic, Harold Rhenisoh writes: "You could make an afternoon program on the CBC out of these pieces." Governor General's award winning poet Stephanie Bolster writes "Charles Mountford is one of the few Canadian poets at home in the dramatic monologue."
M is for Shambles; S is for Children
Mia Anderson: Poet & Performer
Shepherding is about birth, death and sex. About ultimate things. So it can seem to be about being torn in two, between ‘this grief, this joy’—as one poem puts it at lambing time—‘this latest set of twins’. A way of seeing the world. A way of loving, and a way of breaking your heart. That’s the mess of the Shambles for you. Those were songs of experience. Then there is another way of seeing the world : looking with the eyes of children. You might say these are songs of innocence—though children see more than one might think, of the fallen world. But certainly they see with hope, and freshness, and fun.
Poems from the West Coast
Written & Read by Wendy Morton
Accompanied by photographs, award-winning poet Wendy Morton shares her poetry and experiences of their creation.
PUPPETRY & CHILDREN'S THEATRE
Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty!
Created by Rosaruby Kagan, Julia Ainsworth & The Company
Drawing on the fable of “Little Briar Rose” by the Brothers Grimm, “WAKE UP SLEEPING BEAUTY!” explores a classic fairy tale with a twist. Our audience teams up to help wake the Princess from her slumber and take ACTION to save herself and restore her Kingdom. In the tradition of “choose your own adventure”, we invite YOU to come and sit in the middle of the action!
Animal Adventure
Created By Sarah Argue
Join the Creature Crew on a field trip to the ZOO like no other. Find out ways YOU can help the environment as the comical puppets come to life and make it a field trip adventure to remember!
Caisse 606
Created & Performed by Marie Helene Belanger & Caroline Belanger
Two cashiers are trapped behind their register, forever stuck in their daily routine. As the customers' vegetables pass endlessly before them, they escape into their imagination, where hopes of far away beaches, swimming competitions, and carrot ballets enrich their tedious existence. Check out excerpts here!
That's Laughter-tainment
Matthew Romain: The Laughter-tainer
With his trusty Ukulele, Matthew and his puppet friends present a lively, hilarious musical variety show. Get ready to sing along, laugh out loud and dance in the aisles! That’s Laughtertainment, a new production, is a variety show that combines live music, looped samples, and digital vocal harmonies with stand-up comedy, puppetry, visual gags and recorded sound effects. Like all of Matthew’s shows, it’s family friendly and includes plenty of audience participation! Check him out here!
The Strangers
Created by Jesse Byiers & Evan Tingle
Based on the story “The Stranger” by Albert Camus, a puppet (a hollow reflection of ourselves) finds itself being told how to feel by everyone around it. In the end, it must decide to make it's own decisions to free itself from all the influences and learn to live happily in a world that seems so cold and distant.
Where Are You, Cinderella?
Created & Performed by Marie Franek, Helena Adamczyk, & Kerry Corrigan
An exciting adaptation of the classic fairy tale using timeworn puppets brought back to life by Studio Babette. Full of sparkling costumes, hilarious characters, and plenty of stage magic!
More Exciting Puppetry & Family-Friendly Activities Coming Soon!
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Photo: Jon Lachlan Stewart in Big Shot.
2016-02-02
Stratford: SpringWorks announces its 2016 line-up