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[Sponsored] Hart House 2012 Winter Classes – Empowerment Through the Arts
By Megan Mooney
University of Toronto’s Hart House classes in Toronto offer Empowerment Through the Arts – for anyone moved by an image, a word or an idea.
There’s little in this world I love more than learning something new. Technically any learning goes to personal development, but the best kind of learning is stuff that is both fun AND intended for personal development.
The biggest life-changing learning I ever did was in my grade 10 drama class. It taught me how to interact with the world in a whole new, and far more effective, way. It also started an introduction to my passion – theatre – but that was a ways down the road. In my business-world career doing performance measurement and program evaluation I used the skills I learned through arts classes every day.
That’s what Hart House is offering with its “Empowerment Through the Arts” classes. I don’t doubt that these will offer you skills that you will use in all sorts of areas of your life. In addition to their previous offerings in Filmmaking, Photography, Music and Theatre Arts, they now offer classes in Comedy, Creative Living & Careers, Movement/Dance and expanded Voice offerings.
It’s a wide ranging selection, with offerings from The Art of Conversation and Communication to Free Your Inner Comedian to Art of Acting: Finding Personal Liberation and Authenticity. Generally, the classes are aimed to those who but do not already have training in the specific class they are taking. There’s a full list of the various classes here, most of which begin the week of January 29.
[Sponsored] Cabaret makes its way to Hart House Theatre in Toronto
By Megan Mooney
I first saw Cabaret when I was in high school. It was a high school production. I loved it. I loved it enough that I immediately went out and rented the movie. I was sorely disappointed by the movie, it was SO much better live.
Well, this month we in Toronto have an opportunity to see it live again. Hart House Theatre is presenting Cabaret from Friday January 13, 2012 to January 28, 2012. I can also guarantee that as much as I loved it the first time I saw it live, this one will be even better than that production of long ago.
[Sponsored Article] Macbeth Opens at Hart House Theatre in Toronto on November 9, 2011
By Megan Mooney
Whenever I have seen a Shakespearian piece at Hart House Theatre in Toronto, I have been impressed. I expect the same from Macbeth, running November 9 to 26, 2011.
One of Shakespeare’s most famous pieces, Macbeth is the unhappy tale of a man who wants to be king and is willing to kill for it. Even if you haven’t read or seen the show, you’re bound to have heard someone quote “is this a dagger I see before me?” or “Out, out damn spot!” Now you get to hear them in context rather than out of the blue. By the way, technically the quote is “Out, damned spot! out, I say!” but no one seems to use that when stating it out of the blue.
You also may have heard that actors, a suspicious bunch, aren’t willing to say Macbeth in a theatre, and instead refer to it as “The Scottish Play”. See, the show is purported to bring bad luck, and there is speculation that the words uttered by the witches in the piece are a true incantation. It’s spooky interesting stuff. You should check it out and judge for yourself.
The show opens tomorrow (Wednesday November 9th) and runs until November 26. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for students & seniors, with a special student price of $10 on Wednesdays. The show runs Wednesdays to Saturdays at 8pm, and in the last week there is also a Saturday matinee at 2pm.
Get your tickets at the UofTtix Box Office by phone at 416.978.8849, or online at www.uofttix.ca
See below for more detailed information in the press release:
[Sponsored Article] The Great American Trailer Park Musical at Hart House Theatre
By Sam Mooney
Hart House Theatre in Toronto is kicking off the 2011/2012 season with the Toronto premier of The Great American Trailer Park Musical, a satirical romp that pokes fun at our American neighbours.
From the press release “The Great American Trailer Park Musical is a tongue-in-cheek, rockabilly romp filled with strip clubs, hysterical pregnancies and dreams of the Ice Capades. With kidnapping, love triangles and canned tan lines, we’re talkin’ trashy – trailer trashy.”
The show carries a warning – contains mature content, coarse language, and partial nudity. Sounds great. I’ll be there! It sounds like a great way to spend a fall evening.
Details:
- The Great American Trailer Park Musical runs from Sept 23 to Oct 8 2011
- Hart House Theatre, 7 Hart House Circle
- 3 Week Run (11 performances)
Week 1: Fri & Sat @ 8pm
Week 2: Wed to Sat @ 8pm
Week 3: Wed to Sat @ 8pm + Sat @ 2pm
- Ticket prices: Adults $25, Students & Seniors $15, $10 Student Tickets every Wednesday, $15 Alumni Tickets every Thursday
- Tickets available online or by phone -416.978.8849 - at the U of T Box Office
[Sponsored Articles] are part of the “Premium Rectangle” sponsorship package. Companies who sponsor Mooney on Theatre through the purchase of a premium rectangle advertisement also get a sponsored post which features the production, product or company they are advertising.
[Sponsored Article] Lysistrata – The Sex Strike playing in Toronto July 20 – August 6, 2011
By Megan Mooney
Think the peaceful protest against war started in the 60s? Nope. The 60s may have brought us “make love, not war”, but ancient Greece brought us “until you stop making war, we’ll stop making love”.
Enter the Canopy Theatre production of Lysistrata.
If you’re unfamiliar with the story, a woman, Lysistrata, convinces the women of Greece to deny men sex until they stop their fighting in a civil war. She’s successful. Sex is denied. And that leads to a lot of sexually frustrated people, and what’s funnier than sexually frustrated people?
[Sponsored Article] Dora award winning SPENT is being remounted in Toronto opening October 29, 2010
By Megan Mooney
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Last September Theatre Smith-Gilmour, Why Not Theatre, and TheatreRUN took the Toronto theatre scene by storm with their smash-hit production Spent. In fact, the production was such a success it garnered 3 Dora Mavor Moore Award nominations (including outstanding production and outstanding new play) and went on to win for best performance by an ensemble in a featured role.
Due to popular demand Spent is returning to the Factory Studio Theatre on Friday, October 29, 2010, on the 81st anniversary of Black Tuesday. Fittingly enough, the piece is an intelligent, hilarious and poetic commentary on greed and the financial crisis of 2008.
(Sponsored Article) Toronto production of Homeland explores what 'home' means
By Megan Mooney
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In a couple days (Thursday, October 28) a new multi-disciplinary performance piece exploring the meaning of ‘home’ will open in the Theatre Passe Muraille backspace. The piece, called Homeland, is an interplay of fiction and reality, scripted fictional performance interacting with documentary film.
It’s a snapshot of our lives, divided between two or more worlds.
Homeland is described as a multi-faceted examination of the meaning of home in a hybrid setting of dance, live music and documentary film. The spoken, and at times unspoken, words of the personalities in the film are translated into a solo dance and physical theatre against the beat of drums and flow of electronic sequences performed by two musicians on stage. This contemplative journey of words, sounds, and movements, makes one rethink the definition of home.
[Sponsored Article] Birdland theatre presents the world premiere of SoulSeek, opening in Toronto on Thursday
By Megan Mooney
Last year Toronto was all a twitter about the Birdland Theatre‘s sold-out presentation of Assassins. In fact, Birdland Theatre has won 6 Dora Awards, and regularly gets rave reviews and sold out houses.
This year, there’s something new to talk about. SoulSeek is an original new work that will be premiering at The Walmer Centre Theatre on Thursday October 7, 2010. The piece explores death death as a point of change, instead of an ending.
The plot revolves around one woman, Vita (played by Zorana Kydd), whose story starts in the moment of her death and continues as she travels through the underworld and her consciousness and as she searches for her lost loved one.
[Sponsored Article] Baobab Youth Theatre Group present African Women are Strong as the Baobab Tree
By Megan Mooney
I don’t know if you’ve ever had the opportunity to see a Baobab Tree before. My first encounter was on paper in The Little Prince where they were described as "Trees as big as castles". When I first saw one in real life I was blown away. I was somewhere around 7 years old, and completely blown away. They are huge and beautiful. Don’t believe me? Look at this picture.
So, it’s no surprise that the Baobab Tree is used to evoke a powerful image of strength. It’s an image that has drawn me into this play, African Women are as Strong as the Baobab Tree. I haven’t had the chance to see it yet, but I really want to (as you may have noticed in the ‘Eye catching theatre’ post from last week).
(Sponsored Article) Funny hit musical [Title of Show] being produced in Toronto by Angelwalk Theatre
By Megan Mooney
When people think of musical theatre and Toronto, far too often they think the only options are great big companies like Mirvish or Dancap, but the truth is there are small companies who are producing great work with affordable ticket prices and fantastic performances.
One of those companies is Angelwalk Theatre, and right now they are presenting Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell’s [Title of Show]. Musical theatre with catchy tunes, lots of laughs, and all sorts of meta goodness (a show about writing a show about writing a show about writing a show… well you get the idea).
The show is running until Sunday October 10, 2010 at the Toronto Centre for the Arts with ticket prices starting as low as $25. In fact, a limited number of rush tickets are now available for all Saturday Matinee performances for $20 (cash only) at the Box Office.
Check out the details of the show below: