From Press Release
July 24, 2010, 7:00pm – 9:30pm
Location: Wise Daughters Craft Market, 3079-B Dundas St. West Toronto, ON, M6P 1Z9, Toronto, ON
Written and performed by Tanya Pillay
Directed by Jajube Mandiela
All of Him – An interactive biography of a jovial father with a dark past…a live, local talk show! Cheer and smear collide as you consider and discuss typically taboo subjects without fear of provocation or injury.
Patron Warning: This show contains nuts and sexual content in the narrative.
See it in advance of Summerworks!
Watch the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKUBqhGhTBo
NOTE: THIS PERFORMANCE WILL BE FILMED AS PART OF A DOCUMENTARY FOR TELEVISION. THERE WILL BE SEATING PROVIDED FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT WANT TO BE FILMED.
DOES THE TELEVISION EVEN TRY TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS?
TORONTO, ON (2010/07/22) – Those who choose television over theatre may need to revisit that choice: a genre of theatre that really upstages the old tube can be found in Tanya Pillay’s All of Him.
Meet a jovial father with a dark past who asked, “Is that all there is to me?” All of Him is a live biography of Tanya’s father, Pat Pillay’s life and death. This “relational” storytelling, reality/documentary theatre piece treats the audience as a community, with open dialogue throughout the piece.
This evolution of collective meaning rather than the usual consumption of television and traditional theatre bypasses the artifice and demonstration of theatrical performance. All of Him is more real than reality TV because Tanya narrates the story as her self (no acting!) in complete honesty based on real-life events, and audience members may interject at any time if they feel something needs elaboration or clarification.
The story chronicles Pat’s entire life as reported by him through humourous, relatable anecdotes. With the rules of interaction being imposed on Tanya rather than the audience, all interaction is completely voluntary and left up to the discretion of audience members. Tanya provides rare transparency as the audience receives increasingly personal family information such as birth defects and criminal accusations.
Tanya says her favourite thing about the show is “the way each audience can take it in a completely different direction. For example, when I presented the piece to a personal development group, they were especially interested in my perspective as a hypnotist. In contrast, a group of young newcomers to Canada became very focused on discussing spirituality and bereavement.” That’s right. Tanya is also an NGH-Certified Hypnotist for motivational purposes. But not to worry, there will be no hypnotism in this show.
Programmed in SummerWorks Festival (Toronto, August 5-15, 2010, the largest juried festival in Canada featuring predominantly New Canadian plays) and FemFest (Winnipeg, September 25-Oct 2, 2010, an annual celebration of transformational theatre by women for everyone), All of Him has garnered tremendous support and exposure since it’s inception and first presentation at rock.paper.sistahz 2009 festival thanks to the mentorship and co-production with b current performing corps., (the only professional Canadian company which develops original theatre works reflecting voices from the Canadian Black diasporic communities).
If you can’t [how come “can’t” rather than “cannot”?] catch the Summerworks 7-show run at Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace, the show is easy to tour to any gathering space for groups interested in opening discussion about difficult topics for community growth. Tanya and director Jajube Mandiela have even designed a follow-up emotional-awareness workshop, Broach It!, in response to past audience requests for practical tools to manage difficult situations.
Cheer and smear collide in this intimate, performance that beckons you away from the television towards a live experience of community interaction.
in between with b current presents
All of Him
SummerWorks 2010 Performances:
Fri August 6, 6pm
Sat August 7, 8pm
Sun August 8, noon
Tues August 10, 10pm
Fri August 13, 4pm
Sat August 14, 4pm
Sun August 15, 6pm
Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace
16 Ryerson Ave (one block Northeast
of Bathurst & Queen West)
Tickets: $12.50 advance or $10 door
www.artsboxoffice.ca
Written & Performed by Tanya Pillay
Directed by Jajube Mandiela
Summerworks.ca | TanyaPillay.com | bcurrent.ca