OverTime – Toronto Fringe 2015 Press Release

From Press Release:

photo of andrea brown and tufford kennedy

Newface Entertainment
premiering Romeo Ciolfi’s
OverTime at the 2015 Toronto Fringe Festival

May 25th, 2015. Toronto, Ontario – Newface Entertainment is pleased to be launching its tenth production at the 2015 Toronto Fringe Festival with Romeo Ciolfi’s newest play, OverTime.

A graduate of York University’s screen writing program, Ciolfi works as both a playwright and screenwriter. His screenplay Play Ball was the 1st Runner-up ($15,000 prize) at the 2013 Kairos Prize for Screenwriting and has been optioned by a New York based production company. His play Blue (directed by Dora nominee Jane Miller) premiered in 2008 at Toronto’s Village Playhouse.

OverTime is the story of Darby, a young playwright who lives with his mentor Carla, a retired teacher who suffers with various medical conditions. When Darby shares his latest play it strikes all too closely to his mentor’s life. Tensions escalate as Carla is confronted by Jewel, a new friend of Darby’s, and her father Linus regarding a painful incident from Carla’s past she wishes to bury forever.

The story itself, in the vein of Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller, features wounded characters dealing with truths and lies and the things that are buried to cover brokenness. Ciolfi’s characters struggle with the human condition, but ultimately seek a kind of redemption and healing that comes when facing life bravely and with an open heart.

OverTime will run as part of the 2015 Toronto Fringe Festival from July 1, 2015 to July 12, 2015 at the Robert Gill Theatre. Tickets go on sale starting June 11, 2015. Advance tickets can be purchased online at www.fringetoronto.com, by phone at 416-996-1062, or in person at the Festival Box Office. At-the-door tickets are available for purchase at the venue.

OverTime will be directed by Eric Benson and will star Elva Mai Hoover as Carla, Timothy Eckmier as Darby, Andrea Brown as Jewel, and Tufford Kennedy as Linus.

Eric was Associate Director for DaPoPo Theatre in Halifax and participated in the directors’ mentorship program at the Stratford Festival, working under Weyni Mengesha (Hosanna) and Des McAnuff (Henry V). His recent Toronto credits include: Surrender Dorothy and Brockfest (New Ideas Festival), Eating French (InspiraTO Festival), Offensive to Some (Toronto Fringe), and Beauty and the Geek (Solar Stage).

With more than thirty years of experience, and countless credits to her name (fifty in film and television alone) as well as five separate Gemini and Genie nominations, Elva is well known to audiences across Canada. Her TV roles included 5 seasons as Elvira Lawson on Road to Avonlea, Mrs. Edison on The Edison Twins, and Ted’s Mom on Queer as Folk. NOW Magazine named her one of the eight outstanding performances for her work in Piecing Together Pauline at the 2012 Toronto Fringe.

Tim is a graduate of the Humber Theatre Performance Program, and has been seen on stage in productions of Dave Carley’s Into (Berkeley Street Theatre), Ambiguous (Toronto Fringe), and the Pied Piper of Toronto (Afterglow Theatre). Andrea is also a graduate of the Humber Theatre Performance Program and was recently seen in Caroline Azar’s DINK (Next Stage Theatre Festival) and performed in the African Theatre Ensemble production of Lost.

Audiences may recognize Tufford as Bullfrog Goldsworthy from the television series Degrassi (having co-starred in one of the 2013 Emmy nominated episodes). Some of his twenty year career highlights include having shared the screen with 3 Oscar winners (Reese Witherspoon, Christian Bale, and Jared Leto), as well as being the principal actor in over 70 commercials. He starred in the premiere of playwright S.C. Pinney’s Ghost of Mariposa (directed by Tom Carson).

For the creative side of OverTime, Newface Entertainment has also assembled an exciting team of designers.

David Mesiha is an award-winning composer and sound designer whose credits include Project (X) and Streetcar Named Desire (Leaky Heaven), Terminus (Pi Theatre), the Busy World is Hushed (One2 theatre) and Because I Love You/A Quiet Desperation (ift theatre).

Set Designer Mariuxi Zambrano has designed sets for Afrotropolis in Wonderland and was nominated for a My Theatre Award (My Entertainment World) for her designs on My Name is Rachel Corrie (Hart House Theatre).

Costume & Props Designer Farnoosh Talebpour was the Assistant Costume Designer for Euripides’ The Trojan Women (Toronto Fringe) and recently won a THEA for Best Costume Design for her work on Cyrano de Bergerac (Amicus Productions).

Lighting Designer Jennifer Jimenez has designed lighting for numerous productions across Canada including: Nightmare Dream (ift theatre), The President (Shaw Festival), and Judith Thompson’s Body and Soul (VANOC 2010).

Producer Newface Entertainment was founded by David Crawford with a mission to delight, entertain, inspire, and impassion audiences through theatre. A graduate of the York University theatre program, David studied commercial theatre production with Broadway Producer Marty Bell, and interned at Livent, Inc. working in Casting and with Musical Director Jeffrey Huard on productions of Sunset Blvd. and Ragtime.

Newface Entertainment has recently been working with ift theatre on productions of Because I Love You/A Quiet Desperation, the Dora-nominated Nightmare Dream (presented by Obsidian Theatre), and Dancing to a White Boy Song (2011 SummerWorks).

Other producing credits include: Sketchy At Best, Craig Lauzon’s Ham I Am, and Tim Sims’ Santagod (Tim Sims Playhouse), the Canadian premiere of the League Against Tedium (Bathurst Street Theatre), Dave Carley’s Into (Berkeley Street Theatre), and tick, tick…BOOM! (co-produced with Angelwalk Theatre).

SHOW DETAILS
Thursday, July 2, 2015, 8:15pm
Friday, July 3, 2015, 8:45pm
Saturday, July 4, 2015, 7:30pm
Monday, July 6, 2015, 3:00pm
Tuesday, July 7, 2015, 1:00pm
Wednesday, July 8, 2015, 2:00pm
Saturday, July 11, 2015, 10:30pm

Running time: 90 minutes

Tickets: $12 in advance, $10 at-the-door
Location: Robert Gill Theatre, 214 College Street (St. George & College)
Box Office: By phone: 416-966-1062
Online: www.fringetoronto.com
In person: Festival Box Office Box Office (up to 3 hours in advance) or at the venue (starting 1 hour prior to the performance)

Website: www.overtimetheplay.com

Photo of Andrea Brown and Tufford Kennedy provided by the company