(Megan Mooney jumped in with Leanne in writing this one)
Shows that Caught Our Eye in Toronto for the Week of March 16, 2020
**UPDATE: In addition to theatres and theatre companies making the responsible decision to cancel, the province has now called a state of emergency and called for all theatres, restaurants and bars to be closed. Therefore, only performances streaming online will be listed.
** UPDATE #2: We are updating this post through the week with some live online performances (Not just from Toronto). Keep checking back for more updates!
This has been a really hard playlisting to write. I’m sure that comes as little surprise to any of you who follow us. We at Mooney on Theatre love theatre – everything that we do at Mooney comes from that love. And, like you, we have many family, friends, co-workers, and acquaintances who are being deeply affected by the loss of their live shows.
We will continue to do our weekly playlisting post to get information out there on any programming that is still running. That said, while we always encourage you to support the arts – in fact, we feel supporting the arts is vital – we also strongly believe that social-isolation is essential right now. So, if you do attend an event, be sure to follow all the guidelines of no touching, keeping a big distance from people, lots of thorough handwashing, coughing into your elbow, and if you’ve found a way to do it (I haven’t) not touching your face.
We will not be sending any of our writers out to review shows for the next couple weeks, but that doesn’t mean there will not be content on Mooney on Theatre. Folks are working on some exciting feature pieces in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.
Now to the actual listings:
We have been doing our best to make sure that this list is as up-to-date as possible, and only shows still running are listed. But please be aware that because the landscape is ever-changing, we can only do so much to keep up. If you decide to go to a show, we recommend confirming in some way that it is still running before heading out.
To track the cancellations we’ve been following along social media, and of course, using the emails we’ve been getting to update us. But another fantastic resource you can access is Intermission Magazine. They have a list going at Covid-19 Theatre News Updates – it is a bit out of date at the time of this article’s publication, but I expect it will be updated shortly with the most up-to-date information on closures, postponements, and other related news.
We’re going to skip the ‘reds‘ this week.
Mezrab Storytelling Night Online (Amsterdam): We will be doing a
short online version of our two weekly nights. So every Wednesday and Friday we are showing people doing short stories, sometimes music! FREE – March 18 & 20, 3 PM EDT. Watch live here: http://www.mezrab.nl/mtv
The Qua-medy Special (Toronto) Arianne Tong will be streaming the Quamedy Special from her Instagram account @aloha.tong at 8PM EST for the remainder of the week. She’ll feature artists in the comedy or comedy adjacent worlds in an attempt to entertain herself and others through our most uncertain times. There is a Paetreon tip jar available at bit.ly/tongnation to support the artists!
Smile (Toronto): A lot of things are closed and some of us
families are stuck inside. So what can we do? Smile, Laugh, Sing,
Play. Join me and my talented friends for an interactive online family-friendly variety show. The events are free. If you can, instead of paying for admission, we ask that you make a donation to Daily Bread Food Bank instead. Our goal is $500. FREE – donations welcome. First event is March 19, 5 PM – 4:30 PM EDT – see link for all dates and times. Hosted on Zoom (to watch on a phone or tablet you will need to download the free Zoom app. On a computer you simply log on via the website. You will need to create a free Zoom account to watch. )
Show Info
@TapestryNewOpera (Online Livestream – YouTube). In times of great challenge, the world needs art more than ever. That’s why we’re thrilled to announce that in place of public performances, we will be live-streaming a special virtual concert featuring Songbook X headliners Krisztina Szabó, mezzo-soprano, and Christopher Foley, pianist, on our Youtube channel, @TapestryNewOpera. The concert will feature Szabó and Foley presenting a selection of best-loved Tapestry works and other favourites, and will be free for all to watch. Saturday, March 21 at 8pm
Show Info
True Stories Told Live (Toronto): This is the first time we’ve gone online but if this show has taught me anything over the last 7 years it’s that, in BANANAS times when everything feels uncertain and weird and sometimes terrifying, listening to stories together makes everything feel better. FREE – March 23, 7:30 PM EDT.
Live on Zoom — link to be announced, if you’d like it emailed to you (along with instructions for how to join), click here: https://app.convertkit.com/landing_pages/465999
— CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS —
With most, if not all, theatre spaces and small venues being shut down and social distancing becoming the social norm, there aren’t any safe spaces left. The monthly showcase, which is an American-Idol style event, lets local actors perform monologues in front of a panel of judges that include some of the biggest casting directors, producers and agents and maybe – just maybe – get that big break.
In response to the lockdowns, Monologue Slam Canada, which cancelled it’s live showcases in Toronto and Vancouver this month, has chosen to go online. In the industry’s oldest adage, “the show must go on.” Deadline for Submissions for the Toronto showcase is Sunday, March 29th @ 12:00pm EST
Submission Information