All posts by Samantha Wu

Samantha is both a writer and a fan of the arts and has been able to find numerous ways to pair the two. Aside from being an editor here at Mooney on Theatre, she's a photojournalist for Been Here Done That, a travel, dining and tourism blog that focuses on Toronto and abroad and previously for  Lithium Magazine, which got her writing and shooting about everything from Dave Matthews Band to Fan Expo. She's passionate about music, theatre, photography, writing, and celebrating sexuality -- not necessarily in that order. She drinks tea more than coffee, prefer ciders over beers, and sings karaoke way too loudly. You can follow her on various social media including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

THE PREPOSTEROUS PREDICAMENT OF POLLY PEEL (ACT 1) – Toronto Fringe 2018 Press Release

From Press Release

The 2018 winners of the Paul O’Sullivan Prize for Musical Theatre are thrilled to announce the cast and creative team for the in-development Fringe presentation of The Preposterous Predicament of Polly Peel (Act 1), an extraordinary new Canadian musical by Julie Tepperman & Kevin Wong, as part of the Toronto Fringe Festival July 5 – 15, 2018.

The Preposterous Predicament of Polly Peel (Act 1) explores a family grappling with death through the eyes and imagination of a biology-obsessed eleven-year-old girl.  Originally inspired by acclaimed Canadian painter Paul Peel’s ‘The Young Biologist’, an early incarnation was presented in 2016 at The Art Gallery of Ontario as part of The Musical Stage Company’s Reframed. This reworked Fringe production represents an exciting step in developing a new Canadian musical.

Creators Kevin Wong & Julie Tepperman note ‘ We are overjoyed to have been recognized with the Paul O’Sullivan Prize for Musical Theatre and look forward to showcasing this new Canadian work with such a dynamite Canadian cast. The Preposterous Predicament of Polly Peel (Act 1) has been in development for the past two years and we hope to follow the extraordinary Toronto Fringe musicals that have come before us.

The exciting principal cast will be led by Toronto’s Hannah Levinson who was recently seen as Small Alison in The Musical Stage Company’s Fun Home, which earned her a Dora Award nomination and a Toronto Theatre Critics’ Award for Best Female Performance in a Musical.  Levinson is joined by Dora Award-winner Richard Lee (The Humans), Donna Garner (Once – U.S First National Tour), Jessica Sherman(Rumspringa Break), Troy Adams (Shrek the Musical – The Grand Theatre/Neptune Theatre), and newcomers Faly Mevamanana, Ben Page, and Alan Cui. 

Behind-the-scenes, Aaron Willis, co-founding artistic director of Convergence Theatre, helms the production as director and dramaturg; Adam Sakiyama provides music direction; Nicola Pantin choreographs; Kelly Wolf provides set and costume design and Michelle Ramsay provides lighting design.

Director & Dramaturg Aaron Willis notes ‘The creation of a new musical is a long and winding road – and presenting the first act of Polly Peel at the Toronto Fringe is a unique opportunity for us to learn more about this piece as Julie and Kevin continue to develop it into a full two-act musical.  This story of the Peel family grappling with a sudden death is remarkable for its exploration of the power of a child’s imagination, and how it affects the process of grieving.  I’m thrilled to be directing this next stage of Polly Peel’s development, and to be working with such a phenomenal team of artists.”

The Preposterous Predicament of Polly Peel (Act 1)will be on stage at the Tarragon Theatre Mainspace, July 5 – 15, 2018. Tickets are $13 and are available online (fringetoronto.com), by phone (416-966-1062) or in person at the Fringe main box office (Fringe Patio – Scadding Court – 707 Dundas Street West).

Details

  • The Preposterous Predicament of Polly Peel plays at the Tarragon Theatre Mainspace. (30 Bridgman Ave.)
  • Tickets are $13, including a $2 service charge. The festival also offers a range of money-saving passes and discounts for serious Fringers.
  • Tickets can be purchased online, by telephone (416-966-1062), from the Festival Box Office at Scadding Court (707 Dundas St. W.), and — if any remain — from the venue’s box office starting one hour before curtain.
  • Content Warning: Mature language.
  • This venue is barrier-free. Designated accessible seating is in the middle of the auditorium.
  • Be aware that Fringe performances always start exactly on time, and that latecomers are never admitted.

Performances

  • Thursday July 5th, 8:15 pm
  • Saturday July 7th, 5:15 pm
  • Monday July 9th, 1:00 pm
  • Tuesday July 10th, 10:00 pm
  • Wednesday July 11th, 7:00 pm
  • Friday July 13th, 3:30 pm
  • Sunday July 15th, 5:15 pm

Photo of Hannah Levinson by Sam Gaetz

Six Stories, Told at Night – Toronto Fringe 2018 Press Release

From press release

After winning the 2017 Parsec Award (the “Oscars of podcasting”) the podcasted audio drama SIX STORIES, TOLD AT NIGHT is making its stage premiere at the Toronto Fringe Festival. The first indie fantasy podcast adapted for live theatre, SIX STORIES weaves a narrative of complicated female friendship through five French-Canadian folktales. Produced by new theatre company Gangway! Theatre Co., it plays at the Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace through the Fringe (July 4 – 15, 2018).

Written and adapted by award-winning author KT Bryski, SIX STORIES showcases actor Blythe Haynes reprising her role as the work’s heroine, Samantha. SIX STORIES is the duo’s latest collaboration, which includes numerous audio dramas and theatrical productions.

SIX STORIES also features actors Alexandra Milne and Isaiah Kolundzic, director Blair Haynes, and stage manager/production designer Jeremy Pearson. It is the debut production for Gangway! Theatre Co.

Established in 2017, Gangway! Theatre Co. is the result of Haynes’ and Bryski’s longstanding creative partnership. The pair met working at Black Creek Pioneer Village, where they initiated the “History Actors” theatre program, exploring real people and realstories through drama. After much ad hoc collaboration, they founded Gangway! to promote and produce Canadian and female-focused works.

Details

  • Six Stories, Told at Night plays at the Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace. (16 Ryerson Ave.)
  • Tickets are $13, including a $2 service charge. The festival also offers a range of money-saving passes and discounts for serious Fringers.
  • Tickets can be purchased online, by telephone (416-966-1062), from the Festival Box Office at Scadding Court (707 Dundas St. W.), and — if any remain — from the venue’s box office starting one hour before curtain.
  • Content Warning: Sexual content.
  • This venue is wheelchair-accessible. Accessible seating is in the very front row.
  • Be aware that Fringe performances always start exactly on time, and that latecomers are never admitted.

Performances

  • Thursday July 5th, 10:00 pm
  • Friday July 6th, 5:45 pm
  • Sunday July 8th, 8:45 pm
  • Monday July 9th, 1:00 pm
  • Wednesday July 11th, 7:30 pm
  • Friday July 13th, 3:30 pm
  • Sunday July 15th, 1:00 pm

Photo of Blythe Haynes by Melanie Book

ALWAYS UNIQUE, TOTALLY INTERESTING, SOMETIMES MYSTERIOUS – Toronto Fringe 2018 Press Release

From Press Release

Always Unique, Totally Interesting, Sometimes Mysterious is a one-woman show about the challenges and triumphs of living with autism. It tells the story of Chloe, and her neuro-typical sister Olivia, as they try and navigate their way through high school and adolescence. Always Unique […]  gives audiences a glimpse into Chloe and Olivia’s lives, where sensory overload and meltdowns are a daily occurrence. It also shows the perspective of both girls and the struggles they face while trying to define and fight for their independence.

Always Unique, Totally Interesting, Sometimes Mysterious is a phenomenal piece of theatre. Funny, moving, awe-inspiring […] it is a work of astonishing creativity and maturity. A highlight of the Fringe 2015, it walks the fine line between being perfectly realized as is and offering a tantalizing glimpse of the work it might become.” (The View Magazine, Hamilton)

Details

  • Always Unique, Totally Interesting, Sometimes Mysterious plays at the Tarragon Theatre Solo Room. (30 Bridgman Ave.)
  • Tickets are $13, including a $2 service charge. The festival also offers a range of money-saving passes and discounts for serious Fringers.
  • Tickets can be purchased online, by telephone (416-966-1062), from the Festival Box Office at Scadding Court (707 Dundas St. W.), and — if any remain — from the venue’s box office starting one hour before curtain.
  • This venue is wheelchair-accessible through a secondary route. Check in at the venue box office at least 15 minutes before showtime, and a staff member will escort you to the venue. Accessible seating is in the front row.
  • Be aware that Fringe performances always start exactly on time, and that latecomers are never admitted.

Performances

  • Wednesday July 4th, 10:00 pm
  • Saturday July 7th, 1:30 pm
  • Sunday July 8th, 8:00 pm
  • Tuesday July 10th, 3:15 pm
  • Wednesday July 11th, 4:45 pm
  • Thursday July 12th, 8:00 pm
  • Friday July 13th, 3:30 pm
  • Saturday July 14th, 9:45 pm

Photo of Alyson Parovel by Mark Kreder

How Hard Could THAT Be? – Toronto Fringe 2018 Press Release

From Press Release

At age twenty, Trent Arterberry decided that he would drop out of college, get married, buy a house, raise a family and pay for it all as a mime artist!  After all, he reasoned, “how hard could that be?” In his third appearance at the Toronto Fringe Festival, audiences will discover the answer for themselves as the show provides hilarious and poignant anecdotes from the life and times of one of Canada’s most well-traveled mime artists.

This new show, written and performed by Arterberry and directed by Gregg Goldston, debuted at the 2017 Victoria Fringe Festival. The show employs Arterberry’s signature blend of scenes of mime and music, woven together with amusing and revealing stories.

In How Hard Could That Be? we get to re-experience with him the halcyon days of mime in the ‘70s and ‘80s, as Arterberry rockets to the top of his profession, getting tapped by Capitol Records and opening for major music acts like BB King, Aerosmith, Julio Iglesias and The Kinks at Radio City Music Hall and the Maple Leaf Gardens.

But with the cultural backlash against mime in the late ‘80s, Arterberry’s career comes crashing back to earth. During this difficult period, he is forced to re-think and re-shape both his art and his life. “This show traces the arc of my career from early confusion to a meteoric rise, a shattering fall, then rebirth and redemption,” says Arterberry.

How Hard Could That Be? is a funny, touching and ultimately uplifting performance. Running from July 6-14 at the Tarragon Theatre Extraspace, 30 Bridgman Ave, Toronto.

Details

  • How Hard Could THAT Be? plays at the Tarragon Theatre Extraspace. (30 Bridgman Ave.)
  • Tickets are $13, including a $2 service charge. The festival also offers a range of money-saving passes and discounts for serious Fringers.
  • Tickets can be purchased online, by telephone (416-966-1062), from the Festival Box Office at Scadding Court (707 Dundas St. W.), and — if any remain — from the venue’s box office starting one hour before curtain.
  • This venue is barrier-free. Patrons who use wheelchairs or who cannot climb stairs are seated in the front row.
  • Be aware that Fringe performances always start exactly on time, and that latecomers are never admitted.

Performances

  • Friday July 6th, 6:45 pm
  • Sunday July 8th, 12:45 pm
  • Monday July 9th, 4:45 pm
  • Wednesday July 11th, 2:00 pm
  • Thursday July 12th, 9:30 pm
  • Friday July 13th, 7:45 pm
  • Saturday July 14th, 12:15 pm

Photo of Trent Arterberry by Derek Ford

Settle This Thing – Toronto Fringe 2018 Press Release

From Press Release

A few years ago  BICK/ANTZIS created a YouTube video called Settle This Thing in order to have the Internet provide a solution to an ongoing argument they couldn’t resolve on their own. Tamara Bick and Drew Antzis each laid out their argument and told viewers, “Vote for who you agree with and we’ll live with the results.” After a week the married couple tallied the votes and had a winner. Argument solved! “It’s crowd sourcing to solve our fights,” says Antzis, “and it worked!” The web series Settle This Thing was born.

The couple used this method to settle many unresolvable arguments like what’s appropriate in sexual fantasies, front seat driving and should we share dreams; then in 2017 decided to take their fights to the stage. Bick and Antzis both started out in theatre and realized it’s an immediate and exciting place to work on comedic material exploring their marriage, sex life, in-laws, and parenting, and began crafting live shows. The results were 5 completely different one hour ‘relationship seminars’ where the couple shares their scientific-ish conclusions on how to be an expert in all these many facets of life.

Bick explains, “We’d get hired to work for other people, and while we loved that experience, it’s not quite the same as creating your own work. We wrote many videos together when Drew first started directing at Funny Or Die. We wrote and directed a short black comedy, COMA, and then started getting hired as writer/directors shooting commercials and promos and a lot of projects for the web, and it just continued from there… but now, we get to do our own thing and that’s just really fun for us.” Antzis adds, “Plus our shows are usually at 8pm so it gets us out of bedtime with the kids, which is also a nice bonus.”

Now BICK/ANTZIS is coming to the Toronto Fringe Festival to put some fresh disputes in the ring for a vote.  They’ve been workshopping the show for many months and when asked if audiences are enjoying it Bick thinks they really are, “Because we are unpacking and analyzing falling in love and sex and kids and all that stuff in a really scientific-ish way, they find it is very valuable info.” Antzis adds, “People love it. And want it. They eat it up.”

Details

  • Settle This Thing plays at the Tarragon Theatre Extraspace. (30 Bridgman Ave.)
  • Tickets are $13, including a $2 service charge. The festival also offers a range of money-saving passes and discounts for serious Fringers.
  • Tickets can be purchased online, by telephone (416-966-1062), from the Festival Box Office at Scadding Court (707 Dundas St. W.), and — if any remain — from the venue’s box office starting one hour before curtain.
  • Content Warnings: Mature language; Audience participation; Unsuitable for minors.
  • This venue is barrier-free. Patrons who use wheelchairs or who cannot climb stairs are seated in the front row.
  • Be aware that Fringe performances always start exactly on time, and that latecomers are never admitted.

Performances

  • Friday July 6th, 8:30 pm
  • Sunday July 8th, 4:45 pm
  • Tuesday July 10th, 1:00 pm
  • Wednesday July 11th, 9:30 pm
  • Thursday July 12th, 2:30 pm
  • Friday July 13th, 3:45 pm
  • Saturday July 14th, 11:30 pm

Photo provided by the company