From Press Release

From Press Release

Thousand Beginnings follows two women on their cyclical quest for freedom from ancient behavioural patterns. Interweaving rigorous physicality with poetic text, the two performers explore the rites of passage in the life of a woman and her quest for stillness within. Under The Umbrella Collective’s debut Thousand Beginnings is an intimate, evocative meditation on womanhood, sisterhood, and coming of age, as we begin again and again as a means of survival.

Our collective is an umbrella under which female artists come together and create new works. As a process oriented collective we strive for honesty and aesthetic risk-taking. We yearn to explore the richness of our linguistic and cultural ways of story telling through physical theatre making. All three creators have a strong background in devised, improvisation-based theatre creation. We started this process by asking the following questions: What does it mean to turn 30? As we evaluate our lives so far, what are we noticing about ourselves? Moving through the world as women, carrying not only our thoughts and patterns but also those of our parents and grandparents, how can we step into this next phase with awareness and self-actualization? What needs to end first so we can fully begin again?

Under The Umbrella is made up of theatre artists Gulce Oral, Jewels Krauss and Margaret Muriel Legere. Jewels Krauss is a performer originally from Stuttgart who was last seen on Crow’s Theatre stage in Anton Piatigorsky’s play Breath in Between. Margaret Muriel Legere is a Halifax artist, currently doing a Masters in Directing at York University. Gulce Oral is a performer from Istanbul currently doing a Masters in Performance/Creation at York University.

This show supposes awareness is our super power. As we discover our patterns, we are simultaneously in a state of struggle and revelation, each opposing and feeding the other, as we journey toward transformation.Thousand Beginnings is a physical exploration of that journey and the realization that transformation is not a destination.

Details

• Thousand Beginnings plays at the St. Vladimir Institute. (620 Spadina 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 wheelchair-accessible through a secondary route. After the building’s business hours, a staff member will need to escort you through this route, so plan to arrive at least 15 minutes early for evening shows.
• Be aware that Fringe performances always start exactly on time, and that latecomers are never admitted.

Performances

• Thursday July 5th, 6:30 pm
• Sunday July 8th, 11:00 pm
• Tuesday July 10th, 8:30 pm
• Thursday July 12th, 12:00 pm
• Friday July 13th, 9:15 pm
• Saturday July 14th, 5:15 pm
• Sunday July 15th, 1:00 pm

Photo of Gulce Oral and Jewels Krauss by Lucas Olscamp

From Press Release

Sarah Kane gets a physical reimagining at the Toronto Fringe

Crave Collective and Pure Carbon present Sarah Kane’s Crave. This physically expressive and poetic reimagining of Kane’s searing drama highlights the play’s exploration of love’s assault upon the wholeness of the self. Presented as part of the Toronto Fringe Festival, the work runs at the Tarragon Theatre Extraspace from July 4-15.

Four different bodies occupying one life. The fractured voices of the whole describe their desires, remember losses in the past, and question their future in the face of their trauma.  The play is known for the sheer force of its language and its penetrating gaze into the human psyche. Twenty years later it still has the power to arouse pity, fear, laughter, and catharsis.

Crave was originally produced by The Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh in August 1998 under a pseudonym, to avoid association with Kane’s violent, controversial earlier work, such as Blasted and Phaedra’s Love. Kane’s work was extremely controversial in its time, buts he has since become a revered voice in contemporary theatre, with productions of her work performed all over the globe. She has been described as “a radical and profoundly influential playwright” (Sarah Hemming, The Financial Times), and “a uniquely experimental voice” (Dominic Cavendish, The Independent).

Pure Carbon is known for their visceral, intelligent, contemporary reimaginings of classic works, including Private Lives (Kensington Hall, 2017), Bitchcraft (The Box, 2015), and The House of Bernadette Alba (The Box, 2015). Crave features a dynamic cast of indie performers including Wayne Burns (Miss, Unit 102; 2017 NOW Magazine Breakthrough Artist), Brenna Maloney (4.48 Psychosis, Skipping Stones Theatre), Laura Meadows (Titus Andronicus, Hart House Theatre), and Liz Der (The Ballad of Sadie Wong, Alumnae Theatre Company).

Crave Collective and Pure Carbon present

Crave

at the Toronto Fringe Festival

written by Sarah Kane

directed by Katy Murphy

performed by Wayne Burns, Liz Der, Breanna Maloney, & Laura Meadows

produced by Alexander Kentris

lighting design by Chin Palipane

performances run July 4th 6:15pm, July 7th 12:15pm, July 8th 10:30pm,  July 10th 4:30pm,  July 11th 6:00pm, July 13th 9:30pm, July 15th 7:45pm

at Tarragon Theatre Extraspace, 30 Bridgeman Ave, Toronto

for tickets, please visit fringetoronto.com

for more details, please visit purecarbon.ca

Photo of Liz Der and Breanna Maloney by John Brodie

From Press Release

NURSERY RHYME MADNESS TAKES THE BATA SHOE MUSEUM
MRS. MAMA’S HOUSE LANDS AT THE TORONTO FRINGE

Toronto, ON: Put on your fancy shoes, because Mrs. Mama is coming to Toronto this July. Staged amongst the relics of soles throughout time, playwright Nathaniel Kinghan and director Autumn Smith reimagine the classic “Old Woman Who Lived in A Shoe” nursery rhyme inside the Bata Shoe Museum.

Shoes are priceless possessions in Mrs. Mama’s House, and are treated as invaluable prizes. By teaming up with the Bata Shoe Museum, we are staging a site-informed show in an exhibit where shoes are placed behind glass on literal pedestals. There will be a layered approach to this experience, where the work informs the space and the space likewise informs the work.

This absurd retelling looks at what happens when an institution has “too many children” and “doesn’t know what to do”. Mrs. Mama’s House is a twisted take on a beloved classic: a bedtime story that will keep you up at night.

As the exhibit is an intimate venue, tickets are in short supply and early booking is recommended. We can’t wait to have you over to Mrs. Mama’s House!

A COMPANY OF SOME
in association with THE TORONTO FRINGE FESTIVAL presents
MRS. MAMA’S HOUSE
Written by: Nathaniel Kinghan
Directed by:Autumn Smith
Stage Managed by: Emma Miziolek
Featuring:Blake Murray, Ken Northfield, Natalie Semotiuk, and Zenia Sethna
Venue: BATA SHOE MUSEUM (327 Bloor Street West)
Performances: (7:00pm) July 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15
Box Office:  fringetoronto.com / 416 966 1062 / 707 Dundas Street West
Donation request: Leave your footprint with us and donate a pair of shoes to charity.

Tickets ($13 with service fee) go on sale June 8, 2017.
Please note that there is absolutely no latecomer seating.
Please contact companyofsome@gmail.com regarding comp tickets and donations.

Photo of Bata Shoe Museum by Philip Castleton

From Press Release

Prairie Fire, Please in association with the 2018 Toronto Fringe Festival presents:

Everyone Wants a T-Shirt!

When Beatrice sinks her potato-based start-up, she must ascend the ranks of an imposing pyramid scheme in order to rebuild her career. Peddling “Women Rule The World” t-shirts, pancake mixes and portable batteries in the name of feminism, Beatrice encounters a cast of characters like herself: desperate to save the world, find community and define their own identities.

Feminism is no longer a bad word, it’s a selling feature. But what happens when corporations cash in on the ideology? Have we helped our community or have we helped turn a profit? Ever afraid of her morality, playwright and cog in the machine, Madeleine Brown invites her audience to question their own.

From the “whip smart” losers behind 2017 Toronto Fringe sellout, Madeleine Says Sorry, comes a twisted comedy about entrepreneurial failure, commercialized feminism and how to sell a shit-ton of t-shirts.

Our team is made up of key contributors from recent Toronto indie hits including Aaron Jan of Silk Bath (Next Stage Festival 2017, NNNN), Rachel Kennedy of Urban Myth (Next Stage Festival 2017, NNNN) and Madeleine Brown and Aaron Jan of Madeleine Says Sorry (Toronto Fringe 2017). But don’t take our word for it—here’s some press for Prairie Fire, Please’s Madeleine Says Sorry:

Photo of Brittany Miranda, John Wamsley, Charlin McIsaac and Madeleine Brown by Graham Isador