From Press Release

TIKVA’S ORCHESTRA

Award-winning artists create a new story of hope.

lab le jeu presents Tikva’s Orchestra: the story of a Jewish cellist who is determined to save the players in her orchestra during the Nazi attacks of Kristallnacht in WWII. Directed by Ginette Mohr (The Truth about Comets – ‘Best of Fringe’ 2013), and starring Thomas Morgan Jones (Dora Guthrie Award Winner) and Alisa Walton (TVO’s Polka Dot Shorts – GEMINI Award Winner), Tikva’s Orchestra is a new collaboration that incorporates physical theatre, aerial acrobatics and original music.

 

Tikva’s Orchestra speaks to personal and universal truths about the human spirit and perseverance in the face of unimaginable difficulties. Moreover, the play includes phenomenal acrobatics, elegant physical theatre, a newly composed orchestral work by composer David Mesiha (Jesse Award Winner) and lighting design by Jason Hand (Siminovitch Prize in Theatre) for an engaging and enthralling performance.

Through long hours and a sense of adventure, we have been devising the play and bravely delving into new territory to create imagery with bungee and rope apparatus. We are investigating the artist’s relationship to their art as a source of sustenance and perseverance, and how and where humans draw strength in the face of extreme discrimination.

 

Lab le jeu inc.

in association with The Toronto Fringe Festival proudly presents

Tikva’s Orchestra

Written by Alisa Walton, Ginette Mohr and Thomas Morgan Jones

Directed by Ginette Mohr

Performed by Alisa Walton and Thomas Morgan Jones

Stage Managed by Tamara Protic

Music Composition/Sound Design by David Mesiha

Lighting Design by Jason Hand

Wardrobe and Prop Design by Ellen Roach

 

001 Alisa Walton in  Tikvas Orchestra . photo by Ginette Mohr

Alisa Walton in ‘Tikva’s Orchestra’, photo by Ginette Mohr

 

Opens JULY 2nd and runs to JULY 11th

The Annex Theatre – 730 Bathurst Street, Toronto

 

Performances:

 

Wednesday, July 2 @ 10:30pm

Saturday, July 5 @ 5:15pm

Sunday, July 6 @ 12:30pm

Monday, July 7 @ 6:45pm

Wednesday, July 9 @ 4:00pm

Thursday, July 10 @ 9:15pm

Friday, July 11 @ 12:00pm

 

Please note that there is absolutely no latecomer seating.

 

Tickets:

 

At-the-door tickets are $10 and available at The Annex Theatre one hour prior to show time – cash sales only.

Advance tickets are $12 and go on sale June 12th, 2014.

 

Purchase online: fringetoronto.com

By Phone: 416-966-1062

In Person: At the Festival Box Office in the parking lot behind Honest Ed’s (581 Bloor St W).

 

For interviews and high resolution images, contact Ginette Mohr media@tikvasorchestra.com 647-386-2428

 

Visit www.tikvasorchestra.com

 

lab le jeu’s mandate is to create new work and pioneer apparatus and the ensuing movement vocabulary to elevate theatrical imagery in unexpected ways. Bravery and strong imaginations are at the heart of this company, and the people who work with us show a dedication to pushing physical and emotional limits.

 

From Press Release

FASTER Presents:

The Elephant in the Room

After winning the FREEBIE Award at the 2013 St-Ambroise Montréal Fringe Festival for The Elephant in the Room, FASTER extended the show to a full hour production. Through an all original eclectic music score and contemporary dance performance bordering on clown, this trio expresses that truest of statements, “Life is a circus and then you die”. The full-length production was presented at Montréal’s Espace Freestanding Room in December of 2013. Next up, the show will be presented at the Toronto Fringe Festival in July of 2014!

FASTER presents a modern day, musical fairy-tale about a girl questioning human behavior, adult responsibilities, and why the hell the human race feels the need to march ever onward in the first place. Where the happily ever after ending is running away with carnies… or maybe death? The whole drama is played out through a solo dance performance and FASTER’s unique and engaging set, featuring nihilistic cabaret music mixed with abrasive punk rock, off-kilter drunken lounge jazz, demented circus music, and a bit of 20th century atonal improvisation.

Exciting and surprising, the hour tends to leave the audience with an odd and unexpected peace with their own mortality!

“Kayla Milmine (soprano sax, vocals) and Brian Abbott (guitar, electronic effects, junk percussion) are accomplished players, moving skillfully from jazz to teasingly brief rock mash-ups to assertive free improvisation. Dancer Allison Burns flows effortlessly from mood to mood, bringing a heavy dose of mischief and levity to the work.” – Sue Snyder, BloodyUnderrated

“The chemistry between the musicians is tight. The dancer is a wonderful mover. Full of fun little moments and surprises.” – 2013 Montréal Fringe NetBuzz

Music composed and performed by: Brian Abbott and Kayla Milmine (FASTER)

 

Choreographed and performed by: Allison Burns (From past Toronto Fringe shows, The Duck Wife in 2010 and Dancing in my Unbirthday Suit in 2009)

 

Run Time: 60 min. 12 yrs +

 

Venue: St. Valdimir’s Theatre, 620 Spadina Ave. Toronto, ON.

 

July 2014

Thu, 3rd @10pm

Fri, 4th @3:30pm

Sun, 6th @1:45pm

Tues, 8th @2:45pm

Thu, 10th @5:15pm

Fri, 11th @9:45pm

Sat, 12th @7pm

 

Tickets go on sale June 12th

Advance tickets: $12

At-the-door tickets: $10

Order tickets online: www.fringetoronto.com

Order by phone: (416) 966-1062

From Press Release

 

*No latecomers allowed

An interactive story exploring a journey to Shikoku, Japan, Walk When You Walk played at Toronto’s Theatre Centre

A two-hour contemplative walk, a sharing of perspectives and koans, making and eating rice balls and learning about the self was one part of the Tracy Wright Global Archive project. Beginning at The Theatre Centre, we stepped into the mind of well-known Butoh artist Denise Fujiwara, as she took us back into her own journey of travelling to the 88 Temples Pilgrimage on the island of Shikoku, Japan.

Continue reading Review: Walk When You Walk (The Theatre Centre) →

Real life and storytelling play out side by side in Cineastas playing as part of Toronto’s Luminato Festival

Art imitates life. It’s the most fundamental principle of creating art — create what you know. It’s seen throughout every art form out there — from still life to motion picture, from writing to dance. In Cineastas, presented at the Luninato Festival, we see just that. Argentinian theatre director and author Mariano Pensotti presents a living, breathing slice of life, the results of numerous interviews with filmmakers in Buenos Aires detailing the bonds between their private lives and the stories they create for the screen.

Pensotti followed the filmmakers from their days on set to their personal lives at home, candidly capturing their interactions to create Cineastas. What you see on stage is a meticulously designed split-level stage that both seamlessly and jarringly blend the intimacy of the personal day-to-day with the written and imagined world of created art.

Continue reading Review: Cineastas (Luminato) →

Isabella Rossellini’s Green Porno Comes To Life On The Toronto Stage

More than once, in conversations about Susan Sarandon, I’ve quipped: “I would pay money to watch her make oatmeal, and if she ate it when she was finished I’d pay double.” It’s my way of saying that I find her so compelling that anything she chooses to perform becomes interesting and stylish. Last night, watching Isabella Rossellini talk at length about biology and animal reproduction, I discovered within myself a sudden new appreciation for material that I ignored during grade 10 biology class (which I’m sure we all would have aced if Ms. Rossellini had been teaching it). If you have seen the 18 episodes of Green Porno already, you should know that there’s not much new material in this Luminato show. But, if you like listening to Isabella Rossellini (and who’s kidding who, there’s a great deal of pleasure in that) you will want to be in the theatre for this.

Continue reading Review: Green Porno (Luminato) →