Stepping into the old building one can smell an impending performance fresh in the air.  Here lies the home of the lovelies who live and breathe Greenfools Theatre.  Their latest production explores Ancient Egypt weaving the tale of Isis and Osiris the beloved earthly rulers.  Osiris’s brother Seth jealously broods over Osiris’s popularity and devises a scheme to overtake the throne.  A battle rages and only cosmic love can overcome.

Time warp to the sneak preview from inside Greenfools headquarters.  A giant cream coloured sheet draped across the room becomes the backdrop for the stage.   Directly in front of the sheet one finds a colourful array of goodies: one old school projector and two Egyptian cloth scrolls.  On top of the scrolls, feast your eyes on piles and piles of shadow puppets in all shapes and sizes.  These two dimensional characters that spill over one another have bodies born from bright neon construction paper, gels from all colours of the rainbow and black duct tape.  Many of them can spin and move - and all can captivate.

Close by, three talented living breathing musicians have mapped out nooks for a keyboard, drum kit, Indian Tabla and Chinese Zithers.  Imagine the audio-soup all those sounds will create!  Three steps away an assortment of chairs and cushions await you: the viewer.  This is ‘cozy up on a cushion’ intimate.  The pre-show music fades.  Lights dim.  This is where the magic begins.

An old-school projector flicks on, shining vibrant light onto the backdrop. Shadow puppets dance on screen by the aid of the puppeteers hands.  Performers act along side the shadows adding an extra element of interaction.  Enchanting original compositions leave one beguiled and humming right along.

This is where I stop.  The opera itself cannot be described in written words, but with song, unmistakable greenfools wit, ancient yet modern images, superb costumes and pure dedicated love.  All those whom fancy a heart warming tale and stoking your sense’s curiosity follow the link below.  The show starts it’s official run November 10-15.  Keep marvellous storytelling alive!

http://www.greenfools.com/

Written by: Ari Hershberg

This past Tuesday was opening night for Orpheus and Eurydice by Compagnie Marie Chouinard at the Theatre Junction GRAND.  Orpheus and Eurydice takes both the performers and the audience on a wild journey of the senses.  From the opening moment to the final piece, there is something going on stage that is felt and experienced, a visceral experience for both the performers and the audience.  The communication progressed into a dialogue, each reaction by the audience created a stronger connection that built into the crescendo of the final scene.

There was a feeling in the room like a spell was cast on the audience.  When I occasionally took my attention off the performers and onto the audience, I saw a collective group mesmerized, and glued to their chairs.  There was no movement.  It was as if each and everyone’s senses were being so fully absorbed that their bodies were rendered motionless.

Earlier on Tuesday, September 22, 2009, I had a chance to speak with three of the lead dancers Lucie Mongrain, Dorotea Saykaly and James Viveiros, and they shared some of their thoughts on Chouinard’s work. There is a deep exploration through Chouinard’s work. A lot of possibilities, layers and pockets that allows you to go deeper and deeper, accessing subconscious states. Chouinard’s inspiration changes every time, continually blossoming throughout the whole creation of the piece, its completion and even after.  If she were a painter she would sneak into a gallery that held one of her finished paintings every night adding another brush stroke, continually adding a new element.   Past works, even pieces that are 10 years old are still being modified, as no piece is ever fully finished.

Chouinard is focused on the dancer’s body, and is in tune with movements that are pleasurable to the senses and body that the dancers can have fun with.  This creates a comfort and openness, and allows for change and new creation each performance.  She has really found a way to find joy and out of her work, an amazing edge without being a tortured artist.  All involved in the creation sees it as a process.  Dancers have a great trust and love for her connection with the dance, dancers and the audience. 

I personally love when I see something that makes me want to connect with others and discuss what I have witnessed because there is so much to share, whether it is joy, sadness, anger or any other emotion.  After the show a packed room awaited full of people sharing their thoughts and insights.   The woman I shared the evening with was full of observations and questions, and so was everyone else who visited our table.  The place was buzzing with excitement.  If you are looking for a feast of the senses that entices and offers a new way of experiencing and seeing the world this is for you.  Calgary is blessed that Marie Chouinard’s work continually shows at this beautiful venue.  Performances like this will be talked about for a long time.

Written by Jeannine Dryden

Theatre Junction GRAND opens with its fourth season on September 22, 2009. This year audiences can expect to see a variety of contemporary art performances from across the world. Artistic director, Mark Lawes is encouraging Calgarians to attend the season and expose themselves to new perspectives of theatre. Combining various styles of performance, including dance, music, video & theatre, Lawes is not only building bridges between disciplines, but also hoping to bring the audience together.

“It’s still theatre, but it’s a different way of viewing what theatre is,” says Lawes. “I think each individual spectator is going to see something different.”

The 2009/10 season will host a variety of performances from contemporary dance to concert performance for a wallet friendly price. Early birds can get their season pass for $215 (by September 10, 2009), regular passes are sold for $245 and students can get their passes for $98 (with valid student ID).

Lawes recommends attending more than just one performance in order to get the full experience.

“I think to see what we’re doing here, you have to see the whole landscape of work because there is such diversity,” said Lawes.

The internationally diverse season includes artists from Montreal, Belgium and Australia. The opening show, Orpheus and Eurydice by Compagnie Marie Chouinard will give Calgarians a taste of Montreal’s contemporary dance scene. Performing in numerous theatres worldwide, including Théâtre de la Ville, Paris, France, Orpheus and Eurydice will keep audiences wanting more.

Based on a true story, 7 Important Things by STO Union tells a story of a middle-aged man looking back on his life choices that were impacted by the 60’s hippie movement & 70’s punk movement.

“It’s like a docu-fiction,” says Lawes.

Addressing many of the same questions that today’s youth face, 7 Important Things is a performance that all generations can identify with.

“I think a lot of youth are asking the same questions; like what’s the future, what are we going to do about this world that we live in?” says Lawes.

Audiences can experience up and coming playwright, Martin Crimp’s, The Country in November. Lawes himself will take part in the performance and has worked closely with director Chris Abraham to bring this story to life.

One question that Lawes hopes to bring to attention this season is that of cultural identity.

“What is this gap, what is this post-colonial crisis that we find ourselves in?” asks Lawes.

The answer potentially lies in China, by William Yang. Yang is an Australian-born Chinese who has traveled to China in hopes of discovering his cultural identity. He tells the story of returning to his homeland using words, music and visual art.

“He is a great storyteller,” says Lawes.

For those of us who like a really good scary story, come Roadkill by Splintergroup. This psychological thriller will definitely keep audiences in suspense.

“It’s about fear and how fear plays in your mind,” says Lawes.

Playing on current urban legend hype, Roadkill will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Dance enthusiasts will be able to celebrate with Meg Stuart’s Do Animals Cry, performed by Damaged Goods. American-born, Meg Stuart, established her world-renowned company in Belgium and brings a thought provoking performance of theatre and dance.

Wrapping up the 2009/10 season is The Spaghetti Western Orchestra (Australia), a performance of classic Ennio Morricone music such as The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and For a Few Dollars More. Using hundreds of musical instruments to re-create these classic western songs, Calgary is about to get a lesson in real western identity.

“It makes a lot of weird sense,” says Lawes. “It shows how music can really paint the picture of the imagination.”

If the 2009/10 season isn’t enough, then don’t forget to purchase tickets for the special remount of On the Side of the Road in March. This special performance is returning to give audiences a chance to catch it again before going on its first national tour next spring.

Bringing a strange blend of western music, contemporary dance, storytelling and suspense, Theatre Junction GRAND challenges the ordinary perception of what theatre is all about.

“It’s a real adventure to come here, and I think that’s what people are looking for.”

Written by: Chris McGeachy

Photos by: Devon Boulton-Mills

atbt magazine issue 3

What seemed like a clearheaded decision soon drifted out of a slightly intoxicated haze and came into focus. The reality that my life would be laid out in front of an audience of strangers started gnawing at my psyche. But it was too late, and before I could raise reasonable objection I found myself sitting on a throne-like chair inside a renovated electronics recycling depot right across from Erlton Stampede C-Train station. The players of the Curiously Canadian Improv Guild reenacted my childhood based on a live interview and my duty is to look on and make adjustments using a bell and horn. Right from the get-go I feel like using the horn - strange as it may seem, I don’t remember my mother being so masculine. But this is the fun of improv, you get to see how professionals make do with few props and the power of dissuasion in an effort to appease the audience’s state of disbelief.
“We’re making this up as we go along,” Guild master Rick Hilton announced to the audience at the beginning of the show. A longtime improv comedian, Hilton is a master at involving his audience with the comedy. Having performed a high energy show, Hilton and the rest of the Guild members invited the audience to hang out for a beer and a chat.
“A big part of improv comedy is thinking quickly on your feet,” Hilton said. Those familiar with this style of Guerilla Theatre know that it is reliant on keeping an upbeat comic rhythm. This Improv Guild doesn’t only cater to performance. Instead, it is their goal to create a true culture of improvisation in Calgary, and they do so through workshops, a regular Friday night show and a carefree, charismatic everyone-welcome attitude.