End Game: Soulpepper 2012

So you know when you do an assignment in high school on a book, movie, historical event and you beginning to hate everything about it because of the people you work with, your teacher pressuring you or even plainly the content got boring? Well, that's how I started to dislike Beckett. It didn't have anything to with my group members or my teacher, but more of the content becoming very over extended. I had to remount an edited version of Waiting for Godot and it wasn't my favourite unit, and Samuel Beckett's work made me a little uneasy until Soulpepper presented Endgame in 2012.

I quickly fell back in love with Beckett and apologized for my quick dislike of his work thanks to Soulpepper. This piece of theatre is bleak but so full of complexity and thought. Daniel Brooks direction was absolutely fabulous and was evident from beginning to end. Diego Matamoros played Clov to Joseph Zielger's Hamm, which has probably been one of the richest relationships I've seen in theatre. Eric Peterson also graced the stage as Nagg with Maria Vacratsis' Nell. The presence was so alive in all four of them even though two of them were in a garbage can for their performance. And even when characters weren't on stage their energy was still present. 

Julie Fox's dry walled set design appears as almost like a supporting character for the cast, give such a definite texture and feel to the piece. Richard Feren’s sound design and placement and everything he did with the echoes and faint wind sounds were the cherry on the sundae.

Kelly McEvenue also worked as an Alexander Technique coach with the cast to help them endure the slanted stage and unnatural physicality. And since she's been one of my instructors at Humber it was a pleasure to hear about the process and thoughts behind the piece.

It was such an engaging piece of theatre that I would have loved to see again and again to pick up on the things I missed. It was a knock out that made me appreciate Beckett more than I ever had. 

You can get a season subscription to Soulpepper's 2013 season through their website, if you want to see fabulous productions like Endgame

Soulpepper

Website http://www.soulpepper.ca

Twitter https://twitter.com/Soulpepper

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SoulpepperTheatre?fref=ts

If you had a chance to see Endgame, let me know what you thought in the comments!

With love, 

Lisa Alves

Roz and Guild: What Shakespeare Missed... BIG TIME

Soulpepper has begun their 2013 season with a brilliant play by Tom Stoppard. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1966) is the piece of Hamlet Shakespeare missed. It's a comic masterpiece that follows Roz and Guild, two minor characters in Hamlet, as they wait to be summoned to the Danish court and then later this English King. It's intellectual writing weaves wonderfully through the pitiful story we know as Hamlet.

But the great this is, YOU DON'T NEED TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HAMLET! I personally haven't cracked open my copy of Hamlet for five years, so I was relying on my Lion King knowledge to help me out; and I understood and followed the story perfectly. It's because Stoppard detracted the importance on Hamlet to Roz and Guild, so really it's a whole new story for audiences whether they are Hamlet fanatics or not. 

Joseph Ziegler's direction of this piece of theatre was evident with his wonderful style. Ziegler lead the the ship of this creation splendidly. Ted Dykstra and Jordan Pettle played the leading men. These actors played such great opposites with one being a bit more intellectual than the other and one being a little more carefree than the other. Dykstra played such an open role and was a pleasure to watch even when he was just listening to the craziness of the other characters. Pettle seemed like he approached his role the way his character naturally is, intellectually and dynamically. He was open and pleasure to listen to. Is was also great to be in the presence of Nancy Palk and Diego Matamoros once again, as they played Gertrude and Claudius. Kenneth Welsh and his group of traveling gypsy actor were the party of the show and added such a great tone to the performance. 

The stage was in the round and the set was mobile, allowing for me to feel as if I was part of Roz and Guild's world which had a reminisces feel of Beckett's Waiting for Godot. 

Speaking of Waiting for Godot, the play had that existential quality to it, dealing with the fate of these poor laughable characters, along with the confusion and oddity. 

If you want to get tickets, please do because it is a must see! Soulpepper has added three new performances, extending the run for your viewing pleasure!

Soulpepper

Website http://www.soulpepper.ca/performances/13_season/rosencrantz_and_guildenstern_are_dead.aspx

Twitter https://twitter.com/Soulpepper

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SoulpepperTheatre?fref=ts

If you have seen it, comment here to tell me how you enjoyed it! :)

With love, 

Lisa

Till Eulenspiegel - Humber

My school, Humber College's Birmingham Conservatory, has a fabulous production starting Saturday!
It's the 3rd Year performance student's production. They've been working so hard on this semester and I can't wait to see the preview tonight!

If you want to check it out, follow the information bellow.

Don't miss out on a fantastic performance!

Till Eulenspiegel (In the afterlife of Jerzy Kosinski) opens ON FRIDAY!

Reserve your tickets at humber.theatre@humber.ca

February 23,26,27,28, March 1 and 2 @ 7pm 
Matinees: February 24th and March 2nd at 2pm

Adults $15
Students/Seniors $10
Alumni $5

DON'T MISS IT!

With love,

Lisa Alves

Every Letter Counts

Last week I had the pleasure to watch Evert Letter Counts at Factory Theatre. Written by Nina Lee Aquino and Directed by Nigel Shawn Williams, this play explored the Filipino political icon, Benigno Aquino, Nina Lee's very own uncle. 

The play's production value really amplified the path the play was taking with the wonderful use of projection and lighting. It gave the audience imagines that were essential to the piece. The lighting also allowed character's importance to shine through, along with creating different tones and moods for the stationary set they had. 

Aquino played herself as Bunny alongside Jon de Leon who played Benigno. Aquino had great personal investment in the piece and de Leon had spectacular understanding and approach to such multi-dimensional man. Earl Pastko had such wonderful physicality, which was appropriate for the status he was perceived to have; he was definitely connect to his spine that was so dynamically aligned, he was a pleasure just to stare at.

If you want to check out this production the run ends February 24th, so get your tickets!
http://www.factorytheatre.ca/201213-season/every-letter-counts/

Factory Theatre
Twitter https://twitter.com/FactoryToronto

Nina Lee Aquino
Twitter https://twitter.com/nininsky

With love,

Lisa Alves

Spent

A 2010 Dora Award-winner and a hit at the 2011 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and was originally produced by Theatre Smith-Gilmour, TheatreRUN and Why Not Theatre.

Well this play certainly has a great reputation already! Spent was created by four artists who are really impacting Canadian theatre; Dean Gilmour, Michele Smith, Ravi Jain and Adam Paolozza. I might have a bias due to the fact that Gilmour was my Neutral Mask instructor last semester, but in all honesty this play was full of life and energy. 

The entirety of the play was intelligent and poetic while focusing on the greed that resulted in the recent financial crisis. Jain and Paolozza perform about 20 characters from around the world, all by themselves. The use of physical theatre was such a pleasure to watch and probably the best I've seen so far this year. 

This production was so well-paced and explored a great deal surrounding the economy within 70 minutes. 

I also want to highlight the music and the sound that this production used. The selection of songs added to the texture of the piece as well as the changing tones and pace. It was very satisfying. 

I highly recommend everyone to go see the show. The run ends on Friday February 22nd at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, so try an get your tickets at http://tickets.youngcentre.ca/single/psDetail.aspx?psn=6554

Theatre Smith-Gilmour
Twitter https://twitter.com/theatreSG
Website http://www.theatresmithgilmour.com

TheatreRUN
Website http://theatrerun.wordpress.com

Why Not Theatre
Twitter https://twitter.com/theatrewhynot
Website http://www.theatrewhynot.org

Ravi Jain
Twitter https://twitter.com/instantravi

Adam Paolozza
Twitter https://twitter.com/adampaolozza

With love,

Lisa Alves

Someone Else

Kristen Thomson is probably one of the true Canadian gems we have in theatre at this point and time; acting and writing some really pivotal pieces. Her recent play Someone Else, directed by Crow's Theatre's very own Chris Abraham, was mounted at Berkeley Street theatre as part of CanStage's season.

Kristen Thomson allowed the audience to marvel at the different extremes people react when in moments of turmoil and crisis. Above all, Thomson gave the opportunity to the audience to laugh at the turmoil and crisis, as well as cry, grimace, and question.

The play centred around a middle aged couple, played by Thomson and Tom Rooney, who find themselves in a bit of rut. Peter (Rooney) finally finds something/someone to release all the guilt, frustration, and confusion he has held for over 20 years. With a teenaged daughter and Cathy's (Thomson) fallen stand-up career, the play is full of complexity and conflict. I basically just wanted to jump up from my second row seat and hug these characters that these artist were creating before my eyes. Performances by Damien Atkins and Bahia Watson were absolutely delightful and spectacular to watch because of their keen sense to detail in the complexity of their characters.

The tech and design complimented the piece to a 'T', especially Julie Fox's wonderful dry walled and cardboard box set. The production side of things brought out the tone and colour of the piece.

The run is over now but I'm sure we will be seeing this play around very soon... or at least I hope so because I want to thank Thomson, Abraham and their team for this beautiful piece of art I was able to witness.

CanStage
Website https://www.canadianstage.com/online/default.asp
Twitter https://twitter.com/canadianstage

Crow's Theatre
Website http://www.crowstheatre.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/crowstheatre

Chris Abraham
Twitter https://twitter.com/chrisjabraham

With love,

Lisa Alves

Please Help Yourself

Last month I went to see a wonderful production that won Best of Fringe this past summer at The Red Sandcastle Theatre. Help Yourself is best described as HBO on stage.

This show belongs to the wonderful theatre company Theatre Brouhaha with the amazing talent of Kat Sandler behind the writing of such a hilariously dark comedy.

The two main men Daniel Pagett as Donny and Tim Walker as Ted, started with such high energy and I was afraid they wouldn't be able to go anywhere else with it, BUT OH THEY DID! The two me were nicely complimented by the wonderful talent of Tosha Doiron as Samantha, with her real and witty portrayal of her character. The three cast ensemble did a wonderful job helping the audience unlock the mystery behind the piece Kat Sandler wrote.

Now the Red Sandcastle Theatre space is quite small so you could imagine how bad I felt laughing practically in the actors faces, but hey! The play was so damn funny!

The run is now over, but maybe they'll do a remount? I sure hope they do because this play, like many of the critics have said, can really go places. 

Theatre Brouhaha
Tweet https://twitter.com/TheatreBrouhaha
Website http://theatrebrouhaha.com

Also Tosha Doiron is the Principle at Stage Coach Theatre Arts School in Oakville. I as well also work there, so indeed she is my employer and a grand one she is. So if you have children or know people with children get them enrolled! http://www.stagecoachschools.ca

WIth love, 

Lisa Alves

The Penelopiad

I shimmied my way down, with my best friend Aline Madian, to Buddies in Bad Times Theatre to see Nightwood Theatre's production of Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad last month. And let me tell you, if you didn't see this piece of theatre YOU MISSED OUT BIG TIME.

The entire performance had me enthralled! I don't know whether if it was the performances by the amazing ensemble, which included Meagan Follows and Kelli Fox, or if it was Atwood's beautiful words, or if it was the design, or if it was something completely separate. I'm sure it was a combination of all the above, but whatever it was I was thoroughly amazed. 

I love the Greeks and this story of Penelope allowed me to fall in love with the ancient civilization a bit more. Atwood truly got the Greeks sense of story telling down pat and she didn't let down.

The ensemble was brilliant. Through song, movement and acting the 13 women were on their game from beginning to end. It was such a pleasure to see the physical theatre intertwined with song. The performances that blew me away specifically were Follows' and Fox's. I can't see anyone else more suitable to play the role as Penelope after seeing Follows do such a knock out job (did I mention this was the second time she played the role?). Fox's performance as Odysseus and as the maid was mind blowing. She was a man one minute full of testosterone, and the next she was a suffering maid! Pfffft! She was perfection. 

The whole ensemble was supported each other and even though it was Penelope's story, it was the maid's story as well.

I wish I could have seen it more than the one time I saw it, but I'm a student so alas my pockets couldn't handle that. But if I could have, I would have. 

Nightwood Theatre 
Twitter https://twitter.com/nightwoodtheat
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/nightwoodtheatre
Website http://www.nightwoodtheatre.net

Buddies in Bad Times
Twitter https://twitter.com/yyzbuddies
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/buddiesinbadtimes?v=wall
Website http://buddiesinbadtimes.com

Margaret Atwood
Twitter https://twitter.com/MargaretAtwood

With love,

Lisa Alves

The One and Only, Bon Jovi

AH! So I went to see the Bon Jovi concert last night at the ACC. I really only went because my mother is a huge fan. But I must admit something... I kind of like Bon Jovi a little too.
I grew up listening to their music and it was very inspiration and fun. They are a great band, and just because their audience attracts women in their mid age range should retract from their great musical ability and amazing stage presence.

They sang their hits, they sang their new stuff, they shook their asses and they put on such a great show.
The tech behind the show was phenomenal! The lighting, sound and even the stage construction was so well structured. It complemented the band and their music so well.
I respect them so much as artists because they've made their own music and after 20 plus years they still continue to do make new music that people fall in love with.
Jon Bon Jovi is the mastermind behind the band owning the name and what not and I was so amazed to see how open he was as a performer. No lip-syncing and no back up singings except for Richie Sambora. Jon was a open and feeding off of the live audience in front of him which has energy to light up all of Toronto.

The four band members have been such honest performers and it so nice to see bands like them having such a long and fruitful career.
This was my second Bon Jovi concert thanks to my mom and it was just as good as the last. I hope to see them when they come the next time around because they never disappoint.

Do you guys have a favourite Bon Jovi song?
Which classic band is your favourite?

You can follow Richie Sambora on Twitter https://twitter.com/TheRealSambora
And you can follow the band on twitter https://twitter.com/BonJovi

Remember to follow me on Tumblr at http://laalvezz.tumblr.com

With love,
Lisa Alves

The Body of Body 13

I recently saw a production by MT Space, a theatre company devoted to developing inter-cultural forms and practices in performance & to producing and presenting theatre that reflects our diversity. They are based in Kitchener, Ontario and travel to Toronto occasionally to show the big city what's going on. The production was called Body 13 and was performed at the Passe Muraille. 

The piece was created through devised theatre and explored the theme of human sexuality. The story was interesting to follow intertwining three couples' relationships. The stories were enhanced by the physical theatre aspect they incorporated. The movement base of the performance was well structured and wonderful to witness because it gave a different angle views to the stories being told by the individual characters. 

The piece's technical and design side was impeccable and really drew me in to the story because it add such a clear tone and texture to the story. It really helped the piece of theatre come to life and support the journey the story was taking.

The run has unfortunately ended, but if you are ever in the Kitchener area and want to check them out here's their website http://www.mtspace.ca and their twitter https://twitter.com/theMTspace

With love,
Lisa Alves

Check out my Pinterest! http://pinterest.com/laalvezz/

Musical Start

I grew up with music everywhere.
My mother says that when she was pregnant with me she would put headphones around her belly and  play Sir Elton John for my listening pleasure. I'm sure many mothers do this across the world, and I'm going to say as the baby in the womb, I'm sure it was pretty useful.
When I was learning my ABCs and 123s I depended on song to memorize them thanks to programs like Sesame Street and Barney. (And the sad thing is I still do use the songs to help me out in times of brain fart-age)
By the time I was 6 my parents enrolled me in piano lessons to see if I could become the next great piano genius. Unfortunately that didn't happen, but that's when I began to build the basics of music in my neurological pathways. By the time I was 8 I wanted to be a singer, so along with piano and learned the about my voice. This was extremely beneficial because at 18 I  still go back to recall what I learned from back in the day to help me learn music.
Through my childhood my mother also always had the radio playing in the house. Not the Top 40, but easy rock stations filled the air of our house. In the car, my father would blast the classic rock. From there I fell in love with Billy Joel, Sarah McLachlan, Bob Dylan, Tina Turner, The Beatles, Madonna, Rolling Stones and Shania Twain.
From there my musical tastes grew and currently on my iPod I have such a huge diversity of genres.
Unfortunately I stopped taking piano and singing lessons for personal reasons, but it's helped me immensely in my theatre training, more than I could have imagined.

I'm going to pose a question, and feel free to answer in the comments.
Do you think it's important to have a basic music background as a theatre artist? Why or why not?
And how has music shaped your life?

Remember you can tweet me @LAALVEZZ

With love,
Lisa Alves

My Love For Soulpepper

I was first introduced to the spectacular theatre company, Soulpepper, in 2009 when I was dragged by my high school to see Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. I was excited, I was young teen going on an evening field trip with my much beloved high school drama department. The only thing was I didn't know what to expect. 
I remember watching the 1966 film with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton and being slightly impressed, but I didn't understand the importance and the weight of the story. That was until I stepped into the Young Centre in the Distillery District and headed towards the Baillie Theatre. 
I took in the stage that was in front of me; I was in the second row so I really had nowhere else to look, but it was a wonderful set. I didn't know what to expect or what was going to happen before my eyes. I was ready to be taken away as the lights dimmed and Nancy Palk and Diego Matamoros entered as the infamous Martha and George. 
I followed the story extremely well and found myself thinking "Elizabeth Taylor has nothing on Nancy Palk, this woman is amazing." I also found myself thinking "Diego Matamoros should always and forever be George." 

I was swept away by the design of the production and the whirlwind of the story I was taken on. I felt I was on a roller-coaster and I never wanted to get off, until I found myself crying at the sight of Martha's collapse. I was punched in the stomach in the most satisfying way possible. 

As I stood up to join the standing ovation of the audience I fell in love with The Distillery District, The Young Centre, with Palk and Matamoros, and will Soulpepper. 

That production was the first thing I had ever seen and said "I want to do that, I want to act, I need to create and be part of such a wonderful community." So I guess that was one of the first moments I decided I wanted to be an actor/theatre artist.

Thank you Soulpepper!

If you want to understand where I'm coming from, or already know what I'm talking about and want to revisit the greatness visit http://www.soulpepper.ca to see their new season of wonderful productions that are going to be just as mind blowing as Virginia Woolf.

You can also follow them on Twitter https://twitter.com/Soulpepper

And like them on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SoulpepperTheatre?fref=ts

With love,

Lisa Alves

A Bit About Moi

I'm Lisa Alves and I am currently training to be a professional theatre artist. I currently reside in the GTA and I'm often in the downtown core seeing shows to enjoy and inspire me as an artist. I've basically created this blog so I can spread the word of theatre in the GTA and some thoughts on these wonderful productions and performances put on around the city. 

I won't constantly be talking of theatre, but it will be arts related (i.e. film, dance, music, etc.)

So whether you're a professional artist yourself, training, or just simply love art feel free to follow and visit.

With love,

Lisa Alves

If you're interested please follow on Twitter as well, its never a dull moment

https://twitter.com/LAALVEZZ