Win-Win with Winners and Losers and Over the Edge with 4 Play!

Despite a wicked cold, I made it out to three theatrical events this weekend.  First up on Thursday night, I took in Winners and Losers in The Club at the Citadel. It was an edgy night. The first hour you are laughing, hard, at the competitive banter of Marcus Youssef and James Long as they play their game winners and losers. They are quick and sharp, smart and funny, and the line blurs between when they are improvising and when they are on-script. Then it takes a turn and you're not laughing anymore, or if you are, it's that nervous laughter.  This is the show for people who like that edge.  For people who like to see what happens when you blur the line between acting and reality and maybe go too far.  It was fascinating to be in the room immediately after because of the discussions that arose as it is certainly the kind of show you talk about. Winners and Losers runs until April 18th at the Citadel.

Then, because I somehow don't think that resting when you are sick applies to me, I went out with the lovely Catharooni on Friday night to take in Catalyst Theatre's annual fundraiser, Over the Edge With 4 Play.  If you don't know what that is, here's a simple description: In the morning on Friday, a first line of dialogue and a prop are pulled from a hat (these have been submitted by many random people via email). That line and that prop is given to 4 playwrights who have about 3 hours to write a play for 4 actors. Then that script is given to 4 directors and 4 design teams and they rehearse and design the shows for display that evening.  Each play gets 1 hour of 'rehearsal' with the 4 actors (who perform in all 4 plays).  So, when we arrived at 9:30 pm, we were treated to 4 new plays which indulged deliciously in the ridiculous!  Afterwards we got to vote for the best play, best director, best design and best actor.  It was so much fun! The plays were all so different and funny in their own right and with casts of Trevor Schmidt, Stephanie Wolfe, Mathew Hulshof and April Banigan they were even more!  I can't believe I have never gone before and I plan to back for more (and maybe someday I can participate in some capacity!).  A truly hilarious evening and all for a good cause. Happy to announce that Catalyst met their fundraising goal!

The third theatrical event was my return for the closing of Arcadia.  I was glad to get back to see it again. It know it wasn't for everyone, but that's the beauty of art, isn't it? It means different things to different people, so the audience (the viewer) is part of it.

I have fallen in love... with a play... ARCADIA by Tom Stoppard

It's not unusual for me to think about a play for a bit after I have seen it.  One thing I love about theatre is when it reaches out and stirs me to think on things I haven't thought about before, or even things I have thought about but have been shown a new way to look at it.  I like plays I can laugh at and put away right after, too, but the ones that stick with me, the ones that make me think, are the ones that make me love theatre. There have been times, over the years, that I want to see a play twice. It's rare though. Unless I am directing a play, in which case I am looking for different things and need to see the play multiple times as part of the creative process, I rarely want to revisit it.  But, I have, it seems, fallen in love with a play.  The play? Arcadia, by Tom Stoppard, currently playing at the Citadel Theatre. By nature of my working there, I was lucky enough to have to see it twice for my work (Dress Rehearsal and Opening Night). After seeing it for the second time, I was so excited that I would be seeing it for a third time (I was bringing my husband to it).  Why? Because the second viewing was even more than the first.  The script is so beautifully layered between times and with regards to concepts.  Yes, there are some heady scientific principles discussed as well as the world of literary scholarship.  I am lucky to have major in Science and a minor in English, but really, that isn't what is so fascinating for me about this play.  It's the people and the layers of truth from time to time that made me go 'aha!'.  I've seen it three times now, and the third time was the best.  Each time I have picked up on more and more of this beautiful script.  So much so, that while the first two viewings wowed me intellectually, the third hit all my emotional centers and I found myself sobbing through the last 10-5 minutes of the play.  It's the people, it's the impermanence of life, it's the miracle of genius and the tragedy of the loss of that genius too, too soon, and it's about sex and more importantly, love.

I am in love with this play, so much so that I am going to have to see it again before it closes on Sunday.  It's really a surprise to me.  I liked it when I read it, but it has been like one of those presents that has been wrapped in many layers of wrapping paper - each layer more fantastic than the one before. I can't wait to unwrap the next layer.

Arcadia runs until April 12th at the Citadel Theatre. Tickets are available by calling 780.425.1820 or online at www.citadeltheatre.com.

Photos:
Julia Guy and Aaron Hursh
Justin Goodhand and Claire Armstrong
Photo Credit: David Cooper

Happy World Theatre Day!

Okay, for me, pretty much every day of the year could be Theatre Day, being that I work at one, volunteer at several and I watch a heck of a lot of it.  But for those of you who are more moderate in your approach to theatre, today is THE day! Luckily, there are a lot of shows you can see right here in Edmonton this weekend!

Shows that close this weekend:

Vigilante at the Citadel Theatre.  This rock opera with an edge is being presented in the Maclab Theatre.  It's a show ideally suited to the thrust theatre space and re-imagines the story of the Black Donnellys, an Irish immigrant family who were brutally murdered.  It's also the latest work from Catalyst Theatre (Nevermore, Frankenstein, Hunchback), and has the same level of excellence in concept and execution, and a very talented 8 person cast who can sing some amazing celtic and rock inspired musical theatre.  We've had people respond so well to it that they've come back and seen the show three times! It only runs until Sunday, March 29th, so I recommend catching it quick.  For those on a budget, there are still a few $30 seats left and because they use the thrust space so well, there really are no bad seats.

First Time Last Time  at Shadow Theatre. A new take on the romantic comedy what turns the premise on it's side as it pairs two commitment shy people who go to outrageous lengths to maintain a non-relationship/ relationship.  I wrote about it more here.  It is at the Varscona Theatre  until Sunday, March 29th.

Shows that opened this week:

Arcadia at the Citadel Theatre. This is currently my new favourite play.  Other than when I am directing a show, I rarely want to see a play more than twice.  With this Tom Stoppard work I am so excited to be seeing it for the third time on Sunday (and I am trying to figure out if I can justify going again on Closing).  It's complicated and simple at the same time.  A mystery and a romance and full of sparring academics and the quest for truth and knowledge.  It takes place in two times 200 years apart in the same English manor.  Though separated by time, the parallels between the two stories are fascinating and Stoppard has managed to intertwine them with humour.  There's some heady content, but there's also many moments of deliciousness for the audience when they know more than the characters do. This opened last night and runs to April 12th.

A Dream Play at Studio Theatre.  This is a Strindberg piece and the U of A has cast all 5 women in the graduating BFA class as the only female character in the piece.  I haven't seen it yet, but I am hoping to book tickets soon, as they have reconfigured the Timm's seating so that there are far fewer seats than usual and as a result they already have some Sold Out performances. It looks like a challenging piece and I trust that the U of A has done their usual solid work.

Sondheim on Sondheim at MacEwan University. For those who love musicals and more specifically Sondheim this would be a great show to catch.  It's in the Theatre Lab space so tickets are tight for it as well, but it would likely be a great show to catch if you love Into the Woods or Sweeney Todd. It closes next Thursday, April 2nd (probably due to the Easter weekend) so don't get complacent and figure on seeing it next weekend! It was also directed by Kate Ryan who was wonderful earlier this year singing with Susan Gilmour in a Sondheim Cabaret at the Citadel, so you can be assured that it's been well steered.

These are just a few you could see.  I am sure there are others you could check out.  Tix on the Square is great for seeing what's out there.  Make this your World Theatre Day and see a show!