NEW IDEAS FESTIVAL 2008: Week One program


WEEK ONE: Wed March 5 to Sat March 8: Evenings at 8 pm • Saturday matinée at 2:30 pm*

(Total running time with intermission: approx. one hour and forty-five minutes)

Saturday Readings at Noon:

*Warning: Adult content, foul language, good times.


Week One Plays

FRAME

A teenager and a woman find themselves in the same room in an art gallery for different reasons, drawn to the same painting. Both are individually revealed through relating to this piece of art, each confronting personal boundaries; those imposed, like steel traps, and those created and constructed, like pillow forts.

Playwright: Julia Lederer
Director: Stefany Davies
Stage Manager: Katie Barnes
Cast: Carol McLennan (Mary)
Celeste Percy-Beauregard (Laura)
Running Time: 20 minutes

KATIE BARNES Stage Manager, Frame
Katie is delighted to be working with the wonderful company of Frame. Her most recent stint behind the scenes was for Boxed In at the Hysteria! Festival. Katie has previously worked with Theatre in Her Shoes and at the Sears Ontario Drama Festival. She would like to thank Carol, Celeste and Stef for their hard work and warm-ups, Julia for her words and her trust, and my family for their love.

STEFANY DAVIES Director, Frame
After an amazing year of working and hiking in the Canadian Rockies and then down to Central and South America to learn Spanish, salsa, and experience some amazing marvels of nature, Stefany is happy to be back in T.O. and making some theatre again. Directing is Stef's first love, but she has also written and preformed in a number of shows, and can often be found blasting music while painting a big canvas. Thanks to my good pal Julia for connecting me with New Ideas, everyone involved in Frame, and my friends and family for the love and laughs.

JULIA LEDERER Playwright, Frame
Julia's produced works include: Boxed In (Hysteria! Festival, SummerWorks Reading, 2007), Louise, Thelma, & Something in the Middle, and Puzzled Man (New Ideas Festival 2007 & 2006). Frame was read in Nightwood Theatre's 2007 Groundswell Festival. Also an actor and director, other recent projects: The Russian Play (Assistant Director: Factory Theatre, Magnetic North, HATCH) and performing in 36 Little Plays About Hopeless Girls (Birdtown and Swanville), The Height of Madness (Toronto Fringe), and Boxed In (whale riders & Hysteria!). Julia is an associate producer for the Paprika Festival. She is a founding member of Theatre in Her Shoes, and a Masters Student in Drama at the University of Toronto.

CAROL MCLENNAN Actor (Mary), Frame
Carol is very pleased to be in her first New Ideas show, Julia Lederer's Frame, and back at the Alumnae Theatre. She appeared in early 2007 in Alumnaes production of Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan. Her most recent role was as Grace Winslow in The Village Playhouse production of The Winslow Boy. Other roles have included Audrey Trowbridge in Three Men on a Horse, Lenny Magrath in Crimes of the Heart, Christine in The Bad Seed and Edie in A Need for Less Expertise. Many thanks to Inequity Players for getting me started, and to my supportive husband, Peter.

CELESTE PERCY-BEAUREGARD Actor (Laura), Frame
The past year has been an exciting one for Celeste - graduation from university; a two-month trip to BC; an intensive course on Suzuki and Viewpoints, lead by members of the SITI Company; and now this play! Originally from Ottawa, she took an interest in the arts at a young age, and recently completed her BFA in Acting from the University of Windsor. In her spare time, Celeste has been cultivating her interest in photography and trying her hand at playwriting. Thanks to her family for putting up with her dramatics at home, and now long distance over the telephone.

Special Thanks: Julia, The Man Behind the Easel, Alumnae Theatre, the New Ideas Festival, and you.

EVEN BURNING

Nina, now in her thirties is haunted by the memory of her childhood friend, Remmie. Remmie was a strange young creature who held a certain power over Nina for a long time. When their relationship ended suddenly, the power seemed to become stronger and now, visited frequently by Remmie, Nina can't be sure whether or not she is real. Physical theatre comes alive with this poetic text, exploring the haunting connection between a woman and a memory ghost through movement and the power of words.

- Adult Content -

Playwright: Melissa Major
Director: Yevgeniya Falkovich
Stage Manager: Alexandra Baczynskyj
Cast: Miranda Calderon (Remmie)
Renee Hackett (Nina)
Running Time: 25 minutes

MIRANDA CALDERON Actor (Remmie), Even Burning
Miranda Calderon moved to Toronto in December from London, UK, where she did an MFA in Lecoq Based Actor Created Theatre at London International School of Performing Arts (LISPA). Currently she is working as a stand-in with Theatre Smith-Gilmour during their rehearsals for The Mansfield Project, which premiers at the Factory Theatre in March. Originally from Washington, DC, Miranda has also lived in New York, Madrid, and San Francisco.

YEVGENIYA FALKOVICH Director, Even Burning
I am currently a student of the University College Drama Program at U of T.Originally from the former USSR, for the last several years I have been working as a director, designer and performer in a Toronto-based Russian theatre company. I have studied visual arts throughout my life and was trained in acrobatics and dance which have provided a strong influence on my work in theatre. This is my second collaboration with the playwright Melissa Major. I am very happy to work on a play that inspires me with a group of truly talented people.

RENEE HACKETT Actor (Nina), Even Burning
Renee is very happy to be a part of Even Burning.

MELISSA MAJOR Playwright, Even Burning
Melissa is a playwright whose interests lie in the experimental, political, surreal and absurd manifestations of theatre. Her plays have been produced in a variety of theatres in Canada, America and Asia. She has won several awards for her work. Recent credits include: Kicking and Smiling for Squiggfest and Nuit Blanche, Art is a Cupboard at Toronto Fringe and hotINK Festival in New York City, Unicorn Horns at Nuit Blanche, IDEA World Congress of Theatre in Hong Kong and Theatre Passe Muraille. She is also the founder of The Cheshire Unicorn, an independent theatre company focused on producing experimental theatre. More info at www.cheshireunicorn.com.

WAXING LYRICAL

Let's face it - relationships are never easy. In this whimsical meditation on dating in the 21st century, a middle-aged woman ponders her options.

- Adult Themes -

Playwright: Brenda Somers
Director: Pat McCarthy
Stage Manager: Katie Barnes
Cast: Lindsay Empringham (Elizabeth)
Running Time: 8 minutes

LINDSAY EMPRINGHAM Actor (Elizabeth), Waxing Lyrical
Lindsay is delighted to be the part of such a wonderful piece, the subject matter of which she imagines has never been explored before. Former roles in New Ideas include those of Tea on New Years Eve, I Was Thinking of Something, Your Smile is Like Your Mother's, the Artist Said, Hatchet and Life to Life (playwright). Special thanks to Pat, Brenda, the woman who was the inspiration of this piece, and middle-aged women everywhere!

PAT MCCARTHY Director, Waxing Lyrical
Pat has been involved with New Ideas for many years, producing the Festival for three years, as well as acting in Half Dozen of the Others (05), and The Gay Parrot (06), and directing Whose Party is It? (03), Half Dozen of the Other (05), I Was Thinking of Something (06) and Death to Dating (07). Thanks to S. who inspired the character of Elizabeth, to Brenda who tells her story with wit and wisdom, and to Lindsay for bringing her to life. Oh, and Pat is a natural redhead, honest!

BRENDA SOMERS Playwright, Waxing Lyrical
Inspired by a true story (not the writer's), this is Bren's tentative first steps into the world of playwriting. As an actor, Bren has appeared in four New Ideas and two Alumnae main stage productions. You may also have seen her in other shows and readings around Toronto. Prior to moving to Canada, Bren worked as an actor throughout the U.K. and Europe. Special thanks to Suzanne Courtney for sharing her dilemma, Molly Thom for her script surgeon skills and Ray Ray von Thrasher for technical advice. Of course, the biggest thanks belongs to Lindsay and Pat for bringing 'Elizabeth' so vividly to life. Enjoy.

HERE TO STAY

With his thesis deadline looming and his relationship unravelling, the discovery of a mouse in his apartment may just tip Ben over the precipice of insanity.

- Foul language, some adult content, and at least one rodent -

Playwright: Colleen Osborn
Director: Sandra Henderson
Stage Manager: Jessica Rose
Dramaturg: Marianne Miller
Cast: Jamie Arfin (Squeaker)
Benny Min (Will / XTRMNTR)
Marina Moreira (Marcella)
Steven Shreyberg (Ben)
Running Time: 35 minutes

JAMIE ARFIN Actor (Squeaker), Here To Stay
Jamie Arfin is excited to be back on stage after a short hiatus. She graduated from University of Toronto in May 2007 with an Honors B.A. in Drama and English. Her favourite past roles include Val in A Chorus Line, Joanne in Godspell, and singing for Stephen Sondheim at the World Leader's Festival in 2001. She also loves mice and is honoured to have the opportunity to portray one in Here To Stay.

SANDRA HENDERSON Director, Here To Stay
Sandra Henderson is a feisty sort of theatre practitioner with a bent toward the political and the slightly absurd. This winning combination makes Here To Stay the perfect piece to explore at the New Ideas Festival, and Sandra couldn't be more thrilled at the opportunity. In recent history, Sandra has acted as stage manager on projects including Lullaby (Dark Horse Theatre), We Need Help! (Clay & Paper Theatre), Have I None (April Productions), The Order of Good Cheer and The Essence of Ambrose Ichor (Shadowland Theatre). This festival marks one year since Sandra's smashing directorial debut Aria da Capo at the University of Toronto's Drama Program.

BENNY MIN Actor (Will / XTRMNTR), Here To Stay
Benny is an actor from Toronto who has performed in A Clockwork Orange, Poor Little Rich Girl, and the Toronto debut of Pulp Fiction Live. Recent film credits include a series of short projects with the CFC Media Lab, and the award-winning shorts Shaolin Delivery Boy and Ritch. Benny is proud to be joining the team of Here To Stay in his New Ideas Festival debut, and can be seen next on Rogers Television in the short Joe Emergant and in the Toronto debut of the Presnyakov Brothers' Terrorism playing at the Alchemy Theatre in April.

MARINA MOREIRA Actor (Marcella), Here To Stay
Marina Moreira graduated from Rosedale Heights School of the Arts where she acted in A Midsummer Night's Dream and participated in the RHSA Student Fringe in which she wrote, acted and directed various shows. She is happy to be a part of the New Ideas Festival.

COLLEEN OSBORN Playwright, Here To Stay
Colleen Osborn graduated from the University of Guelph with a BA in Fine Arts and moved to Toronto in 2001. Her first play, Seen This One Before, was chosen for the 2006 New Ideas Festival and produced again by The Village Players later that same year. In October 2007 her installation, Underview, was part of the Hysteria Festival at Buddies and Bad Times Theatre. Colleen would like to thank the super-star Sandra, the cast & crew, sound-boy Ryan, multiple editors, dramaturge extraordinaire Marianne Miller, and NIF Producers with Alumnae Theatre for this opportunity.

JESSICA ROSE Stage Management, Here To Stay
Although this is Jessica's first stage managing experience, she has been involved in theatre for the greater part of her sentient life. She has taken performance courses with the University College Drama Program at the University of Toronto, as well as with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. She recently directed Daniel MacIvor's Cul-de-sac with Trinity College, U of T, and is now pleased as punch to be helping out with the New Ideas Festival.

STEVEN SHREYBERG Actor (Ben), Here To Stay
You may have spotted Steven in Montreal playing the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz or on the front pages of the Edmonton journal promoting an abridged religious satire wearing nothing but a fig leaf, for a touring production of The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged). He was recently spotted in New York playing Arnold in a production of The Boys Next Door and in Brooklyn, eating sushi. Steven trained at The National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal and most recently trained with Michael Howard in New York. P.S. In all of New York I couldn't find a single bag of Ketchup Chips! They never even heard of them!

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Week One Readings

THE UNBORN CHILD & THE POLAR BEARS

Bored and restless, a pregnant woman waits alone in a womens hospital, talking to her belly. Unbeknownst, her child is watching.

- Coarse language and mature themes -

Playwright: Diana Manole
Director/Dramaturg: Julie Florio
Puppeteer: Annie Milne
Cast: Kirsten Gundlack Levinson
Running Time: 20 minutes

JULIE FLORIO Director & Dramaturg, The Unborn Child & The Polar Bears
Artistic Producer, 20th Anniversary New Ideas Festival
Julie is a playwright, producer, actor, director and visual artist. The Dottie Parker Project, her adaptation of Dorothy Parker's short stories, premiered at the 2002 New Ideas Festival, and was subsequently performed at the Hamilton Fringe, the First Word Festival, on CBC Radio's Here and Now, and this spring at Queens University in Kingston. Ubu the King, her translation and adaptation of the Alfred Jarry classic (2004 Toronto Fringe Festival) was added to the University of Guelphs CASP (Canadian Adaptation of Shakespeare Project), and enjoyed a stint this past autumn on the curriculum at U of T at Scarborough. Breathe, an adulterous tale set in smoking-banned Toronto, was violently kicked and warmly kudoed at the 2005 New Ideas Festival (pleasing her greatly). Julie's voice can be heard as the villainess 'Jackrabbit', as well as other various and sundry characters online at www.decoderringtheatre.com. While working on various writing projects, she shifts her time between Toronto, New York City, and Reykjavik, Iceland.

KIRSTEN GUNDLACK LEVINSON Actor, The Unborn Child & The Polar Bears
A graduate of the York University Theatre Performance program and the Humber School for Writers, Kirsten Gundlack Levinson is returning to acting after a long break that included five years in Tokyo. These days she works with her husband, FDC Fight Director Daniel Levinson, running the Rapier Wit school for stage combat. A freelance writer, she contributed to last years Fringe hit Duel of Ages and is in the process of adapting a short story for stage.

DIANA MANOLE Playwright, The Unborn Child & The Polar Bears
Diana Manole is a poet, professional playwright, director, and TV producer, with work experience in Canada and abroad. She has published seven books and contributed to several anthologies and magazines. Her work has been translated into Romanian, English, Polish, German, awarded 14 prizes, and reviewed in The History of Romanian Contemporary Literature 1941-2000 (Bucharest, 2005). Diana is currently writing her doctoral dissertation at the Graduate Centre for Study of Drama, and teaches History of Western Theatre from the Renaissance until the End of the 19th Century at the University College Drama Program at the University of Toronto. She thanks her son Tudor for his ongoing support, proofreading, and love!

ANNIE MILNE Puppeteer, The Unborn Child & The Polar Bears
Annie Milne is a puppeteer, designer and builder of sets and puppets, script writer, teacher, poet, and drama coach for actors with mental and physical disabilities teaching clinical skills to medical students. She is co-founder and artistic director of the Purple Dragon Puppet Troupe, with whom she has been creating original puppet productions and touring festivals, theatres, schools and fairs for 20 years. Her current dream is to establish a small theatre from which to expand on all of this work.

THE SECRET SELF-LOATHING OF FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE

Jean and Paul have been mired in grief since the death of their parents in a car-wreck. Their aunt Gail, through the positive power of Weight Watchers Canada, is intent upon helping them change.

Playwright: Florence Ballard
Director: Valary Cook
Dramaturg: Amy Marsh
Cast: Hannah Barnett-Kemper (Jean)
Anne Harper (Gail)
Daniel Krolik (Paul)
Running Time: 30 minutes

FLORENCE BALLARD Playwright, The Secret Self-Loathing of Florence Nightingale
Florence Ballard is an accomplished improviser having worked with The Loose Moose Theatre in Calgary, Spilt Milk in Victoria, Vancouver Theatre Sports and Second City Toronto. Florence trained at U Vic and then worked in Theatre Inconnus Shakespeare Repertory Company for 6 seasons. Most recent theatre projects include: Southern Belle at New Ideas, The All Nude Winston Churchill Review at The Poor Alex, Amber in Quintessence at Art Word, Scary Stories at the Workman Theatre, and Adrianna in Comedy of Errors for Repercussion Theatres Canada and US tour. Writing credits include Crayons Never Lie, Bottoms Up and Biological Clockwork Orange.

HANNAH BARNETT-KEMPER Actor (Jean), The Secret Self-Loathing of Florence Nightingale
Hannah is thrilled to be part of the New Ideas festival. A native Torontonian, Hannah attended Players Academy, as well as the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. Choice roles include Rosalind and Ariel (the Rebel Shakespeare Co.), Simple Simon (the Berkshire Theatre Festival) and participating in the Alumnaes Nuit Blanche series.

VALARY COOK Director, The Secret Self-Loathing of Florence Nightingale
Valary holds an Honours Specialist in Dramatic Arts from U of T and taught English and Dramatic Arts for many years for the Toronto District School Board, during which time she directed everything from musicals (Camelot, Peter Pan, Into the Woods) to plays (A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Crucible) to Sears Award-winning entries (provincial finals, 2003). She directed the reading of Deadman for New Ideas and is thrilled to be back at the Festival with the insightful play Florence Ballard has written.

ANNE HARPER Actor (Gail), The Secret Self-Loathing of Florence Nightingale
Anne Harper has been involved with New Ideas as a Producer, Director and actor in the past few years, and now shes back as an actor and director. Some of her favourite roles have been Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest, Lettice in Lettice and Lovage, Melissa in Love Letters and Countess Aurelia in The Madwoman of Chaillot. She has recently directed The Winslow Boy at the Village Playhouse. Previous work at Alumnae includes Under Milk Wood, Thirteen Hands, Departures and Arrivals, Orpheus Descending and for New Ideas The Gay Parrot, The Vigil Crasher and, last year, Eulalie. She enjoys the challenges of new works, so really appreciates being part of New Ideas.

DANIEL KROLIK Actor (Paul), The Secret Self-Loathing of Florence Nightingale
Daniel is thrilled to be working with his old friend Florence again on her beautiful play. Past credits include Hello Again (Equity Co-op - Tarragon Extra Space), Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Perimeter Institute), In Trousers and The Book of Liz (Toronto Fringe - NOW Magazine Artist to Watch 2005), Flora the Red Menace (Drama Centre), and the feature film Sidekick. Daniel is also a founding member of Theatre Best/Before. Upcoming: (sic), A Bright Room Called Day (Theatre Best/Before), Much Ado About Nothing (Dream North).

AMY ROSE MARSH Dramaturg, The Secret Self-Loathing of Florence Nightingale
Amy Rose currently resides in Brooklyn, New York, where she works as a freelance dramaturg, a script reader, and an editorial assistant with Samuel French, Inc. She has worked with Concrete Temple Theatre, the Hourglass Group, and Spectre Box in New York, A Contemporary Theatre (A.C.T.), Annex Theatre and Emerald City Scene in Seattle. And now the Alumnae Theatre in Toronto!

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Go to New Ideas: Main Page
Go to New Ideas: Week Two
Go to New Ideas: Week Three
Contact New Ideas 2008: newideas@alumnaetheatre.com


TICKET INFORMATION

Dates
WEEK ONE: March 5 - 8, 2008
WEEK TWO: March 12 - 15, 2008
WEEK THREE: March 19 - 22, 2008

Times
Wednesday to Saturday: 8:00 pm
Saturday Reading: 12 Noon
Saturday Matinée: 2:30 pm

Admission Prices
Wednesday to Saturday: $12
Saturday Reading: PWYC
Saturday Matinée: $12
New Ideas Pass: $30 - Good for all 3 weeks + Readings

Reservations
Email reservations@alumnaetheatre.com

Cash Only! Box Office does not accept credit or debit cards

ALUMNAE THEATRE COMPANY
70 Berkeley Street
Toronto, Ontario • M5A 2W6
Phone: 416-364-4170
Email: contactus@alumnaetheatre.com
New Ideas 2008: newideas@alumnaetheatre.com


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