AN UNDISCOVERED SHAKESPEARE

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We’re proud to be the 2018/2019 season sponsor of the Grand Theatre.

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18-1626 The Grand Theatre_Ev2.indd 1 20/08/2018 12:06:49 PM

Last season we brought Rebecca Northan’s brilliant production of Blind Date to our Spriet Stage. Now, Rebecca returns to the Grand with An Undiscovered Shakespeare and we get to experience a true work in progress. This production, in an exciting early phase of its development, comes to life as part of our compass New Play Development program, which is ded-icated to supporting the creation of new works on our stages. What better place to explore and play than our own McManus Stage? As an active partic-ipant in this development, we invite you to watch and enjoy as this team of artists explores all the opportunities to improvise a play in the style of William Shakespeare. It is my sincere belief that this project will keep on devel-oping over the years, finding its path, as Rebecca and her team continue to experiment and play. How wonderful that the Grand Theatre, compass, and our partner on this workshop produc-tion, the Stratford Festival, will play a part in the creation of An Undiscovered Shakespeare. You can say you were among the first to participate. Bask in the creative risk, the challenge, and the joy of An Undiscovered Shakespeare.

Welcome.

dennis garnhum a rtistic director

MAGGIE & PIERREBy Linda Griffiths with

Paul ThompsonA Timeshare Production

Directed by Rob KempsonStarring Kaitlyn Riordan

February 12 to 23 McManus Stage

Set & Costume Designer Jung-Hye Kim, Lighting Designer Oz Weaver, Sound Designer Steven Lafond.

T H E M A K I NG OF C A N A DA’S MO ST FA MOUS ROM A NCE

season sponsorextended!

mcmanus stage, october 11 to 13, 2018

an undiscovered shakespeare

A Spontaneous Theatre production by Rebecca Northan

castR AOUL BHANEJA

BELINDA CORNISHIJEOMA EMESOWUM

BRUCE HOR AKKEVIN KRUCHKY WICH

REBECCA NORTHANSOPHIA PERLMAN

production team Director REBECCA NORTHAN Stage Manager RENATE HANSON

In development through the compass New Play Development Program and the Stratford Festival Laboratory.

The Grand Theatre is an active member of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (pact) and engages, under the terms of the Canadian Theatre Agreement, professional artists who are members of the Canadian Actors’ Equity

Association. The Grand Theatre acknowledges with thanks the co-operation of Locals 105 and 828 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists, and Allied Crafts of the United States,

its Territories and Canada, and The London Musicians’ Association Local 279.

The videotaping or other video or audio recording of this production is strictly prohibited.

se a son sponsor t it le sponsor pa rt n er

THE BOY IN THE MOON

A Crow’s Theatre Production

By Emil Sher based on a book by Ian Brown

Directed by Chris Abraham

Starring Kelly McNamee, Liisa Repo-Martell, and David Storch

November 20 to December 1 McManus Stage

Set & Costume Designer Shannon Lea Doyle, Lighting Designers Andre Du Toit and Kimberly Purtell, Video Designer Remington North, Sound Designer Thomas Ryder Payne, Assistant Sound Designer Deanna H. Choiphoto of david storch and liisa repo-martell in the boy in the moon by dahlia katz.

season sponsor

“Deeply poignant” the globe and mail

“Gripping” now magazine

This award-winning memoir by cbc Radio and Globe and Mail journalist Ian Brown, powerful and moving in print, is even more extraordinary on stage.

DIRECTOR’S NOTES

The first time we got up on our feet to attempt speaking off the cuff, in iambic pentameter, I was shocked to find myself too afraid to speak. With 30 years of improv experience under my belt, that level of discomfort was something I assumed was far behind me. It was, of course, a deep fear of getting it wrong, crashing and burning, and looking like a failure. I had to remind myself of what my improv teacher, Keith Johnstone, would tell us over and over, “You should fail as quickly as possible — it’s the only way to learn something new, and get any good at it.”

I am happy to say that after four summers of kicking this idea around, I am now able to open my mouth and have words come out. Sometimes, they are in iambic pentameter! When this happens, I mentally congratulate myself, and feel quite chuffed — which is exactly the point that the verse line falls apart and I’m failing all over the place. The only option is to breathe, practise instant forgiveness, and then attempt to climb back on board. What a humbling and useful discovery. The spontaneous striving for absolute structure demands nothing less than total presence. Shakespeare is teaching me to be a better (and more humble) improviser!

More importantly though, our goal of elevating an average person’s love story to “Shakespearian heights” has been truly moving. Some very generous volunteers have shared romantic details with us that could have come from the Bard him-self — highlighting the enduring quality of his work, and proving our theory that

“every life is Shakespearian.” We’ve told the tale of a British Nurse, kidnapped by a Pirate King, being rescued by her brother. An Amazonian Princess had a thrilling affair with a tortured soul who could not outrun his own demons. And the ghost of a woman’s one-true-love appeared to give her the tender goodbye they never got in real life.

We are reaching for something big, poetic, truthful, and dangerous here. You will see us careening between success and failure in any given moment. Things will fall apart. We will make thrilling discoveries. If we’re very calm, and a little bit lucky, we might manage some beautiful imagery. We hope it will be a deli-cious train wreck. If you’re sitting in a good spot, be sure to peek at the face of the person whose love story ends up on stage — the light that you see there is the reason we keep risking falling down.

rebecca north an

Raoul Bhaneja Actorfor the grand theatre: Debut. select theatre credits: Hamlet (solo), Life, Death and The Blues, Disgraced (Hope and Hell Theatre Co./Off-Mirvish); others include the Stratford and Blyth Festivals, Soulpepper, Neptune, pte, and several world premieres at The Tarragon Theatre in Toronto. other: Raoul is a Gemini, Dora and Canadian Comedy Award nominee and as a teenager began improvising in the Canadian High School Improv Games and performing Shakespeare on the streets of Ottawa with A Company of Fools. A graduate of The National Theatre School of Canada, he has appeared in almost 100 different television and film projects. He is also leader of the Maple Blues Award-winning band Raoul and The Big Time, semifinalists in the 2018 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, tn.

Belinda Cornish Actorfor the grand theatre: Debut. select theatre credits: Her rela-tionship with Shakespeare includes 9 seasons with the Freewill Shakes- peare Festival; as an improvisor, she has been a core company member of DieNasty: The Live Improvised Soap Opera for more than a decade, as well as performing with the renowned English company, Extempore Theatre, and she has completed twenty-two 50-hour improv marathons without sleep. She is a Canadian Comedy Award and Canadian Screen Award nom-inee. other: Belinda is thrilled to be embarking on this terrifying ship in such exceptional company. She is also a playwright — she’s even won some prizes — and her next play, a circus adaptation of Dante’s Inferno imagina-tively entitled Inferno, will be premiering in Edmonton next January.

Ijeoma Emesowum Actorfor the grand theatre: Debut. select theatre credits: The Changeling, As You Like It, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Hamlet, Macbeth, Hay Fever (Stratford Festival); The Devil’s Disciple, The Women, Ragtime, Guys and Dolls, A Man and Some Women (Shaw Festival). select film and tv cred-its: Hamlet, The Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Antony and Cleopatra, Timon of Athens (Stratford Festival hd). other: Stratford Festival Birmingham Conservatory 2016/17, bfa University of Windsor.

Bruce Horak Actorfor the grand theatre: Debut. select theatre credits: Bruce has been a part of the spontaneous theatre team since 2010. He has won numerous awards for his work as an actor, writer, and director. other: Bruce is originally from Calgary, Alberta where he trained in theatre and Improvisation. When not creating new works and performing onstage, he devotes his time to painting. His works can be seen at www.brucehorak.com.

GUEST ARTISTS

raoul bhaneja

belinda cornish

ijeoma emeswum

bruce horak

kevin kruchkywich

rebecca northan

sophia perlman

renate hanson

Kevin Kruchkywich Actorfor the grand theatre: Debut. select theatre credits: Paradise Lost (Stratford Festival); Romeo and Juliet, The Glass Menagerie, The Wars (Theatre Calgary); Death of a Salesman, The Wars (Playhouse); The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Red Priest (Globe); Hedda Gabler (Persephone); The Taming of the Shrew, Henry V, Falstaff (Bard On The Beach); Office Hours, Look No Hans (Drayton); The Secret Annex, The Philadelphia Story (mtc); The Drawer Boy, Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Belfry); Wit, Aberhart Summer, Respectable (atp); Boeing Boeing, Mesa, The School For Scandal (Arts Club); The Woman In Black (Chemainus); Guys and Dolls (Gateway).

Rebecca Northan Actor/Director/Creatorfor the grand theatre: Blind Date. select theatre credits:  Rebecca is an actor, director, producer, and all-round theatre maker, best known for her hit show, Blind Date, which has toured across Canada, the US, London’s West End, and off-Broadway. She is a pioneer in ‘sponta-neous theatre,’ a hybrid genre of structured theatre and improvisation that she continues to develop through a variety of projects, casting audience members in lead roles. Rebecca is a regular panel member on cbc Radio’s Because News, has guest hosted This Hour Has 22 Minutes, and appeared in feature films The Rocker and Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium. She also teaches improvisation at the Canadian Film Centre and the Stratford Conservatory and worked across Canada, winning several awards includ-ing Canadian Comedy Awards and Dora Mavor Moore Awards.

Sophia Perlman Actor/Musicianfor the grand theatre: Debut. select theatre credits: The Tale of a Town Canada — Music Director (national tour, Fixt Point), Medalta on Strike — Music Director/Sound Designer/Associate Dramaturge (Fixt Point). other: Sophia is a singer, musician, songwriter, arts facilitator, choral conductor, music director and educator. She is known primarily for her work as a jazz, blues and improvising musician. When not performing, she finds a wide range of work rooted in her belief that music is everyone’s birthright, and that anyone can sing. She currently teaches contemporary music at Mohawk College in Hamilton. www.sophiaperlman.com

Renate Hanson Stage Managerfor the grand theatre: A Streetcar Named Desire, Cabaret. select theatre credits: 13th season at Stratford Festival as assistant stage manager including King John, Christina, The Girl King, Hirsch, Do Not Go Gentle, Cyrano de Bergerac, Zastrozzi, The Trojan Women, Love’s Labour’s Lost, King Lear, A Delicate Balance, Coriolanus, Don Juan, As You Like It, The Lark, Timon of Athens, King John, Troilus and Cressida, Antony and Cleopatra, Henry VI: Revenge in France, The Two Noble Kinsmen, The Lunatic, The Lover and the Poet, The Trials of Ezra Pound, Good Mother, Elizabeth Rex, Medea. Other theatres include Manitoba Opera, rmtc, Neptune Theatre. other: Graduate of National Theatre School of Canada. “For Dad.”

There’s something of a cottage industry that has grown up around the topic of “Shakespeare the Man.” Over centuries, there have been speculations that Shakespeare poached a deer, owned a dog, practised Catholicism, fell in love with a man in London, fell in love with a woman in London. Scholars and artists have pored over the “second-best bed” he willed his wife, pondered possible connections between the writing of Hamlet in 1600 and the death of a son, Hamnet, four years earlier, and they’ve made the pilgrimage to Stratford-upon-Avon where they scratch their names on a window in the house in which Shakespeare was born. Poems, plays, paintings, films, and biographies of Shakespeare abound.

This enduring fascination with the biography we’ve lost is sparked by the body of work that has been left behind. What kind of imagination could turn with such fertility from Julius Caesar to Hamlet to Twelfth Night, bringing life to characters as various as Rosalind, Othello, and Portia? Did arresting metaphors such as “life’s but a walking shadow” and “let slip the dogs of war” flow effortlessly from his pen, or did he sometimes struggle, like the rest of us, to get an idea across? The sheer scope of his achievement is perhaps what drives conspiracy theorists to insist that Shakespeare, the glover’s son from Stratford-upon-Avon, simply couldn’t have written the canon we now ascribe to him.

But somehow he did write those plays and poems, and we still wonder quite how. What was that process like? Shakespeare in Love — first a film, and now also a stage play — picks up on this modern curiosity about the creative artist behind the poetry. Upsetting notions of the solitary genius whose works spring fully formed from his mind, Shakespeare in Love gives us a writer who collects ideas for plots, speeches, and even character names from every-day exchanges and encounters as they unfold around him. The supposed “magic” behind Shakespeare’s creativity, at least in this telling of it, comes to seem more imaginable, more grounded in ordinary lives.

What then if one of our own lives could inspire a play by Shakespeare? Those amateur collab-orators in An Undiscovered Shakespeare who cross from the auditorium to the stage provide the kind of raw material that perhaps once led Shakespeare to imagine a bereaved Viola, a swag-gering Petruchio, a witty Beatrice, or a tragically stupid Leontes. “My father had a daughter loved a man,” Cesario (really Viola in disguise as a boy) tells the man he/she secretly loves.

“every life is shakespearean”

“every life is shakespearean”

“And what’s her history?” Orsino replies. “A blank, my lord. She never told her love.” Telling her story, my story, our stories. It’s a desire, possibly even a need, that’s probably as old as theatre itself. Telling stories that might otherwise be lost to time. Collaborating across time in iambic pentameter, An Undiscovered Shakespeare stages some of the stories from our own age — comic? tragic? tragical-comical-historical-pastoral? — that Shakespeare never had the chance to stage.

And therein lies the rub. Iambic pentameter. The verse form that strikes fear in many an undergraduate’s heart. The everyday rhythm of spoken English. The rhythm of your heartbeat. Actors often claim that the drive of the verse helps them to learn and remember their lines, and even to improvise their way out of sticky spots in live performance when things go wrong. But an entire play improvised in iambic pentameter? Live theatre, at its best, is something of a tightrope act. A word or line can be forgotten, a piece of machinery might fail, an actor might suddenly get the giggles. Performers and their audience are in it together, mutually creating the energy that arcs like electricity from the stage to the auditorium and back again. Improvisation offers something like a virtuoso display of talent and creativity as spectators — and possibly sometimes even the actors — wonder and watch art take shape where previously there had been a blank history. This is maybe a little bit like the way Shakespeare once worked. Maybe something like a Shakespearean life in art, made new every night.

m argaret jane kidnie western univ ersit y

L U K E H U M P H R E Y (C E N T R E) A S W I L L SH A K E SP E A R E W I T H M E M BE R S OF T H E C OM PA N Y I N T H E S T R AT F OR D F E S T I VA L’S P RODU C T ION OF SH A K E SPE A R E I N L OV E , 2016. P HO T O B Y DAV I D HOU.

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