theaTO – Page 2 – a field of crowns

Start the new year by finding your clown

All the way back in the fall of 2012, I finally succumbed to the pressure of my friend’s unsolicited encouragement that I should pursue theatrical clown training. It just so happened that her teacher, Helen Donnelly, was offering an affordable entry-level weekly clown one course at a time that I was craving a new approach to performance. I needed to redefine what performance meant to me.

Twelve years later, clown has become my main performance style and part of my day-to-day existence. There’s a certain kind of humanity that comes with clown training. It’s hard not to fall in love with everyone who puts themselves out there with such a level of joy and humility. It’s hard not to feel connected with one another when we play games to the best of our ability, when we revel in the win and equally in the loss. It’s not hard to celebrate those flops when they happen (and oh boy do they happen).

This February I’m planning an intro clown weekend intensive – perfect for those who have a tricky time committing to a weekly class and equally as perfect for those who want a more focused experience. During these 3 days we’ll have plenty of time to explore presence, to play and to find the beginnings of our clowns (or to deepen our understanding of them if you have already met your clown).

The intensive will happen in Mississauga @ AN1 Studios. It is off the beaten path, as it were, so a car is definitely advised if you’re coming from out of town (heck, even if you’re coming from in-town – Mississauga is a beast). I’m happy to help facilitate carpooling for the weekend (via https://caroster.io/ or some other means).

Check below for more information. And if you’re interested in joining, fill out the form at the bottom of the post to secure your spot!

Pre-Registration is required as class spots are limited!

WEEKEND CLOWN INTENSIVE – PRESENCE & PLAY

3 days of presence work and le jeu. Before we put on the clown nose we start with ourselves. Specifically, ourselves in front of others. Together, we’ll uncover and explore the beginnings of your clown persona – and learn what that even means – through witnessing one another and finding those things that naturally make us funny or endearing to an audience. By the end of this intensive, students will walk away with an understanding of the 5 tenets of the clown and the soft skills used in clown performance. You will also have experience taking ‘turns’ on stage.

No experience required! This intensive is good for those new to the practice, those who are currently practicing and also for those who want to jump back into the fundamentals of theatrical red nose clown. Really, it’s good for everyone.

Feb 7th – 9th
Friday will be from 6:30 – 9:30pm
Sat & Sun will be from 10am – 5pm (with a lunch break @ 1pm – 2pm)
15 hours of clown training in total

$300 registration / $250 early bird (if registered before Jan. 15th) – HST incl.

@ AN1 Studios (2465 Cawthra Rd., Unit 132, Mississauga, ON)

Registration Form:

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Thank you for your response. ✨

War of the Worlds Reimagined

In 2020 while the world was pivoting to understand the new realities of life under a pandemic, Colleen Snell, Callahan Connor and I brainstormed a way to do the same with what was supposed to be the next show from Frog in Hand: a live Toronto Fringe dance-performance set to an audio version of H. G. Wells’ classic tale War of the Worlds.

All of a sudden, we didn’t have a deadline. The realities of live performance anytime soon seemed like a dream that disappears as soon as you wake up. So what’s a dance-theatre company to do? Probably many things, but we decided to turn to the world of audio dramas, having already been inspired by Orson Welles’ famous 1938 reimagining.

We didn’t want to just copy the brilliance of Orson Welles’s piece. We wanted to make something different. Something our own. And now, locked away in our homes because of a deadly bug, we had time to create.

The three of us decided to split the task so we would each have an opportunity to tell a portion of the story. Together we listened to the original book and collected images and narrative techniques that resonated with us.

What really stood out to me, listening to this story written in 1897, was the sense of awe the narrator in the first half showed in the face of the unknown and potentially unknowable. Everything seemed, on that listen, uncertain; details would change from paragraph to paragraph. The narrator would question their own senses. It reminds me of the same techniques Jeff Vandermeer uses so effectively in his weird fiction such as Annihilation and Borne. I talk about all this in a bit more detail here.

And so my story began: the story of Alix, a person wanting to escape it all and reconnect with the world around her. So she plans a trip with her friend Sam, a solo canoe trip in the heart of the Algonquin before convening at a meeting place to venture further into the woods as a duo.

Little do they know that while they are dealing with their own journeys, something much larger is about to change the world forever.

After months of joint writing time over Zoom accompanied by instrumental albums; workshopping with the Frog in Hand Summer Company; engaging audio genius Miquelon Rodriguez (@troysteel) who advised us how to set up recording studios in our closets surrounded by sweaters and blankets for optimal sound capture; rehearsing and then finally recording everything, we had something. By the end of the year we were able to hand it all over to Miquelon.

And what he sent us back was stunning. To imagine a world and write it on paper is one thing. To hear that world come to life in your ear holes is quite another.

My introduction to the War of the Worlds Reimagined project, The Algonquin Tapes, premiered at 2021’s Digital Toronto Fringe a received some wonderful reviews.

And now the entire trilogy is available online.

Each part takes a different angle and throws you into a new setting and cast of characters as the world deals with this new unknown.

Here’s an excerpt from part three: Back on the Air written by Callahan Connor.

I’m really proud of what the team has created here. Colleen’s piece, Last Day, is a visceral piece of writing and Callahan’s, Back on the Air, is this charming bit of hope and community.

If you’d like to get away from a screen for a bit and listen to a 3-part story about the world ending and then not ending, I’d be so happy to hear what you think.

Collective Creations

This year has been a relentless teacher. Its lessons, and my shifting artistic interests, have had profound influence on my person – influences which I feel are only beginning to settle (or, at least, not float directly into my eyes as I’m trying to walk). As the fall approaches, I am looking forward to getting back into the studio to run my second series of classes at hub14. I don’t know how these lessons will influence the way I teach, but I do know these will be the next version of what I was exploring back in the spring. As we live and make theatre, theatre becomes our lifestyle. See you in the studio.

UPDATE Aug. 31st, 2016 — A show I’m part of, the [elephants] collective’s A Wake for Lost Time, has been accepted into the DaPoPo Live-In in Halifax! We’re going to be performing this intense 24-hour ritual for time on October 21st. Meaning, I’ll be in Halifax, rehearsing with our new, local Haligonian members the week leading up to it and, therefore, class on the 19th is cancelled. This iteration of Collective Creations will run for 5 classes.

Collective Creations ii

Collective Creations
@ hub14 (14 Markham St., Toronto)
Wednesdays
Sept. 21 & 28
Oct. 5, 12 & 26

7 – 9pm
$15 / class
$10 for multiple classes

Collective Creations returns this fall to hub14 led by Andrew Gaboury.

Collective Creations will focus on two main areas of theatrical exploration: (i) physical training for the theatre, and, (ii) collective creation techniques for material generation. The goals of these classes is to provide an affordable and accessible space for artists to continue their individual training; to provide a platform for the spontaneous generation of ideas; and offer an arena to challenge our understanding of what it means to work in a collective.

Each class will follow a similar structure with the second half, the collective creation aspect, exploring a different technique or launching point. These classes will combine vocal improvisation techniques and various movement forms, including aspects of Viewpoints, clown, contemporary dance improv and archetype work. Using time as our adversary (and collaborator), we will create new, imperfect works destined to fail and find success in the jewels hidden amongst the rubble.

Drop-ins welcome. Each class is standalone although we will be building on concepts as the weeks progress.

To reserve a spot send an email to afieldofcrowns@gmail.com

Seasonal Activities v.V // Performer Profile: Diana Kolpak “BLUE”

Blue seasonal no text

artist:

Creative adventures have taken Diana Kolpak from performing liposuction on herself to being a prima ballerina to seeking fallen stars in frozen wastelands to fighting epic cream-pie battles. Clown makes all her dreams come true.

abstract:

BLUE is an interactive solo musical about the highs and lows of love. Stylistically, it’s clown meets the Blues by way of 30’s Berlin cabaret with a little detour through Las Vegas. The first song is set. The rest of the songs (all original) are chosen by the audience, so the tone and narrative structure of each performance is different. Lounge singer Sally Siren serves as guide, interacting with the audience, introducing each song with minimal improvised dialogue, and singing either a cappella or while accompanying herself on a toy piano. It’s a wonderful ride for everyone.

portals: