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Posts
- May 15, 12
Nick Green’s BODY POLITIC gets a public reading!
Last year, lemonTree creations commissioned up and coming young playwright and actor Nick Green to write a new play chronicling the creation, controversies and eventual demise of one of Canada’s first queer publications, The Body Politic. We are very excited to present a public reading of this play entitled BODY POLITIC as part of the GENDERQUEER series hosted by Sky Gilbert at the Queer Pride 2012 Festival organized by Buddies in Bad Times Theatre.
This public reading will be directed/dramaturged by Alisa Palmer and will feature Moynan King, Ben Lewis and our very own Jonathan Seinen (Artistic Associate) and Cole J Alvis (Artistic Producer).
This play is being developed with the support of the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives. Its first phase of development was supported by Theatre Creators’ Reserve Grants by Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Cabaret Company and 4th Line Theatre.
WHEN: JUNE 16th, 2012 @ 2 pm
WHERE: The Cabaret Space, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Toronto
TIX : PWYC
For more info click on the poster below!
- Apr 10, 12
lemonTree creations to present DUTCHMAN
Toronto, ON, April 10, 2012–We’re very excited to announce that lemonTree creations will be presenting a site specific production of Amiri Baraka’s (LeRoi Jones) controversial play DUTCHMAN as part of the Offsite Productions of the 2012 SummerWorks Theatre Festival. The production features the talents of Peyson Rock and Dora Nominated Sascha Cole. It will be directed by Sabryn Rock. This production is presented with support from the Obsidian Theatre Company. Stay tuned for more info.
- Sep 12, 11People4ChangeON STAGE / Alisha Stranges ponders the paradox of Generation YChris Dupuis / Toronto / Wednesday, September 07, 2011Alisha Stranges grew up wanting to be a mathematician. Though the writer/performer spent much of her youth in Niagara Falls taking classes at her mother’s dance studio, she never saw a future for herself on the stage. Instead, it was in the finite nature of numbers where she thought she’d found her true calling.Alisha Stranges’ People4Change opens in Toronto on Sept 13.“In math you’re either right or wrong, but in performance everything is subjective, so there’s no such thing as perfection,” she says. “I was always seeking perfection growing up, trying to get a hundred percent on every test, but that all unravelled when I came out. I used to think being gay made you imperfect, so that left me feeling like I could never achieve perfection.”She’s long since reconciled her sexuality, but her teenaged confusion had the fortunate effect of opening her up to a career as an artist. Since graduating from Humber College in 2006, she has toured across Canada and Europe with Corpus Dance Projects and was most recently seen in the SummerWorks hit Still Life. Her current project, People4Change, had its roots during her studies. Developed with former classmates Colin Edwards and Marissa Zinni, under the direction of Cleveland Public Theatre head Raymond Bobgan, the play was born of a collective process developed with Bobgan and Toronto director Karen Randoja when they taught a devised theatre intensive at the school.“They introduced us to this way of working that led us to really getting the best of ourselves, and we wanted to keep working that way when we graduated,” she says. “The show is really satisfying to do because it’s as much about who we are as people as the subjects we’re dealing with.”People4Change ponders the great paradox of Generation Y, a recognition of the problems left on their shoulders by previous generations, combined with a sense of utter powerlessness to respond to them. The story begins when strangers Dale (Edwards), Lisa (Stranges) and Jaelene (Zinni) witness a tragic accident on the subway, an event that bonds the trio in a quest to change the world. Each has a hot-button issue they’re compelled to act on, and they decide to create a fake charity to collect money for various causes. Not surprisingly, things go horribly wrong and they find themselves in a sea of trouble.Stranges knows the Gen Y struggle well, though, unlike her character, she’s found an effective meeting point for politics and practice. As the assistant director of Buddies’ Pride Cab program for youth for the last two years, she’s helped numerous young queers through the process of creating their own work.“It’s really rewarding to help people who are coming to understand themselves figure out what they need to say and how they want to say it,” she says. “It’s been a great learning experience for me, as well a chance to pass on what I know to the next generation of artists. It’s a process of trial and error, but the failures are often just as interesting as the successes.”Though perfection was her mandate as a youth, Stranges has come to appreciate the flaws in life and art. While she asserts that most audiences seek out art that confirms their existing reality, her preference is for art that leaves her feeling transformed.“The best shows are the ones you walk out of not being totally sure how you feel,” she says. “Great works of art are full of sharp edges, not smooth surfaces. Sometimes when you’re working on something, you feel like you need to file those edges off, but that’s the problem. The sharp edges need to be there.”People4ChangeLemonTree creations in association with TheThemSept 13–24, 2011Tues, Sept 13, 7:30pm (preview)Wed, Sept 14, 7:30pm (opening night)Performances Tuesday–Saturday, 7:30pm; PWYC Saturdays at 2 pm.Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace16 Ryerson Ave (one block northeast of Bathurst and Queen)$20; seniors, students and arts workers, $15.Tickets at artsboxoffice.ca or call 416-504-7529SOURCE:http://www.xtra.ca/public/Toronto/People4Change-10712.aspx
- Aug 08, 11
- Aug 03, 11
Click below to read the article!
Buy your tickets now…they’re gonna go very fast!
http://www.xtra.ca/public/Toronto/Still_Life-10577.aspx
- Aug 02, 11
- Jun 01, 11
- Jul 15, 10
- Jul 09, 10
FAB is excited about STILL LIFE.
The kids are all right
“There is a lack of dialogue between the young queer community and the, shall I say, ‘more mature’ gay community. We hope to get generations together in a room and talking,” says Cole J Alvis, part of the team at lemonTree theatre creations that has been working since January on its newest show, Still Life. The play, performed in the round and illuminated by lamplight, explores how four 20-somethings deal with the aftermath of a gaybashing. “We create through improvisation, and when we find something in the heat of the moment, the trick is to repeat that thing we found,” explains Alvis. “Our intention is to be as honest as possible and reach the community with our stories.” The honesty extends to the cast’s decision to disassociate from their original sponsor, Pride Toronto. “There has been such a lack of discussion of who the community is and what we really want,” explains Alvis. “They just follow the money, and we as artists understand that, but it is problematic.” Fortunately, The 519 stepped in with support and the show will go on. — Drew RowsomeStill Life runs Fri, July 16 and Sat, July 17 at the 519 Community Centre’s 2nd floor auditorium, 519 Church St. Info:lemontreetheatre.wordpress.com
http://www.fabmagazine.com/full_frontal/index.html
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About Us
In the increasingly diverse society of Canada, there are many defining stories that must find their way onto the stage. lemonTree theatre creations explores the question of what is lost in translation between borders, identities and sexuality through:
- A laboratory of experimentation and collaboration combining all aspects of performance including art, dance, video, music, and theatrical storytelling.
- International and new Canadian creations that resonate with our diverse world, and which take theatre out of its traditional means
HISTORY
2011, PEOPLE4CHANGE by TheThem [Theatre Passe Muraille]
2011, STILL LIFE by collective [Summerworks, Theatre Passe Muraille]
2010, STILL LIFE by collective [Workshop, 519]
2009, DEATHWATCH by Jean Genet [Pride Festival, XPACE]
2008, THE RED DEVIL by Indrit Kasapi [Summerworks, Factory Theatre]
lemonTree theatre creations was established in 2007 by Indrit Kasapi to develop his first play, The Red Devil, presented at the Summerworks Theatre Festival (NOW Magazine, Outstanding Ensemble & Outstanding Direction ‘08). Supported by the Cultural and Artistic Leadership Program of the National Theatre School of Canada, the play told the story of an Albanian family travelling illegally to Canada during the 1997 Albanian Civil War.
This production featured Gemini and Genie Nominated Elva Mai Hoover (Road to Avonlea, Queer as Folk), Dora Nominated Tara Nicodemo (Cringeworthy/Passe Muraille, Hamlet/Necessary Angel Theatre) and was directed by Jonathan Seinen.
Inspired by the success of that collaboration, Jonathan Seinen and Indrit Kasapi were joined by Cole J Alvis (Dora Nominated Gorey Story) in 2009 to participate as an Official Event in the 2009 Toronto Pride Festival with DEATHWATCH, Jean Genet’s rarely produced play about three prisoners in a 1940’s French jail.
The company was joined by Rob Salerno, Bekah McNeil, Ryan Symington and John Bryans and thus an all-queer collective was created. We investigated Genet’s text by studying various translations including the original text in French. This gritty play about crime idolization and homoeroticism in prisons was performed to sold out audiences and rave reviews in the basement of XPACE Cultural Centre.
Now Magazine wrote “Talk about giving an audience a play’s flavour: lemonTree theatre creations, an all queer group, set its production of Jean Genet’s prison drama Deathwatch in the claustrophobic basement of an Ossington art gallery. And it worked.”
ARTISTIC PRODUCERS
Indrit Kasapi
A native of Tirana, Albania, Indrit moved to Toronto, Canada in his early teens. He has worked as an actor, director, producer, writer, choreographer and dancer. Indrit is also a dancer with CORPUS Dance Projects and has been a core member for their European/Israel/British Columbia Tours in A Flock of Fliers and Les Moutons. He will be premiering their new work "MACHINA NUPTIALIS" in September of 2011. Indrit is a current member of GYM (Canstage); Artistic Producer for lemonTree theatre creations (Toronto); Associate Producer for Underground/Opera (Toronto). Graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada.
Cole J Alvis
Cole is originally from Duchess, Alberta. Acting credits include: Andrew in the queer collective Still Life (Summerworks - Outstanding Ensemble, NOW Magazine), Harold in The Boys In The Band (Buddies In Bad Times Theatre), Lefranc in Deathwatch (lemonTree creations), Private Wicks in The Fort At York by Tara Beagan, Nelly Boy (SummerWorks - Outstanding Performance, NOW Magazine) and member of the creative ensemble in the Dora nominated Gorey Story (The Thistle Project). Upcoming: creating and performing in Gein Wong’s INTENT CITY (eventual ashes) at the Mayworks Festival, dancing in Bluemouth Inc.’s Dance Marathon at Harbourfront Centre’s World Stage and producing a documentary musical about transgender musician, Rae Spoon, for the National Film Board of Canada. Cole is an Artistic Producer of lemonTree creations, an Artistic Associate at Native Earth Performing Arts and holds a BFA in acting from York University.
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Past Productions
- SEPTEMBER 2011
Created/Directed by Raymond Bobgan
Created/Performed by Alisha Stranges,
Marissa Zinni, Colin Edwards.
Technical Director/Stage Manager Suzie Balogh
Produced by Cole J Alvis and Indrit Kasapi
At THEATRE PASSE MURAILLE BACKSPACE
16 Ryerson Ave (One block Northeast of Bathurst and Queen)
September 13- September 24, 2011.People4Change is TheThem’s first new full length creation. The story follows three young professionals who join forces to make a difference in the world after witnessing a sudden death on the subway tracks. Their efforts to “help the world,” range from the naïve to the sublime when they open a phonebook and start calling random people for donations to their various causes. In a world inundated with global information (and global suffering), self-help and spiritual panaceas, and contradictory common values, we are examining the frustration, isolation, and passion of ‘Generation Y-ers’ in North America.
“What are you concerned about right now?” This is the question we began with, and each of us had a completely different yet equally passionate response. As three extremely self-aware individuals with an aggressive desire to question and comment on the state of our global community, we went in search of a unified voice that would speak to our own generation, while pushing the boundaries of theatrical form given to us by our predecessors.
People4Change is rooted in our experience as Canadians—more specifically, young, urban city dwellers, who neither suffer from social or financial disadvantage nor benefit from privilege. As members of this specified group, we wish to give a voice to our current experience.
FOR MORE INFO GO TO:
www.thethem.wordpress.com
September 13, 2011 PREVIEW
September 14, 2011 OPENING
September 16-24, 2011
Tuesday-Saturday at 7.30 pm
Saturdays PWYC at 2 pm.
TICKETS
$20 + HST (General Admission)
$15 + HST (Student/Senior/Arts Worker)
$10 + HST (Preview, September 13 ONLY)
PWYC Saturdays at 2 pm
TICKETS AVAILABLE:
ONLINE
www.artsboxoffice.ca
CALL
416 504 7529
IN PERSON
Arts Box Office
16 Ryerson Ave.
(One block Northeast of Queen and Bathurst)
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AUGUST 2011
SummerWorks Festival 2011
Photography by BRIAN TELZEROW
Design by K.B. at PIXEL AGENCY
STILL LIFE
a new play
Presented as part of the 2011 SummerWorks Theatre Festival.
August 5 @ 4.30 pm
August 6 @ 7.00 pm
August 8 @ 9.30 pm
August 9 @ 7.00 pm
August 11 @ 4.30 pm
August 13 @ 9.30 pm
August 14 @ 2.00 pm
@ Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace
16 Ryerson Avenue, Toronto, ON M5T 2P3
TIX
$15 per performance
(+ HST and $1 service fee)
Advance Tickets are available up to 10am the day of a show and can be purchased as follows:
Online at : www.artsboxoffice.ca
In person at : the Arts Box Office (located at Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson Ave., One block North East of Bathurst & Queen W.)
Until August 2: Tuesday to Friday 12 noon to 5 pm
August 3 - 14: Monday to Friday 12 noon to 7 pm
Saturday & Sunday 10 am to 8 pm
By phone: Call the Arts Box Office at 416.504.7529 for tickets & info during the hours listed above.
Up to 50% of the house can be sold in advance
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Through the lens of a gay bashing, STILL LIFE explores how friends and strangers are connected by a night shared at a hospital. Time is fluid in the play with the past existing alongside the present. As Matt and Steven struggle to keep their relationship afloat, Andrew offers Steven an escape from the norm while Sarah, the only witness to the incident, puts the puzzle pieces together. A night out turns into a search for identity as the four characters reveal honest accounts of the joys and struggles of being queer in a post modern homophobic world.
Created and Performed by Indrit Kasapi, Cole J Alvis, Alisha Stranges and Andrew Aquino.
Created and Directed by Jonathan Seinen
Lighting Design by Michelle Ramsay
Dramaturgy/Stage Management by Spencer Smith
Special thanks to the talents and creative minds of contributing artists James MacLean, Tawiah M'carthy, Lana Sugarman and Lindsey Clark.
This project was made possible through a Theatre Creators' Reserve Grant from Cabaret Theatre (Sky Gilbert, Artistic Director).
TEAM BIOS
Jonathan Seinen, Creator\Director
Jonathan is a director, playwright,
and actor, and co-founder of Emergency Architect Theatre, with a passion for
collective creation and a dedication to queer theatre.Recent directing credits include: Deathwatch (lemonTree theatre creations, Toronto Pride 2009), Christmas Ham(let) (Swallow-a-Bicycle Performance Co-op, Calgary), The Red Devil by Indrit Kasapi (SummerWorks 2008, Outstanding Direction - NOW Magazine), and The Curative by Thom Bryce (pivotal (arts) theatre). He has directed university productions of The Visit and 4.48 Psychosis. As assistant director: Forever Yours, Marie-Lou with Sarah Stanley (Centaur) and The Madwoman of Chaillot with Jason Byrne (George Brown College). Acting credits include The Nick Drake Project (SummerWorks 2009), Highway 63: The Fort Mac Show, a collective creation about the Oil Sands (TPM), Much Ado About Nothing and Romeo & Juliet (Theatre Prospero, Edmonton), Maggie-Now: Part 1 (Workshop West, Edmonton), The Cherry Orchard and The Suicide (NTSC), and Orlando in the queer re-imagining of Shakespeare's comedy, You Like It. (SummerWorks 2006). Playwriting credits: Invisible Things (2009 10 Days of Madness 24HR Playwriting Competition Winner, Edmonton), Unknown Pleasures (Sage Theatre, Calgary), Regeneration (Theatre Network, Edmonton), and [ice land] (Walterdale Theatre, Edmonton, recently published in Hot Thespian Action! (Athabasca UP)). Jonathan holds a BA (Honours) Drama from the University of Alberta and is an Acting grad of the National Theatre School of Canada and the Banff/Citadel Professional Theatre Program. Upcoming: NORMAL HEART at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre.
Michelle Ramsay, Lighting Designer
Michelle is a Lighting Designer based in Toronto, Ontario. Selected Productions include: Lighting Designer for: April 14, 1912 and The Stronger Variations (Theatre Rusticle), Mary’s Wedding (McManus Studio Theatre at the Grand), Honouring Theatre – A Tri-national Tour of Aboriginal Theatre, The Unnatural and Accidental Women and Tales of an Urban Indian (Native Earth Performing Arts), Death of a Chief (Native Earth Performing Arts and the National Arts Centre), Annie Mae’s Movement (NEPA), Twilight Cafe (Theatre Archipelago), That Time (The Theatre Centre), Banana Boys (fu-GEN) and Poochwater (Theatre Passe Muraille); Lighting Designer/Production Manager for: Cast Iron (Nightwood Theatre/Obsidian); Co-Lighting Designer: Rough House (with Rebecca Picherack for nightswimming) Russell Hill (with Andrea Lundy for Tarragon Theatre).She has been nominated for six Dora Mavor Moore Awards and has received three. She was also the 2008 recipient of the Pauline McGibbon Award.
Indrit Kasapi, Creator|Performer
A native of Tirana, Albania, Indrit moved to Toronto, Canada in his early teens. He has worked as an actor, director, producer, writer, choreographer and dancer. Indrit is also a dancer with CORPUS Dance Projects and has been a core member for their European/Israel/British Columbia Tours in A Flock of Fliers and Les Moutons. Acting Credits: Il Dottore (The Tavelling Salesman and his Magical Suitcase of Desires, Zanni Arte Productions); Larry (The Boys in the Band, Ghostlight Projects); Maurice (Deathwatch, lemonTree creations) etc. Indrit is a current member of GYM (Canstage); Artistic Producer for lemonTree theatre creations (Toronto); Associate Producer for Underground/Opera (Toronto). Upcoming: Machina Nuptialis- World Premiere ( Corpus) Graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada.
Cole J Alvis, Creator\Performer
Cole is originally from Duchess, Alberta. Acting credits include: Harold in The Boys In The Band (Buddies), Lefranc in Deathwatch (lemonTree creations), Private Wicks in The Fort At York by Tara Beagan, Nelly Boy (SummerWorks - Outstanding Performance, NOW Magazine) and member of the creative ensemble in the Dora nominated Gorey Story (The Thistle Project). Upcoming: directing a collective creation about children of war called The UNtitled Project, and producing a documentary musical about transgender musician, Rae Spoon (Plural Productions). Cole is a Co-Artistic Director of Plural Productions, an Artistic Producer of lemonTree creations and holds a BFA in acting from York University.
Alisha Stranges, Creator|Performer
Alisha Stranges is a theatre creator, dancer and performer. She has toured Europe and Canada as a member of CORPUS Dance Projects performing in A Flock of Flyers, Les Moutons, and Le Grand Peep Show. She is a founding member of the ad hoc collective
TheThem, who have recently premiered their first new work People4Change at Cleveland Public Theatre’s Big Box Series 2010. Alisha has had the pleasure of travelling to Wales to participate and perform in The Mid-Wales Shakespeare Festival and to Mozambique to collaborate with traditional African dance company Montes Namuli, as part of SLC’s The Africa Project: Dance with Us, Not with
AIDS. Currently Alisha is assistant directing Buddies in Bad Times’ annual Pride Cab. Other credits include Gaggle, (Choreographer-Hysteria 09), Helga!, a solo creation for Buddies in Bad Times’ Young Creator’s Unit (Rhubarb!-08), and Robbers Daughters (Independent Auntie—Cooking Fire Festival).
Upcoming: People4Change (lemonTree creations in association with TheThem, TPM)
Andrew Aquino, Creator|Performer
Andrew has just graduated with his degree in Acting at York University. During his time at York, he has played in roles such as Antonio in The Tempest, directed by Paul Muir;Mi-Jean from Theatre@York's national debut of Ti-Jean and His Brothers, directed by Marvin Ishmael; and Octavius Caesar in Antony and Cleopatra, directed by Marvin Ishmael. He was also a company member of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre's Pridecab 2009. This is Andrew's first post post-secondary production, and he is thrilled to be a part of Still Life.
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In Development
- lemonTree creations is currently developing two brand new projects.
- A commission for a new play by exciting young playwright and actor, Nick Green currently entitled BODY POLITIC. The play, being developed in collaboration with the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives (CLGA) will feature the story behind the creation and existence of one of Canada's most important queer newspapers, The Body Politic.
- A new dance piece conceived, directed and choreographed by Indrit Kasapi entitled MSM [Men Seeking Men]. This movement based creation will dissect thousands of actual transcripts of online conversations between men seeking other men and will be accompanied by house/dance/electro music which will potentially be spinned live by a DJ.
- A commission for a new play by exciting young playwright and actor, Nick Green currently entitled BODY POLITIC. The play, being developed in collaboration with the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives (CLGA) will feature the story behind the creation and existence of one of Canada's most important queer newspapers, The Body Politic.
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Support
DONATE
We are a very young and small independent unincorporated theatre company that is slowly making courageous steps towards theatremaking in Canada. Your support is invaluable to us because it will allow us to cover a lot of the costs necessary for the development, rehearsal and production of a show.
Please make a donation in any amount. Your generous contribution will be acknowledged in several ways by our company.
Click Here for a list of BENEFITS according to DONATION AMOUNT.
We are truly grateful for your help.
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Photos
