Sunday Feature: Laurel Green on ATP's Raucous Caucus

The Rowdies
by Laurel Green

Laurel Green is the Artistic Associate at Alberta Theatre Projects (ATP) in Calgary where she works in new play development and literary management for the company. As Production Dramaturg at ATP’s Enbridge playRites Festival of New Canadian Plays, Laurel’s credits include: a two-hander Bollywood musical (Same Same But Different), a new translation (You Will Remember Me), a hip hop musical (Ash Rizin), a Bacchanalian rock 'n roll cabaret (The God That Comes), and a new play by Joan MacLeod (The Valley). As a freelance dramaturg, she’s currently working on: The Distance Between You and I with Humble Wonder Theatre, and Attack of the Pine Beetles! with Evergreen Theatre. Laurel is an active board member for the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas. You can follow her on Twitter @LGYYC

We started an Emerging Artists Assembly during the 2011 Enbridge playRites Festival; a small mini-conference weekend that welcomed students and young artists to the Martha Cohen Theatre to watch all four Festival plays, network, and meet guest artists. One of the most popular events was called ‘Raucous Caucus’ –this was a rowdy panel discussion hosted by Ghost River Theatre’s Eric Rose where participants were encouraged to weigh in on topics that were important to them. We realized that the whole weekend should be a ‘Raucous Caucus’, a chance to ask questions, share ideas, get inspired and raise your voice. In 2012,  I worked closely with the Youth Education and Outreach department at Alberta Theatre Projects to expand Raucous Caucus into a jam-packed three-day long symposium built around having lots of chances to participate and network. We wanted to build a fun event for the next generation of Canadian theatre artists, and we’ve had plenty of them turn up each year from all across Alberta! 

The Question... Laurel Green, Dramaturg (playRites) on Collapsible

Collapsible playwright Emily Pearlman and dramaturg Laurel Green (left)

The Cheerleader/Drill Sergeant
by Estelle Rosen

Laurel Green is the Artistic Associate at Alberta Theatre Projects (ATP) in Calgary where she works in new play development and literary management for the company. As Production Dramaturg at ATP’s Enbridge playRites Festival of New Canadian Plays, Laurel’s credits include: a two-hander Bollywood musical (Same Same But Different), a new translation (You Will Remember Me), a hip hop musical (Ash Rizin), a Bacchanalian rock 'n roll cabaret (The God That Comes), and a new play by Joan MacLeod (The Valley). As a freelance dramaturg, she’s currently working on: The Distance Between You and I with Humble Wonder Theatre, and Attack of the Pine Beetles! with Evergreen Theatre. Laurel is an active board member for the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas. You can follow her on Twitter @LGYYC 

CHARPO: How would you describe what a dramaturg does, and specifically related to this production?

GREEN: A dramaturg can serve many functions on a production, but a new play dramaturg (like me) works closely with the playwright while they are developing their piece. We read drafts, ask questions, listen closely and offer feedback to help the playwright realize their vision. This isn’t always an easy process so we are cheerleaders, therapists, drill sergeants, editors and drinking buddies, depending on what the project needs. 

Review: (Calgary) The Valley

Erin MacKinnon, Kyle Jespersen (photo by Trudie Lee Photography)

Full of Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing
by Josef Vermeulen
@YYZatcboy

The most striking thing about The Valley is not the intersection of policing and mental illness, nor the issues of suicide and substance abuse, although all of those ideas are touched on. No, the most striking thing is how a play that is ostensibly about such fertile ideas can say absolutely nothing about any of them. 

The overall story of The Valley revolves around a singular event. Teenaged Connor experiences a violent psychotic break on the SkyTrain in Vancouver, and is arrested, in the process breaking his jaw. Arresting Officer, Dan, is then caught up in Connor’s mother Sharon’s attempts to deal with the perceived excessive use of force in the arrest of her son, and his wife Janie’s post partum depression and suicide attempts.

The main problem with the play is that it tries to cover too many large themes. The result of combining all of these issues - all of which could be stand-alone plays - is that each idea gets perfunctory coverage in the play and then is forgotten. Major themes such as suicide and depression are simply mentioned once then glossed over as we move on to the next thing.

Review: (Calgary) Intimate Apparel

Not Just A Love Story

by Joe Vermeulen

Set in 1905 era New York City, Intimate Apparel is a story about growing up, betrayal and love. Esther (Karen Robinson) is a 35-year-old seamstress living in a boarding house for unmarried ladies. Known for making intimate apparel for ladies, she is highly sought after by the wealthy white upper class. After a wedding reception for one of her housemates, the landlady Mrs. Dickson (Kim Roberts) brings her a letter from a laborer on the Panama Canal. George (Andre Sills) has heard about Esther from a man who attends the same church as she does. He craves human contact from  a fine young lady. Encouragement from her friend Mayme (Abnea Malika) and client Mrs. Van Buren (Julie Orton) give her the courage to write him back. Meanwhile she is developing a very close and intimate bond with the Jewish cloth merchant Mr. Marks (Graham Percy). As her relationship with both George and Mr. Marks grow, she learns what real love is, and that she and others can change to let it grow.

Review: (Calgary) Mary's Wedding

Wedding Belle

Mary gets married at ATP

by Ryan Hurl

It is the night before Mary’s Wedding. We are invited into a dream. Some say dreams are the mind's way of filtering through information, absorbing lessons, and sorting emotion. In the true spirit of the theatre, this dream will be collective. Stark, stripped down, worn out beams parade up to a clouded sky that can glow with the sunrise, or shudder with a fierce storm. This is the duality of Steven Massicotte's brilliantly conceived Mary’s Wedding, a play that explores the nature of love in dangerous times–proving love is a vulnerable act that can be lost forever in our collective nightmares. Both love and survival struggle for surrender. The power of this story can be accounted for by the volume of productions it has received since the prèmiere production in 2002, across the globe. The story sits on an empyrean nerve, appearing to be capable of performance anywhere a heart beats.  It is soon apparent why…

First-Person: Kate Newby on directing True Love Lies

(Photo courtesy of Trudie Lee Photography)

The Truth in True Love Lies

Having performed in Fraser's works, an artist finds directing him is a case of finding balance

Kate Newby

When approached by ATP to direct “True Love Lies” I found myself surprisingly keen to explore Brad Fraser’s work from the director’s perspective. My past experiences with Fraser’s work have always been as an actor, having survived two tumultuous, yet highly successful productions of “Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love,” a wild fringe production of “Chainsaw Love” and two fabulously unique productions of “The Ugly Man.” I know from past experience, Fraser’s work can be challenging on a variety of different levels. Depending on the play, his work is often interpreted as risky, titillating, witty, and sometimes superficial, yet like Noel Coward, Fraser’s work has tremendous depth and a large dose of truth. In each of Fraser’s plays you will find an undercurrent of pain, betrayal, desire and need.