The Question... Patrick Kearns on BITS (Fringe: Montreal, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Victoria)

Pieces and BITS

by Estelle Rosen

Patrick Kearns shies away from labels, but shamelessly flirts with titles. Lately he’s been trying to get The Artist’s number. Best known for being a comedian, singer-songwriter, and professional genius.

CHARPO: I read you're a comedian, singer and songwriter. Will your one-man show BITS incorporate all three and what was the origin for BITS. 

KEARNS: The origin for BITS was a pile of notebooks and two decades of unsolicited advice that “you should be a performer.” The push to do something about it came from a friend who urged me to read “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron, which I can’t recommend enough.

While reading the book, I came upon the advice of another friend, who told me that “the job of the artist is to be obedient to the impulse to create.” I’d had no formal training in any artistic discipline, so I didn’t think of myself as an artist. When asked, “What do you do?” I would never have dreamed of answering, “I’m an artist.” (cont'd)

The Question... Keir Cutler on Shakespeare Crackpot (Fringe)

 

The Rant
by Estelle Rosen

Keir Cutler has a PhD in theatre from Wayne State University in Detroit, a playwriting diploma from the National Theatre School of Canada and has a B.A from McGill University. He is the author of the ebook, "SHAKESPEARE AUTHORSHIP QUESTION: A CRACKPOT'S VIEW" available on Kindle, and he is the playwright/performer of nine monologues and one two-character theatre play.  Keir is married and lives in Montreal.

CHARPO: Seems like Montreal Fringe Festival would be incomplete without your Shakespeare rant! Though the basic subject is constant, you have presented us with varying approaches to the Shakespeare question. Do you ever feel - ok enough - on to something else? And how does this particular presentation fit with previous rants?

CUTLER: Shakespeare Crackpot is my 10th original show to debut at the Montreal Fringe Festival, and my 5th dealing with some aspect of Shakespeare.  (Teaching Shakespeare 1999, Is Shakespeare Dead? 2002, Teaching As You Like It 2006, Teaching Hamlet 2011.)  I am indebted to the Montreal Fringe Festival, and to the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals for affording me this opportunity to develop new work. As I’ve travelled and performed across the country, I’ve had the chance to meet and work with other artists, including the inestimable TJ Dawe, who is directing me once again in this new work. (cont'd)

The Question... Jean-François Michaud and Francois Morin on Housebum - A Superhero on Trial (Fringe)

Comic Books...On Stage
by Estelle Rosen

Mask VS Title is made up of Jean-François Michaud and François Morin. They met in the independent wrestling circuit some years ago. Their shared interests include Dada and expressionistic art, 90s cartoons and sunflowers. Their first production Housebum: A Superhero on Trial! will be presented at the Montreal Fringe Festival.

CHARPO: A new theatre company with a name and a first production that sounds like a videogame! What's the background on how both came to be?

MORIN: We met some years ago on the independent wrestling circuit and it felt like we had similar interests and sense of humour. We share a love for comic books and pop culture. Wrestling, comic books and video games all have this particular aspect to them of having long arcs that can develop over a long period of time and this has really captured Jean-François’s imagination since he was a kid. In time, we became friends we started talking about creating a project together. The name “Mask VS Title”---- a particular type of pro wrestling match where a wrestler puts his/her mask on the line against a champion’s title---- popped up right away and we both loved it. I don’t think we ever thought seriously about any other name. We were gonna be “Mask VS Title” no matter what we do. (cont'd)

The Question... Nicolas Cantin on Klumzy (FTA)

Painted With Fingers
by Estelle Rosen

Trained in clowning and mask work, Nicolas Cantin hovers on the edge of artistic boundaries and genres, cobbling together pieces that he strips to their bare bones in order to present the very core. Like a lab technician very curious about his research subject, he captures life in all its simplicity, dissecting it by stretching out time to the very edge of ennui. In each piece he zeroes in on intimacy, on what is most secret. Whether it charms or repels, his discourse hits home. With the somber and radical Mygale (FTA, 2012), he ventured into the troubled zones of emotional handicap previously staged in Belle manière and Grand singe. With a trilogy collectively entitled Trois romances, this French artist has made his mark in Montreal. In 2005 he established his dance reputation with Jachère, a solo by Christiane Bourget that led to a Paula Citron Dance Award in Toronto. He then settled in Montreal where he appeared in Glass House and Falaise, and later danced for Frédérick Gravel (Tout se pète la gueule, chérie, FTA, 2010). Co- choreographer of the circus solo Patinoire, presented by 7 doigts de la main, Nicolas also teaches at Montreal’s National Circus School and at the National Theatre School of Canada. He is the sound designer for each of his works, and is currently artist in residence at L'L (Brussels), at Montevideo (Marseille) and at Usine C in Montreal where last year with CHEESE he began his work on memory, further developed in Klumzy.

CHARPO: It seems like you've gone a step further from your training in clowning and mask work. What is the process from Cheese (which began your work on memory) to Klumzy, and is it a natural evolution from your earlier works where you basically stripped pieces to the bare bones to present the core; to get to the root of intimacy. (cont'd)

The Question... Choreographer Tedd Robinson on Room With Sticks (FTA)

What Zen Is

by Estelle Rosen

Tedd Robinson is a Canadian choreographer, performer and educator, best known for his idiosyncratic solo works, including the Chalmers’ award-winning Rokudo: six destinies in three steps. After graduating with a BFA from York University and studying at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre and with eminent British visual theatre artist Lindsay Kemp, his career trajectory first took him to Winnipeg, where he created highly theatrical ensemble works as artistic director of Contemporary Dancers from 1984-1990. Having returned to Ottawa in 1990 to study with Peter Boneham and pursue a solo career, his critically acclaimed works soon won him a multitude of commissions and an international schedule of teaching and touring. In 1998, he formed 10 Gates Dancing Inc. to promote the development and performance of contemporary dance creations. As artistic director, he has created repertoire for some of the most renowned dance artists in Canada alongside establishing choreographic consulting services for the milieu that have benefitted over 40 choreographers. From 2005-2012, Robinson took up residence in the Pontiac Region of Quebec, where he created La B.A.R.N., a rural venue for creation, residencies and performance. In 2013, he established Centre Q: A Centre for Questioning, a research space for dance and music in Canada’s national capital region. His collaborations have included creation with dance artists Louise Lecavalier, Margie Gillis, Ame Henderson, and composer/performer Charles Quevillon. Tedd Robinson is a founding member of Projet bk and an Associate Dance Artist of Canada’s National Arts Centre. His work is influenced by his six years of study as a monk in the Hakukaze soto zen monastery in Ottawa. www.tengatesdancing.ca

CHARPO:  How much did studying in a Zen monastery influence the creation of Room With Sticks, tell us about the process and challenges to presenting the Zen poem Room With Sticks.

ROBINSON: Experience has taught me that sometimes everything we do is the cumulative effect of what we have already done. (cont'd)

(photo by Rod MacIvor) 

ROBINSON (cont'd): The effect on how I view things is influenced by my experiences studying zen. Does it have anything to do with this work, Room with Sticks? I would say about as much as anything else I have done in my life. If this work had anything directly to do with zen then it would be a lie and yet it is everything to do with zen and it is not a lie. I balance sticks on the heads of a few Buddhist statues that I had around my house. Is that zen? Is anything slow … zen? What is zen? It is bantered around these days like some corporate logo, a catchall word for “serenity” or “something to do with energy or house decor”. Yoga, another corporate logo is sometimes interchangeable with zen, except the logo for zen is more crisp and spare. It has become a noun when it is in fact a practice, an active opening to who and what you are, a life living, the sky breathing.

I actually don’t really know what “zen” is … and I am quite satisfied with that not knowing.

@estellemontreal

Room with Sticks actually came out of 2 summers, 2 explorations. I saw some conjunctions in the 2 works and we are presenting some of the ideas from both works as a new work. This new work changes with each new space. Espace Libre is the smallest space we have encountered so far.

Room with Sticks, for me, works with elements of space, the senses, balance, activities that require time, joy, wood, paper, sound, now.

A zen poem is most of the time thought of as a haiku. I won’t write one for you although maybe that is what was expected. I am not a poet who uses words.

June 5 - 7

The Question... Andrew Cameron on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

Stoppard on The Fall
by Estelle Rosen

Andrew Cameron was born in North Vancouver, moved to Montreal four years ago to study English Literature at Concordia. He promptly dropped out to pursue a life in the theatre. He has acted in Fringe plays, worked with McGill Players and Tuesday Night Café Theatre, Kingbaby Theatre in British Columbia and most recently founded Chocolate Moose Theatre Company producing Edward Albee's At Home at the Zoo and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.

CHARPO: What was the attraction to present Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, the story, or Tom Stoppard or both; what would you like audiences to take away from this play? 

CAMERON: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are dead appealed to me initially as a very unique comedy. I love the way it turns Hamlet on its head, fully develops all of the bizarre plot points and the great comedy that comes from following these two minor characters through Shakespeare's masterpiece. (cont'd)

The Question... Choreographer Yvonne Ng on SoloDuet

Flying from Beethoven's Fifth and other inspirations
by Estelle Rosen

Born and raised in Singapore, of Peranakan Chinese descent, Yvonne Ng (B.F.A. Honours,York University) is a Toronto based dancer, choreographer, presenter, producer, curator, arts educator and artistic director. An Ontario Premier's Award for Excellence in the Arts award winner, Ng is the artistic director of princess productions (since 1996), the umbrella organization for tiger princess dance projects (tpdp) and the award-winning dance: made in canada/fait au canada festival which she produces and curates. She has taught in the dance departments of Ryerson and York University, the theatre department at Juniata College (Pennsylvania, U.S.A.) as well as Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and La Salle College of the Arts (both in Singapore). Ng has toured tpdp to Singapore, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Australia, China and across Canada. She is also artistic director of Series 8:08 (since 1994). Ng will choreograph SoloDuet, two new works exploring identity and its fluidity,  in collaboration with dancers Mairéad Ellgate, Luke Garwood, and Linnea Wong May 6-10 at Toronto's Theatre Centre. www.princessproductions.ca

CHARPO: As choreographer of SoloDuet, what were some of the challenges in presenting these two dance pieces, how do they complement each other and what would you like audiences to come away with?

NG: I'd like to first state that these two dance works were not created to be a diptych.  I have made related works in the past and this time, mostly due to circumstances, both works come from very different inspirations and processes. There was a challenge in allowing these dance works to grow organically and independent of each other. On the one hand, I didn't want the same choreography or movement vocabulary showing up in both works and at the same time, I had to guard against the two pieces becoming polar opposites. Each has to stand on its own merits. (cont'd)

The Question... Anne Plamondon on Québec Danse 2014

Danse, Dance
by Estelle Rosen

Co-Artistic Director/Dancer with RubberbandDanceGroup since 2002, Anne Plamondon was involved in developing a strategic vision for the company and now teaches the RUBBERBAND Method internationally. Ms Plamondon has collaborated with Crystal Pite's company, Kidd Pivot, since 2005. More recently, she continues to pursue her own choreographic voice in the self-solo work Les memes jeux que toi which was created in collaboration with Marie Brassard and premiered in 2012 at Agora de la Danse.

CHARPO: How has the development of Regroupement québécois de la danse (RQD) contributed to making dance such a vibrant part of Montreal's arts community, as evidenced by the upcoming Québec Danse 2014.

PLAMONDON: Montreal is a cultural metropolis with a rich pool of dance artists, choreographers and performers, both professional and amateur. (cont'd)

The Question... Director Jon Lachlin Stewart on Beckett

The Outsider
by Estelle Rosen

Jon Lachlan Stewart is a director, playwright, and performer born in Edmonton, Alberta. He trained as an actor at Studio 58 in Vancouver. Mr Stewart's work explores contemporary and current themes through the creation of new plays that incorporate the use of dance and physical theatre. Currently, his primary focus is on the creation of works that can unite French and English artistic communities across Canada. Directing credits include Keeping Peace (Surreal SoReal Theatre / Azimuth), Guernica (Hidden Harlequin, best director Sterling nomination), as well as being artistic director of his company Surreal SoReal Theatre (2004-present) and various projects while studying at the National Theatre School. Playwriting credits include Little Room (nominated for two Edmonton Sterling Awards) Big Shot (nominated for two Sterling Awards and two Calgary Betty Mitchell Awards), The Gooble Portrait (Théâtre la Seizième; five Vancouver Jessie Awards), Dog (nominated for six Sterling Awards, including Best New Play, and winner of the Best Independent Production Award), and Edith Rex (current commission with Shadow Theatre). Acting credits include The Goat, or Who is Sylvia (Citadel Theatre), The Palace Grand (understudy, Electric Company), The Play About the Baby (Theatre Network), Whale Riding Weather (Zee Zee), Ecran Fumee, Flocons Pour Alicia (Théâtre la Seizième), Des fraises en janvier (LuniTheatre), and the Blue Light (Keyano), as well as many Surreal SoReal productions. 

CHARPO: I understand directing Before Her Time, three plays by Samuel Beckett, marks the end of your training in the National Theatre School  Directors program.  Why did you choose to direct three Beckett plays?

LACHLAN-STEWART: I’m an outsider coming in.

An Albertan in Montreal.

A Francophile trying to make a life in the mixed theatre community of this beautiful city. (cont'd)

The Question... Stuart Fink on inFurnace Theatre and Living Room. Dark.

And Now...?
by Estelle Rosen

Stuart Fink has worked professionally as an actor and director in three provinces so far. Most recently he performed in the Opera de Montréal's production of Porgy and Bess. This past summer he was in productions of Self-Help by Norm Foster and the Wizard of Oz, with Kimberley Summer Theatre in Kimberley BC. He has been directing since 2010 when he directed, produced, and acted in Who's on First's production of Biloxi Blues by Neil Simon. Selected acting credits include Millet in Fuddy Meers by David Lindsay-Abaire, Jack in the Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde, Juror #10 in 12 Angry Men by Reginald Rose and Sir Andrew Aguecheek in Twelfth Night by Shakespeare. Stuart has a DEC in Theatre from John Abbott College and a BFA in Acting from the University of Alberta. 

CHARPO: Your website indicates the goal of inFurnace Theatre is to focus on "now" plays written in the last 15 years that resonate with 18-30 year olds who don't consider theatre as part of their regular activity. Basically to provoke and shake up the status quo. What prompted this focus and how's it going so far?

FINK: The focus for inFurnace's mandate came from my observations of what shows were currently being produced in this country. I've had the privilege to work in the theatre here in Montreal, in Edmonton and in a small town in BC called Kimberley, and everywhere I went I would see a lot of the same works, the same playwrights. And I understood why the companies were choosing those plays. The line between a financially successful show and a failure is always so razor-close, and companies have to bank on the playwright's already established reputation to guarantee ticket sales. (cont'd)

The Question... Laura Orozco and Myrna Wyatt-Selkirk on Action Spectrum - Director's Project

The Actor/Director Relationship

by Estelle Rosen

Laura Orozco is in her third year studying Psychology and Theatre Studies at McGill University in Montreal. She is currently co-technical director at the Tuesday Night Café Theatre. She is also Festival Production Manager for Action Spectrum.

Professor Myrna Wyatt-Selkirk is an Associate Professor at McGill University in the Department of English where she teaches Acting and Directing. She is the Festival Director for the Action Spectrum: Director's Project 2014 festival

CHARPO: Tell us about McGill's Action Spectrum: Director's Project 2014 theatre festival directed by members of Department of English:Directing for the Theatre course. The festival includes both classic playwrights and student playwrights, did each director select the play they chose to direct and, what are some of the challenges for a festival that includes 12 plays?

OROZCO: Action Spectrum is the product of a huge collaboration. Behind the scenes of a 12-play festival there needs to be very clear communication and coordination. This year the festival is happening in collaboration with the Tuesday Night Café Theatre with performances happening in the unique TNC space on the McGill Campus. As a smaller company with a smaller space, executing a festival like this has meant a lot of shared time and space. (cont'd)

The Question... Ariel Ifergan on Le Dernier jour du condamné

Death and The Privilege of Writing

by Estelle Rosen

Since 1999, Ariel Ifergan has performed in 15 Montreal productions including Pièce d'identité, Dossier Prométhée, Montréal la blanche. From 2007 to 2011, Ariel Ifergan produced Z comme Zadig, an adaptation of Zadig de Voltaire, co-written with director Anne Millaire in which he played all characters. M Ifergan was also involved in the touring production of Devinez-qui, les dix petit nègres, directed by Michèle Deslauriers. In 2013 he directed L'Augmentation de Georges Perec at Segal Centre. Young peoples theatre plays an important part in his career.  

CHARPO: Victor Hugo's novel Le Dernier Jour d'un Condamné (The Last Day of a Condemned Man) is about the thoughts, feelings, and fear of a man awaiting execution with a sub-text about abolishing capital punishment. How do you prepare for a complex role like this?

IFERGAN:  Victor Hugo wrote this story at the age of 27. This production was also an occasion for me to rediscover this master of French language; to take a look at Hugo's impressive biography and bibliography. He died at 85 and probably wrote every day of his life... and had an important political implication.

The Question... Jeff Gandell on The Balding and As The Bagel Turns

Vulnerable (and Funny)
by Estelle Rosen

Jeff Gandell is a Montreal writer, storyteller, improviser, and teacher. His one-man comedy, The Balding, was nominated for the Just for Laughs - Best Comedy at the 2013 Montreal Fringe Fest. His second one-man comedy of 2013, Danger Unit, debuted to great acclaim at the 2013 Solos Festival. He runs Yarn, a monthly comedic storytelling event at Le Cagibi, in Montreal. 

CHARPO: Your response - in the June 17 edition of CharPo when The Balding was performed as part of Montreal Fringe - focused on balding and life lessons among other things. Any additional insights from this production since then? 

GANDELL: Many! I suppose the biggest (and nicest) surprise since then was the reaction that The Balding received from audiences and critics during the run at the Fringe Fest. I’m happy to report that the show was a great success, both in terms of attendance and feedback I got from people. In telling the story of a 20-year-old virgin starting to lose his hair, I really aimed to write something that would resonate emotionally with people, and I think I did that. I had a feeling before the Fringe Fest that it was a story of vulnerability. I don’t think I really understood to what degree it was, or how much people would latch on to that. 

The Question... Mezzo Kathrin Welte on Cendrillon

The Pride of Reaching and drinking an "Ugly Stepsister"
It’s a vocally challenging and intricate piece, but one that is filled with roles well suited for young voices.
by Estelle Rosen

German born mezzo-soprano Kathrin Welte has been singing for ten years on stages across Canada and internationally. After receiving training at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, the Mozarteum conservatory summer academy in Salzburg, Austria, and a master’s degree in voice performance from McGill University, she has been regularly involved with a number of Montreal musical organizations. In 2011 she co-founded and became artistic co-director of Opera da Camera, a company based on the concepts of accessibility for all audiences and to the creation of opportunities for local talent.

CHARPO: The original intent of Opera da Camera was to make opera more accessible by combining classical and musical theatre genres. Last year Opera de Camera presented a complete opera. This year an operatic fairy tale - Cendrillon (Cinderella) by composer Jules Massenet. Why Cendrillon?  

WELTE: I recall that shortly after closing last year’s Nozze di Figaro we gathered over a large supper – the de facto corporate boardroom of our company – and assessed how our inaugural operatic production had fared. Amidst the excitement of the great reviews, the relief of the show’s success, and a long list of mistakes we wanted to never repeat again, one thing stood out among all others: how loudly our message of accessibility had resonated with our audiences. As we talked to our public after each show, and received messages in the week that followed, one thing was clear: we had managed to attract so many people to their first opera (40%, as our audience surveys later showed), and they loved it! As that was one of the founding principles of the company, it also became our proudest achievement, and we vowed to do all in our power to reach the same goal with the opera selection for 2014.

The Question... Harrison Collett on Antigone

Sophocles Re-Stated
by Estelle Rosen

Harrison Collett is a U2 Political Science/Theatre student. This is his first foray into direction, having only previously appeared on the McGill stage in productions such as Cloud 9, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Timon of Athens.

CHARPO: Why Antigone? Does being a Political Science/Theatre student influence this decision?

COLLETT: The actual myth of Antigone has been of enormous interest to me ever since I was in high school, where I read the Sophoclean iteration. I later read Anouilh’s version with the context in which it was written in mind, and fell in love with his poetic re-imagining.

The Question... Joshua Stodart on Edmund Ironside - Shakespeare's lost play

The Special Case of Edmund Ironside
by Estelle Rosen

Joshua Stodart is an actor, director, and Shakespeare enthusiast based in Toronto. A recent graduate of Ryerson Theatre School, he founded Ale House in 2012 and has produced and directed three full and uncut Shakespeare plays. Recent acting credits include: Feste and Bassanio with Ale House; Mason in Journey's End (The Empty Room); and he will soon be starring as Dob in Dib and Dob (Carousel Players).

CHARPO: The Ale House Theatre reading of a lost Shakespeare play brings up many questions, particularly whether Shakespeare indeed wrote his plays. This is is a much discussed topic these days. Tell us more about the upcoming reading, Who Wrote Shakespeare, and the 'lost' play.

STODART: On Monday, February 3 Ale House Theatre Company will be doing a reading of a 'lost' Shakespeare play called Edmund Ironside. I will also be attempting to make the case for Shakespeare’s authorship of this play. This of course raises the larger question of, “did William Shakespeare write any of his plays?” I think it is a valid question and anyone who wants to develop a more meaningful relationship with the texts might ask it.

The Question... Colin Lalonde on Studio Porte Bleue

In Search of a Deeper Connection
I hear far too often that people 'don’t get' theatre.
by Estelle Rosen

Colin Lalonde trained as an actor at John Abbott College. After completing his training he began a theatre company, Vanguard Productions, where he directed multiple performances including Dylan Thomas’ Under Milkwood. He went on to complete his BA in Honours Theatre at the University of Ottawa. While studying in Ottawa he became a part of the performance and research group Les Ateliers du Corps, a group led by Professor Daniel Mroz that offers its participants sustained training in embodied practices including Taijiquan, Qigong and contemporary voice work. This training is then used to devise new performances that are aesthetically similar to the work of Eugenio Barba and Odin Teatret. Mr. Lalonde went on to pursue his Masters in International Performance Research at the University of Warwick (UK) and the University of Arts Belgrade (Serbia). While travelling and researching he worked with the performance group Dah in Belgrade, attended workshops with Richard Schechner, and with his colleagues he helped begin a yearly performance series examining ignored and unused urban spaces entitled UNLISTED (performed in Belgrade in 2012 and Pittsburgh in 2013). He is now the Artistic Director of Studio Porte Bleue. 

CHARPO: It takes a lot of guts to start a new theatre company these days. What are the goals of Studio Porte Bleue and why was this piece selected as the first presentation?

LALONDE: After returning to Montreal after six years away, I decided to create a space in my native city that was dedicated to artistic development and experimentation. While away, I had the pleasure of working with a variety of different practitioners and academics from a wide array of performance and artistic backgrounds. This opened my mind to many different possibilities in performance. Studio Porte Bleue was born out of the motivation to dedicate myself to finding an outlet to explore and expand upon all of my experiences outside of the city. 

The Question... Director Matthieu Labaudiniére on All My Sons

Why Not?
by Estelle Rosen

Matthieu Labaudiniére is in his third year studying mechanical engineering at McGill University. He was born in Paris, France, but raised in the United States. In addition to his studies, he stays involved in the theatre community and the soccer community around McGill. He is part of a racing team that designs formula style race cars to compete all across the world.

CHARPO: Why does an Engineering student direct a theatre production, and what are the challenges of directing a classic play as your first effort?

LABAUDINIÉRE: Why not? Man is not a one-dimensional creature, but is full of contradictions. Just like he is capable of a whole range of emotions, he is also capable of mastering many skills. In the past year I have acted, directed, studied engineering, given business presentations, written articles about soccer, played soccer, announced soccer games, worked as a camp counsellor, been a frosh leader, and enjoyed the benefits of a healthy relationship. Could I pinpoint one of those that was the most important, that I would have enjoyed doing for the whole year? No, of course not.  Each of those activities helped me grow as a person in its own way. I need to stimulate all dimensions of my personality and that includes engineering and theatre together.

The Question... Rahul Varma on Bhopal

When safety is sacrificed for profit, there must be justice
by Rahul Varma 

[This week The Question... asked Rahul Varma, Artistic Director of Teesri Duniya Theatre, about the background of Teesri Duniya's presentation of Bhopal including their upcoming commemorative presentation at Segal Centre for the Performing Arts January 16 to February 2. Born in India, Mr. Varma is a playwright and artistic director of Teesri Duniya Theatre which he co-founded in 1981. In 1998, with Kapil Bawa, he co-founded the theatre quarterly alt.theatre: cultural diversity and the stage.  He writes both in Hindi and English, a language he acquired as an adult. Some of his recent plays are Land Where the Trees Talk, No Man’s Land, Trading Injuries (radio drama), Counter Offence, Bhopal, Zahreeli Hawa, Truth and Treason, State of Denial and Khamosh Chiragan Di Dastaan.  His plays have been translated into French, Italian, Hindi and Punjabi. He is honoured to have worked with India’s pre-eminent artist Late Dr. Habib Tanvir. ]

On the night of December 2–3, 1984, the Union Carbide Pesticide plant located in Bhopal, India exploded, engulfing the city with a poisonous gas. Small children fell like flies, men and women vainly scurried for safety like wounded animals, only to collapse, breathless and blinded by the gas. By morning, the death toll was over 500, by sunset, 2,500. By the following day, numbers didn’t matter -- Bhopal had become the largest peace-time gas chamber in history. Over 25,000 people have died to date and counting. 

The play Bhopal is about one of the world’s worst industrial disasters located in the city of Bhopal, India. The play derives its title from the city’s name.

The Question... Playwright Joel Bernbaum on Home Is a Beautiful Word

Talk to Me About "Home"
by Estelle Rosen

Joel Bernbaum is an actor, playwright, journalist and the co-artistic director of Sum Theatre. He is a graduate of Carleton University, where he did his Master's Thesis on Verbatim Theatre's Relationship to Journalism. Later this year Dancing Sky Theatre will produce his play Operation Big Rock and Sum Theatre will tour My Rabbi (co-written with Kayvon Kelly) to the Edinburgh Festival. Both of these plays have also received workshops at the Belfry Theatre.

CHARPO: Clearly verbatim theatre has long been of interest considering it was an element in your thesis. What was the process for this play particularly the follow-up interviews asking participants to pose questions as well as answer, and your holistic look at homelessness.

BERNBAUM: Verbatim theatre is thriving. When I was writing my thesis on verbatim theatre's relationship to journalism, there were several examples on the Canadian theatre scene alone of powerful and popular verbatim theatre productions. Oonagh Duncan's Talk Thirty To Me - about aging. Annabel Soutar's Seeds - about a Saskatchewan farmer's fight against big business. Andew Kushnir and Project:Humanity's The Middle Place - about shelter youth. Among others, these examples show the appeal of the real. The theatre is a place where we come to imagine, and to believe in lies. But it can also be a place where we come together to hear real people speak their truths.