#15 Edward Kotanen /  by Michael Kruse

Edward Kotanen in his Studio in Hamilton Ontario

Edward Kotanen in his Studio in Hamilton Ontario

This episode, I speak with set and costume designer Edward Kotanen.  Ed was around at the start of the rebirth of Canadian theatre in the 1960's and managed to navigate a successful career until his retirement recently.  Ed has a great perspective on the relationship between amateur and professional theatre and how groups like the Sunparlour Players and London Little Theatre helped to launch his career in the 1970's.  We also talk about the meetings in Frances Dafoe's basement and how they spawned the Associated Designers of Canada.  

Ed's painting of his partner scenic artist David Rayfield

Ed's painting of his partner scenic artist David Rayfield

Ed also recounts the story of Jack Shapira and his conviction of embezzlement at the Rainbow Stage.  I have gone over the press clippings, one which is found in the links below, and all of what we talked about though it may sound just a little bit like gossip occurred as Ed told it, so rest assured, we are not making this stuff up!  

A bit more on the apocryphal side is my telling of a controversial set design that I attribute to Michael Levine at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.  Hard as I try, I could not find reference to it online, so I may indeed have my facts all backwards - if you listen and know the real story let me know and I will post an update!  

#14 Disappearing Act: A Public Forum on Canadian Theatre and Toronto Audiences /  by Michael Kruse

From Left to Right: Sheila Sky, Sue Edworthy, Derrick Chua

From Left to Right: Sheila Sky, Sue Edworthy, Derrick Chua

This episode started with a random conversation on Facebook in December of 2014.  Three weeks later, on January 11, 2015, a forum on the crisis of audience building was held at Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto, Ontario.  The organizers were Sheila Sky, a talent agent and the executive director of the Associated Designers of Canada, Derrick Chua a prolific theatre producer and Sue Edworthy a marketing and communications director.  The audience was made up of artists, producers, board members, patrons, critics and creators, and the format was to pose questions that were collected and collated by Sue and Sheila to the audience and have those stakeholders try to come up with answers to the question of how to save the modern theatre audience. 

Theatre critic and founding editor of Mooney on Theatre, Megan Mooney

Theatre critic and founding editor of Mooney on Theatre, Megan Mooney

This conversation will delight some, confound many, and anger others.  There are no answers here, but there is the start of a much needed conversation about how we make theatre relevant in a world that is dominated by me-too stars of YouTube and entertainment-at-your-fingertips on Netflix. However, before you listen, I would like to add my two cents to the conversation first.

Most theatre artists in English Canada (and here I am ignorant of the amateur theatre scene in Quebec so I will not even try to characterize it) first engaged with live performance at the local amateur level.  Be it in a stuttered, naive scene study in grade 10 drama, or a lavish musical theatre society production, most of us reveled in the thrill of stepping, painting, plugging, or barking for the first time in front of our peers and family in the community: and we could not get enough of it.

This theatrical movement in many communities is decades older than the modern professional theatre in Canada that I am trying to document here on The Title Block.  This movement, which includes operetta groups and Sears Drama Festival retinues, is still a strong and vital part of many smaller communities, while us here in the big smoke of Toronto make have forgotten it. In North Bay or Nanaimo, community theatre not only attracts all ages and talents, but it sells; boy does it sell. Community theatre continues to sell and draw in volunteers and talent because the stakes are high and the thrill is palpable, for both the performer and the audience.

Professional theatre audiences have changed; I think we can agree on this.  There is the dying breed of "blue hairs" as we dismiss them, callously.  They are aging, and soon we will be left with a hole.  "We need to attract the youth!" is the cry but no one, or most, have not a clue on how to do so. This forum will show that.  But there is hope, and here is my proposition.

Today's 30 year old does not engage in entertainment passively.  They want to be active participants. Maybe not in the original creation, but they tweet, post, blog, heckle, flame, praise, text, and all in a media cycle that pushes each of them further and further apart.  There are fewer people attending church; it is a wonder that we make any connection at all given that there are more ways than we have ever thought of to "other" and push people away.  More than anything, your 30-year old wants to be in a community.  They want to feel a part of it. More importantly and specifically, they want to be in on the joke.  

No one likes to be left out of the joke, even if they are the butt of it, everyone wants to have the inside skinny, the special treatment.  YouTube, if it has done anything, it has sold us the idea that anyone can have a special talent and be popular; that stardom or fame is accessible.  That may be fantasy, but that does not mean that your 30-year old stops wanting it: they even expect it.

Is this right? I have no idea, but this is the case, and we can take advantage of it while creating at the same time.  There were several hints about this possibility in the forum. Some of successes spoken about in Disappearing Act are those that built an audience from scratch and have succeeded by building a community around their art.  Some let the audience guide the choice of season, some create spaces in which the audience can interact with artists to share ideas and connect on a human level with the ideas presented in the play.  Exit subscribers. Enter subsumers.  Build community.

We cannot continue to remain a viable entertainment option, or heaven forfend a machine of change, if we continue to ignore the audience and see them as passive consumers let alone have contempt for them when they "don't get my art".  Another common theme in the forum was "make good art!" and that is important, but we cannot "make good art" to serve our own egos, we have to do it for our audience, our conspirators: our community.

Until this forum, I thought that "boutique" theatre may be an answer.  An exclusive and expensive, as well as an expansive, evening that used the art as a centre-piece, but that added extras in to make it special.  Well, now I think that was naive: we have to use the art as a way of talking to one another, and let the poetic conversation bleed into the before- and after-time of the experience and blend with the prose of our audience. We need to create community.

Remember that thrill of stepping onstage for the first time?  You thought that either you were going to pass out or persevere, but either way you were going to get the lines out in front or your friends and try to tell them why you love this so much.  We need to keep that feeling inside of us when we create theatre.  We have to stop being the weird cousin of Canadian culture and show our community that we matter, that art matters, and that theatre is not our own little, elite toy that the audience "can play with when we are done with it" but rather that it is how we tell our stories, and "won't you come along and tell me yours."

We need to build community.  Our livelihood depends on it, and our audience is waiting.

Rant over, audio below.

#13 Sholem Dolgoy /  by Michael Kruse

In this episode, I interview my old mentor Sholem Dolgoy about his history and career.  We met at Ryerson Theatre School in Toronto, Ontario, where he is the head of the production program. Sholem, like many senior designers in Canada, entered the profession through the school of hard knocks and has risen to be a leading designer and educator in Canada.  In this chat we talk about his successes and failures in the 1970's and 80's and his awakening in terms of the use of colour while learning from great lighting designers like Nicholas Cernovitch and Thomas Skelton.

#12 Jim Plaxton Part 2 /  by Michael Kruse

Show Notes

This is the second half of my chat with Toronto-based production designer Jim Plaxton, and we cover his introduction of cardboard into theatre design in Toronto through Michael Hollingsworth's Strawberry Fields, his monumental work on Videocaberet's History of the Village of Small Huts and his retirement from theatre.

One small correction, it appears as if there was a small confusion regarding the first time use of cardboard by Jim.  It is not very clear in the interview, but Jim speaks about a 40' (actually 36') cardboard bridge he had designed in 1981 for Picnic in the Drift by Tanya Mars and Rina Fraticelli which, according to Scenography in Canada, consisted of cardboard glued together to a thickness of 6" and supported by two vertical truss towers.  The bridge supported both artists and furniture during the production.  The drawbridge, designed in 1973 for Hollingsworth's first play, Strawberry Fields, had been his first foray into the use of cardboard.

Links

Strawberry Fields, Michael Hollingsworth

Bill Lane

Cardboard Scenary

Videocaberet

Michael Hollingsworth

The Hummer Sisters run for Mayor in 1982

History of the Village of Small Huts

BeamStop

Astrid Jansen

Shadowland

Native Earth Performing Arts

The Global Village Theatre

Elizabeth Swerdlow (nee Szathmary) 

Robert Swerdlow

Michelle DuBarry played in Facade (gay caberet/ drag troupe at The Global Village Theatre)

Associated Designers of Canada

Nothing Sacred




#11 Jim Plaxton Part 1 /  by Michael Kruse

This episode features Toronto based designer Jim Plaxton.  Jim's 30 year career oversaw the start of many important Toronto theatre companies, including Toronto Workshop Productions, Theatre Passe Muraille as well as the start of Toronto Dance Theatre.  In this first half we speak about Jim's early career in architecture and his transition first to film and then to dance and live performance.  We also speak about his influence on the renovations of Theatre Passe Muraille in 1982-3 and his stint there as its co-artistic director with Layne Coleman and Clark Rogers.

Moody and Moore Architects

Wartime Housing by Wimpey

Cinecity Theatre and Film Canada

Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre

Willem Poolman

Lorne Michaels

Film Co-ops

LIFT

Toronto Dance Theatre

Peter Rendazzo

David Earle

Patricia Beatty

Toronto Workshop Productions

Gérard Pelletier

School of Toronto Dance Theatre

Theatre Passe Muraille

O.D on Paradise

Hrant Alianak

I Love You Baby Blue and Paul Thompson

Baby Blue II

Lucky Strike

The Blues

Layne Coleman

Clarke Rogers - could find nothing - please send links!

Crackwalker and Judith Thompson

#10 Projection and the Future Part 2 /  by Michael Kruse

This episode picks up at the second half of the panel discussion about projection and the future of design at the Canadian Institute of Theatre Technology's annual conference, Rendez-Vous 2014.  I am once again joined by Scott Spidell, Eric Mongerson, Beth Kates, and Ben Chaisson (bios can be found at episode #9).  

We started the talk about the unique funding challenges of buying or renting equipment that advances so quickly, move on to talk about the language of video in a production and end with a discussion about copyright and planning for the future.

Links

Canada Council Grants

Necessary Angel 

Cahoots Theatre

ETC Source Four LEDs

Toronto Association for the Performing Arts

LED video component walls - Barco

Summerworks Festival

D3 Servers

National Arts Centre

Carousel Players

#9 Projection and the Future Part 1 /  by Michael Kruse

This is a long one, but well worth it.  On August 16th, 2014, I traveled to Ottawa, Ontario for the Canadian Institute for Theatre Technology's annual trade show Rendez-Vous 2014.  There, I led a panel discussion about the use of projections in theatre design with Scott Spidel, Eric Mongerson, Ben Chaisson and Beth Kates.  Thankfully, CITT had booked our discussion for 3 hours and despite the fact that we thought we would be done early, we went right to the 3 hour mark.  It was a very comprehensive discussion as you will see (this is part 1 of 2!).  Bios and links for the show are below.

Bios

Scott Spidell

Scott Spidell, is an assistant professor in production design and technical direction at Texas Lutheran University. He has been a professional theatre artist and craftsperson for over thirty years. Over that time, he has worked in almost every aspect of theatre, film and television—from driving and loading tour trucks, writing scripts for TV shorts, working sound on a Papal tour, serving as a tailor's apprentice, performing as an Equity actor, and getting shot by Charles Bronson— to working as a professional carpenter, scenographer, video designer, camera assistant, lighting designer, props master, producer, and union stage manager.

He has been an active director of the Ontario Section of the Canadian Institute for Theatre Technology (CITT) and the president of the board of Inter Arts Matrix, a non-profit that fosters the development of integrated art. Scott has also taught at the Universities of Waterloo, Guelph, Windsor, Ryerson and Fanshawe College.

He last designed the lights, set, and video for The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui by Bertolt Brecht for the red light district theatre in Toronto and the lighting for Mirror – a chamber opera for soprano and visual artist for the Open Ears Festival in Kitchener.

Scott has a Diploma of Applied Arts in Technical Theatre from Niagara College, a Bachelor of Environmental Studies with a minor in Drama from University of Waterloo, and an MFA in Performance Design from York University in Toronto.

Eric Mongerson

Eric Mongerson worked in and studied theatre in the United States for ten years before moving toMontréal in 1980. In addition to serving as full professor at Concordia University he works as set/lighting designer and technical director outside the university. He received his MFA from Humboldt State University in 1978. 

He received Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) funding as a co-investigator with Dr. Stephen Snow on “Performance-based Research: Changing Perspectives on Developmental Disabilities through Ethnodrama”. 

He has taught set and lighting design, stage management, theatre administration and theatre technology. 

He has consulted for Scénoplus and Cirque du Soleil on equipment installation and theatrical problem solving. He has designed lighting for many productions across North America. At Concordia he has served as Technical Director, Theatre Manager, Production Coordinator, Design for the Theatre Coordinator and Chair of the Department from 1993 - 2002. 

His students have designed for, Broadway, Cirque du Soleil and Stratford. He has been on the board of directors of the Canadian Institute for Theatre Technology / L’Institut Canadien des Technologies Scénographiques (CITT / ICTS) and is currently on the board of the Centre Québécois de L’Institut Canadien des Technologies Scénographiques (CQICTS). He is a member of the Association des Professionnels des Arts de la Scène du Quèbec (APASQ). He received the Dieter Penzhorn Award in 2011 from CITT and the MECCA award for best lighting design in Montreal in 2010.

Ben Chaisson and Beth Kates and Playground Studios

Ben Chaisson and Beth Kates are the co-creative directors of Playground Studios, a firm dedicated to creating beautiful productions for the entertainment industry. Beth and Ben are award winning designers of projection, lighting, sound, costume and set for dance, theatre, opera, rock n roll and many other live events.

Most recently their interactive installation The ToyBox was awarded the CITT Award for Technical Merit, their newest installation Night Light Travels saw 1400 participants at this year’s Scotiabank Nuit Blanche, and Ben was awarded the 2010 Pauline McGibbon Award for emerging designers. They and their work have toured the world. Theatrical highlights include MacHomer, Bigger Than Jesus (Dora Award for Lighting), Hardsell, The Highest Step In The World, Anne of Green Gables, Spin, The Synesthesia Project with Steven McCarthy, Brimful of Asha with Ravi Jain and many more.

Beth and Ben lead masterclasses in Projection and Scenographic Design across the country. They are currently in development with Playwrights Workshop Montreal to create a series of in-depth projection workshops geared towards established theatre artists, with the intention of helping them gain a deeper understanding of this growing medium. Beth has lead masterclasses for students at Humber College, Bishop Strachan School and The National Theatre School, and Canadian Stage.

 Check them out at www.playgroundstudios.ca

Links

History of Projection

Pani Projectors

The Banff Centre for the Arts

The Moment Factory

Playground Studios

BlackTrax

Watchout

Q-Lab

Carbone-14

Isadora by Troikatronix

Triple-Head

Edge Blending

#8 Allan Stichbury Part 2 /  by Michael Kruse

 

This is the second half of my conversation with production designer Allan Stichbury via Skype from his home in Victoria B.C..  Among other things we discuss how he builds a relationship with a director, his approach to education, and his experiences as a designer in Thailand.  We also discuss his involvement with the Prague Quadrennial and the Associated Designers of Canada. The audio is a bit better on this one, but still low quality - it will be fixed for future episodes.

University of Alberta Theatre Dept.

Dennis Garnhum

The Wars by Timothy Findley

Theatre Calgary

Scott Killian - Sound Designer

Chulalongkorn University

Ramakien - Thai Ramayana story 

Prague Quadrennial 2015

The Banff Centre for the Arts

UVic - Bangkok University Exchange

Associated Designers of Canada