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Phoenix Theatre: BackstagePASS |
Nov. 2017 • Act 11 Scene 3 | ||
If this email does not display properly, please see our website phoenixtheatres.ca eNews | Behind the Scenes | Upcoming | Phoenix Phacts | Perks | Kudos eNews: Life imitating art... unfortunatelyArt can sometimes be quite prescient. Be it sci-fi or political satire, in an effort to comment on current happenings in society, the analogy or metaphor can be a welcome tool for many artists. But what happens when, 70 years later, that far-fetched idea becomes closer to reality then the original event? Learn more about how Jean Giraudoux's play The Madwoman of Chaillot has been revisited by many theatre companies lately, and how time has brought new relevance to the play. Watch the video for The Madwoman of Chaillot now. (We recommend turning up your volume!) Behind the Scenes: When pipelines and protests are no longer just a metaphorThere is much to be learned from The Madwoman of Chaillot, the comedic fable about good and evil written over 70 years ago.
Giraudoux presents us with a protagonist to work against these representatives of evil: Countess Aurelia, an eccentric holdover from a less cynical time. When she learns that her cherished neighbourhood of Chaillot is in peril because of the businessmen’s plans, she bands together with a rag-tag group of artists, vagabonds and dreamers to fight back. Fast-track to 2017, when oil pipelines are being driven through our communities jeopardizing wildlife and our environment, and suddenly Giraudoux’s artistic metaphors are no longer a far-fetched threat.
“We live in the era of climate crisis—something Giraudoux may not have been able to even imagine! With the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion set to begin, we are forced to take the figures of evil in the play, bent on profit making regardless of the costs, at their face value; for us their status as metaphor has disappeared,” said Alexandrowicz. “But even as a fable, Countess Aurelia presents a highly questionable solution to the problem of human evil! “ laughed Alexandrowicz about the character’s protest methods that, even by today’s standards, would be considered extreme. “I tried to make it as theatrical as possible and as funny as possible," said Alexandrowicz in an interview with the Oak Bay News. "But it is about something very serious at heart – what is acceptable to do to save yourself from a destructive force...?”
The sets, designed by recently appointed faculty member, Patrick Du Wors, allude to the nostalgic café-lined streets of Paris, even though they are only flat, massive representations of 19th century engravings.Costumes, designed by MFA student Michelle Ning Lo, have WWII-era references for the businessmen, and vibrant and flamboyant Edwardian-era frills for the “madwomen”. Lighting design by fourth-year student Matthew Wilkerson captures the streets of Chaillot and helps heighten the moments of comedic absurdity, as does the sound design by third-year student Logan Swain, featuring classic Parisian music that is slightly off-kilter. “The designers and I have taken a meta-theatrical approach to the production, eschewing realism completely for a play that operates in the realm of the fantastic, in the genre of post-modern performance as much as in comedy,” said Alexandrowicz. The audience is encouraged to watch for elements of creative anachronism that help to make comparisons to 2017 even more apparent. Phoenix Phacts: Alumni stories from around town and around the country.
Krista Wallace (BFA ’89) has recently had her short story, “To Serve and Protect” published in 49th Parallels, an anthology of short stories about alternative Canadian histories. Wallace also performed alongside her husband and two children, (including current UVic theatre student Maggie Lees) at the Victoria Fringe festival this year in a play the four of them created, All These People Watching. Catch Ingrid Hansen (BFA ’09) of SNAFU Dance Theatre at the Metro Studio Theatre on December 13th in The Merkin Sisters.Hansen co-wrote the show and will be performing alongside her co-creator in this absurd comedy.
Fourth year Applied Theatre students Bridget Roberts and Jasmine Li produced a YOUShow for Intrepid Theatre Club that ran in early November. Are We Clear? is a play devised by ten theatre students that explores invisible disabilities. Bridget and Jasmine are also part of the fourth year Applied Theatre presentation, with Molly McDowell-Powlowski, Natasha Guerra and Fiona Donnelly-Rheaume, at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria on November 16. Theatre in the Gallery is the interpretatoin of four exhibitions through movement, monologue and more.
Current theatre student Lindsay Robinson was recently profiled by the UVic website, where he talked about the difference that UVic donors and student bursaries have made to his education. After twelve years of professional acting experience, Robinson decided to return to school to complete an undergraduate degree, with the goal of applying to medical school and becoming a doctor. He is currently studying theatre history and science. Life on Repeat,written and performed by Kholby Wardell (BFA ’08) is being workshopped for the first time as a YOUShow at Intrepid Theatre Club on November 23, 2017. Wardell starred in the Off-Broadway production of the Victoria-born Ride the Cyclone in 2016, a show that received incredible reviews after a nearly sold-out run.
Want more alumni stories? Check out the Alumni Profiles area of our website. Recognize anyone? If you're alumni, please tell us what you've been up to. Submit your bio online and we will add your profile to the website! Upcoming Phoenix Events:Previews: Nov. 7 & 8 at 8pm Welcome to Chaillot, a neighbourhood in Paris and the whimsical world of Countess Aurelia. A holdover from a less cynical time, the Countess shares her joie de vivre and cryptic wisdom with everyone. When corrupt businessmen discover oil beneath her Paris neighbourhood she bands together with a rag-tag group of local artists, vagabonds, and dreamers to fight back! This poetic and comic fable of good and evil was originally written in 1943 during the Nazi occupation of Paris, but the play has a whole new relevance in our current era of pipelines and protests. Sign language interpretation is offered for the November 18, 2pm matinee, with Nigel Howard, Mary Butterfield, and Keith Brougham. BOX OFFICE is now open. Tickets are $15-$26 (Preview tickets are $8 and available after 5pm on preview nights). Subscription packages for 3 shows are $39.00. Friday, November 17 Join us for a conversation with Marie Clements, an award-winning Métis playwright, writer, director and producer whose independent story-making is presented in a variety of mediums including film, TV radio, new media and live performance. Clements has written the libretto for Missing, a new chamber opera co-production between City Opera Vancouver & Pacific Opera, premiering November 17-26 in Victoria. Her musical documentary, The Road Forward, connects the beginnings of Indian Nationalism in the 1930s with the powerful momentum of First Nations activism today. The film is being screened Saturday, November 18 at The Vic Theatre. She is also speaking at Open Space on Wednesday, November 15. Sponsor Kudos:Thank you to the Phoenix Theatre's many individual donors and corporate sponsors for their support of our programs and talented students! Thank you to our new Production Resource Partner Production Canada, a company dedicated to helping our student designers realize their creative ideas on stage. Thanks also to our Community Partners from the Cadboro Bay Village including: For Good Measure, Pepper's Foods, Smugglers' Cove Pub, Caddy Bay Liquor Store, and Heart Pharmacy. Find out how your company can reach our 10,000 audience members and UVic community of over 25,000. Contact us to discuss a customized sponsorship package to meet your goals. Phoenix eNews is a regular email magazine for those interested in the Phoenix Theatre, the not-for-profit productions at the University of Victoria's Department of Theatre, PO Box 1700, STN CSC, Victoria, BC, V8W 2Y2 Canada. The University of Victoria is a Registered Charity. Charitable Registration No. 10816 2470 RR0001 If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, click here and enter your address and click Un-Subscribe. A confirmation message will be emailed to you. You can reply to this message to confirm that you want to be removed from this mailing list. This message also has a link that you can click on to complete the removal process. |
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