Le Wrecking Ball Ottawa 2009
Leçons de Lecture: With a Little Help from My Friends
Voir plus bas pour le message en français.
ONE PERFORMANCE ONLY
Monday, November 16, 2009
Box Office opens at 6:30pm
Show starts at 7:30pm
Saint Brigid’s Centre, 314 St. Patrick St. (at Cumberland)
Pay-What-You-Can (no advanced sales) – proceeds to Les Prix Rideau Awards
The Wrecking Ball swings in Ottawa once again! Following last year’s sensational pre-election event, this one-of-a-kind co-lingual soirée of political theatre returns to the nation’s capital, in tandem with other wrecking balls swinging through cities across Canada this month.
This time around, we’re inspired by Yann Martel www.whatisstephenharperreading.ca to offer a few reading suggestions of our own. With a little help from our friends, we’ll consider what it really takes to win the hearts and minds of Canadians. And with our colleagues in BC now staring down the barrel of 92% cuts in provincial arts funding, we are spurred to step up to the plate and prove once again the power of art to affect political change.
This year’s writers, directors and performers include Ritallin, Benjamin Gaillard, Mélanie Rivet, Pierre Brault, Laurie Fyffe, Kris Joseph, Patrick Gauthier, Sonja Mills, Norman Armour, Waneta Storms, Kate Smith, Nick di Gaetano, musical guest Glenn Nuotio and fresh from the national slam in Victoria, the Capital Slam Poetry Team. And many more of your local favourites!! (we just don’t know which ones yet…)
About The Wrecking Ball
The Wrecking Ball was founded in Toronto in November 2004 to address a nagging imbalance: too much theatre in our politics, not enough politics in our theatre. There have been eight Toronto Wrecking Balls cabarets to date, and the October 2008 edition saw the WB go national – Wrecking Balls were staged simultaneously in ten cities across the country, in advance of the federal election. An unprecedented mobilization of artists and art lovers.
Writers are given no more than two weeks to come up with material that reflects the current state of affairs. They are free to write on whatever topic they wish: the global, the national, the local, the very local. The plays are then cast and staged at the last minute, and this immediacy is what makes the Wrecking Ball the rollicking theatrical nerve ending that it is.
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Le Wrecking Ball Ottawa 2009
Leçons de Lecture :
With a Little Help from My Friends
UNE SEULE PERFORMANCE
Lundi 16 novembre 2009
Billetterie ouvre à 18h30
Le spectacle commence à 19h30
Saint Brigid’s Centre, 314, rue St. Patrick (coin de Cumberland)
Libre participation aux frais (aucune vente à l’avance) – au profit des Prix Rideau Awards
Le Wrecking Ball retentit de nouveau à Ottawa! Suite au succès sensationnel de l’événement pré-élection de l’année dernière, cette unique soirée co-lingue de théâtre politique est de retour à la capitale nationale, en tandem dans avec d’autres Wrecking Balls qui retentissent ailleurs au Canada ce mois-ci.
Cette fois, nous nous inspirons de Yann Martel www.quelitstephenharper.ca pour offrir nos propres leçons de lecture. Avec un peu d’aide de nos amis, nous tiendrons compte de ce qu’il faut vraiment pour gagner les coeurs et esprits des Canadiens. Et avec nos collègues en Colombie-Britannique qui font face à une situation précaire avec un taux de réduction de 92% du financement des arts au niveau provincial, nous sommes incités à relever le défi et de prouver une fois de plus le pouvoir de l’art pour susciter le changement politique.
Les dramaturges, metteurs en scènes et interprètes de cette année comprennent Ritallin, Benjamin Gaillard, Mélanie Rivet, Pierre Brault, Laurie Fyffe, Kris Joseph, Patrick Gauthier, Sonja Mills, Norman Armour, Waneta Storms, Kate Smith, Nick di Gaetano, le musicien invité Glenn Nuotio et revenant tout juste du slam national à Victoria, Capital Slam Poetry Team. Et un plus grand nombre de vos favoris locaux!! (c’est juste qu’on ne sais pas encore lesquels ils seront…)
À propos du Wrecking Ball
Le Wrecking Ball a été fondé à Toronto en novembre 2004 pour traiter d’un déséquilibre tenace : notre politique est trop théâtrale, et notre théâtre n’est pas assez politisé. À ce jour, il y a eu huit cabarets Wrecking Balls à Toronto, et pour l’édition d’octobre 2008 le WB est devenu un événement national – des Wrecking Balls ont été présentés simultanément dans dix villes à travers le pays, avant les élections fédérales. Ce fut une mobilisation des artistes et des amateurs d’art sans précédent.
Les dramaturges ont pas plus de deux semaines pour trouver les thèmes qui reflète l’état actuel des choses. Ils sont libres d’écrire sur n’importe quel sujet qu’ils souhaitent : le global, le national, le local, le très local. Ensuite, la distribution et la mise en scène de la pièce sont faites à la dernière minute, et c’est cet esprit d’urgence qui fait du Wrecking Ball la terminaison nerveuse théâtrale exubérante qu’il est.
Contact: Judi Pearl
- 301 days ago
The Wrecking Ball: Vancouver
Wrecking Ball to tackle
Draconian Cuts to the Arts
Canada’s leading Theatre Artists
take on the BC government
from Coast to Coast
Vancouver’s theatre community joins actors, directors and designers from across the country in creative and satirical protest to the BC government’s mind-boggling and short-sighted plan to slash 90% of cultural funding, which will make it the only jurisdiction in Canada not to invest in culture.
In 2008, during the federal election, Wrecking Ball events across Canada helped turn the tide of public opinion against the Harper government’s planned culture cuts, and prevented a Harper majority. This time, events across Canada throughout the month of November will highlight the devastating arts cuts announced by the BC government in their September budget update.
Vancouver’s Wrecking Ball features some of Canada’s most nationally and internationally recognized actors and directors, including multiple award-winning actor/playwrights Daniel MacIvor (House, Twitch City) and Linda Griffiths (Maggie and Pierre), Leacock-winning writer Mark Leiren Young, Alcan Award winner Carmen Aguirre, Steven Hill of Leaky Heaven Circus, and Camyar Chai.
Margaret Atwood asks, “What is it that power-hungry politicians want from BC artists? Control over the story through the annihilation of the former story-tellers? Is this the agenda behind the decapitation of arts funding in British Columbia, while mega-millions are poured into the Olympics? The BC arts community will retaliate, of course. Over the past 50 years they’ve put BC on the map.”
“It won’t just be a protest,” adds Wrecking Ball Spokesperson Adrienne Wong. “It’ll be a night to laugh and celebrate what we know – that British Columbians care about culture.
“And it’s not just arts and culture,” Wong adds. “Cuts to Gaming investments in many sectors indicate to us that this government is looking for ways to subsidize its corporate welfare, low-tax environment on the backs of civil society organizations that provide essential services to British Columbians. It seems that they don’t think much of activities like culture and sport and places where people come together for reasons other than profit. They call it a frill. We call it democracy.”
The Wrecking Ball
Vogue Theatre, 918 Granville Street, Vancouver
Monday, November 23, 2009, 8:00pm
By donation
Contact: Ellie O’Day, O’Day Productions
Website: www.stopbcartscuts.ca/thewreckingball
Vancouver Wrecking Ball Associate Producers: Diane Brown, Kim Collier, Sean Cummings, Bill Devine, Katrina Dunn, Brenda Leadlay, Donnard MacKenzie, Patrick McMullen, Michael Scholar Jr., Caroline Sniatynski, Adrienne Wong, Jonathan Young.
- 304 days ago
Le Wrecking Ball: Momento Mori
A Political Cabaret for Remembrance Day
Montreal – Remembrance Day: the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. We pause for a moment at the eleventh hour to remember the men and women who served and continue to serve our country during times of war, in the name of peace. Perhaps we even contemplate our own mortality…
Memento Mori: Remember that you will die.
But who wants to face death? Well, artists do! Facing ambiguity and controversy straight on is what artists do best. Can Remembrance Day be redefined? With arts funding facing its own eleventh hour, Le Wrecking Ball: Momento Mori asks the question: What are we really fighting for?
Now in its second year, Le Wrecking Ball continues to bring new political theatre to the stage. Inspired by a desire for a political dialogue in our theatres and surrounding Remembrance Day,
Montreal-based artists, playwrights and musicians have created original short plays, monologues, songs and personal stories to be showcased in a fabulous and thought-provoking evening of cabaret
and political performance:
Le Wrecking Ball: Momento Mori
One night only: Sunday, 8 November 2009
Doors open at 7 pm. Performance starts at 8 pm.
La Sala Rossa, 4848 Boulevard St Laurent
Ticket: $10; Available at Cheap Thrills, Casa del Popolo, and at the door.
All proceeds will go to War Child Canada: a Canadian charity dedicated to providing urgently needed humanitarian assistance to war-affected children around the world.
Le Wrecking Ball: Momento Mori features an amazing line up of artists and playwrights, including: Yvan Bienvenue, Nick Carpenter, Jean-Francois Daignault, David Fennario, Alexandria Haber, Amanda Kellock, Ladies Luncheon, Danette MacKay, Out of the Mouths of Babes Choir, Harry Standjofski, Simon Sachs, and Uncalled For.
Read biographies here
The Wrecking Ball
Founded in 2004 to address a nagging imbalance: too much theatre in our politics, not enough politics in our theatre. For a Wrecking Ball event, each writer has only a few days to write a short play. The plays are given short rehearsals in advance of staged readings. Add music, a hundred or so people hungry for meaningful theatre, and, voilà, you have a Wrecking Ball!
Contact: Koby Rogers Hall
Website: www.mmcabaret.wordpress.com
- 304 days ago
WB9: Remembrance Day
The Wrecking Ball presents
Remembrance Day 2009: Bring Our Troops Home! And Then Replace Them With Civilians! Many of Which Will Be Former Troops!
Our writers:
NORMAN ARMOUR (Artistic Director of the PuSh International Festivsal on art not just in british columbia)
DIANE FLACKS (on fear, but goofy)
SONJA MILLS (on all kinds of slavery, with singing, directed by Ruth Madoc Jones)
ERIN SHIELDS (on the sex trade, directed by Alan Dilworth)
DAVID YEE (on how to become chinese for funding purposes, directed by Nina Lee Aquino)
and the great AVI PETTERSEN* (on canada’s presence in afghanistan, directed by Liza Balkan)
- yes. that’s a pseudonym.
As we don a poppy and contemplate the end of our NATO commitment in Afghanistan, it’s the right moment to ask: poppies are from Afgahnistan. We must have loads of them. Do I really have to give that old duffer a whole loonie for something that’s going to fall off my lapel before I even get out of the LCBO parking lot?
It’s time for the country’s theatre artists to cast a cold eye on a cooling landscape and see what’s worth remembering, and what we can’t wait to forget. Remember when the Prime Minister couldn’t put a foot right? When the Nobel Peace Prize was handed out for accomplishment? When arts organizations in British Columbia weren’t regarded as skidmarks on the underpants of that province’s economy? Remember when you could sneeze and not think: “That’s it. I’m fucked”?
The 9th edition of the Wrecking Ball is coming, and this time, it’s been dunked in Purell. Playlettes and scenelettes and bitlettes include work from Diane Flacks, Sonja Mills (directed by Ruth Madoc-Jones), Avi Pettersen (directed by Liza Balkan), Erin Shields (directed by Alan Dilworth), and David Yee (directed by Nina Lee Aquino). Expect commentary on the issues of the day, insight from individuals thinking deeply about the world around them, wit, and lower forms of wit. Do not expect, under no circumstances expect to see Michael Healey’s nads. Again.
Wrecking Balls will be taking place in Montreal, Ottawa and Vancouver in the coming weeks; we will get glimpses of material from some of these at our event. The venue for the Vancouver Edition, we understand, is a used refrigerator box under the Lion’s Gate Bridge.
About The Wrecking Ball
The Wrecking Ball was founded in Toronto in November 2004 to address a nagging imbalance: too much theatre in our politics, not enough politics in our theatre. There’ve been eight Toronto Wrecking Balls cabarets to date, and the October, 2008 edition saw the WB go national – Wrecking Balls were staged semi-simultaneously in 10 cities across the country, in advance of the federal election. An unprecedented mobilization of artists and art lovers.
Writers are instructed to wait until the last minute to come up with material that reflects the current state of affairs. They are free to write on whatever topic they wish: the global, the national, the local, the very local. The plays are then cast and staged at the last minute, and this immediacy is what makes the Wrecking Ball the rollicking theatrical nerve ending that it is.
Past writers for the Wrecking Ball include: Jason Sherman, Judith Thompson, Karen Hines, Norm Foster, David Young, Michael Healey, Morwyn Brebner, Daniel MacIvor, Hannah Moscovitch, Andrew Moodie, Claudia Dey, Morris Panych, d’bi.young, Linda Griffiths, Teresa Pavlinek, Rick Roberts and many others. Check out the website for more information about political theatre throughout the world.
The Wrecking Ball Nine: Remembrance Day is ONE PERFORMANCE ONLY
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Box Office opens at 7:00pm
Show starts at 8:00pm
The Theatre Centre,
1087 Queen St West
Toronto, ON
Prices: Pay what you can (No advanced sales) – proceeds will go to the Actor’s Fund of Canada
Media Contact Ravi Jain: ravi.c.jain@gmail.com
- 305 days ago
WB8: Happy Valentine’s Detonation
Take a toonie. Look at the polar bear. Now rotate the toonie 45 degress to the right, and put your thumb over the polar bear’s nose. What do you see? A vicious Tyannosaurus Rex, that’s what. And that sums up the situation in the world at the moment: we’ve gone from the familiar to the exotic. Harper’s acting like a fifth-generation Xerox of a coalition leader, The US has gone all hopey and Yes-We-Can-y, David Miller is charging you 5 cents for a grocery bag. And Pinter is gone. It’s time for a what-just-happened, where-are-we-now Wrecking Ball. Call it Shoe Shine the Bovine in ’09, because for the moment, the rules are suspended and the Dadaists are running the show.
And what a show. Start with Boonaa Mohammed, spoken word poetry slammin’ musical genius – his first album “Boonaafide” was described as “atomic thought rock” (Now Magazine) – and suddenly it’s clear, this is the WTF edition of the WB.
Tara Beagan, Dora-Award winning playwright and young hothead will be assembling a reasonable, balanced look at the news of the day. And then she’ll explode it, right before your eyes. The renowned and talented Weyni Mengesha will direct the explosion.
Matt MacFadzean, actor, playwright and cultural problem, is constructing a fantasy play in which political change actually occurs in Ottawa. His piece will be directed by Michael Healey, fulfilling for Healey a long-standing fantasy of a different kind.
Anand Rajaram, actor and director, is cooking up something. He’s verrry secretive. His last acting job was in a film called Silent But Deadly. So, you know. Should be interesting.
Also, expect a tribute to Harold Pinter, US inauguration poetry, and other surprises. As usual, the event will be hosted by the Wrecking Ball Crew: Ross Manson, Weyni Mengesha, Ravi Jain, David Jansen, Lara Robinson, Michael Healey, Andrew Soren and Ruth Madoc-Jones. Or as many of them as are actually in Toronto that night.
In an unprecedented and potentially unwise move, Theatre Passe Muraille has agreed to leave the bar open during the event. Come for the political theatre, stay for the cranberry and tequila—which we’re calling an Iggy’s Sweaty Teste. You have to have two before it hits you in the face!
About The Wrecking Ball
The Wrecking Ball was founded in Toronto in November 2004 to address a nagging imbalance: too much theatre in our politics, not enough politics in our theatre. There’ve been seven Wrecking Balls cabarets to date, all of which have sold out, proving there is an undeniable appetite for politically charged work in this fine land. The most recent edition saw the WB go national – Wrecking Balls were staged semi-simultaneously in 10 cities across the country on October 6th, 2008, in advance of the federal election. An unprecedented mobilization of artists and art lovers.
Writers are instructed to wait until the last minute to come up with material that reflects the current state of affairs. They are free to write on any topic: the global, the national, the local, the very local and the very, very local, also known as the colonic. The plays are then cast and staged at the last minute, and this immediacy is what makes the Wrecking Ball the rollicking theatrical nerve ending that it is.
Past writers for the Wrecking Ball include: Jason Sherman, Judith Thompson, Karen Hines, Norm Foster, David Young, Michael Healey, Morwyn Brebner, Daniel MacIvor, Hannah Moscovitch, Andrew Moodie, Claudia Dey, Morris Panych, d’bi.young, Linda Griffiths, Teresa Pavlinek, Rick Roberts and many others. Check out the website for more information about political theatre throughout the world. www.thewreckingball.ca.
The Wrecking Ball Eight: Happy Valentine’s Detonation
is ONE PERFORMANCE ONLY
Monday, February 9, 2009
Box Office opens at 7:00pm
Show starts at 8:00pm
Theatre Passe Muraille,
16 Ryerson Ave
Toronto, ON
Prices: Pay what you can (No advanced sales) – proceeds will go to the Actor’s Fund of Canada
Media Contact: David Jansen
- 580 days ago
The Wrecking Ball - Victoria
The writ has been dropped, and, too lazy to bend down and pick it up, our Prime Minister has decided to call an election. And so the Wrecking Ball swings into action to bring you one night only of bracing political theatre from some of the county’s hottest artists.
Originating in Toronto in 2004, with the idea of putting a little more politics in our theatre and a little more theatre in our politics, this event is being held in cities across the country for one night only, with all cities linked electronically and by telephone.
Montreal, meet Victoria. Winnipeg, meet Halifax.
The VICTORIA edition of The (nationwide) Wrecking Ball will take place Monday October 6th at the Belfry Arts Centre – 1291 Gladstone Ave – from 8:00-9:30pm. The box office opens at 7:45pm.
Matthew Payne of Theatre SKAM is hosting the Victoria edition of Wrecking Ball.
Local playwrights Wes Borg and Dennis Eberts join Canadian Theatre icon Judith Thompson (The Crackwalker, Palace of the End), Victoria’s hottest artists, along with members of the cast of Half Life (Currently playing at The Belfry Theatre), to create brief, explosive plays about the upcoming federal election: the candidates, their policies, and the controversies.
Directors and actors will feature a luminous cross-section of talent from Victoria and Vancouver’s theatre, film and television communities; Kathleen Greenfield, Jeremy Lutter, Tim Sutherland, and Marcus Youssef will direct the readings. Special musical guests include local educator Cam Culham (along with Chantal Gabriell & Donna Williams), and a new song entitled Thank You Stephen Harper from our host.
Admission to the event is free. Donations will be taken at the door for The Department of Culture www.departmentofculture.ca.
- 705 days ago
The Wrecking Ball - Vancouver
The VANCOUVER edition of The Wrecking Ball will take place at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage – 2570 Granville St – from 9:00-10:30pm hosted by John Mann of Spirit of the West, and directed by The Electric Company’s Kim Collier and Jonathon Young.
And prior to the show, from 7:00 to 8:30, you can hear representatives from each Federal Party debate the arts!
Vancouver’s Alliance for Arts & Culture will be hosting the debate, which will be moderated by Hal Wake, Artistic Director of the Vancouver International Writer’s & Reader’s Festival.
Local playwright Lucia Frangioni (Espresso) joins Canadian Theatre icon Judith Thompson (The Crackwalker, Palace of the End), local literary star Michael Turner (Hard Core Logo) and media personality Bill Richardson, to create brief, explosive plays about the election: the candidates, their policies, and the controversies. Directors and actors will feature a luminous cross-section of talent from Vancouver’s theatre, film and television communities. Special musical guests include local punk icon Joe Shithead Keithley of D.O.A. fame, and a few songs from our host John Mann.
Admission to the event is free. Donations will be taken at the door for The Department of Culture www.departmentofculture.ca.
- 705 days ago
The Wrecking Ball - Calgary
An evening of political theatre and performance
ONE NIGHT ONLY: Monday, October 6, 2008
8:00pm @ EPCOR CENTRE’s Jack Singer Lobby
Admission PWYC at the door
Calgary, AB – In anticipation of the upcoming election and in response to Prime Minister Harper’s recent comments about cuts to arts funding, Calgary’s theatre community is coming together for a one-night only cabaret of politically-charged theatre that will be part of a nationwide happening.
The Wrecking Ball is an evening of short theatrical works written, directed and performed by members of the professional theatre community.
New works from Calgary writers Ken Cameron, Neil Fleming and Ellen Close will be featured along with a special contribution by two-time Governor General’s Award-winning playwright Judith Thompson. These short plays, which are being written this week, will be performed by actors for the first time, scripts in hand, at the event. In addition, The Wrecking Ball will feature readings from letters and other documents that illuminate the importance of arts and culture in the ongoing election campaign.
Calgary directors Stephen Hair, Simon Mallett and Stacie Harrison will collaborate on the pieces with many of Calgary’s most notable actors including Trevor Leigh, Doug McKeag, Valerie Planche, Valerie Ann Pearson, Ryan Luhning, Jamie Konchak, Tyrell Crews, Julie Mortensen and many others.
Wrecking Ball events are being scheduled on the same night across the country, creating a tide of political inspiration and action from coast to coast. Events will be held in Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax.
INFORMATION: Admission is on a Pay-What-You-Can basis at the door only on the night of the event. Doors open at 7:30pm and the performance begins at 8:00pm in the Lobby of the Jack Singer Concert Hall, EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts – 205 8th Avenue SE.
The Calgary edition of The Wrecking Ball is a benefit for the Department of Culture, an independent group of artists who are concerned with the current place of culture in the national political conversation, and is presented with the support of Downstage and the EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts.
- 705 days ago
The Wrecking Ball - Edmonton
EDMONTON is in! At the Varscona Theatre, 10329-8 Ave @8pm.
New works from Edmonton writers Leslea Kroll and Chris Craddock will be featured along with a special contribution by two-time Governor General’s Award- winning playwright Judith Thompson. These short plays, which are being written this week, will be performed by actors for the first time, scripts in hand, at the event. In addition, The Wrecking Ball will feature readings from letters and other documents that illuminate the importance of arts and culture in the ongoing election campaign. Wajdi Mouawad and Margaret Atwood will be channeled before your very eyes! Political videos brought to you by Mostly Water Theatre, You Tube, and Artists across the country will be screened! Edmonton directors Andrea Boyd, Kevin Sutley, and Ian Leung will collaborate on the pieces with a variety of artists from the Edmonton community including Coralie Cairns, Brian Dooley, Sheldon Elter, Michael Kennard, Elena Porter,
Maralyn Ryan Trevor Schmidt, Scott Shpeley, Melissa Thingelstad, John Ulyatt and many others.
- 705 days ago
The Wrecking Ball - Winnipeg
The Winnipeg event includes plays by Judith Thompson, members of The Royal Liechtenstein Theatre Company , Ellen Peterson, and Michael Nathanson. Check it out on Monday, October 6, 2008 at the Prairie Theatre Exchange’s Colin Jackson Studio (Unit Y300 – 393 Portage Avenue) at 8:00 p.m. PWYC.
And here’s a link to a preview article in The Winnipeg Free Press
The Winnipeg Wrecking Ball: Election ‘08 is ONE NIGHT ONLY PERFORMANCE
Join us on Monday, October 6, 2008
Box Office opens at 7:00pm
Show starts at 8:00pm
Prairie Theatre Exchange, Colin Jackson Studio
Unit Y300 – 393 Portage Avenue
3rd Floor, Portage Place
Prices: Pay what you can (no advanced sales)
All proceeds will go to the Department of Culture
Winnipeg and National Wrecking Ball Media Contact:
Michael Rubenfeld
For information about other Department of Culture (Winnipeg) events, contact Milena Placentile,
- 705 days ago
