No Stage? No Problem for Humber River Shakespeare Co.
What started four years ago as a bit of summer fun for Humber River Shakespeare Company founders Sara Moyle and Kevin Hammond, left, has turned into a “year-round beast.” Currently in the midst of its month-long regional tour with the Bard’s Comedy of Errors, the company has other commitments booked for August, September and October.
“We thought it would be something we could do in the summer and have some fun but almost from day one the support and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,” says Hammond. “People are constantly asking what are you doing next season? Are you doing something in the winter?”
Hammond is an old hand at the Shakespeare game. He was a kid when he attended the first CanStage Dream in High Park 29 years ago and he’s a former artistic director of Shakespeare in the Rough, which performed in Withrow Park for more than a decade until 2006. READ MORE
Bowfire’s Ho Ho Ho Down
Violinist and Bowfire creator Lenny Solomon, above, was a trouper yesterday, making his way through the snowy streets from his home/studio in Etobicoke down to the Gladstone Hotel where we met to talk about Friday’s roaring Holiday Heart Strings concert at Roy Thomson Hall. Ever the pro, Solomon was right on time and happy to be promoting this unique, fiddling powerhouse; Bowfire is sometimes called “Riverdance for the fiddle,” a comparison the show’s creator does not reject.
Conceived as a one-off for Expo 2000 in Hanover, Germany, the original production was seen by some New York producers who approached Solomon about growing the show into the touring machine it has since become.
“It took a couple of years to develop the concept,” explains the fiddler. “We brought in a Broadway team to move us around the stage and develop it into a real show; there’s also a singing aspect to this tour because it’s our Christmas show. It was important to us to really establish solid production values; the theatrical aspect of Bowfire is a very big part of the show; there are sets and costumes and dramatic lighting, there’s also dancing. ”
It Started With a Song
Jean Miso, left, is a composer and music teacher at Etobicoke’s Seneca School for children with developmental disabilities. Five years ago she wrote a simple song about the Remembrance Day poppy called “We’ll Never Forget“. Tailored specifically for her students, some of whom can only hum along, the song has a rudimentary melody and easy to follow lyrics that celebrate Canada’s war veterans.
The reaction to Miso’s tune was so positive she was encouraged to go one step further and create a book dedicated to the veterans of all of Canada’s combat and peacekeeping missions since World War I, including the current campaign in Afghanistan. Miso has taken special care to include each sector of the Canadian forces – army, navy, air force, tank force and medics – in short profiles and interviews with veterans.
“I wanted the students reading the book to see themselves reflected in its pages so I looked at ethnicity and gender for people to be used as role models. I see each of these people as a role model and excellent representative of the greater Canadian forces.”
Poetry Hits a Wall in Islington
A jovial Mayor Miller uses his camera phone to capture a moment at yesterday’s unveiling of Article 13, an artistic rendering of a new poem by Dionne Brand, far right, the City’s Poet Laureate. In the centre is Louise Garfield, Executive Director of Arts Etobicoke, the Local Arts Service Organization that spearheaded the art alley mural project.
Article 13 is the twelfth in a series of 30 proposed public murals — part of Amnesty International’s Project: Urban Canvas — each one an interpretation of one of the 30 articles of human rights. Article 13 states that “Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.” You can read Brand’s poem on the Arts Etobicoke website. The mural was designed by artist Susan Rowe Harrison and painted by William Lazos. Click through to see photos of the mural. READ MORE
Early Music A Feature of Culture Days
Is there ever a Saturday or Sunday when Toronto isn’t teeming with cultural choices? This weekend, the parade of options will be richer than ever thanks to a new national initiative called Culture Days. A search of the Culture Days website reveals 12 pages of local events beginning Friday: from free dance classes to opera rehearsals and backstage tours, if there isn’t something happening this weekend that interests you, you’d better check your pulse.
Six of Toronto’s historic sites are offering free programming including site tours, scavenger hunts (Scarborough Museum) and an art exhibit (Todmorden Mills’ Papermill Gallery). Music is on the menu at Etobicoke’s Montgomery’s Inn, below, where the Toronto Early Music Centre’s Early Music Fair will be free for the first time. About 20 musicians and singers will be performing in various rooms throughout the 19th century tavern and inn.
Renaissance-era music pre-dates Montgomery’s Inn by a couple of hundred years but the rustic old rooms make the place a fitting setting, nevertheless. The Toronto Early Music Centre (TEMC) defines its focus as “historically-informed performance”, which pertains to the instrumentation and the spirit of the reading but the historic atmosphere of the old Inn is guaranteed to enhance the mood.
