Are you a theatregoer who likes games?
You won’t want to miss the Toronto Theatre Trivia Game Show, sponsored by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) to kick off its 35th anniversary.
Hosted by the ever-ebullient Thom Allison (seen most recently at the Shaw Festival in Ragtime and Guys And Dolls), the contest pits four teams against each other in questions about local theatre and dance that range from the 1970s to today.
The actors’ team includes chair Richard Lee, Jasmine Chen, Brooke Johnson and Martin Julien, while the team of artistic directors and directors is comprised of chair Franco Boni, Marjorie Chan, Lynda Hill and Ken Gass. Sitting on the playwrights’ team are chair David Craig, Hrant Alianak, Marcia Johnson and Jordan Tannahill, and the general managers/administrators include chair Sarah Meurling, Nancy Webster, John Karastamatis and Jim Roe.
Colin Doyle and Lynn Slotkin are the judges.
That’s a nice range of artists, junior and senior.
You won’t necessarily be just an audience member for the event, for if all four teams are stumped by a question, it’s thrown over to viewers to provide an answer. Prizes will be awarded, but no Googling is allowed.
Monday (October 7) at Theatre Passe Muraille, with admission pwyc at the door and cash bar. Doors at 7 pm, show at 7:30 pm. Expect a packed house. See listing.
Elgin centennial
Also celebrating this year is the Elgin Theatre, which turns 100 and parties with a Chandelier Gala of song, dance and comedy.
Colin Mochrie, Deb McGrath and Sandra Shamas will offer some entertaining history of the theatre, which has hosted vaudeville acts, touring dramas, Opera Atelier shows and TIFF screenings.
Among the performers are Cliff Saunders, Paul Nolan, Adam Brazier, David Rogers, Stephanie Martin, Jewelle Blackman, Stephen Patterson, Sterling Jarvis, Arlene Duncan and Joe Sealy. Ross Petty and Dan Chameroy will recall pantomimes staged at the Elgin.
Other highlights include numbers from shows that have played there and at the upstairs theatre, the Winter Garden: Cats, Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Napoleon. Also look for a tribute performance from the Stratford production of Tommy.
Monday (October 7). See listing.
Note: both this and the TAPA trivia evening are one-offs on the same night. Hey, people, how about coordinating this sort of thing so audience members don’t have to choose one or the other?
Submission calls
The 13th annual Paprika Festival, which mentors creators 21 years and under, returns this year with a new model under incoming artistic producer Dan Daley, one that moves each year to a different home theatre.
The hosting company for 2014 is Theatre Passe Muraille, and in 2015 Paprika will be housed at the Theatre Centre.
The 2014 festival, scheduled for April, is looking for people who want to work with professional artistic mentors to stage original projects with a company of their choosing, be playwrights-in-residence, work in a group-run creators’ unit, sit on an advisory board, be part of a resident company in a local community or participate in an artists’ lab.
For more info, see paprikafestival.com. Deadline is October 18.
Another call has gone out from the Tarragon Theatre, looking for applicants for the Urjo Kareda Residency Grant. The position provides training and artistic residency to an emerging theatre artist and Canadian resident.
The $15,000 grant is aimed at people interested in design, production, dramaturgy, playwriting, directing or artistic direction. The theatre encourages applications from artists of diverse cultures and those working in non-traditional theatrical forms.
For requirements and guidelines, see their website.
Deadline is October 21.
b current updates
After 22 years as founding artistic director, mentor and creator at b current, ahdri zhina mandiela is retiring as company head. She’s been named the troupe’s artistic director emeritus.
Succeeding mandiela is the team of Ngozi Paul and Jajube Mandiela.
stage@nowtoronto.com
