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Culture Stage

ARTISTS TO WATCH

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There’s an embarrassment of talent at this year’s SummerWorks fest. But here are some names you’ll want to check out in the next 10 days.

JUAN CHIORAN

Who: Actor in Go-Go Beach , a musical spoof of 60s Frankie Avalon-Annette Funicello films.

Buzz: Chioran, a strong presence in straight plays (Present Laughter) and musicals (Man Of La Mancha, Dracula), can use the piece as a buildup to his work as the drag director in The Producers next fall.

VIV MOORE

Who: Actor who plays nun and poet Juana Inés de La Cruz in Blood, Faith And Floodwaters .

Buzz: Dancer and choreographer Moore rarely has a chance to show her acting chops, but when she does she brings a vivid energy to her roles.

REBECCA BROWN

Who: Director of Giving It Up , in which three Etobicoke teens learn what sex and relationships are about.

Buzz: The Dora-nominated Brown (richardthesecond), winner of this year’s Ken McDougall Award, brings exciting energy and provocative staging to the pieces she directs.

NICHOLAS CARELLA

Who: Actor in Ungeziefer , a new adaptation of Kafka’s story Metamorphosis.

Buzz: Carella brought real heart to the Fringe production of his script Green: An Anthem Of Young Love. Can he do it again in a tale of a man who becomes a cockroach?

AARON WILLIS

Who: Actor in Excess Unwanted Growth , about a pair of slacker roommates.

Buzz: Willis keeps growing as an actor (well, Awake And Sing). He’ll get to use his comic skills here in a surreal script that centres on an argument over who should do the dishes.

KIRSTEN JOHNSON

Who: Director of Practically Perfect , a very un-Disney take on Mary Poppins.

Buzz: We don’t often get to see visual artist Johnson (Kafka In Love) doing stage work these days. Wonder if she’ll bring a white-starched but dark precision to the famous nanny.

CLAIRE CALNAN

Who: Actor in Chasing Krinko’s , a look at two ex-clowns who cross Canada in the 1930s.

Buzz: Calnan’s one of those standouts who’s always the best thing in less-than-stellar shows. Let’s hope talented actor Jenny (The Shape Of A Girl) Young ‘s script measures up.

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