| Playworks Ink is a conference dedicated to the craft of theatre. What better place to launch Theatre 100: Celebrating 100 Theatre Practitioners Over 100 Years?
"It started when some people at Alberta Playwrights Network (APN) were sitting around last year, the centennial year, chatting about how nice it would be to have some kind of centennial recognition of Alberta’s theatre community," says Shari Wattling, the project’s co-ordinator and editor. "A book, for instance? Ken Cameron, APN’s executive director, is not one to shy away from a challenge, and despite the fact that the centennial year was quickly passing, they decided it was a project worth doing."
A jury, including James De Felice, Joyce Doolittle, Frank Glenfield, Grant Reddick and Shelly Scott, was assembled in October 2005, giving them one year to research, write and compile 100 biographies. The final product, through months of dedicated work, is now available. It features one-page, photo-accompanied biographies of many well-known names in Alberta theatre history – like Ronnie Burkett, Elizabeth Sterling Hayes, Betty Mitchell, W.O. Mitchell, John Murrell and Sharon Pollock – and several that may surprise you.
"There’s a woman named Rosa John in northern Alberta who founded the Kehewin Native Performance Company. She’s very well-known internationally for her work in the native community, but not well-known in the Alberta scene," says Wattling. "Then there’s John Orrell, who did historical research based on the sketches and drawings of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Using his own architectural and mathematical principles, his research created the blueprints for the Globe’s reconstruction in London. It was very tempting to look at the obvious: playwrights, designers, directors and actors. The jury didn’t limit their selection process to that. Theatre educators, theatre historians, theatre critics and the amateur theatre movement are all well-represented in the book."
Even theatre aficionados and addicts will find some pleasant surprises in the collection. "When I started with the book, I fancied myself so well-versed in Alberta theatre," Wattling laughs. "I was so wonderfully surprised by my complete lack of knowledge. When you live in Calgary or Edmonton, you think theatre only lives in your community or in Toronto. I was blown away by the level of contribution in Lethbridge, Coaldale, Grande Prairie, Peace River. Theatre is so vibrant all across the province."
The launch will include cabaret-style performances by professional actors, paying tribute to individuals in the book, reading excerpts of plays, telling stories and maybe even doing a musical number or two. The Theatre 100 Gala takes place Saturday, November 4 at 7:30 p.m., in the Burlington Resources Theatre (Glenbow Museum). You can read more about Playworks Ink elsewhere in this issue, where my esteemed colleague Jeff Kubik fills you in about the goings-on at this stellar weekend conference.
This one, as far as I know, is a first – Gordon Cope is celebrating the launch of his new book, So We Sold Our House and Ran Away to the South Pacific, with a pig roast. This isn’t metaphoric, they’re actually roasting a pig. This $15 reading will be accompanied by a glass of wine, Tahitian dancing and, well, pig. Catch the action on Thursday, November 2 at 7:00 p.m., at the Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Centre.
Brenda Hasiuk launches her first novel this week. Where the Rocks Say Your Name follows four teens for eight weeks through isolation, restlessness and displacement – all of which being normal for teenagers, but here it’s all the more intense because they live in a northern Canada mining town. She’ll be at McNally Robinson on Friday, November 3 at 8:00 p.m.
It’s about time someone dealt with child labour, animal extinction, clearcut logging and war. A young girl named Driftwood Ellesmere has taken on the challenge, in a book named after her. Author James Davidge and illustrator Judd Palmer present the first of five children’s novels that present Driftwood’s heroic travels around the world, the galaxy and the universe. Illustrated books sound like a sure bet to me. Join them at McNally Robinson on Saturday, November 4 at 1:30 p.m.
Paul William Roberts, in his novels, paints the picture of a dystopian future under the influence of a corrupt American empire. A real stretch, huh? Roberts has spent more than a decade chronicling life in Iraq – he was one of the few Western journalists in Baghdad for the initial aerial assault in 2003. This is only his second novel, his other books being travelogue-style, and it promises to be a provocative political ride. Get onboard at McNally Robinson on Monday, November 6 at 7:00 p.m.
Rishma Dunlop comes to town with her latest collection of poetry, Metropolis, which explores avenues and alleyways in search of the post-9/11 global city in a darker tone than her previous books. Dunlop is also a playwright, editor, professor and interdisciplinarian, and you have two chances to see her this week: first, at the University of Calgary, in Professional Faculties room 126, Monday, November 6 at 1:00 p.m. Then, Tuesday, November 7 at 7:00 p.m., she’ll be at McNally Robinson. Be the first on your block to see her twice!
Because one serving is never enough, Maria Cioni is also making a pair of appearances this week. Spaghetti Western: How My Father Brought Italian Food to the Canadian West, is exactly what it sounds like. Gene Cioni began life in Canada as a 16-year-old immigrant and quickly became a barber, then the celebrity chef at La Villa, Calgary’s first Italian restaurant. His daughter has chronicled the story, and you can see her at McNally Robinson on Wednesday, November 8 at 7:00 p.m., where she’ll be accompanied by singer Celine Lacoste. The next night, Thursday, November 9 at 7:30 p.m., she’ll be at the Calgary Italian Club.
Major John Jarmain died in the battle for Normandy in 1944 and a book of his poetry was published in 1945, giving his young daughter a window into his life. Joanna M. Weston presents her new collection of poetry, A Summer Father, this week, chronicling her wartime, fatherless childhood. She’ll be at Pages Books on Wednesday, November 8 at 7:30 p.m. |
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