Monday, August 31, 2009

Marie Chouinard's Orpheus and Eurydice at Theatre Junction GRAND


In the Greek myth upon which Compagnie Marie Chouinard’s new work is based, Orpheus is allowed to bring his beloved Eurydice back from Hades on one condition – that he never, ever look back. But like the L’Enfant terrible, Orpheus has the audacity to defy this command. He does the forbidden and Eurydice is lost forever. Chouinard sees this act as a beginning rather than an ending, where the spirit of the artist is born.

Chouinard’s work exposes us to the full rawness of the human condition with unashamed honesty and remarkable beauty. In a society increasingly marked by isolation, live performance brings us these kinds of encounters we crave to have. Orpheus and Eurydice tempts us to taste the illicit, to defy convention and embrace truth.

Chouinard sees Orpheus as the original artist, because he does what is forbidden. Like the artist, he steps outside of the boundaries of right and wrong, sense and chaos, and endures the consequences. He dares to dream in a world that forbids dreaming.

Orpheus and Eurydice shows us that sometimes we should dream that the forbidden might really be possible. We are all like Orpheus, when we dream, when we create, when we tempt the forbidden.

Orpheus and Eurydice is the first of several presentations of Theatre, Dance and Music making up a survey of leading contemporary National and International live-art at Theatre Junction GRAND in Calgary. I hope that you will join us for each of these remarkable performances in our 2009-2010 Season.

Mark Lawes, Artistic Director
Theatre Junction GRAND

09/10 Season Passes and Single Tickets to Compagnie Marie Chouinar'd Orpheus and Eurydice NOW ON SALE!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

On the Side of the Road nominated for a Betty Mitchell


Some exciting news - The Betty Mitchell Awards nominees were announced last week at The Auburn where Theatre Junction RCA member Nicolas Bernier was nominated for best sound design for On the Side of the Road. The recipients of the 2009 Betty Mitchell Awards will be announced at the gala ceremony on Monday, August 24, 2009 at the Max Bell Theatre.

Congrats to the entire RCA!

... And we can still hear the sounds of those pesky mosquitos and slaps!

The Art of Meeting


For me the theatre is, at its essence, the art of meeting. Superficial encounters, the kind that we often have in our everyday lives, are easy-- nothing is changed, nothing is challenged. They are uneventful. They require less investment than buying a burger and fries and are the equivalent of fast food. We are left empty and craving more. Our common desire to be with like-minded people, to think the same, to dress the same, to be comfortable, to fit in, slowly drains our desire to be confronted with the unknown. We forget that the unknown is exciting. It keeps us alive. It nourishes us. An authentic meeting is just that, an encounter with the unknown.

Real encounters, the kind that provoke confrontations and propel both parties into new territories so that they might see the world differently and share new dreams, are possibilities. I want to create possibilities of meetings that are charged and have resonance, whose outcomes are strong and lasting. They satiate us and influence the society in which we live. This is the strength of the theatre and this is why it is essential.

This season, come face to face with pioneers of essential art. Reacquaint yourself with luminary Marie Chouinard. Join us as Theatre Junction and Toronto's Crow's Theatre team up to take on the knife-like writing of Martin Crimp in the Canadian premiere of The Country. Finally, let loose with the hilariously versatile and amazingly skilled Spaghetti Western Orchestra as they reintroduce you to the unforgettable classic Ennio Morricone film scores.

This is Theatre Junction GRAND Season Four. We should meet.

Mark Lawes
Artistic Director