Le Spotlight: Montreal’s Musical Theatre Challenge

Get ready for the city’s most exciting night of musical theatre at "Le Spotlight: Montreal’s Musical Theatre Challenge" May 21st, 8:30pm @ Centaur. This is the fourth edition of this celebration of local performing excellence, sponsored by the Centre for Education and Theatre in Montreal (CETM).

2010 4th season winners: L - *Tina Mancini "Art is Calling for Me" - The Enchantress, recipient of the Jury prize; R - **Maggie Owen "Nelson" - A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine, recipient of the public prize.

INCREASING THE VISIBILITY OF MONTREAL-BASED TALENT -Ten Montreal-area performers were selected during a round of preliminary auditions held recently at CETM. The judging panel included theatre director Corey Castle, choreographer Lorna Wayne, and drama educator Cathy Burns. This year’s Le Spotlight finalists are: Amélie Bélanger, Isabelle Giroux, Arnaud Gloutnez, Stephanie Lessard, Tina Mancini, Caitlyn Milot, Gael O`Shaughnessy (winner of Le Spotlight 2008), Maggie Owen, Emily Skahan and Dane Stewart. Each will have just four minutes alone on stage to demonstrate acting, singing and movement skills before a panel of professional judges and a live audience. The winner will be featured in the Next Wave Festival of New Musicals coming to the Monument National and Espace Libre in August.

GUEST STARS: Numerous special guests will add their own unique lustre to this annual celebration of musical theatre. Last year`s winner Braulio Elicer, the cast of 'SING!', and Stephanie Pitsiladis (Hairspray) will be among the special performers to display their musical theatre artistry.

All performers will appear with a live 11-piece orchestra under the direction of Chris Barillaro. The show will be directed by 'Le Spotlight' creator, Stephen Pietrantoni and hosted by Patrick Olafson. The list of judges for the finals includes* musical director Bob Bachelor, choreographers Lorna Wayne and Jean-Luke Coté, and New York composer-lyricist Matty Selman, Julia Lenardon. Again this year, those present in the audience were given the opportunity to vote for their favourite performer**.

Tickets are $25 (all taxes and facility fees included), Centaur box office (514-288-3161). Student & senior rates are available upon request.

Venue: Centaur Theatre – 453 St-François Xavier Metro: Place d’Armes
Le Spotlight’s official website: www.lespotlight.ca lespotlight@gmail.com
Centre for Education and Theatre in Montreal www.cetm.ca

The 5th annual Montreal Sketch Comedy Festival

Monday, May 17, 2010 at 8:00pm to Sunday, May 23, 2010 at 8:00pm. @ Theatre Sainte-Catherine, 264 rue Sainte-Catherine E.

A collection of comedy troupes from across Canada and the USA unite for one week of comedy madness! A festival that launched Jon Lajoie's career and now a new crop of troupes will try to follow in his footsteps.

The Official Line-Up:

MONDAY NIGHT (8 PM):
Kick the Pricks (Montreal), The Lusty Mannequins (Toronto), Fries and Coffee (Montreal) & Grade Eight Dance (Toronto)

TUESDAY (8 PM):
Power Force (Montreal), Statutory Jape (Toronto), The Beast (Montreal) & I am Your Mother (Montreal)

WEDNESDAY (8 PM):
Lise Vigneault and Associates (Montreal), Uncalled For (Montreal), Trio of One (Toronto), The Yukon Boys (Yukon)

THURSDAY (8 PM):
*Elephant Empire (Toronto), Ladystache (Toronto), The Sixth Borough (Philadelphia), *Love and Dreams (Montreal).

VENDREDI (8 PM):
Gang de Ginette (Outremont), Sugar Rock St-Pierre (Mont St-Hilaire)
Les Poilues (Hochelaga), Les Pic-Bois (Valberry), Alain Gainsbourg (Paris)

SATURDAY (8 PM):
The Majors (Toronto), City Hall (New York), Elephant Empire (Toronto)
Unrelated (Chicago)

SATURDAY (10:30 PM):
Slow Children Crossing (New York-LA), Kick The Pricks (Montreal)
Uncalled For (Montreal)

SUNDAY NIGHT: All-Star Improv (8 PM)

*Had a chance to check out these two troupes. Both very lively and entertaining. This is like an evening of non-stop SNL comedy skits, some as short as 30 seconds and many recurring characters, all loosely weaved together. -The proprietors were gracious enough to place a TV in the lobby so that the audience could keep up with the Hockey play-off score.

Performances start at 8 PM, Saturday late night show at 10:30 PM. More info and reservations call TSC 514-284-3939.

'TrudeauMania' is contagous at Centaur.

TRUDEAU STORIES -A Long Black Car Production presented by Centaur Theatre Company. Written and performed by Brooke Johnson. Directed by Allyson McMackon.

Pierre E. Trudeau comes to the Centaur stage, through casual reminiscences, journal entries and correspondence, Brooke is captivating as she brings to life the story of their remarkable relationship. A portrait of a shared friendship, built on a love of the outdoors, of poetry, of theatre and of life itself. In 1985, while she was a student at the National Theatre School in Montreal, Brooke Johnson accidentally became friends with Pierre Elliott Trudeau. It had been a year and a half since he'd stepped down as Prime Minister, and now he was walking to work, putting cereal bowls on cartoon placemats, washing dishes and making peanut-butter on toast. He was no longer doing pirouettes behind the Queen; -He was sometimes hanging around with Brooke, sliding down ice-covered staircases on Mount Royal. This private insight into the man and the times as lived through the passionate eyes of a young artist is no 'fuddle duddle'. The portrait that emerges of Trudeau is of a shy insightful man who loved to debate literature and life. A vital and charming tale, poignant and very funny that is about friendship and loss...and about who the heck do we think we are?

"Trudeau Stories is a sweetly remarkable journey of a young woman and the influence a particular gentlemen has on her as she negotiates her way through life as an artist and an evolving, caring human being.“ Roy Surette, Artisitic Director Centaur Theatre.

A clever vibrant lighting design by Glenn Davidson
. A subtle performance with a minimalist set design and some clever movement make for a pleasant walk down memory lane that will jog the souvenirs of a generation of Canadians who will warmly cherish the reminiscing. GO C IT!

Tuesday May 4, 2010 - Sunday June 6, 2010. www.centaurtheatre.com Box office:514 288-3161

Mission Drive parks onto the MainLine stage.

Mission Drive by Ned Cox, directed by Paul Van Dyck, presented by Rabbit in a Hat Productions.

Though his church is on the verge of financial ruin, life is peaceful in Reverend Thad's little Christ Church parish, until a mysterious billionaire arrives offering to save the church in exchange for saving his soul (which he may have misplaced in Vancouver). Ned Cox’s world premiere offers an irreverent journey into the mordant realms of sex, murder, and religion. A curiously moving pitch black comedy from the author of HELLAVATOR and Duplicity Girls. "I've grown to love these characters. I think they're lost, frightened and wounded, even as they bluff and bluster their ways through their stories. In the end, perhaps the play is about the danger of feeling like you are in control, like you have all the answers, like you actually know WTF is going on." N.C.

A fast paced dialogue between Paul Van Dyck and the other members of the ensemble start the play off like gang busters accentuating the clever repartee and comedic lines. As the tale unfolds the story takes on a darker tone with each twist and turn. At times the characters are slightly off stage and out of their light but still very present, at times drifting in and out of scenes. The costumes are equally clever with a special accented touch. Kent Mcquaid's (has a Oliver Plat persona) interpretation is very macabre and twisted. The play overall is very well written and the production is seamlessly directed. Unfortunately for me what holds it down is that it runs a bit too long and should have ended a couple of scenes earlier.

Starring: Paula Costain, Kent Mcquaid, Emily Skahan, and Paul Van Dyck. Lighting Designer: Jody Burkholder, and Set & Costume Designer: Sabrina Miller.

Mainline Theatre, 3997 St-Laurent 514-849-3378 Tues. - Sun. 8 PM Matinee Sun. 2 PM (2 for 1) Tickets: Regular admission: $20 Students & Seniors: $15 www.mainlinetheatre.ca

Andersen's Inkwell spills onto the stage.

Andersen's Inkwell favorite and forgotten fairy tales come to life. Story created by Micheline Chevrier and Gina Wilkinson. Written by Gina Wilkinson and directed by Micheline Chevrier. Presented by Geordie Productions at the D.B. Clarke Theatre April 30 to May 9. 60 minutes.

This production is appropriate for all ages six (+6) years and up, and adults and seniors too as it awakens the child in the heart of all of us. With bits and pieces from Hans Christian Anderson's stories that are brilliantly woven together, this play celebrates a writer whose fanciful storytelling gave life and a voice to anything from flowers to storks and homes. Featured are some fairy-tale favorites: The Emperor's New Clothes, and the Little Match Girl, with cameo from characters and stories like: The Ugly Duckling, The Princess and the Pea and The Constant Tim Soldier and more including lesser known stories like The Goblin and the Grocer and The Pen and the Inkwell.

The cast of talented actors includes: Amanda Kellock, Susan Glover and Tristan D. Lalla and Zach Fraser with Daniel Brochu; all of whom provide brilliant performances that range from he outlandish to the subdued. The design team has delivered an amazing visual and a treat for the eye of the beholder: Ana Cappelluto (lights) Pierre-Etienne Locas (set & costume) and Peter Cerone (sound). Both captivating and hypnotic this production is a must see on any avid theatre goer's schedule. GO C IT!

Performances: D.B. Clark Theatre, Concordia University Hall Bldg. 1455 de Maisonneuve W. Tickets 13.5-$ to 16$. Box office: 514 845-9810 www.geordie.ca

Smokescreen delivers a clear message to youth.

Smokescreen Geordie Productions high-school touring production, presented to the public at Centaur for one night only Wednesday, April 28, 7pm. Writen by contemporary Canadian playwright David S. Craig and directed by Dean Patrick Fleming the artistic director of Geordie.

The play is a riveting and realistic look at the not just adolescent drug culture but also its surrounding issues of obsession, addiction, control and fear. Audiences are left to find the answers.
The touring production has been presented across Quebec since September and this performance marked the end of the road for the production. An innovative and transportable set design and impressive performances by the cast, hold captivate our attention and imaginations. Drug consumption is another one of those sensitive topics that are a part of our everyday lives but that we tend not to speak openly about. This play grants permission to the audience to broach the topic. It is a serious topic treated in a play that is still comic and entertaining.

Trent a 16-year old marijuana smoker who doesn't want to understand the detrimental effects that getting high has on his life. His desperate and frustrated father has turned him in to the police. Having pressured his son into pleading guilty to dealing drugs, and continuing his pattern of keeping in control, the father then bribes a youth-care worker Rayzee into allowing him to eavesdrop on Trent's evaluation session. Rayzee has her own addictions to deal with and her encounter with Trent is full of great debate with many issue beyond that of drug abuse.

Featured great performances by all of the cast including Vanessa Schmit-Craan (Rayzee), Jimmy Blais (father), and Antoine Yared (Trent). Set and costume design by Ana Cappelluto.

Geordie Productions has been touring Quebec, Ontario, the Maritimes and Canada for over twenty-five years. To get more information about Geordie Productions and their English-language theatre for young audiences programming visit www.geordie.ca

Tawillager swims into the Geordie 4001 Space

Tawillager presented by the Carney Collective is written, performed, and co-directed by Joseph Bembridge, and co-directed with live sound by Alexandra Draghici. Originally produced for the 2008 Concordia SIPA festival. Joseph Bembridge, a Concordia Theatre Program graduate, is founder and artistic director of the company. He has appeared on stage in numerous successful and popular productions like: Dance Animal (JFL 2009 Fringe selection), 7 Stories (MECCA award winner), and David (nominated the top five play of Montreal Mirror poll 2007.)

There are sounds in the darkness: The drip of water in a pipe; The creak of a stair; A far off and unsceen train. In this basement, these sounds are James' music and his audience is his best friend, a fish named Tawillager. This is the story of a young boy named James who we meet in an unknown time and space. He is not of this world, yet completely from it. His is a story untold, not talked about in the everyday. James is a boy who was abducted, stolen from his family and the world that he lived in. He has been captive for many months with very little human contact. He copes, broken down and battered by psychological, physical and sexual abuse, he is very damaged, but not broken.

"The play covers an immense amount of emotional territory in a very short period of time. The production is not gratuitous, it has great sensitivity and humanity, yet is incredibly painful to see and to hear." Kit Brennan, playwright. GO C IT!

Performances: April 24th & 25th @ 8pm & 10pm. Geordie's 4001 Space, 4001 Berri. Tickets 10$ @ 514 933-4736 carneycollective@gmail.com.