Summerworks
Toronto's Indie Theatre and Arts Festival
August 5 to 15, 2010
www.summerworks.ca

Hot Fun in the Summertime. Toronto’s 20th annual SummerWorks Theatre Festival kicks-off Aug. 5th with 42 plays, offsite performances, concerts, an interactive grown-up playground, youth activities, workshops of plays in development, comedy troupes, walking tours of the neighbourhood, and a host of free events and happenings.

Some of the most exciting artists in Canadian theatre are featured this year with the talents of Ted Dykstra, Rosemary Dunsmore, Rick Roberts, Melody Johnson, David Jansen, Irene Poole, d'bi young, David Fox, Nina Arsenault, Alan Dilworth, Jajube Mandiela, Brendan Healey, Bea Pizano, Alistar Newton, Kate Cayley, Daniel Karasik , Jacob Richmond and more.

Photo: from Me Happy

The National Series features veteran talent from across the country. From Victoria B.C. Atomic Vaudeville brings Ride the Cyclone. From Winnipeg, ON, Avatar by Freya Olafson and Debbie Patterson brings Molotov Circus. From Montreal, QC SideMart Theatrical Grocery presents The Haunted Hillbilly.

New for this year, SummerWorks and The National Theatre of the World presents FIASCO PLAYHOUSE at the first-ever Performance Bar at The Lower Ossington Theatre: August 5-14, 9pm to midnight. The Playhouse is a collision of theatre, music and performance brought to you by Ron Pederson, Naomi Snieckus and Matt Baram, the performers of the award winning improvisation series Impromptu Splendor and The Carnegie Hall Show.

Photo right: from Company Blonde at the Summerworks Performance Bar

Here are the productions for this year's Summerworks
(In alphabetical order)

For specific information on times and venues, musical events, Fiasco Playhouse and youth events please see www.summerworks.ca
Venue addresses listed at bottom of listings.

FOR TICKET INFO:  http://www.summerworks.ca/2010/tickets.php
The Arts Box Office: www.artsboxoffice.ca

Aftershock by Evan Tsitsias, directed by Rod Ceballos. Featuring Patrick Garrow, Lynne Griffin, Allana Harkin, David Mackett, Catherine Rainville, Amy Rutherford. Presented by Theatre on the Verge. Is change actually possible? Anna’s just returned to the trailer park after appearing on one of those “Extreme Makeover” shows. Her transformation ignites a sea of change in her eccentric family, but not Anna herself, who finds she has to take some desperate measures to finally move, in any direction. The Factory Theatre. Aug. 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14. Patron Warning: The show contains mature language, blood and some disturbing images. Running time: 60 min.

All of him by Tanya Pillay, directed by Jajube Mandiela. Featuring Tanya Pillay.Presented by in between. An interactive, live biography of a jovial father with a dark past who asked: is that all there is to me? Cheer and smear collide in this intimate eulogy where you can ponder and even discuss typically taboo subjects without fearing provocation or injury. Theatre Passe Muraille. Aug. 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14, & 15. Patron Warning: This show contains nuts and sexual content in the narrative. Running time: 60 min.

Big Face by Marion de Vries, directed by Heather McCreath. Featuring Marion de Vries. Presented by left hand productions. A woman wakes up in her Toronto bachelor supremely hungover, and relives her past as a big-drinkin’ big-talkin’ gal who drives her pick-up truck into a profane and sacred badlands adventure among cowboys and rigpigs on the Alberta prairie, searching for that proverbial wrong turn. A left-handed comedy. Factory Theatre Studio Aug. 5, 7, 8, 11, 13, 15. Patron Warning: Mature language and content. Running time: 75 min.

Biographies of the Dead and Dying by Andrew Templeton, directed by Amiel Gladstone. Featuring Aviva Armour-Ostroff & Jeff Meadows. Presented by MachineFair. An author rents a haunted house to write the biography of a ghost. She finds herself in an intense relationship with the missing and the dead. Critically acclaimed in Vancouver, a spare, darkly comic exploration of the power we have to create and destroy. Not all ghost stories are make believe. Patron Warning: Mature language and themes, not suitable for children. Running time: 60 min. Factory Theatre Mainspace. Aug. 5, 7, 8, 11, 13, 15.

Bliss by Olivier Choiniere (translated by Caryl Churchill), directed by Steven McCarthy. Featuring Delphine Bienvenu, Jean-Robert Bourdage, France Rolland & Steven McCarthy. Presented by Candles Are For Burning. North American premiere of this dark and timely piece by one of Quebec’s hottest playwrights as translated by Caryl Churchill. What is Walmart? Who is Celine Dion? And who is the girl kept prisoner in her room? An Oracle arrives to help us hold Heaven in one hand and Hell in the other and to finally give us an answer. Lower Ossington Theatre. Running time: 75 min. Aug. 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14.

Countries Shaped Like Stars by Emily Pearlman and Nicolas Di Gaetano, directed by Patrick Gauthier. Featuring: Emily Pearlman & Nicolas Di Gaetanod. Presented by Mi Casa Theatre. The courtship of Gwendolyn Magnificent and Bartholomew Spectacular is a tale of love best heard through a tin-can telephone. Winner: Outstanding Production (Ottawa Fringe), Outstanding New Creation (Rideau Awards). Official Selection: 2010 Revolutions Festival, New Mexico. “This is the theatre show The Decemberists would create if Roald Dahl directed them.”The Theatre Centre. Running time: 60 min. Aug.5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15.

The Emotionalists by Sky Gilbert, directed by Eli Ham. Featuring Soo Garay, Aiden DeSalaiz, Tim Maclean, Krystal Meadows, Dan LeBerg, James Downing. Presented by Stuck in the Mud Productions. A look at famous writer, fierce lobbyist and founder of the Objectivist movement, Ayn Rand. The Emotionalists, opens amid Ayn’s love affair with psychologist Nathaniel Branden, which reveals cracks in her austere veneer, and her inherent hypocrisy, as all those around her struggle to find where reason ends and honest emotion begins. Patron Warning: Herbal cigarette smoke, a nude male statue. Running time: 75 min. The Theatre Centre. Aug. 6, 8, 9, 12, 14, 15.

Even Darkness if Made of Light by Edwige Jean-Pierre, directed by Patrick Conner. Featuring Edwige Jean-Pierre. Presented by Not My Pig, Not My Farm Productions. Even Darkness is Made of Light is a dark comedy about suicide: Seventeen-year-old Carrie Edison is struggling with the loss of her high school crush and feels responsible for his accidental death. Depressed and disillusioned with the realities of her surroundings, she masterminds “Operation Exit F!@#$% up Planet”. Everything is in place; it can’t fail, it won’t fail - so long as it’s done after she sees the next installment of the Twilight series. At the Theatre Centre. Aug. 5, 7, 8, 11,13 & 15. Patron Warning: Contains mature subject and language, not suitable for children. Running time: 60 min.

The Hanging of Francoise Laurent by Kate Cayley directed by Kate Cayley. Featuring Sarah Cormier, Zach Fraser, Kiersten Toughd. Presented by Stranger Theatre. In 1751, a young servant girl was sentenced to death in Montreal for stealing a pair of gloves. At the time, a woman could escape execution if she could persuade the hangman to marry her. Stranger Theatre explores this bizarre and true story about fate, fantasy, seduction and survival. Running time: 60 min. Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace. Aug.5, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15.

Homegrown by Catherine Frid, directed by Beatriz Pizano. Featuring Keith Barker, Lwam Ghebrehariat, Omar Hady, Shannon Perreault, Nabeel Salameh, Razi Shawahdi. Presented by The Homegrown Project. A Toronto lawyer/writer meets a prisoner accused of ‘homegrown terrorism’ in 2008. She continues to visit him over the next year and a half, and becomes obsessed with separating fact from hype in the face of the uncertainty, delays and secrecy in his case. A true story. Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace. Running time: 75 min. Aug. 5, 7, 9, 10 13, 14.

Loving the Stranger or how to Recognize the Invert by Alistair Newton, directed by Alistair Newton. Featuring Andrew Bathory, Seth Drabinsky, Matt Eger, Graham McKelvie, Kimberly Persona, Hume Baugh. Presented by Ecce Homo. Meet Montreal artist Peter Flinsch: arrested in 1942 for kissing a friend at a Nazi Christmas party. From the cabarets of 1920s Berlin to the horrors of the Third Reich, the class rooms of Alberta to Paragraph 175 and Proposition 8; sexuality, spectacle, and satire launch a blitzkrieg on apathy. Patron Warning: Explicit nudity, mature content. Factory Theatre Mainspace. Running time: 60 min. Aug. 6, 8, 9, 12, 14, 15.

The Innocents by Daniel Karasik, directed by Daniel Karasik. Featuring Antonio Cayonne, Philip Furgiuele, Esther Maloney, Noah Reid, Amelia Sargisson. Presented by Tango Co. Stanley Birnbaum, fresh-faced wunderkind lawyer, has a bewildering new client: a smart young man from the suburbs, all the world open to him, who’s confessed to a brutal, senseless murder. As if Stanley weren’t bewildered enough by his love life already. A sexy, darkly funny exploration of youth, ambition, and desire.Patron Warning: Mature language, sexual content. Running time: 75 min. Factory Theatre Mainspace. Aug. 7, 8, 10, 12, 13 (midnight performance,) Aug. 14.

Iphigenia at Aulis by Nicolas Billion, directed by Alan Dilworth. Featuring Neema Bickersteth, Stephen Bogaert, Bronwyn Caudle, Meegwun Fairbrother, David Fox, Eric Goulem, Eryn Murman, Sarena Parmar, Irene Poole. Presented by The Iphigenia Collective. What is the value of one person's life in a time of war? Euripides's IPHIGENIA AT AULIS is an electrifying Greek drama that examines the relationship of personal sacrifice to prevailing power structures. Running time: 75 min. Factory Theatre Mainspace. Aug. 6, 7, 9, 11, 14, 15.

It’s Time To Talk About Our Future Together by Chris Dupuis (written, directed and conceived). Presented by Chris Dupuis Performance Projects. Single White Male Seeks Person(s) to Share the Future With. Originally commissioned by the Tina B. Festival in Prague, Czech Republic, this piece invites audiences to join the artist for a one on one conversation about the future we will share together. * The performance lasts approximately 15 minutes per person. Audiences should contact the artist directly to schedule an appointment at Single White Male Seeks Person(s) to Share the Future With Audiences should contact the artist directly to schedule an appointment at chris@chrisdupuis.com Admission: PWYC. At Cream Tangerine Cafe at the Theatre Centre. Aug. 6, 7, 12, 13, 14.

I Was Barbie by Nina Arsenault, directed by Brendan Healy. Featuring Nina Arsenault. Presented by venusmachine. Transsexual Nina Arsenault’s real life story of representing Mattel’s beloved plastic doll at her official 50th birthday party and the opening night of L’Oreal Fashion Week – a spiritual portrait of a glittering, digitally commodified, high society world with lots of (Canadian) celebrity gossip! Award winning theatre maker Brendan Healy directs. Running time: 75 min. At Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace. Aug. 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 14, 15.

IXOK by Carmen Samayoa y Edgar Flores, directed by Beatriz Pizano. Featuring Mayahuel Tecozautla. Presented by IXOK Theatre Collective. IXOK’ is a Maya-Quiché word that means WOMAN. In this solo dance/theatre piece, Mayahuel Tecozautla depicts the story of an indigenous woman who flees to the jungle seeking safety for herself and her child. It is based on the stage play by Edgar Flores and Carmen Samayoa, two Guatemalan theatre artists living in exile in France, and is based on the testimonies of Guatemalan refugee women who survived the war. The play tackles the military conflict in Guatemala from 1960 to 1996, and specifically talks about the Mayan genocide that occurred between 1978 and 1984 with more than 250,000 victims, of whom over 45,000 are still missing today. At Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace. Running time: 60 min. Aug. 5, 7, 8,, 9, 11, 14, 15.

Kayak by Jordan Hall, directed by Tommy Taylor. Featuring Rosemary Dunsmore. Presented by The Original Norwegian. Climate change, global responsibility, SUV driving moms and a biblical flooding of the GTA. As a lone mother navigates the water she recounts the events that led to her being stranded in her son's old kayak. Running time: 60 min. At Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace. Aug. 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 14, 15.

The Kreutzer Sonata by Ted Dykstra (written, directed and performed). Presented by Art of Time & Prairie Ocean Inc. Tolstoy’s novella, The Kreutzer Sonata; adapted for the stage and performed by Ted Dykstra is a play about marriage, hatred and sexual jealousy, underscored by Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata. Originally conceived and produced by Art of Time Ensemble in 2008, the show was presented to sold-out houses for two consecutive seasons. Patron Warning: Mature language. At Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace. Running time: 60 min. Aug. 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15.

Me Happy by Amy Lee Lavoie & Matt MacKenzie, directed by Rose Plotek. Featuring Chala Hunter & Alex McCooeye. Presented by Pyretic Productions. Biddy, 5 '2, two-hundred pounds, receives a letter of inquiry at the tourist office in Muff, Ireland, from Logan H. Hasselhoff—no relation. An uproarious correspondence ensues between the two, in which Biddy and Logan propel each other to incredible heights, before taking the biggest dive of either of their lives. Patron Warning: Mature language, copious amounts of happy. Running time: 60 min. Factory Theatre Studio. Aug. 5, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14.

Miss Caledonia by Melody A. Johnson directed by Rick Roberts. Featuring Melody A. Johnson. Presented by Lunkamud. Miss Caledonia is a one person show inspired by the life of Peggy Ann Douglas, a farm girl from Rural Route 2, Caledonia who, like many other farm gals across North America in the 1950's, dreamt of escaping to the big city to become an actress. Factory Theatre Studio. Running time: 60 min. Aug. 5, 6, 9, 11, 13, 15.

A Modicum of Freedom by Ryan M. Sero directed by Scott Fairley. Featuring Ryan M. Sero, Craig Rintoul, Aaron Craig, Kaitlyn McGee, Gary Reid, Joy Johnson. Presented by Blank Productions. Part parody and part homage to all dystopian works from 1984 to V for Vendetta, A Modicum of Freedom looks at Herbert Milk, a humble citizen of a totalitarian state, and his comical quest for more meaning to life and a little bit of free will. Factory Theatre Studio. Running time: 60 min. Aug. 6, 7, 9, 11, 14, 15.

Or by Liz Duffy Adam directed by Kelly Straughan. Featuring Damien Atkins, Melissa Jane Shaw, Sophie Goulet. Presented by Seventh Stage Theatre Productions. Aphra Behn is getting out of the spy trade and into show biz, if she can only write her play without interruptions from her love life. While war rages, Aphra and notable friends Charles II and Nell Gwynn celebrate free love, cross-dressing and pastoral lyricism. Or, is a sexy and witty theatrical threesome between three of the stage’s most famous artistic figures. Factory Theatre Mainspace. Running time: 75 min. Aug. 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15.

Post-Eden by Jordan Tannahill, directed by Jordan Tannahill. Featuring Lindsey Clark, Sascha Cole, David Coomber, Jenna MacMillan, Kevin Walker. Presented by Suburban Beast. Dear Residents of Neighbourly Lane, It has come to our attention that recent housing developments between Major MacKenzie Drive and Mill Street have caused an increase in wildlife activity on your street. Please, under no circumstances, approach a wild animal - even if it happens to be your child. Patron Warning: Simulation of full male nudity, course language. Running time: 75 min. Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace. Aug. 6, 7, 9, 11, 14, 15.

The Return of Corporal Mazenet by Nick Carpenter directed by David Jansen. Featuring Andrew Moodie, Hugh Portman, Kaitlyn Riordan, Gord Bolan, Patricia Summersett. Presented by Service Industry. Private Deutsch is back from Afghanistan and the diary of Corporal Mazenet is not the only thing he carries with him. When Deutsch is interviewed by a songwriter in search of a song, forces are unleashed that bring the war back home. The Theatre Centre. Running time: 75 min. The Theatre Centre. Aug. 7, 8, 10, 13, 14.

Redheaded Stepchild by Johnnie Walker, directed by Morgan Norwich. Featuring Johnnie Walker. Presented by Nobody’s Business Theatre. Nicholas is a 12-year-old with red hair whose dad just remarried. That makes Nicholas a redheaded stepchild. And tomorrow at lunch, the biggest boy in grade six plans to beat him up. Should he skip school? His stepmom, Mary-Anne, thinks he should go. His alter ego, Rufus Vermilion, has other ideas. Factory Theatre Studio. Running time: 60 min. Aug. 7, 8, 9, 12, 14, 15.

Say Ginger Ale by Marcia Johnson directed by Sue Miner. Featuring Ordena, Andrew Moodie, Norma Clarke, Raven Dauda Sharon Forrester. Presented by Marcia Johnson. Nadia is very happy to call Canada home. Since moving to Canada at six, there was no turning back. So why does everyone think that she’s pining for Jamaica? An unexpected trip back “home” makes her confront her past. There may even be a love connection. Factory Theatre Studio. Running time: 60 min. Aug.6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15.

The Sad and Cautionary Tale of Smackheaded Peter by Simon Glass directed by Heather Davies. Featuring Emily Andrews, Claire Burns, Bryan Demore, Tina Fance, Patrick Kwok-Choon, Luke Marty, Richard Stewart, Paul Tessier, Marilla Wex. Presented by Cheeky Magpie. Peace through smack and good will to all men.” The cheeky fable of Peter, born in an addict’s hovel, whose quest is to free the poor, creating peace on earth with low-cost heroin. “Why not, if all other attempts have tried and failed, why cannot smack have a go?” Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace. Patron Warning: Mature subject matter, and some violence. Running time: 75 min. Aug. 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15.

The Saddest Girl in the World by Cassie Beecham directed by Melissa Major. Featuring Noa May Dorn, Cathy Gordon, Benjamin Blais, Justin Bott. Presented by Cheshire Unicorn. El thinks she is too depressed to work. Rita thinks otherwise and orders her daughter to pay some rent. Determined not to get a conventional job, El concocts a plan to use the renters in the basement to help her make some cash. Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace. Patron Warning: Contains coarse language. Running time: 75 min. Aug. 5, 7, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15.

Shed by Leah Jane Esau directed by Justin Madol. Featuring Krystina Bojanowski. Presented by Les Nouvelles. Shed is based on the 2006 incident where a group of children, aged 8 to 11, pushed 14-year-old Brian McKay into a shed, closed the door, and lit the shed on fire. The play follows characters Mitch and Erin as they struggle to survive the appalling situations of child poverty. Factory Theatre Mainspace. Patron Warning: Mature language, mature subject matter. Running time: 75 min. Aug. 5, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14.

The Small Ones by Shannon Roszell. Featuring Shannon Roszell. Featuring Shannon Roszell. Presented by Canary Yellow Collective. 1 performer 2 live-feed projections
87 objects preserved in glass jars. Experience the beauty of things small, things lost, and things discarded as 'The Small Ones' uncovers past events and present memory. Lower Ossington Theatre. Running time: 60 min. Aug. 5, 7, 9, 10, 14, 15.

Souvenirs of Home by Elyne Quan directed by Ulla Laidlaw. Featuring Marjorie Chan, Eileen Li, Elyne Quan. Presented by Third Floor Office. In 1964, in the small town of Whitewood, Saskatchewan, the lives of a young Chinese girl, her over-protective mother and a concerned neighbour intersect with surprising and tragic consequences. Based on true events, this is a haunting story of isolation and longing in a small immigrant. The Theatre Centre. community. Running time: 60 min. Aug.6, 7, 9, 11, 14, 15.

Theory by Norman Yeung directed by Joanne Williams. Featuring Sascha Cole, Martin Happer, Doug MacLeod, Roger Bainbridge, Bobbi Jaye, Darrel Gamotin, Zahir Gilani. Presented by Public Radio and Camera Assembly. Isabelle teaches film theory in a university. She is young, liberal, and progressive. A mysterious student posts offensive material on the course’s online discussion board, and when Isabelle takes action, she is attacked as a hypocrite. The harassment becomes vicious and bizarre. How can she remain progressive when progress becomes dangerous? Lower Ossington Theatre. Patron warning: This play contains questionably offensive material. Running time: 75 min. Aug.5, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15.

Wonderland by Adam Lazarus directed by Melissa D’Agostino. Featuring Adam Lazarus. Presented by Quip Take. Five years ago, bouffon creature Eff wowed audiences with his retelling of the Myth of Eden, as only God’s Unchosen could. With Genesis out of the way, Eff is on to bigger topics: cookie recipes, Toronto’s best neighbourhoods, welfare lines, the Beatles, and this city we like to call Wonderland. The Theatre Centre. Patron warning: Mature language and themes. Running time: 60 min. Aug.6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15.

Word! Sound! Powah! by d’bi. Young. Featuring d’bi.young stxman. Featuring the STX-elements of rhythm | aspects of life. Presented by anitafrika! Dub theatre. km hunter 2010 theatre award recipient d'bi.young completes her biomyth monodrama trilogy charting the life of three generations of afrikan-jamaican womben in her final story entitled 'word! sound! powah!.' in 'word! sound! powah!,' the grand-daughter of mudgu who we meet in young's first two-time Dora award winning play 'blood.claat', negotiates her own identity to the backdrop of a mythologized revolution and the birth of dub poetry in Jamaica. Theatre Passe Muraille. Running time: 60 min. Aug.7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14.

Off Site Productions

The Witch of Edmonton by Dekker, Rowley & Ford, directed by Ted Witzel & Catherine Dunn. Featuring Val Cina, Marcel Dragonieri, Lauren Gillis, Jonah Hundert, Kat Letwin, Reid Linforth, Jessica Moss, Jiv Parasram, Ted Witzel, Eve Wylden, Mina James. Presented by the red light district. In the tightly-knit community of Edmonton, mother sawyer is falsely branded as a witch. rejected and shunned, she takes revenge by selling her soul to a demonic hellhound—and as evil and perversion infect the townsfolk, mother sawyer lives up to her new title. Trinity Bellwoods Park. Running time: 75 min. Aug. 5 to 8 and 10 to 14.

Anatomy of a Broken Love Affair by Celia McBride, directed by Rae Ellen Bodie. Featuring Megan Dunlop & Colin Doyle. Presented by Vintage Productions. The Head. The Body. The Heart. The Spirit. What happens when a Gal and a Fella have good chemistry but questionable compatibility? The un-scientific exploration of a lust story. At T.A.N. Coffee. Patron Warning: Get ready: may result in heartbreak. Running time: 60 min. Aug. 5, 7, 8, 9 to 13, 14, 15.

Foster Child Play by Alex Napier, directed by Philip McKee. Featuring Nika Mistruzzi, Jackie Rowland, Vanessa Dunn. Presented by Alex Napier. Alice and Sheila are roommates. Tallulah is from the Country. She doesn’t remember why she’s a foster child, but she knows how to do it. Thrown together, the three change each others lives like: ruin & mend, always trying. Patron Warning: Mature language. At Hub 14. Running time: 75 min. Aug. 5 to 8 and 10 to 15.

National Series

From Victoria, B.C., Ride The Cyclone by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell, directed by Britt Small & Jacob Richmond. Featuring Kelly Hudson, Rielle Braid, Sarah Pelzer, Elliot Loran, Kholby Wardell, Carey Wass. Presented by Atomic Vaudeville. Introducing the long-awaited musical sequel to Legoland by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell. It's a musical ride, as a teenage chamber choir from Uranium, Saskatchewan die in a roller coaster accident at a traveling fair. Dr. Welby, a mechanized fortune-telling machine, gives the teens a chance to express themselves to the world after death. Ride the Cyclone is their final recital, where they celebrate their individuality while coming to terms with their untimely demise. Theatre Passe Muraile Mainspace. Patron warning: Mature language. Running time: 75 min. Aug. 5, 8, 9, 12, 14, 15.

From Montreal, QC, The Haunted Hillbilly by Graham Cuthbertson, directed by Andrew Shaver. Featuring Patrick Costello, Gemma James-Smith, Greg Kramer, Kyle Gatehouse, Daniel Brochu, Alexis Taylor, Graham Cuthbertson. Presented by SideMart Theatrical Grocery. Haunted Hillbilly is a cowboy carnival romp complete with country music and vampires. Hyram Woodside’s dream to become the brightest star in Country music spins like a top in the hand of Nudie, a bloodsucking couturier whose own jealousy propels him into an un-holy war against Hyram and all those close to him. Haunted Hillbilly is fantastic, salacious and dazzling in sequins. Patron warning: This theatre-show-music-play is a sordid affair. Be advised, not recommended for pinheads, bird brains, the faint of heart et cetera. Running time: 75 min. Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace. Aug. 6, 7, 8, 11, 13, 15.

From Winnipeg, ON, Avatar by Freya Olafson, directed by Freya Olafson. Featuring Freya Olafson. Presented by Freya Olafson. AVATAR explores methods of creating, validating and disseminating one’s identity through the use of technology and the Internet. Inspired by the mantra “I post therefore I am”, the work facilitates an inquiry into our desire to share and publicize our lives. The performance inherently becomes a duet with technology as in AVATAR Freya makes use of live video feeds and projections to magnify, manipulate and effectively broadcast persona and image.. The Theatre Centre. Running time: 60 min. Aug. 5, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14.

From Winnipeg ON, Molotov Circus by Debbie Patterson, directed by Anne MacPherson. Featuring Arne MacPherson, Debbie Patterson, Gislina Patterson, Salty MacPherson. Presented by Squeezebox Mama. Angst-ridden teenager Albina wants to leave the nest. But it’s not like she can run off and join the circus — she’s already in it. Lower Ossington Theatre. Patron warning: Strong language. Mature content. Blood. Running time: 60 min.

Venues

Factory Theatre Mainspace (Theatre)
125 Bathurst Street
NE Corner of Bathurst & Adelaide
Factory Studio Theatre (Theatre)
125 Bathurst Street
NE Corner of Bathurst & Adelaide
Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace (Theatre)
16 Ryerson Avenue
One Block East of Bathurst and Queen
Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace (Theatre)
16 Ryerson Avenue
One Block East of Bathurst and Queen
The Theatre Centre (Theatre and Music)
100-1087 Queen Street West
SE Corner of Queen and Dovercourt
Lower Ossington Theatre
100A Ossington Avenue
T.A.N. Coffee
992 Queen Street West
Hub 14
14 Markham Street
Trinity Bellwoods Park
Queen Street West and Crawford Street