Theatre Gargantua

Last updated
Theatre Gargantua
Formation1992
TypeTheatre group
Location
Artistic director(s)
Jacquie P.A. Thomas
Website theatregargantua.ca

Theatre Gargantua is a Toronto-based theatre company founded by Artistic Director Jacquie P.A. Thomas in 1992. [1] The company emphasizes artist collaboration, [2] both within Canada and globally, combining a range of artistic disciplines to create new work. The defining experimental style of Theatre Gargantua's productions are a hybrid of Thomas' studies in Europe, which include creation as an artistic collective, an extended development phase, imagistic production elements, original composition often performed live and choreographed physicality of performers. [1] The topics of exploration in Gargantua's past shows have been grounded in social issues, creating compelling work that is presented through highly physical performances.

Contents

The Company

The company consists of a permanent Artistic and Associate Artistic Director [3] along with core members and associate artists who work regularly with the company on a project basis. Production staff are hired on a project-by-project basis or as needed. [3]

The company works as a collective to generate each project through exploration and discovery of social issues relevant to our society. [4] Starting with an idea or social issue, artists are asked to research or create work using the idea as inspiration. From there, the idea begins to seed and grow into characters and plot. [5] Production elements are designed to invoke metaphoric meaning and experiment with various visual and physical components.

Core Artistic Members

Technique and Style

The Theatre Gargantua style of performance is as much physical as textual, with productions being built by the company from the ground up over a period of years. The technique is quite different than presenting a traditional script. [6] Theatre Gargantua's productions blend live music, acrobatics and imagery. Their performance style has been compared to Montreal's avant-garde. [7] The company's theatre works are diverse in terms of subject, writing and performance styles, but are connected in how each work melds daring physicality with striking designs, underpinned by original live music and the innovative use of technology. [8] The company's production of e-DENTITY, could be categorized as a form of mediatized theatre, and was described as "a world where live and mediatized bodies perform together." [9]

Mainstage Cycle

Theatre Gargantua’s productions are developed over a two-year cycle consisting of the creation, development and performance of work. [3] New projects are developed over the annual spring and summer season of first year, with fully produced public performances of the work in development in the fall. In the second year of a cycle, the work is re-examined and explored throughout the spring and summer seasons sometimes resulting in a radically different production, which receives its premiere in the fall of the second year. [3] The remounting of shows from completed cycles may occur for tours or festivals.

SideStream

Theatre Gargantua’s SideStream project is developed by core and associate artists, [10] designed with touring in mind. The first SideStream Cycle, Shrapnel, was created by core member Joel Benson in 2013.

Current Season

Reflector

Still in development, Reflector had its first year production in November 2016, and its premiere in November 2017 at Theatre Passe Muraille. [11] [12]

Past Productions

Mainstage Productions

Avaricious (2014-2015)

The Sacrifice Zone (2012-2013)

Imprints (2010-2011)

fIBBER (2007-2008)

e-DENTITY (2005-2006)

(nod) (2003-2004)

Phantom Limb (2001-2002)

The Exit Room (1999-2000)

Love not Love (1997-1998)

Raging Dreams - Into the Visceral (1995-1996)

The Trials: Fortune’s Desire (1992-1994)

SideStream Productions

Leaving Still (2016)

The Hum (2015)

Trace (2014)

Shrapnel (2013)

Theatre Gargantua and Education

Theatre Gargantua is committed to fostering a deep engagement in the arts. The company is highly respected among university and high school educator, offering student matinees at discounted rates, as well as some of the most specialized and enriching workshops in physical theatre and the integration of arts and technology available.[ citation needed ]

The company offers an annual Master Class in Dynamic Creation for professional artists, and artistic and management internships for emerging artists. [5]

Student programs include physical theatre workshops which allow students to learn alongside company members resulting in the performance of physical theatre integrated with technology. [3]

Related Research Articles

The Toronto Fringe Festival is an annual theatre festival, featuring un-juried plays by unknown or well-known artists, taking place in the theatres of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Several productions originally mounted at the Fringe have later been remounted for larger audiences, including the Tony Award-winning musical The Drowsy Chaperone.

Canadian Stage is a non-profit contemporary performance arts company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is a Canadian professional theatre company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, and founded in 1978 by Matt Walsh, Jerry Ciccoritti, and Sky Gilbert, Buddies in Bad Times is dedicated to "the promotion of queer theatrical expression".

Darren O'Donnell is a Canadian novelist, essayist, performance artist, playwright, director, actor and urban planner.

Judith Clare Thompson, OC is a Canadian playwright. She has twice been awarded the Governor General's Award for drama, and is the recipient of many other awards including the Order of Canada, the Walter Carsen Performing Arts Award, the Toronto Arts Award, The Epilepsy Ontario Award, The B'nai B'rith Award, the Dora, the Chalmers, the Susan Smith Blackburn Award and the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award, both for Palace of the End, which premiered at Canadian Stage, and has been produced all over the world in many languages. She has received honorary doctorates from Thorneloe University and, in November 2016, Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theatre Passe Muraille</span> Canadian theatre company

Theatre Passe Muraille is a theatre company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evalyn Parry</span> Canadian theatre maker and singer-songwriter

Evalyn Parry is a Canadian performance-maker, theatrical innovator and singer-songwriter. She grew up in Toronto, Ontario in the Kensington Market neighborhood. Her music combines elements of spoken word and folk.

The Dora Mavor Moore Awards are awards presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA), honouring theatre, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moore, who helped establish Canadian professional theatre, the awards program was established on December 13, 1978, with the first awards held in 1980. Each winner receives a bronze statue made from the original by John Romano.

Theatre Rhinoceros, Theatre Rhino, or The Rhino is a gay and lesbian theatre based in San Francisco. Theatre Rhinoceros is the world's longest-running professional queer theatre company. It was founded in the spring of 1977 by Lanny Baugniet and his late partner Allan B. Estes, Jr.. The company name was based on the "Lavender Rhino," a media device popularized by the Boston gay community in the mid-70s. It was chosen as a mascot and symbol of the community because it is a mild and peace-loving creature until provoked. It is a non-profit theater company dedicated to the production of plays by and about gay and lesbian people.

The Talking Band is an American Off-Off-Broadway theatre company specializing in experimental theatre, based in New York City.

November Theatre is a Canadian theatre company that started in Edmonton, Alberta but is now based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company's Artistic Producer is Michael Scholar, Jr.

Nightwood Theatre is Canada's oldest professional women's theatre and is based in Toronto. It was founded in 1979 by Cynthia Grant, Kim Renders, Mary Vingoe, and Maureen White and was originally a collective. Though it was not the founders' original intention, Nightwood Theatre has become known for producing feminist works. Some of Nightwood's most famous productions include This is For You, Anna (1983) and Good Night Desdemona (1988). Nightwood hosts several annual events including FemCab, the Hysteria Festival, and Groundswell Festival which features readings from participants of Nightwood's Write from the Hip playwright development program.

Catherine Black is a Canadian-American actress, director and artist. Black is best known for starring opposite Peter Weller in one episode of the science fiction Showtime series, Odyssey 5, playing Vanden, opposite Christian Bale, in the 2000 cult thriller American Psycho, directed by Mary Harron, and starring with Crispin Glover in the 2009 period drama, The Donner Party. Black won a Best Actress award at the 2014 Madrid International Film Festival for her performance in De Puta Madre A Love Story, a short film that she also wrote and directed. The short film was also nominated for a Best Story and Best Short Film. Black's extensive practice as an actor and artist has rooted her vision in filmmaking. Known for her strong use of color and bold imagery. Catherine is a member of the Alliance of Women Directors.

Ronald Pederson is a Canadian (Métis) actor, comedian and theatre director who has worked extensively throughout Canada and in the United States. He has performed with most of Canada's major theatres including The Stratford Festival, The Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, The Citadel Theatre, Alberta Theatre Projects, The Arts Club, The Vancouver Playhouse, The Young Centre, The Canadian Stage Company, The Tarragon Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille, Soulpepper and The SummerWorks Festival. Pederson has also worked extensively in television and may be best known for his Canadian Comedy Award-Nominated work and his three seasons on Fox Television's MADtv.

David Earle is a Canadian choreographer, dancer and artistic director. In 1968 Earle was co-founder and co-artistic director of Toronto Dance Theatre alongside Patricia Beatty and Peter Randazzo, where Earle choreographed new modern dance pieces. In 1996 Earle started his own company called Dancetheatre David Earle where he continues to choreograph new works, to teach, and to create with the next generation of modern dancers. David Earle has received many accolades; a member of the Order of Canada, a recipient of the Jean A. Chalmers Award for Distinction in Choreography, also an honorary doctorate degree from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.

Lloyd Newson is a director, dancer and choreographer. He formed DV8 Physical Theatre and has led the company since its inception in 1986. He studied psychology and social work at Melbourne University and after graduating began his dancing career in New Zealand, initially as a dancer but later also as a choreographer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Clichettes</span>

The Clichettes were an all-women feminist performance art group formed in Toronto, Canada in 1977. Their practice is notable for injecting humour and theatricality into the sphere of performance art. The three performers initially worked using lip sync and choreography as their tools to parody pop culture depictions of femininity and later expanded their practice by including elements from science fiction and theatre in their performances. The Clichettes are notable for their impact on Canadian performance art as well as Feminist and performing arts in general.

Maureen White is a Canadian theatre actor, director, and playwright. She was a member of The Anna Project, which created the play This is for You, Anna. White was a founding member of Nightwood Theatre and served as its artistic coordinator from 1987 to 1988.

Layne Coleman is a Canadian actor, playwright and theatre director, most noted as a former artistic director of Theatre Passe Muraille. Originally from North Battleford, Saskatchewan, he first became prominent as a cofounder and artistic director of the 25th Street Theatre in Saskatoon in the 1980s.

Baņuta Rubess is a Canadian theatre director, playwright, and professor. She co-wrote This is For You, Anna as a member of the Anna Project. Rubess was a co-recipient of the 1988 Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award for children's theatre for her play Thin Ice.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Standing on the Shoulders of Giants, The Grid TO , Toronto, 9 November 2011. Retrieved on 5 August 2014. Archived 11 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ Rehearsals for THE SACRIFICE ZONE Begin at Theatre Gargantua, Broadwayworld.com , Toronto, 11 October 2013. Retrieved on 5 August 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Theatre Gargantua Inc., Canada Helps , Toronto, n.d. Retrieved on 5 August 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Imprints is a harrowing trip down the rabbit hole, The Globe and Mail , Toronto, November 14, 2011. Retrieved on 27 August 2014.
  5. 1 2 Interview with interdisciplinary artist Ciara Adams, PraxisTheatre.com , Toronto, 22 November 2012. Retrieved on 27 August 2014. Archived 11 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ "In the Blood". Now Magazine. November 11, 2011.
  7. ↑ ProQuest   4333335361, Donnelly, P. 1998, Nov 27
  8. ↑ "About Theatre Gargantua | Theatre Gargantua".
  9. ↑ Papoutsis, Natalie (2006). "Intimate Acts With Obsolete Bodies: Theatre Gargantua's e-DENTITY And Mediatized Theatre". Canadian Theatre Review. 127: 18–23.
  10. 1 2 Trace, Bruce Barton: Vertical City Performance, Toronto, n.d. Retrieved on 5 August 2014.
  11. ↑ "Reflector". NOW Toronto. July 11, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Reflector". Theatre Gargantua. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  13. ↑ The Sacrifice Zone: Review, Toronto Star , 16 November 2013. Retrieved on 27 July 2016.
  14. ↑ Congrats to the winners of 2014 Dora Mavor Moore Awards., The Canada Council for the Arts . Toronto, n.d. Retrieved on 5 August 2014.
  15. ↑ , Harbourfront Centre , 11 July 2017.
  16. ↑ Setterington, Joanne. Save St. Stephen's Concert Announced!, Urban Toronto News , 9 September 2005. Retrieved on 7 August 2014.
  17. ↑ , 401 Richmond
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.