Road-tested 27, 000km as part of Canada’s furthest-reaching and longest-running annual theatre tour, Geordie presents its inaugural…
GEORDIE THEATRE FEST
A young girl and boy throw insults at a pool and spin out into a wonder-filled adventure about body image and empowerment. Three teenagers searching for fame in a world of instant communication make split-second choices that have lasting ramifications. The new girl at school is the only one who wears a hijab and the counsellor does his best to help her fit in.
Every year, Geordie Productions commissions two new plays from seasoned and/or emerging playwrights, invites some of Montreal’s finest directors to the studio, casts three up-and-coming actors and produces two plays, simultaneously, one for kids and one for teens, that are packed up in a 320-cubic foot van and hit the road for the Geordie 2Play Tour. Every year, three actors perform both plays in schools, community centres and libraries across cities and remote regions of Quebec, Ontario and the Maritimes to some 40, 000 kids over a period of 7 months. The 2Play Tour has been the starting point for many of Montreal’s theatre alumni. This month, for the first time in the company’s 36-year history, after having traveled thousands of kilometres, three of Geordie’s 2Plays will get unpacked and receive the professional mainstage treatment for general audiences at Montreal’s historic Monument-National from March 21 to 26, 2017.
“Geordie has been a leader in bringing theatre to remote regions of Quebec, the Maritimes, Ontario and abroad with our 2Play Tour. The tour is what launched Geordie; giving access to theatre to over two million young people since our inception. We are thrilled to offer our audience the opportunity to take a special look at what we were founded on, and to share not only the power of theatre to our public audience, but also three exceptional shows that resonate deeply with the young (and young at heart)!”
“Humans…they have always acted tougher than rock, think they’re the hottest thing since fire! But water knows… how to be flexible, how to be patient….” – WATER WEIGHT
Geordie’s former Artistic Director, Dean Patrick Fleming, is back to direct Governor-general award-wining playwright Erin Shields’ timely teen piece on the impacts of social media, Instant. Following the success of last fall’s The Halloween Tree, Amanda Kellock returns with her visionary direction of Marcus Youssef’s META-award-winning (Outstanding New Text) 2013 hit Jabber. Rounding up this directorial tryptic, Geordie’s new Artistic Director, Mike Payette, offers up his Geordie directorial debut of Jesse Stong’s inspired Water Weight.
This season’s 2Play cast is made up of Concordia alumni Leah Fong and Michelle Rambharose, both seen last season in the department’s production of Alice, as well as Bishop alumni Dakota Jamal Wellman who took part in last year’s Black Theatre Workshop mentorship ensemble. David Sklar (Betty Mitchell Award nominee, Bad Jews), Mariana Tayler (Teesri Duniya’s The Refugee Hotel) and Aris Tyros (Tableau D’Hôte Theatre`s Elizabeth Rex), who’ve been touring Jabber on-and-off since its 2013 debut, bring the play back to Montreal.
“We all do stupid s#!t all the time and sometimes it ends up on the internet and you cry a bit, and get over it and then someone else does something stupid so no one cares about your stupid thing anymore.” – INSTANT
Cathia Pagotto, whose recent credits include Chlorine (Centaur Theatre’s Brave New Looks), designs the set and costume for both Water Weight and Instant. National Theatre School’s Production Program Director, Andrea Lundy, steps in to contribute a lighting design for both plays and Devon Bate (Infinitheatre’s Mr. Goldberg Goes to Tel Aviv) designs the sound for both pieces as well. The original Jabber designs by local theatre luminaries James Lavoie (set & costume) and Ana Cappelluto (lighting) accompany its remount.
Rounding out the exceptional production team is stage manager Kevin Olson (Theatre Aquarius, Smile Theatre), tour manager Mélanie Ermel (Geordie Productions’ Sidewalk Chalk and Squawk) and Sarah Osmond (Neptune Theatre) as Head of Props, whose work on Water Weight is not to be missed!
“I googled how to talk to muslim girls. It said to tell you I saw your hair, so that means you have to marry me.” – JABBER
GEORDIE THEATRE FEST
Written by:
Erin Shields, Jesse Stong and Marcus Youssef
Directed by:
Dean Patrick Fleming, Amanda Kellock and Mike Payette
Starring:
Leah Fong, Michelle Rambharose, David Sklar, Mariana Tayler, Aris Tyros
and Dakota Jamal Wellman
Designers:
Devon Bate, Ana Cappelluto, James Lavoie, Andrea Lundy and Cathia Pagotto
Production Team:
Amy-Susie Bradford, Mélanie Ermel, Justine Lefrançois, Alexandre Michaud, Kevin Olson
and Sarah Osmond
PERFORMANCES: March 21 – 26, 2017 | Opening Night: March 21 at 7pm
ASL INTERPRETED PERFORMANCE AND TALK-BACK – hosted by CTV’s Christine Long: March 25 at 7pm
VENUE: Monument-National’s Studio Hydro-Québec | 1182 Boul. Saint-Laurent, Montreal
TICKETS: $13.50 children; $15.00 teens; $17.50 students/seniors; $19.50 adults; prices subject to taxes | Group rate (10 or more): 20% Off
AGE RECOMMENDATION: Children age 7 and up & adults of all ages | 75 minutes
BOX OFFICE and INFORMATION: (514) 845-9810 or www.geordie.ca
About Geordie Theatre Productions
Geordie Productions is Montreal’s leading English-language professional Theatre for Young Audiences, entertaining and engaging the imaginations of children and their families since 1980! Geordie Productions celebrates the art of theatre and its impact by working with emerging and established artists from various disciplines and cultural backgrounds to create theatre that is provocative, relevant and enchanting; inspiring dialogue between communities, children and parents as well as teachers and students of all ages.
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CONTACT: Patrick Charron at (514) 845-9810 or communications@geordie.ca
Geordie Productions Inc. 4001 Berri, Suite 103. Montreal, QC. H2L 4H2 Tel: 514.845.9810 Fax: 514.845.3634 info@geordie.ca
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