What happens when you see something that may appear strange or unfair? What do you do about it? Where do you go? How do you stand your ground? When do you give space for others to take the spotlight?
38 Years Young!
Welcome to Geordie’s 38th season where we discover powerful stories written by some of Canada’s most prolific playwrights that applaud the immutable heart and spirit of young people, their voices and their passion. Young people who are encouraged to make a difference in the world and to shape their realities for a better future for all.
2Play Tour
Canada’s longest running and furthest reaching annual theatre tour
Every year, Geordie commissions two new works from emerging and established playwrights and produces two plays, one for elementary schools and one for high schools and CEGEPS. Three exceptional emerging professional actors get cast to take part in this landmark theatre road-trip across 27 000km to perform over 200 shows to 35 000 kids and teens! This year’s plays are the English-language premiere of Alexis Diamond’s translation Pascal Brullemans’ Little Witch and the world premiere of award-winning playwright Marcus Youssef’s latest commissioned play The In-Between. Each play deals with the issue of agency and reminds young people that no matter the circumstances and situation, they have the power to act according to their own beliefs and desires. The cast is made up of recent theatre school graduate Skylar Clark (Dawson College Dome Theatre), Qianna MacGilchrist (National Theatre School) and Lex Roy (John Abbott College).
The Trials of Robin Hood
Gala Fundraiser
December 7 and 8, 2018
Robin Hood – lusty hero, hopeless lover, or evil criminal? Upon his return from the Crusades, King Richard is forced to try and figure out what happened in his kingdom during his absence. Told from the perspectives of Maid Marian, Prince John, and Robin himself, this hilarious tale combines three different stories into one – and with three possible endings, leaving it up to the audience to choose which one is true!
Every year, Geordie’s Holiday Gala Fundraiser production brings together some of the city’s most prominent community leaders in law, business, education and medicine in a theatrical performance to support Geordie’s unique mission of bringing enchanting and professional theatre to youth, families and communities in Montreal and abroad.
Audience members enjoy complimentary cocktails, hors-d’oeuvres, chances to win great raffle and silent auction items, as well as a charitable tax receipt.
Geordie Theatre Fest
Winter Mainstage
January 30 to February 10, 2019
This two-week special event gives audiences of all ages the chance to discover great works in Theatre for Young Audiences with staged readings, our acclaimed 2Play touring shows (Little Witch and The In-Between) on a mainstage platform, as well as, for the first time in Geordie’s history, a play for babies – One Thing Leads to Another!
ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER
Recommended Ages: 3 to 12 months, suitable for up to 24 months
Quebec Premiere
Developed from the original concept, research and theme by Maja Ardal
Commissioned by Young People’s Theatre, Toronto
A collective collaboration by Maja Ardal, Audrey Dwyer, Mary Frances Moore and Julia Tribe
An innovative work created specifically for infants, One Thing Leads to Another transforms everyday objects into fabulous, fanciful phenomena. As they develop and thrive, babies use all of their senses to learn about the world. In this play, performers will engage with Geordie’s youngest-ever audience using music, enticing visuals, and tactile experiences. When the show is over, kids and caregivers can experiment with objects from the play right on the set – to have their own additional play experience. One Thing Leads to Another is sure to engage, stimulate and delight baby and parent or adult companion alike.
Two-time Dora Mavor Moore Award winner for Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Performance, Ensemble.
Presentation duration: 60 minutes; includes 30 minutes of interactive PLAYTIME immediately following the 30-minute performance.
LITTLE WITCH
Recommended Ages: 6 and up
English-language premiere
By Pascal Brullemans / Translated by Alexis Diamond
Directed by Arianna Bardesono
Developed with the support of the 2017 Banff Centre Playwrights Lab
Deep in the woods lived Little Witch, her beloved cat and her mother, Old Witch. One day, the ailing Old Witch finds an ogre caught in a trap. As a reward for saving him, Old Witch strikes a deal with the ogre to take care of her daughter when she is gone. All too soon, Little Witch finds herself living in the ogre’s kingdom. However, when Little Witch encounters the curious Hunter Boy near her new home, the ogre’s appetite takes over. Little Witch, helped by the sage words of her mother, is forced to make a choice: to save the boy, to save herself, or choose another path; a decision that illuminates the power she had within herself all along.
A heartwarming, poetic and thrilling fable for children about big choices, Little Witch features highly imaginative performances, playful scenic design, and enchanting storytelling.
THE IN-BETWEEN
Recommended Ages: 13 and up
World premiere
By Marcus Youssef / Directed by Mike Payette
Developed in partnership with Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal & the support of the 2017 Banff Centre Playwrights Lab
Lily feels trapped. When a conflict between her best friend Brit and the guy she likes Karim breaks out after other students share racist, anti-Muslim memes, a misunderstanding leads to a school lockdown. Lily finds herself right in the middle, forced to make hard choices about which friend’s truth she’s going to believe.
Illustrating the real-life challenges of immigration, income inequality, and fears of violence in our schools, The In-Between is a realistic, relatable exploration of the complex social circumstances students must navigate in today’s world.
Written by award-winning playwright Marcus Youssef – writer of the international Geordie hit Jabber, seen by tens of thousands of young people across North America and Europe – Youssef tackles hard questions with humour, sensitivity and a deft ear for how young people negotiate the adult-size problems they encounter as they enter their later teens.
Reaching for Starlight
Spring Mainstage
April 26 to May 5, 2019
Recommended Ages: 7 and up
World premiere
By Donna-Michelle St. Bernard / Directed by Mike Payette / Choreography by Véronique Gaudreau
Script developed in partnership with Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal
Inspired by A Dance Like Starlight by Kristy Dempsey and illustrated by Floyd Cooper.
Published by Philomel Books. All rights reserved.
Reenie wants to dance, like her mother did before her. Along with her classmates, she believes she has what it takes to earn the coveted solo at the year-end recital. But when she discovers that Maestra is not holding everyone to the same standard, Reenie begins a quest to investigate why her friend Maia is being counted out. If competition makes us stronger, then when comes the moment when winning doesn’t always mean coming out on top?
Reaching for Starlight is a story about the way we move in the world. An urgent portrait of a young girl’s journey of breaking barriers, illustrated through the glorious infusion of theatre and ballet, contemporary, and hip hop dance, Reaching for Starlight is a sensorial tour-de-force featuring some of the country’s most dynamic young and established artists together on one stage.
Artistic Company in Residence
Concordia University’s D.B. Clarke
Again for the 2018/19 Season, Geordie returns as the Artistic Company in Residence at Concordia University’s Faculty of Fine Arts and presents two productions at the downtown beautiful D.B. Clarke Theatre, located in the Henry F. Hall building on De Maisonneuve West. Geordie has made the D.B. Clarke its home for close to two decades with both Mainstage and Gala productions, and is honoured to continue the partnership. Enabling the company to work on new creations more extensively and continue to offer local families award-winning theatre in state-of-the art facilities, Geordie’s Artistic Director says, “Many of our artists and collaborators hail from Concordia University and for years, the D.B. Clarke Theatre has been an integral part of our programming and a home that inspires creativity and artistic innovation. We are thrilled to continue this journey with one of the country’s highly regarded institutions and exchange ways to promote our collective missions of ensuring visibility and employment opportunities in the arts in Montreal and across Canada.”
Artistic Ambassador
English Montreal School Board’s STEAM
Invited last in 2016 to represent the “Arts” component of the English Montreal School Board’s newly launched STEAM pilot project, Geordie returns again this season to steward the important role of the arts in children’s education as the initiative expands. As described by the project’s website, “STEAM” stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. It represents a multi-disciplinary initiative that promotes creativity and high levels of student engagement, as they perform a series of group projects that not only involve five school subject domains, but also makes them more relevant, creative, discovery-based and interesting for students.” Nick Doyon, the EMSB’s Arts Education Advocate and Consultant has this to say about the partnership:
“It is well known that in education, the arts develop critical thinking, communication, creativity, collaboration and curiosity. It is also well known that the same can be said about Geordie Productions. Without reservation, we selected Geordie Productions as an official ambassador because they are successful and inventive risk takers with 37 years of innovative artistic expression intended to entertain while making measurable contributions toward solving important social issues.
Geordie is honoured to be contributing to this endeavor and is excited to continue to foster the importance of creative thinking in the minds of Montreal’s children.
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CONTACT: Patrick Charron at (514) 845-9810 or communications@geordie.ca
Geordie Productions Inc. 550 Delinelle. Montreal, QC. H4C 3B1 Tel: 514.845.9810 Fax: 514.845.3634 geordie.ca
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