theater

ArtsArts & TheatricsFestivalsStage

Over the past few years I’ve seen Australian actor/writer/producer Shane Adamczak perform several times in Montreal. From Edge of the City’s live podcasts to last year’s Fringe Festival, I’ve always found him to be a charming and interesting performer. Recently I had the pleasure of meeting Adamczak, who’s currently promoting his new play Trampoline opening at Mainline Theatre on May 7th.

Hailing from Perth, Adamczak first came to Montreal to perform his Fringe Festival play Love Songs for Future Girl.

“What was meant to be a short stay turned into a much longer one than expected … a lot of that had to do with developing relationships with the folks at Mainline and Montreal Improv,” Adamczak said, “what I love so much about Montreal is the fact that it’s filled with so many like-minded people. People who embrace DYI theatre and telling stories. That’s what really made me want to stick around.”

A quick visit to Adamczak’s website shows the creative evidence of his time here; writing for the blog Bloody Underrated, putting on improv shows like Captain Spaceship, even producing a talk/variety show Up Late Live in his bedroom. While his time in La Belle province has been a productive one, unfortunately Adamczak admitted during our interview that it’s coming to an end. “Yes, after this year’s Fringe Festival is over I will be heading back to Australia for a while. After that I’d like to try living in the states, or maybe Europe… who knows! “

During his last few months in Montreal, Adamczak is enjoying being Mainline Theater’s artist in residence. What exactly does that involve?

“Hanging out a lot at Mainline, which is cool ‘cause when I’m in Montreal I do that anyways,” Adamczak joked, “but seriously being the artist in residence means Mainline helps you develop and produce your work, which in my case has been the show Trampoline.”

The press release for Trampoline gives a pretty straight forward blurb on what to expect from the play: “Matt is a dreamer. He lives in a world where fiction and reality are all mixed up. Kelly, the girl of his dreams, is beautiful, talented, funny, and she even has a trampoline. TRAMPOLINE follows their awkward and impossible courtship as Matt struggles to find what is most important to him and what reality it belongs in.”

Adamczak describes Trampoline as ‘his take’ on a romantic comedy. “The project started off as me writing a dream journal blog under a pseudonym while living here in Montreal,” Adamczak said, “after writing these blog posts for a while, I began to see a natural story line emerge from them. That’s when I saw the possibility of it becoming something more, and I started adapting the blog into a play. ”

Trampoline first debuted in Australia this past October, and now the North American premiere will be at Mainline. The show reunites Adamczak with two actors he’s worked with before; Stevie Pemberton, whom was Janet to Adamczak’s Brad in a production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Vance Gillis from Captain Spaceship.

While it’s unfortunate that Adamczak is moving on from Montreal, I sincerely hope that means he’s off to bigger and better things. I for one will make sure to enjoy him while he’s here and check out Trampoline, which runs until May 17th. For tickets, make sure to head to the Mainline Theatre website.

ArtsCityEventsFestivals

nuit-blanche-festival-montreal-lumiereYet another winter festival is upon us! This week kicks off the 14th edition of Montréal En Lumière. From February 21st to March 3rd the city will be filled with theatre, music, dancing, and visual art programming, both indoor and outdoor! While many of the events are hosted indoors have ticket prices, the central outdoor site is free. Throughout Quartier des Spectacles there will be live performances, interactive art  installations, food and drink vendors and of course beautiful lights. In addition to the live entertainment and arts, Place des Festivales has a ferris wheel. There is also a cinematic dome that will screen films, as well as for performances by VJs and DJs providing eye and ear candy. The festivities run until eleven each evening (excluding Sunday).

The event ends with Montreal’s Nuit Blanche on March 2nd. This year will mark the tenth celebration of the all night art festival for Montreal. The downtown site of Montréal En Lumière will remain open until 3 a.m., but there is no lack of things to see. Programming for the event is city wide and has designated spots through quartiers de spectacle, old Montreal, the olympic park, the plateau and mile end, as well as art through the metro stations. There are shuttle buses  provided to get you to and from each happening. Do your best to plan the night accordingly as there’s lots of ground and lots of hours to cover! I’ve experienced Nuit Blanche in several major cities now and am looking forward to seeing how Montreal differs from the rest.

Watch for our complete Nuit Blance preview coming out soon!

 

Arts & TheatricsCityThe Morning After

This time last year, if you had told me that you could pull off a hilarious holiday-themed musical with only 24 hours of rehearsal time, I would have thought you were crazy. Most plays, even amateur ones, have a rehearsal period of months, giving those involved plenty of time to hone their craft, perfect their lines and master their cues. But last December, the crazy crew at Glam Gam Productions successfully pulled it off with the first annual 24-hour XXX Mystery Cabaret Show.

Jason Ross Sellars as Ebenezer Splooge

We staged a raunchy re-telling of Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol, where Ebeneezer Scrooge became Splooge, a porn producer. This year, we’re at it again and seeking actors, singers, dancers, theatre geeks, circus freaks, burlesque performers, musicians, artists, set builders, costume wizards – you name it. We want you! Come on down to Café Cleopatre at 9pm on Thursday, November 29th to pick you role and get your script.

Maybe you haven’t been on stage since appearing as Tony in a high school production of West Side Story the better part of a decade ago. Or perhaps you’d be popping your stage cherry, gracing the worn floorboards and facing a live audience for the very first time. You’ve always been a bit of an exhibitionist, now it’s time to explore. If you’re not quite ready for the stage, you could always lend a hand with props or costumes and watch the actors sweat down to their skivvies from the trap door.

Let’s clear one thing up first: it’s not a play that’s 24 hours long. We do like dancing and taking our clothes off, but even we need to sleep sometimes. Rather, it’s a production that is selected from three contenders, cast, rehearsed and staged, all in 24 short hours. It will require heaps of collaboration and boundless courage along with (realistically) a Christmas miracle.

But telling a Christmas story can’t be that hard, right? We’ve whittled it down to three famed tales that were particularly memorable from our formative years and given them a healthy dose of sugar, spice and all things naughty and nice. Our choices are How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and Frosty the Snowman.

We’ve broken the roles down to three categories: Luscious Lead (*may require full or partial nudity), Scantilly Clad Chorus, or a Camel Toe Cameo. Our call is open to professionals and amateurs alike, all roles are up for grabs. Be forewarned though: you could have to sing, you might dare to dance, but above all else, you must be prepared to be ridiculous.

And as completely insane as it sounds, ready or not the curtains will draw 24 hours later and a play will be performed. For more information or to fill out a registration form, visit Glamgam.com. Or go there anyways, there are lots of sexy pictures of past shows.

Finally, please cum and check out the show next Saturday, November 30th at Cafe Cleopatre (1230 St. Laurent). Doors open at 9 and the show starts at 10 sharp. The cost is $12, or $10 with a non-perishable food item for Head & Hands. This show is a fundraiser for our 2013 Montreal Fringe play. Will we succeed in pulling off this seemingly insane undertaking? Or will we fall flat on our naked butts??   Either way, it’s entertainment!