The Title Block: Recent Episodes
Michael Kruse
On September 3, 202, we held a panel entitled Sustainability in Design.
The UN has named this the Decade of Action, our last chance to create the transformation to a livable future. What does it mean to align our practices with a 1.5 degree Celsius global temperature rise?
This event focuses on the aesthetics of climate-friendly sustainable design in theatre, as a core design practice and as part of a larger equitable green recovery.
Panel members include Logan Raju Cracknell, Kendra Fanconi, Paul Fujimoto-Pihl, Lauren Gaston, Elia Kirby, Ken MacKenzie, and Edward T Morris. The moderator is Ian Garrett.
On August 6th, 2020, we presented what proved to be another important discussion about todays theatre in Canada or Turtle Island: Grounding Indigenous Art & Design On Mixed-Raced Teams: A conversation reflecting on creating spaces and processes for Indigenous Theatre with anti-appropriative practices and inter-Nation collaborations. Our panel included performer Yolanda Bonnell, sound designer/composer Mishelle Cuttler, costume designer Samantha McCue, and projection, set and lighting designer Emily Soussana. The panel was led by Fire Creator, Indigenous Theorist and Cultural Evolutionist, Kim Senklip Harvey.
This time the final conversation from my trip in Vancouver at the end of 2018. Michael Whitfield was the head of lighting design at the Stratford Festival for over 25 years from the mid 1970’s through to the early 2000’s., so he is perfectly placed to round out our discussion about the history of the design of the festival stage. He is also has designed opera across North America and we talk about his take on the important communication strategies when building your show in a team.
This week a special presentation of The Title Block Live, presented in partnership with The Associated Designers of Canada on Supporting a BIPOC cast with your design. A panel of fantastic Canadian theatre designers and artists discuss several questions around how our designs and collaborations can support or hinder the flourishing of Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour in live performance.
This weeks panal consists of Carmen Alatorre, C.J. Astronomo, Sammy Chien, Deanna H. Choi, Rachel Forbes, Camilia Koo, Sage Paul, Kimberly Purtell, and Emily Soussana, and is moderated by Michelle Ramsay.
Please go to designers.ca for more information about the ADC. All members of the panel were paid a honorarium by the the ADC to sit on the panel. The Title Block and Michael Kruse did not accept any fees for this.
Conor Moore in the pentultimate interview from my trip to Vancouver and Victoria in December of 2018. We talk about his early schooling at Queen’s University and UBC and his breakout as a projection, lighting and set designer at Bard At the Beach and other great Vancouver based companies. Conor was persuing his Masters of Socialwork in Labour studies at Simon Fraser University and is very active in the labour movement of the Canadian theatre scene, so we talk about this shift in his focus and his great work advocating on behalf of Vancouver and Canadian designers in several forums. You can see his portfolio at conormooredesign.com.
Links
Queen’s Dan School of Drama and Music
Tom McGee and Kat Sandler
UBC MFA Theatre design
Carmen Alatorre
Headlines Theatre, Theatre for Living and David Diamond
After Homelessness
Bard on the Beach, Falstaff directed by Glynis Leyshon
Alan Brodie
Robert Gardiner
The Pipeline Project produced by ITSAZOO and Savage Society
Dr. Silver, A Celebration of Life by Musical Stage Company and Outside the March Theatre
Peter and the Starcatcher at the Artsclub Theatre
Kevin Lamotte
Shaw Festival
Jock Munro
Louise Guinand
Vancouver Design Forum
Associated Designers of Canada
SFU Labour Studies Program
Prof. Kendra Strauss
IATSE
Canadian Actors Equity Association
Precarious work and Theatre and the Arts
After a two week hiatus we are back with the Title Block Live for June 6 2020. This week a multi-disciplinary panel discusses collaboration in theatre design. The panel is also composed entirely of women, so that lens is applied to think about design in Canada. Our panel consist of: Kate De Lorme, Rachel Forbes, Pam Johnson, Beth Kates, Megan Koshka, Michelle Ramsey, and Amelia Scott. The panel was co-hosted by Vancouver based sound designer and composer Mishelle Cuttler.
Bios
Mishelle Cuttler is a sound designer and composer based in Vancouver who works primarily with the intersection of music and storytelling. She is board member for the ADC and a core member of the Vancouver Design Forum.
Kate De Lorme is a Sound Artist and Co-founder of Lobe Spatial Sound studio in Vancouver, BC. Her work ranges from contemporary dance and theatre to immersive sound experiences. More at: Katedelorme.com Lobestudio.ca
Rachel Forbes s a Toronto based set and costume designer who thoroughly enjoys a good puzzle. Artistic, jigsaw or crossword. She loves (and misses) collaboration most of all.
Pam Johnson has been a theatre designer for 40 years, and was an instructor at Studio 58 for 29 years. She has designed in most theatres from Montreal to Victoria.
Beth Kates is a set, lighting, video and mixed reality designer, who started working in rock and roll a long time ago and is now actively creating work that blends virtual reality, augmented reality and live performance. She is currently completing a Masters degree at the University of Calgary, is a proud member of the ADC, and is the mom to an 8 year old who has the same initials. More infot: www.playgroundstudios.ca www.burythewren.ca
Megan Koshka is an Edmonton based set, costume, and lighting designer and graduate of the University of Alberta. She was recently nominated for two Sterling Awards for "The Blue Hour" as part of the SkirtsAFire festival. More info: www.mkoshka.com
Michelle Ramsey is an award winning Toronto based lighting designer who works with dance, theatre and opera companies across the country. She is also on the board of the Associated Designers of Canada. More info: michelleramsaydesign.ca
Amelia Scott is a video designer, projection technologist, and new media artist creating for theatre, opera, dance, and beyond. Based out of Montreal and working across Canada, she works in the intersection of animation, video, film, and live performance. More info: ameliascott.ca
This is the second to last interview from my BC interview trip at the end of 2018. Mishelle Cuttler invited me to her home in Vancouver BC and we speak about her career as a composer and sound designer. We speak of her early career at UBC and discovering her talents as a composer as well as an actor/musician up to her experience at NYC’s Tisch School of the Arts studying composition and all points in between. You can find more information about her work at www.mishellecuttler.com
On this next episode of The Title Block Live we discuss video and projection design with a panal of fantastic Canadian designers. Our panel is led by Conor Moore and includes Hugh Conacher, Cameron Fraser, T. Erin Grube, Jamie Nesbitt, Sean Nieuwenhuis, and Emily Soussana.
The next episode of The Title Block Live for May 7 2020 features an all-star panel of costume designers.
This time on The Title Block Live, we feature an incredible panel of Canadian sound designers. See the lineup below, with their bios and links to their work.
This week on The Title Block Live on our You Tube channel, a panel of top Canadian theatrical set designers take questions about their craft and approach to design. On this episode, Pat Flood, Susan LePage, Shawn Kerwin, Camellia Koo, Ken MacDonald, Ken Mackenzie, and Lorenzo Savoini join co-host Conor Moore to take your questions.
I met with Robert Gardiner at the University of British Columbia’s Fredrick Wood Theatre in the design department at the beginning of 2019. We speak about his early work in the US and is eventual move to the UBC drama department, and his thoughts on theatre training and the changes in producing theatre in Canada over the last 40 years.
On this inaugural Title Block Live event, join Conor Moore as he attempts to wrangle a rambunctious panel consisting of Bonnie Beecher, Kevin Fraser, Louise Guinand, Kevin Lamotte, Kimberly Purtell, and Michael Walton to answer your questions about lighting design.
Hey there, Michael Kruse here again - I have to recall that last announcement! We are also in a period of flux, I jumped the gun a bit, and the First Title Block Live episode will now be on Thursday April 16th at 8 pm EST. Join me, and designer Conor Moore, as well as an all-star panel every Thursday at 8 pm EST, starting April 16th on the Title Block Podcasts channel on youtube live. Find us at The Title Block Podcast on YouTube and plug into a great conservation about theatre design. The show can be linked to here: https://youtu.be/QAo7izFCuZ0 So, this Thursday, April 16th at 8 pm EST we start with lighting designers Louse Guinand, Kevin Fraser, Michael Walton, Kim Purtell, and Kevin Lamotte who will be answering your questions sent to thetitleblock@gmail.com, so start sending those in and we will try to address them during the show. We will have a panel on video design coming up in a couple of weeks, so stay tuned for that anouncement, and in the mean time, please visit thetitleblock.com for past episodes. I will be releasing the audio from the live shows on the podcast feed as well, and the videos will stay up to review after the event as well, so don't worry if you miss it.
I joined Rob at his home in Port Moody BC, just outside Vancouver in December of 2018. We speak about his start in lighting at the Banff Centre and move into live events at Christie Lites Vancouver. Waxing on about early movers we flesh out his work in large scale live events for television, including the opening and closing ceremonies for the Paralympics in Vancouver in 2010 and the Grey Cup half time show. You can find his portfolio at www.robert-sondergaard.com.
During these, um, what's the euphimism markerters are using? "Uncertain Times" we are all stuck at home waiting to make our art again; waiting for the world to change and settle and pushed apart from each other.
In an effort to build comm unity and to take one small advantage of this, tumolt, The Title Block is debuting a new weekly live event to deepen the conversation about design in Canadian theatre. b
Join me, and designer Conor Moore, as well as an all-star panel every Tuesday at 8 pm EST, starting April 14th on the Title Block Podcasts channel on youtube live. Goto youtube.com/thetitleblockpodcast/live and plug into a great converstation about theatre design.
This tuesday April 14th we start with lighting designers Louse Guinod, Kevin Fraser, Michael Walton, and Kim Purtel talking about the Fourth Wall and how lighting designers think about it.
We will have a panel on video design coming up in a couple of weeks, so stay tuned for that anouncement, and in the mean time, please visit thetitleblock.com for past episodes.
Thank you for your support, and take care during these outrageous times.
Mary and I met at her home in Victoria BC in December of 2018. We speak of her early days growing up in Winnipeg dancing in her mother’s dance studio and her transition to majorette, sculpture and finally nationally renowned set and costume designer. We speak for considerable length about her collaboration with the late Stephen Katz and her work on the spectacular opening ceremonies for the Commonwealth Games in 1994. Mary’s work was featured in the seminal book Scenography in Canada by Natalie Rewa and she currently is a professor at the University of Victoria.
I had a great opportunity while I was in Calgary in the winter of 2019 to speak with designer April Viczso. She is an associate professor and the chair of the department of design in the school of creative and performing arts at the University of Calgary. She is also the past president of the Associated Designers of Canada and a founding member of the controversial Designers Working Group. We speak about her early experiences at Scenotecnica Piu in Italy at the beginning of her career and her journey from Prudhomme Saskachewan to Toronto and back to Calgary. You can see examples of her work at https://aprilviczko.com/ .
On September 23, 2019, Sholem Dolgoy, the head of theatre production training at Ryerson University’s School of Performance retired. He taught at the school since the early 1980’s while building a towering career in lighting design in Canadian theatre and dance. I recorded the presentation that night and present here to you the juiciest bits of that evening, including an addendum to our talk from Episode #13 of the The Title Clock. We recap Sholem’s career, how he got into teaching and his efforts to laud the word of theatre administrators in a time when we need them most.
Thank you, Sholem, for being a mentor to so many great artists, and we wish you all the best on your next adventure.
Susan Benson was born in Kent, England, trained as a fine artist but as a member of a theatre family moved quickly in to theatre design. I met with Susan in Victoria in December of 2018 and she recounted her early life and training in England and her development of a robust training environment at the Stratford Festival, where she was the head of design for many years. Susan defends the idea of a theatre designer as an artist and the need of support of traditional theatre spaces to insure we train a future generation of theatre artists. You can follow along visually by finding a copy of Patricia Flood’s new book about Susan’s design career here. You can also find visual references online from Susan’s work here.
My interview with costume designer Mara Gottler is a continuation of my profiles of Vancouver theatre designers from December 2018. Mara and I speak about her early life at the Stratford festival as a tailor and sewer and her move to the National Theatre School, and eventually Vancouver where she is a founding member and resident designer of the west coast Shakespearian powerhouse Bard on the Beach. We speak about her career and her approach to the conceptualization and communication of design. We also speak about the infra-red camera technique established by Robert Lepage to better incorporate front projection video into your production.
Scott Miller is a partner in DWD Theatre Design and Consulting based in Vancouver BC. He and I speak about our beginnings in Toronto theatre as classmates at Ryerson Theatre School and proceed to a fascinating conversation about designing your theatre. While this is a program about theatre design, we rarely speak about the actual design of our spaces and all the work that goes into them. Scott spoke to me at his office in Vancouver, BC in December 2018, and this is the first of the series of interviews based on the my trip to the west coast in December.
This episode a great conversation with legendary Canadian theatre designer Astrid Janson. I joined Astrid in at her home in November of 2018 to discuss her early days at Toronto Workshop Productions and Toronto Dance Theatre and her set, costume, and yes lighting design work in opera and new theatrical works. Please find her complete portfolio at THIS link. and follow along with this key Canadian designer.
We also briefly remember costume designer Susanne Mess who we lost in Janary 2019, and Mallory Gilbert who passed in February.
Kevin Fraser has been at the Stratford festival for 30 years and designed the lighting for over 500 productions since graduating from Ryerson Theatre School in the late 1970’s. He invited me to his home in Stratford Ontario in August of 2018 and we spoke about his early career and beginnings in Toronto at the Adelaide Court and the Tarragon Theatre and his move into the large festivals including Stratford and Drayton. Find examples of his work here: www.kevinfraserlighting.com.
Glenn Davidson sat down with the Title Block in August of 2018 to talk old times and design. Among our topics were included the start of the Toronto Fringe Festival and the Poor Alex Theatre Group as well as his early work as an actor and his most recent design work with the Tarragon, Tafalmusik and beyond. Also, if you don’t know what a “golden donut” is, you will have to listen right to the end.
Dana Osborne is a set and costume designer based out of Stratford Ontario. She started out working in some of the top wardrobe shops in the country, including the Canadian Opera Company, the Shaw Festival, and the Mirvish shops when they still owned them. We talk about her transition to design and her work over the last 20 years in Canadian theatre. Find samples of her work at www.danaosborne.ca
This time on The Bellows we feature a conversation about the genesis and production of Pearle Harbour: Chautauqua, from the spark of an idea to the gathering of the creative team and the final realization in the marvelous 40-seat revival tent installed at Theatre Passe Muraille in October in 2018. A subset of the creative team, creator of the Pearle Harbour persona, Justin Miller, musical director and composer Steven Conway and stage manager Guiseppe Condello discuss the development of a fabulous piece of bouffant theatre and drag performance.
The Bellows Toronto is a collective committed to fostering discussion about all issues concerning theatre production and has existed since 2015. The Bellows is Pip Bradford, Rebecca Hooton, Kevin Hutson, Christopher Ross, and Michael Kruse.
Jamie Nesbitt is a Vancouver based projection designer and we caught up in June of 2018 at the Shaw Festival where he was designing The Hound of the Baskervilles. Jamie and I talk about the start of his career at the end of the slide projector era and the transition to the full integration of video projection into modern Canadian theatre.
Its time for another presentation of The Bellows! This time a discussion with stage manager Megan Speakman, stagehand Sally Roberts, and designer Simon Rossiter about unions and associations and how they work to protect the rights of the theatre workers they represent. the conversation took place at Theatre Passe Muraille on September 21st, 2018.
The Bellows Toronto is a collective committed to fostering discussion about all issues concerning theatre production and has existed since 2015. The Bellows is Pip Bradford, Rebecca Hooton, Kevin Hutson, Christopher Ross, and Michael Kruse.
Siobhán Sleath is a Toronto-based lighting designer with a history at our two big festivals, Shaw and Stratford. Siobhán and I chatted in June of 2017 about her early career at Stratford, her work in dance and musical theatre, and her adventure touring to India with Anandam Dance. We lost some names in the audio so follow along with the notes below to make sure you get all of the connections.
A little palate cleanser for the end of the summer. On July 18 2018, Blyth Festival artistic director Gil Garrett and local historian David Yates sat down with moderator and film director Christopher Spaleta to talk about the history around Blyth's current production of 1837: The Farmers' Revolt. We talked about this play during the episode with designer Rachel Forbes and the production last year at the Shaw Festival. This is more of a historical discussion, rather than one about design, but it is still a great talk about politics and privation and standing up to government, a topic no less germane today than it was 130 years ago.
A special thanks to Beth Kates who coordinated and recorded this event, without whom this presentation would not be found here.
Gillian Gallow was a designer right out of the gates. Before finishing her degree at York University, she was already assisting at the Stratford Festival, and had cut her teeth at our favourite summertime haunt: Blyth. Gillian and I discuss her early career and take on design, and her recent work on the Canadian Opera Company remount of the Harry Somers opera Lous Riel. Gillian and I spoke in July of 2017.
This time a special presentation that I happen to catch at the last minute about digital dramaturgy. The teleconference was recorded on April 25, 2018 as a presentation of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatre. The panel discussion is an result of an idea by the artistic practice committee of PACT and centres around the role and dramaturgy of projections in theatre. Designer Beth Kates and artistic director and playwright Gil Garratt from the Blyth Festival speak with artistic director Ardith Boxal and director, writer, and arts educator Health Davies about how to successfully integrate projection into a live theatre production.
When I was starting in the 90's Andrea had all the work. She was connected to all of the most interesting theatre companies in toronto and had production managed many of them. I envied her for getting their first, for having the ability to get into the middle of the most interesting creative work, but that was not the whole story. Andrea is a brilliant artist, she learned her craft while working with iconic Canadian theatre artists like the Daniels - Daniel Brooks and Daniel McIiver, she was a part of the re-invention of alternative theatre in Toronto with the Poor Alex theatre and the companies surrounding it, with the fringe and with summer works - and most importantly, she fostered and trained a generation of theatre artists that themselves became top artists in their own right, like Rebecca Picherack and Michelle Ramsey. Now she runs one of the most important training programs in Canada for theatre production The National Theatre School in Montreal
I had a sublime conversation with Andrea about her career, training and philosophy of design as well as the changes she has wrought at NTS during her 6 year tenure. This is an important conversation.
This time on the panel, finally a conversation of the crew/creative members who keep the entire machine together communicating from early days of workshops through the grueling tech-week and then single-handedly corralling all of the artists together to perform the same great show (if you'r luck) over and over again. Stage managers are experts in communication, project management, social psychology and most have an absolute obsession about what is the best post it note. And of course us designers could not do what we do with them.
Alan Brodie is a lighting and set designer based in Vancouver B.C. I caught up with him during my visit to the Shaw Festival in May of 2017. We speak about the early 90's in vancouver and the changes that have taken place there over the last 30 years. We continue the story of the Phantom of the Opera tour that is legendary in Canadian theatre history and Alan recounts his rise to the top of design in Canada.
On this episode of The Bellows our trusty moderator Kevin Hutson talks with Ian Garrett and Ryan Wilson about what do do with that old set or how to build a more sustainable design. This installment of the monthly production panel discussion was recorded at the Wychwood Barns in Toronto on Oct 24 2017.
The Bellows is Pip Bradford, Rebecca Hooton, Kevin Hutson, Christopher Ross, and Michael Kruse..
Ken MacDonald went from teaching drawing and painting at high school in the 1970's to one of the most sought after theatre artists in Canada today. His artistic and personal partnership with Morris Panych has resulted in some of the most iconic Canadian theatre productions, including the international sensation The Overcoat. Ken and I spoke in May of 2017 at his home in Toronto.
In the opening rant I reference this interview that appeared on CBC Metro Morning, regarding the civil suit brought against now former artistic director of Soulpepper Theatre Albert Schultz.
Please support the show at Patreon.com
Another installment of the Bellows for this episode. This is a compliment to the previous episode on Contracts and Fees we did earlier in 2017. This time with production manager Erin Birkenbirgs and producer Sue Balint. This covered areas we did not have a chance in the last episode and I am sure you will learn even more from this discussion. The Bellows was recorded on September 23 2017 at Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto. As normal, the panel discussion was moderated by Kevin Hutson and hosted by Christopher Ross.
I caught up with Rachel Forbes just before the opening of 1837:The Farmer's Revolt at The Shaw Festival in May of 2017. We discuss choice of going into theatre and the beginnings of what promises to be a long a fruitful career in theatre.
Peter is a set and costume designer based in Niagara-On-the-Lake, Ontario. Peter began his career in England, and there will be half the show that will be a lot of names and places that you may not be familiar with, if you go to the show notes, you can follow the links for some context so you can understand the roots of Peter's career in the 70s and 80's.
This time on our presentation of The Bellows, a topic close to the heart of this podcast, Getting Started in Design. Moderator Christopher Ross speaks with lighting designer Jareth Li, performance designer Shannon Lea Doyle, sound designer and composer Alex Williams, and lighting Designer Michael Kruse (:)) about their best advice on getting becoming a theatrical designer.
On June 13th, Toronto theatre artists were feted again by the irreverent and always random Harold Awards. Established in 1995 by 13 bad-ass independent theatre artists, the awards have wound their way through the theatre community, establishing a timeline of independent theatre creators that have pushed the boundaries and held everything together in the Toronto theatre scene. The new artists are "Harolded" by the previous year's winners, who look for theatre creators who inspire them professionally, or personally, or surrealistically and come from all aspects of the theatre, on stage and off. Stage managers, producers, educators, administrators designers and yes actors and directors make up all of the recipients of what Daniel MacIvor has called "the most important award a theatre artist can win".
Last September, 2016, I spent 2 hrs talking to composer and sound designer Richard Feren. We spoke about his early career in radio, at the age of 13, through his time in the explosion of indi theatre in Toronto in the early 90's and his work with iconic directors like Daniel Brooks. We land on his process for producing sound scapes and scores for theatre and the genesis of his modern method, from the early days of the Fostex 4-track cassette to Qlab. We finally land on his work in organizing designers to fight back against the cuts to fees in Canada. This is a 2 hr chat, but one that holds on to you at every minute. To see Richard's theatre bio go here
Are you sleeping enough? Do you know what enough is? When was the last time you made yourself a meal, or spent the day taking care of yourself instead of all of your actors and director? Have you had moments of panic for no reason or felt an unyielding force preventing you from leaving the house and going into rehearsal? Perhaps, like the rest of us, you have been focusing on the show to much and on yourself too little. Self care is important, and vital to a long and fruitful career. The next hour and 1/2 we talk about self care.
In this session of The Bellows, host and carpenter Kevin Hutson talks to a panel of self-care experts about surviving, well, life in the theatre
Recorded on February 20th, 2017 , our panel was made up of David Whitley, advanced care paramedic and peer support worker in paramedic services, and Leah Erbe from the Actors Fund of Canada.
Martha Mann is one of the original Canadian theatre designers. I had the pleasure of speaking with Martha in her home in August of 2016. We speak about her personal origins when there were no theatre training programs in Canada, about the birth of modern Canadian drama from the amateur Dominion Drama Festival, and her work on countless productions of theatre and film, including her work at Glimmerlass Opera and on the Anne of Green Gables films. More quotes from Martha can be found here.
On January 16th, 2017, the Bellows reconvened again to discuss another pressing and mysterious issue in the production of Canadian Theatre: media relations. Kevin Hutsen spoke to Steve Fisher, Rennie Readie and now Title Block veteran, Sue Edworthy about selling the show and growing your audience
Lorenzo Savoini is the director of design at Soulpepper Theatre in Toronto, one of the most successful theatres to be founded in the last 20 years and one that continues to push the envelope on what theatre can or should be. Lorenzo tells me about his time growing up in Thorn Hill Ontario and his adventures at UBC, Stratford and for the last 10 years, at Soulpepper. For the second half of this marathon interview, we chat about his philosophy of design and how he is working to develop the next generation of designers who face a world that is both uncertain but alive with potential. We recorded the interview in May of 2016 in the Soulpepper library.
On this episode we once again return to The Bellows, a monthly informal discussion about theatre production that is recorded in Toronto, this time at Theatre Passe Muraille on November 16th, 2016. Carpenter and Bellows founder Kevin Hutson moderates a Q and A with some of Toronto theatre production's bright lights, with questions poised by the Bellows audience. Taking the spotlight this time are Bellows veterans Remington North and Dave Degrow, as well as Rebecca Hooten and newly minted theatre technician Cameron Kirk. They are asked a number of smart questions about their career in theatre and their thoughts on theatre production, while Kevin makes sure their ego's do not get too inflated.
Eo Sharp joined me at the Shaw Festival in May of 2016 to discuss her growing up at the Tarragon Theatre in the 1970's and her time at the National Theatre School and Working in Montreal. We also talk about her process for Alice in Wonderland at the Shaw festival and the mirrored set that brought her an Director Peter Hinton together. Find her complete portfolio here.
In this next episode of The Bellows, a conversation about contracts and fees. How do you negotiate to your advantage? What are the necessary parts of a contract and is it worth having an agent or being a member of the Associated Designers of Canada? Moderator Kevin Hutson talks to Kesta Graham, business agent at The Tarragon Theatre, designer Simon Rossiter, and the executive director at the ADC Shiela Skye. This was recorded on October 17th 2016 at The Central bar in Mirvish Village, Toronto, Ontario.
I caught up with designer Julie Fox while visiting the Stratford Festival in May of this year. We speak about her entrance into theatre at the Sydney Opera house up to her work with director Chris Abraham at St. Ratfords. Julie also describes her relationship with the theatre space and the profound effect it has on the way she approaches her work. A recent production history can be found here: http://ttdb.ca/people/julie-fox/ .
On this episode, another presentation of The Bellows, a monthly informal discussion about theatre production that is presented Pip Bradford, Kevin Hutson, and Christopher Ross. This time, our crew met at The Central bar in Toronto and discussed The Beer Economy; the informal barter system that everyone in Canadian theater, both professional and amateur alike will be familiar with. This was recorded on September 16th, 2016 and featured panalist Jiv Parasram, Maya Rabinovitch, Julia Nish-Lapidus, and Christopher Ross. The panel was moderated by Pip Bradford.
I met designer Bretta Gerecke while visiting the Stratford Festival in Stratford Ontario in May of 2016. We spoke about her training and early career in Edmonton and the path that brought her to work with Cirque du Soleil in Milan in 2015 and a return to her roots as an archaeological illustrator. To see Bretta's portfolio, go here: http://www.bretta-gerecke.com/about-1/
This presentation of The Bellows, a monthly informal discussion about living and working in theatre, concerns leaving the business. What do you do when you get into your career in theatre and discover that there is something you are missing? Maria Costa, Michelle Bailey, and Katie Pounder discuss their entrance, love of, and eventual exit from theatre. There is life after theatre, if you want one, but it is not always the one you plan for. The Bellows is organised by Christopher Ross, Pip Bradford, and Kevin Hutson.
Pat Flood is a a set and costume designer based out of the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Born in Alberta originally, Pat traveled to Toronto after her initial training and great success in Calgary to join the crew of the CBC as an art director and worked on the iconic Canadian comedy series The Kids in the Hall. Working across Canada and teaching both at Concordia and U of G, she has influenced many of the young designers working today. We talked in May of 2016 in her office at U of G about her career, the differences between film and theatre, and her talk on the philosophy and design.
Ron Jenkins is an old friend and collaborator with whom I have created designs for several productions. He joined me in January 2016 to talk about his career and his take on design in the theatre. We chat about the unique productions he has mounted in Edmonton, Alberta, his current residence as well as what he as a director needs from a designer.
On this episode we return to The Bellows, a monthly informal discussion about working in the theatre recorded live at Theatre Passe Muraille. For this discussion, the guest panel spoke about that dreaded time of year: Tax Season. If you are a working artist and the end of April always raises your heart rate, please listen to this comprehensive talk about how to organize yourself to make tax-time easier.
Beth Kates is a Toronto based designer who, along with her life and design partner Ben Chaisson has been focusing a lot video and projection design. I met with Beth in Niagara-On-The-Lake in the summer of 2015 when she was working at The Shaw Festival. We spoke about her early career and training and the work on the hit show Bigger Than Jesus where they started with running a show on VHS (!) and WinAmp (!!). Beth then brings us through the process of creating a video and projection design and how to tackle this rapidly changing landscape.
This special The Bellows episode features carpenter Kevin Hutson, our moderator, joining writer/director Kat Sandler, technical director Dean Johnson, independent producer Aislinn Rose, technician and stage manager Pip Bradford, and designer and technician Rebecca Vandevelde discussing how to work with your friends while remaining professional. It was recorded live at Theatre Passe Muraille on January 18th. The first 10 minutes of the introductions was lost because SOMEone forgot to hit record: it happens. This audio starts with with Rebecca Vandevelde introducing herself. As well, the audio has been panned in order to facilitate the identification of the speaker with the audio field being layed out as they presented: Kevin, Kat (who joins later), Dean, Aislinn, Pip, and Rebecca. KEVIN HUTSON Kevin is the head carpenter at The Tarragon Theatre in Toronto and one of the founders of The Bellows. Kevin has also performed as a production manager, technical director, lighting designer and general technician in Toronto for may years. DEAN JOHNSON A technician and technical director in Toronto. KAT SANDLER Kat is a writer/actor/director working in Toronto. She is the Artistic Director of Theatre Brouhaha, and has staged six or her original plays; LOVESEXMONEY (Next Stage Festival), Help Yourself (Best of Fringe, winner of the Fringe New Play Contest), Delicacy (Summerworks), Rock (Storefront Theatre), We Are the Bomb (Toronto Fringe, Sucker (Storefront Theatre) and directed Twenty-Seven Wagons Full of Cotton, and The Unseen Hand (Playwrights Project). As an actor she has appeared onstage with Theatre Gargantua in the world premieres of FiBBer and Imprints. She is a graduate of Queen’s University. Kat will be writing Retreat while in Tarragon’s Playwrights Unit. AISLINN ROSE Aislinn is an independent producer, theatre maker, member of the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts’ Board of Directors, and Co-Chair of TAPA’s Indie Caucus. She recently joined the producing team for Luminato’s 2013 festival as Associate Producer, and produced the festival’s L’Allegro by the Mark Morris Dance Group, Feng Yi Ting directed by Atom Egoyan, and Ronnie Burkett’s The Daisy Theatre. This year she will be guest curating Harbourfront Centre’s HATCH 2014 season along with her Praxis Theatre colleague, Michael Wheeler. As the Artistic Producer of Praxis Theatre & Co-Editor of praxistheatre.com, she led the Open Source Theatre Project for Section 98 at Harbourfront Centre, created the experimental Dungeons & Dragons (not) The Musical, was Artistic Producer of You Should Have Stayed Home, and Producer for Jesus Chrysler in Association with Theatre Passe Muraille. She will be producing their upcoming cross Canada tour of You Should Have Stayed Home in Whitehorse, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. She and Michael Wheeler were named Theatre VIPs for 2012 by Toronto paper, The Grid, after having been named “People to watch” that year by Torontoist. Last year she produced Aluna Theatre’s inaugural PANAMERICAN ROUTES Festival of Theatre for Human Rights, and was Co-Producer with Fides Krucker on the electroacoustic opera Julie Sits Waiting (nominated for 5 Dora Awards including Outstanding Production – Opera/Musical). Other recent projects include producing The Lesson For Modern Times Stage Company (nominated for 8 Dora Awards, including Outstanding Production). Social media experiments include working as a consultant & online creator for the sold-out run of Michael Healey’s Proud and developing “The Brain”, the online counterpart for Liza Balkan’s Out The Window for The Theatre Centre’s biennial Free Fall Festival. Aislinn is the recent recipient of a Canada Council for the Arts Professional Development grant as an Independent Theatre Producer. SARAH ‘PIP’ BRADFORD Pip has lived and worked in the Toronto theatre community for the past five years. She freelances as a technician and stage manager for many companies in Toronto, inclu
Steve Lucas is a designer based in Creemore Ontario. Steve and I have known each other for years as the familiarity will show in this 2 hour interview. Steve and I talk about his early career at Alberta Theatre Projects and Buddies in Bad Times Theatre as well as his development of the "symphony of lights" with Hillar Liitoja at DNA Theatre. We also cover his work on the hit play 2 Pianos, 4 Hands and the work on his newest incarnation of Breath[e] a play made of design.
On February 22 2016, at 19:45 EST The Title Block will be broadcasting its recording session of The Bellows live on the mobile app Periscope. This month's talk will be Why You Need to Hire a Production Manager. it is sure to be an enjoyable and informative discussion. Instructions to join us live are below:
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Download the app on ITunes or your android device.
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Sign in using your Twitter account or your phone number (it is easier with a twitter account). Make sure to enter your confirmation code in order to complete the sign in procedure.
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Create your Periscope name and you are good to go!
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Search for @thetitleblockCA or The Title Block in periscope and join the session after 19:15 EST. You can add comments and I will be monitoring the broadcast throughout the session and will replay when I can.
For more detailed instructions see this link.
To listen to the first episode of The Bellows, go here.
This week a special episode recorded on November 16th, 2015 at Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto. The Bellows is a monthly panel discussion on the art and business of theatre production which promises to create "a place for artists in performance to get together, share information, and get to know more about the production side of the business." Created by Sarah "Pip" Bradford, Kevin Hutson and Christopher Ross, the discussion is curated by working professionals and should appeal to new comer's and veteran's alike. The Title Block has teamed up with The Bellows to record and broadcast live via Periscope these panels so that they reach a wider audience and every working or aspiring production person can benefit. In this episode the panel, made up of Kevin Hutson, Jason Golinksi, Shanna Miller, and Ray Salverda, discuss how to get hired and stay working in the theatre. Ever wonder how to set and negotiate your fee? The panel may have your answer. This is the first in many recordings and the next one will be broadcast live via Periscope on January 18th 2015, so don't miss it!
In 1996 I started my career as an assistant to lighting designer Bonnie Beecher working on Frida K, a vibrant and challenging play staring Allegra Fulton and directed by Peter Hinton. I was struck by Bonnie's use of colour and the way that she embraced expressionism. Since then, Bonnie has become a top tier designer in Canada and started in the past several years working in France and Germany on ballet and opera. With over 250 productions under her belt she has a very interesting story to tell about Canadian theatre and how she works abroad. Bonnie joined me at Soulpepper Theatre in May of 2015 to chat about her life and style.
In this long belated episode I speak to designer Michael Gianfrancesco. Michael and I worked on his second production after he was out of Concordia University in 1998 and since then he has become one of the top designers in the country, working on new works, opera, ballet and now appears yearly at the Stratford and Shaw Festivals. Michael and I spoke in the design office at Shaw in May 2015 about his show there this summer.
Fina MacDonell is a founder of and partner in Toronto props house Rabbit's Choice, but her early career included collaborating with Paul Thompson with the seminal Farm Show in Clinton ON. In this this interview we talk about her early life in Manitoba and southwestern Ontario and the building of one of the most important props houses in Canada. Fina was also honored this summer with the Dora Mavor Moore Silver Ticket award.
William Schmuck is the head of design at the Shaw Festival. We spoke in May of 2015 before the first opening of the season about his life and the Moss Hart play Light Up The Sky which William designed this year. We dig into what you need to know before you apply to apprentice at a festival like the Shaw and what it was like to transition between artistic directors in his 20 years as head of design.
I had the pleasure of interviewing our first sound designer. Michael Laird is a sound systems designer rather than a composition designer and we discuss the difference between these two disciplines in the context of live theatre. Michael is an established designer and operator but he is early in his career so we focus less on his resume and more on developing a base for future discussions with senior designers about sound. Michael also focuses on live musical theatre reinforcement rather than scoring behind acoustic voices in small theatre so there is still a large world of sound design to explore: this episode has really given me a vocabulary to speak to other sound designers and I am sure you will feel the same. We also have a discussion about sound designers as collaborators and the removal of the sound design award from the 2014-15 Tony Awards. This episode is also the debut of both a new theme, composed by sound designer Verne Good with voice over by lighting designer Gabriel Cropley, and the start of our Patreon campaign. If you like what you hear, go the Patreon Page and find out why it is a good thing to become a patron of the show!
Sue LePage is a set and costume designer based out of Toronto. She joined me at the Shaw Festival to talk about her early career and Top Girls, her design at the Shaw in 2015. This was a short interview, only 45 mins, so we could not talk much about many of the milestones in her career, but it is an interesting talk none-the-less!
This week I spoke to set and costume designer Christina Poddubiuk at the Shaw Festival on a whirlwind trip down there. We speak about her early training and career, as normal here, but we also go in depth about her designs for Pygmalion, directed by Peter Hinton and opening on June 5th 2015. As well, be sure to check out Christina's portfolio at punchandjudy.ca.
Martin Stevens said "Style is not something you set out to get it is something you get when you set out". These are the words that inspired Ronnie Burkett as a teenager to continue his pursuit of a unique voice with which to tell stories through puppetry. He has spent the last few decades realizing this voice and I had the pleasure to speak with him last February about it. In this 2 hour interview we discuss his early career and development, his approach to story-telling and his fastidious attention to the details of design.
Ed was around at the start of the rebirth of Canadian theatre in the 1960's and managed to navigate a successful career until his retirement recently. Ed has a great perspective on the relationship between amateur and professional theatre and how groups like the Sunparlour Players and Lond Little Theatre helped to launch his career in the 1970's. We also talk about the meetings in Frances Dafoe's basement and how they spawned the Associated Designers of Canada. Ed also recounts the story of Jack Shapira and his conviction of embezzlement at the Rainbow Stage. I have gone over the press clippings, one which is found in the links below, and all of what we talked about though it may sound just a little bit like gossip occurred as Ed told it, so rest assured, we are not making this stuff up! A bit more on the apocryphal side is my telling of a controversial set design that I attribute to Michael Levine at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Hard as I try, I could not find reference to it online, so I may indeed have my facts all backwards - if you listen and know the real story let me know and I will post an update!
This is a recording of a forum held in Toronto, Ontario at Theatre Passe Muraille about the challenge we face of building and sustaining future theatre audiences. Hosted by Sheila Skye, Derrick Chua, and Sue Edworthy.
In this episode, I interview my old mentor Sholem Dolgoy about his history and career. We met at Ryerson Theatre School in Toronto, Ontario, where he is the head of the production program. Sholem, like many senior designers in Canada, entered the profession through the school of hard knocks and has risen to be a leading designer and educator in Canada. In this chat we talk about his successes and failures in the 1970's and 80's and his awakening in terms of the use of colour, learning from lighting design greats like Nicholas Cernovitch and Thomas Skelton.
This is the second half of my chat with Jim Plaxton and we cover his introduction of cardboard into theatre design in Toronto through Michael Hollingsworth's Strawberry Fields, his monumental work on Videocaberet's History of the Village of Small Huts and his retirement from theatre.
This episode features Toronto based designer Jim Plaxton. Jim's 30 year career oversaw the start of many importantToronto theatre companies, including Toronto Workshop Productions, Theatre Passe Muraille as well as the start of Toronto Dance Theatre. In this first half we speak about Jim's early career in architecture and his transition first to film and then to dance and live performance. We also speak about his influence on the renovations of Theatre Passe Muraille in 1982 and his stint there as its co-artisitic director with Layne Coleman and Clark Rogers.
This episode picks up at the second half of the panel discussion about projection and the future of design at the Canadian Institute of Theatre Technology's annual conference, Rendez-Vous 2014. I am once again joined by Scott Spidell, Eric Mongerson, Beth Kates, and Ben Chaisson (bios can be found at episode #9). We started the talk about the unique funding challenges of buying or renting equipment that advances so quickly, move on to talk about the language of video in a production and end with a discussion about copyright and planning for the future.
This is a long one, but well worth it. On August 16th, 2014, I traveled to Ottawa, Ontario for the Canadian Institute for Theatre Technology's annual trade show Rendez-Vous 2014. There, I led a panel discussion about the use of projections in theatre design with Scott Spidel, Eric Mongerson, Ben Chaisson and Beth Kates. Thankfully, CITT had booked our discussion for 3 hours and despite the fact that we thought we would be done early, we went right to the 3 hour mark. It was a very comprehensive discussion as you will see. Bios and links for the show are below.
This is the second half of my conversation with production designer Allan Stitchbury via Skype from his home in Victoria B.C.. Among other things we discuss how he builds a relationship with a director, his approach to education, and his experiences as a designer in Thailand. We also discuss his involvement with the Prague Quadrennial and the Associated Designers of Canada. The audio is a bit better on this one, but still low quality - it will be fixed for future episodes. Find production photos from Wings and The Wars at www.thetitleblock.com
Allan Stichbury is a set/costume/lighting designer based in Victoria, British Columbia. An alumni of the conservatory program at the University of Alberta, Allan spoke to me about his early years in Victoria and Edmonton and the shows that made his career at a time in Canadian theatre that you could still become an overnight success.
After a bit of a delay for school and life, here is episode #6, part 2 of my discussion with Shawn Kerwin. We pick up with Shawn's experience with Desmond Heeley at the Stratford Festival and move onto the Met and Shawn's design philosophy, discussing problems with the audience "humming the scenery" after the show. This episode is a great primer for how to approach a design, generate ideas, communicate with other artisans and build a show, as well as a frank discussion about starting a career in the theatre. Links below.
This week, I speak with set designer Shawn Kerwin about her training in the early days of modern Canadian theatre in Toronto. From the beginnings in an unheated warehouse at the Factory Theatre to training with the stars of British design, Shawn's life as been extraordinary.
In this episode, I conclude my talk with the Director of Lighting Design at the Shaw Festival in Kevin Lamotte. In this episode we begin by discussing Kevin's relationship with the director and how he visualises lighting. We move on to discuss his approach to cuing and his role as the director of lighting design.
This week, I have the first part of my discussion with Kevin Lamotte, the director of lighting designer at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario. We discuss his original training and dig into his early years at the festival as well as his design philosophy.
Michael Ramsay talks about her favourite shows, working on festival designs and her aesthetic.
Michelle Ramsay, a Toronto-based lighting designer, agreed to be my guinea pig for episode one of the podcast. This is the first of two 30 min sessions we taped. Here is Michelle's bio (updated March 18 2014)
Michelle is a lighting designer for dance and theatre based in Toronto.
Companies she has designed with include: Modern Times, Cahoots Theatre Company, Blue Ceiling Dance, fu-Gen, The Theatre Centre, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Stand Up Dance, New Harlem, Shaw Festival, Human Cargo, Theatre Rusticle, National Arts Centre, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Native Earth Performing Arts, Mirvish Productions, Theatre Passe Muraille and Tarragon Theatre. She has received several Dora Mavor Moore Awards, a SATAward, and in 2008 she received the Pauline McGibbon Award.
The beginning has a few rough audio spots, with some "peakyness" but I should be able to iron out the problems in the future.
In the interview we refer to "Wonderland" and failed to give any context. Canada's Wonderland is an amusement park north of Toronto, ON, and was a training ground for many young technicians just out of school.
Other things we glanced over:
The Shaw Festival
Theatre Smith Gilmore
Theatre Columbus
Theatre Kingston
Red
Manual Lighting Boards
Design for the theatre is a unique endeavour. A theatrical designer is tasked with not only creating an original expression of their understanding of other people's ideas, but must communicate these ideas within a team of artists all vying for their own voice. A willingness to set one's ego aside, or know when to push it, is essential, and risk taking achieves an entire new urgency when budgets and resources are tight and opening night looms large.
This podcast will talk to designers in Canada who, despite all the travails and trials, have stuck with their first instincts and worked hard to make Canadian Theatre what it is. It opens a window onto an obscure craft that is not readily appreciated by the theatre going public. It will allow the new student of theatre to learn from established designers and help them hone their craft. It will, finally, help capture a neglected part of Canadian theatre history: the lives of Canadian designers.
Chicago, Mayfield Hotel, 2011, Photo by Ed Ellis, Set and Costumes by Cory Laframboise, Lighting by Michael Kruse, centre is Sara-Jeane Hosie as Velma Kelly