The Dream Team

The Cabaret of Monologues wouldn’t happen without the amazing team backstage and behind the curtain. Our performers bring life to the cabaret, while our production team works hard behind the scenes to make sure there’s a cabaret to begin with!

As always, we have our fabulous Director (and Artistic Director of Sarasvàti Productions) Hope McIntyre. Hope rehearses with the artists multiple times a week to make sure the monologues are polished and ready to hit the stage. Hope first started International Women’s Week Cabaret of Monologues in 2004 and has continued directing the Cabaret ever since.

Alongside Hope is Associate Director, Rachel Smith. This will be Rachel’s seventh year with the Cabaret, co-running rehearsals, providing extra rehearsal time to the performers, and advising on ways to make the event better and better.

Tamera Grace joins the team as Stage Manager for this year’s cabaret. Tamera was also the Stage Manager for last year’s Cabaret of Monologues. Her work behind the scenes during the tour is a huge help as she manages the touring sound system and technical side of the show. She even helped drive during last year’s trek to Flin Flon and The Pas!

Brooklyn Kilfoyle works in the office as the tour coordinator, initiating and maintaining contact with the venues we are lucky to perform at during the tour. Brooklyn is also in the process of creating a trailer for the tour, including interviews and sneak peaks of some of the monologues!

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For more information on International Women’s Week Cabaret of Monologues: Changes click HERE!

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Developing a Workshop

Have you ever wondered what goes into planning a workshop? Workshops are a great way to enhance your artistic skills; often hosted by an established artist, held in an artist appropriate space and filled with eager to learn emerging artists! Needless to say, a lot goes into the planning of a workshop. At Sarasvàti Productions, we host a range of workshops every year hosted by established professions and attended by- well, anyone and everyone! Here is a behind the scenes look at how a workshop is developed!

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PLANNING

First things first, we make a plan. What kind of workshop are we hosting? Who are the target participants? Why this workshop? For example, this past Saturday we hosted our movement workshop for actors. During the planning we had to consider why we were hosting a movement workshop and who we would want as a facilitator. With December being a common month for a big break for everybody, we figured why not host in January and get those bodies moving again! Of course, Ali Robson is a well known mover in the city, so we offered her the opportunity to facilitate.

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GET THE WORD OUT THERE

Okay, so we planned the workshop, we know what it’s for, we have a facilitator and a venue… now what? Now we need YOU! The participants! We’re lucky to have a list of emerging artists in office, so we are always sure to send our emerging artists information about all of our workshops (email info@sarasvati.ca to be added to the list). In some special cases, we will do target asks. For example, every year we host “Coffee with a Pro” which is literally a sit down coffee date between a pro in the theatre world and 3-4 participants. In these cases, we specifically reach out to folks who are interested in the professional field of the “Pro”. For Audrey Dwyer’s “Coffee with a Pro” session, we invited emerging playwrights to join Audrey for coffee.

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THE DAY OF

Woohoo! It’s workshop day! Now, our job is to make sure you get the most out of the day and have a great time. We want to be sure you’re getting your money’s worth! A staff representative will always be present to make sure the day is fun, safe and effective.

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NEXT UP

If all of this reading about workshops has you wondering about what’s coming up next, here it is! Next, we have “Theatre in Colour: A Discussion on the Importance of Racial Diversity in Theatre”. We will be teaming up with up-coming theatre company Out From Under the Rug to host this workshop panel discussion on racial diversity in theatre. Taking place on Sunday, February 16^th, 2020 at The Rachel Browne Theatre (221 Bannatyne Ave). This workshop will be FREE, but donations are always welcome. Email info@sarasvati.ca to reserve your spot.

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I hope this little workshop on workshops has helped answer some questions you may have about what goes into planning a workshop. We hope to see you at the next round!

Click HERE for more information on upcoming Sarasvàti workshops.

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Songide’ewin, Sôhkitêhêwin, Neljedghile, Shoohkitayhew, Kapiasungitoaluk, Waditaka, Courage

Songide’ewin, Sôhkitêhêwin, Neljedghile, Shoohkitayhew, Kapiasungitoaluk, Waditaka, Courage. Our Reconciliation Through Theatre performance now has a title! Thanks to the Manitoba Aboriginal Language Strategy, our title consists of the word “courage” translated to Ojibwe, Cree, Dene, Michif, Inuktitut and Dakota. In short, we will refer to the performance as Songide’ewin respectfully as it is the original title that was suggested by one of the youth during our workshops in 2019.

As well as our title, our team for the production in May 2020 has been officially finalized! We would like to introduce you to all of the amazing folks who will helping to bring Songide’ewin to life…

Jo MacDonald – Writer

Tracey Nepinak – Director

Darla Contois – Writing Collaborator

Lana Sinclair – Costume Designer

Louis Ogemah – Production Designer

Ian Fontaine – Sound Designer

Bear Harper – Mural Artist

Jamie Black – Mural Artist Mentor

Red Rover – Production Management Team

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On Saturday, January 11^th the full team was able to meet in person and discuss the next steps in the production process. It was a pleasure getting to sit down and discuss project details will all of the folks who will be contributing to what is considered our biggest and most collaborative theatrical project to date!

On Saturday, January 18^th we will sit down with the first draft of the script and the production team as well as our youth advisory committee to read through the first draft and get a sense of the May performance. Our youth advisory committee is comprised of youth who participated in our workshops throughout 2019, the same youth whose voices are featured in the script development of Songide’ewin. All are invited to attend the first reading at Turtle Island Neighbourhood Centre (510 King St.). The doors open at 1pm! We invite you to join us, sit and listen to the first draft and participate in discussion following the reading.

This performance and project hopes to broaden the understanding of reconciliation among Canadians. We are thrilled and honoured to host a completely Indigenous cast and crew for this production to accurately tell their stories and the stories of the experiences of Indigenous folks across Manitoba. Be sure to mark your calendars for May 21-24, 2020 at The Forks in our outdoor venue. More details available HERE on our website.

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On the Stage

You’ve met the playwrights, now meet the performers who will be bringing their stories to life! This year’s traditional monologues are Ping, Yearning/Distance, Masks and The A Word. Four local Winnipeg actors have been brought onto this year’s cabaret to perform these monologues throughout the tour.

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Taesia Scratch – Ping

Mother of four, Vancouver born and Winnipeg resident, Taesia Scratch will be performing Ping by Larissa Hikel. Taesia’s first role upon moving to Winnipeg was with Sarasvàti Productions and you may have seen her in the Bake-Off during FemFest 2019!

What excites you about your piece?

“It does not apologize. It is a raw story of an intense situation that all women may have faced, it tells a story of the fear that we have trying to get to the safety of the place that should be, safe.”

How do you relate to your piece?

“I have worked nights as a young woman and had to return home, where I lived alone, many times. I spent years working very late walking through my apartment lobby, after speed walking home, with this kind of fear, that comes to most women after the sun goes down.”

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Saira Rahman – Yearning/Distance

Saira is a proud Muslim, female filmmaker who also performed in FemFest 2019 for the world premiere of Baby Box. This year, she takes on the role of a new mother yet again as she performs Yearning/Distance by Beth Lanigan!

What excites you about your piece?

“Preparing to perform the piece will be an exciting challenge for me because it brilliantly manages to paint a vivid picture of what post-partum illness may feel like with all of its complexity.”

How do you relate to your piece?

“Although I’ve never experienced post-partum depression, I think this piece remains universal because all of us at one time or another have felt the sting of depression. I know I have, and it feels immensely comforting to know that we are not alone, and that in speaking about our feelings and experiences with depression and anxiety helps crush the stigma.”

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Renée Hill – Masks

Graduate of The University of Winnipeg Theatre department, Renée is a gifted singer, maker and bilingual voice over artist. Last year, Renée performed Oracle Jane by Vicki Zhang in our International Women’s Week Cabaret of Monologues: Here I Am. This year, Renée will play a school teacher in Makrenna Sterdan’s Masks.

What excites you about your piece?

“It’s an upbeat, intelligent, curious look at educators, children and the systems at play.”

How do you relate to your piece?

“As a parent of young children I am intrigued by the education of our children and which societal systems influence how and what our children learn.”

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Lizzie Knowles – The A Word

Ukulele playing, vegetarian, owner of two rabbits, Lizzie joins our team for the first time! Lizzie is a theatre grad from The University of Winnipeg with Honours Acting and participates in this year’s cabaret by performing The A Word by Brooklyn Alice Lee.

What excites you about your piece?

“I get really excited by the reality of it. The fear and anxiety is genuine, and it’s relatable to everyone I think. I really love whenever I can see a fully realized decision and the process to get there presented on stage. I think it’s comforting for an audience.”

How do you relate to your piece?

“My brain works in a very similar way to this character, so it’s been very fun to work on. I’m very grateful to tell a story that many people have gone through and few feel they can discuss.”

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See these monologues and more during International Women’s Week! Touring from March 2^nd-8^th, 2020 with two public performances on Saturday, March 7^th, 2020 at 4pm and 8pm! Tickets on sale HERE. March 7^th at 8pm will be an ASL interpreted performance.

New Year, Same Us

It is officially a new year AND a new decade! Happy New Year and welcome to 2020!

2019 has come and gone which means the second half of our 19/20 season is underway. We are so excited to tell you a little bit about what we have in store for all of you in the upcoming months…

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International Women’s Week 2020 Cabaret of Monologues: Changes

Have you heard? Our annual Cabaret of Monologues is happening from March 2-8, 2020! We have been doing our best to update you on our performers and playwrights, if you’ve missed any of our past blogs, you can meet some of this year’s artists HERE and HERE.

This year we have monologues but also music, dance, mime, and comedy!

Stay tuned for our tour schedule, but in the meantime, tickets are now available for our public performance on Saturday, March 7, 2020 at 4pm and 8pm. Get your tickets HERE!

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Workshops

As always, we have a ton of workshops in the works for you for 2020. Have you registered for our Movement for Actors Workshop with Ali Robson? This workshop will take place on January 19^th, 2020 for $25. If you want more info, click HERE, if you want to register email liz@sarasvati.ca

It doesn’t end there! Coming soon, we will be hosting workshops on the following topics…

Accessibility in Theatre Panel, April 4^th, 2020

Diversity Panel, February 16^th, 2020

Fringe Production 101, May 16^th, 2020

And more!

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Jo MacDonald

Reconciliation Through Theatre

We completed our Seven Visions workshops in 2019, now comes the process of creating one big final production! We are so excited to be working with Playwright Jo MacDonald and Director Tracey Nepinak to create our final performance piece for May 2020!

The performance, entitle Songide’ewin (Courage), will take place at The Forks and feature art created by youth during our workshops. We are so excited to share the voices of Winnipeg’s youth and tell a story of reconciliation in a time that gravely needs it.

More on the reconciliation project HERE!

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As we move in to the fall of 2020, we will actually be launching our 20^th season in Winnipeg!! Yep, we’ve been creating transformative theatre for two decades. This anniversary season will see the transition to a new Artistic Director, new community-building processes, and some of our usual offerings.

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School Tour

Every second year we hit the road with an interactive performance, using Forum Theatre principles. It is an amazing way to engage youth in a discussion about how to be active participants in their community. This year’s touring show will be built from the material gathered as part of our Reconciliation Through Theatre project. Stay tuned for full details.

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FemFest 2020

And of course, 2020 will play host to our 18^th annual FemFest! 18 years of transformative feminist theatre AND counting! As always, the festival won’t happen until September, but the work starts now as we begin to read scripts and performance pieces and choose our line-up for the 2020 festival.

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Thank you all for making 2019 such a fantastic year, here’s to 2020 and all of the exciting new theatre to come!

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