Happy Int’l Women’s Week 2014!

It’s hard to believe it’s that time of year again! A time when Canadians, alongside millions of others all over the world, celebrate progress toward equality for women and their full participation, reflect on the challenges and barriers that remain, and consider future steps to achieving equality for all women, in all aspects of their lives. This week is International Women’s Week and Sarasvàti Productions is thrilled to be part of the celebrations once again with our 10th Cabaret of Monologues event.

We invite you to join us on March 7th and 8th at 8pm for an entertaining evening filled with a diverse line-up of monologues by Canadian playwrights, performed by a talented local cast. This year’s theme is Rise Up! which means all stories explore the diversity of the next generation of women!

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One of our favourite things about performing the Cabaret of Monologues event, as opposed to a full-length play, is that we have the incredible opportunity to celebrate the voices and stories of several women from all walks of life. This year’s theme has given us the privilege to hear the voices, experiences, and challenges of young women characters in particular. It has been an eye-opening experience to work on these pieces and to explore the issues young women face today, especially with a talented cast of 10 young women.

It is also exciting to see the community come together to celebrate these women, and women across the globe. This week, we have had the privilege to tour selected monologues from our line-up to various IWW events in Winnipeg and the surrounding areas. We have already helped the U of M’s Womyn’s Centre and the U of W’s IWGS celebrate the week and will be heading out to the West Central Women’s Resource Centre tomorrow afternoon. We also made the trek to Selkirk and Gimli earlier this week and were pleased to be a part of Nova House and The Interlake Women’s Resource Centre’s celebrations.

There are only two chances for you to catch this incredible event – Friday, March 7th and Saturday, March 8th at 8:00pm inside the Colin Jackson Studio Theatre (at Prairie Theatre Exchange, 3rd Floor Portage Place)! Tickets can be purchased online by clicking here or you can give us a shout at 204-586-2236 to reserve your tickets over the phone. This popular event is almost sold out so be sure to get your tickets now before it’s too late!

Happy International Women’s Week and International Women’s Day from all of us at Sarasvàti Productions!

Looking for more ways to celebrate IWW? On Saturday March 8, 2014, self-identified women, girls and theirs allies in Winnipeg will be marching in celebration of the 103rd International Women’s Day (IWD), starting at 12:00PM. For more information on the march, click here.

Cabaret of Monologues: 10 Young Women Rise Up!

Teen truckers, therapy sessions, beauty pageants, and literary obsessions! Find out what 10 young women have to say about the state of the world. Next week, we will be producing and taking to the community our Cabaret of Monologues event in celebration of International Women’s Week. The evening will offer a diverse line-up of monologues by Canadian playwrights and will be performed by a talented local cast. We are pleased to have these 10 young, up-and-coming women on board! Keep reading to find out more about our cast and about how you can catch these hilarious and inspiring performances.

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Cast:

Kaeleigh Ayre is thrilled to be working for Sarasvàti and to be bringing Kendra Jones’ words to life again, after being a part of FemFest in the fall. After taking a much needed break following Lion in the Streets at the Black Hole Theatre, Kaeleigh is looking forward to what 2014 will bring.

Shae Burstow is an aspiring actor and theatre student at the University of Winnipeg. This is her first appearance with Sarasvàti Productions and she is thrilled to be a part of this year’s cabaret of monologues. She is set to appear as Isabella and Win in the U of W’s upcoming production of Top Girls.

Victoria Hill is 23 years old, and is currently pursuing a double major in Theatre and Politics at the University of Winnipeg. Victoria has not only managed to put herself through school, while working, and doing theatre and film projects but she also enjoys volunteering in her community, and feels that love and compassion are so valuable in this life.

Andrea Houssin is very excited to be joining Sarasvàti Productions in celebrating International Women’s Week. Recently returned from Vancouver, Andrea made her hometown debut in Ginny Collins’ play Good Intentions at Winnipeg Jewish Theatre this season. Coming up: Waiting for the Parade at Western Canada Theatre.

Ashley Kowalchuk is a graduate of the University of Winnipeg’s Theatre and Film programme. Her latest feminist theatre foray was during ChurchillFest in 2010 with an appearance in Skyline Theatre’s Owners.

Hailley Rhoda is a recent graduate of the University of Winnipeg’s Theatre and Film Department. She has worked with Sarasvàti Productions several times in the past, and is happy to be back on such a fun project.

Shanley Spence is a 21 year old Cree and Ojibwa woman who was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba originally from Mathias Colomb Cree Nation on her mother’s side and Lake St. Martin First Nation on her father’s. She is a student at the University of Winnipeg, working towards a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre and International Development.

Ali Tataryn is an Actor, Performance Artist, and a Founder of Frame Arts Warehouse. Ali works as an actor for film and television and has been included in such projects as CBC’s Mr. Hockey and Less Than Kind. Ali graduated from Red River College Applied Counseling Skills Program with Honours in 2006 and the Academy of Acting in 2007.

Brittany Thiessen is a graduate of the University of Winnipeg’s Acting Honours Program. She was last seen in The Samovar at this year’s Master Playwright Festival. Acquetoré: Swan Doll and Harold and Vivian Entertain Guests mark her most recent credits with Sarasvàti.

Samantha Walters is a graduate of the University of Winnipeg’s Acting Honours program and of Canada’s National Voice Intensive. She was last seen playing the role of Irina in Three Sisters (Chekhovfest 2014). Samantha is currently working as the Associate Producer for Sarasvàti Productions.

Don’t miss these 10 women rock the stage on March 7th and 8th at 8:00pm at the Colin Jackson Studio Theatre (at Prarie Theatre Exchange, 3rd Floor Portage Place)! This popular event has sold out in the past so we highly recommend you purchase and/or reserve your tickets NOW to avoid disappointment. Tickets are just $10 and can be purchased online by clicking here. To make a reservation or to purchase tickets from our office, please give us a call at 204-586-2236! Our typical office hours are Monday to Friday from 9am-3pm.

How will you be celebrating International Women’s Day (IWD)? Share your celebrations with us on Facebook and Twitter!

Local Young Women Take The Stage!

Winnipeg women are certainly making an impact on this year’s theatre season! With the debut of works by Winnipeg’s Group of Seven female playwrights, it is clear that there is no shortage of female talent in this city. Although women continue to be underepresented in Canadian Theatre, Sarasvàti Productions is doing its part to provide opportunities to both emerging and established female artists. Today, we are pleased to announce our cast for this year’s International Women’s Week Cabaret of Monologues which features 10 young Winnipeg women!

This year’s theme is Rise Up! which means that the stories focus on young women, the next generation of subversion, new forms of advocacy, and ways young women tackle adversity. Our theme has provided us with the rare opportunity to cast several up and coming local women, many of whom have worked with Sarasvàti in the past. We are pleased to have these 10 women on board and are looking forward to providing them with the opportunity to continue developing their craft and to be seen throughout the community. Check out the slideshow below to meet our cast!

2014 International Women’s Week Cabaret of Monologues

Samantha Walters in Something’s Not Right by Wren Hookey

Ashley Kowalchuk in Teen Trucker by Sara Arenson

Kaeleigh Ayre in Hide Away by Kendra Jones

Andrea Houssin in Black and White by Cairn Moore

Brittany Thiessen in Who Killed Snow White (Excerpt) by

Judith Thompson

Shanley Spence in #WhiteGirlProblems by Frances Koncan

Shae Burstow in I am not Malala by Hope McIntyre

Victoria Hill in What Being a Girl Means by Hannah Burns

Hailley Rhoda in Reflection by Sarah Simpson-Yellowquill

and

 Ali Tataryn in her own slam poetry piece – The Entanglement: The Nature of a Woman

We will be touring the monologues across Winnipeg and the surrounding areas to different International Women’s Week events from March 3^rd-9^th, 2014 with public shows on March 7th and 8th at the Colin Jackson Studio Theatre (at Prarie Theatre Exchange, 3rd floor Portage Place). For more info on how you can bring the monologues out to your event, tickets, and group rates, please contact us by calling (204) 586-2236 or by e-mail at associate@sarasvati.ca.

FemFest Features Fabulous Talent!

With FemFest just two months away, we are excited to start featuring some of our fabulous artists who will be performing! In order for you to get to know them a little better, we posed some interesting questions and we’ll post highlights in various blog entries in the coming weeks. Here is a few to get things started:

Kevin Anderson has appeared in several Sarasvàti works including EDEN in 2012, Ripple Effect in 2008 and some FemFest readings. This year he will be in our FemFest 2013 short-list readings:

What is your favourite play? Generous  by Michael Healey
What is your favourite word? pedantic
If you had one wish, what would it be? That the next 65 years are even better.
Fun Fact: What Kevin wants audiences to take away after viewing is work the feeling that he did his job well.

Cheryl Gensiorek was most recently seen in Wild Women, our International Women’s Week Cabaret of Monologues, with some interesting props. She is also in our short-list readings: 

What is your favourite play? MTC – Gone With The Wind
If you had one wish, what would it be? To Always be happy/content despite challenges in life.
Fun Fact: Cheryl works as an educational assistant

Brittany Thiessen was seen last year in Empty. She is a recent U of W graduate and will be presenting a devised piece in our opening cabaret and performing in Harold and Vivian Entertain Guests:

What is your favourite play? This is a very difficult question! Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov.
What is your favourite word? “Yes.”
If you had one wish, what would it be? A paid trip to travel the world for a year!
Fun Fact: Here is how Brittany would introduce herself to a stranger: “If the stranger was from Winnipeg, I would tell them my name, ask for theirs, and find out how we already know each other.”

David Fox is currently playing Tommy in The WHO’s TOMMY at the Winnipeg Fringe and will be making his debut with Sarasvàti Productions in Harold and Vivian.

What is your favourite play? Fat Men in Skirts by Nicky SIlver
What is your favourite word? Frisky
If you had one wish, what would it be? To lead a long life as a professional actor.
Fun Fact: David is a member of the Oscar Wilde Memorial Society and Rainbow Pride Mosaic

Alissa Watson was also seen in Empty last year as well as having done a couple years of our cabaret of monologues. She will be coming back from performing The Anger of Ernest and Ernestine at the Edmonton Fringe to perform in Harold and Vivian:

What is your favourite play?  Currently:  The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine by Robert Morgan, Martha Ross and Leah Cherniak
What is your favourite word? Laughter
If you had one wish, what would it be? I’d wish that every person could have the capability and courage to follow their dreams.
Fun Fact: Alissa attended Brandon University, School of Music and majored in Classical Percussion

For more information on our artists, shows, and performers, visit www.femfest.ca

Great Theatre – Fringe and FemFest

Great Theatre Begins at the Fringe But Certainly Does Not End There!

Next week the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival begins! It’s been a while since Sarasvàti Productions was able to produce at the Fringe but FemFest in September makes our summer a little crazy. On the plus side it means our team get to enjoy the Fringe and see a large number of great shows. Our Artistic Director, Hope McIntyre, is excited to see work by some of her former students as well as the many talented Winnipeggers she has worked with before. Our volunteers will be out in full force distributing surveys and buttons in order to start the FemFest buzz. Look for the survey boxes at Urban Forest and the Winnipeg Free Press Café.

There is also a large number of FemFest artists who are in the Fringe.

• Megan Andres is directing our short piece The Exchange at FemFest and is involved with 3 Fringe shows (Offices by Ethan Coen, Kissing Sweet & Other Silliness by John Guare and Raising Roger an original play by local writer C. Jones for which she served as dramaturg)
• Nan Fewchuk will be acting in our short-list reading series and can be seen in Dog Act at the Fringe produced by her own Nancan Boogie Productions
• Talia Pura’s new play Perfect Love will be read at FemFest and she is performing in Rope at the Fringe.
• Brittany Thiessen will be performing a new devised piece at our opening cabaret plus performing in Harold and Vivian Entertain Guests, see her Fringe in Quickies with Chekhov
• Speaking of Harold and Vivian, playwright Jessy Ardern’s company The Struts and Frets Players is Fringing with The Hounds of Ulster
• David Fox is also in Harold and Vivian and will be playing Tommy in The Who’s Tommy produced by Winnipeg Broadway Theatre
• Melanie Dahling is doing stand-up for one of our cabarets and can be seen in her own Fringe show Dirty and True
• Our production assistant, Jonathan Kindzierski is stage managing both Quilters and The Collectors
• In fact almost all of our production team is also doing Fringe shows or venue tech work
• Plus we are still confirming other actors and artists!
• Plus dozens of past FemFest artists we can’t wait to see again!
• Plus some of our friends will have FemFest ads in their programs including fellow WIT (Winnipeg Independent Theatre) member Theatre by the River who are producing 7 Stories!

So check out the Fringe and then save the dates of September 14-21 for FemFest!