Former ‘Pegger Showcased at FemFest

We are very excited to include pomme is french for apple in the FemFest line-up. Created and performed by liza paul and bahia watson, it was a critic’s pick, patron pick and best of fringe at the Toronto Fringe Festival. pomme is french for apple is a vaudevillian and distinctly west indian exploration of the absurdity of women’s lives in settings diverse as the islands, downtown toronto, southeast london, and the too-tight crotch of the pants. What more could you ask for? Plus presenting the show means a chance for artist bahia watson to return to Winnipeg!

bahia watson

“i left winnipeg a few years ago to escape the winter and to chase my dreams. working primarily in the toronto theatre scene means that most of the people who grew up with me and raised me haven’t been able to see what it is that i do. it thrills me to be able to return to my beloved hometown to share pomme is french for apple with everyone who knew me first. as a dancer, the caribbean communities of winnipeg were my first audiences. they supported, encouraged and inspired me deeply. we are grateful to femfest for inviting us and allowing us to add a likkle something to di pot.

ya ready, pegcity? let’s get into it. xo”

– bahia watson, co-creator of pomme is french for apple

 

Check out the pomme website for more videos and pomme news. There are just three performances of the show at FemFest so get your tickets early!

Full FemFest 2013: Revelation & Revolution Lineup!

We are thrilled to present this year’s FemFest 2013: Revelation & Revolution lineup!

This year’s festival includes an exciting mix of artists who are using performance to see the world in a different light and explore notions of revolution. It will be an amazing showcase of talent from across the country as well as a celebration of local female artists.

We’ve already given you a sneak peek at some of our exciting pieces, but here’s a more comprehensive overview of what you can look forward to:

FULL PRODUCTIONS

Harold and Vivian Entertain Guests by Jessy Arden
Harold and Vivian married out of spite. The absurd world they have created for themselves is disrupted when new neighbours, newlywed Mike and Janet, come to say hello

Flood Control by Marilyn Anne Campbell
Lonely Ray stands on a bridge, building up the nerve to end his life, when he’s interrupted by Gina, a highly-organized woman who has come to kill herself simply because she has nothing left to do.

DEVELOPMENTAL WORK:

Bake-Off Coordinated and Directed by Cairn Moore
Selected playwrights are given a list of ingredients and have two weeks to mix up a script!

Giving Voice with VOICES
This new play will be developed in the Forum theatre method with workshop sessions with youth in foster care.

Perfect Love by Talia Pura
An exploration of the role gender plays in relationships. If the sexual orientation continuum is a sliding scale, is relationship-based dialogue any different for male and female characters

SHORTS:

The Exchange by Katherine Koller
Shauna doesn’t know Molly, but Molly knows Shauna by appearance, by reputation, and by name. Molly has come to trade lives.

Short-List
As fillers throughout the festival, we will offer audiences the chance to hear excerpts from scripts from the FemFest shortlist

TOURING PIECES:

Dreaming in Autism by Christine Rodriguez
La Tigressa Productions (Montreal)
Enter the world of a mother who has high hopes for her new baby boy but soon learns that he has autism. Sad, funny, but mostly full of love.

pomme is french for apple by liza paul and bahia watson
paul watson productions (Toronto)
Comprised of fast-paced series of vignettes, this vaudevillian two-woman show is a fresh, funny, irreverent and distinctly west indian look at womanhood in all its glory: its perils, its pleasures and all kinds of madness in between.

The Aftermath by Lisa Codrington (Toronto)
After an unexpected tragedy, Jane a reclusive yet outspoken middle-age woman prepares for an impending apocalypse by lecturing the audience on the important of emergency preparedness.

Cabarets
Plus our exciting opening and closing cabarets featuring women artists in all disciplines!

For our complete lineup and more information on FemFest, go to http://femfest.ca!

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FemFest 2013 Sneak Peek!

It is hard to believe that June is here! We’ve wrapped up our amazing run of Jail Baby and have quickly turned our attention to FemFest 2013: Revelation and Revolution. We have all the shows confirmed and are just putting the schedule puzzle together for our big brochure release later this month. We just can’t wait to share a few juicy tidbits though.

We have another amazing line-up of touring shows coming to Winnipeg for FemFest! What is really exciting is that some of them feature former Winnipeggers returning home to share their work. Lisa Codrington is one such former local gal now based in Toronto. She has been doing amazing work as a performer and playwright. Her play Cast Iron was nominated for a Governor General Literary Award and she will be presenting her latest play The Aftermath at FemFest.

Lisa Codrington

bahia watson will also be returning to Winnipeg from Toronto. She and co-creator liza paul will be performer their widely popular pomme is french for apple.

liza paula & bahia watson – pomme is french for apple

Finally we will welcome Christine Rodriguez from Montreal to perform her powerful and inspiring play Dreaming in Autism.

Christine Rodriguez – Dreaming in Autism

Of course we will also be showcasing local talent once again. Last year we included our first Bake-Off in the festival, where female playwrights were given ingredients and two weeks to write a piece incorporating these elements. Staged readings were then presented and the audience voted on which piece they most wanted to see as part of FemFest 2013. Based on demand we will be producing Jessy Ardern’s new play Harold and Vivian Entertain Guests. Last year’s reading from the piece had the audience in stitches so you won’t want to miss the world premiere of the full play at FemFest.

Stay tuned for the rest of the line-up, including other local productions, readings of new works in development and our popular cabaret evenings!