Celebrating New Works!

New name, new play…time for spring renewal! We’ll be back at Prairie Theatre Exchange’s Festival of New Works (formerly the Carol Shields Festival) for another year. This time we’ll be showcasing a reading of a former One Night Stand script turned full-length play by Wren Brian. A Fine Line was featured in our April 2018 One Night Stand scene-reading series and we’re proud to present the full script as part of the festival.

This dystopian war drama follows seven people as they struggle to cope with increasing conflict in their country. As their world is turned upside down, they must decide what they will or will not sacrifice in order to survive.

Wren Brian

Wren has worked with Sarasvàti Productions for many years and recently returned as our part-time administrator! She started her diverse career in Whitehorse, Yukon (territory of the Kwanlin Dün & Ta’an Kwäch’än) where she was born and raised. Currently based in Winnipeg on Treaty 1, Wren is a playwright as well as an arts administrator and producer. In her writing she is dedicated to creating characters that can be played by actors of any gender, ancestry, ability and/or age. Recently her play Anomie won the 2017 Rintoul Award for Best New Manitoba Play at the Winnipeg Fringe, and in October 2018 her play Bystander was premiered by Gwaandak Theatre in Whitehorse.

 

Tatiana Carnevale

Directing the reading is Tatiana Carnevale. Tatiana is based in Winnipeg (Treaty 1, the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene people and homeland of the Métis nation). Select directing credits include: The Trump Card, Tigers Be Still (District Theatre Collective); One Night Stand, Shorts from the Short List (Sarasvàti Productions); You Were There, [title of show] (Pocket Frock Productions), and Godspell (Winnipeg Studio Theatre). Tat received her MA from the University of Guelph and BA from the University of Winnipeg. She is very excited to be collaborating with Wren and this wonderful group of artists on A Fine Line.

 

Performing A Fine Line are local actors Joshua Balzer, Hera Nalam, Matthew Paris-Irvine, Robert Piche, Anaka Sandhu, Amanda Shymko, and Sophie Smith-Dostmohamed. We’re excited to see how they bring this work to life onstage!

 

Anaka Sandhu

Amanda Shymko

 

Join us on Saturday, June 1 at 4PM for a reading of this powerful new script! We’ll be at PTE’s Mainstage, located on the third floor of Portage Place Shopping Centre. Admission to this event is free –a hat will be passed for contributions to support the festival.

Exploring Responses to Reconciliation

We’re excited to share what’s come out of Seven Visions: Reconciliation through Theatre project launch! We’ve had incredible audiences over the last few days respond to the notion of reconciliation. There’s one more chance to be part of the conversation tonight at 7pm!

We’ve had a great experience so far working with the amazing artists who are part of this project – here are just some of the reasons they’re excited to be involved as we look ahead to the next phase of the project!

“I’m very excited about this project because I feel like the perspective that comes forward in the play is very important – very comedic, very funny, very relatable – to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. I’m really excited to see how that affects the audience.” – Darla Contois, Performer, OUR HOME & native land and Indigenous Advisory Committee member

 

 

“As an artist engaged with this project, I’m hoping to work with some youth on creating art works that really bring forward their voices and their thoughts on reconciliation and what that means to them. The interactive art work we’re creating at the theatre allows for the public to come out and have their voices heard around reconciliation as well.” – Jaime Black, Visual Artist

“I think it’s really important to have reconciliation in theatre because it’s a very important way of communicating different styles. Historically speaking, theatre came from settler colonies – Britain, mainly – and First Nations and Indigenous peoples’ way of communicating and passing down knowledge has been storytelling. What is storytelling but performance and theatre? The coming together and meeting in that spot is really important for reconciliation.” – Nova Courchene, Indigenous Project Coordinator

 

 

“It’s been almost three years since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its final report. It put out a challenge to all Canadians. While it was a legal proceeding and even bringing to bear the need for an apology, that doesn’t really bring reconciliation. What we present is an opportunity to have a difficult discussion in a creative and stimulating environment involving youth. There will be hard discussions and there will be hard topics, but it will also be creative and full of hope.” – Myra Tait, Vice President and Indigenous Advisory Committee member

 

 

We’ve had some incredible audience responses so far as community members interact with the art installations, writing down their thoughts and responses to how each of us can do our part for reconciliation. One audience member mentioned that growing up, Indigenous peoples’ history wasn’t taught in her school and it wasn’t until much later in life that she was able to learn more about her own history. Starting this project with a focus on youth allows for an earlier connection to one’s roots. As well, discussions after OUR HOME & native land focused on how each of us can avoid being a “George”: admitting when we don’t know something and recognizing the importance of listening when others have something to teach us.

Discussions from this event will also help us as we move forward in shaping the full production for May 2020. Huge thank you to Patrick Rabago for these incredible photos from the event so far! For more information on the project, check out our website.

Announcing Our New Mentorship Project!

Are you ready to launch into the next stage of your training? We’re kicking off the start of our brand-new “Launchpad Project”! Beginning in May 2019, a team of local emerging artists will get together to create a brand-new devised piece to be showcased at this year’s festival. If you’ve ever wanted to create something new with your peers, this is the project for you!

Our Coffee House for Emerging Artists back in August highlighted that  artists are looking for is a platform to perform, show off their skills, and get recognized for their work by their peers. Training and development opportunities only go so far without an outlet to show what an artist can do. We’re responding to this need in the community by offering a team of emerging artists – performers, directors, writers, dancers, designers, you name it! – the chance to work together and create something new for a public audience.

We’re taking to the community to recruit a group of emerging theatre artists to participate in a four-month intensive to create a brand-new production to be showcased at FemFest 2019: All the World’s A Stage.  Our goal is to make this program accessible with honorariums to participants and transportation subsidies – that’s right artists, getting paid to create theatre! We know how important it is to get that first paid opportunity and feel validated as an artist. This project will also give artists the opportunity to show off their skills to the wider theatre community.

Artists may come from any background, education, ability, or age group provided they meet the criteria for an emerging artist: being in an early stage of their career while demonstrating a strong aptitude for working in theatre. Older artists making a career switch are also welcome to apply. We will largely be focusing the project on women, non-binary, and trans-spectrum artists eighteen and older with a demonstrated interest in performance.

The process will start with a workshop intensive, covering topics like improvisation, creating devised work, movement, physical theatre, playwriting, and vocal skills. Mentoring artists from Winnipeg’s professional theatre community will offer their support and feedback in the creation of the new work. Throughout the course of the project, participants will gain the chance to be mentored by professional artists and make valuable connections.

Interested artists are advised to contact Daphne at associate@sarasvati.ca to learn more about the project or request assistance in completing the application.

See the attached call for submissions for more information!

Treating the Treaties with Humour

“Well-written, very funny.”

“Hilarious!”

“Great way to convey serious info.”

These are just a few of the great things audiences had to say about OUR HOME & native land! Armed with bannock and ancestral knowledge, teaching “Mr. Mansplainer” and “Ms. Selfie-Important” about the Treaties will be as easy as the original signings! OUR HOME & native land confronts treaty violations and our history with wit and sarcasm as thick as the Indian Act.

Jo MacDonald

After winning our 2017 FemFest Bake-Off, and a powerful reading at FemFest 2018, we’re excited to present a reading of Jo MacDonald’s revised script as part of our public project launch Seven Visions: Reconciliation Through Theatre! Writing a comedy that teaches folks about treaties is no easy task, but local playwright Jo MacDonald is up to the task. Jo is Anishinaabe, a mom, theatre fan, writer, and an Educator. She gave up dreams of super-villainy as it wasn’t as lucrative as depicted at the job fairs (false advertising…but then again what can you expect from an evil genius job pitch?). She received her BA and B.Ed. from the University of Winnipeg.  Jo had her Winnipeg Fringe debut with her comedy play Mother’s Little Secret this past July. Jo’s play NEECHIE-ITAS will premiere in Oklahoma this June.

 

Heidi Malazdrewich

Directing the reading is Heidi Malazdrewich, who previously dramaturged the play for its reading in September 2018. Heidi is a director, dramaturg, and theatre educator. Selected directing credits: The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night- Time (Canadian Premiere, RMTC/ Citadel Theatre), Ladies Foursome (Theatre Baddeck), Di and Viv and Rose (RMTC), Romeo and Juliet (SIR), Myth of the Ostrich (RMTC), The New Canadian Kid (MTYP), and The Secret Annex (World Premiere, RMTC). Heidi holds an MFA in directing from the University of Calgary and is currently pursuing a PhD in Theatre and Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Manitoba.

There was great feedback on the script in past iterations. It is being reworked with expert support. Acting as dramaturge for this reading is acclaimed Indigenous playwright Yvette Nolan.

 

Yvette Nolan

Yvette Nolan (Algonquin) is a playwright, director, and dramaturg. Plays include BLADE, Annie Mae’s Movement, The Birds, The Unplugging, Gabriel Dumont’s Wild West Show (co-writer), the libretto Shanawdithit and the short film A Common Experience (w. Shane Belcourt). She has directed from coast to coast and north all the way to Dawson City, Yukon. As a dramaturg, she works across Turtle Island. From 2003-2011, she served as Artistic Director of Native Earth Performing Arts. Her book Medicine Shows about Indigenous theatre in Canada was published by Playwrights Canada Press in 2015. She is an Artistic Associate of Signal Theatre.

You can enjoy a reading of MacDonald’s script as part of Seven Visions: Reconciliation Through Theatre project launch and presentation running May 4-9. Admission is pay-what-you-can-afford. For more information and to reserve seats, visit our website!

The Road to Reconciliation

“What are you going to do about the way this country treats Indigenous People,” asked Senator Murray Sinclair at the Winnipeg Foundation’s recent Vital Conversation. It is not an easy question. The word reconciliation is being used a lot lately, but not always with a full understanding of what it means let alone what it will require. Sarasvàti Productions is grappling with the role of theatre and the arts in this important process. Thanks to funding from the Winnipeg Foundation, we’re gearing up for the first phase of a long-term project. With the hard work of our Project Coordinator Nova Courchene, Indigenous Community Outreach Coordinator Marsha Knight, Visual Artist Jaime Black, Graphic Designer Justin Bear, and the guidance of our Indigenous Advisory Committee, we are putting together an exciting public launch of the project from May 4 to 9.

 

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Throughout April we will be working on Seven Circles, visioning sessions with youth. Seven organizations will host a space for youth to brainstorm and decide the parameters for a series of arts-based workshops. We are grateful to Children of the Earth High School, Indigenous Leadership Development Institute, The Knowles Centre, Manitoba Youth Centre, Marymound School, Ndinawe, and Wahbung Abinoonjiiag for their partnership.

At the May launch, Jaime Black will share what was heard in these consultation circles through an art installation. This presentation is part of our full project launch with a chance to share what we have heard as well as gather the community together for wider input. We’ll also be hosting a reading of Jo MacDonald’s OUR HOME & Native Land, winner of the 2017 FemFest Bake-Off. Director Heidi Malazdrewich and Dramaturg Yvette Nolan will be on board to help with the development of the play. This comedic piece about treaty rights will help to frame discussion and encourage public input.

The public presentation will take place on:

• Saturday, May 4th at 2pm
• Tuesday, May 7th at 1pm
• Wednesday, May 8th at 10am
• and Thursday, May 9th at 7pm

Members of the public are more than welcome to attend! Admission to this event is pay-what-you-can-afford at the Asper Centre for Theatre and Film (400 Colony St at the U of W).

However, this is just the starting point for the project.  From June to November, workshops will take place at our partner organizations. Using storytelling, the youth will translate their experiences into different art forms. This first phase of the project will bring together youth, Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and artists in several mediums.

Then in May 2020 a full public performance of the resulting work will take place. As a true community collaboration, what this performance will include will come directly from the youth so remains to be seen, created, dreamt and realized.

Get to know the Artists Behind IWW 2019!

Hard to believe our 2019 Cabaret of Monologues is coming up so fast! This week, get to know the amazing performers behind this year’s event.

How would you describe yourself to a stranger?

Amelia Warkentin, The LightFishers: I am a student, a friend, a daughter, and a very flawed human that recognizes each day as a blessing.

Brooklyn Alice Lee, Sunday Morning Brunch: An empathetic animal lover with a passion for playing make-believe.

Kim Kakegamic, Who’s Driving: I’ll tell you how someone recently described me – friendly, quirky and fun. So that’s what I’ll go with! I work as a writer and I’ve always loved the arts and performing. Although I am an introvert who prefers to stay home, so maybe the best word to use is “dichotomic”.

Lauren Marshall, Geraldine Sloan: 90% my mother, 64.5% bad at math, 17% Mrs. Bennett, 15% Jo March, 5% Harry Potter at the moment in Order of the Phoenix when he’s waiting for mail to arrive at the Dursleys’ and it never comes.

Renee Hill, Oracle Jane: I am a friendly, creative person who enjoys people. I am a stay-at-home mother who maintains her sanity through creativity!

 

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How do you feel connected to your piece?

Amelia: I have visited family in a psychiatric ward and I am very aware of how mental health services operate. I can relate to the anxiety expressed throughout the piece and understand the detrimental effects of addiction.

Brooklyn: I feel connected to the dry, blunt humour of Josephine – she and I are very alike in that way.  I like the complete honesty of the piece. It’s unique, raunchy, and relatable even if you yourself haven’t been in the character’s situation.

Lauren: I love Geraldine because she is fighting for the thing she wants, despite what the people close to her expect her to be. I so strongly identify with that. I’m lucky to have supportive friends and family, but I get her. When I overhear, “She’s still trying to make it as an actress?” it drives me crazy. Just believe in me, for crying out loud! Stop saying no.

Hailley Rhoda, Talking about ED: I live with two invisible disabilities, and have since birth. The older I get, the more I realize how much living with them has shaped me. I wanted to be brave enough to speak some of the uncomfortable truths on stage in the hopes it helped spread that feeling to a wider audience.

Kim: Janet has a lot to say about a wide variety of issues and I feel connected to her opinions, how she turns things on their heads. Again, it’s the writing I really connect with. Plus Janet’s sassiness!

Nan Fewchuk, Thelma and Louise: As I grow older, I think so much more about my own mortality and have come to fully realize what really matters in life. I am so grateful for all of the good times and the wacky times, and for all of my family, friends, teachers, mentors,  coaches, and kind strangers who have taught me so much about life; how to  love, forgive, and journey forward.

Renee: I am interested in exploring how Ying comes to terms with how her innovative technology has negatively impacted marginalized people.  I am curious about the role of culture and its impact on success as well as the difficulty of coming to terms with our mistakes.

Shereen Ramprashad, I Am NOT a Victim: I wrote I Am NOT a Victim at a time when there was a lot of anti-Semitism against the Muslim community. The poem is a defiant cry against society’s need to repress and control women from being their true authentic selves.

Wanda Wilson, Bare Bones: My piece is my life – it is the story of the turning point in my life. I sobered up. I got my life back.

 

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How does your piece relate to the theme of embracing identity?

Hailley: This piece is the most of myself I’ve ever put onstage. Usually I get the mask of someone else’s words, or the framework of a pre-existing story to work behind. This is just me, and my lived experience: talking about the realities of living with disability in a way that I haven’t yet been brave enough to do.

Nan: When I was a little girl, my mom said to me, “Nan, one day you are going to wake up and you will be 40.” Well, I closed my eyes and opened them at fifty-seven years young. And here I am. No regrets. Forever grateful.

Shereen: The drive for my practise comes from my experiences as a kid not understanding why I had little connection to the world around me, why I couldn’t read numbers and symbols, or why my brain never shuts off. Most of all, why people felt it was all right to dehumanize me because of my skin colour and obvious learning difficulties. Once I understood how my brain worked, I was able to turn what is perceived as a disability into an outstanding ability.

Wanda: I’ve never shared my story before. It has been thirteen years and I still feel I have so much more to learn but I’m ready. It’s time. I know a lot of other people are hurting and one of several things I have learned in sobriety is that you are not alone.

 

The team behind IWW 2019 out on tour!

You can see all these incredible artists in action on Saturday, March 9^th! Get your tickets today!

Announcing our IWW 2019 Community Tour!

We’re taking the Cabaret on the road! As part of our annual International Women’s Week celebration, we’ll be touring the monologues out to community groups around Manitoba. This is a great way for new audiences to experience live theatre, especially in rural communities. This year, we’re travelling across the province to Steinbach, Gimli, The Pas, and Flin Flon! Check out the list below for all the ways you can catch the pieces in this year’s tour:

Aurora House – The Pas

March 3^rd at 1:00 PM

Wescana Inn – 439 Fischer (HWY 10)

Featuring: Sunday Morning Brunch, Talking about ED, The LightFishers, I am NOT a Victim, and Oracle Jane

Incorporated in 1982, the agency addresses domestic violence in the Norman region through counseling, support and education.  The Pas Committee for Women in Crisis operates two facilities – Aurora House, the emergency shelter, and My Sister’s House (a small apartment complex for women establishing themselves in a violence free life). Admission to this event is “pay what you can.”

 

Brooklyn Alice Lee in “Sunday Morning Brunch”

Women’s Resource Centre – Flin Flon

March 3^rd at 7:00PM

Johnny’s Social Club (177 Green St)

Featuring: Sunday Morning Brunch, Talking about ED, The LightFishers, I am NOT a Victim, and Oracle Jane

The Flin Flon Women’s Safe Haven and Resource Services Inc. supports the women and children in their community. They work hard to empower women: to help them be more dynamic, confident and to ensure their safety. Admission to this event is free. Photo: Patrick Rabago.

 

Hailley Rhoda

Shereen Ramprashad

University of Manitoba Womyn’s Centre

 March 5^th at 5:00PM and March 8^th at 11:00AM

Basement of University College, Room 145 (220 Dysart Road)

Featuring: Talking about ED (March 5^th) and I am NOT a Victim (March 8^th)

The Womyn’s Centre is a feminist collective on campus as well as a safe space to work, share and learn together. The Centre advocates on behalf of womyn of the university and offers a wide range of services to the collective members, university students, and the outside community. Photos: Patrick Rabago.

 

Canadian Museum for Human Rights

March 6th at 6:30PM

85 Israel Asper Way

Featuring: Sunday Morning Brunch, Talking about ED, The LightFishers, I am NOT a Victim, Thelma and Louise, Who’s Driving, Bare Bones, Oracle Jane, and Geraldine Sloan Truhill: Mommy’s Going to the Moon, Kids!

We’re excited to partner with the Museum to bring you all nine IWW pieces! On the first Wednesday of every month, the museum offers free entry to guests. You can check out our full line-up as you browse the incredible exhibits on display.

 

Interlake Women’s Resource Centre – Gimli

March 7^th at 7:30PM

Gimli Unitarian Church (76 2nd Ave)

Featuring: Sunday Morning Brunch, Talking about ED, The LightFishers, I am NOT a Victim, Thelma and Louise, Who’s Driving, Bare Bones, Oracle Jane, and Geraldine Sloan Truhill: Mommy’s Going to the Moon, Kids!

IWRC is a grassroots, community-based resource centre dedicated towards improving the quality of life for women, children, families, and the communities in which they reside. The Centre provides services and programs for women and their children living in or having left domestic violence situations, in order to help women make informed choices for themselves and their children.

The IWRC requests that admission to the event is given in the form of a basic hygiene product – particularly tampons, face wash, or conditioner.

 

Agape House – Steinbach

March 8^th at 7:00PM

Steinbach Arts Council (304 Second St)

Featuring: Talking about ED, Bare Bones, and Geraldine Sloan Truhill: Mommy’s Going to the Moon, Kids!

As one of 10 women’s shelters in Manitoba, Agape House serves an area that extends North to Beausejour, South to the U.S. Border, West to Winnipeg and East to the Ontario border.

Agape House (Eastman Crisis Centre) began operating in December 1985, out of a three-bedroom bungalow, after concerned citizens recognized the need to help families in the Eastman region. In time, the women’s shelter moved to a five-bedroom house in Steinbach to facilitate the growing need for services. Today, the shelter has 16 beds, and in an average year sees over 200 clients and responds to over 1,000 crisis calls.

Admission to this event is $10 with proceeds going to support Agape House.

 

We’ll also be performing around Winnipeg for Rainbow Resource Centre, Sunshine House, University of Manitoba Women and Gender Studies, Residence Despins, University of Winnipeg Disability Studies, University of Winnipeg Conflict Resolution Studies, West Broadway Youth Outreach, and the North End Women’s Centre.

For the full lineup, be sure to get your tickets today for our performances on Saturday, March 9^th! Tickets available here.

 

Inspiring Others at IWW 2019

At our 2019 International Women’s Week Cabaret of Monologues, we’re sharing stories that inspire! Through the power of storytelling, our lineup will showcase a variety of women’s experiences about what is means to embrace identity.

Hailley Rhoda

Hailley Rhoda is the puppeteer, playwright, and performer behind Talking about ED. This brand-new piece explores “the elephant in the room”: how disability and the secrecy surrounding it affects lives.

Hailley is a graduate of the University of Winnipeg’s Theatre and Film department. Hailley has worked with Sarasvàti on several projects, including Ripple Effect, Honey and Jupiter, and The Seduction Theory. She is the founding – and only – member of Chronically Ch(ill) Productions, a Winnipeg-based company interested in women in mythology, disability in the arts, and seeing just how complicated a puppet made from dollar store parts can get.

“This piece is the most of myself I’ve ever put onstage,” says Hailley. “Usually I get the mask of someone else’s words, or the framework of a pre-existing story to work behind. This is just me, and my lived experience, talking about the realities of living with disability in a way that I haven’t yet been brave enough to do.”

 

Wanda Wilson

In Bare Bones, singer/songwriter Wanda Wilson portrays an eclectic mix of raw, sweet edge with a musical approach that is bold, courageous and out of the ordinary. Receiving CBC’s Most Unique Album of the Week Award (2009), her self-released debut project “Under Donald” is a solid testament to that. With Cree roots from northern Manitoba, Canada, Wilson’s material embodies strength, humor, hope and pain in her own alternative way.

“I’ve never shared my story before,” says Wanda. “It has been thirteen years and I still feel I have so much more to learn but I’m ready. It’s time. I know a lot of other people are hurting and one of several things I have learned in sobriety is that you are not alone.”

 

Taking the Cabaret into the stratosphere is Geraldine Sloan Truhill: Mommy’s Going to the Moon, Kids! In 1961, NASA denied training to the “Mercury 13”, an all-female band of astronauts. Refusing to take no for an answer, Geraldine fights for respect from NASA and her family.

Playwright Natalie Frijia is a Toronto-based writer, theatre-maker, clown-wrangler, and adventurer. She has a PhD from the University of Toronto’s Graduate Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies, and the School of the Environment. She was also a member of Storefront Theatre’s inaugural playwriting unit. Her plays have been workshopped and presented at Storefront Theatre, Rhubarb Festival, New Ideas Festival, and Fringe festivals across Canada.

 

 

Lauren Marshall

Lauren Marshall is exceptionally honoured to make her first appearance with Sarasvàti Productions as Geraldine. Past stage credits include As You Like It (Midnight Productions), Of Mice and Men (Real Live), and Doubt (Winnipeg Mennonite Theatre). Lauren originally studied music education at Brandon University before discovering a love for the dramatic arts, and can be found substitute teaching in the band room in between auditions.

“I’m excited to play a woman who has always known from the very beginning what she wants to do with her life,” says Lauren. “Geraldine wants to fly. I’ve always admired people who have that early conviction. She is very different than me and that will be a lovely challenge.”

 

For all these pieces and more, you can check out our full line-up of monologues on Saturday, March 9! Don’t miss out – get your tickets today!

Embracing Identity with Humour

There’s more than one way to be confident in who you are! Our International Women’s Week Cabaret of Monologues features all types of stories about embracing one’s identity with pride – and with a sense of humour. For these pieces, playwrights share the funny side of learning how to be comfortable in your own skin.

Ivy Charles

Ivy Charles is a twenty-two-year-old actor from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She is currently furthering her acting studies at Studio 58 in Vancouver. She enjoys spaghetti, wine and having a good chuckle with her friends. Ivy is excited to dip her toe into the world of writing. In her piece Sunday Morning Brunch, Josephine is a spunky seventeen-year-old girl, confident her sexuality. This confidence is put to the test when she introduces her girlfriend to her religious family (and of course Father Henry) at Sunday brunch.

“Being someone who is always striving for equality, I thought why not use a platform that I’m not used to: writing. I knew I wanted to write about female empowerment and this was one of the first topics to come to mind,” says Ivy. “Josephine is the epitome of Here I Am. She is proud of who she is.”

 

Brooklyn Alice Lee

Playing Josephine is Brooklyn Alice Lee. Brooklyn is currently a student in her final year with the University of Winnipeg, graduating with a degree in Acting. Despite having performed on-screen, she has a soft spot for theatre as she loves the raw truth and thrill of a live performance. She is looking forward to 2019 where she will debut her first self-written Fringe show with 803 Productions.

“I like the complete honesty of the piece,” says Brooklyn. “It’s unique, raunchy, and relatable even if you haven’t been in the character’s situation. I also feel connected to the dry, blunt humour of Josephine. She and I are very alike in that way.”

 

Makrenna Sterdan

Next in the lineup is Who’s Driving? by Makrenna Sterdan. Janet is a fast-talking car saleswoman looking to get you into your next vehicle, all based off current global issues. The biggest problem with these cars isn’t the millennial-scapegoating, or the toxic chemicals, or the Neo-Nazis… it’s the auto-pilot feature.

Makrenna Rose Sterdan is a writer born and raised in Winnipeg, who has lived in South Korea since 2015. Sterdan has written several short films such as Speaking Test, which premiered at the Korean International Expat Film Festival. Sterdan has also written several ten-minute plays that have been produced across North America, such as The Geese and Last Chance. Her monologue Doing It for the Fame was featured in Sarasvàti Productions’ 2016 Cabaret of Monologues.

Who’s Driving came from Makrenna’s own feelings of helplessness she experienced while watching the news. “I wanted to personify my feelings of helplessness and make them relatable to an audience,” she says. “This is where I am right now: reading the news and not wanting to be on auto-pilot while the world takes its course.”

 

Kim Kakegamic

Kim Kakegamic is thrilled to be a part of the Cabaret of Monologues once again! Trained at Providence University College (BFA), Kim has appeared in over thirteen Fringe Festivals in Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton and Winnipeg. She most recently performed in RMTC’s 2018 Master Playwright Festival with Broken Record Productions. By day Kim works as a writer for 6P Marketing, and spends far too much time binge watching shows on Netflix.

This is Kim’s second time performing one of Makrenna’s pieces after Doing It for the Fame. “I LOVE her work,” says Kim. “This piece, like that one, is dynamic and energetic. It takes some very intense topics and adds humour and cheekiness to create, what I believe, is a very memorable moment. It’s a lot of fun to perform.”

You can check out our full line-up of monologues on Saturday, March 9^th! Don’t miss out – get your tickets today!
 

Overcoming Obstacles at IWW 2019

Women’s stories are in the spotlight during our 2019 International Women’s Week Cabaret of Monologues! This year’s pieces cover a wide range of issues from a cancer scare to coming out to one’s family. This week, we’re featuring two more pieces from the event, The LightFishers and Oracle Jane.

In Leslea Kroll’s The LightFishers, Chris is a patient in the psychiatric ward of St. Andrew’s Hospital. After experiencing a traumatic event, Chris has begun recovery from an addiction to painkillers.

Leslea’s first play Domesticatrix was nominated for a Sterling Award for Outstanding Fringe Script. An excerpt of Domesticatrix was featured in The Martha Stewart Projects perfomed at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto. Her play ZedBC: Genus Lemus won the Alberta Playwrights’ Network annual script competition. Her other plays include Swallow, Auksenberg: Trial by Fury, Stains, The Catalogue of Bones, BonePeddlers, Queen of the AnthroScene, The LightFishers, and WellSpring. Her play White Count Up aired nationally on CBC’s Radio One.

 

Amelia Warkentin

Bringing the piece to life is Amelia Warkentin. Amelia is currently completing a general arts degree at Canadian Mennonite University with the hope of beginning an after-degree program in education in the fall. She studies theatre at the University of Manitoba and was recently involved in a student-written piece entitled A Grave Story. Amelia’s passions include running, singing, and spending time with friends and family. She strives to make someone smile at least once a day and is trying to clone herself to be in more than one place at a time.

 

In Oracle Jane, playwright Vicki Zhang asks, “how do you confront the destructive power of your own creation?” When a data scientist meets a single mother in need, she questions and reflects on her life’s work.

Vicki Zhang

Vicki Zhang’s ten-minute play The Male Root won the 8^th InspiraTO Festival’s juried playwriting competition. Her play Oracle Jane was selected for production at Alumnae Theatre’s 30^th New Ideas Festival. Her plays have also received staged readings at FemFest, InspiraTO Festival, Toronto’s Festival of Original Theatre (FOOT), and the University of Toronto’s Centre for Drama. She is the author of Uncalculated Risks (Canadian Scholar’s Press, 2014), which was nominated for a Myrdal Prize. She has also written essays and short fiction about the Chinese diaspora for Rookie Magazine and Theread.

 

Renee Hill

Playing data scientist Ying is local performer Renée Hill. Renée graduated from the University of Winnipeg theatre program and is a gifted musician and singer.  She performs annually in the JP Hoe Hoe Hoe Holiday Show and enjoys doing voice over and commercial work.  Renée also has had the opportunity to participate in Sarasvati’s One Night Stand 2017. Renée is passionate about her community and working to help others, completing her Masters in Social Work while raising her three children in her beloved neighborhood of Wolseley.

 

You can check out all the incredible pieces in this year’s line-up on Saturday, March 9^th at 4PM and 8PM. Tickets are on sale now!

Check out a first look at The LightFishers at rehearsal!

Photo: Patrick Rabago