Miss-Delectable
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The Barrie Examiner - Ontario, CA
A new play breaks theatrical ground when its premieres next week. Talk is Free Theatre is featuring a mix of deaf and hearing actors in Shumskawsling, a satirical play, which was written by a deaf playwright specifically for the Barrie company.
"A theatre has an obligation to champion a new cause, or a new light, or whatever," said artistic producer Arkady Spivak, who is staging the show with no interpreters - the deaf and hearing are acting side by side with each other on the same stage.
"I think part of the charm of the show is to allow two cultures to collide and come up with a dialogue. It's a very situational play (easy to understand and follow). The joke is also to let the deaf actors poke fun at the speaking actors."
The origins of the play date back to before the theatre company came to Barrie.
As a fledgling Toronto company, it was nominated for a Dora Award for one of its shows, and when Spivak was at the award ceremony, he saw a short commercial showcase for a theatrical interpretive group in Toronto.
Spivak was intrigued, and called the group when he started planning the 2003 season in Barrie.
As it happened, Joanna Bennett, a spokesperson for the group, was living Barrie (she has since moved to Toronto, but will be back here next week to appear in Shumskawsling as one of a cast of eight).
"The interpretation of live performances is not new, however, we did try a couple of new things. Basically, what we tried to do is use an interpreter as the essence of the show, not as a feature," said Spivak, who staged two performances, one with an interpreter and one without to gauge the difference.
"The show was almost more profound with interpretation, (because) the interpreters were actually performing."
That 2003 show was a double bill with Stray-Barries and The Marriage and followed it with Ivanka in 2005, but with one change; Spivak felt he'd made a strategic mistake in 2003 by having interpreters at the midweek shows only.
"Just because you put it out there doesn't mean that the community will come, and they didn't," said Spivak, who arranged for interpreters for the more high-profile weekend shows.
"I found it was just as fascinating for a hearing audience, particularly teenagers/ younger people. It was a hit - sold out - and (it) attracted the deaf community."
Now in its sixth season, Talk Is Free Theatre commissioned a deaf playwright, Michael Cyr, to write Shumskawsling - the first time the theatre company has commissioned a play.
Cyr came up with a post-apocalypse world where deaf people dominate half the race. Part satire, farce, and murder mystery, it centres on Sal and his daughters, and the erratic criminals who frequently visit their home, including a runaway fugitive, called Elvis, who appears to be digging in for a long stay after an encounter with one of Sal's daughters, even though he is unwelcome.
Cyr attended Ryerson University's film school, and currently works as a director of family programs at a non-profit organization in Toronto in-between numerous short film projects within Canada's deaf community.
Spivak is staging the show as a theatre-in-the-oval, with seating on three sides and the acting in the centre.
Performances run from Feb. 28 to March 8, Wednesday to Saturday evenings at 8 p.m., with matinee performances on Saturdays at 2 p.m., at Midhurst United Church, 91 Doran Rd., in Midhurst.
Tickets are available for $28 each, $14 for students. Subscriptions and group tickets are still available. For more information, call 705-792-1949.
A new play breaks theatrical ground when its premieres next week. Talk is Free Theatre is featuring a mix of deaf and hearing actors in Shumskawsling, a satirical play, which was written by a deaf playwright specifically for the Barrie company.
"A theatre has an obligation to champion a new cause, or a new light, or whatever," said artistic producer Arkady Spivak, who is staging the show with no interpreters - the deaf and hearing are acting side by side with each other on the same stage.
"I think part of the charm of the show is to allow two cultures to collide and come up with a dialogue. It's a very situational play (easy to understand and follow). The joke is also to let the deaf actors poke fun at the speaking actors."
The origins of the play date back to before the theatre company came to Barrie.
As a fledgling Toronto company, it was nominated for a Dora Award for one of its shows, and when Spivak was at the award ceremony, he saw a short commercial showcase for a theatrical interpretive group in Toronto.
Spivak was intrigued, and called the group when he started planning the 2003 season in Barrie.
As it happened, Joanna Bennett, a spokesperson for the group, was living Barrie (she has since moved to Toronto, but will be back here next week to appear in Shumskawsling as one of a cast of eight).
"The interpretation of live performances is not new, however, we did try a couple of new things. Basically, what we tried to do is use an interpreter as the essence of the show, not as a feature," said Spivak, who staged two performances, one with an interpreter and one without to gauge the difference.
"The show was almost more profound with interpretation, (because) the interpreters were actually performing."
That 2003 show was a double bill with Stray-Barries and The Marriage and followed it with Ivanka in 2005, but with one change; Spivak felt he'd made a strategic mistake in 2003 by having interpreters at the midweek shows only.
"Just because you put it out there doesn't mean that the community will come, and they didn't," said Spivak, who arranged for interpreters for the more high-profile weekend shows.
"I found it was just as fascinating for a hearing audience, particularly teenagers/ younger people. It was a hit - sold out - and (it) attracted the deaf community."
Now in its sixth season, Talk Is Free Theatre commissioned a deaf playwright, Michael Cyr, to write Shumskawsling - the first time the theatre company has commissioned a play.
Cyr came up with a post-apocalypse world where deaf people dominate half the race. Part satire, farce, and murder mystery, it centres on Sal and his daughters, and the erratic criminals who frequently visit their home, including a runaway fugitive, called Elvis, who appears to be digging in for a long stay after an encounter with one of Sal's daughters, even though he is unwelcome.
Cyr attended Ryerson University's film school, and currently works as a director of family programs at a non-profit organization in Toronto in-between numerous short film projects within Canada's deaf community.
Spivak is staging the show as a theatre-in-the-oval, with seating on three sides and the acting in the centre.
Performances run from Feb. 28 to March 8, Wednesday to Saturday evenings at 8 p.m., with matinee performances on Saturdays at 2 p.m., at Midhurst United Church, 91 Doran Rd., in Midhurst.
Tickets are available for $28 each, $14 for students. Subscriptions and group tickets are still available. For more information, call 705-792-1949.