#30 Ron Jenkins by Michael Kruse

Ron Jenkins.

Ron Jenkins.

Ron Jenkins is an old friend and collaborator with whom I have created designs for several productions. He joined me in January 2016 to talk about his career and his take on design in the theatre. We chat about the unique productions he has mounted in Edmonton, Alberta, his current residence as well as what he as a director needs from a designer.

Links

Todd Charleton Obiturary

Desmond Heeley Obiturary

Liz and Harry Boardmore

John Dunsworth

Platform 9 Theatre

Ken McDougall and Here

Toronto Fringe Festival

Workshop West Theatre

Citadel Theatre

Theatre Network

Catalyst Theatre

Jonathan Christenson

Joey Trembley

Phoenix Theatre and Theatre Network

The Augusta Company

The Black Rider: Casting of the Magic Bullets, 2004, Theatre Network.  Set and Costumes by Melissa Kochansky, Lighting Design by Michael Kruse. Featuring from LT to RT, Kevin Corey and George Szilagyi. Photo by Michael Kruse.

The Black Rider: Casting of the Magic Bullets, 2004, Theatre Network.  Set and Costumes by Melissa Kochansky, Lighting Design by Michael Kruse. Featuring from LT to RT, Kevin Corey and George Szilagyi. Photo by Michael Kruse.

The Black Rider: Casting of the Magic Bullets, 2004, Theatre Network.  Set and Costumes by Melissa Kochansky, Lighting Design by Michael Kruse. Featuring from LT to RT, Rachael Johnston, Clinton Carew, Michael Scholar Jr., Michelle Brown, …

The Black Rider: Casting of the Magic Bullets, 2004, Theatre Network.  Set and Costumes by Melissa Kochansky, Lighting Design by Michael Kruse. Featuring from LT to RT, Rachael Johnston, Clinton Carew, Michael Scholar Jr., Michelle Brown, and Kevin Corey and George Szilagyi. Photo by Michael Kruse.

#29 The Bellows: Mo' Money Mo' Problems by Michael Kruse

On this episode we return to The Bellows, a monthly informal discussion about working in the theatre recorded live at Theatre Passe Muraille on March 22, 2016.  For this discussion, the guest panel spoke about that dreaded time of year: tax season.  If you are a working artist and the end of April always raises your heart rate, listen to this comprehensive talk about how to organize yourself to make tax-time easier. 

Moderator

Kevin Hutson, head scenic carptenter at the Tarragon Theatre

Panel

Scratch Anderson, book keeper

Kesta Graham, business manager, Tarragon Theatre

Ian Edmonds, chartered professional accountant

Beth Brown, managing director, Nightwood Theatre

 

LINKS

CRA personal account

Ian Edmonds

Fresh Books

Wave

Hubdoc

 

 

 

#28 Beth Kates by Michael Kruse

Beth Kates. Photo by Marc Betsworth

Beth Kates. Photo by Marc Betsworth

Toronto based designer Beth Kates and her life and design partner Ben Chaisson have been focusing a lot on video and projection design. I met with Beth in Niagara-On-The-Lake in the summer of 2015 when she was working at The Shaw Festival.  We spoke about her early career and training and the work on the hit show Bigger Than Jesus where they started with running a show on VHS (!) and WinAmp (!!). Beth then brings us through the process of creating a video and projection design and how to approach this rapidly changing landscape.

Links

Unionville High School

Bigger Than Jesus, by Rick Miller.  Design by Beth Kates and Ben Chaisson. In Photo: Rick Miller

Bigger Than Jesus, by Rick Miller.  Design by Beth Kates and Ben Chaisson. In Photo: Rick Miller

Bigger Than Jesus, by Rick Miller.  Design by Beth Kates and Ben Chaisson. In Photo: Rick Miller

Bigger Than Jesus, by Rick Miller.  Design by Beth Kates and Ben Chaisson. In Photo: Rick Miller

Bigger Than Jesus, by Rick Miller.  Design by Beth Kates and Ben Chaisson. In Photo: Rick Miller

Bigger Than Jesus, by Rick Miller.  Design by Beth Kates and Ben Chaisson. In Photo: Rick Miller

#27 The Bellows: Why You Should Hire a Production Manager by Michael Kruse

The panel from The Bellows: Why You Should Hire a Production Manager. From Left to Right Eleanor Antoncic, Kevin Hutson, Pip Bradford, Remington North, Kaitlin Hicke, Ryan Wilson, and Christopher Ross

The panel from The Bellows: Why You Should Hire a Production Manager. From Left to Right Eleanor Antoncic, Kevin Hutson, Pip Bradford, Remington North, Kaitlin Hicke, Ryan Wilson, and Christopher Ross

In this special presentation of The Bellows, the panel discusses the reasons you need to hire a production manager for your theatrical production. It may seem obvious to production staff and designers why it is essential to have a PM, but many small companies eschew this position out of economic need.  This discussion was recorded on February 22 2016 at Theatre Passe Muraille as part of an informal series called The Bellows meant to build community and encourage collaboration and information sharing.

The panel was moderated by scenic carpenter and bellows co-founder Kevin Hutson, and he was joined by Eleanor Antoncic,  production manager at the Tarragon Theatre,  Remington North who is the Director of Facilities and Production at the Theatre Centre, Kaitlin Hickey a freelance production manager and designer, and Ryan Wilson who is the head scenic carpenter at Young People's Theatre.


Bios

Kevin Hutson

Kevin is the head carpenter at The Tarragon Theatre in Toronto and one of the founders of The Bellows.  Kevin has also performed as a production manager, technical director, lighting designer and general technician in Toronto for may years.

Eleanor Antoncic


Remington North


Kaitlin Hickey

Kaitlin Hickey (Lighting Designer) is a production designer based in Toronto, ON. Recent theatre credits include: Art Direction, The Rural Newfoundland Project (In Good Company), Assistant Projection Design, You Never Can Tell and Sweet Charity (Shaw Festival), Associate Projection Design, R-E-B-E-C-C-A (Theatre Passe Muraille), Production Designer, Chapel Arm (Mindless Theatrics), Associate Projection Designer & Video Technician, A Moveable Beast (Volcano Theatre), Production Manager & Lighting Designer, The Book of Judith (Selfconscious Theatre), Associate Video Designer, Beatrice and Virgil (Factory Theatre), Production Manager Weather the Weather (Theatre Columbus). She is an artistic associate of Mindless Theatrics in St. John’s Newfoundland, a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada, and holds a B.Sc. from St. Francis Xavier University. 

Ryan Wilson

Ryan Wilson is a passionate artist whose talent, collaborative spirit and work ethic have earned him praise from his peers. Currently the head scenic carpenter at Young People’s Theatre (Toronto), he has worked at numerous theatre companies, including Soulpepper Theatre Company (Toronto), fu-GEN Asian Canadian Theatre Company (Toronto), Factory Theatre (Toronto) and Globe Theatre (Regina, Sask.). As a freelance production manager/technical director at fu-GEN Asian Canadian Theatre Company, Wilson worked on four productions: Ching Chong Chinaman (2013), Brown Balls (2011), lady in the red dress (2009) and Banana Boys (2008). Ryan Wilson graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Ryerson University’s Theatre School in 2007.

#26 The Bellows: Friendship Is Magic by Michael Kruse

This special The Bellows episode features carpenter Kevin Hutson, our moderator, joining writer/director Kat Sandler, technical director Dean Johnson,  independent producer Aislinn Rose, technician and stage manager Pip Bradford,  and designer and technician Rebecca Vandevelde discussing how to work with your friends while remaining professional.  It was recorded live at Theatre Passe Muraille on January 18th.  The first 10 minutes of the introductions was lost because SOMEone forgot to hit record: it happens.  This audio starts with with Rebecca Vandevelde introducing herself. As well, the audio has been panned in order to facilitate the identification of the speaker with the audio field being layed out as they presented: Kevin, Kat (who joins later), Dean, Aislinn, Pip, and Rebecca.

Bios

Kevin Hutson

Kevin is the head carpenter at The Tarragon Theatre in Toronto and one of the founders of The Bellows.  Kevin has also performed as a production manager, technical director, lighting designer and general technician in Toronto for may years.

Dean Johnson

Dean is a technical director, carpenter and technician in Toronto.  He freelances as a technician at Theatre Passe Muraille, Theatre Direct, Roseneath Theatre, St. Michael’s College.   He has worked as production stage manager for Theatre Brouhaha for Punch-Up, We are the Bomb, The Unseen Hand and has also lent a hand on a few other Brouhaha productions.

Kat Sandler

Kat is a writer/actor/director working in Toronto.  She is the Artistic Director of Theatre Brouhaha, and has staged six or her original plays; LOVESEXMONEY (Next Stage Festival), Help Yourself (Best of Fringe, winner of the Fringe New Play Contest), Delicacy (Summerworks), Rock (Storefront Theatre), We Are the Bomb (Toronto Fringe, Sucker (Storefront Theatre) and directed Twenty-Seven Wagons Full of Cotton, and The Unseen Hand (Playwrights Project). As an actor she has appeared onstage with Theatre Gargantua in the world premieres of FiBBer and Imprints. She is a graduate of Queen’s University. Kat will be writing Retreat while in Tarragon’s Playwrights Unit.

Aislinn Rose

Aislinn is an independent producer, theatre maker, member of the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts’ Board of Directors, and Co-Chair of TAPA’s Indie Caucus. She recently joined the producing team for Luminato’s 2013 festival as Associate Producer, and produced the festival’s L’Allegro by the Mark Morris Dance Group, Feng Yi Ting directed by Atom Egoyan, and Ronnie Burkett’s The Daisy Theatre. This year she will be guest curating Harbourfront Centre’s HATCH 2014 season along with her Praxis Theatre colleague, Michael Wheeler.

As the Artistic Producer of Praxis Theatre & Co-Editor of praxistheatre.com, she led the Open Source Theatre Project for Section 98 at Harbourfront Centre, created the experimental Dungeons & Dragons (not) The Musical, was Artistic Producer of You Should Have Stayed Home, and Producer for Jesus Chrysler in Association with Theatre Passe Muraille. She will be producing their upcoming cross Canada tour of You Should Have Stayed Home in Whitehorse, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. She and Michael Wheeler were named Theatre VIPs for 2012 by Toronto paper, The Grid, after having been named “People to watch” that year by Torontoist.

Last year she produced Aluna Theatre’s inaugural PANAMERICAN ROUTES Festival of Theatre for Human Rights, and was Co-Producer with Fides Krucker on the electroacoustic opera Julie Sits Waiting (nominated for 5 Dora Awards including Outstanding Production – Opera/Musical). Other recent projects include producing The Lesson For Modern Times Stage Company (nominated for 8 Dora Awards, including Outstanding Production).

Social media experiments include working as a consultant & online creator for the sold-out run of Michael Healey’s Proud and developing “The Brain”, the online counterpart for Liza Balkan’s Out The Window for The Theatre Centre’s biennial Free Fall Festival.

Aislinn is the recent recipient of a Canada Council for the Arts Professional Development grant as an Independent Theatre Producer.

Sarah ‘Pip’ Bradford

Pip has lived and worked in the Toronto theatre community for the past five years. She freelances as a technician and stage manager for many companies in Toronto, including The Randolph Academy of the Performing Arts, Aluna Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille, Factory Theatre, Steady State Theatre, and the Toronto Fringe. Pip has a BA in Technical Theatre and Scenography from The University of King’s College in Halifax, is the founder of Art Is Hard, a grassroots arts philanthropy project, and sits on the board of Steady State Theatre Project.

Rebecca Vandevelde

Rebecca is a designer, technician, and anything-manager based in Toronto. Career highlights include creating interactive installations like Flip the Table with Art is Hard, PM/TD with Theatre Columbus/Common Boots, lighting design for Broadfish (Hatch at Harbourfront Centre), production SM for You Should Have Stayed Home (Praxis) video co-design for Red Snow (Red Snow Collective at the Shanghai International Contemporary Theatre Festival & Theatre Passe Muraille); an apprenticeship in lighting/video design with Trevor Schwellnus; and production work for many festivals. She holds a BA in Drama, History and speaking French sometimes from Glendon College at York.

#25 Steve Lucas by Michael Kruse

Steve Lucas is a designer based in Creemore Ontario.  Steve and I have known each other for years as the familiarity will show in this 2 hour interview.  Steve and I talk about his early career at Alberta Theatre Projects and Buddies in Bad Times Theatre as well as his development of the "symphony of lights" with Hillar Liitoja at DNA Theatre.  We also cover his work on the hit play 2 Pianos, 4 Hands and the work on his newest incarnation of Breath[e] a play made of design.

Steve's Studio

Steve's Studio

The score for the Symphony of lights for a DNA Theatre production

The score for the Symphony of lights for a DNA Theatre production

In One with  Beverly Emmons and Tharon Musser and the choreographer Martha Graham 

The Last Supper by DNA Theatre

This Is What Happens in Orangville

Theatre Passe Muraille

The proscenium at Theatre Passe Muraille

The proscenium at Theatre Passe Muraille

Breath[e] by Steve Lucas

Breath[e] by Steve Lucas

Steve Lucas

Steve Lucas

The Bellows and The Title Block LIve on Periscope by Michael Kruse

On February 22 2016, at 19:45 EST The Title Block will be broadcasting its recording session of The Bellows live on the mobile app Periscope.  This month's talk will be Why You Need to Hire a Production Manager. it is sure to be an enjoyable and informative discussion. Instructions to join us live are below:

1. Download the app on ITunes or your android device.

2. Sign in using your Twitter account or your phone number (it is easier with a twitter account). Make sure to enter your confirmation code in order to complete the sign in procedure.

3. Create your Periscope name and you are good to go!

4. Search for @thetitleblockCA or The Title Block in periscope and join the session after 19:15 EST.  You can add comments and I will be monitoring the broadcast throughout the session and will replay when I can.

For more detailed instructions see this link.

To listen to the first episode of The Bellows, go here.

 

#24 The Bellows: How To Get Hired in Theatre by Michael Kruse

The Bellows founders Kevin Hutson and Sarah "Pip" Bradford

The Bellows founders Kevin Hutson and Sarah "Pip" Bradford

This week a special episode recorded on November 16th, 2015 at Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto.  The Bellows is a monthly panel discussion on the art and business of theatre production which promises to create "a place for artists in performance to get together, share information, and get to know more about the production side of the business."  Created by Sarah "Pip" Bradford, Kevin Hutson and Christopher Ross, the discussion is curated by working professionals and should appeal to newcomer's and veteran's alike. 

From L to R: Jason Golinski, Shanna Miller, Kevin Hutson, Ray Salverda

From L to R: Jason Golinski, Shanna Miller, Kevin Hutson, Ray Salverda

The Title Block has teamed up with The Bellows to record and broadcast live via Periscope these panels so that they reach a wider audience and every working or aspiring production person can benefit.  In this episode the panel, made up of Kevin Hutson, Jason Golinksi, Shanna Miller, and Ray Salverda, discuss how to get hired and stay working in the theatre. Ever wonder how to set and negotiate your fee?  The panel may have your answer.  This is the first in many recordings and the next one will be broadcast live via Periscope on January 18th 2015, so don't miss it!