John Koensgen and Sarah McVie are Frank and Rita (photo: Arts Court)

Set in contemporary England (circa 1980, although this is never explicitly stated), the action of Educating Rita takes place in the office of Frank (John Koensgen), a professor of English literature. The academic atmosphere is immediately established by the quaint, tweedy set. Susan White, AKA Rita (Sarah McVie), a 26-year-old hairdresser from Liverpool, has signed up for an Open University course and been assigned Frank as a tutor. Frank’s initial reluctance to take her on as a student is overcome by Rita’s dogged insistence and apparent thirst for knowledge. This thirst for knowledge turns out to be more than curiosity; it is Rita’s quest for a better life and an escape from her social class that drives her. The play follows Rita’s development under—and beyond—Frank’s tutelage, in a humorous but poignant look at social conditions.

Although Educating Rita is a comedy, director Kate Hurman has done her level best to emphasize the central theme of Rita’s development as a character. McVie captures the subtleties of Rita’s transformation with considerable skill and fine attention to her art, aided to a great degree by the remarkable costume designs of Judith deBoer (Shadows). By contrast, Koensgen’s Frank is almost a tragic character, falling slowly victim to his own alcoholic bitterness and the self-deprecating vanity with which all poets seem to be plagued.
Willy Russell’s script, although loaded with the English working-class idiom of its day, somehow remains current and universal. Many of the cultural references in the play are typically English, yet not so obscure that the average North American audience member would be left confused. As might be expected, much of the dialogue is concerned with literature—again, the references are handled in such a way that even an audience wholly unfamiliar with the material discussed can follow along with no trouble.

It is the engaging chemistry between Koensgen and McVie that is the overarching strong point of this production. Koensgen’s depiction of Frank is dead accurate—as believable as Michael Caine in the same role. McVie is endearing, engaging, and completely at home as Rita. Early on, her Liverpool accent leaves a little to be desired, but a few lines in, her delivery is so fascinating, so clearly Rita, that this no longer matters.

For a two-act play with a brief intermission, scene changes are rather frequent. Through an astute lighting design and cleverly directed scene openings, the effect of the frequent breaks in action is somewhat mitigated. At times, the transitions have a slightly inappropriate cinematic or television feel to them; the accompanying music detracts, being noticeably too loud and seemingly anachronistic. These minor technical details do not take away from the overall character of the production, however.

This play, if run during the school year, would make a perfect outing for a high-school English class. Besides being thoroughly enjoyable as comic entertainment, it deals realistically with both the positive and negative aspects of higher education and showcases the struggle for personal independence, while touching upon the philosophy of literature in an accessible way.

After the performance, I came across Hurman signing a paperback copy of Pygmalion and My Fair Lady for someone who evidently had a cheeky sense of humour. Hurman deserves to be congratulated for holding true to her promise to draw something more out of the script than just another tale of a professor coaxing a flower out of a pot of dirt. She rounds out Rita’s character to the fullest extent; Frank is more Hank Moody than Henry Higgins. In a way, Educating Rita is the perfect modern counterpoint to Pygmalion, and it is satisfying to see it produced with care on a local stage.

Educating Rita runs from July 14 until August 1, 2010 in the Arts Court Theatre at 2 Daly Avenue. Evening performances begin at 8pm, Sunday matinées at 2pm. No performances on Mondays or Tuesdays. Tickets are available for $25 ($20 for students and seniors) and include a booklet of 2-for-1 Dinner and Show Passes valid at seven different restaurants in the downtown core. In addition, there will be a Pay-What-You-Can matinée Saturday, July 17 at 2pm. For more information, visit www.artscourt.ca or call the Arts Court Box Office at (613) 564-7240.

Until A Company of Fools comes along, that is.

Ottawa’s much-loved group of Shakespearean jokers and jesters have returned this summer to bring one of the Bard’s most celebrated comedies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, to local audiences in lovely outdoor settings. Directed by AL Connors, the classic comedy has been tailored to fit into a 90-minute, family-friendly performance that includes a cast of six and an incredible portable set full of surprises.

Ottawa Tonite took the opportunity to chat with AL Connors and actors Stephanie Iszak, Richard Gelinas, Cari Leslie, and Katie Ryerson about all that outdoor performances with the Fools entails: a hilarious play, an incredible theatrical team, the spontaneous elements, generous audiences, and the occasional desire to be shirtless.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream runs every Monday through Saturday until August 2nd in various parks across the Ottawa region. Shows begin at 7pm and are “pass-the-hat-and-pay-what-you-can” (with a suggested donation of $10).

More information about the company and its current production, including a full schedule of performance locations can be found at: fools.ca

Video courtesy of Kevin Burton

Despite appearances, however, evening theatre in the area is far from over for the summer.

John Koensgen and Sarah McVie as Frank and Rita on the set of Educating Rita. (Photo: Arts Court)

In Willy Russell’s Educating Rita, a classic comedy with a melancholy tinge, Director Kate Hurman puts veteran actor John Koensgen (fresh from his role in the well-received Great Canadian Theatre Company production of Heroes) opposite Sarah McVie (a Stratford Festival fixture and herself a veteran of GCTC productions Zadie’s Shoes, Swollen Tongues, and The Man from the Capital). The plot revolves around the developing interpersonal relationship between Rita (McVie), a young hairdresser from Liverpool who decides to take an Open University course, and her tutor, Frank (Koensgen), a jaded, embittered professor.  This production, which opens on Wednesday evening, will kick off the Downtown Rideau Summer Fling—A Theatrical Affair, a festival initiative of the Ottawa Arts Court Foundation in partnership with the Downtown Rideau Business Improvement Association.

When I walk in, Koensgen and McVie are in character and on set in the Arts Court Theatre.  Watching the actors run through their two-minute scene three times for the television cameras, it becomes apparent that, although they have never shared a stage, the two have developed significant chemistry. It’s remarkable that they’ve only been in rehearsal for the equivalent of three full-time weeks.  Koensgen already appears natural in the professorial tweed of Frank; McVie is stunningly accurate as an 80s lower-class Liverpudlian.

“I need more Scotch.”  Koensgen calls for a refill of his prop bottle before doing another three runs of the scene for a latecomer.

I sat down on set to speak with Koensgen and McVie about their roles, the production, and the role the production has in re-establishing theatre as an entertainment option for the general public.

From the perspective of these two established, professional actors, Educating Rita, and the Summer Fling as a whole, are essential to the continued revitalization of theatre in the city. Koensgen states it simply: “Ottawa has too little in terms of theatre in the summer.” He pauses to reflect.  ”Up until Summer Fling, it was Odyssey Theatre if you wanted summer work.”  Performing with Odyssey requires rehearsing and performing outdoors. He chuckles in light self-mockery. “I’m too old to do it.”

McVie agrees, admitting, “This will be the only show I do this year… in my twelfth year as a professional actor.”

That sounds grim, but like every other business or career, acting has a cycle; according to Koensgen, “There are periods when we’re really busy.  We both do other things.”  They both teach (Koensgen at Ottawa University, and Algonquin and Laurentian Colleges, and McVie at Carleton University), and direct.  Koensgen’s name carries a lot of weight locally; even so, he finds himself in, on average, only three productions a year.  Some years he does only voice acting and film work.

McVie’s story is also familiar one; originally from Manotick, she went to Canterbury and eventually moved away from Ottawa to pursue an acting career, as did most of her contemporaries.  ”It was the popular choice to go to Toronto.”  But she’s come back.  ”I have family here; I bought a home here three years ago.” Returning from Stratford, where she lived for five years, she knows firsthand that in order to make a living as an actor in an area, there needs to be a financially viable theatre scene. ”The community has got to get on board.”

It’s a common sentiment in any theatre community; the question, as always, is how to go about engaging the public. Their answer? “Just let them see it.” Both actors are confident that this production, and this festival, will play an important part in attracting the public to theatre.

McVie adds, “There’s not a lot of theatre in Ottawa for its size.  There’s a lot of potential.”

After the actors posed in character for a series of still shots, Hurman and I retired to the dressing room to discuss the inspiration behind the production.

Hurman was in last year’s pilot production Sexy Laundry, directed by Linda Balduzzi. She speaks of the Summer Fling project that grew out of that pilot with fond enthusiasm and a glint in her eye.

She goes on to explain that she feels a summer offering allows a production to explore the dynamic of a more intimate relationship.  Educating Rita is “light, but with meat on its bones.”  Hurman notes that although it’s the 30th anniversary of the play, the underlying themes it addresses are still current; the progress of feminism, career changes in a recession economy, higher education as an escape from class struggle—even as the Province of Ontario announces an Open University program like the British one on which the plot depends.

Hurman is particularly proud of her cast. She remembers directing McVie in one of her first appearances at the GCTC, and has known her since she was 15 or 16, when she taught her at the Ottawa School of Speech and Drama. She has the utmost confidence and a clear sense of pride in McVie.  For his part, Koensgen had taught Hurman stage combat at the National Theatre School in Montréal.

“I’ve never directed him before,” she says, her voice betraying both glee and pride, and then rhymes off a litany of roles they’ve played opposite each other—basically everything but mother and daughter.

In Koensgen, she found the easy, handsome charm demanded of the actor who would portray Frank; a bitter, alcoholic, aging academic who yet has gentle, charismatic sex appeal.

As a classic, established play, which has even been rendered on the silver screen with Michael Caine as the male lead, I was curious as to what artistic direction Hurman was planning to take with the play.  From the synopsis, it could, depending on the direction, very easily come off as just another variant of Pygmalion or My Fair Lady. She agrees, however she’s confident that her staging of the play, and particularly the development of Rita, McVie’s character, will bring to the fore the underlying late second-wave feminist themes in the work.

After speaking with the director and cast, I anticipate that Educating Rita will be an entertaining production; with two polished, professional actors in roles that are practically tailor-made for them, a proven, accessible script, solid set and costume design, and a director that promises to put an interesting spin on the performance, it’s difficult to imagine otherwise.

Still, on another level, the odd couple on stage echo the unlikely pair that brought them together: Business and Theatre—but that’s best left for an article all its own.

Educating Rita runs from July 14 until August 1, 2010 in the Arts Court Theatre at 2 Daly Avenue.  Evening performances begin at 8pm, Sunday matinées at 2pm.  No performances on Mondays or Tuesdays.  Tickets are available for $25 ($20 for students and seniors) and include a booklet of 2-for-1 Dinner and Show Passes valid at seven different restaurants in the downtown core.  In addition, there will be a Pay-What-You-Can matinée Saturday, July 17 at 2pm.  For more information, visit www.artscourt.ca or call the Arts Court Box Office at (613) 564-7240.

Telling the life story of the rock legend Gram Parsons in the form of a concert that includes story-telling results in some pretty hefty monologues for Anders Drerup. Acting in theatre is not always a part of the repertoire for local artists who write songs and perform with bands.

The two young 20-something musicians who portray the roles of Emmylou Harris and Gram Parsons in the musical theatre production Grievous Angel:The Legend of Gram Parsons come from different backgrounds with varying levels of theatre experience. That hasn’t hindered their ability to perform together with all of the chemistry and realism that depicts the strong bond that existed between Gram Parsons and his young understudy Emmylou Harris. In fact, it has assisted each of them in terms of learning a new skill-set and expanding personal horizons.

Not such a bad outcome for some incredibly hard work outside of their comfort-zones. 

As for Gram Parsons, his outstanding talent as a singer-songwriter, his charisma and his incredible voice was not enough to gain him recognition in terms of record sales and popularity compared to his counter-parts when he was alive. The story of his downward spiral and his morbid compulsion to die like his hero, Hank Williams became the public’s focus after his death. The former journalist who conducted one of the last recorded interviews with Gram just weeks prior to his death in 1973, Michael Bate (of Frank Magazine fame), was inspired to tell the story of Parson’s life and this production was born. 

The production stars Anders Drerup and Kelly Prescott as Gram and Emmylou Harris. Featured musicians include Al Bragg, Chris Breitner, Darwin Demers and Tom Martel. The musical score is by Gram Parsons, the Rolling Stones, Hank Williams, the Louvin Brothers, Chris Hillman, Chris Etheridge, Merle Haggard, Bob Dylan, Dan Penn, Elvis Presley, Ric Grech and Bob Buchanan. 

An incredible amount of music history is represented in this musical theatre concert and that has impacted these young performers who have learned so much about Gram Parsons and also about themselves as well.

I sat down with Kelly and Anders in their very busy dressing room prior to show-time, and here are some highlites from our conversation:

Ottawa Tonite Video: Grievous Angel – The Legend of Gram Parsons creates artistic connections from cheryl gain on Vimeo.

Video footage shot using Flip Video ™ Camcorder

Outstanding Comedy, Outstanding Drama, Outstanding Solo Performance, Outstanding Duo Performance, Outstanding Ensemble Performance, Outstanding Original Work, Outstanding Concept, and Outstanding Overall Production.

We will be live-streaming these ceremonies here on Ottawa Tonite beginning at 9:30pm!

Live video chat by Ustream

All the way from New York State, Kurt Fitzpatrick embodies a slew of different love-seeking characters in The Last Man in Theatre at SAW Gallery. With the help of Ottawa-area director Alison Cousins, Fitzpatrick successfully created a melange of storylines that involve multiple characters portrayed by the actor on a projected screen and on stage. The result is a unique and often hilarious tangle of people trying to find love in the night, as Fitzpatrick explained to us.

From just a few hours down the 401, Toronto’s Connor Thompson and Devon Hyland bring their side-splitting, two-handed, dynamic comedy Dale Beaner and the Turtle Boy which opened at the Atlantic Fringe Festival last summer to glowing reviews. A series of vignettes ties together the story of aging former child star Dale Beaner, star of the Cupcake Captain movie franchise, and Georgie “Turtle Boy” Bowman, who is also trying to rebel from the father who arranged to have a turtle shell attached to his spine at birth. Yes, the show — and the two actors — are just as hilarious as the story they co-wrote sounds.

Also from Toronto, Sharon Nowlan brings us Burlesque Unzipped, a historical look at the evolution of burlesque performance from Shakespeare’s era to the present. Not hesitating to show a little skin herself, Nowlan attempts to break down the stigma attached to the style of theatre — which, as she explains, is much more “theatre” than today’s audiences are led to believe.

Lucky for you, both Dale Beaner and the Turtle Boy and Burlesque Unzipped won “Best in Fest” for each of their respective venues (awarded to the top-selling show per venue, based on ticket sales over their first four performances).

If you didn’t get a chance to check them out yet, both shows get to perform at the Ottawa Fringe Festival one more time on Sunday, June 27 at 9:30 — you can find Burlesque Unzipped at Academic Hall and Turtle Boy at the SAW Gallery.

You can check out more information about the other “Best in Fest” winners — and see which other shows still have performances on Sunday the 27th — at www.ottawafringe.com. 

Emma Godmere is a local journalist and entertainment fanatic who believes the Ottawa arts scene is very much alive and well. She is the host of Now Playing on CHUO 89.1 FM every Wednesday at 1pm.

Videos by Kevin Burton 

The only rule is the format – talks are backed up with a slideshow presentation consisting of 20 slides, autoadvancing every 15 seconds, for a total of 5 minutes per talk. 

How much insight can you fit into that little time?  You’d be surprised.

Ignite – enlighten us, but be quick about it.

Special thanks to: Ryan Anderson  & Kevin Burton

You know, it can be really hard to sit through an hours-long theatrical performance. Not everyone can brave through numbing lower extremities to pay complete attention to live stroytelling that you may or may not even be interested in, anyway. 

But see, the great thing about the Ottawa Fringe Festival is that every single show is under 60 minutes. And every single show is so incredibly unique.  We packed in three fantastic performances on the midsummer evening of June 21st: two-hander physical comedy/drama Heart-Strings, by Tanya Elchuk and Amy Crnkovic, from Thunder Bay, Ontario; Elison Zasko’s one-woman/multiple-character hit The Sputniks, originally from Moscow, Russia; and from Montreal’s Inertia Productions, The Duck Wife, a dance-rock-opera retelling of an Inuit folk tale. 

Heart-Strings with Tanya Elchuk and Amy Crnkovic

Think that would have been tiring for us? All three shows and their performers only arrived in Ottawa a few days ago, after performing at the Montreal Fringe Festival — and many will be continuing on to Toronto, Edmonton, and even more festivals after they wrap up their run in Ottawa. 

Elison Zasko hasn’t performed her one-woman show The Sputniks in several years — she toured the 2010 Montreal Fringe in “Poison the Well” — but the energy, complexity, and sheer originality captured in the much-lauded piece never wavered. Zasko, who worked with familiar Fringe face Jonno Katz on the piece, so powerfully embodies multiple characters on the small SAW Gallery stage that the audience can only believe that the comic and heartwrenching story of a Jewish family escaping Soviet Russia must actually be played by five or more actors. 

Matt Stewart and Peter Nielson were persuaded by their friend Sarah Bruckschwaiger, to bring to the stage what comes naturally to them – every. waking. second. of the day. : Being Funny. And yes, that’s me capitalizing “Funny”, because these two guys deserve the uppercase kudos. They compliment each other’s sense of humour so seamlessly, that you would swear, even in an interview, that they had been given the script to perfect beforehand.

I’m not normally one to make comparisons, but imagine if you had been able to morph Billy Crystal with Woody Allen, and pair that guy with a David Hyde Pierce/David Spade being, when they were all 20 years-old, and you will get an inkling, just an inkling,  of what’s in store for you with Men Telling Stories.

Sarah Bruckschwaiger has managed to harness these two, with what I can only imagine was a Herculean effort in direction (they never stop). These two could turn Ebenezer Scrooge into a drooling puddle of pant-peeing, eye-tearing guffaws.

Just go see it.

For more information, and to follow  ”That Dinosaur is Blue Productions”  on Facebook:  go here.

Video: Kevin Burton

This play is by John Cook, and it is his first professionally staged play. The production company he’s started is called Tale Wagging Theatre, and it is dedicated to highlighting new and emerging artists (both young and old).

John has most wisely joined forces with Ottawa’s own Teri Loretto, as director.

Teri is currently finishing her Master’s thesis in Theory of Performance and Dramaturgy at the University of Ottawa, where she is also a research and teaching assistant in the Theatre Arts Program. In addition, Teri teaches at Algonguin College in the Theatre Arts Program, and at Carleton U in the Theatre History Program.

Here’s the thing: All those impressive titles sound, well, just that – impressive. But the truth is: I heart Teri Loretto, and if you love theatre, so should you. Because she, like John, is committed to brilliantly talented emerging artists and new plays. 

So what we have here is: A new playwright who is wickedly funny, and a veteran actor/director/producer/singer/// who have dedicated themselves to bringing you some truly great theatre on a shoestring.

The sneak peek that we got of this performance shows us that characters like those on television’s The Office are not confined to the small screen, and are even funnier in person.

Come out and see for yourself!

Video Special thanks to Kevin Burton