PlayWorks Ink 2007
WEEKEND SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

back to PlayWorks Ink 2007

Thursday November 1, 2007

6:30 PM: REGISTRATION
Glenbow Museum Lobby
Registration will run throughout the weekend.

7:00 PM SHOWCASE READING #1
Burlington Resources Theatre, Glenbow Museum

MAVERICK PLAYWRIGHTS OF ALBERTA
Presented in association with the Glenbow Museum

“Maverick: a unique character, an inspired or determined risk-taker, forward-looking, creative, eager for change, someone who propels Alberta in a new direction or who alters the social, cultural, or political landscape.”
– Aritha van Herk

In conjunction with the Glenbow Museum’s new permanent exhibition, “Mavericks: An Incorrigible History of Alberta,” Alberta Playwrights’ Network presents an evening of readings from plays by “maverick” playwrights of Alberta. Join us for excerpts from plays by some of Alberta’s most adventurous and unconventional creators. The readings will be followed by a panel discussion that explores the idea of “maverick” playwriting, both in Alberta’s past and in its future.

Friday November 2, 2007

1:30 PM REGISTRATION
Glenbow Museum Lobby
Registration will run throughout the rest of the day.

2:00 PM – 5:00 PM FRIDAY AFTERNOON WORKSHOPS

DOES YOUR TOOL BELT FIT? A REFRESHER FOR EXPERIENCED ACTORS
with Christopher Hunt
A two-part workshop: Friday afternoon and Saturday morning
14 participants
Actors face a number of challenges every time they start rehearsals — different styles of writing and performance, varying methods of directors and actors, disparate working conditions… How can we stay available and flexible? How can we collaborate most effectively and access the best interpretation given an ever-changing set of circumstances? Whether it’s approaching a new play or reinvigorating a classic text, there are ways of working that allow actors to adapt and evolve within each new process.

Through discussion, exercises, and text work, we’ll sharpen the tools you have and offer a few others to add to your toolbox. Come with a notebook, loose-fitting clothing, and an open mind.
An advanced workshop for experienced actors.

THIS MUST BE THE PLACE: VENUE AS NARRATIVE IN SITE-SPECIFIC THEATRE
with Kevin Kerr
A two-part workshop: Friday afternoon and Saturday morning
12 participants
This two-part workshop examines the interaction between performance space and story in site-specific theatre, and some of the ideas surrounding drawing narrative from a location and building a play that is tailor-made for a particular venue. Participants will explore subjects such as analyzing a space for its theatrical and narrative potential, the audience’s relationship to the space in their understanding of the story, as well as the power of a location to engage the audience’s imagination and to create the sense of “event.”

Suitable for playwrights of all levels of experience.

EXPANDING OUR THEATRE PALETTE: LABAN EFFORT PRINCIPLES PUT INTO ACTION
with Lynda Adams
16 participants
ACTORS! DIRECTORS! DRAMATURGS! PLAYMAKERS! Rudolf von Laban created techniques, vocabulary and methodologies in dance, theatre, and movement therapy that still resonate as profoundly today as they did in the mid-20th century. This workshop will guide participants through a myriad of activities that apply the principles of Laban’s effort actions, exploring the ways in which movement relates to inner intention. Focusing on the world of theatre, participants will discover how to distill the effort actions using the components of space, weight, and time as they relate to text work, character development, and self-creation work.

No previous experience is required, and even those with Laban background are bound to discover something new!
Please wear clothes appropriate for movement.

WHEN THE DIRECTOR IS THE DRAMATURG
with Vanessa Porteous and Trina Davies
16 participants
Directing a new play, and also acting as the dramaturg? Curious about the process? Now’s your chance to ask everything you’ve ever wanted to ask! We’ll discuss the dynamics of the director/playwright relationship, roles and responsibilities, key questions to illuminate the script, negotiating cuts and revisions, and how to arrive at the best possible production of the best possible draft by opening night.

Participants should come with three specific questions based on a recent or upcoming new play experience.
Suitable for directors, playwrights, and dramaturgs who are working with new plays.

WRITING FOR MUSICALS
with Morwyn Brebner
16 participants
From rock musicals to sung-through opera, musical theatre is enjoying a resurgence. It’s also a wide-open form that presents playwrights with great opportunity. This workshop will look at various approaches and examples to writing words for musicals, stressing not rules but the myriad possibilities of the form. How do you balance book and lyrics? How does a writer collaborate with a composer? Must lyrics rhyme to be considered divine?

Suitable for playwrights of all levels of experience.

FRIDAY NIGHT EVENTS

7:00 PM SHOWCASE READING #2
Burlington Resources Theatre, Glenbow Museum

WAXWORKS
by Trina Davies
Winner of the Alberta Playwriting Competition, Grand Prize
Developed with the assistance of the Alberta Playwrights’ Network, CanStage’s New Play Development Department, the Playwrights Theatre Centre Colony 2006 and New Play Festival 2007, and the Banff Playwrights Colony 2007.

1789. The edge of the French Revolution, and a young Madame Tussaud (Marie Grosholz) is recalled from her post at the Palace of Versailles to Dr. Curtius’ Wax Salon in the heart of Paris. There she is introduced to the most influential persons in Paris, including Maximilien Robespierre, who takes a particular interest in her art. As the revolution descends into shadow, Marie is forced to confront the remains of those she has befriended, whose waxen images must be set with signs that identify them as “patriots” or “enemies.”

Waxworks is an exploration of the tales we are told, the heroes and villains we create, and the life of an extraordinary artist who developed the first world-wide brand in entertainment history.

9:00 PM: A RADIANT OPENING RECEPTION
Engineered Air Theatre, EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts
with readings by Morwyn Brebner and Kevin Kerr

Join us for a wine & cheese reception (cash bar), and a taste of new plays being written by Morwyn Brebner and Kevin Kerr. Come mingle with fellow participants, instructors, and special guests—a PlayWorks Ink event not to be missed!

Saturday November 3, 2007

9:00 AM REGISTRATION
Glenbow Museum Lobby
Registration will run throughout the rest of the day.

9:30 AM – 12:30 PM SATURDAY MORNING WORKSHOPS

DOES YOUR TOOL BELT FIT? A REFRESHER FOR EXPERIENCED ACTORS
with Christopher Hunt
Continued… See Friday afternoon for workshop description.
A two-part workshop: Friday afternoon and Saturday morning

THIS MUST BE THE PLACE: VENUE AS NARRATIVE IN SITE-SPECIFIC THEATRE
with Kevin Kerr
Continued… See Friday afternoon for workshop description.
A two-part workshop: Friday afternoon and Saturday morning

BUILDING CHARACTER
with Val Pearson
16 participants
Mother always said, “Walk to school even when it’s forty below — it’ll build character.” Well, this is NOT that kind of class! Instead, we’ll be looking for FUN ways to develop character and achieve that crucial element of a compelling performance: making your character come to life!

Participants will explore a variety of approaches to building character within the context of a script, including text analysis, physical and vocal attributes, emotional arcs, and the character’s choices, reasons, and desires…
Suitable for actors of all levels of experience.

SUCCESS OF THE INDIE SHOW: THE FINE ART OF SELF-PRODUCING
A Symposium Discussion with Kevin McKendrick, Ron Jenkins, and Lindsay Burns
Alberta’s stages are being trodden from all sides by independent artists, not to mention the juggernaut force of new companies and alliances that seem to rise forth and merge back into the mosaic of our theatre scene like waves in a sea of artist-driven productions. How does this indie machinery work, and how might we ride this entrepreneurial wave without getting bogged down in debt?

Join Kevin McKendrick, Ron Jenkins, and Lindsay Burns in a symposium discussion and Q & A on how to sell your show, your ideas, and yourself. Get the inside scoop from three marvelously successful self-promoters responsible for sparking sold-out productions including Urinetown and The Pillowman (Ground Zero Theatre and Hit & Myth Productions); Black Rider (November Theatre, Theatre Network); Bash’d (Kill Your Television); and Dough: The Politics of Martha Stewart (Ground Zero Theatre and FireBelly Theatre).

WRITING FOR AND WRITING WITH: TWO APPROACHES TO TYA
with Clem Martini
16 participants
Theatre for Young Audiences is a theatrical form that tends to arise from one of two approaches:
1) Writing for Young People, in which the playwright attempts to capture an experience that is presented to an audience of young people; and
2) Writing with Young People, in which young people are involved to some degree within a creative, collaborative process

This workshop will examine and compare both approaches, explore some examples that have arisen out of these processes, and offer strategies for utilizing them.
Suitable for playwrights of all levels of experience.

12:30 PM – 2:00 PM: LUNCHEON AND KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Burlington Resources Theatre, Glenbow Museum

PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Guest Speaker: Morwyn Brebner
Have playwrights become too collaborative? Do we need more real argument in our process and our work? Join the celebrated Canadian playwright Morwyn Brebner for a provocative keynote address on why dissent may be the future of theatre.

2:00 PM – 5:00 PM: SATURDAY AFTERNOON WORKSHOPS

PERFORMANCE CREATION
with David van Belle
A two-part workshop: Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning
14 participants
A practical performance creation workshop for theatre artists who want to create their own work (either solo or group) outside of a traditional writing model but aren’t quite sure how to begin. In this writing-based two-part workshop, participants will collectively create the first draft of a new work with the facilitation of a seasoned performance-creation professional. Learn techniques for freeing your creativity, minimizing self-judgement, and exploring new artistic paths.

Leave your hesitation behind — in this workshop nothing is true, and everything is permitted.
Suitable for artists of all levels of experience.

STEERING THE SHIP: THE DIRECTOR'S ROLE
with Kate Newby
A two-part workshop: Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning
14 participants
So you want to try your hand at directing and have agreed to direct a production of a script. Hmmm…where to go from here? Well, you could always cling to the belief that 90% of a director’s work is simply casting fabulous actors and hoping for the best! While there is no doubt having a strong group of actors is a gift, without a director to steer the ship the playwright’s story could end up lost at sea.

This workshop will offer directors essential guidelines that will aid them in creative research and pre-production preparation. Discover how text analysis, creative research, and developing a strong concept can not only enrich director/designer collaborations, auditions, and casting, but will leave you with a production the company can be proud of.
Suitable for novice to intermediate directors.

INTRODUCTION TO SOUND DESIGN
with Peter Moller
12 participants
The digital realm dares us daily to participate while somewhere in the back of our minds we remember analog. To quote John Cage: “…the wall has to be demolished: tastes, memory, and emotions have to be weakened; all the ramparts have to be razed. You can feel an emotion; just don’t think that it’s so important.” In this workshop we should: explore sound, listen to silence, design a soundscape, destroy a soundscape, manipulate, and integrate … or not.

A practical and, at the same time, highly impractical introduction to sound design for any artist who would like to learn from one who is forever learning.

STAGE DIRECTIONS: LOVE 'EM OR LEAVE 'EM
A Symposium Discussion with Kevin Kerr, Terry Gunvordahl and Johanne Deleeuw
Stage directions lie in that sticky, yet necessary realm of theatre: collaboration. When should a playwright’s stage directions be amended or ignored for the sake of a director or designer’s vision? If a playwright wishes to convey narrative in ways other than dialogue, how do they walk that line between including the necessary physical and visual information on the page without infringing on the creative territory of directors, designers, and actors? These job designations become increasingly blurry when one considers the prevalence of play workshops, collective creation, and non-text-based plays.

Join playwright/actor/director Kevin Kerr, designer Terry Gunvordahl and director/dramaturg Johanne Deleeuw in a symposium discussion and Q & A on the compromises and collaboration involved in stage directions.

CAN PLAYWRITING BE TAUGHT?
with Morwyn Brebner
16 participants
Are there key aspects of process that work for every playwright? Is it possible to learn structure? Dialogue? Even in a post-secondary playwriting program (which are few and far between) or playwriting workshop among peers, mentors and colleagues can only offer tools and advice. How do you trust your own process while remaining open to new possibilities? How might your new play benefit or be protected from a world of play development that involves increasing amounts of dramaturgy and collaboration?

An examination of how to figure out your own process, without reinventing the wheel or waiting for someone to tell you what to do.
Suitable for playwrights of all levels of experience.

SATURDAY NIGHT EVENTS

7:00 PM SHOWCASE READING #3
Burlington Resources Theatre, Glenbow Museum

THE LONELY HEARTS
by Jana O’Connor
Winner of the Alberta Playwriting Competition, Discovery Prize

Inspired by the nefarious antics of Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck, The Lonely Hearts is set in the midst of the media circus that surrounded their 1949 trial. The pair were dubbed “The Lonely Hearts Killers” for their propensity to lure unsuspecting women to their death through a “Lonely Hearts” newspaper column. A sordid tale of lust, murder, and betrayal—truly bizarre and bizarrely true!

9:00 PM: SPECIAL EVENT AT THE AUBURN … TBA!

Be sure to convene at the Auburn Saloon after the Showcase Reading… Why? This is a secret yet to be revealed! Particularly to those organizing this event! But fear not, we promise no mere night of exchanging platitudes with fellow participants, instructors, and special guests—NO! Brace yourself for an unforgettable nightcap to a busy day. Stay tuned.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

9:00 AM REGISTRATION
Glenbow Museum Lobby
Registration will run throughout the rest of the day.

9:30 AM – 12:30 PM SUNDAY MORNING WORKSHOPS

PERFORMANCE CREATION
with David van Belle
Continued… See Saturday afternoon for workshop description.
A two-part workshop: Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.

STEERING THE SHIP: THE DIRECTOR'S ROLE
with Kate Newby
Continued… See Saturday afternoon for workshop description.
A two-part workshop: Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.

COMEDY IS A SERIOUS BUSINESS
with Val Pearson
16 participants
Dare to discover your inner comic. Through exercises and scene work, participants will explore comic timing and delivery, and the development of character with an eye to the physicality of comedy. This workshop will tackle the emotional base of comedy, challenging actors to go beyond the light, over-the-top, and ridiculous, and delve into the earnest approach required to be genuinely funny.

A journey towards putting it all together and understanding what makes us laugh. A seriously fun adventure.

BACK TO BASICS: ADVANCED DIRECTING
with Ron Jenkins
12 participants
No matter how many productions you’ve got under your belt, a director’s fundamental tools remain the same. This workshop will sharpen your tried-and-true directing tools, fine-tune your skills, and tackle those challenges that return production after production. How does a director communicate their vision to writers, actors, designers, stage management, and ultimately the audience?

Come explore the nuances of creation and communication in the process of creating theatre and bringing a play to life.
An advanced workshop for experienced directors.

MEDIATING THE IMMEDIATE: EMBRACING CINEMATIC CONVENTIONS IN PLAYWRITING
with Kevin Kerr
16 participants
This workshop will explore the use of cinematic conventions in the construction of theatrical narratives and examine means of utilizing our modern audience’s visual sophistication and relationship to the image. Participants will explore visually rooted stage directions, the use of multi-media (advantages and pitfalls), and a reckless disregard for Aristotelian unities in a play’s narrative structure.

Suitable for playwrights of all levels of experience.

12:30 PM – 2:00 PM: LUNCHEON AND PANEL DISCUSSION
Burlington Resources Theatre, Glenbow Museum

EVOLUTION OR EXTINCTION? THE METAMORPHOSIS OF THE CANADIAN THEATRE ARTIST
The disappearance of the playwright. The merging of creators and performers. The emergence of the dramaturg. Without a doubt, the zeitgeist of contemporary Canadian theatre is one of transformation. Must we defend tradition against a threat, or embrace flux and flow, lest we become irrelevant? Is our changing landscape increasingly inhospitable to certain types of theatre artists, or like all creatures in today’s theatre world, must they evolve (or go into television) in order to survive? How might Alberta emerge from this metamorphosis a butterfly?

Join us for lunch and a fascinating discussion. Panellists include Kevin Kerr, Morwyn Brebner and other special guests.

2:00 PM: SHOWCASE READING #4
Burlington Resources Theatre, Glenbow Museum

EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLY NICE HERE (working title)
by David van Belle
Developed with the assistance of the Alberta Playwrights’ Network and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.

Loosely based on the 2004 murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh by the radical Islamist Mohammed Bouyeri, Everything Is Terribly Nice Here re-locates the events into a Canadian context. Two ideologues, Theo and his killer, Haitham, are trapped in the moment immediately following the murder. As their time together stretches toward infinity, the two have no choice but to duke it out. It would be a fairly straightforward metaphysical showdown, if only they could make sense of these mysterious visits from the Blue Angel… An investigation of Trudeau-era notions of multiculturalism, artistic freedom, and the politics of religious conviction.