10/29/2014 0 Comments Butcher | ATPVery appropriate for the Halloween season. I saw this show with Lorna.
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10/22/2014 0 Comments Liberation Days | Theatre CalgaryWhen I was 11 or 12, I went to Europe on a band trip. We visited Germany, Holland, France and England. As part of our tour, we were given some basic historical and touristy notes. What I remember most about our discussion of Holland was how the Dutch population held Canadians in high regard, due to the acts of Canadian soldiers in the 2nd World War. We were told that the people of Holland revered and respected Canadians because of their war efforts, liberating Holland during the war. I don't recall learning this in school, but remember it from my time twenty-some years ago. Having this basic understand helped me appreciate this play a little more, as I realized we were being shown the darker side to a very positive story.
The play focuses on the aftermath of the Liberation Days, and the struggle for locals and Canadian soldiers to get back to "normal", and to determine what their "new normal" is. The play establishes a number of characters who struggle with their losses throughout the war, and how they're now trying to survive. To be honest, I didn't feel emotionally connected to the characters, and I wonder if that had to do with the situations they were in, the setting of the piece, or the distractions of a bilingual script. There was a lot of Dutch language in the play - a lot more than we were comfortable with. Long, drawn-out conversations in Dutch actually made me feel disengaged from the story. I understand the requirement for realism in any piece of fiction, and know the playwright was making a point about the characters who were either connected or disconnected through language. However, there were a few too many scenes with seemingly critical pieces of information that the majority of the English-speaking audience missed. I was mostly impressed with the technical aspects of the show - the staging, the set design, the lighting, the projection filming and the music all added to the overall atmosphere of post-war Europe. The music and audio effects were very creative, and involved scene-setting music that transitioned from filling the whole theatre, to being played out on a scratchy record on a gramophone with the character conducting his invisible orchestra. Through this technique, the music corrals the audience from their real lives, into the world on the stage. Music included within a play or film is classified as diegetic, which means the characters hear the music, as does the audience. This is different from background music, scene-setting music, or As for the story line, I feel as though we've just started the story. Wouldn't it have been fascinating to see the next chapter in this story - a return to Canada as a brand new Canadian, new bride and new mother. That would have been a very interesting take to see how women of my grandmother's generation were able to adapt to life in such a different country and culture. 10/17/2014 0 Comments Calgary Tattoo & Arts FestivalAND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT . . .
After our fun show at StoryBook Theatre, we went to an amazing event we've never been to before: the Calgary Tattoo & Arts Festival, hosted at the BMO Centre at Stampede Park. Although we didn't get tattoos done at the Tattoo Festival, we did run into the lady who did Neal's most recent piercings (a few months ago he got two new earrings with his friend Krista). The piercer's name is Miza, and it's memorable, because her business card looks like it says "VISA" - complete with the logo and colours! www.calgarytattoos.com I remember the Richard Scarry books from when I was a little guy going to the public library to take out as many books as they would let me! (The limit, at the time, was 99 books. I took that on as a personal challenge to ensure I had enough books out to get me through week to week!). Although the language didn't captivate me like my Dr. Seuss books did, I remember the pictures, the images and the audacity of a worm driving a car. It never bugged me that the car was shaped like an apple - but that the worm had no hands, and wouldn't be able to operate the steering wheel. I'd never heard of Busytown The Musical, but it was part of our season's subscription to StoryBook Theatre, and we were game to go! It was a fast-paced, colourful and memorable experience for everyone in the audience (even two thirty-something childless men who can't get enough theatre into their lives). The costumes, props and scenery look like they fell out of the pages of Richard Scarry's books, and the whole musical had such an exciting visual style. The actors played many parts, and really entertained the audience, and kept all of the little ones excited and engaged, while ensuring the adults had a few memorable tunes to carry with them once we were done. The enthusiasm and professionalism of this company never grows old - even though this show was intended for children (young children, K+), it was so entertaining to us, and reminded us of why we keep coming back for more! One of the most entertaining songs, without question, was Pickle Car. This one's been stuck in my head since we saw the show! http://storybooktheatre.org/busytown Benjamin Laird Arts & Photo
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AuthorMonti Tanner (he/him) BEd, BA, MEd Archives
May 2023
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