Archive for the 'art' Category

Episode 17 » February 25, 2009

It was a beautifully warm-ish day in Toronto on Wednesday - perfect weather for a skate down at the waterfront at arguably one of the best rinks in the city, the Harbourfront Natrel Rink (it is also the city’s largest rink!).

Katherine and I took off after work, threw on some skates and took to the ice - something Katherine hadn’t done in almost 7 years! We had a blast skating around and enjoying the music being pumped into the cool evening air. It was a perfect way to finish off a long day of work.

All that exercise made us hungry so we decided to chow down on some delicious Thai food at Spice Thai Cafe across the street from Harbourfront. But on our way over, we wandered through the York Quay Centre to check out some of the free public art on display at the various galleries. There is some great pieces on display which you can see in the video.

Dinner was delicious and inexpensive (always a bonus) and the wait staff were as pleasant as always. But we were on a schedule as we had to get over to the Fleck Dance Theatre to see That Night Follows Day, part of the World Stage Festival. The show was conceived by the group Campo in Belgium and is only here until tomorrow (Saturday). Here’s a brief description:

You feed us. You wash us. You dress us. You sing to us. You watch us when we are sleeping. You make promises that you think we won’t remember.

Featuring a cast of 16 children between the ages of 8 and 14. That Night Follows Day is the creation of revolutionary theatre maker Tim Etchells of the UK’s Forced Entertainment.

From the acclaimed theatre company that brought Toronto audiences Aalst, That Night Follows Day examines the systems of parenthood, upbringing, discipline, care and welfare that define the worlds of children and adolescents. A play with children written for adults, That Night Follows Day playfully yet poignantly highlights how adults project their worlds onto the lives of the children around them.

This original production promises to be one of the most talked-about of Toronto’s theatre season.

It’s a really amazing piece of theatre - not your typical dramatic piece of text. We got a chance to speak to two of the actors in the show to get their perspective on what the show meant and their experiences.

That rounded out an excellent evening. There’s so much to see and do at Harbourfront year round, and a lot of it is free (which is amazing!). We certainly advise you to take a walk, bike, TTC or, if you must, drive down to the waterfront and explore the hidden treasures awaiting you.

That was a bit cheesy, wasn’t it? :)

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Episode 15 - January 30, 2009

It’s been a while since we’ve had a chance to put up a new post, but finally, here it is - the first episode of 2009!

Katherine and I took to the cold last Friday night to witness the first performance of the new Close Act show titled PI-LEAU. Close Act has been in Toronto before a few years ago with another show, but they out did themselves with this underwater exploration and struggle between good and evil. The show opened the 14 day festival, WinterCity - a favourite among Torontonians at this time of year.

Not only does the city embrace the cold and snow for these two weeks, we also gorge ourselves on food during Winterlicious. Many restaurants book up quickly so if you want to take advantage of some of the amazing world-class cuisine Toronto has to offer at affordable prices, best to book now!

What are your thoughts on WinterCity? Do you embrace the cold, or hibernate for 6 months?

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That Night in Toronto has a Bad Day

Click above for the video……

Hey y’all,

So Blair and I have been super busy and we have plans coming up, so you will see an episode soon enough!  In the meantime, check out the video above.  It is the first one that I did on my own, and with the slowness of my computer, might be the last for a while.  I went to the launch of the second issue of Bad Day Magazine at Studio Gallery .  You can check out the art until mid-November there, so please check out the gallery’s website for hours and such things.

I have been working nuts hours these days, but I still got to see Scratch at Factory Theatre.  If you are a woman/girl/lady person, you must see this play.  It will bring you back to when you were a pre-teen/teen and no one ‘got’ you, and you were really going through lots of ’stuff’.  If you are a man/boy/gentleman person, you should see it too.

For next week, there is tons going on…. almost every night is booked.  I’ll try to take pics and stuff and tell you about it next week.

Monday - Fu-Gen Theatre’s Gala

Tuesday - Rest (maybe make a bean salad for lunches)

Wednesday - The night I have been waiting for!!!!   Trouble the Water as part of the first Doc Soup of the season (as you will find out soon viewers, I am the hugest fan of Hot Docs Fest and Doc Soup series) then….  SHARON JONES and the DAP KINGS at Kool Haus!  Blair will be there too, but I am sure Sharon won’t let us take pics.  If you don’t know Sharon Jones, click on her name anywhere on this blog and the internets will take you to her.  She is a massive talent - soul to the limit!  Best band ever too!

Thursday - I have rehearsal, but there’s lots going on in the city

Friday - I am seeing The Black Rider at Tarragon but for the rest of you it is Halloween.  (you will also learn that Halloween is not my scene and I do everything I can to avoid it.  I hate halloween.)

See you dudes next week -

k

Episode 14 - October 9, 2008

It’s Tuesday, October 14, 2008. What is the ONE thing you are for SURE doing today? Yes, that’s right, voting! Last Thursday, the Department of Culture held a fundraising concert at the Phoenix to raise money so they could advertise in key ridings in Toronto about the upcoming election and how to strategically vote. The night consisted of a ton of musical acts as well as video segements to highlight how important the arts are to the country and how much of an election issue they are (and should always be).

The video is a bit of a departure from our regular style, but we wanted to highlight some of the events of the night.

If you’re still not sure who to vote for, check out these great sites to help you decide:

Happy Voting!

Artists are ‘ordinary’ Canadians too …