Tag Archive for 'Ontario'

Episode 19 » March 11, 2009

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by
Blair
on March 16, 2009
in city, comedy and film
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This is a bit late getting to the blog, but it’s finally up. Episode 19 took Katherine and I to the Bloor Cinema to see a documentary called Guest of Cindy Sherman, part of the Doc Soup series of documentaries (a program run by Hot Docs). To give you an idea about the film, we found this trailer for it:

You will see what we thought of the film at the end…  It sure was provocative!  It got Katherine quite ticked off, that’s for sure.  At its core, it is really two stories rolled into one.  One being the New York art gallery scene from the 80’s until now, and the other being the story of a man who is with a woman who is much more successful and talented than him.  It sure is a lot of things, but definitely worth a look, especially if you want to know a bit more about Cindy Sherman and her amazing work as an artist.

We got a chance to talk to Sean Farnel, Director of Programming at Hot Docs to talk about the upcoming festival and what Doc Soup is. If you love documentary films, and you haven’t been to Doc Soup or Hot Docs, you’re missing out on one of the best film festivals in Toronto. And it’s pretty darn cheap to see some fantastic stories from around the world.

The second part of our evening took us down to Bread & Circus in Kensington Market to see The Carnegie Hall Show:

… an Improvised meta-variety show that satirizes the gala retrospective not unlike The Lincoln or Kennedy Centre Honours.  After getting a suggestion from the audience of “an event to celebrate” the tuxedo and boa-clad cast (Matt Baram, Chris Gibbs, Ron Pederson and Naomi Snieckus) take the audience on a timeline retrospective of the greatest improvised scenes based on that event as they make them up from scratch before their very eyes. That’s why we can say we offer the greatest Improvised scenes of all time!

For a night of “Pay-What-You-Think-It’s-Worth” comedy, this was a great evening of improv. We got a chance to sit down (or stand) with Chris Gibbs, one of the stars of the show, to talk to us about the beginnings of The Carnegie Hall Show. If you’re ever in the area on a Wednesday night and looking for something off the beaten path to check out, may we highly suggest having a drink and a laugh with some of Toronto’s finest improvisers (for a quick clip, click here).

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Episode 18 » March 4, 2009

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by
Blair
on March 8, 2009
in city, food and theatre
. 2 Comments

Is there anything better than sitting down to a delicious meal with friends or family and enjoying the amazing flavours of the food sitting infront of you? We don’t think so. On Wednesday, Katherine and I sat down with Chef Jamie Kennedy at the Gilead Café to talk about the Slow Food Movement, why buying locally produced food is important to the economy and the environment and the new Thursday night Local Food Movement Dinner Series at the Gilead Cafe. It was an inspiring chat - and there was so much to be said that we decided to include the full interview as a separate video.

We had some time to kill before heading over to the Berkeley Street Theatre to see Une maison face au nord, so we took off to the Distillery District which is just down the street from the Gilead Cafe and grabbed a delicious turkey chili to fill up on from the Brick Street Bakery. We took some time to chat and catch up and split a delicious cookie as desert.

At 8pm the curtain was raised on Théâtre français de Toronto’s latest production:

OSCILLATING BETWEEN FAMILY DRAMA AND A COMEDY OF MANNERS, A North-Facing House takes on some serious subjects, such as the rural exodus, the integration of immigrants, and generational conflict, all of which are dramatized with the author’s humour spicing up the text. Between a son pursued for money laundering, a young Guatemalan worker, and an elderly Pole, a man in his twilight years (played by Guy Mignault) feels at a dead end despite the kindness and good sense of his wife (played by Louisette Dussault). He sees the heritage that he created and the country of his dreams inexorably losing its sense and future. Far from witnessing the collapse of a microscopic world, something quite different happens, which allows us to tackle questions of spirituality confronting today’s reality. Jean-Rock Gaudreault, whose work TfT first presented in 1999 with La Raccourcie, has since become a definite pillar of Canadian francophone theatre.

We got the chance to chat with one of the stars of the show and TFT Artistic Director, Guy Mignault. It’s not easy being the Artistic Director and one of the actors in the show, but Guy did a fantasitc job - along with the rest of the cast.

All in all another excellent night in Toronto.

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Episode 17 » February 25, 2009

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Blair
on February 27, 2009
in art, city, food and theatre
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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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A Moment in Toronto 2

Published
by
Katherine
on February 24, 2009
in city
. 0 Comments

Hey all,

Here is another moment in Toronto. Using footage from this fall while I was in the car with my dad and my brother on our way to do some ‘antiquing’ on Queen at Roncesvalles.  I bought nothing, but my brother bought some cool theatre style seats and we found the world’s most beautiful and prohibitively expensive teak table.  Afterwards, I got my hair trimmed and the lady blow dried it so high, I was a little embarassed on the walk home.  I had to flatten it out before going out with my friends.  Hair is not meant to defy gravity.  You will never see a picture of this phenomenon.

Episode 14 - October 9, 2008

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by
Blair
on October 13, 2008
in art and city
. 0 Comments

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!

Episode 13 - October 4-5, 2008

Published
by
Blair
on October 7, 2008
in Visual art, city, dance, film, music, new media, photography and theatre
. 1 Comment

12 hours. What a night! We started our journey at 6:30pm at City Hall and our heads didn’t hit the pillow until 6am the next morning …

There is so much to cover from this years Nuit Blanche in Toronto. So much in fact that it’s best if you watch the video! :) But here are some of the highlights that we saw on our travels:

Zone A:

  • Stereoscope, City Hall
    An amazing installation turning the windows of City Hall into a giant ping pong game and lighting canvas
  • Our interview with Mayor David Miller
  • Conversation #2, 900 Wellesley Street
    12,000 books laid together to create a beautiful sculpture. The different coloured spines even created moasic images wrapped around the sculpture.

Zone B:

  • r u part of the art?
    An interesting mobile installation - subscribe to a texting service and receive updates throughout the night with various things to do like sing the song from The Muppets (Menamena do do dee do do …). We didn’t see many other people doing it, but it was fun to randomly do stuff during the night.
  • Le Labo, Distillery
    A very calming video/sound installation (for the first while we were there) at Le Labo or Le Laboratoire d’art - a “francophone media and integrated arts lab offering opportunities in production, training & showings.”
  • Higgs Ocean, Distillery
    While they weren’t part of the ‘official’ Nuit Blanche schedule, this installation in one of the alleyways of the Distillery, was a highlight for us as it featured many elements from our youth - Lite Brite, a Big Bird lamp, and old films on video projectors! Unfortunately we couldn’t find any info on the group online - so if you guys see this posting, let us know where to find you!

Zone C:

  • Overflow, Liberty Village
    A smaller scale installation by Michel de Broin of a waterfall coming out the window of a 3 storey building and crashing into discarded furniture on the ground.
  • Imagine Peace, Liberty St. & Jefferson Ave.
    Yoko Ono continues to spread the message of peace with this installation. The public is given tags to write a wish on and the hang on the trees lining the street creating weeping willows of wishes, as it were.
  • I Promise It Will Always Be This Way, Lamport Stadium
    At 5am, watching mascots run wild to mid-90’s techno music was a lot of fun - and a great way to end the night.

We took tons of photos that night and we’ll be posting them in our Facebook Group as well as setting up a flickr home soon for you to view.

What were your highlights? What did you think of the 2008 Nuit Blanche?

Be sure to check out our friends over at Dear Toronto and their coverage of Nuit Blanche!

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Abdul Smooth remixes Nuit Blanche

Published
by
Blair
on October 6, 2008
in city
. 0 Comments

While you wait with bated breath for our coverage of Nuit Blanche (you are waiting, right? ;) ), check out this awesome video and sound remix by our good friend Qasim … we met up during the night and some of the video features us!


Nuit Blanche Toronto 2008 - footage remix from Abdul Smooth on Vimeo.

Special Pre Toronto Nuit Blanche Edition

Published
by
Blair
on September 30, 2008
in TNIT Info, Visual art, city, dance, film, literature, music, photography and theatre
. 2 Comments

4 days left until at 6:52pm on Saturday October 4th, Toronto awakens for an all night contemporary art thing called Scotiabank Nuit Blanche. If you haven’t been yet … where have you been!? For the past two years, the popularity of this phenomenal free chaotic art frenzy has exploded - hundreds of thousands of Torontonians take to the street and experience art in Toronto like never before.

For those of you who have never been, Katherine and I have put together a little guide - 7 tips on how to survive Nuit Blanche and make the most of your night.

We are prepping for an all night vlogging thing and we want you to be a part of it. We’ll be heading from Zone B to A to C on our bikes. If you want to join us along the way and be a part of our evening, email us at info@nightintoronto.com and we’ll let you know where we are. You can also send us some tips if you know of a great installation we should feature on TNIT!

After we catch up on our sleep, we’ll be posting a vlog from each zone so be sure to sign up to our RSS feed to see the results! Oh, and we’ll also be teaming up with our friends at Dear Toronto to do some cross vlogging - should be a lot of fun.

Enjoy!

- Blair

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Episode 12 - September 19, 2008

Published
by
Blair
on September 22, 2008
in music
. 0 Comments

Bonjour Toronto!

Last Friday, Katherine and I took in a bit of Francophone culture at the Alliance Française at Lowther and Spadina where they premiered a new monthly Cabaret series. It was an wonderful evening with three lovely singers (avec Claire Jenkins, Amélie Lefebvre et Lyne Tremblay). They sang a range of music from Tom Waits to Kurt Veil. The place was packed and the audience was enraptured with the singers! And tickets were only $5! If you’re interested in checking out some francophone culture, this is an excellent introduction. The Cabaret took place in the gallery space at the Alliance which is open daily with some stunning artwork on the wall. Be sure to check out the next Cabaret event in October (and get there early so you can grab your wine before they run out of glasses!).

After the show, we followed the singers to Paupers Pub where we gathered in a rather hidden room on the first floor. Packed into this tiny room, Tom (who’s last name I forget) brought out his violin from the show and serenaded us all with some classical, some contemporary, and some traditional Québecois music. I felt like we were somewhere in Europe at a pub. It’s not every day you walk into a bar in Toronto and sit around a table with a violinist singing songs en français. Katherine and I grabbed some drinks enjoyed the music (Katherine and our friend Josée even took part playing the spoons!).

Then it was off to The Wreck Room at Bathurst and Bloor to take part in “Loving in the Name Of”, a concert hosted by The Best with such artists as Sebastien Grainger (remember him?), Tara Slone, and Nick Sewell. The band was great as they sang a range of classic tunes like Boston’s “More Than A Feeling” and “I’ve Had The Time of My Life” from the cult classic Dirty Dancing. It was a 360 from the Cabaret show earlier that evening, but it was a blast! And at only $5 for cover, you can’t go wrong.

So there you have it! A music filled night for us! A great way to kick off the last weekend of the summer … sigh.

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What we talked about in this episode:

Photo of TTC streetcar by Russell Francey.

Episode 11 - September 13, 2008

Published
by
Blair
on September 14, 2008
in Visual art, food, music and photography
. 0 Comments

We’re back!

Yes, it was a little touch and go there for a while after our last vlog, but we’re back on the air - this time in HD! Woot! Thanks to our brand new Canon HG10, you’ll be able to enjoy TNIT through the magic of HD - it’s almost as if you are actually there with us! (Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration …)

On Saturday, Katherine and I decided to check out the Queen West Arts Crawl, a favourite weekend event amongst many Torontonians. What’s different about this vlog is that we filmed it BEFORE 5pm! That’s right - this is not about a night in Toronto as much as it is about a day in Hogtown. As that was the case, it only made sense that we grab a bit of brunch because c’mon - it’s Saturday morning!

We made our way over to Squrily’s which neither of us had been to before (for brunch). It’s an incredibly eclectic restaurant in its décor. There’s a lovely patio in the back where we sat (well, we sat on the edge of it because there was a great big red couch that Katherine wanted to rest up). The brunch was delicious and pretty darn cheap, if you ask me. Only $20 for the two of us (incl. tax and tip!).

Then it was off to Trinity Bellwoods Park to take part in the artist fair and to take a peak at some of the amazing artists who live in this fair city.

You’ll have to watch the episode to see how it all went down. :)

We’d like to say thanks to Megan Hamilton for providing her song “Detroit” as the music for this episode! If you’ve got some music that you think would work well for for TNIT, drop us a line!

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What we talked about in this episode:

Photo of Trinity Bellwoods Park by Katherine Grainger.