lemonTree theatre creations

PEOPLE4CHANGE Preview on XTRA!

lemontreetheatre — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 04:19:02 +0000

People4Change

ON STAGE / Alisha Stranges ponders the paradox of Generation Y

Chris Dupuis / Toronto / Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Alisha Stranges grew up wanting to be a mathematician. Though the writer/performer spent much of her youth in Niagara Falls taking classes at her mother’s dance studio, she never saw a future for herself on the stage. Instead, it was in the finite nature of numbers where she thought she’d found her true calling.

Alisha Stranges’ People4Change opens in Toronto on Sept 13.

“In math you’re either right or wrong, but in performance everything is subjective, so there’s no such thing as perfection,” she says. “I was always seeking perfection growing up, trying to get a hundred percent on every test, but that all unravelled when I came out. I used to think being gay made you imperfect, so that left me feeling like I could never achieve perfection.”

She’s long since reconciled her sexuality, but her teenaged confusion had the fortunate effect of opening her up to a career as an artist. Since graduating from Humber College in 2006, she has toured across Canada and Europe with Corpus Dance Projects and was most recently seen in the SummerWorks hit Still Life. Her current project, People4Change, had its roots during her studies. Developed with former classmates Colin Edwards and Marissa Zinni, under the direction of Cleveland Public Theatre head Raymond Bobgan, the play was born of a collective process developed with Bobgan and Toronto director Karen Randoja when they taught a devised theatre intensive at the school.

“They introduced us to this way of working that led us to really getting the best of ourselves, and we wanted to keep working that way when we graduated,” she says. “The show is really satisfying to do because it’s as much about who we are as people as the subjects we’re dealing with.”

People4Change ponders the great paradox of Generation Y, a recognition of the problems left on their shoulders by previous generations, combined with a sense of utter powerlessness to respond to them. The story begins when strangers Dale (Edwards), Lisa (Stranges) and Jaelene (Zinni) witness a tragic accident on the subway, an event that bonds the trio in a quest to change the world. Each has a hot-button issue they’re compelled to act on, and they decide to create a fake charity to collect money for various causes. Not surprisingly, things go horribly wrong and they find themselves in a sea of trouble.

Stranges knows the Gen Y struggle well, though, unlike her character, she’s found an effective meeting point for politics and practice. As the assistant director of Buddies’ Pride Cab program for youth for the last two years, she’s helped numerous young queers through the process of creating their own work.

“It’s really rewarding to help people who are coming to understand themselves figure out what they need to say and how they want to say it,” she says. “It’s been a great learning experience for me, as well a chance to pass on what I know to the next generation of artists. It’s a process of trial and error, but the failures are often just as interesting as the successes.”

Though perfection was her mandate as a youth, Stranges has come to appreciate the flaws in life and art. While she asserts that most audiences seek out art that confirms their existing reality, her preference is for art that leaves her feeling transformed.

“The best shows are the ones you walk out of not being totally sure how you feel,” she says. “Great works of art are full of sharp edges, not smooth surfaces. Sometimes when you’re working on something, you feel like you need to file those edges off, but that’s the problem. The sharp edges need to be there.”

People4Change

LemonTree creations in association with TheThem

Sept 13–24, 2011

Tues, Sept 13, 7:30pm (preview)

Wed, Sept 14, 7:30pm (opening night)

Performances Tuesday–Saturday, 7:30pm; PWYC Saturdays at 2 pm.

Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace

16 Ryerson Ave (one block northeast of Bathurst and Queen)

$20; seniors, students and arts workers, $15.

Tickets at artsboxoffice.ca or call 416-504-7529

SOURCE:

http://www.xtra.ca/public/Toronto/People4Change-10712.aspx

PROUD FM Interview with Cole J Alvis and Indrit Kasapi

lemontreetheatre — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 20:31:03 +0000

Click below to listen to the Mike Chalut and Acey Rowe interview with Cole J Alvis and Indrit Kasapi.

They talk about STILL LIFE at SummerWorks, collective creation and someone’s promiscuous adventures!

STILL LIFE Preview on XTRA

lemontreetheatre — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 22:25:47 +0000

Click below to read the article!

Buy your tickets now…they’re gonna go very fast!

http://www.xtra.ca/public/Toronto/Still_Life-10577.aspx

STILL LIFE Preview on MYGAYTORONTO.COM

lemontreetheatre — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 06:03:11 +0000

Click below to read the article!

http://mygaytoronto.com/bilboards/aug_2011_01.php

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

lemontreetheatre — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:54:23 +0000

STILL LIFE comes to SUMMERWORKS, PRESS RELEASE

STILL LIFE @ SummerWorks 2011!

lemontreetheatre — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 05:30:06 +0000

We are very excited to announce that STILL LIFE has been selected as part of the 2011 SummerWorks Festival happening August 4-14.

Please stay tuned for more details.

NOW Magazine // Stage // Still Life

lemontreetheatre — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 04:45:17 +0000

Check out our PREVIEW on NOW Magazine.

Buy your tickets now!

NOW Magazine // Stage // Still Life.

FAB Magazine Article

lemontreetheatre — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 05:22:31 +0000

FAB is excited about STILL LIFE.

The kids are all right
“There is a lack of dialogue between the young queer community and the, shall I say, ‘more mature’ gay community. We hope to get generations together in a room and talking,” says Cole J Alvis, part of the team at lemonTree theatre creations that has been working since January on its newest show, Still Life. The play, performed in the round and illuminated by lamplight, explores how four 20-somethings deal with the aftermath of a gaybashing. “We create through improvisation, and when we find something in the heat of the moment, the trick is to repeat that thing we found,” explains Alvis. “Our intention is to be as honest as possible and reach the community with our stories.” The honesty extends to the cast’s decision to disassociate from their original sponsor, Pride Toronto. “There has been such a lack of discussion of who the community is and what we really want,” explains Alvis. “They just follow the money, and we as artists understand that, but it is problematic.” Fortunately, The 519 stepped in with support and the show will go on. — Drew Rowsome

Still Life runs Fri, July 16 and Sat, July 17 at the 519 Community Centre’s 2nd floor auditorium, 519 Church St. Info:lemontreetheatre.wordpress.com

http://www.fabmagazine.com/full_frontal/index.html

103.9 Proud FM Interview for Still Life

lemontreetheatre — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 16:11:46 +0000

Click below to listen to the interview 103.9 Proud FM aired on Tuesday July 7, 2010 with Alisha Stranges and Indrit Kasapi.

TICKETS GOING QUICKLY! BUY THEM NOW!

STILL LIFE [new dates]

lemontreetheatre — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 10:11:56 +0000

TORONTO – June 25, 2010. lemonTree theatre creations is delighted to announce the debut of our new play, Still Life, following our withdrawal as an Affiliate Event from Pride Toronto 2010. We disassociated ourselves from Pride Toronto due to their decision to ban the words ‘Israeli Apartheid’ from the Parade, and are encouraged by Pride Toronto’s recent reversal of that decision. We are excited to present our new piece at the 519 Community Centre, a meeting place for much of the recent community discussions surrounding this issue.

Still Life

A New Collective Creation

by Indrit Kasapi, Jonathan Seinen,

Cole J Alvis, James MacLean, and Alisha Stranges

July 16 & 17, 2010

THE 519

2^nd Floor Auditorium

519 Church Street

Click HERE For more info and how to buy tickets!