Troubadour Announces Watermark 2017-18 Season
Troubadour Theatre Collective is pleased to announce its 2017-18 Season. This year marks the first full season for the London-based professional theatre company. Programming includes a fully mounted production of a 2017 Governor General’s Award nominated play, a playwrights’ unit dedicated to the development of four local playwrights, two staged readings of a new play in development, and an extensive series of professional development workshops and masterclasses.
Troubadour is collectively led by four accomplished theatre-makers: founding members Ingrid Blekys and Francesca Ranalli, and most recently Adam Corrigan-Holowitz and Charlotte Gowdy. Since August 2017, when the four officially joined forces, they have been working together to develop and administer the company’s new expanded programing mandate.
Troubadour Theatre Collective is committed to creating live experiential theatre in surprising, non-traditional theatre spaces. The collective supports and celebrates both emerging and established professional theatre artists who are based in the London/Middlesex region. Along with fully mounted productions, Troubadour is committed to the long-term development process of new plays, and to providing ongoing training opportunities. In so doing, it is the Collective’s intention to enrich the cultural fabric of the London community.
SPRING 2018 PRODUCTION:
2017 Governor General’s Award Nominated
WITHIN THE GLASS
By Anna Chatterton
In the spring of 2018 Troubadour will produce Within the Glass, a play nominated for the 2017 Governor General’s Literary Award. This wickedly funny play focuses on two very different couples who have become linked by a strange conundrum. A fertility clinic has implanted a fertilized egg into the wrong woman. What follows is a hilarious, heart-wrenching and provocative debate over the uncertain future of their IVF child. This production will be directed by Troubadour Associate Artist Charlotte Gowdy.
“I am thrilled that Londoners will have a chance to see this powerful and hilarious play! It’s a story that will certainly resonate with the city's young professionals and especially with the thriving medical community. Anna is an exceptional comedic writer and a rising star in the Canadian theatre scene. Her play, Within the Glass is dinner party dramedy at its absolute finest and I can’t wait to share it with London audiences. “- Charlotte Gowdy, director
NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT:
Troubadour begins development process on new play
THE AWAKENING
By Adam Corrigan Holowitz
Based on the 1899 Novella by Kate Chopin
To forward Troubadour’s mission of championing new Canadian plays, the Collective is launching two new initiatives. The first is the long-term development process of Adam Corrigan Holowitz’s The Awakening. Over the course of two years Adam’s playwriting will be supported by a series of workshops, staged readings, and mediated feedback sessions. His play, The Awakening, tells the story of a New Orleans society wife who escapes her marriage through art, sex and swimming. The play will combine movement, poetry and music, and audiences will be invited to attend readings and participate in feedback sessions as the play progresses. A first workshop reading will happen on December 10 for an invited audience. “What struck me about this novella was the intensely modern understanding of the human condition. Chopin was scandalous in her time. Her novel depicts a woman having not one, but two, affairs. What makes her work truly provocative is her unflinching examination of humans at their most intimate moments. This unflinching attitude makes The Awakening a perfect story to adapt for the stage.” - Adam Corrigan Holowitz, playwright
PLAYWRIGHTS’ UNIT
Featuring: Jeff Culbert, Stefannie Flannigan, Cassidy Hicks, and Jade Walker
With dramaturgy by: Adam Corrigan Holowitz and Charlotte Gowdy
The Playwrights’ Unit is another new initiative designed to nurture the work of playwrights based in the London area. From November to May 2018 the four playwrights will meet on a monthly basis to read their work with the group and receive dramaturgical support from Gowdy and Corrigan Holowitz. Each writer will focus on the creation of a first draft of a new work. The Unit will culminate in May 2018 with professional workshops of each play and staged readings open to the public.
Troubadour has selected four exciting London playwrights for this year’s Unit. Jeff Culbert will be writing a new version of his play Chicken Feather which examines the relationship between three young people in London Ontario during the First World War as they face the pressures and propaganda of enlistment. Stefannie Flannigan will be developing her play Snail Child which focuses on a young woman who has been raised off-the-grid with only the teachings of a paranoid, criminal parent and a smart phone. Cassidy Hicks will be developing her play Daughters of the King, a work focusing on the French women who were exported to Canada in the 17th century for the sole purpose of populating New France. Jade Walker will begin by developing Rory Mcgriffith’s Psychedelic Treehouse about a boy living in a treehouse with a vampire for a best friend. Walker’s second play Bubble Girl is an exploration of an invisible girl who lives in a house with a husband and wife whose marriage is falling apart.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES:
WORKSHOP SERIES
Troubadour is committed to providing a diverse array of high quality theatrical training in the London area. Throughout the year Troubadour is hosting a series of workshops and masterclasses designed to engage and develop the skills of local theatre artists. Registration is now open for the Audition Masterclass with Charlotte Gowdy taking place on November 25th. Other workshops include Le Jeu 2, Solo Performance Creation, Clown, Stage Management, and Movement for the Actor. For a full list of workshops and to register go to: www.troubadourtheatrecollective.com/workshops
Production dates, venues and casting will be announced in the coming months.
For more information or to set up an interview please contact: Charlotte Gowdy
Phone: 416-871-1438
Email: info@troubadour.ca
Website: www.troubadour.ca
Troubadour Theatre Collective is pleased to announce its 2017-18 Season. This year marks the first full season for the London-based professional theatre company. Programming includes a fully mounted production of a 2017 Governor General’s Award nominated play, a playwrights’ unit dedicated to the development of four local playwrights, two staged readings of a new play in development, and an extensive series of professional development workshops and masterclasses.
Troubadour is collectively led by four accomplished theatre-makers: founding members Ingrid Blekys and Francesca Ranalli, and most recently Adam Corrigan-Holowitz and Charlotte Gowdy. Since August 2017, when the four officially joined forces, they have been working together to develop and administer the company’s new expanded programing mandate.
Troubadour Theatre Collective is committed to creating live experiential theatre in surprising, non-traditional theatre spaces. The collective supports and celebrates both emerging and established professional theatre artists who are based in the London/Middlesex region. Along with fully mounted productions, Troubadour is committed to the long-term development process of new plays, and to providing ongoing training opportunities. In so doing, it is the Collective’s intention to enrich the cultural fabric of the London community.
SPRING 2018 PRODUCTION:
2017 Governor General’s Award Nominated
WITHIN THE GLASS
By Anna Chatterton
In the spring of 2018 Troubadour will produce Within the Glass, a play nominated for the 2017 Governor General’s Literary Award. This wickedly funny play focuses on two very different couples who have become linked by a strange conundrum. A fertility clinic has implanted a fertilized egg into the wrong woman. What follows is a hilarious, heart-wrenching and provocative debate over the uncertain future of their IVF child. This production will be directed by Troubadour Associate Artist Charlotte Gowdy.
“I am thrilled that Londoners will have a chance to see this powerful and hilarious play! It’s a story that will certainly resonate with the city's young professionals and especially with the thriving medical community. Anna is an exceptional comedic writer and a rising star in the Canadian theatre scene. Her play, Within the Glass is dinner party dramedy at its absolute finest and I can’t wait to share it with London audiences. “- Charlotte Gowdy, director
NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT:
Troubadour begins development process on new play
THE AWAKENING
By Adam Corrigan Holowitz
Based on the 1899 Novella by Kate Chopin
To forward Troubadour’s mission of championing new Canadian plays, the Collective is launching two new initiatives. The first is the long-term development process of Adam Corrigan Holowitz’s The Awakening. Over the course of two years Adam’s playwriting will be supported by a series of workshops, staged readings, and mediated feedback sessions. His play, The Awakening, tells the story of a New Orleans society wife who escapes her marriage through art, sex and swimming. The play will combine movement, poetry and music, and audiences will be invited to attend readings and participate in feedback sessions as the play progresses. A first workshop reading will happen on December 10 for an invited audience. “What struck me about this novella was the intensely modern understanding of the human condition. Chopin was scandalous in her time. Her novel depicts a woman having not one, but two, affairs. What makes her work truly provocative is her unflinching examination of humans at their most intimate moments. This unflinching attitude makes The Awakening a perfect story to adapt for the stage.” - Adam Corrigan Holowitz, playwright
PLAYWRIGHTS’ UNIT
Featuring: Jeff Culbert, Stefannie Flannigan, Cassidy Hicks, and Jade Walker
With dramaturgy by: Adam Corrigan Holowitz and Charlotte Gowdy
The Playwrights’ Unit is another new initiative designed to nurture the work of playwrights based in the London area. From November to May 2018 the four playwrights will meet on a monthly basis to read their work with the group and receive dramaturgical support from Gowdy and Corrigan Holowitz. Each writer will focus on the creation of a first draft of a new work. The Unit will culminate in May 2018 with professional workshops of each play and staged readings open to the public.
Troubadour has selected four exciting London playwrights for this year’s Unit. Jeff Culbert will be writing a new version of his play Chicken Feather which examines the relationship between three young people in London Ontario during the First World War as they face the pressures and propaganda of enlistment. Stefannie Flannigan will be developing her play Snail Child which focuses on a young woman who has been raised off-the-grid with only the teachings of a paranoid, criminal parent and a smart phone. Cassidy Hicks will be developing her play Daughters of the King, a work focusing on the French women who were exported to Canada in the 17th century for the sole purpose of populating New France. Jade Walker will begin by developing Rory Mcgriffith’s Psychedelic Treehouse about a boy living in a treehouse with a vampire for a best friend. Walker’s second play Bubble Girl is an exploration of an invisible girl who lives in a house with a husband and wife whose marriage is falling apart.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES:
WORKSHOP SERIES
Troubadour is committed to providing a diverse array of high quality theatrical training in the London area. Throughout the year Troubadour is hosting a series of workshops and masterclasses designed to engage and develop the skills of local theatre artists. Registration is now open for the Audition Masterclass with Charlotte Gowdy taking place on November 25th. Other workshops include Le Jeu 2, Solo Performance Creation, Clown, Stage Management, and Movement for the Actor. For a full list of workshops and to register go to: www.troubadourtheatrecollective.com/workshops
Production dates, venues and casting will be announced in the coming months.
For more information or to set up an interview please contact: Charlotte Gowdy
Phone: 416-871-1438
Email: info@troubadour.ca
Website: www.troubadour.ca
