Awful jobs: The Dishwashers preview

Nelken, Anniko and Wilkie. Get scrubbing.

Harry Nelken had a knife held to his head when when he drove cab. Rylan Wilkie spent a month phoning Americans to ask their opinions on a tax. Tom Anniko gutted chickens on an assembly line, snagging the occasional rotten bird loaded with an partially developed egg.

Those were the worst jobs of the main cast of The Dishwashers, Prairie Theatre Exchange's upcoming comedy, which follows a ruined stock trader into a subterranean dish pit  In the bowels of the restaurant where he used to eat, Emmett's soul stares into the abyss - a future scraping endlessly re-dirtied dishes. Or is it hell? His coworkers, head dishwasher Dressler and pit-lifer Moss, both embrace their roles as necessary cogs in the dining machine. They don't look for anything bigger. As Dressler says, "Ambition is a dream you wake up from in the last moment of your life."

Canadian author Morris Panych dedicated the play to his father, a man who worked menial jobs his whole life without complaint. In service industry heavy Winnipeg, it's a fair bet some audience members will see their own lives played out on stage.

 “We in Canada think there’s a large middle class,” says Wilkie, who plays Emmett, “but there’s tonnes of people working shit crap jobs we don’t even notice or care to recognize; people picking up garbage or cleaning our condos. I’ve even noticed doing this play walking through the (Portage Place) mall, ‘Hey that guy’s cleaning that staircase.’ And I’d never noticed him there or cared to notice before.”

“You stay in jobs like cab driving or dishwashing and you rationalize what you’re doing, because you’re afraid, or you tried things and it didn’t work out.” Nelken observes. “But those who do that, they’re people none the less... That’s what I learned from driving cab; never underestimate anyone and never overestimate anyone.”

The plays’ existential question – is a menial existence worth living? – may be presented hilariously (In one scene, two dishwashers debate letting the third drown in a plate of mashed potatoes and decide no, he shouldn’t get so lucky), but the struggle between ambition and settling for present circumstances have the cast seriously reflecting on their own lives.

“I put myself in a situation once where my ambition was beyond my ability,” says Anniko. “I was working at the CBC trying to move up the corporate ladder and I went before a board to interview for a job. As soon as I sat down I realized ‘Oh my god I’m out of my depth’ and it was humbling and humiliating. And I walked out of there knowing I didn’t want to go any higher; I’d reached the point where I was comfortable. That was a cure for my ambition.”

“In the end, it may have been the best thing that happened to me.”

The Dishwashers runs January 23 to February 10. Tickets and details at www.pte.mb.ca.

Favourite lines in the play

Wilkie: Ambition is a dream you wake up from in the last moment of your life.

Anniko: As you grow older your dreams become smaller. They won’t even be dreams anymore, just little wishes.

Nelken: Don’t let go of the rope!

Dionysus in Stony Mountain | Review

Ross McMillan and Sarah Constible in Dionysus in Stony Mountain (photo credit Leif Norman)

Plays don’t often get more ambitious than Dionysus in Stony Mountain, the final show of Theatre Projects Manitoba’s current season. With two actors, a modest set and just two hours of stage time, the play sets out to tackle Canada’s penal system, modern liberal values, environmentalism, mental health, intergenerational strife, capitalism, Christianity and Nietzsche.

Make no mistake: this writing is thick with thought, particularly the first act when up-for-parole James (Ross McMillan) explains to prison psychiatrist Heidi Prober (Sarah Constible) why he’s traded his lithium for Nietzsche (McMillan returns in the second act as Uncle Eric, dispatched by Heidi’s distant parents to investigate why their daughter has quit her job and dropped off the map).

It’s not always possible to keep up with the play’s philosophical arguments; not with a writer as subtle and well-read as Steve Ratzlaff. The words come fast and furious (often furious), not just leaping from subject to subject, but pirouetting through the air.

But that’s fine; you don’t need catch everything. It’s not necessary to get every Nietzschian skewering of Winnipeg, penitentiaries and small-L liberalism (though a quick glance at Nietzsche's Wikipedia page before you attend won't hurt). The only point you need to grab onto is that Nietzsche proposes a world free of moral baggage. If the weak get crushed by the strong, hey, that’s only natural.

How desperately, gut-wrenchingly attractive that mindset is for anyone trying to escape guilt – guilt at being unable to repair a broken world.

And that, ultimately, is what Dionysus in Stony Mountain is about: how we use institutions, philosophies and religions to cope with the ‘dark nights’ of human existence. And how, when those systems fail, what we’re left with is each other.

It’s a moving, compassionate play about pain that succeeds if you can hang in when something goes over your head (it did many times for me during the night). Constible and McMillan handle the denser material with speed and style, but it’s in the moments of open, honest vulnerability that the actors really shine. While there are times in the evening when Bill Kerr’s direction strays from the relationship between these two actors - McMillan’s speeches directly addressed to the audience stand out - wait a moment and the play gets back on track.

Is deep, philosophical writing an act of intellectual snobbery? No. It’s an invitation to think about meaningful, resonant issues, both specific to Manitoba and universal to human life. Now that’s an ambitious play.

Dionysus in Stony Mountain (by Steve Ratzlaff) runs until Sunday, April 8 at Theatre Projects Manitoba.

Heaven

If you haven't read any of the ridiculously positive reviews for WJT's Angels in America, you should.
Better yet, go see it (details on how to get in here)

My only quibble: having to wait five months for part two...

IPPs and Actors

This post is mostly for my fellow first year Creative Communications students - but the rest of you can tag along!

This Monday we're submitting our Independent Professional Project (IPPs) Proposals, pitching ideas for a creative project we'll conduct on our own (thereby proving our CreComm chops) between now and March 2013. These projects can take many forms - writing a novel, filming a documentary, hosting an event, creating a blog - so long as there is an end product that is marketable.

A number of these projects will involve acting (especially television pilots and radio dramas). And if you're a colleague considering such a project, I want to encourage you to use trained actors - people who have built up film and theatre acting skills through experience and education. They've learned how to use their bodies and voices to communicate rich, nuanced stories. Your IPP will be better off if you use trained actors.


Why should I use actors when my friends can fill the parts for me? Can't everyone act?

Yes, your project might be easier to schedule if your friends fill roles. And yes, everyone can act. Some people are naturals at getting into the mindset of imaginary characters (it's easier if the character isn't that different from their regular persona).

But good acting usually requires practice and instruction. Voice training helps actors deliver lines clearly, playing with the nuances of your script. Film classes teach actors how to fill a camera lens with just the right amount of action and expression. And acting instruction helps actors become emotionally available, so when they pick a fight, lose a lover, hug an alien - when they perform whatever made-up scenario you've created for them - they're able to act the part honestly and make it seem "real."

So yes, it's less work to fill the roles with your friends. But your final product won't be the professional, feather-in-your-portfolio that it could be.


I'm nervous about approaching strangers to act for me...

Really? Didn't you do streeters? This is way easier, because (and here's an industry secret) actors like being asked to act. They may turn you down (for whatever reason) but there's no actor who doesn't like being offered work.


Won't it be a problem that I can't really pay them?

This will be a sticking point for a number of professionals - especially established pros who have already joined Equity (stage actors union) and Actra (film actors union).

BUT there are a number of up-and-coming actors looking for chances to hone their skills. Some professionals might also be up for it if they're attracted by the material in your piece. The key is to keep the time commitment low. If you only need them for one day of filming, you can probably trade their services for food and drinks. Radio plays usually require even less time to produce - a couple hours of rehearsal, then another two hours of recording (depending on the length of your script).

Another bargaining chip you can use is the promise to provide actors clips for their demo reels (or just 'reels'). Like CreComm students, actors build professional portfolios. If you can give them a nicely edited clip that shows off their acting prowess, they have another arrow in their quiver to snag future gigs.

Head into rehearsals/performances with all your planning done and use your team's time wisely. And you're golden.


Okay, this doesn't sound too bad. So where do I find actors?

In bars.

I kid, I kid. Here's a list of places you can go to find actors for your projects.

The Universities
Both the University of Winnipeg and the University of Manitoba have programs training actors for stage and screen. Print up some audition notices (more on that later), attend the shows they put on, call up their administrators (both helpful people). Students tend to be very early in their careers (shocking, I know) and are looking to build up their reels.

Acting Studios
There are a few places in town where actors can go to be tutored by seasoned pros (mostly for film acting). Jeff Skinner runs the Actors Training Centre of Manitoba, Darcy Fehr runs The Acting Studio Winnipeg, and Onalee Ames runs Onalee Ames Film Studio (sorry, website in development (?) but a google search will bring up the phone number). These are the ones I'm most familiar with; I'm sure there are others. Give them a shout and see if they'll mention your project to their students (or recommend any of their pupils).

Theatre Schools
Prairie Theatre Exchange runs a good school, with a wide variety of classes taught by local professionals. Their students range from 10 to 70 years old, so you might be able to connect with some hard to find child/older actors. Manitoba Theatre for Young People also runs a theatre school for 5 to 18 year olds. Remember; you'll need to get parents permission to film their children!

(And before you make your careful-phone-call-trying-to-not-seem-like-a-creep-and-getting-police-visits, remember the old theatre maxim "don't work with animals and children." I've done both and wished I hadn't)

The Winnipeg Audition Network
Local actors run a Facebook page to publicize auditions. Post away and let social media overwhelm you with its majesty.

The Winnipeg Fringe
If only there was a theatre festival filled with local actors where I could scout out emerging talent. There is! The Winnipeg Fringe takes over the Exchange District from July 18 to 29. Tickets to see a show are cheap ($10, usually additional discounts for students), local companies are noted in the Fringe guide and if you wait 15 minutes after the show ends, all the actors will emerge and head for the beer tent. Accost them in person or send them a follow up email (the Fringe website will post links to all companies that have sites). Remember - actors are susceptible to flattery. It's thespian kryptonite.

Local, Year-Round Companies
There's a number of companies who don't just perform at the Fringe; they keep independent theatre alive in Winnipeg right through the calendar. Here's a list of the smaller ones (the large companies like RMTC, PTE, WJT, SIR and TPM mostly use union actors who have a harder time doing projects like your IPP)

Theatre by the River
Echo Theatre
Moving Target Theatre
Out of Line Theatre
Sarasvati Productions
Winnipeg Studio Theatre
Theatre Incarnate
Tara Players
Winnipeg Mennonite Theatre
Merlyn Productions

I'm sure I'm missing some good ones and I apologize (Please put down your pitchforks and torches; we both know they're just prop versions). Send these companies an email or phone call, asking them to notify their regular actors about your project.

Improv Companies
Some of the best actors are improv-ers; they know how to 'live (act) in the moment' and can make things up at the drop of a hat. Bonus: many are very funny. There's a local highschool improv league that you can give a shout. There's also a list of performers from last year's Winnipeg Improv Festival, plus this year's coming festival to look forward to in September...


Now that I have all these fabulous places to look for actors... how do I hire the right ones?
You hold auditions; the actor-ly version of a job interview.

First, create an audition notice (here's an example for an Arthur Miller play). List all the details of your project; what it is, when it's happening, where it's going down, etc. List the expected time commitment. Then list all the characters and provide descriptions (not too long; provide some good demographic details and key character points). Give your contact information so interested actors can get in touch with you.

There are two types of auditions you can run. In the first, you provide actors samples of your script ('sides'). They'll rehearse the parts on their own, attend your audition and perform them for you. Keep your sides short, maybe one or two pages. If an actor knows what they're doing, they can prove it in very few lines.

In the second kind of audition, you don't have to provide any materials. Actors come in with audition pieces they've memorized from other films and plays. The characters they perform might not match the ones in your IPP, but the trade off is seeing your potential actors do a part they've been able to practice and perfect.

So choose the type of auditions you want to run and announce that on your notice. When actors start getting in touch with you, make up your audition schedule. 15 minute time slots usually work well.

The actors will perform their pieces. Hopefully you're wow'd, maybe not. Be gentle. Auditioning is a scary, emotionally intense thing to do. Give them a bit of direction after their first performance - this gives them another kick at the can, plus it lets you see how well they can absorb your instructions. Let them do their piece again and see how it goes.

At the end of it all, go for a drink, mull things over, sleep on it, then choose who will play which part. Make some calls to references (actors should give you their Acting Resume and Headshot at the audition) to ensure you're not hiring a psycho. Unless you like having psychos on your team. You psycho, you.

And when all your actors are confirmed, be a decent human being and call the people who didn't make the cut. Just say, "I really appreciated your audition, but didn't think you were right for this part." They'll be glad you let them know. Or they'll be mad; in which case, hang up.

Now you're off to the IPP races with your team of experienced actors.

High fives?
HIGH FIVES!

I hope this is helpful if you're considering using actors for your IPP. Possibly I'm completely wrong. Check in with other people in CreComm who have acting experience - Lauren Kayley, Mike Trakalo and Josh Alao come to mind (I'm sure there are more - let me know and I'll add your name).

Break legs! I'm cheering for you!

Angels in America Preview (content warning)

Angels in America can’t be called ‘just another play.’ It would be like calling Neon Bible a decent LP. Or saying Mad Men is an okay period piece. The sprawling, emotionally charged masterwork by American playwright Tony Kushner ranges from New York to Heaven to Antarctica as a cast of gay men, Mormons, angels and hallucinations intersect during the AIDS crisis and Reagan administration of late 1980s America. It stretches over two parts – Millennium Approaches and Perestroika. It’s won the Pulitzer and Tony awards. Its HBO miniseries adaptation (featuring Meryl Streep, Al Pacino and Emma Thompson) was similarly burdened with Emmys and Golden Globes.

So don’t be surprised that the cast and crew working on Winnipeg Jewish Theatre’s run of Angels – the first part opening on March 21, the second in the fall – are being touched in different ways by the play.

That’s what happens when you work with angels.

Michael Rubenfeld (Louis Ironson) in WJT's Angels in America (Photo credit Dylan Hewlett)

The Flesh

The day before our interview, Michael Rubenfeld rehearsed anal sex.

“It was fine. It was just a scene,” he says. “He wasn’t really giving me anal sex - it might have been a different story if he actually penetrated me.”

The former Winnipegger is playing Louis Ironson in Angels. Ironson abandons his AIDS infected lover early in the play, eventually hooking up with the deeply closeted (and married) Mormon lawyer Joe Pitt. Their encounters are edgy, to put it mildly.

“Actually, it was kind of fun,” Rubenfeld continues. “I like the feeling of being uncomfortable in rehearsal – myself and others around me. It makes me feel, oddly, more comfortable. It’s a fun social experiment to see people giggly and curious. And everyone was super giddy, it’s such a tense scene.”

The Toronto based actor isn’t gay himself, though he’s played gay men before, on screen and on stage. The orientation of a role isn’t central, he says; nor does he find living in the skin of a gay character unusual.

“The only challenge I feel is not playing into stereotypes; just playing the words and not trying to add some affectation on top of the part. I trust that if I play the truth of the emotions and tell the story, the rest will take care of itself.”

“And homosexuality has been in my life since I was a child… I grew up with an uncle who was gay. I don’t think I’m someone who had to deal with any kind of internalized homophobia that I didn’t know existed…. I feel very comfortable within the culture.”

The actor points to other productions of Angels now running in New York and Philadelphia as signs of a renewed interest in the play and a reaction against resurging conservative politics in North America.

“It’s speaking to so many relevant conversations. It was written in the mid-90s but if you change around a few names… the western world is still having so many of the same conversations.”

“It’s just a great fucking play.”

Ryan Miller (Prior Walter) in WJT's Angels in America (photo credit Dylan Hewlett)

The Heart

“I’ve heard the part of Prior described as one of those Everest parts,” says Ryan Miller, speaking about his role. “It doesn’t scare me when people say ‘I’m so looking forward to seeing this play’ but when they say ‘Oh! That’s a big part’… when people do that, it sort of snaps me back into reality and makes me ask if I’m capable of doing this.”

Miller is making his professional stage debut with WJT as Prior Walter, the AIDS infected, prophetically gifted character Angels revolves around. A core member of local sketch comedy troupe Hot Thespian Action, Miller admits to being intimidated by both the part and his more accomplished fellow actors. He draws on powerful personal experiences, however, to rise to the challenge of being Angel’s moral centre.

“Not that I have AIDS and my lover is leaving me… but I always relate my situation in the play to when my dad passed away from cancer. It was very quick, it was very sudden. So it feels like similar storylines, you know? The way Prior deteriorates very quickly into just shitting blood and he’s dying in front of the audience’s eyes… we watched my dad deteriorate right in front of our eyes. It happened so quickly and it was just so… earth shattering. So I’m able to relate to my character that way. Not that I’ve gone through a horrible disease of my own. But I’ve watched it.”

The Soul

“When I programmed this play, I was still married,” says Michael Nathanson, Artistic Producer of Winnipeg Jewish Theatre. “I find myself separated from my wife currently - and my children - so Angels connects on an extraordinarily primal level for me right now. About the pain involved in relationships.”

Nathanson came on board as WJT’s Artistic Producer in 2006, in time to see his two-hander Talk produced that fall (and go on to be nominated for the Governor General’s Award). Since then, he’s programmed seasons combining new work, Canadian premieres and classics. Angels in America, with its large cast and fantastical plot, might be his most challenging choice yet.

“It’s the very definition of writing that comes from the gut and has blood on the page. It’s a cri de coeur. And it feels for me like such a deeply Jewish play... Israel means arguing with God and Angels in America, we don’t have the Hebrew word for it, but it would be arguing with America.”

“It’s this amazingly vital, heartfelt, human exploration of our need for other people. And it’s impossible to listen to this play, let alone watch it, and not come away moved and changed.”

Angels in America: Millennium Approaches runs March 21 to April 1 at Winnipeg Jewish Theatre (Asper Community Campus, Berney Theatre).  Details and online tickets ($15 for students) are at wjt.ca

Joansing: A Return to Saint Joan

Mel Marginet as Joan, photo credit Leif Norman

A couple years ago Theatre by the River produced Saint Joan at Saint Boniface's Theatre de la Chapelle. Mel Marginet (TBTR's co-Artistic Director), the company and I had all been captured by Shaw's adaptation of Joan of Arc's story. It's a complex storm of interweaving politics, religion and nationalism all spinning around - and eventually destroying - a sweet, young girl who just wants to obey the voices in her head.

TBTR's Production of Saint Joan, photo credit Leif Norman

Reading the trial scene (when Joan is condemned to the flames) brought shivers and tears to all of us. What passions would make someone set another human being on fire? What passion would drive someone to embrace that death?

There's a reading of the play this Monday - it's a fundraiser for the Performing Arts Lodge (assisted living for retired theatre artists). Come to support a good cause, come to see a stellar cast (the list is below). But mostly, come to see one of the most moving scenes in the theatre canon.


READING OF SAINT JOAN
by GBS

Monday, January 30 at 7:30PM
Crescent Fort Rouge United Church (corner of Wardlaw & Nassau)
Tickets $15 at the door

Featuring: Talia Pura, Cory Wojcik, Glen Thompson, Dean Harder, Ian Ross, Ross McMillan, Matt Tenbruggencate, Omar Khan, Curt Keilback, Karl Thordarson, Ti Hallas, Curtis Moore, Mitchell Kummen, Bill Kerr, David Playfair, John Bluethner, John Echano, Kevin Anderson, Graham Ashmore, Ray Strachan, Kevin Longfield, Kelly Hughes and Brian Richardson

Directed by Stefanie Wiens
Stage managed by Sylvia Fisher

Want to Act?

I started acting when I was a kid, read acting technique books in my spare time, did Fringe plays, earned a university degree in theatre and started a theatre company.

And all I really needed was two minutes, twenty-four seconds of advice.

A Stratford Actor... almost

It's a brand new year, full of opportunities (and possible Mayan doom). I thought I'd write about a past goal as a reminder to myself to laugh in the face of Failure this year. Because it's never really failure, right? It's just future blogging material.

Who? Me???

You can argue the Stratford Festival is the pinnacle of Canadian theatre. It's the largest theatre festival in the country, it has an international reputation and past stars have included some of the greatest English language actors: Alec Guinness, Christopher Plummer, James Mason, John Neville, Jessica Tandy, Christopher Walken, Peter Ustinov...

And me. Almost.

The Birmingham Conservatory is Stratford's school. The late Richard Monette founded it when he was Artistic Director as a way of ensuring Canada has a constant supply of thespians skilled in ye olde school theatre. They used to hold (not sure if they still do) an annual audition tour across Canada for the Conservatory: if you made the cut, you would spend a year studying at Stratford, followed by a summer performing with the company. In the shaky world of Canadian theatre (aka artistic poverty), that's golden.

In 2006, I auditioned. In the cavernous main space at MTYP (when it's just you and 40 feet of bare stage "cavernous" is justified) I did my little monologues for David Latham (Birmingham's Principal at the time). Pieces from Julius Caesar and Wild Abandon. He didn't seem enthusiastic; just a nod and a thank you. I trudged the long walk home and had a drink. Oh well.

But no, not oh well! A few weeks later, I came home from the warehouse (I had a glamorous job stacking boxes) to a message on the machine. Something to the effect of, "We're going to fly you out to Toronto, put you up for the night and have you audition for Mr. Monette. Congratulations."

My response? Something to the effect of, "Ohmygodohmygodohmygod..."

It was a gorgeous July day in Toronto when my flight arrived. Sunshiny. Warm without being muggy. I checked into my downtown hotel, then took a stroll. The bars were full of soccer fans (2006 FIFA cup was on) cheering for their teams; they suited my mood. I headed to the CBC building, visiting its shrine of puppets from Children's Shows Past. I caught the evening Dream in High Park where they were doing The Comedy of Errors - the show my own theatre company had opened its life with. All good omens.

The next day I did some more walking. My audition wasn't until 5pm, so I had the whole day to nervously kill time. I hit the hot tub at my classy hotel; the business people staying there glared (they could smell the free room on me). The hotel gave me the classy boot at checkout time. Eaton Place, CN Tower, Yonge - I wandered randomly, waiting for my big chance.

5pm crept close. I waited outside the Elgin Theatre on Yonge Street, scaring pedestrians with my vocal warm ups. I was the very last to audition. They brought me into the theatre and onto the stage, where roughly seven people sat behind two tables. Richard Monette was at the centre.

"Ahhh, let's see (checks papers) Matthew! Matthew, thank you for joining us. What are you going to do for us today?"

"Umm... some Shakespeare?"

"Ha! Haha! That's very good, very good. Right - when you're ready!"

I did my monologues again. I'd drilled them enough that it didn't matter my knees were shaking, my heart was pounding and my palms were sweating. I finished. Richard Monette made some notes.

"Matthew, I want to let you know that - as I'm retiring after this season - this is the very last audition that I will be watching for the Conservatory. And I am NOT disappointed."

A chorus of angels burst through the ceiling of the Elgin, singing and blowing trumpets.

"Now Matthew, if I could just ask one more thing. I see here it says on your resume that you can sing. Can you please give us a little sample?"

Let me explain that while yes, it does say on my acting resume that I can "sing" it's more of a "sing in the background, part of a chorus, not-on-the-spot-in-front-of-the-most-powerful-Canadian-director" kind of singing that I do. So I shouldn't have put that on my resume. Ouch.

My palms burst into waterfalls, my throat clenched and my mind blanked as I tried to think of a song. The one that came to mind was Last Saskatchewan Pirate by the Arrogant Worms. This, apparently, is what I can trust my brain to do in the clinch.

I made it to the chorus, ending on a squeak. There was silence at the other end of the room for the cliched seconds stretching into hours. Richard Monette cleared his throat.

"Well Matthew... thank you."

And that was that. Oh, I held out hope for a few weeks after - rushing home to check the answering machine, sending (what must have been irritating) emails to ask if a decision had been made - but deep down I knew that I wasn't going to make the cut.

I'd sung myself out of Stratford.