From Richard Ouzounian at the Toronto Star:
"The Stratford Shakespeare Festival is appointing Elizabeth Bradley as its senior artistic associate.
"Bradley, who was born in Toronto, has served in the past as the director of communications at Stratford, as CEO of the then-Hummingbird Centre and as head of the School of Drama at Carnegie Mellon University. She is currently in her first year as the head of drama at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.
"Stratford describes her newly created position as one that will 'focus on international creative development, assist the festival in establishing relationships that will enable it to export productions, provide details of opportunities for collaborations and suggest new markets of interest.'
"Bradley, who is accepting the position for the first year as an unpaid volunteer, told the Toronto Star from her New York office that, 'This relationship re-establishes a professional dialogue with an organization that influenced my career profoundly. I look on this as the best possible way to make a positive offering of my skills and knowledge to the distinctive Canadian artistic excellence that the Stratford Shakespeare Festival represents.'
"Festival artistic director Des McAnuff said in a phone interview, 'I've always been impressed by Liz and her remarkable mind. I think she's one of the most articulate people I've ever met in any field. I think she'll do good diplomatic work for us out there in the field.'
"McAnuff and Bradley first worked together in 1974 when she was a high school intern working on his play Silent Edward at what was then known as Young People's Theatre. They have stayed in close contact over the years, with McAnuff serving on committees for her during her years at Carnegie Mellon.
"'I trust her and we have similar tastes,' McAnuff said.
"'We literally grew up together in the halls of the alternative Toronto theatre scene. I thinks she cares really deeply about Stratford. That, above all else, makes her a good candidate.'"
Read the official press release.
Showing posts with label Press Release. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Press Release. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Richard Monette Dies
I regret having to report this. Here's the official press release from the Stratford Shakespeare Festival:
"It is with profound sadness that the Stratford Shakespeare Festival announces the death last night of Richard Monette, the longest-serving artistic director in its history. Mr. Monette, whose tenure lasted for 14 seasons, from 1994 to 2007, died of a pulmonary embolus in hospital in London, Ontario. He was 64 years old.
"'I remember first seeing Richard on the Stratford Festival stage as Berowne in Love’s Labour’s Lost,' said the Festival’s general director, Antoni Cimolino. 'He was brilliant – so brilliant that it changed my life and I’m sure the lives of many, many others. He made one of the most difficult parts in Shakespeare seem effortless and a joy. And so he did for the all the great roles he played, from Hamlet to Hosanna.
"'As an actor, a director and finally as an artistic director, he was singular. His love for the Festival was the centre of his being. His accomplishments as artistic director of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival have set the standard by which all others will be judged.'
"'I am deeply distressed by our dear friend Richard’s death,' added the Festival’s current artistic director, Des McAnuff. 'I have been Richard’s ardent fan since I first saw him in Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre production of Hosanna, in which he was utterly virtuosic. He was a brilliant actor, a gifted director, an inspiring artistic director and a great Canadian. I will sorely miss his wit, his insight, his advice and especially the warmth and wisdom that were among his many distinguished attributes. The entire Stratford Shakespeare Festival family is in mourning, and we will not fill the immense void left by the loss of our beloved artistic statesman anytime soon.'
"Richard Monette was born in Montreal in 1944, the son of a French-Canadian father and an Italian mother. He attended Loyola College (now Concordia University), where he appeared in several student productions before making his professional stage debut at the age of 19, playing Hamlet for the Crest Theatre in Toronto.
"His first Stratford season was in 1965, when he appeared in Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, and in Julius Caesar. After two more seasons at the Festival, he joined a new company, Theatre Toronto, and went to Broadway with its production of the controversial Rolf Hochhuth play Soldiers, before deciding to seek new opportunities in the United Kingdom.
"There he performed in open-air theatre in Regent’s Park, London, and toured with the Welsh National Theatre. In 1970, he was in the original cast of Kenneth Tynan’s groundbreaking erotic revue Oh! Calcutta!, and in 1972 he became a member of Charles Marowitz’s experimental Open Space company.
"Returning to Canada later that same year, he spent two seasons at the St. Lawrence Centre in Toronto before securing what would prove to be his breakthrough role: the transvestite title character in the English-language première of Michel Tremblay’s Hosanna. His electrifying performance in that production, which also transferred to Broadway, made him a Canadian star and led Stratford’s then artistic director, Robin Phillips, to invite him back to the Festival – this time as a leading man.
"Over the next decade and a half, he played a variety of major Shakespearean roles – among them his second Hamlet, in 1976 – as well as starring in the one-man play Judgement. He also appeared in many TV productions, and in such feature films as Iceman (1984) and I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987).
"In 1988, he turned his focus to directing, scoring an immense hit with his first major production, The Taming of the Shrew. He went on to direct more than 40 Festival productions, in addition to working at other theatres across the country. He won a Dora Mavor Moore Award for his 1990 production of Saint Joan at Theatre Plus, and in 1991 he directed Beethoven’s Fidelio for the Canadian Opera Company.
"His appointment as artistic director, succeeding David William, was announced in June 1992. His first season, in 1994, produced a dramatic turnaround in the Festival’s economic fortunes, turning an accumulated deficit into an $800,000 surplus. That success continued throughout his tenure, which was marked by record levels of attendance, reaching an all-time high of 672,924 admissions in 2002, the Festival’s 50th season.
"Memorable productions he directed during his tenure included a multi-racial Twelfth Night in 1994; productions of King Lear (1996) and The Tempest (1999 and 2005) with William Hutt in the title role; his first musical, Camelot, in 1997; Much Ado About Nothing and The Miser, both of which transferred to New York’s City Center; a hitherto unproduced four-act version of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest in 2000; and the first production of a play by Shakespeare’s contemporary Christopher Marlowe to appear at the Festival: Edward II in 2005.
"Other artistic highlights of his tenure included Diana Leblanc’s production of Long Day’s Journey Into Night (1994 and 1995), later made into an award-winning film by Rhombus Media; Brian Bedford’s 1996 production of Waiting for Godot; and the world première of Timothy Findley’s Elizabeth Rex (2000), directed by Martha Henry and also subsequently filmed. His tenure also saw extensive renovations of the Festival and Avon theatres; the founding of the Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre; the establishment of a formal program of new play development; the creation of a long-dreamed-of fourth venue, the Studio Theatre; and the building of a $50-million endowment.
"A recipient of the Queen’s Golden and Silver Jubilee Medals, Mr. Monette received honorary doctorates from the universities of Windsor and Western Ontario, and from his alma mater, Concordia University. He was named a Member of the Order of Canada in 1997, and in 2006 he received the Herbert Whittaker Drama Bench Award for Outstanding Contribution to Canadian Theatre from the Canadian Drama Theatre Critics Association.
"His retirement in 2007 was marked by a gala celebration of his tenure in the Festival Theatre, an exhibition on his life and career, and the publication of his memoir This Rough Magic: The Making of an Artistic Director.
"Mr. Monette leaves behind his brother, Mark, and Mark’s wife, Judy, along with many friends, colleagues and admirers. Details of a memorial service to be held at the Festival Theatre will be announced at a later date. "
"It is with profound sadness that the Stratford Shakespeare Festival announces the death last night of Richard Monette, the longest-serving artistic director in its history. Mr. Monette, whose tenure lasted for 14 seasons, from 1994 to 2007, died of a pulmonary embolus in hospital in London, Ontario. He was 64 years old.
"'I remember first seeing Richard on the Stratford Festival stage as Berowne in Love’s Labour’s Lost,' said the Festival’s general director, Antoni Cimolino. 'He was brilliant – so brilliant that it changed my life and I’m sure the lives of many, many others. He made one of the most difficult parts in Shakespeare seem effortless and a joy. And so he did for the all the great roles he played, from Hamlet to Hosanna.
"'As an actor, a director and finally as an artistic director, he was singular. His love for the Festival was the centre of his being. His accomplishments as artistic director of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival have set the standard by which all others will be judged.'
"'I am deeply distressed by our dear friend Richard’s death,' added the Festival’s current artistic director, Des McAnuff. 'I have been Richard’s ardent fan since I first saw him in Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre production of Hosanna, in which he was utterly virtuosic. He was a brilliant actor, a gifted director, an inspiring artistic director and a great Canadian. I will sorely miss his wit, his insight, his advice and especially the warmth and wisdom that were among his many distinguished attributes. The entire Stratford Shakespeare Festival family is in mourning, and we will not fill the immense void left by the loss of our beloved artistic statesman anytime soon.'
"Richard Monette was born in Montreal in 1944, the son of a French-Canadian father and an Italian mother. He attended Loyola College (now Concordia University), where he appeared in several student productions before making his professional stage debut at the age of 19, playing Hamlet for the Crest Theatre in Toronto.
"His first Stratford season was in 1965, when he appeared in Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, and in Julius Caesar. After two more seasons at the Festival, he joined a new company, Theatre Toronto, and went to Broadway with its production of the controversial Rolf Hochhuth play Soldiers, before deciding to seek new opportunities in the United Kingdom.
"There he performed in open-air theatre in Regent’s Park, London, and toured with the Welsh National Theatre. In 1970, he was in the original cast of Kenneth Tynan’s groundbreaking erotic revue Oh! Calcutta!, and in 1972 he became a member of Charles Marowitz’s experimental Open Space company.
"Returning to Canada later that same year, he spent two seasons at the St. Lawrence Centre in Toronto before securing what would prove to be his breakthrough role: the transvestite title character in the English-language première of Michel Tremblay’s Hosanna. His electrifying performance in that production, which also transferred to Broadway, made him a Canadian star and led Stratford’s then artistic director, Robin Phillips, to invite him back to the Festival – this time as a leading man.
"Over the next decade and a half, he played a variety of major Shakespearean roles – among them his second Hamlet, in 1976 – as well as starring in the one-man play Judgement. He also appeared in many TV productions, and in such feature films as Iceman (1984) and I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987).
"In 1988, he turned his focus to directing, scoring an immense hit with his first major production, The Taming of the Shrew. He went on to direct more than 40 Festival productions, in addition to working at other theatres across the country. He won a Dora Mavor Moore Award for his 1990 production of Saint Joan at Theatre Plus, and in 1991 he directed Beethoven’s Fidelio for the Canadian Opera Company.
"His appointment as artistic director, succeeding David William, was announced in June 1992. His first season, in 1994, produced a dramatic turnaround in the Festival’s economic fortunes, turning an accumulated deficit into an $800,000 surplus. That success continued throughout his tenure, which was marked by record levels of attendance, reaching an all-time high of 672,924 admissions in 2002, the Festival’s 50th season.
"Memorable productions he directed during his tenure included a multi-racial Twelfth Night in 1994; productions of King Lear (1996) and The Tempest (1999 and 2005) with William Hutt in the title role; his first musical, Camelot, in 1997; Much Ado About Nothing and The Miser, both of which transferred to New York’s City Center; a hitherto unproduced four-act version of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest in 2000; and the first production of a play by Shakespeare’s contemporary Christopher Marlowe to appear at the Festival: Edward II in 2005.
"Other artistic highlights of his tenure included Diana Leblanc’s production of Long Day’s Journey Into Night (1994 and 1995), later made into an award-winning film by Rhombus Media; Brian Bedford’s 1996 production of Waiting for Godot; and the world première of Timothy Findley’s Elizabeth Rex (2000), directed by Martha Henry and also subsequently filmed. His tenure also saw extensive renovations of the Festival and Avon theatres; the founding of the Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre; the establishment of a formal program of new play development; the creation of a long-dreamed-of fourth venue, the Studio Theatre; and the building of a $50-million endowment.
"A recipient of the Queen’s Golden and Silver Jubilee Medals, Mr. Monette received honorary doctorates from the universities of Windsor and Western Ontario, and from his alma mater, Concordia University. He was named a Member of the Order of Canada in 1997, and in 2006 he received the Herbert Whittaker Drama Bench Award for Outstanding Contribution to Canadian Theatre from the Canadian Drama Theatre Critics Association.
"His retirement in 2007 was marked by a gala celebration of his tenure in the Festival Theatre, an exhibition on his life and career, and the publication of his memoir This Rough Magic: The Making of an Artistic Director.
"Mr. Monette leaves behind his brother, Mark, and Mark’s wife, Judy, along with many friends, colleagues and admirers. Details of a memorial service to be held at the Festival Theatre will be announced at a later date. "
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Cleopatra Casting Change
Anika Noni Rose will not be in Caesar and Cleopatra (2008), due to a scheduling conflict. Rose will instead be filming The No. 1 Ladie's Detective Agency.
Cleopatra will be taken up by newcomer Nikki M. James, whose original role in the play was Iras. James comes to Stratford straight from La Jolla Playhouse, where she was Dorothy in Des McAnuff's The Wiz.
Romeo and Juliet (2008) goes into previews on May 7; Caesar and Cleopatra on August 7.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
New Directors Named to Krapp/Hughie
A press release today from the Stratford Shakespeare Festival announces two replacement directors for the double bill of Krapp's Last Tape (2008) and Hughie (2008).
Toronto-based Jennifer Tarver will direct Brian Dennehy in Samuel Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape (2008). General Director Antoni Cimolino is very excited about her debut at the Festival, calling her an "outstanding young talent".
According to the press release, "Tarver, winner of the 2006 Pauline McGibbon Award and the 2002 John Hirsch Directors Award, is a respected director and creator, known for work that resounds with clarity and sophistication. She was named Now Magazine's best director of 2007. Her most recent productions include Thom Pain (based on nothing), a one-man show featuring Tom McCamus, and Sarah Kane's Crave for Nightwood Theatre, for which she received a Dora nomination for best director."
Robert Falls will direct Dennehy and Joe Grifasi in the second half of the double bill: Eugene O'Neill's Hughie (2008). "I'm thrilled that Robert Falls can step in on Hughie so that he can continue his fruitful creative relationship with Brian Dennehy," says Artistic Director Des McAnuff.
"Falls has been the artistic director of Chicago's Goodman Theatre since 1986. Under his leadership, the Goodman was named by Time magazine the number one regional theatre in the U. S. Two of his most highly acclaimed Broadway productions, Death of a Salesman and Long Day's Journey Into Night, both starring Brian Dennehy, were honoured with seven Tony Awards and three Drama Desk Awards. Death of a Salesman went on to a long run in London's West End."
Toronto-based Jennifer Tarver will direct Brian Dennehy in Samuel Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape (2008). General Director Antoni Cimolino is very excited about her debut at the Festival, calling her an "outstanding young talent".
According to the press release, "Tarver, winner of the 2006 Pauline McGibbon Award and the 2002 John Hirsch Directors Award, is a respected director and creator, known for work that resounds with clarity and sophistication. She was named Now Magazine's best director of 2007. Her most recent productions include Thom Pain (based on nothing), a one-man show featuring Tom McCamus, and Sarah Kane's Crave for Nightwood Theatre, for which she received a Dora nomination for best director."
Robert Falls will direct Dennehy and Joe Grifasi in the second half of the double bill: Eugene O'Neill's Hughie (2008). "I'm thrilled that Robert Falls can step in on Hughie so that he can continue his fruitful creative relationship with Brian Dennehy," says Artistic Director Des McAnuff.
"Falls has been the artistic director of Chicago's Goodman Theatre since 1986. Under his leadership, the Goodman was named by Time magazine the number one regional theatre in the U. S. Two of his most highly acclaimed Broadway productions, Death of a Salesman and Long Day's Journey Into Night, both starring Brian Dennehy, were honoured with seven Tony Awards and three Drama Desk Awards. Death of a Salesman went on to a long run in London's West End."
Don Shipley resigned as director of the both productions on March 12.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Co-Artistic Directors No More
Des McAnuff has been asked by General Director Antoni Cimolino and the Board of Governors to be the sole Artistic Director for the Stratford Shakespeare Festival.
According to the press release, Marti Maraden will still direct All's Well That Ends Well (2008) and The Trojan Women (2008) this season, but neither she nor Don Shipley will be involved in preparing for the next.
Plans for 2009 were already underweigh when the change was made.
According to the press release, Marti Maraden will still direct All's Well That Ends Well (2008) and The Trojan Women (2008) this season, but neither she nor Don Shipley will be involved in preparing for the next.
Plans for 2009 were already underweigh when the change was made.
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