37th Annual DORA MAVOR MOORE AWARDS Celebrating Excellence in Toronto’s Performing Arts — AND THE DORA GOES TO
Canadian Opera Company Leads the Pack with 8 Wins: 5 for Siegfried including Outstanding Production & Outstanding Direction to François Girard; 3 for La Traviata
Young People’s Theatre Hauls in 5 Awards and Leads TYA Division with 4 Awards including Outstanding Production for Goodnight Moon.
Canadian Stage Nabs 4 wins over 3 Divisions, including Outstanding Production for Botticelli in the Fire & Sunday in Sodom (General Theatre Division), Outstanding Production for Betroffenheit (Dance Division) and Outstanding Touring Production for Cold Blood.
Tarragon Theatre leads General Theatre Division with 3 Wins including Outstanding New Play to Kat Sandler and Outstanding Performance to Anand Rajaram, both for Mustard; plus Outstanding Performance – Female to Rebecca Northan for Blind Date.
David Mirvish nabs 3 Awards for Kinky Boots for Top Spot in Musical Theatre Division including Outstanding Production and Outstanding Performance – Male to Alan Mingo Jr.
Native Earth Performing Arts & Red One Theatre Collective Tie Independent Theatre Division with 2 Awards each: Native Earth’s Huff for Outstanding New Play & Outstanding Performance – Male, both to Cliff Cardinal; Red One’s La Chasse Galerie includes Outstanding Performance – Ensemble. Groundling Theatre Company takes Outstanding Production for The Winter’s Tale.
Peggy Baker Dance Projects & princess productions Tie in Dance Division with 2 Wins each : PBDP’s Phase Space nabs Design Awards and princess productions wins Outstanding Original Choreography & Outstanding Performance – Male. Canadian Stage takes Outstanding Production with Betroffenheit.
Cold Blood Wins Outstanding Touring Production presented by Canadian Stage.
THE SHOW Odysseo: Larger Than Life The horse has marked human history and progress more than any other animal. Horses have taken us to the ends of the earth, enabled us to build bridges between cultures and expand civilization. It is the beauty and harmony of this ancient relationship, this meeting of two worlds – those of horse and man – that inspired the creators of Cavalia’s second show, Odysseo. As friends, partners and inseparable performers on stage, 70 horses and 45 artists lead the viewer on a great journey in yet another world – a world of dreams – where, together, they discover some of the planet’s most unforgettable landscapes.
With this new creation, Cavalia marries the equestrian arts, stage arts and high-tech theatrical effects at never-before-seen levels. A veritable revolution in live performance, Odysseo comprises a list of superlatives: the world’s largest touring big top, the biggest stage, the most beautiful visual effects, and the greatest number of horses at liberty.
The creators of this new ode to the horse made the decision to indulge their wildest artistic ambitions. Their gamble paid off: Odysseo pushes the limits of live entertainment by creating a larger-than-life show that sends hearts racing, but it is also a feast for the eyes that succeeds in delivering the spectacular with soul.
Scenography and Visual effects
To give life to this extraordinary equestrian adventure, Cavalia created a 1,626 square metres stage, in the middle of which rise two hills each three storeys tall. Some 10,000 tons of rock, earth and sand are trucked in and then sculpted to create the vast space of freedom where humans and horses come to play in complicity.
Above the stage hangs an imposing technical grid capable of supporting 80 tons of equipment including, a full-sized merry-go-round, far beyond anything attempted to date on any touring show and comparable to the best-equipped theaters of Las Vegas, London or New York.
Odysseo is a show unlike any other on the planet. This unique theatrical production is a grandiose multi-dimensional show. Spectators are taken to a live Hollywood-style movie set while the touching interactions between human and horse are at the heart of the action. Layers of mesmerizing decors combined with gravity-defying acrobatic and areal stunts and the staggering effects created by state-of-the-art scenery makes this humongous stage a feast for the eyes. To enhance this breathtaking experience, the production presents a splendid voyage with extremely high-definition computer graphic images, transporting the audience across the world’s most beautiful landscapes. To project these breathtaking graphic backdrops on an immense cyclorama the size of three IMAX screens, Odysseo uses projectors as powerful as those illuminating the grandest movie theaters. But whereas a cinema has only one projector, Odysseo uses 18 simultaneously. This live multi-dimensional voyage is a veritable revolution in live entertainment production.
A world of dreams and fantasies
The dream begins in a misty, enchanted forest where horses graze and frolic under a sky of rolling clouds and a setting sun. Horses, riders, acrobats and musicians embark on a soulful journey that leads them from the Mongolian steppes to Monument Valley, from the African savannah to Nordic glaciers, from the Sahara to Easter Island.
Throughout this grand voyage, spectators discover urban stilters and applaud the prowess of a troupe of African acrobats. Viewers are mesmerized by horses powering angelic aerialists in a four-person silks act that takes them into the skies. To the sound of an African harp called a Kora, audiences witness the beauty of 15 horses lying on sand dunes awaken. They will likewise appreciate the beautiful liberty number, uniting purebred Arabian horses directed by inaudible vocal commands from their kneeling trainer.
The scenes follow the seasons and their attendant wonders. At times, the horses and people in this fabulous caravan become too numerous to count.
The Odysseo epic wraps up with a fantastic crescendo as the stage is inundated with 300,000 litres of water in just a few minutes. A vertiginous virtual waterfall overhangs the resulting lake, in which horses, riders and artists join to frolic, leaving behind them the traces of their splashes and an astonished audience.
A show that feeds the soul
Although the audacity, inventiveness and monumental scope of Cavalia’s new creation may boggle the mind, the essence of this magnificent equestrian odyssey lies elsewhere. Beyond the impressive technical display and equestrian and acrobatic numbers that are unlike anything ever seen on stage, Odysseo is first and foremost a work that feeds the soul. In these difficult, troubled times, Odysseo offers up something gentle, even tender. The poetry flowing from this grand adventure shines a light on a more humane world where human and horse may live in harmony. For just a few hours, the spectator sets off to discover new horizons, the limits of his imagination, and gets to experience a waking dream in a world where beauty, serenity and hope reign.
CAVALIA’S ODYSSEO WHITE BIG TOP
Standing 38 meters tall, the White Big Top is a traffic-stopping addition to the skyline of each city Odysseo performs. When visitors enter, they are immediately transported into a lavish and intimate environment reminiscent of any permanent theatre.
Following the instant success of the first Cavalia show in 2003, Latourelle began to dream of how to break through the limitations of a big top tent. The biggest challenge was to open up the performance area. Latourelle knew that such unprecedented flexibility would allow him to showcase more horses and acrobats to create mind-boggling scenes. This involved removing supporting masts from the stage, a common staging issue in tent shows. A specially-designed big top was created in Europe, where the weight of the structure shifted from masts to three arches above the tent. The Italian firm Canobbio, in collaboration with Artistic Director Normand Latourelle, designed the tent and supervised construction. Asteo of France and Genivar of Canada supervised engineering operations. The arches that support the massive structure were built by Show Canada.
More than twice the size of the structure created for Cavalia’s original production, the White Big Top is the size of two NFL football fields. The 1,626 square metres stage, larger than a hockey rink and the 15 meters wide backstage area offer a vast playground for more than 30 cantering horses. The grandiose stage also offers incredible possibilities for large-scale staging.
A total of five tents comprise the Odysseo village. The White Big Top houses the stage and backstage, seating and lobby areas under a single roof. A Rendez-Vous tent hosts VIP ticket holders for dinner, an open bar and photo opportunities with the artists. This package includes a private tour of the stables and the best seats in the house. The horses live in a climatecontrolled stable tent complete with showers, tack shop and a blacksmith department. Between the stables and White Big Top, the Warm-Up tent is where the riders rehearse with the horses before and after the show. This area also includes wardrobe, makeup and dressing areas for the two-legged artists. A staff kitchen tent prepares more than 600 meals daily.
FUN FACTS
Odysseo features 70 horses of 14 different breeds including the Appaloosa, Arabian, Canadian, Criollo, Holsteiner, Lusitano, Oldenburg, Paint Horse, Percheron, Quarter Horse, Selle français, Purebred (P.R.E.), Warmblood and Lipizzan.
The horses are from Spain, Portugal, France, The Netherlands, Germany, Australia, The United States and Canada.
There are 45 artists – riders, acrobats, aerialists, dancers and musicians.
The artists are from around the world including the United States, Canada, Brazil, France, Belgium, Guinea, Russia, Spain, Ukraine, Japan and Poland.
There are 350 costumes and 100 pairs of shoes and boots in the show. Artists may have up to seven different costumes.
An artist may have no more than 30 seconds to do a quick costume change between numbers.
A team of 13 dressmakers, one property master, one designer and one shoemaker worked in the Cavalia studios to create the costumes.
Materials used in the costumes include linen, silk, cotton, leather and some imitation fur. The use of natural fibers gives the clothes sheen and lets them fall in a way that synthetic fibers simply cannot match.
The costumes are adapted to the artists’ needs, especially those of the acrobats and riders, to facilitate their onstage movement while not compromising their appearance.
The on-tour costume department consists of one wardrobe person and three dressers who launders, mends and cares for the costumes. At times during the show, they juggle 15 simultaneous wardrobe changes. They have two sewing machines, one shoe-repair machine and one overlock machine.
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Factory Theatre and QuipTake present THE ART OF BUILDING A BUNKER Written by Adam Lazarus and Guillermo Verdecchia WARNING: A play about sensitivity training that is anything but sensitive On Stage October 11 to November 2, 2014 Factory Theatre launches its 45th season with the main stage world premiere of THE ART OF BUILDING ABUNKER in partnership with QuipTake. This one-man tour-de-force is co-written and directed by Guillermo Verdecchia and co-written and starring Adam Lazarus. First seen in 2013 at SummerWorks Festival, the show was heralded by Torontoist.com, The Grid, BlogTO and Artvox.ca as one of the best of the Festival, as well as named Best of the Fest for Outstanding Production, Performance and Direction by NOW Magazine. THE ART OF BUILDING A BUNKER is a viciously funny and tragic story recounting a week in the life of your average Elvis as he endures mandatory workplace sensitivity training. Elvis finds himself surrounded by a group of characters that is diversely bizarre and bizarrely diverse, all portrayed by Adam Lazarus with a sharp wit and comic genius. THE ART OF BUILDING A BUNKER is an equal opportunity satire where nothing is sacred and no one is spared. more toronto theater
August 21-24, 2014 throughout the Downtown Yonge Neighbourhood
(Queen St. to College St. and surrounding areas)
Toronto, August 7, 2014 – Scotiabank BuskerFest in support of Epilepsy Toronto returns to the Downtown Yonge neighbourhood with more than 160 of the world’s top street performers in over 70 acts. North America’s largest street performers festival, and the world’s largest epilepsy event, takes place along Yonge Street from Queen Street to College Street and surrounding areas from August 21-24.
With six Guinness world records, three World Champions and a sky high list of awards, this year’s lineup of performers at Scotiabank BuskerFest are a real bunch of over-achievers. Last year an estimated 1.5 million people attended the festival, and organizers are expecting at least as many this year who will be entertained by world-class street artists from around the globe – from Canada and the U.S., and as far away as Australia, Austria, Argentina, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom – performing on 16 pitches, noon to night.
Audiences will be dazzled and charmed by acrobatics, balloon twisting, beatboxing, chainsaw juggling, fire-hula hooping, body contortion, belly dancing, tango dancing, sleight of hand, Chinese pole, Russian bar, Hungarian whip-cracking, teeterboard, cyr wheel, straight jacket escapes, skateboard stunts and much more as performers descend on the country’s most populous city for four days and nights of silliness and spectacle in support of a great cause. There is something for all ages from specialty children’s events to late-night fire performances and live music.
ADDITIONAL EVENTS AND INFORMATION
The festival features MORE THAN BUSKERS, with special services and events, including the Scotiabank BuskerBall and Scotiabank BuskerPlay Kids Zone, offering a variety of fun activities for children.
o SCOTIABANK BUSKERFEST/EPILEPSY TORONTO OPEN THE TSX Monday, August 18 – Scotiabank BuskerFest and Epilepsy Toronto representatives open the Toronto Stock Exchange at the TMX Broadcast Centre at 9:30am. It’s far from business-as-usual when buskers are on the scene!
o SIXTH ANNUAL SCOTIABANK BUSKERBALL Tuesday, August 19 – The sixth annual Scotiabank BuskerBall (6pm-10pm) kicks off Scotiabank BuskerFest with an evening of glamour, giggles and gastronomic delights, along with live and silent auctions and an intimate preview of the world’s most spectacular and unique performers headlining this year’s festival! CTV News anchor Andria Case hosts the event and co-chairs along with John Doig, Scotiabank Chief Marketing Officer. The event aesthetic will be created by interior designers Glen Peloso and Jamie Alexander of “Make Room for Living.” Scotiabank BuskerBall takes places at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (formerly Maple Leaf Gardens). Tickets for this fundraiser are $150 with all proceeds going to Epilepsy Toronto.
o SCOTIABANK BUSKERFEST LAUNCH Thursday, August 21 – The Festival Media Launch features special performances to delight and astound the crowd, beginning at noon at Yonge-Dundas Square. Look for the high-spirited stilt drummers of Toronto’s afro-Brazilian MaracaTALL, the thrilling acrobats of California’s Flying Tortillas, Quebec’s dazzling acrobatic duo Les Vitamins, zany Australian comic vaudevillian Mr Spin and more!
o A New Heart of the Festival – EPILEPSY TORONTO BENEFITS For the first time ever, the Scotiabank Stage in Yonge-Dundas Square will become the charitable epicenter of the festival. All proceeds raised by performers in the square throughout the festival are being generously donated to Epilepsy Toronto. On the opening day, Thursday August 21, Scotiabank will match every dollar collected in the square.
o METRO PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD The announcement of this year’s audience-selected Metro People’s Choice Award winner will take place on the Scotiabank Stage in Yonge-Dundas Square during the final performance by festival favourite, violinist extraordinaire Dr Draw, who will be premiering the world’s only fully digital violin. The Metro Award gives the winning busker an automatic invite back to next year’s festival. Complete a ballot or vote online to be entered in a draw to win a Beats Pill (wireless speakers) by Dr. Dre. Drop by the Epilepsy Toronto Info Booth in Yonge-Dundas Square
o ESPECIALLY FOR KIDS Scotiabank BuskerPlay Kids Zone, located in Trinity Square Park (behind the Eaton Centre – accessible from Bay, Dundas and Albert Streets or through the mall), has wonderful activities for kids: face painting, balloon twisting, music, free workshops for kids in the Scotiabank Tent, free Hoola Hooping and Devil Sticking at the Dispatch Talent Tent and busker acts from an incredible line up of international performers, geared especially to the family audience. Among the fantastic acts are absurdist clown Ale Risorio from Spain and his bag full of strange and wonderful props; Italy’s very charming ‘One-Man Band’ Lorenzo Gianmario Galli; teenage yoyo whiz Kohel Mintz and Californian break-dancers and acrobats the Flying Tortillas.
o SCOTIABANK BUSKERFEST ACCESSIBLE TO ALL Epilepsy Toronto is working to ensure all visitors enjoy the festival with ease. At the BuskerAccess Tent, located in Yonge-Dundas Square (near the festival Info Tent), visitors with disabilities are provided with assistance such as an escort to one of the accessible stages by accessibility volunteers, wearing an identifiable accessibility symbol on their shirts. Non-verbal performances happen each day throughout the festival. Ale Risorio, Ikeda Yosuke and CiRcO LoCo perform on the main stage pitches, Bence Sarkadi: The Budapest Marionettes and Woody perform at fly pitches throughout the festival grounds and BLANKO andChasseur de Rêves perform daily in Yonge-Dundas Square. Additionally, on Thursday, Aug 21, from 5pm – 8pm, benefit performances on the Scotiabank Stage in Yonge-Dundas Square will be accompanied by ASL interpretation.
o BIKE VALET The Downtown Yonge BIA has introduced a free bike valet program for key events – including Scotiabank BuskerFest. Guests can drop off their bike, receive a ticket stub and pick it up when they leave. The valet is located on the south side of Dundas Street West, between Yonge Street and Bay Street. Just look for the Downtown Yonge BIA flag and the Cycle Toronto tent.
15th Annual Scotiabank BuskerFest
in support of Epilepsy Toronto
Thursday, August 21 – Sunday, August 24, 2014
throughout the Downtown Yonge Neighbourhood:
Yonge Street all the way from Queen to College and surrounding areas
(including Trinity Square Park, Yonge-Dundas Square and Gould St.)
Admission is by voluntary donation to Epilepsy Toronto.
About Scotiabank BuskerFest Since its inception in 2000, Scotiabank BuskerFest has featured hundreds of the best street performers from around the world, hosted millions of amazed spectators and helped raise much-needed funds for Epilepsy Toronto, a charitable organization that provides services to those living with epilepsy and their families. Scotiabank BuskerFest is the largest street performers’ festival in North America and is the largest Epilepsy awareness-raising event in the world.
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