Today Artistic Director Michael Torontow announced further programming plans for a concurrent fall/winter 2022/23 season in Barrie and in Argentina.
“We, of course, love to produce exciting, thought-provoking work in Barrie and across Canada. Our international touring allows us to be artistic ambassadors to the countries we visit, while providing us new worlds of inspiration and ideas we can bring to our audiences back home,” says Michael Torontow.
As previously announced, TIFT is beginning the home season with a new immersive theatre event, The Written in Blood Trilogy, co-created and co-directed by Torontow and company member Griffin Hewitt. This three-part adaptation of an undisclosed classic horror novel takes participants through the harrowing journey of the novel’s protagonists. It includes a themed dinner at a local restaurant, a haunting evening walk by the bay with some enigmatic characters, and an art exhibition where things take a very unexpected turn. The event stars Maja Ardal, Aidan deSalaiz, Chris Mejaki, and Courtenay Stevens, among others. Performances take place between October 20 and 30. All three parts are presented in sequence on each of the performance dates. Tickets are limited to 30 patrons per performance for all three parts.
Open the Window is a nationwide celebration of Arts Education and Canadian Musical Theatre, as part of the CMTdB (Canadian Musical Theatre Database), one of TIFT’s Service Projects. A committee of TIFT artists asked students and educators from across the country to nominate peers and colleagues who had a positive impact over the course of the Pandemic. The committee then helped each nominator select a song from a Canadian musical that best celebrates the achievement of their nominee. The concert of chosen songs will be performed by some of Canada’s most prominent musical theatre performers, including Chilina Kennedy, Arlene Duncan, Gabi Epstein, Jake Epstein, and Jacob MacInnis, among many others, featuring songs by Leslie Arden, Corey Payette, Joey Miller, Richard Ouzounian, Kevin Wong and others. Directed by Saccha Dennis and Peter Jorgensen, concerts will take place in Barrie on November 15, 16 and 17, with a different program on each night. One of the concerts will also be repeated in Collinwood on November 18, in partnership with Theatre Collingwood. Tickets are now on sale.
Next, TIFT will produce The Other Place by Sharr White, directed by Tracy Michailidis. The play is about Juliana Smithton, a respected neurologist, whose life has recently begun to unravel. But is everything as it seems? As the play unfolds, Juliana’s facts blur with fiction, her past collides with her present, and the truth begins to be revealed. The Other Place will star Glynis Ranney, with Troy Adams, Jordin Hall and Evelyn Wiebe. It previews on November 24, opens on November 25 and runs to December 3 at Five Points Theatre in Barrie. Tickets are now on sale.
In early 2023, Mike Nadajewski will return to star as Valere in La Bête by David Hirson. In a comic whirlwind of high style, it tells the story of Elomire, the head of a 17th century acting troupe, who is asked by their patron, Prince Conti, to bring a new member, Valere, into the group. It is a battle of wits and witticisms as Elomire and Valere face off in this outrageous commentary on the nature of art and the artist in society. Directed by Dylan Trowbridge, La Bête previews on February 2, opens on February 3 and closes on February 11 at the Five Points Theatre. Tickets will be on sale on November 15.
In April, TIFT will premiere an exciting new work, written by and starring Nathaniel Hanula-James. Further details will be announced at a later date. Tickets will be on sale on November 15.
As for Argentina, TIFT will be sharing some of their recent successful works.
A long-running hit, Tales of an Urban Indian by Darrell Dennis, which is staged on a moving city bus, will make its South American debut. The production, starring Justan Myers and directed by Herbie Barnes, will visit a number of Argentine cities, including La Plata, Rosario and Cordoba this November.
Then in February, TIFT’s triumphant, Dora award winning immersive production of Sweeney Todd, directed by Mitchell Cushman and starring TIFT Artistic Director Michael Torontow in the title role, will transfer to Buenos Aires for a brief run as part of Festival Temporada Alta from February 19 and 24, 2023. TIFT will also offer a new companion piece as part of the day’s activities, created by Griffin Hewitt.
Finally, in March, For Both Resting and Breeding, a play by Ottawa-based Adam Meisner, which TIFT premiered in 2018 and subsequently toured to Australia in 2020, will be seen in Buenos Aires in March, 2023, for four performances. Staged in a residential house, For Both Resting and Breeding is set in the year 2150 when the society has become genderless. Two historians find the only surviving millennial house and establish a museum commemorating our times.
For the performances in Argentina, TIFT will use a new language translation tool which it developed as part of its ARIA Service Project. Translations into Spanish will appear in each patron’s personal view through a pair of “smart” glasses, providing for revolutionary new access to immersive and interactive projects by breaking the language barrier.
Additional programming for late Spring is expected to be announced in January.
TIFT acknowledges with gratitude the ongoing support of the Department of Canadian Heritage, Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Trillium Foundation, Ontario Arts Council, Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund and the City of Barrie.
